War is no guarantee of peace, only of death and pain

We’re still having a hard time digesting everything that happened in the latest episode of The 100 so bear with us here. Episode 5×08 jumps in right where 5×07 left off: Clarke (Eliza Taylor) promising to take Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) out in order to secure peace with Eligius. But Bellamy (Bob Morley), true to form, has something to say about that. This is Bellamy “Big Brother” Blake after all. Protecting Octavia is practically coded into his DNA, and he absolutely refuses to do anything that might hurt his sister. Before they can put his super well thought out plan of “just running away” into action, Octavia enters, flanked by her cronies and, seeing that Echo (Tasya Teles) has found a way to hack the Eligius cameras, orders the worms to be loaded on the Rover, ready to do some damage.

Bellamy and Clarke, though, aren’t ready to go down without a fight, going to Octavia’s mentor and pure badass Indra (Adina Porter). Their plan is simple . . . for The 100, set the worms on Cooper (Kyra Zagorsky), making it look like they escaped during transportation, and have Indra gas them once they kill Cooper, destroying Wonkru’s biological weapon and Blodreina’s most ruthless advisor in one fell swoop. Because this is The 100 and we can’t have nice things, Octavia immediately smells a rat, and she’s pretty sure she knows who’s to blame.

Back in Shallow Valley, Abby (Paige Turco) has finally figured out a way to treat the Eligius prisoners and earn some more of those sweet, sweet pills. All she needs is Raven (Lindsey Morgan) and her super genius brain. Raven, having been tortured and imprisoned by Eligius, is not super into the idea of helping cure them for some reason. After some lying on Abby’s part, Raven gives in and builds the machine. Almost immediately after finishing though, she discovers Abby’s addiction and takes matters into her own hands by trying to destroy the machine.

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Notice we said tried. Abby activates Raven’s shock collar, dropping the poor mechanic and turning 95% of the fandom against her. Raven, betrayed and electrocuted for the umpteenth time, agrees to Echo’s earlier offer to kill Shaw (Jordan Bolger) (for strategic reasons, we guess?). She then proceeds to bond with Shaw over horrible parents, leaving the viewers (and probably Shaw himself) not super clear on the whole murder thing.

Bellamy and Clarke, meanwhile, are having their first proper conversation since their reunion. It’s a beautiful and sweet moment that gets promptly ruined by Octavia arresting Clarke for Cooper’s murder and sentencing her to death. After promising to take care of Madi, Bellamy then crashes Octavia’s weird food ceremony/possible cannibal session to tell her that he can’t let her kill Clarke.

Blodreina taunts her older brother being unable to save someone he loves (cue fandom screams from anyone even remotely shipping Bellarke) but Bellamy just pushes past it, offering Octavia some of his food and waxing nostalgic about their time on the Ark. He explains, calmly, that he made a deal with Diyoza (Ivana Milicevic) for Wonkru to surrender and share the Valley, remaining calm while Octavia begins to choke and struggle for air.

It turns out that Bellamy dosed the bar he gave his sister with an impure strain of algae (the same one that put Murphy in a coma for a week back on the Ring), rewriting every one of his base instincts to poison his sister and save Clarke’s life (and stop a war or whatever). He cries, the fandom screams and we’re all left staring at a blank screen for another two weeks.

Once our Panelkru stopped screaming and swearing and rewatching that last scene over and over again, they were kind enough to join our roundtable and, uh, scream and swear and rewatch that last scene over and over again.

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

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

Yana (@yanawrites) – Mermaid writer human in love with scary stories and abandoned places

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

Lola and Milena (@LMReactions) – Full time mathematics students, part time reactors

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1. We have to ask the most obvious question first: were you happy with the way that last scene played out? How do you think it will shape the rest of the season?

Mariana (@hopebeiiarke): The last scene made me feel all the emotions at once. I was happy because Bellamy used his head there, he knew that begging for Clarke’s life wouldn’t make Octavia change her mind. He had to sedate her, so he could save Clarke and try to get Wonkru to the valley. On the other hand, I was sad because I love the Blakes’ relationship and after this I don’t see how Octavia could forgive him. And of course I loved how Octavia exposed Bellamy’s feelings for Clarke, it was priceless. So this scene had me so shook, and I think it changes everything from now on.

