Pack your bags, kids, because we’re going on a feels trip. The Blakes! Jasper and Monty! Monty and Harper! Raven and Sinclair! Clarke and the gaping hole where her heart used to be!

It’s almost too much this week. It doesn’t help that Survivor is my Wednesday night lead-in to The 100 and they had the goddamned “loved ones” challenge wherein the stinky, dirty, worn out contestants cry like babies over people they haven’t seen for all of three weeks. So yeah, my peepers were already leaky because IT’S BEEN THREE WEEKS WITH NO SHOWERS OR HAIR BRUSHES OR BUBBLE TEA OR A REAL TOILET TO POOP IN*, SO JUST LET THEM HAVE THEIR LOVED ONES!

*I think that might be the whitest thing I’ve ever said.

Let me tell you, it’s not been a good week for me not crying. Between binging Sense8 season 2 (two cries per episode minimum) and then going to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2, I’ve been bombarded with feelings.

So of course “The Other Side” was just a continuation of The Great Cry Week of 2017. Written by sister duo, Julie and Shawna Benson, the episode was also notable for being directed by Kane himself, Henry Ian Cusick. All told, “The Other Side” was emotional and tense, and had my favorite Raven scenes this season. It also gave me that Blake hug I so desperately needed, but continued the downward spiral of Clarke as a relatable protagonist. Oh, and Jasper commited suicide.

If “Die All, Die Merrily” was an episode full of heart-pounding action, “The Other Side” was full of heart-breaking moments. You kind of expect the show to be kicking it into high-gear at this point in the season, and it certainly has, delivering some of my favorite episodes of season 4. I’m kinda dreading the last two episodes because, well, a long hiatus is coming, but also because everything is coming to a head and I’m likely to need a lot – A LOT – of doggo cuddle therapy before it’s over.

Let’s get into it! Or should I say…

Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Let’s get the Big Character Death^TM out of the way first. Honestly, Jasper has never been my favorite character. He started off as that stereotypical nerd who tries way too hard to get the hot girl to notice him, but throughout the last four seasons, he has definitely undergone some of the more challenging character development.

When you start off as part of the comic relief, but you spiral downwards into depression and PTSD, people are going to find that character hard to deal with because they’re not fun or convenient or easy. And I appreciate Jasper’s journey for what it was, I just found it really hard to relate. The further a character gets away from who I tend to be, the harder it is for my empathy center to function. You have to poke me to get my feelies to work again.

While I found Jasper dictating the manner of his death was empowering for him, I also know how difficult and painful his decision is for those who care for him. It doesn’t affect anyone as hard as it does Monty, who finds Jasper after he’s consumed a deadly amount of jobi nut tea. Their farewell scene is touching and has a moment of levity as we remember a bit of what Jasper used to be, but in the end, I’m more sad for Monty than I am Jasper. What is wrong with me?

I guess I just feel that Jasper’s story ended last season and he didn’t have much left to offer as a character unless they completely changed direction with him, but they didn’t. His depression gave way to nihilism, and his hopelessness at the end – or rather absence of a sense of caring about life, which can be neither good or bad at its core – felt a little uncaring in regards to his friends. I’m not saying that Jasper should only live for his friends, but he seemed to have very little concern for Monty’s feelings at the very end. Maybe this viewpoint is a little too ego-centric and I identify with Monty a little too much here, so I’m bringing my own baggage to my evaluation.

I find it interesting that suicide was considered too dark for the end of last season, but they went there with Jasper anyway this season. Perhaps the timing was better, and I also feel that Jasper had some bits of wisdom to impart on other characters on the way.

I think it’s important to recognize we had a character on TV that dealt with a ton of emotional shit and the show was unapologetic about showing the repercussions of PTSD. And it didn’t try to hit us over the head with meaningful messages or incorrectly tell us that love could have saved him (side eye at 13 Reasons Why). Instead they showed us the raw emotions, the effect Jasper had on others, and let us, as adults, consume his story.

