The 100 “Damocles” Photo Recap – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (5.12)

Well, we’ve inched our way up the roller coaster, we’ve done a few loopty-loops, and now we’re free-falling and screaming and laughing but then we look up and realize that the coaster is actually a dragon, but maybe it’s a friendly dragon? No. Probably not. Oops, he dropped us. Wheeeeeee!!!!

YOU GUYS! How are your hearts and minds? There were 4 beloved characters teetering on the brink of death as the screen went blank and the show had THE NERVE to tell us to wait for a whole week before knowing their fates.

Is Kane dead??? Is Vinson dead??? Is Miller (*frown*) dead??? Is Gaia dead???

One of The 100’s favourite things to do is to end the penultimate episode with as little hope as possible – it shoves us into the pit of despair and cranks the machine to 50, leaving us to wonder how the sweet heck our heroes will pull out a win (or at least as much a win as this show ever affords).

But this season is a little different. This episode tore our hearts out in other ways, but left us with a sense of hope for the finale. Clarke renewed her membership to the Adventure Squad. Madi is on her way to her people. Octavia has regained some sanity. It’s possible the mutated gorilla is alive and well, living in a nest deep in the valley.

Sure, they’re smack dab in a disastrous war and surrounded by death and destruction, but we get the sense that maybe, just maybe, things might turn out okay.

And that is… TERRIFYING. Is the show trying to lull us into a false sense of security? What and who will it take from us as punishment for being so gullible as to think maybe things will be okay? *rocks back and forth, clutching a teddy bear* please not Monty, please not Monty, please not Monty…

Whelp, for the second-to-last time of this season, let’s get ourselves some red starburst and photo recap this thing!

The episode launched right into the war, with the Spaceventure Squad creating a diversion while Wonkru merrily strolled through the backdoor. However…

I’m going to get real for a second. Here’s the thing about being a wackadoo photo recapper, trying to find the funny in the devastating – the more tense a situation, the easier it is to make people laugh. People WANT to laugh in those moments. This show makes it so easy because everything is horrible (in a delicious way).

But there are times, for example, when I watch a pre-teen boy get shot, and people being massacred, and I just can’t. I’m watching people helplessly gunned down, thinking about our current social climate, and I feel true, deep horror. And I believe we’re supposed to. I will not insult the (I think) intentions of this show by trying to make this funny. This was awful, heartbreaking, and really hard to watch.

Okay fine. Just one. I am who I am.

Goodbye Ethan. I’m not sure what your purpose was, but I’m sad to see you go.

Whew. Okay. Way to be a bummer right out of the gate, TONI. Sheesh. I’ll do better, I promise.

Kane, Diyoza and McCreary listened to the horrible sounds of the violence they’d all caused, while bickering like an old married trio. Kane wants him to spare the lives of anyone who surrenders, while McCreary just wants HIS beach olympics team to have all the smores, and Diyoza would just like to be alive to enjoy the campfire.

After a touching moment between Clarke and Abby, they discovered that Madi, the wily little scamp, had slipped out in order to go help her people fight. Mothers and daughters, ammiright? I’m looking forward to Abby and Madi having a conversation that isn’t drug-addled. Abby is a grandma! Should she start carrying around hard-candies?

Clarke tried to take the flame out of Madi, and when that didn’t work (Madi being a wily little scamp again, changed the password), she put a collar on her to keep her from leaving.

It isn’t a parent’s job to be likable, to their child or to us. Last recap I said I didn’t like Clarke this season, and that’s true. That wasn’t a criticism. It is her right to be unlikable right now. She’s allowed to protect the person she loves most. It’s upsetting to watch because we’re so used to seeing her put everyone else above her own feelings, but right now she’s protecting her own heart by protecting Madi – and I will yell this on mountain tops for the rest of my days – SHE HAS EARNED IT. No, I don’t like her actions. I’m not supposed to. No one is perfect. No one is 100% selfless. I may not like Clarke right now, but I will always respect a show that gives its characters layers and flaws.

Come at me.