Jennifer (@ciarkesalive): The last scene is heartbreakingly beautiful, literally. Bellamy making the impossible choice of putting his own sister into a coma for the greater good of stopping the war (and Clarke’s safety) was a choice that needed to be made in my opinion. He took out the queen, and the rest of the season might play out differently, and she’ll turn a lot darker because of it. He betrayed Octavia, and I really wonder how it’s gonna affect their already rocky relationship.

Yana (@yanawrites): I was very happy about the way it played out, mostly because I didn’t see it coming. But in a way, this entire episode was building up to Bellamy realizing that this person wasn’t his sister anymore and needing to find that reason to make the hard decision to take her out (temporarily). Moving forward, I can’t imagine Octavia waking up and just being fine about it. If anything, this will haunt Bellamy and when Octavia wakes up she will most likely become the worst version of the Red Queen.

Jaclyn and Marcella (@cityofthefeels): The last scene was shocking, thrilling and equally heartbreaking to watch Bellamy choose to take out his sister. The moment he walks through the door we see how resolved he is. Losing Clarke again was not an option for him, she is his unacceptable loss. It’s clear Octavia isn’t surprised Bellamy has come to beg for her life, as she expected this and pointedly calls Bellamy out for loving Clarke. Bellamy’s expression spoke volumes. Pretty sure we didn’t breathe during the final moments of that scene when Octavia falls to the ground. It was so powerful, especially the last lines of, “my sister, my responsibility”. This really caused a shift in the plot and effects each character. We can’t wait to see the repercussions of it!

Lola and Milena (@LMReactions): We couldn’t be happier with the last scene. It felt like a long time coming, for Bellamy to risk his sister’s life to save people he loves while simultaneo The 100, nothing will go according to plan, peace will not be achieved, and things will only get worse when Octavia wakes up and realizes the two most important people in her life, Bellamy and Indra, betrayed her.

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2. Given how Spacekru’s plans in regards to Eligius have played out in the past, do you think Murphy made the right call in making a deal with McCreary?

Mariana: It’s very risky. I don’t trust McCreary at all, so I don’t know if it’s a good plan. I think Murphy could have used his hostage in a better way. But let’s see how it plays out!

Jennifer: It seems like our delinquents have always done what they think is right to save each other, and that’s exactly what Murphy wants to do. He had a clear motive of saving Raven, his close friend, and teaming up with an enemy might not be such a bad idea in those circumstances.

Yana: I’m going to go with no, mostly because I am worried about what Murphy being in Eden will set into motion. We know that in the next episode he starts a fire, and to be honest I don’t see anything good coming from it. I have to say, the McCreary side of the episode wasn’t as strong for me and so I had no concrete plan for how it should end. Still, them being back in Eden is in no way setting up for anything good, in fact I am sure we are about to see some horrible destruction because of it.

Jaclyn and Marcella: We feel that Murphy’s heart was in the right place and he was doing what he felt was right to get Raven back. However, McCreary is not even trusted by his own people so that is very telling. He doesn’t have the same loyalties that our heroes have towards one another, so it’s safe to say that he will most likely betray Murphy and Emori. On the other hand, his own people already betrayed him by not making the deal to get him back so he isn’t exactly running back towards Diyoza. In the end, McCreary is going to do what’s best for McCreary to survive no matter what.

Lola and Milena: At first we didn’t think so because McCreary was a valuable asset to us but after Diyoza left him to be killed, the best use for him was to get Raven back. But now the tension between McCreary and Diyoza will be at an all time high, and a civil war is bound to break out between the Eligius crew, which can be beneficial to us because it will weaken them and the peace we all want might be easier to achieve if they are also crippled by the war.

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3. Do you think Echo will go forward with her plan to kill Shaw now that Raven has agreed to it? Or do you think Raven will change her mind (again) and try to save him?