Suicide is a tough subject and I’m not going to fill you with a bunch of bullshit here about how the show should have gone another way to and was crass in depicting someone who had given up. They showed us a reality that happens every day. No sugar-coating, no message of the week, no steering out of the skid. It’s important for art to not shy away from telling difficult stories. In the end, you might not feel good about Jasper’s suicide, but perhaps you aren’t meant to be placated by easy stories who try to be more upbeat than real.

Okay…off my soapbox. I’m not a hearts and flowers type of person. I appreciate that the show was willing to go there. I don’t think ANY LESS of Jasper for his choice. Suicide is not an act of cowardice.

For a far more considered take on Jasper’s suicide, I highly encourage you to read Selina Wilken’s review over on Hypable.

Jasper death scene was sad and affecting and I can only imagine how helpless Monty felt. If you’ve ever dealt with someone with mental illness, you know that feeling of helplessness. Pleading doesn’t work. Reasoning doesn’t work.

When Monty said “I love you” to a dead Jasper, yeah I lost it.

I think Devon Bostick did great things with a role that got increasingly more complex to play. It always sucks to see a main cast member leave the show, but in the “A Main Character Needs To Die” contest, he was the most likely given his trajectory since season 3.

Are You White Fanging Me?

Monty did not have a good day in this episode. He’s trying harding SO HARD to get people to listen to what he believes is reason, but no one moreso than Harper, who he’s recently declared his love for. And how does Harper respond? With a good ol’ White Fanging.

Harper says she doesn’t love Monty as a way to drive him away. While she may not want to live anymore, she doesn’t want Monty to die on her account. Her reaction when she’s out of Monty’s eye line makes it kinda obvious that she does love him, but is doing what’s best for him.

After Jasper dies, Monty realizes that everyone has taken a deadly dose of the tea and he frantically searches for Harper in a room of dead bodies. It’s a gruesome scene that looks a bit cult-like in its results and mirrors real-life events with groups of people who were in the throws of one belief or another. I was honestly scared that he would find Harper among the rest of the bodies.

I was very happy to see her standing by the rover in one of the radiation suits. It was a bright spot in the darkest story line in the episode. Arkadia was uncomfortable to visit as impending death hung about the place like a fog and the only one trying to survive and fruitlessly trying to get others to come with him was Monty. I can only imagine the feeling of helplessness just weighing him down as he was utterly unable to force anyone to come with him, despite his best intentions. That Harper, in the end, chose to live and go back to the bunker was a great moment and yes, I may have cried then too.

Gosh. “The Other Side” felt like 10 episodes of “This Is Us” stuffed into one hour and then thrust violently into my feeling bits. Not fair!

Wherein I Yelled “DO SOMETHING, CLARKE!” And Clarke Did Nothing

So, I gotta tell ya, I’m so Team Blake this episode. And it’s not hard to be. Bellamy and Octavia have swiftly become the heart of this season, and Clarke is the cold, detached brain.

When Bellamy was pleading with Clarke and Jaha to open the bunker door after learning that Octavia won the Conclave, it was rooting for him…even though I knew better. Nothing is going to be that easy, Bell. Not when there has to be some angst before you get what you want. But man, when Bellamy was shocklashed, I actually yelled “DO SOMETHING CLARKE!” at my TV. My concern for Bellamy and anger at Clarke was at its peak not five minutes into the episode.

I’m still a bit confuzzled as to why they couldn’t open the bunker door after talking to Octavia and it seemed like she had things under control topside. But then I look at Jaha and go “oh…this mother fucker only cares about Skaikru and there’s no way he’s going to open that door and share, and he’ll paint it as he’s doing everything he can to save humanity itself…sounds familiar.”