That being said, neckrocruting Madi was actual child abuse, and I’m not equipped to dive into that, so I’ll leave it to deeper reviewers.  

Meanwhile, Bellamy was trying to get Octavia not to move lest she get shot. It felt very much like someone who dragged their overachieving friend to a spa and spent the whole day convincing them to just chill out and put away their phone.

The prisoners were not taking… wait for it… prisoners… so lots of people died and it was upsetting LET’S MOVE ON.

This lady was very peeved at Octavia and the idea of the war in general, so she was NOT having any plan to go and save her.

All season long I’ve been frowning at Miller (*frown*) and I’m so glad that in this episode we got a glimpse of his own desperation, and where his devotion to Octavia stems from. He needs it all to be worth it as much as Octavia does. His delirious whispers of “we can still win” were heartbreaking.

THIS EPISODE IS RUINING MY SNARK, YOU GUYS.

So just to cheer things up, here’s a nice picture of #Mackson, looking like their wedding photographer has just told them to do something wacky, and they’re like, “that’s not our style, bro.”

Anyway, Niylah (hi Niylah!) informed Jackson (hi Jackson!!!) that they don’t have any of the medical necessities to keep people alive. What a pickle!

Baahahahahhaha is Monty just super bad at Trig? He 100% ignored her and spoke in English while he informed them that shit was ALL OVER the fan at Camp Wonkru. So Echo was all, “then let’s go kidnap ourselves a leader,” and it was awesome.

You guys, I know there’s division, but Echo is hella fierce, and I will never not love her.

Bellamy and Octavia tried to get the sweet hell outta there, but Indra was like, “ugh, this is the worst, eh?” and Octavia was like, “yeah, let’s bounce,” but then Gaia was all, “meh, I’m having a good time,” but it didn’t matter what any of them wanted because it was impossible to escape without someone / all of them dying.

Such pickles! Pickles everywhere!

How nice was it to see one of our favourite characters – Kane and Abby’s Sexual Tension – back in action. Yes, it’s sad and feeling guilty, but it’s BACK, and it’s still electric.

I’m sure that’s not important.  

Madi finally met the rest of the Spaceventure Squad, and she was like, “let’s tie the sheets together and climb out the window.”

Madi knocked her gun away, and Echo and Clarke kerfuffled, but it was all for naught because Clarke was tweeting the whole damn thing, so McCreary knew people were a’sneakin.

Whooooboy, things looked dire, didn’t they? McCreary now had Shaw to launch missiles, and everyone else was a prisoner except for Clarke. But then she lied to keep Echo alive, so points Clarke!

How do I… how do I even… you guys, we saw Vinson’s demon FOR REAL this episode, and it has made me upset. You all know how much I love Vinson. I love him. He’s so complex and creepy and Mike Dopud’s portrayal is mesmerizing. When he stepped into the room, all calm and pleasant, I was screaming, “MY DARLING VINSON DON’T YOU DARE.”

But he did dare. He needs Abby to depend on him, so he needs Kane out of the way, and he needs her to be grieving, so he bit into a hunk so hard, and stabbed him up, and I’m upset, I’m upset, I AM UPSET.

Abby Neckrocuted him pretty hard, and he looked quite dead to me, but I’m not very good at knowing when people are dead, so who knows.

Kane told Abby that he forgives her, and that what happened in the bunker wasn’t her fault, it was Octavia’s, and the look on Abby’s face was all, “yeah, it WAS Octavia…” which makes me think that A) Kane is going to die for suresies, and B) Abby is going to kill Octavia.

I hope I’m wrong!

Well, well, well, look who is owning their mistakes! “Wonkru is broken… I broke it.” Yes, that is very mature of you to admit, Octavia, thank you for sharing. Get yourself a cookie. And get one for Bellamy, too, for giving Gaia a pep-talk into not dying, because I really don’t want Gaia to die!

These two ladies are awesome, and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing them work together instead of against each other.

Lola Flanery is KILLING IT as Madi. She was all, “let’s be likable again, K?” and Clarke was like, “yeah, fine.”