Mariana: Echo wanting to kill Shaw made me so mad. He literally did nothing to her, I get that it’s strategic, but no. He is a good person and doesn’t deserve this. I think Echo will go forward with her plan but Raven will change her mind, she likes Shaw and I can’t wait for them to be canon.

Jennifer: First off, Miles and Raven were precious and just as heart wrenching. Their relationship is growing fast, from protecting each other to having parallels to Bellamy and Clarke in season 1 where they’re just learning to be somewhat of an actual team. Raven seems to care a lot for him already, so I think she’ll change her mind if things get serious and she realizes she doesn’t wanna lose him no matter the consequences.

Yana: Raven not telling Zeke the plan had to put a dent in that, right? Raven agreeing to this made the least sense considering the path that she was on the entire time leading up to it. She didn’t want to sell him out and then she forbade killing him, so in the last hour choosing to go back on that felt like it was coming off her tough situation with Abby. I do think Zeke will continue to aid them, but Echo trying to kill him will probably lead to more issues from within.

Jaclyn and Marcella: We think this is going to be a difficult decision for Echo. We’re going to see her struggle to do the right thing for Spacekru, however we don’t think she is going to end up killing Shaw. We feel that Shaw is still a valuable asset to this season and his story isn’t over. Especially that heartfelt moment between him and Raven. We would be shocked if he dies and think that would be underwhelming to his character.

Lola and Milena: We think Raven will change her mind, and Echo will respect that and not kill him, especially if the word comes to them that Bellamy took Octavia out and is trying for peace. Raven has never been the person that easily made the decision to sacrifice a human life in a strategic move. She and Shaw have been getting progressively closer and we think that will make Raven not want to go through with it

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4. It seemed clear in the beginning of the season that Diyoza only cared about winning but now with the pregnancy reveal and the fact that she’s getting closer to Kane that’s no longer the case. Do you think those connections will help her or hurt her in the upcoming war?

Mariana: Interesting question. Kane is definitely changing Diyoza’s perspective of life, their scene talking about building a peaceful society in the Valley was really nice. That’s the world she wants for her daughter, when you become a mom, everything changes. So I think this can help her or hurt her, could go both ways. I just know that she will do everything in her power to protect her baby, she’s already trying to avoid the war so, for now, those connections are helping her.

Jennifer: Diyoza and Kane were interesting this episode, and I could see their relationships developing too. Diyoza has a child coming that she definitely wants a future for, but I don’t think it’ll stop her from being ruthless. So maybe the connections to Kane and allies, would help her prevent the amount of damage she’d do by her hand.

Yana: It seems based off the trailer that Charmaine’s inner conflict with McCreary will be the big problem. Right before he showed up it seemed like she had everything going for her. She had people that were being healed, she was planning a future, and Bellamy and Clarke were handling Octavia on their end. Now it seems to be that she has to figure out how to make sure her own people stay loyal to her, and to make sure that McCreary won’t screw it up for them. Charmaine though has been a consistently more interesting villain, mostly because she isn’t exactly the bad guy in all this. And she has proved multiple times that she is open for discussions and to sharing the land, something that probably will come back around later.

Jaclyn and Marcella: We really enjoyed that bittersweet moment between Kane and Diyoza. They are essentially two leaders who are in the middle of this war that is approaching, yet they find this common ground. They dream of a peaceful future and have the same vision of it. This brought more relatable qualities to Diyoza and a deeper understanding to why she is fighting for the valley in the first place.

Lola and Milena: We truly believe she wants peace, but her version of peace might be different from ours, Kane also told her they would just be trading one dictator for another and that is not peace. I think the connections, especially the fact that she’s carrying a child changes a lot of things. It can be a good thing cause she wants to create a better place for her baby, which was clear by the way she talked about the future in Eden. On the other hand, love can prove to be a weakness and Octavia can find a way to use that against her.

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5. How do you feel about Monty’s arc this season? Are we seeing a repeat of what happened to Jasper or is there a way to live in this world as a pacifist?