That Clarke went along with Jaha after learning that Octavia was victorious and essentially promised what Clarke always wanted – to save as much as everyone as possible – was extremely disappointing. Not that she reveled in Bellamy’s anguish or her mother’s pain upon learning that Kane was still outside, but she certainly didn’t do anything to stop their course of action. No one looked as permanently unhappy as Clarke this episode, but frowns aren’t going to get you out of the mess you’ve made, girl.

I think Jaha really showed this episode how much of a master manipulator he is, especially with Clarke and then with Abby. He settles into his sweet spot of looking out for his people, then roping others in by telling them that he knows this is hard, but it’s what they have to do. This guy is slick and he may not necessarily be 100% wrong. I’ve expressed my own inner turmoil with Jaha and Clarke’s leadership this season. It works on Jaha, but not on Clarke, and we’re quickly running out of time for her to pull her head from her butt and come correct.

And maybe that doesn’t happen at all this season. Again: you can’t always get what you want. A show with big ambitions and a massive cast can’t always – and shouldn’t always – give us the characters moving in the directions we want them to, or have the conversations we want them to. That’s what so hard about Clarke’s direction right now. I feel this is all going somewhere important, but if the blow off of this was supposed to be her NOT shooting Bellamy, I’m sorry, but I’m going to need more.

Here’s the main issue: most of Clarke’s reasoning for her actions is out there and has been explained quite well. None of this is really out of context for her and part of me agrees with her reasoning. What we haven’t seen is Clarke have a meaningful dialog with anyone who offers an opposing viewpoint since Monty early in the season and a little bit with Murphy back on the island. But no one has stood toe-to-toe with her and hashed it out at length and swayed her to get out of her head and back in touch with her heart.

Uh…yeah. That’s not…no. That’s not really what I meant…..but you do you, Daenerys.

I was HOPING that watershed moment was going to happen with Bellamy this episode, and I think a wee little bit happened when Clarke couldn’t bring herself to kill Bellamy to stop him from leaving the bunker to get to his sister. I think her resolve was wavering all episode, especially when she basically ran away from Bellamy while he was imprisoned instead of talking to him. I think she knew he could talk her out of her stance and instead of putting everyone at risk because she was weakening, she left. A rare moment of timidity from Clarke Griffin.

I was wondering in my last review what had happened with Niylah because she was Trikru, but kinda just moved into Arkadia, so like…was she couch surfing or more a permanent fixture among Skaikru? Well, I got my answer. She’s in the bunker and has some sass for Clarke before also offering comfort. “You kinda suck because you didn’t keep your word to save everyone…want to cuddle?”

I kinda want a friend like Niylah who just basically knows I’m an asshole and also offers cuddles. And other things.

Like, dude. How understanding is Niylah? Skaikru is basically the worst. THE WORST. And she’s like…”we good.” I love her. She better survive…I don’t want there to be some lottery bullshit where she’s kicked out of the bunker.

This exchange gives us a wee bit more info into Clarke’s head space, and she very rightly points out if they open the door and the Grounders kill Skaikru, who is going to actually understand how anything works in the bunker? Who will set the clock on the microwave or program the DVR to record Vanderpump Rules? That shit doesn’t get done without technical know-how, of which the Grounders have less than zero.

Clarke’s resolve finds the end of it’s leash at the prospect of having to kill Bellamy to stop him. I didn’t like the lack of conversation between them. I have no doubt that Bellamy will forgive Clarke, as she’s always done for him, but those episodes of forgiveness need to come with a larger reckoning on the part of the guilty character, otherwise it falls flat or feels soft or merely an afterthought. If Clarke’s evolution is leading up to her breaking down, merely crying and not shooting Bellamy isn’t it. There needs to be an admission on her part of what she’s done and what she’s learned, otherwise we’re left to head canon what we think is character development, and I’m kinda too tired to head canon anymore.

Yes, I want tell, not just show. I’m greedy, I want it ALL. I WANT IT ALL DAMMIT!! GIVE ME A BLUBBERY CLARKE BREAKDOWN!

