“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” – Arthur Miller

So if 5X06 of The 100 left some fans with a bad taste in their mouths, 5×08 “Acceptable Losses” more than makes up for it. (Okay, yes, the sight of the newly weaponized worms bursting out of their hapless hosts is pretty dang nauseating, but this is The 100. We were never going to get puppies and butterflies.)

The episode starts with Diyoza (Ivana Milicevic) and Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) showing the Wonkru defectors their new home. The idyllic and lush Shallow Valley no doubt seems like literal heaven after the death and darkness of the bunker. Granted, a heaven chock full of prisoners and murderers but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers. Another caveat? All the defectors’ shock collars keep them locked inside the Valley’s church, at least until Diyoza can speak to them and make sure they aren’t there to spy on Eligius or destroy it from the inside. This is a problem for Echo (Tasya Teles) who is there to spy on Eligius or destroy it from the inside. She and Raven (Lindsey Morgan) quickly reunite and get to work planning how to take down Eligius’ eye in the sky, using Monty’s (Christopher Larkin) handy dandy USB key. Raven seems sure that she can figure out a way to get Shaw (Jordan Bolger) to help them. She just needs some time to work her patented Raven-magic.

Back at Polis, Clarke (Eliza Taylor), once again winning post-apocalyptic mom of the year, warns Madi (Lola Flanery) to pretend not to be her usual kick-ass, warrior self, not wanting Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) or Gaia (Tati Gabrielle) to exploit Madi’s nightblood status. (So, typical mom stuff.)

Clarke then seeks out Monty, giving him the note and goggles Jasper (RIP) had left for him at Arkadia, and giving the fans a bit more closure on the giant Jasper-shaped hole in our hearts. But again, this is The 100, and we can’t have nice things so Clarke and Monty discover that Octavia, having saved some of the burrowing worms, is now testing it on human subjects. (A.N. Hey, do you guys remember when Octavia was dancing around in a field of glow in the dark butterflies? Anyone else miss that at all?)

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Looping Bellamy (Bob Morley) Indra (Adina Porter) and Harper (Chelsey Reist) (We missed you last week, girl!) in, they confront Octavia about her plan to infect the next batch of defectors with the worms in an effort to destroy Eligius via biological warfare. (Oh hey, season 1 callback, we definitely didn’t miss you!) But, of course, Blodreina doesn’t care what her brother, her most trusted advisor and uh . . . Clarke, have to say and just forges ahead with the plan, yelling at Indra and threatening her life just for good measure.

Back in Shallow Valley, after Raven explains how Shaw helping her in the past means they can count on him in the future, Echo waits all of two seconds before betraying Raven and turning Shaw into Diyoza. Okay, yes, in doing so, the girls were able to install Monty’s program to take down the eye in the sky but importantly, poor sweet Shaw got beat to hell.

After listening to Clarke’s warnings in class, Madi then proceeds to forget everything she was told and unleashes her inner warrior in front of Octavia. Blodreina then proceeds to make Madi her second, just as Clarke had come to sneak her and the rest of Spacekru out of Wonkru HQ. Not willing to leave Madi in the middle of a cannibalistic death cult (overprotective mother much?), Clarke then flips the script in patented Griffin style and reaches out to Diyoza for peace, declaring that it’s time to take Octavia out.

Also Diyoza is pregnant, and Kane tells Abby to choose between him and her drugs, but it’s like this show has no regard for us poor reviewers and our strict word limits.

Somehow we managed to find some viewers who were able to get their jaws up off the floor long enough to be a part of this week’s Panelkru:

Mariana (@hopebeiiarke) – Law student and The 100 aficionado

Jennifer (@ciarkesalive) – Bookworm that loves to write and fangirl about post-apocalyptic shows

Erin (@eeandg81) – Homeschool mom who turned fangirling into a career

Olivia (@dauntlessblake) – Aussie girl who watches way too many TV shows

Jaclyn & Marcela (@cityofthefeels) – Youtubers of the channel DrowningInFandomFeels, English majors, and hardcore fangirls

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1. Holy mother, Diyoza is pregnant! Did you see that coming? How do you think this will shape her storyline going forwards, especially in regards to a possible alliance with Clarke?

