The 100 “Welcome to Bardo” Photo Recap; Mind-Movie Marathon

WELL WELL WELL, I love it when a plan comes together… and then falls apart spectacularly. So many failures! So many second shots! So many MORE failures! Ugh, I love it. The fifth episode of the season, Welcome to Bardo delivered on the promises the show has been making since the first episode. The Anomalsquad found Octavia! Indra is hip to the wise about SheidRussel! Octavia found a new uber-fan in an adorable non-enemy named Levitt! Am I forgetting something? OH RIGHT, Bellamy died!

RIP Bellamy Blake, we knew thee well.

J/K he very obviously jumped through / was blown through the anomaly. I WONDER IF HE’S ON PLANET HOTH???? 

So many questions were answered this episode, and, as any good middle-season episode is wont to do, so many questions were subsequently raised. Why did Orlando lie to his new BFFs? What is Anders’ DEAL, man? What makes Clarke the “key” to end all wars? Where did Anders get his amazing outfit? Is Echo going full Finn? Is Bellamy really dead (LOL)? When will Octavia kiss Levitt? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW! 

The episode began just after Octavia and Diyoza were taken from Sky Ring and brought to a VERY fancy day spa. Then we got a fun opening sequence of Octavia going full Octavia. 

There she is. There’s our lil’ Octavia, doing what she does best. Girl was NOT into it, and showed her displeasure by handing all of Bardo their asses and running into a forest-room, before some invisi-jerks cheated and knocked her down. 

YAYYYY!! I was already so on board with this episode at this point. Finally getting to see Bardo? Yes. Seeing Octavia kicking ass as she was always destined to do? Heck yes. 

Poor Indra was just trying to get through her damn day and SO MANY people were whining to her about something or other. It was all, “I want my God released from prison”, or “I want someone murdered,” or “I want to set myself on fire.” Like, give a girl a BREAK. 

Basically the “faithful” vowed to kill themselves one by one until their band leader was released from prison, which, hahahhahahahhaha I’m so sorry what a terrible plan! I love that the show did NOT present this as a good plan. It was said over and over what a bad plan this was. Still though. LOL. I can’t get over what a bad plan this was. 

After one of the Faithful BURNED HERSELF TO DEATH (LOL) there was a staff meeting at the hospital to decide their next move. ShiedRussel was like, “let me talk to them, I’ll be good, pinky swear,” but what was left of Sanctumventure Squad was NOT having it. 

And a plan was set! The Beautiful Creepster would infiltrate their suicide club and let them know what a very stupid idea they had (LOL).

It was at this point that he uttered the line, “I hope the others come back soon…” letting us know they are at least AWARE of the StarTrekventure Squad’s absence. I guess that’s something. And look, I GET IT, Murphy and Emori couldn’t go on the space adventure because they’re “Primes” and therefore needed in Sanctum to keep the peace. STILL THOUGH. Miller BETTER have said goodbye to his one true freaking love.

I digress.

We got a rousing game of Adorable Good Cop vs. Sexy Bad Cop, and WE ALL WON. Sweet lollipops these are some intriguing and beautiful new characters. They were trying to watch Octavia’s life like a movie (WHO WOULDN’T), and Silver Fox was like, “do the things more!” and Adorable Good Cop was all, “but it will hurt this precious badass I’d like to befriend!” Ugh. So good. In the end Silver Fox won and they forced Octavia to reveal who she loves most, and we got a glimpse of our beloved anti-hero turned full-on-hero. 

Obviously both cops were entranced with Bellamy and the idea that his sibling relationship with Octavia is the beating heart of the show [Octavia and Bellamy essentially spent their entire childhoods stuck together in a small space, there is NO WAY they didn’t choreograph at least one dance].

The Beautiful Creepster went a rap-tap-tapping on the door of the Faithful and spied a child putting his face on for the big suicide performance. Murphy was NOT pleased, so he stormed in Prime-a-blazing, telling the kid to skedaddle and scolding the rest of them.  Buuuuuuut the Faithful were totally onto him due to his lack of sexual attraction to that one dude. Whuh-oh! 

