S07.E05: Welcome to Bardo

[CooperTV]

Quote

Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) gets to know a whole new world.

 

 

Original airdate 6/17/2020.

[Guest]

I'm assuming Bellamy jumped into the worm hole during the flash boom and isn't really dead despite what Echo thinks.

Other than that, I got nothing because 1) I forgot it was on until it was almost over and 2) the picture and sound was crap for the entirety of what I did manage to see.  So I guess I'm watching later once its streaming.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I ended up really liking this episode. It's the first episode this season where I found myself liking how things played out. I liked everything that was going on.

First off, the Bardo stuff. I love that we got answers about Octavia and it did make sense. I liked Bardo Doc who seemed to be fangirling over Octavia, which...I mean weird choice, buddy, but I guess you haven't seen past season 3 so I can forgive you. Plus, I liked Bardo Doc a lot. I hope he sticks around. And Neal McDonough as Anders was a cool casting choice. He plays a better cult leader than JR Bourne, I'm sorry to say. He just has that suave cult leader vibe. 

I liked filling in the gaps with Hope showing up to help Octavia the first time. I nearly forgot that Octavia/Hope must have interacted while Hope was an adult, in order for Octavia to recognize her in the finale. 

I liked Echo, Gabriel, and Hope showing up to save Octavia. Unfortunately, the five second cameo of Bellamy (hi Bell!) ended with him being blasted to another planet while Octavia thought he was dead so...that just led Echo to spiral even more than she has. I just have a bad feeling that she takes a Finn Collins trajectory, where she probably sacrifices herself for Bellamy. Which...boo, as I've really grown to love Echo so hopefully she does do something heroic before her end. 

Now, onto the Sanctum stuff, which was handled better than I thought it would. It helped that Indra was in the front and center. Hi, Indra! I've missed you taking more of a role! And, for me, Indra is better than Gaia taking the forefront so I'm so cool with this. Murphy didn't take as big of a role in the episode as I hoped he would. I'm surprised that Indra, a recurring character, got a bigger part but, unlike Gaia's random increase in airtime this season, it works with Indra since she's had plots of her own before. And Adina Porter is an excellent actress.

But the Sheidheda/Indra stuff was well done. I'm glad Indra was smart about letting her team known about Sheidheda impersonating Russell and they took out the mind drive so, when he dies, it's permanent. 

Otherwise, I wish there was more Murphy. He REALLY has to study up on the Primes like Emori has. He really butchered that undercover job, but I'm always glad to see Murphy do something. Plus, he helped save kids! Kids have, for the most part, been Murphy's weakness. I'd like to think this will lead to Murphy/Emori having kids of their own once all of this is over. They really deserve it. And I loved the Murphy/Emori banter this episode.

I'm glad we've gotten some answers about Bardo. I'm just glad we're getting to the good stuff. 

Top episode for sure. Better than 7x02 for me, personally. 

[quarks]

1. Please, please, tell me this is the end of the EvilHeda plot. (I know it isn't, but I am begging you all to lie to me about this.)

2. That said, Indra remains the smartest person on this show. Brilliant catch with that spider comment.

3. Also really liked the "we'll just remove the chip" solution. And the decision to do this without anesthesia.

4. I'm with Murphy on this: Emori's dress rocked.

5. Also with Murphy on focusing on saving those kids. But otherwise, Murphy, do a touch of research on the people you are supposed to be impersonating before you go impersonating them. This is at least your second major screwup with this, and if EvilHeda hadn't felt desperate to do EvilHeda things and strangle people, this could easily have gotten you killed. 

6. Nice of the Sanctum people to set up another shirtless moment from Murphy. Did the CW request more semi nudity this season or what? Not complaining, just curious.

7. The person who challenged Indra - that was someone from Wonkru, right? Not the Eligius criminals? So what were they doing when the girl set herself on fire?