Mariana (@hopebeiiarke): I never saw it coming! I was so shocked. Before season 5 even started, Ivana Milicevic (who plays Diyoza) said she found out she was pregnant right before she started shooting and I thought “well, they’ll try to hide it” but I never thought the writers would use it in the storyline! We’ve never had a pregnant lady in The 100 before,this is so exciting. I think it’s possible that Clarke might try to ask Diyoza for help since she’s a mom now. But the alliance will be stronger because Clarke wants to take Octavia out now, so that might bring Clarke and Diyoza closer. I am really excited to see how they’re gonna use her pregnancy in the storyline!

Jennifer (@ciarkesalive): Honestly, I felt like everyone saw this coming. Diyoza being pregnant wasn’t a jaw dropping shocker for me, because the actress was pregnant while filming the season, however I didn’t think they’d actually use that as a ploy to advance Diyoza’s character as a mother figure. As far as an alliance with the ultimate mama bear Clarke, I could see it happening if she wants to escape Wonkru and finally leave with Madi. One of the reasons why I’m so excited for 5×08 because Clarke would do anything to keep her family safe, and that could really mean taking out the Red Queen. She isn’t playing around, and I think the motherly instincts from Clarke and Diyoza would interact and influence one another. I’m sure Diyoza isn’t completely heartless when it comes to saving children, especially when she’s carrying one and wants Eden for her child to basically thrive like she never got to do before the first death wave. Clarke understands that, so I’m definitely intrigued as to what happens next and if we actually get an alliance.

Erin (@eeandg81): I did think she was going to be pregnant until she took that shot of tequila. Then I thought there was no way. I feel like she has known she was pregnant this whole time so it probably won’t change how Diyoza acts but I wonder if it might change some of Clarke’s plans if she finds out.

Olivia (@dauntlessblake): Finding out Diyoza is pregnant definitely was a little shocking! I always thought she was sick like the other prisoners but didn’t think of the possibility of her being pregnant until the start of 5×07. It definitely works out great that the actress was pregnant at the time of filming, (maybe this is why they chose her character to have this storyline). I’d like to think that she would be the kind to want to protect her child and therefore might align with Clarke if it meant her and her child would be safe, as she can relate to being a momma just like Clarke therefore having the common goal to keep their little ones safe. But.. then we saw her downing some tequila shots a few episodes ago so who knows.

Jaclyn and Marcela (@cityofthefeels): Since the actress who plays Diyoza was pregnant, there were some rumors that perhaps they would make her pregnant on the show as well, but we were still completely floored when we found out. This brings somewhat of a connection between Clarke and Diyoza because Clarke has been a mother figure towards Madi for 6 years. This is going to complicate things and make Diyoza actions more justifiable, as she is fighting for her unborn child. In some ways, she is fighting for similar reasons as Clarke. They both want a future for their children.

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2. Octavia seems all too willing to attack the Eligius camp with a worm-infected defector even if it means losing the rest of Spacekru. Do you think that plan would change if it were Bellamy being held hostage in Shallow Valley?

Mariana: Yes, because I don’t think Bellamy is an ”acceptable loss” to Octavia. We saw that she cares about him even though they are not exactly on good terms right now. So I think Octavia would use another war strategy if Bellamy was in Shallow Valley.

Jennifer: Octavia and the discovery of the worm defectors definitely had me at the edge of my seat for a while, I didn’t expect it but come on, she’s so head driven into winning this Valley that I should’ve seen it coming. I personally see Octavia as the leader of Wonkru, not Spacekru or Clarke. She’d do anything to protect her people and their loyalty. I feel like Octavia would mind if something happened to Spacekru because wherever she likes it or not, they knew her when she wasn’t this insane and had a past with who she was. But, it’s almost certain that Octavia wouldn’t mind as much because it’s not Wonkru and it doesn’t affect her personally. If Bellamy was the one being held hostage in Shallow Valley, especially after knowing their arguments about Echo and betrayal of Wonkru beliefs…Octavia would hesitate and we’d all hope that she’ll go after the only true family she has left.