Mariana: Monty reminds me of Jasper a lot this season but the difference is Monty wants to live. He wants to live, but without the war, violence and death. I think his arc is very interesting and maybe he will convince some peaceful Wonkru people to join him in staying behind, not going to war and all. So I’m excited to see where this goes.

Jennifer: Monty is tearing me apart with every scene he’s in. I’ve loved his character since the beginning of the show, and it hurts to see that he’s not at peace with anything anymore. He’s desperate for the life he had in space, and I really don’t want him to go down Jasper’s path because we don’t know how far he’d go to feel that same comfort again and especially after reading Jasper’s suicide note. I’m scared!

Yana: I’m trying not to base my answer off a very well explored finale theory that I saw, but essentially I believe that if there was a happy ending for even a few people, Monty would be in that group that got to live it. At first I thought them going back up to space would be the catalyst to make Monty not worry as much about the people that they were becoming again, but now it seems like he won’t be able to survive if there is constant war and murder. This doesn’t mean that he wants to remove himself from the equation completely, but there is a huge chance that he will remove himself from the general population to make his own choices on survival.

Jaclyn and Marcella: We really feel for Monty this season and wish that he could live in peace. We see the similarities between both Jasper and Monty’s views on fighting for survival. However, we feel that Monty hasn’t lost the will to live, he just wants to stop the cycle of violence that has changed them all into something he can’t live with. This is why he wanted to stay in space and not come back to the ground. He associates the ground with war and murder. He is tired of this lifestyle and we really hope that he is able to come to terms with being back on the ground.

Lola and Milena: Monty’s story this season has been one of our favorites. Although on the surface his story seems similar to Jasper’s the ending will be very different. Jasper accepted a fact he believed to be true, that the world was beyond saving, whereas Monty wants to live, he wants humanity to do better, he is fighting for it because he knew peace for those 6 years and he believes that ‘life can be more than just impossible decisions with tragic ends’. He is fighting even harder for it because his best friend didn’t think it was possible, and he’s going to honor him by finding the peace.

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6. Now that McCreary is back in the Eligius camp, how do you think he’ll go forward with the knowledge that Diyoza was ready to let him die? Could you see him staging a coup or using what he knows as a bargaining chip against her?

Mariana: He is not happy with the fact that Diyoza would let him die. I think he will try to stage a coup to become the new leader of the Eligius people, and it’s very likely that he wins, because everyone there seems to like him and they want war just like him, I doubt they want to follow Diyoza’s plan for peace. So things will get crazier on the Valley for sure.

Jennifer: McCreary being back in Eligius camp after Diyoza was willing to exchange their past experiences for Kane’s company is daunting. He probably feels betrayed or intimidated by her power, but he may use his somewhat good terms with Murphy and Emori to gain allies and similar Eligius members to go against her. He’s intimidating on his own honestly, and he seems like the type to want and keep power with just as equal force.

Yana: For sure. Of course there is still that question about if he is the father of her child. Charmaine isn’t keeping the pregnancy too much of a secret, so I am curious if she will clue him in or if he will be left out in the dark on that one. There is no doubt in my mind though that McCreary is back to create chaos, as I mentioned above he was the catalyst for everything positive in that strip of land to begin to implode again. Specifically though, it looks like Raven will use that inability for them to lead together as a way to create even more issues for those prisoners.

Jaclyn and Marcella: We think that McCreary is a smart person who is a survivor, so it’s entirely possible that he will try to use this information to his advantage and turn on her when she is least expecting it. Whatever happens with those two it will definitely be exciting to watch!

Lola and Milena: Like we said, we think the civil war will be an inevitable thing, it had been hinted at earlier in the season when we found out that the Eligius crew was divided in their loyalty. McCreary won’t be happy that Diyoza left him to die so it will only be a matter of time before he tells the people loyal to him. The unknown factor here is if he knows she is pregnant and whether the baby is his or not, and if that will affect his actions going forward, which we doubt it will.

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7. Yet another two week break means yet another light-hearted question (side note: getting real tired of these breaks, CW) if you could take one of the characters, give them a hug and a cup of tea, maybe tell them everything is going to be alright, which would it be?

