Warning: the following recap contains major spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of The 100, “The Tinder Box.” It is a recap, after all! Don’t say we didn’t warn you …
You just can’t keep our girl Octavia down on The 100! Even when Echo ran her through with a sword and she fell off a cliff into raging waters, gravely wounded, she still ended up making it home to Arkadia at the top of this week’s hour … but only because our least favorite Grounder with a grudge against Skaikru, Ilian, was already on his way there to destroy the Ark. A lot happened in the explosive “Tinder Box,” so let’s get right to recapping it, shall we?
While on his way to destroy any and all tech inside Arkadia, Ilian came across Octavia in the woods, bleeding to death. While he did save her life by bringing her to Arkadia, he only did it so he could slip inside undetected. He still blamed Skaikru technology for killing his family, and he got his revenge at the expense of everyone hoping to use the Ark to survive the incoming death wave of radiation, because he blew up the entire ship. There goes Plan B!
But it wasn’t just Skaikru who was counting on surviving inside the Ark. Thanks to a peace treaty struck between Roan and Clarke right when Azgeda was on the cusp of war with Skaikru, they were all planning to split the 100 spots in half between Skaikru and Azgeda when the death wave came. Yeah, a lot happened in this week’s episode. The Ice Nation army was marching on Arkadia, ready to attack, but thankfully Octavia got to Arkadia right in time to warn her people, and Clarke used the element of surprise to even the playing field so they could all come to an agreement without any bloodshed.
A close call came in the form of everyone’s favorite Skaikru guard Riley, who almost sparked the “tinder box” standoff situation by trying to assassinate Roan to get revenge on Ice Nation for making him a slave, but Bellamy helped talk him down from making that big mistake. It was Monty, however, who was the big hero of the hour, diffusing the situation with an incredible amount of bravery, risking his own life to make sure that war was avoided … at least, for now.
And on ALIE’s island in Becca’s lab, Raven used her “upgraded brain” to figure out that Becca created Nightblood in space, and they needed a zero gravity environment to recreate the serum, aka they need to use Becca’s rocket to go into space. But by using the EMP on her chip instead of having Clarke shut it down the right way last season, Raven has severe brain damage that could kill her. She’s already started to have debilitating seizures. Since Abby also used the EMP to fry her own chip, she runs that risk too – she even started hallucinating seeing Clarke with radiation poisoning in the lab. Something tells me one of these women will die before next season comes around. And I am not going to be happy no matter who ends up drawing the short straw.
Other noteworthy moments:
– The reason that Nightblood is the key to surviving the radiation death wave is because Becca designed it to protect the Commander from the radiation emitted from the Flame. It all makes sense!
– Monty’s still holding a grudge against Clarke for how she treated Jasper, and honestly, I don’t really blame him.
– Repeat after me: “The radiation is our enemy, not the Ice Nation.” And vice versa. Stop trying to cause war when there are bigger fish to fry! Sheesh. Everyone needs to get their eye on the prize here, especially since that prize is survival.
– The look on Bellamy’s face when he realized Octavia had to be the one who warned Skaikru about Azgeda’s incoming attack was palpable. Chills. I am still holding a flame for these siblings to mend their fences and get back to a good place with each other. #Blakereunion2017
– Fun fact this episode reminded us all of: Both Clarke and Roan were willing to sacrifice their own mothers for the greater good. “Ain’t we a pair,” indeed.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Tweet me all things The 100 at @SydneyBucksbaum!
Images: The CW
The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.