Erin: It’s so hard to tell with Octavia these days. One minute she seems like she really cares about him the other she is willing to kill anyone and everyone to protect Wonkru. I like to think that she wouldn’t have even come up with the idea if Bellamy was there.

Olivia: Octavia was crazy in this episode (and Marie is absolutely killing it). We got to witness just how far Octavia would go to claim Shallow Valley as Wonkru’s. I think Octavia solely cares about her own people and what’s best for them. But I would like to believe that if Bellamy was being held hostage in Shallow Valley, she would try to get him out of there as we did see her show some gratitude towards him at the beginning of the episode for getting the bunker open (before he shut her down straight after), showing that she still has a soft spot in her heart for her brother no matter how much she has changed. We saw a glimpse of this is 5×06 also when she told him to get inside the bunker when she thought Eligius might have been attacking them but they were actually sending down food.

Jaclyn and Marcela: This is such a great question. Being that we’ve seen how loyal Octavia is to Wonkru, it’s clear that she will do anything to get her people to the last survivable place on earth. Yet, a part of us believes that she still cares about Bellamy and doesn’t want to see her brother hurt. We’ve seen this in the past couple episodes. In this episode, she assured him that she doesn’t want anything to happen to his friends in the Valley, even someone who has tried to kill her. She just truly believes that what she is doing is the justified and that she has no other choice. We believe that if Bellamy was held hostage she would try to get him out and to safety first, but still attack with the worms.

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3. So it seems like Echo has shown her true colors in exposing Shaw. Do you think Raven will be able to forgive her? Do you want her to?

Mariana: I don’t know if Raven will be able to forgive Echo, because we don’t know how close they were on the ring. That’s the thing, we saw nothing about the 6 years on the ring, so we just assume things. Raven has a good heart so maybe she’ll forgive Echo someday. It was no surprise to me that Echo would betray Raven, she has done it before. It was the only way to get to the mission done, but still, doesn’t change the fact that Echo used the info Raven gave her and acted behind Raven’s back. Poor Shaw though, he didn’t deserve to be beaten up!

Jennifer: Echo was interesting in this episode, that’s for sure. I haven’t put her at the top of my list of most liked characters since she was introduced, but I found her tolerable in this episode that she was her own character for a short while. However, I didn’t like her pre time jump character as much because her relationship with our kru wasn’t strong at all. So, if I’m being honest, I understand the decision of protecting Raven since she’s a close friend now to Echo, but that results in hurting someone that her close friend really began to care about. That action dug a hole in my Raven loving heart, because the cinematography of Raven crying as Shaw learns that she supposedly betrayed him was too much! Overall, it might cause some tension and drama within the small knit gang of Spacekru because family don’t lie and betray each other so easily.

Erin: I do think Raven will forgive her. I’m invested enough in their friendship for me to care if Raven forgives Echo, I guess I’m fine either way as long as it doesn’t feel forced and we get to see Raven be really upset.

Olivia: Like you just mentioned, Echo has indeed shown her true colours and this definitely would make Raven think ‘how much has she actually changed?’. I feel so terrible for Shaw. I think Echo could betray them again even after this as she was raised as a spy and it’s in her nature, and this may come as a shock to other Spacekru members i.e Bellamy.. I’m very interested to see his reaction to that. (being a fan of Bellarke and all). Personally, I am not a big fan of Echo and I can’t bring myself to trust her after everything she has done, so I would like to say that I wouldn’t want Raven to forgive her but at the same time it would be great to see Echo’s character be redeemed and prove to the audience that she can change as Tasya is now a series regular and I really don’t want to have to hate Echo forever, or go through the same cycle of her betraying everyone over and over.