8. Nice to see you eviling things up again, Damien Darhk!  (Don't bother telling me his actual name on this show. He's always going to be Damien Darhk to me. Especially since, honestly, there's an excellent chance that he is Damien Darhk, just trying to take over the world again, or, I guess, multiple planets. The CW is kinda into the whole crossover thing.)

9. And a new love interest for Octavia, I see. Though - and I say this not to be critical, but helpful - Octavia, you just might find yourself doing better in romantic relationships if you would stop meeting your potential love interests during torture situations.

10. On that note, though, loved the meta of "just watch the first four seasons! you'll fall in love with Octavia!" "Well, until Bloodreina comes along!" "Let's pause here before the audience remembers why we're not supposed to be cheering for Octavia and after I've fallen for you!"

11. Also cracked up at the "This time, The 100 explores a brand new society" only to have that society reusing pieces of the set from previous seasons and having Octavia end up in trees that look suspiciously like trees from Vancouver that look very suspiciously like all of the other trees we've seen on this show. 

12. Echo, I get it. Really, I do. Spending five years with Hope would drive me over the edge too. And nobody likes to realize that five years of planning was pretty much for nothing. That said - and again, not trying to be overly harsh here - that might just have been a tad bit overdone. Not to mention, you're supposedly a highly trained spy/assassin, good at noticing things, and you somehow missed noticing that Bellamy didn't flop over dead, but just vanished, strongly suggesting that he's still with us?

Not to also mention that you may have lost any chance you had for future hookups with Gabriel and I think we can all agree that's a genuine tragedy.

13. So, I think we know that Bellamy didn't land back on Sanctum (because that explosion was in the past, right?) or the prison planet (because, again, past, and Hope/Echo/Gabriel just arrived and read Octavia's memories).  So did he land on ice planet or another planet? Or did I miss something?

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, I definitely think Bellamy actually jumped into the wormhole and is either secretly back in Sanctum or possibly another planet if Anders was pulling a fast one when he was typing in the destination.  But, yeah, he is totally not dead.  Probably won't stop Echo from continue her spiral.  I normally find Tasya Teles to be on of the stronger performers here, but she honestly got cringeworthy at times here.  But I think a lot of it is because I just don't buy Echo's rabid love for Bellamy.

On the flip side, Gabriel really is becoming the most relatable member of the Bardo trio, with his "Will you please stop killing everyone!" reactions to Echo and Hope being all bloodthirsty and revenge happy.

Neal McDonough seems like a pretty big get for this show, but I guess he has been doing a lot of work in Canada lately (Arrow/Legends, Project Blue Book, Altered Carbon.)  Enjoyed him here, but is he actually the leader of the cult, since he kept referring to The Shepard in third-person?  But he certainly has a big interest in Clarke!

Ah, Murphy!  Underneath all of the snark and complaining about having to "be a hero", you continue to be someone who will quickly put his life on the line, once you discover children are in peril.  And once you get captured, you not only continue to be your normal snarky self when you are getting covered in oil and being prepared to get set on fire as a sacrifice, you still make sure to complement your girlfriend over how great she looks in her dress, after being saved at the last minute.  Love it!  Murphy and Emori continue to win at all relationship goals!

Glad Indra already figured out the whole Sheidheda act with Russell, and will hopefully continue to get others on the same page when it comes to him.  But that final scene makes me think this is going either one of two ways, and the results will be extremely varied.  Either a) she ends up keeping her word and will end up being the one to put him down for good (yay!) or b) Sheidheda will use this act for extra motivation and will somehow take her out (boo!)  It could go either way, honestly.

Agree that this was probably the best episode so far this season.

[quarks]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

 But I think a lot of it is because I just don't buy Echo's rabid love for Bellamy.

 

Me either. I completely buy that they hooked up on the Ark. I completely buy that they care for each other. I completely buy that they've had really hot sex. And on a shallow note, I think they look awesome together. 

But rabid love - on either side - less so. 