Seriously – this scene was very well written / acted / directed, and invoking Lexa and her memories of Clarke standing alone at Mount Weather was BEAUTIFUL, and I’m not crying, you’re crying, okay fine I am too, WE ARE ALL CRYING.

Clarke killed the two guards and sent Madi and Echo on their merry way while she went to try and stop the ship. Speaking of…

Awwwwwww, nothing says puppy love like asking your crush to kill you so that they won’t be tortured to make you do something horrifying. These two are so cute!

Yes. Good. This was very good. All of it was very good indeed. Octavia’s intended sacrifice, “my brother my responsibility,” the rover swooping in to save them, Emori on top guns a’blazin’, the Beautiful Creepster yelling out jokes while his giant gun malfunctioned (LOL), and then them driving through the smoke of the subsequent explosion caused by his malfunctioning gun, and then all of their VERY MEANINGFUL looks at each other. Just… yes, well done, all.

I tip my hat to this episode, I don’t even care if all the nacho dip falls out.

Let’s take a quick sec to talk about how Clarke hid her feelings behind the title of Mom as much as Octavia hid hers behind Blodreina. Clarke’s feelings about leaving her friends to die were on full display when she found out they were still alive. She had canned them in mason jars, labelled them as something she “had to do” and put them in the pantry on her MOM shelf to collect dust as her FRIEND shelf broke apart (I really ran with that metaphor, just let me have it).

But now, just like Octavia and Blodreina, her split personalities are merging back together as she realizes that there are other paths to take.

Both Octavia and Clarke had to make decisions for their people. They both took all the responsibility. They both bore it so their people didn’t have to. And that sense of complete control took over, and it became harder and harder to let others make their own decisions. But now they’re learning they have to, because… well, that’s how humans work.

I may not have liked Clarke all that much this season, but I understand her journey. I understand why she had to take it. 6 years is a long time to not only protect and love one person, but to stew in your own decisions. It’s been a long time since Mount Weather, since the City of Light, since she gave up her own life for her friends… but she hasn’t worked through all that. She shoved it away and put it on her MOM shelf (STILL RUNNING WITH THIS), and there it sat, untouched.

We can’t expect her to be okay with it all in the span of a few weeks. We can’t expect her to give up control, when it’s all she’s ever known – when it’s all that’s ever worked for her. And we can’t expect her to be willing to put her greatest love in danger, when she has lost so much already.

And that’s my hot take, you guys!! Or… luke warm? I don’t know. I avoid the internet until this thing is done, and it has taken me FOREVER this week, so I don’t know how people are feeling. We all okay?

All that being said, it was very nice, VERY NICE to see the old Clarke peek out. While I respect her journey, I still very much like my heroines to be heroic. Welcome back, girl! Also – Eliza Taylor is a very good actor!

Next week barrels forth, and I wish it was here RIGHT NOW, because I am very worried and also excited, but also VERY WORRIED.

SOME STUFF

• “So whatever it takes, then?” – “Whatever it takes.” This was awesome. MOMS, ammiright, guys? Put up your hand if whoever raised you was SO unlikable at any point in your life, and it was just SO UNFAIR, and you HATED THEM, and now you realize that if they had been likable, you probably wouldn’t still be alive.

• The knock on the noggin Echo took from McCreary looked VERY hard! That is either some very impressive stage combat going on, or Tasya Teles has one hell of a headache right now. Anyone check on her? She okay?

• “What do you care if I die? Isn’t that what you want?”  – “Yes.” I was very taken aback by this! I doubt it’s how Bellamy really feels about his sister, but still. Damn. Harsh, dude.

• Abby broke her pill! She’s on her way to recovery… maybe.

• I will never not be annoyed by Raven’s ponytail.

• McCreary leaving Clarke to interrogate Echo alone with two measly Red Shirts seemed very dumb, but I’m not mad at the show. He doesn’t seem like the brains of the operation anyway.

That’s it from me, see you dorks next week, later gators!

[Originally Posted August 2018 on tv.com]