The 100 – “We Will Rise” Review and Analysis

So, here was my plan for this week: Get some work done on Monday, swing by the hospital to get my gallbladder removed on Tuesday, recover on Wednesday, then be back to work and into the swing of things on Thursday like nothing happened. Easy peasy.

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS I THINKING?

Well, I’ve never had surgery before. And now I have four/five? incisions in my abdomen and in case you didn’t know it, your core is involved in a lot of movement. YEAH, FUN FACT. So, I’m a bit of pain and currently on hydrocodone (weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!). So my main activity is drooling and staring at walls. And peeing. OH MY GOD all the peeing. It took me way too long to figure out that it’s the IV fluids leaving my body.

So massive apologies this week to my readers and to episode writer Charmaine DeGraté, as I’m not at 100% to write a full review. I’m just going to bullet point it.

Charmaine DeGraté wrote one of my favorites last season, “Fallen.” Knowing that, did I like “We Will Rise?”

Hell yeah I did!

Guys, I really really loved this episode. There was plenty of action, but what got to me where the character moments, and boy, did we have character moments. We revisited older character dynamics and created some new ones and I LOVED ALL OF IT.

Stuff I loved:

The Clarke and Kane hug – I LITERALLY live for this hug. If the episode was just an hour of them hugging, I would totally be down with that. CLARKE WAS TAKEN ABACK A BIT AT FIRST, THEN SHE SNUGGLED IN THERE AND OH MY GOD MY FEELS HIT 11 OUT OF 10
Niylarke smush – I called it and it’s nice to see Clarke comfortable with Niylah. Niylah telling Clarke that she’s honoring Lexa was my everything. Fuck off Lexa haters.
Monty is MVP – jesus I love what they’re doing with him this season
Sea Mechanic – Luna and Raven are besties now and I am fine with this I am fine with all of this I want more of this
Luna and Niylah – these two offer a different point of view of the usually war-hungry Grounders and I dig it…I have no problem with kinder, gentler Grounders who know Buddhist chants in Trig
Luna and Murphy – EVERYTHING THEY ARE EVERYTHING
Bellamy and Roan – kiss already
Octavia’s journey – while I didn’t like her hating on Bellamy yet again, I guess I get it and it’s part of her hitting rock bottom, which she did when she almost killed Ilian. Where do we go from here? And where did she go? Bellamy won’t be happy to find out she left Arkadia.
Bellamy – he don’t give a fuck if O hates him, he’s never going to give up
Bellarke – what was Bellamy going to say? WHAT’S IN THE BOX??!! Was it going to be romantic or more along the “you’re my bestie for life” line? I know what you thirsty Bellarkers want…and I kinda don’t like the writers doing this “wave the shiny object in front of the cat to tease it” stuff, I really don’t…WRITERS, the shippers are your main problem when it comes it idiots yelling at you, so SHIT. OR. GET. OFF. THE. POT.
Jaha and Kane – they actually AVOIDED AN EXECUTION. That’s progress for these two. WHY AM I STARTING TO TRUST/LIKE JAHA STOP IT WRITERS, THIS IS DARK SORCERY
Raven and Murphy – Raven losing it on Murphy is worrisome, but he takes it and comes back for more and he’s a far more noble person than he wants to admit so don’t fuck this up, Murphy, please don’t turn out to be selfish in the very end
Raven – her brain is killing her and I can’t deal with this NO NO NONONONONO
Luna – anyone think she’s just needs an acoustic guitar and be done with it?
Niylah – I am a card-carrying member of the PROTECT NIYLAH AT ALL COSTS CLUB, so I will be very upset if anything happens to her and OH MY GOD I want to see Niylah and Murphy meet each other and just SNARK 24/7 and we’d all be like “that’s meta, yo” and we’d love it PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN WRITERS!
Raven/Luna/Murphy – Best OT3 or bestest OT3?
Roan – action hero Roan is the best, especially when he’s smoldering at the same time…can he and Bellamy just hang out a lot and eventually kiss and stuff?
What’s Clarke doing? Being Clarke
Clarke and Roan – I love their dynamic, I love their discussions, and I like that they both share the same fear that the clan conflicts will just continue, no matter what. They both can see past these conflicts and that’s what makes them unique leaders, while others are engaged in petty fighting
Callbacks – Wells and Lincoln were both evoked in this episode and this is why we love this show…people and events are not forgotten and are used for very effective character work
Monty – have I mentioned how much I love Monty this season? Yes? Fuck it, double the love!
Creeping Murphy – Toni has to be losing her fucking mind…I refuse to believe this isn’t a meta callout to her photo reviews, which are hilariously fucking funny
Jello – I know there wasn’t any Jello in this episode, but I love Jello.