1 WRESTLING GIF PER REVIEW REQUIREMENT MET

Phew. The pressure is always on until I meet that wrestling gif requirement, then it’s smooth sailing. Prepare for me to coast through the rest of this review and just fill it with fart jokes and poop emojis.

Jaha Needs His Comeuppance

I know I’ve professed my love for Jaha this season, and I do think his character has been great, but we’ve reached that time where something has to dramatically shift in regards to either his character or his position within Skaikru. That he’s sort of just assumed he’s back in the saddle as the leader is not only troubling – and it should be more alarming to people like Abby and Clarke – but it’s completely ignoring that Kane is the Chancellor.

Of course, Kane can’t be the Chancellor if he’s dead.

Yeah, yeah, SURE Jaha made best endeavors to snatch up Kane and Octavia and get them inside the bunker, but did he strike you as super sad that Kane was going to die?

It’s time for new leadership. But if that’s Clarke, unfortunately it looks a lot like the old leadership. I think a watershed moment needs to occur where the balance of power shifts in a very vocal and meaningful way. I can’t see Kane and Jaha co-existing in this bunker, as Kane’s idea of leadership has morphed since his time aboard the Ark. The thing is, how does Kane push back against Jaha after kinda proving he’s not all that great at leadership himself? Putting our eggs in the Kane basket may be folly.

I also have to wonder…what is the power dynamic with the 12 clans in the bunker? Octavia seems to be calling the shots, so does that make her the new Commander now? And if it does, I’M HERE FOR IT.

Y’all, this season is making me smitten over the Blakes. I welcome our new Octavia Blake overlord. And with Indra by her side…it’s perfect. Indra was a fierce protector and leader under Lexa, and I wouldn’t expect anything but the same for Octavia. In fact, being her mentor makes it all that much better. Look at what your little warrior duckling has become, Indra!

I’ve hijacked a section in which I wanted to discuss Jaha and made it all about Octavia and Indra, so let me actually talk about Indra and Octavia next.

Octavia, Indra, And The Third Wheel: Echo

My current ascetic, in case you were wondering, is Indra dressing Octavia’s injured arm. YOU GUYS. You know Indra was all like “here child, give me your arm,” and kinda tugged at Octavia, insistent but still careful not to hurt her and just wordlessly started wrapping the bandage while Octavia did her thing talking to Bellamy on the radio.

I just love these two and want them to, like, hug every five minutes to affirm how they’re the best surrogate mom and daughter.

You know Kane would totally be down for 5-minute hug intervals with Indra AND Octavia. And Bellamy, if he would have it. That’s just how he rolls. And you know I’d be down with hug intervals interspersed throughout the whole show. I don’t see why this couldn’t happen. I mean, you’d probably have to add like 20 minutes to the episode, but that’s a sacrifice I’d be willing to make in order to get those hugs into my eyeballs. Each episode synopsis would be like: “Clarke faces a difficult decision. Bellamy goes on an adventure. Plus: tons of hugs.”

———wistful sigh———

Things topside could have gone really sideways super quickly if either Indra or Echo were of the mind to finally hold Skaikru accountable for all the fuckery that’s transpired…not just over the bunker, but in general. But Bellamy lets Octavia know that seizing the bunker wasn’t his doing…and that he’d fix it. And that’s pretty much all Octavia needs to know…Bellamy is going to FIX IT. And because Indra trusts Octavia, that’s all she needs to know too.

Echo’s reasoning here is a little less clear. I think she figured that going along with Octavia would get her a shot to be in the bunker come Praimfaya, and I believe Echo also knows that Bellamy will move heaven and earth to get to Octavia. She’s seen Bellamy in action and knows Octavia’s faith is well-placed. She has zero leverage with Octavia after it’s revealed that O knows ALL ABOUT Echo’s banishment. You can’t talk about Skaikru dishonoring the Conclave if you straight up tried to cheat yourself.