Jaclyn and Marcela: We feel that Echo did what she thought was the right thing, but ultimately she is someone who is used to making decisions herself. Echo isn’t a team player and should have listened to what Raven had to say. That being said, we do think that Raven will forgive her since it seems like Echo is redeemable in everyone’s eyes this season. We don’t really have an opinion on whether or not we would like her to forgive her, since this friendship is fairly new to us and we have not felt that connection between the two of them. As far as we know, there isn’t that strong of a friendship to “betray”, which is why we didn’t feel anything when she did. We weren’t there those 6 years and so we are left to our own assumptions. If she does forgive her, we just hope that she doesn’t do so right away.

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4. What do you think Clarke meant by “taking Octavia out?” How far do you think Spacekru and especially Bellamy will let her go to stop Blodreina and Wonkru?

Mariana: I think Clarke meant taking the power from Octavia, like taking the crown from Blodreina and come up with a new leader of Wonkru who would surrender to Eligius. Since Octavia would never give up being the leader of her people, Bellamy’s face at the end of the episode indicates ”it won’t be easy”. But I don’t think Clarke would kill Octavia, I think they will only try to lock her up, maybe. But it’s going to be hard because Wonkru is completely dedicated to Octavia so I doubt they would let Octavia be imprisoned. So I’m really curious to see what Clarke intends to do to take the power from Octavia.

Jennifer: When Clarke said that, my jaw dropped almost instantly. The music intensifies and you see Bellamy tense up and the look on his face is priceless after those few seconds of Clarke and him staring at each other as she reached for the radio. In my opinion, when Clarke says “we’re gonna take her out” could mean to hold Octavia off by force or unexpected attack, like what we saw in the promo for 5×08 where Bellamy is trying to sedate Cooper. I think Spacekru/Clarke is gonna sedate Octavia and the people closest to her and either hand her off to Eligius or surrender. They won’t kill a Queen with that much respect and loyalty of her people so close in range. It’s gonna be sneaky and angsty and I’m personally so here for that. I feel like Bellamy would either stop Clarke before the fight to take his sister down turns physical or greedy, I mean…Octavia wants Clarke’s daughter as her second? How scary is that.

Erin: I think she meant taking her out of power, not killing her. I think Bellamy is going to struggle with it at first but I do think Bellamy will end up choosing Clarke’s side over Octavia.

Olivia: At the end of the episode, we really see Clarke taking matters into her own hands. The only way Octavia believes all this can be resolved is with a war, but Clarke sees things differently. She can’t let Octavia bring her worm-infected defectors into Shallow Valley. I’m confused as to what Clarke meant by ‘taking Octavia out’. Did she mean dethrone her or kill her? Are they going to kidnap her so they can pass the guards or something and get to Shallow Valley? I’m really curious as to what Clarke is planning. Obviously Bellamy doesn’t want his sister to die, but if she keeps going the way she is, he may have to make a decision that would shock viewers.

Jaclyn and Marcela: When Clarke says ‘take Octavia out’ we think she meant taking her out of power, including the people around Octavia that protect her. Her goal right now is to get Octavia dethroned because she is the biggest threat to Madi. As of right now, Madi is going to be Octavia’s second out on the battlefield. This was the breaking point that pushed Clarke to decide that she needs to take the control back. We love that moment when Clarke turns around and we see her face go stone cold. In that moment her face is devoid of humanity and we see that fierceness within her that will do anything to protect those she loves. Eliza’s acting in that scene was fantastic. She needs to tread very carefully because by taking Octavia out, she is making herself an enemy of Wonkru similar to Kane and Abby. We see in the promo for next episode that Bellamy is going to knock out Cooper, meaning he ends up eventually siding with Clarke and helping her. We think that there is going to be angst between Bellamy and Clarke before they get to this point in the episode. We feel that as we see Clarke grow more and more desperate, Bellamy is going to have to make a firm decision on whether or not to go along with Clarke’s plan. We think this is where other unspoken issues between the two of them will be brought up and those raw emotions will come to the surface. We’re very excited for what’s to come!