Stuff that worries me:

Dead ends – first one possible solution burned to the ground (after A LOT of sturm und drang about who to save), now it seems like going to space may not happen due to lack of fuel…if the show keeps setting up possible solutions only to have them not pan out, I have to wonder if we’re just wasting time treading water
Everything is straightforward – I don’t need crazy twists and turns, but nothing so far is surprising me this season…not that is necessarily a bad thing, I guess I was just expecting a little shenanigans in season 4…maybe those shenanigans await in the hypersleep chamber with wacky ol’ Bill Cadogan
I CALL BULLSHIT THAT CLARKE AND ABBY DON’T WEAR BRAS, THERE’S STILL GRAVITY DOWN HERE ON EARTH, THIS ISN’T SPACE YOU KNOW AND YOU’RE NOT FOOLING US THOSE ARE WOMEN WITH FULL BOSOMS THEY NEED BRAS AND YOU GUYS I JUST WROTE THE WORD “BOSOMS” WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?!
Related bra fun fact: while getting dressed post-surgery, in my drug haze and pain, the bra was the first thing that I said “fuck it” about and threw it in my bag, but seriously, fuck bras
WHERE INDRA AT?
WHERE GAIA AT?
Why Papa Miller, why Papa Miller, why?!

So, there you go guys. My condensed review. I’m sorry I’m not up to write more, but I just kinda want to drink tea, veg, watch March Madness, and drool a bit as the hydrocodone carries me away to a place where everything is both muted and sparkly at the same time.

Miscellany

My ship, Slarke (soap + Clarke) is sailing along quite nicely…she had some mussy post-coitus hair this ep and it’s great.
A word on Kim Shumway leaving the show: Kim wrote some of my favorite episodes of the series and has been with the show since the jump. As a fan, I’m extremely sad to see her leave, but the cold reality of, well, reality is that your career often cannot grow without leaving jobs after you’ve gained some experience, skills, and absorbed what you can for those around you. If you are considered an “individual contributor” (HR terms are SO CUDDLY, aren’t they?) and you want to become a people manager, your current job probably won’t afford you that opportunity on the timeline you’d prefer. So, to move up, you likely have to move on. That’s just the reality of career growth. I’m looking forward to Kim’s new endeavors and hope she finds the opportunity to shine and gain the experience she wants. I will follow her career with an eagerness to see what she produces next…and next…and next.
And I will still hold her responsible for Nyko’s death. THANKS SHUMWAY.
I might poop today, and this excites me…it’s the little things, folks.
If you enjoyed this review, could you do me a favor and share / retweet / like it on twitter? I hate to ask this because I hate asking anyone to do anything for me, but I’d really appreciate it.
Hey people who like sounds entering your ear holes! I have a Spotify playlist, which is music from and inspired by The 100. You can find it right here and marvel at my musical tastes. I keep it up to date with anything featured on the show or in promos. I’m thorough like that.
Thanks for sticking around and reading this review! If you’d like your earballs tickled with a The 100 podcast I cohost, please check out maywegeekagain.podbean.com.

FINAL VERDICT!

“We Will Rise”: 9 out of 10 Clarke/Kane hugs

There are some The 100 reviewers/recaps/writers you should absolutely be reading, and I offer them up for your enjoyment; I have no affiliation with any of them, save for being a fan:

Erin Brown – unfairly beautiful writing. Like seriously, stop being so good.
McKenzie Morrell – recapping her damn face off and great interviews with the cast!
Toni_watches – piss your goddamn pants funny photo recaps.
Selina Wilken – a mix of passionate fandom and truly professional journalism.
Jo Garfein – Hosts The Dropship podcast and has some great fandom charity auctions

If you’re a fan of the show, join us on Reddit for deep discussions, wacky shenanigans, Trigedasleng lessons, and clan flair! It’s the least toxic place you can find right now for The 100 fandom. Mods got that shit on lockdown.