When Bellamy finally gets the bunker door open, I’m a bit disappointed that Octavia turns on Echo, but one good turn deserves another, and I think we all know the type of animal Echo is…she’s cunning and not to be trusted…ever.

Do we think that Praimfaya is really the end of the road for Echo, or will she prove to be the Grounder version of Murphy? Echo is too interesting a character to just peace out, so maybe there’s a card left to be played…such as…STUMBLING UPON AN ALMOST DEAD KING IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CONCLAVE.

You guys don’t know how much I want Roan to be alive. I’m desperate. And Zach’s twitter silence over his death is curious. I’m looking for crumbs here.

Can We Talk About Mr. Sassy Pants Bellamy Blake?

I know Bellamy spent time this episode trying to talk sense into Jaha and Clarke, and failing, but him standing up for the right thing gave me life. Oh, and don’t think I didn’t LIVE for his sassy dialogue with Jaha that went approximately like this:

Jaha: [insert blustery asshatery about saving “our people” here]
Bellamy: Oh, I’m sorry boo, but I don’t recall voting for your peasant ass in another election. No one died and made you Chancellor again, hon, so sit down and slow your roll before I flatten your ass right here and now because no one…AND I MEAN NO ONE…is going to keep me from my sister. Hear me? [hip thrust]

Seriously, Bellamy is barely holding it together, and I wouldn’t be half as composed as him if faced with Jaha and Clarke outright refusing to listen to reason, especially after Octavia confirmed her Conclave win! Bellamy usually has the ear of Clarke, but it’s obvious that the heart and the head are very disconnected at this point of the show. And Jaha…well, he’s up to his old Jaha self.

The crazy thing is Jaha is a known quantity…that guy is always in Jaha Mode. But that Bellamy can’t get through to Clarke is maddening. Clarke is acting like Mini Jaha and I’ve said in the past that she needs to take the worthwhile parts of his leadership mentoring and throw all the other stuff out…and now’s the time, Clarke.

Bellamy was on fire this episode. There were a couple parts of “The Other Side” that I was uncertain about, like if Harper would live or if Skaikru would be found out by all the Grounders, but one thing I was 100% certain of was Bellamy getting out of that bunker to save his sister.

And while we’re talking about that moment…holy shit, I lived for that moment. THE HUG. THE “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.” It was perfect.

Bellamy came through for his sister…and for his people…and for ALL people, just like Octavia knew he would. If people would have a little bit more faith in the Blakes, a lot of this shit could be avoided.

Excuse me now while I cry over this scene again, because it has been a long. time. coming. Not to say all is healed between the two, but this was a necessary moment.

To me, Bellamy has returned to being the guy he was in the later half of season 1 and all through season 2…the action hero that’s the heart of the group. While I don’t ship Bellarke romantically (this is likely to trigger those with Mad Shipping Disease), I think that Bellamy and Clarke’s bond is the heart of this show, and I hope they hash things out by the end of the season because you can’t just let Clarke continue to drift further down the Jaha river. Right? RIGHT?! Bellamy has got to call out this bullshit.

Yo Bellamy, her not killing you isn’t enough…that she held a gun on you to begin with is a red flag.

Stop Hating On Abby – She’s Not A Bad Person, You Just Have Mommy Issues

I often say that The 100 subreddit is really the only place you can rationally discuss the show with a shit ton of drama. Well, that doesn’t mean that some of the same tiresome shit doesn’t keep popping up on the reg.

Including the ol’ “Abby is THE WORST” posts.

Usually rife with a very low-effort understanding of her character and an undercurrent of misogyny, these posts are THE WORST. It’s Skyler White all over again. If Abby doesn’t agree with Clarke…well, obviously Abby is THE WORST.

I’ve come to Abby’s defense on numerous occasions and written about the importance of the mother/daughter relationship on this show with very few familial relations.