Meanwhile, our new favourite dreamboat nice guy was questioning Octavia about the Adventure Squad like he’d lined up for HOURS at a fan convention. 

Dreamboat Good Cop said he hoped Octavia trusted him, which triggered her memories of Hope, which led to a deal; she would lend him her DVDs of seasons 1-6, if he kept Hope a secret and helped Octavia get back to her.

OMG THIS MAN!! Levitt cheering when Octavia stabbed Pike, hahaha, I just can’t get over how fully and unconditionally I have fallen in love with him in just one episode. He watched until the season 3 finale and was like, “girl, I’m your biggest fan,” and she was like, “wait for it,” but they were interrupted.

Hope! Way to break and enter!! Our girl was the one who rescued Octavia from the evil clutches of a very nice dreamboat. Honestly very proud of her. Anyway, then Hope recruited the adorable hunk by threatening to cut his throat, and Octavia was like, “that’s my girl.” 

I ship it so hard, you guys. I truly never thought I would equate Octavia with the word adorable, but in one episode they have built her a truly adorable friendship with a beautifully big-hearted man, and I am very, very about it. What’s the shipper name? There’s gotta be one, right? TELL ME! 

Anyway, there was A LOT going on in this scene, but it all boiled down to this: he helped Octavia escape and also gave her a sick plot-propelling back tattoo. Oh, and then she punched him a bunch so he wouldn’t be suspected, and he was INTO IT (I love them so much). 

Back in the present, the Anomalsquad arrived at the Bardo Base and immediately began killing people. 

Hahaha, Gabe’s unending frustrated huff this episode is such a mood. Boy was so exasperated and I couldn’t blame him. As it was pointed out before, our Squads combined have killed a TON of the Bardo Buds, and they have yet to kill any of our Squad (don’t you dare). I mean I get it, Team Bardo poses a threat, and our Squad has been through too much to be gentle. Still though, Gabe has a right to more than a few eye rolls. 

Look, I know this guy is the antagonist, but he is wearing the hell out of that dress, and I will forever love him in this outfit. 

AnomalSquad was caught trying to ditch the assembly, so they had to go listen to Silver Fox give an expositional speech about how the House of Bardo came from a stone on Earth, and how their ancestors pulled an Earth and blew themselves up (and were turned into crystal giants??), and then had to build bunker-forests, and then were killed by the Shepherd and his peeps. I don’t know, you guys, it was A LOT. Oh, and also they’re huge fans of Clarke, which is fair. 

We skipped the part where Hope got caught trying to free her mother (I wasn’t mad about that), and got straight to the deal she made with Silver Fox; go a little stabby on Auntie O and save Diyoza. Of course, as soon as she was through, he was like, “hahahaha, just call me Ursula the Sea Witch because I am NOT making good on that agreement!” He ordered his dudes to kill her after she did what they wanted, then sent them to Sanctum with a, “see ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya.” (We all know how that turned out, silly dumb-dumbs)

Anyway, as we know, Hope was successful and Octavia dissolved into some green mist and ended up back at the Bardo Bed and Breakfast with a brand new flesh wound and a ‘whatever man’ attitude. 

Meanwhile, an overzealous spirit-club was getting ready to murder-burn the most beautifully creepy man in the known universe. 

ShiedRussel marched in and Darth Vadered Daniel’s ex boyfriend, and was like, “if I say he’s cool, then he’s cool.” And that was that! Murphy was free to go, and everyone was like, “sure, yeah, that makes sense.” Buuuuuuuut, SheidRussel’s speech about kneeling or dying seemed a bit too familiar for Indra’s liking. 

INDRA WAS ON FIRE THIS (and every) EPISODE AND SWEET COTTON CANDY DO I EVER LOVE HER SO MUCH PLEASE NEVER DIE. *deep breath* Indra spoke some Grounderish to him and called his ass OUT, then she took some necessary precautions. 

