close menu

THE 100 Recap: Arkadia Gone Wild

Have you watched “Terms and Conditions?” If not, run away now because there are about to be all sorts of spoilers up in here for the latest episode of The 100.

Also! Sydney is off this week, so you’re stuck with me.

After spending so much time in the past and with Clarke and Lexa last week (sigh), the newest episode of The 100 turned attention back to Arkadia. “Terms and Conditions” showed the severity of the problems the camp has with Pike in charge. Besides the fact he’s pretty much a dictator, which is, you know, horrible, they’re also running low on supplies. The actions Pike took against the Grounders means they’ve surrounded Arkadia. Yet Pike and his followers can’t see what is so obvious to us and everyone with more than two non-fanatic brain cells: Skaikru doesn’t stand a chance in hell against Grounder forces. Like, not even close.

Seeing Pike and Bellamy ignore that crucial piece of information because they’re blinded by righteousness is goddamn painful. Facing their ignorance was part of “Terms and Conditions.” Grounders approached Arkadia and requested Pike; in exchange for the Chancellor, they’d leave the rest of Arkadia alone. Bellamy reacted in the worst possible way to the terms by coldly killing the Grounders. Bellamy! What the hell!

Bellamy’s decision to side with Pike is something I’ve struggled with this season. Yes, Bellamy has been through severe trauma in a short amount of time. He’s seen horrors. He’s been part of decisions that caused those horrors. He’s a broken man; it would be rude to expect him to make good calls. However, his flip happened so suddenly. It wasn’t earned, and as a result, every action he’s made since is a head scratcher—including murdering the two Grounders.

The presence of Grounders everywhere brought survival issues to a head and drove Pike to even more extreme actions. (Yes, it was possible.) He made the call to start surveilling Arkadia, and Pike’s order to monitor their own people did unnerve Monty—it was all over his face—but still Monty complied anyway. Pike’s suspicions about being spied upon were right, of course, and once he was aware Kane and co. were listening, he used the bug to plant false information.

The trap Pike set for Kane didn’t pan out in his favor, though. Kane sent Sinclair (who I still want to call Gaeta because Alessandro Juliani was so fantastic as him in Battlestar Galactica, by the way) into the belly of the beast to further Kane’s plans. I couldn’t help but think of the line from Dune about a a feint within a feint within a feint. The layers were numerous, and Kane and Pike played the chess game admirably.

Both Kane and Pike were convinced they were right. As uh, exuberant, as Pike was with his opinions, I’m surprised he agreed to any discussions with Kane. Maybe he thought winning Kane over would strengthen his position. But what actually happened was Kane eloquently talked about the stupidity of Pike splitting the citizens of Arkadia, and how his quest for violence wasn’t helping them survive. Kane, bless him, tried to reason with Pike and Bellamy to no avail.

The action that finally got through to Bellamy? Pike sentencing Kane to death. Bellamy was shocked Pike would be willing to kill their own people. Bellamy! Pike’s been killing Skaikru left and right by pitting them against the Grounders. Like Bellamy’s fall to the dark side, this raising of the eyebrow seemed arbitrary and quick. Even though I found my heart jumping when Bellamy said, “I do it every day” at the end of the episode, I can recognize it was rushed and done without nuance. You could sort of see the seed planted with his reaction to Pike’s fervent and scary comments about how Kane’s execution would make it clear to people where their allegiances should be, but we needed a little more time to settle into Bellamy’s return to common sense.

And speaking of seeing things coming… Miller and Bryan’s relationship was explored a tiny bit. However, we’ve seen so little of the duo that as soon as the scene started to unfold, it was obvious Bryan was going to betray Miller. Like more than a few parts of the season so far, it was hurried.

Second thoughts started brewing elsewhere in Arkadia, too. Raven was so enthusiastic about helping A.L.I.E. and being pain-free she didn’t consider the consequences. It took Jasper—arguably the most screwed-up of the original hundred kids who landed on Earth—to help her see the light. While the crossing and double-crossing in the political arena was exciting, the scenes between Raven and Jasper hit me in the gut. Jasper talking about his former friendship with Monty basically squeezed my heart. I found it intriguing A.L.I.E.’s City of Light works in such a way that it doesn’t leave behind the good memories or the memory of having good memories. With Raven off the A.L.I.E.-wagon, she could start taking a hit in followers. And all because of Jasper and his sadness.

Are you relieved to see Bellamy coming around? Do you think they’ll actually kill Kane? Talk to me in the comments or hit me up on Twitter.

IMAGES: The CW

What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

article
Hundreds of Real Doctors Have Famous Fictional Doctor Names

Hundreds of Real Doctors Have Famous Fictional Doctor Names

article
The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

article