I think people need to understand that she’s often caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to defending or protecting Clarke, and then expressing her own agency should she dare to have a different opinion than Clarke. She’s also been tasked with a lot to do in the past she hasn’t necessarily been a great at it, trying to juggle being a doctor and the Chancellor. And guess what. SHE RECOGNIZED THAT. How many people step down from jobs because they recognize someone else might be better suited? Would your ego allow you to do so?

This episode we got an Abby/Bellamy team-up, as the both had someone worth fighting for on the other side of that bunker door. But Abby was also always the voice of dissent or the conscience aboard the Ark. Sometimes that lead her to do some good, heroic things. But those are forgotten in the face of some of her failures.

Look. You can’t have your cake and eat it too with these characters. You can’t blissfully declare your love for Clarke or Bellamy – both rife with greatness and glaring faults – and ignore that other characters have the exact same dichotomy. When people ONLY concentrate on character flaws and use that as the basis for their “interpretation” of said character…well…I’m sorry, that’s glaringly incomplete and lazy and inherently biased. And when I see this happening, I just can’t…sigh.

Let’s move on from that because it’s making me angry. The more I interact with fans, the angrier I get.

I loved watching Abby help Bellamy escape and take out Jaha. Jaha was pretty much his old self with her, tapping into their history together as leaders on the Ark, saying that Marcus was a good man (past tense), and of course bringing up Jake. He knows all the buttons to press, and guess who isn’t buying into what Jaha is selling? Abby.

You know, as much as I would dig a confrontation between Clarke and Bellamy, I would also dig one between Abby and Clarke. I feel that sometimes in these relationships, we don’t get to see the more intimate moments that color the edges in, and this is mainly due to there being a lot of plot to move and characters to service, yet I yearn for more from these fundamental relationships.

Jaha isn’t the only one that’s had to make these decisions in the past up on the Ark…Abby has been complicit in a lot of went on up there…and she often stood in opposition. Use her experience as a way to counter-balance Jaha’s influence on Clarke, I say. I’ve written a lot on how I think season 4 is the story of Clarke’s journey towards becoming a truly great leader, and if Abby could be a more vital piece of that story, it would be so welcome and frankly, it would make a lot of sense given her background.

Before I sign off on this Abby section, let me leave you with this:

Suck it, Jaha!

Every Day Of The Week And Twice On Sundays

This season has had a recurring theme of “who are you going to listen to and believe?” It’s played out with Clarke and Roan, Clarke and her friends, Jaha and Clarke, and of course now Raven and her hallucinations.

We know Raven’s brain is deteriorating and she’s made the decision to die up in space, rather than wither away on earth. Becca has pushed her into this decision as much as Raven has made it herself. It doesn’t take a lot to convince Raven that one last spacewalk is a helluva way to go out. But we know that Raven dying is NOT an option. I’m not having it. The fans aren’t having it. NO ONE IS HAVING IT.

Least of all, Sinclair. FUCK. YEAH.

Y’all…Sinclair’s death made me weep like a fucking baby last year. Lexa’s death shocked me, Lincoln’s death dulled me, but man, something about Sinclair dying opened the flood gates.

So when Sinclair showed up to serve as the angel on Raven’s shoulder to Becca’s devil, I of course started crying again.

You ever cheer-cry, like when something amazing happens and you simultaneously lose your fucking mind and break down crying at the same time? It’s not a happy cry brought on by, like, the Cubs winning the World Series. It’s a “yes, Sinclair is back, but no, he’s not real and I miss him so much and I don’t want him to go!”

Up until Sinclair showed up, I didn’t know where they were going with Raven’s story. It would have been hard to take both Jasper dying and Raven leaving for space in the same episode, so that they had her choosing life in the end (along with Harper) gave us the happiness and relief we sorely needed in a very tense and sad episode.