She (along with Jackson and Captain Kid of Gabe) took out his matrix bug!! This way if he dies, he dies for goodsies, no take-backs. This was brilliant (of course it was, it was Indra’s idea), because she found a way to weaken SheidRussel, AND placate both the Faithful and the Kids of Gabe. HATS OFF TO YOU, INDRA!

Back at the Bardo Bungalow Octavia was reunited with her new best friend / future dreamboat husband Levitt, who told her a trick on how to beat the machine (you think of a wonderful thought, ANY happy little thought!), but they were once again interrupted by an anomalvisitor. 

And then an invisi-dick blew him up. Whoooooooboy, this scene hurt. We know he’s not for realsies dead (HE BETTER NOT BE), but still, seeing Octavia’s grief and horror was like an anomalsplotion in our HEARTS. In the present, the Anomalsquad was watching it happen through Octavia’s memory, and Echo did not take it well. 

Echo had a bit of a murderous meltdown and killed Poor Man’s Nice Cop in a blind rage, even though the Anomalsquad needed him to lead them to Diyoza. Whoopsie! 

And that was that! Man oh man, what an episode, and a return to fighting form for The 100. 

I’m not mad at the beginning of this season, but it didn’t me the ol’ The 100 tingles, you know what I mean? This episode definitely shifted things for me. A new lovable character, a foxy new antagonist, deep mythology, questions answered, plot moving, heavy on the Indra, a whole world of grey, AND the soft-return of Bellamy Blake? Yes. I must agree with Selina Wilkin’s tweet – this is my favourite episode of the season thus far. I hope the show can continue with this momentum and give us the intense, beautiful, heartbreaking, and downright awesome storytelling with which we have become accustomed (but let us keep Levitt, I beg of you). 

SOME STUFF

• Indra and the Beautiful Creepster is a team-up that makes my heart sing

• Either Orlando lied to them about the origins of his hometown peeps, or he didn’t know the truth himself. We better find out WHYYYYYYYY (please). 

• IMAGINE if they actually killed Bellamy Blake off like that? IMAGINE IT???? 

• The reveal that Octavia wasn’t running through a real forest-exit was awesome. 

• Adina Porter as Indra positively stole the Sanctum storyline this week. Every reaction, every word, every BREATH was magic. I am so damn happy Indra has survived this long. 

• I imagine we can look forward to Ex-Wonkru’s inevitable alliance with ShiedRussel.

• So wait, is Gaia NOT on Bardo? Was the Invisi-jerk who snatched her up maybe NOT a Bardoian? Was he maybe working AGAINST the Bardo Babes? 

• LONG LIVE LEVITT  (Did he turn too fast? Was he playing her? I don’t want to think about it) (Please let us keep him) (please)

• The transitions this episode! *tips hat* From Murphy being found out to Octavia’s memory of him saying “I’ll survive,” and from the Faithful kneeling on the floor to the skeletons of past Primes… yes. Well done. 

• Silver Fox is the “first disciple.” Is that a title, or is it literal? Does he have a matrix bug in his brain?? 

• JR Bourne is KILLING IT as Sheidheda. 

• What’s the Adventure Squad doing on Hoth, do you think? Making a million snow angels?

• On a scale of 1 to “It’s Everything I Never Knew I Desperately Wanted”, how badly do you ship Octavia with Dreamboat Nice Cop Levitt??

• Congratulations to LIANA for winning this week’s round of JOKES FROM THE PAAAAAAAST… Clarke’s reaction to the Invisi-dorks was a bit familiar…

The fight for Black Lives Matter continues, with some groundbreaking change as the result, but there is still so far to go, and still so much senseless violence. If you would like to donate, here is an article with a very comprehensive list of where funds are most needed. 

OKAY THANK YOU FOR COMING STAY SAFE OUT THERE FRIENDS!