{"id":5657,"date":"2016-06-17T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5657"},"modified":"2016-06-09T07:50:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T14:50:15","slug":"mark-watches-the-100-s03e04-watch-the-thrones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/06\/mark-watches-the-100-s03e04-watch-the-thrones\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The 100’: S03E04 – Watch the Thrones"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0The 100<\/i>, everything is great except when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0The 100<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of alcoholism, grief<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Seriously, when this show is on fire, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s otherworldly. But when there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a misstep? BOY, IS IT EVER A MISTAKE.<\/p>\n

Chancellor Pike<\/b><\/p>\n

Michael Beach is a fantastic actor, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it was a mistake by any means to cast him. He commands attention every time he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on screen, which makes the choice to have him play a charismatic leader sensible. But the writing for his character feels so out of place with the rest of the episode, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned that the show is writing him as the angry black man and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, not a whole lot more. Anger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been a part of\u00c2\u00a0The 100<\/i>, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to deny that while talking about this. So why even address it in the context of this character? Why should his need for revenge feel so out of sync?<\/p>\n

The problem is that Pike is written as a one-dimensional character. We know virtually nothing about his past; we see no other side of him other than his stubborn need for revenge and violence. Actually, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stubborn\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even a good enough word to describe him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just\u00c2\u00a0foolish<\/i>. Pike would make a lot more sense if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d not just been introduced, if he had some depth, if he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like a creation of the writers to push the plot in a frustrating direction. You know what\u00c2\u00a0would<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0be interesting? Pike and the Farm Station realizing they have no support from the hundreds of Arkadia citizens who\u00c2\u00a0know<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that the Grounders aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to attack them. Pike and the Farm Station struggling to assimilate into a new society that left violence behind them.<\/p>\n

Instead, the show decides to wrap\u00c2\u00a0Bellamy<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0into this nonsense? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not often that I get to claim that writing is out-of-character for someone, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a single justification I can think of for Bellamy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior in this episode. It makes no sense to me. You know who\u00c2\u00a0could<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0have gotten this story? MONTY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S MOTHER. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a character who has no history with the Grounders aside from brutality, who could have been manipulated by Pike, who would have struggled with her need for revenge for her husband\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death, WHO COULD EASILY BE SEEN AS SOMEONE WHO WOULD COMMIT TREASON AGAINST THE ARKADIA LEADERSHIP. She is right there!!! USE HER INSTEAD OF STICKING HER IN THE BACKGROUND.<\/p>\n

Bellamy knows many of the Grounders. Bellamy knows Indra. BELLAMY KNOWS THAT THE PROTECTION FORCE IS GENUINELY THERE TO PROTECT ARKADIA. How does he suddenly forget that or become convinced that Pike is correct? There is no universe where Bellamy magically \u00e2\u20ac\u0153forgets\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that there are clans or that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge difference between the Grounders in general and the Ice Nation. Am I supposed to believe that many of the Arkadia citizens also changed their opinion of Kane overnight? Why do all these people fall in line with Pike so readily?<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the deal: it feels painfully artificial. It does not feel like a genuine turn of events. I REALLY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LIKE IT.<\/p>\n

Jasper<\/b><\/p>\n

Thus, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s move into the stories that ARE great within \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Watch the Thrones.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jasper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued descent is uncomfortable and visceral, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t suffer from the problems with the Pike storyline. We\u00c2\u00a0saw<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0how attached he was to Maya, but I think the writers are instead dealing with the unbearable reality of what tore Jasper and Monty apart. In short, Jasper can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see Clarke, Bellamy, or Monty as anything other than murderers. And why should he? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like these three characters aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t aware of the horrible thing they did to save their people. But being aware of what happened at Mount Weather isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough for Jasper. He views these people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c especially Monty \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in a different light. So not only did he lose the woman he loved, he lost his friends. His\u00c2\u00a0best<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0friend. His grief is so much deeper than I realized, and IT BREAKS MY HEART.<\/p>\n

Watch the Throne<\/b><\/p>\n

LOOK HOW EXCITING AND TWISTED AND THRILLING THIS PLOT IS. I love that we are shown how capable, cunning, and determined people create chaos when they interact. No one in this plot was written like a stubborn fool. (Which irks me only because all four of these characters \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lexa, Clarke, Roan, and Nia \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are white. WHOMP WHOMP.) Each of them is viciously smart here, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what makes the showdown so entertaining. Initially, Queen Nia has the advantage; she allows herself to get caught so she can make a spectacle of Lexa, which inspires that vote of no confidence. Then, she forces Lexa into the fight for the throne, knowing that Lexa would probably volunteer herself instead of picking a fighter.<\/p>\n

Yet even the peripheral characters do smart things here! Clarke tries to compel Roan to kill his mother and ascend to the throne, which he rejects, despite that he has an\u00c2\u00a0emotional<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0motivation to do so. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do something foolish! Instead, he urges CLARKE to kill Queen Nia, which she nearly does. And perhaps Clarke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assassination attempt was a bit foolish, but in terms of strategy, it was a good move. The Queen wants chaos and she wants war, so taking her out would solve a lot of problems.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lexa who has control of the situation. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible that she\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0she could use the fight as a chance to catch Queen Nia in a vulnerable position. Lexa is a fan of long cons, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that her pledge of fealty to Clarke from earlier isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t part of one. BUT GODDAMN, how great was her fight with Roan? I did not expect her to murder Queen Nia FOR A SECOND. That kind of twist, though, is not just entertaining; it reveals so much of Lexa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character and how she plots to maintain control.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just unfortunate that Pike and his folks might just ruin everything for everyone.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Watch the Thrones\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b>
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"