Now, I will profess to not exactly knowing if Erica Cerra was Becca, ALIE as Becca, or a cunning mix of both, because some of the things she said while pushing Raven to shoot off into space sounded a lot like ALIE. But…BUT…did Becca maybe have a lot of the same single-mindedness that ALIE displayed? I think so. I found her to be a bit myopic in “Thirteen,” maybe even a little dangerously so…and it’s not hard to believe that Becca, being a genius, and being driven, could easily have mistakenly created something like ALIE in the foolhardy belief that she, and she alone, could improve the world.

The same Becca that appeared, although briefly, to Clarke at the end of season 3 was just as single-minded and insistent on her view of things…”of course humanity can save itself, Clarke, pull the lever!” It’s hard to tell if Becca is being shady or just pursuing her own agenda, whatever that may be…perhaps a bit of both? While I was initially happy to see Becca again (Eric Cerra is AMAZE BALLS), the more Becca kept pushing, the more I was like…”hold up, something shady this way comes.”

I don’t know what Becca’s endgame was here…maybe there were no shady motives at the end of the day, but hell, you think I trust the ALIE code inside Raven’s head to manifest an altruistic version of Becca? Hells. To. The. NO. I have to ask…is there something up in space that Becca wants? ALIE is still up on the go-sci ring that the stations were connected to comprising the Ark.

When Sinclair, a key figure in Raven’s life, showed back up and tapped into their past together as mentor/mentee, I was over the moon. And sad. Because Sinclair is dead and was always Raven’s biggest cheerleader. He tells Raven that she’s a fighter and doesn’t quit.

I know Sinclair isn’t real and is a manifestation of a part of Raven’s consciousness, but it’s the part of her that DOES want to live and has been working on some sort of solution in the back of her head until Sinclair “showed” up. He represents the hope and faith Raven has her herself. And he also serves to help her be okay with not being a supercomputer anymore, even though its killing her. Having ALIE in her brain does make her special…just not in a way that’s sustainable.

When he helps Raven figure out a way for her to heal her brain and live, Becca points out that she’ll be “normal” again. She won’t have access to ALIE’S code. She won’t be a genius.

But Sinclair doesn’t care about that. To him, Raven with her “normal” brain is still a formidable force to deal with. And we know this from our own past experience with her. Raven always finds a solution to a tough problem. She’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no AI. This interaction between the three of them had me fist-pumping:

Sinclair: “She’s not going to space to die, she’s going to the bunker to live.”
Becca: “Even if this idea doesn’t kill you, you will just be normal again.”
Sinclair: “She was never normal.”
Becca: “Maybe not, but with me in her brain, she’s Da Vinci, Einstein, Mozart.”
Sinclair: “And I choose Raven Reyes over those three hacks any day and twice on Sunday.”

HELL YEAH!

I love that expression: everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. I use it a lot to express when I prefer something greatly. And I too would take “normal” Raven Reyes every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Without question.

Side note: notice how Becca says “without me in her brain…”, and we know it’s ALIE’s code in her noggin, so please refer back to my previous confusion as to who Raven is actually talking to in the lab.

I won’t pretend to really understand the medical science here that Raven employs to shut her brain down for long enough to purge ALIE.

But I don’t care about that science mumbo jumbo anyway…I’M HERE FOR THE FEELS.

So Raven goes into the ice bath to essentially die, but keep herself fresh enough to be shocked back to life. Easy peasy.

Sinclair tells her she’ll know it all worked if she wakes up and they’re gone. And to that she said this (prepare to cry):

STOP IT AND “DIE” ALREADY RAVEN, I CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS.

Want to cry again? Here you go:

Hey, if I’m gonna cry again, so are you! We watch Raven “die,” which sucked as we watch Becca and Sinclair slowly walk away and fade from view (nice shot choice here, HIC!), and she’s shocked back to life…twice because of her heart murmur. No one said this would be easy. But Raven’s tough as nails and DETERMINED.

When she’s safe and it seems the whole thing worked, she radios her people: “This is Raven Reyes, and I’m alive.”