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5. We’ve spoken a lot about whether Octavia can be saved but this episode showed us she might not be the only one beyond saving. What do you think Abby will choose now that Kane has given her his ultimatum? Do you think she’s too far gone even if she does choose him over the pills?

Mariana: Kane gave his ultimatum and Abby stays quiet, thinking. I think Kane got that as a choice for the pills, since he went away kind of mad. I don’t think Abby is too far gone to be saved, if things get really bad I think she will choose Kane instead of the pills. Addiction can be really intense, but Abby loves Kane too much to let him go.

Jennifer: The plot of Abby and Kane has drastically changed since season 4, ever since Abby got out of the city of light. Kane has tried so hard to keep her out of harm’s way, to find another way to deal with Abby’s anxiety and addiction. Kane’s decision to make Abby choose between their love and the pills was intense, because he knows Abby isn’t okay but loves him with literally everything she has left. I honestly don’t know what Abby is going to do, because as she said, she can’t function and do her job without those damn pills. Her purpose for Eligius is being a doctor, she would be useless without the pills because they keep her standing and working. It’s hard to grasp, so I understand Kane’s ultimatum to make Abby choose. But, once Abby loses her purpose, it’ll only go downhill because she’s not safe there with Eligius if she can’t be a doctor and save everyone.

Erin: Octavia is still showing a softer side occasionally and I think they can redeem her but I’m not sure how. It will take a lot of work. I mean if they can redeem John Murphy and turn him into a fan favorite they can do it with Octavia. It would have to be over seasons, and episodes, that we actually get to see, not over a time jump. Abby and the pills, I don’t really know where to start or what to say about it. I don’t see an ultimatum working especially if Abby really thinks she won’t be able to find the cure unless she is taking them. I think Kabby is in for a lot more pain before it gets better.

Olivia: I think Abby will choose the pills over Kane, it’s sad because unfortunately now she is an addict, and without a proper detox it would be hard for her to come back from that. Eligius is not helping either with Diyoza giving her the pills, I personally think she is too far gone and it will be interesting to see what happens to her character as the rest of the season plays out. I really have no idea what is going to happen with her.

Jaclyn and Marcela: Each character on this show has struggled and made decisions that they are not proud of. Abby’s addiction is very interesting because this is a different kind of situation that we are used to seeing on the show. Abby is trying to save the Eligius prisoners, a task that is hard enough without adding in her pill addiction. Kane asking her to choose is not exactly fair to her since she isn’t in control of her addiction. We think that unfortunately she will choose the pills because she won’t be able to help it, especially since Diyoza is the one supplying her with them. However, we don’t think she is too far gone and we hope that once Clarke is reunited with her once again she can help her get back on track.

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6. It seems like Madi, Monty and Harper are the only innocent souls left in The 100. How do you think the past 6 years with Madi has changed the way Clarke reacts to Monty and his (totally valid) points? Would pre-Praimfaya Clarke have been so open to Monty’s feelings and ideas?

Mariana: Madi definitely changed Clarke in a good way. Clarke is still smart and proactive but now her heart is speaking too, her emotions counts when making decisions. Pre-Praimfaya Clarke would put emotions aside and do what had to be done. But when you’re a mom, everything changes and what Monty said really made sense to Clarke. What if we just stopped fighting? This would be a world where Madi would be safer. Let’s just take a moment to appreciate Clarke here. She is the most selfless person in this show, in previous seasons she put her people first and now she puts Madi first, never herself first. I love her!