So my read on this is that either Echo has built this up into her head as more than it was - easy enough to do over five years - or that the ongoing trauma of losing most of Azgeda, then getting stuck on a space station for five years with only a limited social group, then watching what little was left of her planet get blown up, then getting stuck in another place with only a limited social group, has just left her broken. Especially since the second group was even less emotionally stable than the first group - yeah, the first group had Murphy, but the strong implication there was that Murphy had only broken down in his last couple of years in space. 

Add in that from the flashbacks, Echo never really enjoyed all that much stability in childhood, and apparently never really had any real friends or family until she went up in the Ark, and yeah, I think she's broken.

Also, the show seems to be shaping her into this season's Finn, if a more likeable version. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by quarks

[paulvdb]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Enjoyed him here, but is he actually the leader of the cult, since he kept referring to The Shepard in third-person?

I just assumed that the Sheperd didn't have a minddrive or some other way to prolong his life. So he's actually long dead and Damien Darkh is the current leader of the cult.

And I've seen a lot of people referring to Clarke now being on an ice planet. Which I guess is a sci-fi trope that all planets only have one climate. But maybe she just ended up at the Antarctica gate. Or in a Canadian winter.

[AudienceofOne]

Incomprehensible

[ottoDbusdriver]

That was a convoluted mess.

So, does this mean that Bardo is in time sync with Sanctum ? Or slower ? Or faster ?  Yet way slower than SkyRing ?  Because there might be a Stone on Earth, did they only leave Earth about a week ago (but that doesn't explain the crazy advanced tech, but might explain that the Shepherd is still alive) ?  Why are they living in an enclosed dome ?  What is the outside world like ?  Did they build that massive building and the dome -- or did somebody else do that ? 

"Because of time dilation, no one is coming for you" -- that makes no sense at all.  Time is still moving forward on all 3 planets.

If Octavia was examined for days on end in that room with Levitt, did she get bathroom breaks ?  Or time to sleep ? Or to eat ?

And the nonsense with the Primes -- I just don't care any more.

The writers should be ashamed that this is all they could come up with for the final season.

[Taryn74]

10 hours ago, quarks said:

He's always going to be Damien Darhk to me. Especially since, honestly, there's an excellent chance that he is Damien Darhk, just trying to take over the world again, or, I guess, multiple planets. The CW is kinda into the whole crossover thing.

Ha! Don't give them any ideas.

10 hours ago, quarks said:

That said, Indra remains the smartest person on this show. Brilliant catch with that spider comment.

For sure.

10 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I normally find Tasya Teles to be on of the stronger performers here, but she honestly got cringeworthy at times here.  But I think a lot of it is because I just don't buy Echo's rabid love for Bellamy.

Honest to G-d, I always forget Bellamy and Echo are a thing until the show reminds us. Always. And that's nothing against Echo, because I like her, and I'm not really a Bellarker either. I just see zero chemistry or real connection between Bellamy and Echo.

 

7 hours ago, paulvdb said:

I just assumed that the Sheperd didn't have a minddrive or some other way to prolong his life. So he's actually long dead and Damien Darkh is the current leader of the cult.

I still maintain that I think The Shepherd is Cadogan and he did have a mind drive, as I believe there's more to his and Becca's story than we've found out so far. We'll see.

[tennisgurl]

While all of the time jumping was pretty confusing and headache inducing, I thought this was a good episode. I am still ready for everyone to get back together in the same location/time, but I thought all of the plots were strong and I am glad to see some of the blanks with Hope and Octavia filled in. 

Poor Murphy, he actually gets his hero on and it all falls apart and he almost gets set on fire! Luckily we get a rescue by Sheidheda of all people, who certainly has experience with getting underlings in line and being the Big Boss. Yeah, Murphy really isnt great at the whole undercover thing, he just cant turn his Murphy-ness off. I do love that Murphys first response to the Prime worshipers setting themselves on fire was basically "fine, let them set themselves on fire, should solve a lot of our problems." Of course Murphy took a second to compliment Emoris fabulous dress, because they are such goals. Also glad that Indra got a lot to do this week, which I am always excited to see. 