And no one is happier about that than me. Holy crap.

Bunker Bingo

I really liked the last scene of the show, where Octavia, Bellamy, Clarke, Jaha, Kane, Indra, and Abby are all in the same room. It’s here where Octavia lays down the law and rightfully points out that Skaikru now has the same decision the rest of the 11 clans had: choose the 100 survivors. And aside from insisting that Bellamy is one of the 100, she leaves the decision up to the rest of them and leaves.

I like seeing Octavia in this position. It sets up an interesting challenge for season 5: will leadership sit well on her, or will she fall into the same traps that Clarke, Kane, Abby, Bellamy, and even Jaha have in the past.

I never expected to see Octavia in this position, so I welcome a new role for her if she is indeed the Commander. While the title hasn’t been used yet, it’s obvious that the Grounders now defer to her, and she will need to command (ha!) the same respect from Skaikru if this is going to work.

And I have a hard time believing someone like Jaha is going to just give way to a teenaged girl.

Before I part to Parting Thoughts, I’d like to just say that I had a lot of weird theories at the half way mark of the season, and most of them are all falling flat. But the one thing that’s still out there is the possibility that Cadogan and some Second Dawn cultists are around somewhere. I mean, most of my crazy theories turn out to go nowhere, but maybe there’s still something weird going to happen? There’s only two episodes left, so maybe a finale twist?

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Parting Thoughts

• My ship, Slarke (soap + Clarke) is still CANON, but now since I’m having problems with Clarke, I’m really only a fan of soap at the moment. ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COMMENTS REDACTED – REASON: TOO INCENDIARY FOR THE FRAIL OF STATURE AND THE DELICATE OF MIND.
• So where is Helios’ stable at in the bunker? We’re saving Helios, right? RIGHT?! You know what happens when those I love die.
  
• Is Becho still endgame? Do bears bear? Do bees be? Of course Becho is endgame, even if she’s just a little puddle of blood and bone bits now that she’s, you know, going to be Praimfaya-ed.
• So…there’s that rocket just sitting there doing nothing. How do we have a rocket that’s not going to be fired? One does not simply not fire a rocket!
• So, what’s up the the Flame, now that my theory that it would be going into Raven’s head to save her is in the trash heap, along with so many other of my theories. It’s like I have horrible theorizing skills. Let’s face it, I have horrible theorizing skills.
• Murphy Murphed…why was I hoping for something different from him when he saw Bellamy in the same position as he was back in the lab with Emori?
• Bye Riley…has a fandom every turned quicker on anyone?
• When are we going to deal with Abby’s brain? Raven wasn’t the only one forcibly disconnected from ALIE. I hope this isn’t glossed over.
• Sad news: Isaiah Washington won’t be returning as a regular in season 5; unsure if that means he could guest in a couple episodes or he gets killed off, but he’s been an asset to this cast and made (makes) Jaha a fascinating character.
• Who thinks this Skaikru “lottery to live” is going to go well next week?
  
• ROAN WATCH 2017: No body, no dead. I’m hopeless, y’all. I’m starting to piss myself off because I’m being irrational here.

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FINAL VERDICT!

“The Other Side”: 9.0 out of 10 Blake sibling hugs

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TWEET/RETWEET: 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.

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST OF THE 100 MUSIC!: 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.

SHIT YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING WHEN NOT WATCHING THE 100*: 
12 Monkeys: binge it now before season 3 is dropped over next weekend by Syfy
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: really hits you in the feels. And I love Drax.
Get Out: scared the poop out of me because us white people ARE SCARY
Sense 8: Kinda ridiculous and nonsensical, but too much fun to care

*will try to recommend new stuff each week

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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:

• Selina Wilken – a mix of passionate fandom and truly professional journalism.
• 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.
• Jo Garfein – Hosts The Dropship podcast and has some great fandom charity auctions

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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.