Jennifer: Before the time jump, in previous seasons, Clarke was closed off and vulnerable to a handful of people because she was leader and she had to be headstrong all of the time. However, now she’s had a child to love and care for, so she basically had to open her heart tremendously and focus on giving Madi the best she could offer her with a burnt ground and fear instilled in her veins. They bonded on loneliness, and I think it meant a lot for Clarke since she’s dealt with that for so long and literally sacrificed her life for six of her close friends. She would do anything to protect Madi with all of this new drama and conflict, and she doesn’t want to waste time in getting Madi safe and out of harm’s way. Monty had valid points all throughout the episode, and I think it scared Clarke because she’s hesitant to believe it. Especially, when he said life was better without her in a sense. Spacekru had their lives changed from peaceful to chaotic in a matter of hours, so I think it hit them all in different ways. Clarke isn’t just logical now, she’s open to love and care and willing to give it. Pre-Praimfaya Clarke would hesitate like she did when Monty was talking about the past and Jasper, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to connect to his emotions because she hasn’t cared for someone as she does for Madi now.

Erin: I do think Clarke in season 4 wanted to try to save everyone and to prevent war. We saw that when it was her idea to split the bunker but no one would listen to her. So I think if Monty had an idea that could have prevented war she would have listened. Maybe not as quickly and he might have had to force her to listen but I think Clarke has always wanted to avoid war and death she just can’t seem to do it.

Olivia: I really felt for Monty this episode, he just wants peace and to do what is right for everyone. Also, I’m really glad that we got to see Clarke give Monty Jasper’s letter. I truly miss Jasper so much and he was such an important character so I’m glad they are still talking about him. Clarke thinks more with her heart over her head now and would be more inclined to agree with Monty in order to do what is best for Madi; as they have been living in peace for 6 years and she would rather peace over war.

Jaclyn and Marcela: We don’t think that there are ANY innocent souls in The 100, just for the record! We do think that in the last 6 years Clarke has had time to reflect on everything she has been through and has become more nurturing and maternal because of Madi. So this is going to affect the way she views certain things since everything she is doing is to protect Madi and not just her people, like pre-Praimfaya Clarke. While we did love the Monty and Clarke scenes in this episode, we wish that Monty wasn’t so vocal about wishing to go back to space. Clarke saved them, only to have Monty wish he didn’t come back, so that hurt to hear him say all that, even though we understand where he is coming from.

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7. With everything we’ve heard online about 5×08 (*cough* Bob *cough*) and the fact that the promo barely gave us any info at all, what are you expecting from the next episode? What would be your dream scene for 5×08?

Mariana: Well next Tuesday I’m ready to suffer, because my expectations are so high that I will either be really happy or really disappointed. It’s about time Bellamy and Clarke look into each other’s eyes and talk, let it out everything they need to say. You don’t have to be a Bellarke shipper to see that they have been distant, at least compared to how they were in the previous seasons. I think in 5×08 we’ll have a powerful Bellarke moment when they will realize how much they mean to each other. My dream scene is a 30 minute fight between them, tears and finishing with a realization of their feelings. So you see, I’m ready to suffer, my dream scene happening or not!

Jennifer: I’ve been way anxious about 5×08 since Bob first spoke about it a few months ago. If I’m gonna bring my shipper heart into this question, I have to say I’m terribly excited for the possible angst and emotions with Bellamy and Clarke finally surfacing after awkward conversations and butting heads when strategizing. I’m quite ready for the fuse to ignite and explode. The promo gave off a lot of optimistic Kane and his view for the future, he wants peace too. I think next week’s episode is gonna be a lot of taking action, emotions, and possibly Indra taking the side of Spacekru and betraying Octavia? A blow up of feelings from Clarke to Bellamy? Raven isolating herself from Echo? Shaw tortured? Murphy and Emori dealing with McCreary? Literally so many things are on the table, and I’ll be patiently waiting to see who serves.

Erin: I am expecting angst and fighting, lots of Bellarke angst and fighting. My dream scenario would be Bellamy radioing Echo and telling her they are over and then we get the rest of the episode of Bellamy and Clarke fighting, spilling all their feelings, and making out. I’ll happily settle for some Hakeldama level angst though.