Mariana: Shaw!! This good boy was beaten up for trying to help people he didn’t even know, he feels betrayed by Raven and now he has Echo wanting to kill him. Give him a break! Also I’d like to hug Clarke, my queen, all she wants is to keep Madi safe and she’s so desperate to do that! Now she thinks she will be executed and she’s probably worried about Madi. No one is ever happy in this show! But I have hope that one day they will be.

Jennifer: Right now, I’d sit down next to Monty or Bellamy and give them a nice cup of tea and wrap them in the biggest hug I possibly could. Monty needs someone to understand his efforts to stop a war and give the boy some love, and Bellamy feels heartbroken over Octavia (yet again it seems like…) and I’m always ready to give either of my favorite guys a hug to appreciate their efforts. Our characters go through so much.

Yana: My answer is always Bellamy and Clarke. But based off 5×08 specifically, my choice is Raven. She didn’t go through a difficult time, she went through emotional and physical hell. Everyone struggled in the episode but there was something specific about Raven’s struggle that makes me want to wrap her up in a warm blanket and have her relax with Shaw for a while. She deserves it so much right now.

Jaclyn and Marcella: There are so many characters on this show that we wish could get a break and a nice cup of tea. We especially feel for Clarke this season, and would love to tell her everything’s going to be alright. Of course, if you know us, then you know we need to have Bellamy right along with her having tea and relaxing. They can take a much-needed vacation together and have that drink!

Lola and Milena: Clarke. Clarke needs hugs. Preferably from Bellamy, don’t get us wrong we would love to hug her and tell her everything will be fine but it would be more impactful if it came from him.

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“Only love can truly save the world.” – Wonder Woman (2017)

Okay, we’re just going to get this out of the way right at the beginning: Oh. My. God!! We have been very clear about our love for The 100 in the past, some, our friends included, might say too clear. But this episode, written by Lauren Muir and directed by Antonio Negret, perfectly encapsulates everything we love about this show. It was sleek and smart, tense and heartbreaking. The story, which could’ve been bulky and awkward in the hands of someone else, moved swiftly, giving us all the information we needed without steamrolling over the quieter moments. We were able to see Monty falling apart in the bunker, Diyoza letting herself see a future for herself and her baby, Raven betrayed by the closest thing to a mother she had. Every piece of it hit hard and added a new layer to the story.

This isn’t some dry, dusty old textbook war. This is bloody and brutal and, very rarely, beautiful. In true The 100 style, the bad guys aren’t black hearted scoundrels. They’re people who evolved a certain way because of the life they were handed. The good guys don’t win because good always wins. They win (if you can call it that) because they were stronger than whatever it was that tried to kill them.

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And sometimes those good guys have to make decisions where no one wins, where people get hurt no matter what, where the only thing they can do is follow their hearts and ask for forgiveness when the dust settles. There is no way we can talk about this episode without talking about Bob Morley. That last scene thrived on the strength of his performance. We’ve spoken before about Morley’s expertise at conveying a myriad of emotions through a simple look or a clenched jaw, and that last scene was a masterpiece.

From the second newborn Octavia was placed in Bellamy’s arms, every single action, every choice, every thought had been to protect her. But his love for Clarke, the fear of losing her again somehow rewrote all of that. It tore at him, terrified and tortured him, but he chose Clarke. e saw all of that in Morley’s performance, from the tightening of his jaw to the tears in his eyes. Hell, even the way he moved to protect Clarke from Octavia in the very first scene. It all built a story the current Emmy contenders should tremble at.

There is no way in hell we’re missing the next episode. Will Wonkru surrender? Will Octavia survive? Is Shaw safe from Echo? How will McCreary retaliate against Diyoza? And, of course, what’s going to happen with Bellamy and Clarke? We don’t know and we’re all going crazy having to wait another two weeks for the next episode. The only good thing we can say is that The 100 is moving to 8pm so that’s an hour less than we would usually have to wait. Let’s see, what’s two weeks minus one hour?

THE 100 returns on TUESDAY, JULY 10TH at 8/7c on THE CW.