Olivia: I really have no idea what to expect from the next episode. From the promo it looks like Bellamy and Clarke are working together to stop the worm-infection from going forward? 5×08 is ‘apparently’ supposed to be a good episode for us Bellarke shippers so everyone is trying to stay positive!! My dream scene for 5×08 would be Bellamy finding out about Clarke radioing him for 2,199 days, and it comes out during an argument. Give me all the Bellarke angst please!!!!

Jaclyn and Marcela: This is one of the episodes that we are most anticipating this season. We are so excited for the angst that we are going to get from Bellamy and Clarke. We feel as though there are many things that they still need to talk about. So many things went unsaid in episode 5 in the fire scene that we hope get brought up again. Our dream scene would be Madi telling Bellamy that Clarke talked to him on the radio every single day. Once Bellamy finds out how important he was to Clarkes survival, this will break down those walls and their feelings will be out in the open. We would love some parallels to the angsty scene in season 3, episode 5. Particularly, where one of them will say they need each other and don’t want to lose the other again. No matter what happens, Bob and Eliza’s chemistry is going to kill the scene and will blow us away.

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Nothing hurts as much as seeing someone as they used to be…except maybe parasitic worms bursting from your stomach

Simply put, this episode was incredible. It returned to the roots of what we love best about The 100 (Bellamy and Clarke working together, Raven being a badass, Monty being the kindest person to ever exist and enough twists and turns that we’re pretty sure we got whiplash) while somehow exhibiting the maturity and gravitas that a six year time jump demands.

Yes, we had some fantastic callbacks like Clarke once again picking up the radio to save the day. (When are people going to learn that our Princess doesn’t need guns or biological warfare to win a war? All she needs is a radio and Bellamy by her side.) But we, and Monty, were given a moment to grieve Jasper, something we probably never would’ve been given before the time jump. It may not seem like a lot but in a show where people are dropping left and right our characters barely have time to say, “Yu gonplei ste odon,” let alone actually acknowledging the loss of a single person and the pain and heartache that comes with that loss.

Season 1 Clarke would’ve just pushed ahead with the original plan, take down the eye and then escape Polis and hope for the best once they reached Shallow Valley. But season 6 Clarke is older and wiser and, perhaps most importantly, more willing to listen, using Jasper’s words and Monty’s pain to find a better way. This show has grown and matured and, through the time jump, has allowed its characters to do so as well, something that has never been more apparent than in this episode.

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As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and Echo is the perfect example of that. Although she and Bellamy spent the majority of the last episode trying to convince everyone that she has changed over the past six years, she took the first chance she had to return to spying, betraying the trust of one of the few friends she has and hurting someone who could’ve helped them.

This being said, we can’t help noticing the parallels between Octavia and Echo this season, however different they may seem on the surface. Octavia lost Lincoln and found Wonkru, Echo lost her clan and found Spacekru. It doesn’t matter to either of them how many others might get hurt as long as their kru survives, evidenced by Octavia’s willingness to dispatch any possible enemies of Wonkru and Echo’s all too easy decision to let Shaw be tortured. Lord save us from people doing the wrong thing for what they believe are the right reasons.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that next week’s episode is kind of a big one in terms of that massive, not yet canonical ship that is Bellarke. Will we get a kiss? A Hakeldama-type argument that turns into a confession of love? Bellamy and Clarke actually standing in a room together for more than five minutes? No one knows! And given that next week’s promo just gave us a whole lot of nothing, the fandom is going all sorts of crazy.

And if, for some reason, you don’t care about Bellarke, you can tune in to see what’s going with the whole Diyoza pregnancy thing or find out what Clarke meant by “taking Octavia out.” In the meantime though, you can do us a favor and look up what the definition of endgame is, the one with the picture of Bellamy and Clarke right next to it.

THE 100 returns next TUESDAY, JUNE 26TH at 8/7c on THE CW.