No way is Bellamy actually dead, I am come on. He presumably got shoved onto some other planet, maybe to save the day at the last minute wherever Clarke and company got zapped. Echo is full on losing it, and while I normally like Echo, she is clearly going off the deep end. That shreeking at the end was really freaking over the top, you picture a super dramatic "NOOOOOO" Charlton Heston style. 

Gabriel's frustrated "oh my God stop killing people!!"reactions at Hope and Echo cracks me up. 

Neal McDonough is always a welcome addition, and charismatic cult leader is right in his wheelhouse! Even if we are getting another "brainwashed masses fight for evil cult leader with dark secrets) plot, he certainly raises my interest. He so loves getting his evil on.

I hope we see more of Bardo, and that its a bit more different than the last few places we have been. I like the doctor who bonded with Octavia, I laughed at him basically bineging the first four season of the show and getting super invested, and then Octavia basically doing the "just FYI, it gets really weird in season five" thing that many fans have done when friends binge shows! Yeah, I am totally good with Octavia redeeming herself and getting closer to the person she used to be, but you wouldn't be saying how pure her heart was if you met Bloodreyna...

[Ziggy]

4 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

Honest to G-d, I always forget Bellamy and Echo are a thing until the show reminds us. Always. And that's nothing against Echo, because I like her, and I'm not really a Bellarker either. I just see zero chemistry or real connection between Bellamy and Echo.

I felt like they did have chemistry in Season 5.  At least they did when they were together.  They really haven't been on screen, together much.  They always seem to both be on some mission that keeps them apart.  I think if they actually had more scenes together, it would be easier.

[KittenPokerCheater]

14 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I liked Bardo Doc a lot. I hope he sticks around

Me too.

I don't care what the show runner says, all the wormhole stuff is time travel.  I was so confused about the timeline here.

Still loving Murphy, Emori, and Indra.

Hope and Echo and their bloodthirsty habits....I'm ready for both to be relegated to the background now.

[SourK]

I'll admit it -- I got confused.  I don't get the timeline or the rules about when you lose your memories and when you don't. I also kind of wish the main characters were together more during the final season.

8 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

"Because of time dilation, no one is coming for you" -- that makes no sense at all.  Time is still moving forward on all 3 planets.

I laughed at that line a lot. It's totally something you say to someone when you just don't feel like helping.

[Taryn74]

Looking over a recap reminded me of how unexplainably hysterical I found it that Sheidheda-as-Russel-Prime had moved the skeletons into a prostrate position while he was locked up in there. LOLOLOL.

[AudienceofOne]

10 hours ago, SourK said:

I don't get the timeline or the rules about when you lose your memories and when you don't.

The nadir of the episode for me was when the memory technician or whatever he was suddenly went, "Oh I know! The native Bardoans had this technology that we don't really know much about but that just happens to be RIGHT HERE and if I put this tattoo on your back where you'll never be able to see it you'll know how to get back a person you don't remember!" 

And they all just agree to that as though any of those words put together make any damn sense.

I've never been a fan of Echo because I feel like her character is just whatever the writers want her to be at a particular time and right now her deranged obsession with Bellamy feels unearned.

[Samwise979]

The only thing I didn't really get was, the mind reader guy told Octavia that she wouldn't remember anything that happened to her after originally leaving sanctum. But then when Hope arrives to stab her, she knows who Hope is??? 

Love Murphy. That is all. 

[Ziggy]

13 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

The only thing I didn't really get was, the mind reader guy told Octavia that she wouldn't remember anything that happened to her after originally leaving sanctum. But then when Hope arrives to stab her, she knows who Hope is???

Right.  It seems like they're throwing us little nuggets of information here and there, but I'm not sure it's enough, yet, to give us a complete idea of how the anomaly works.

At the end of last season, I thought maybe Octavia's memories came back because of the anomaly.  It seemed to work in the moment, anyway.

Someone from Bardo said that if you move to a slower time, you lose your memories without the helmets.  (At least I think it was "slower')  Hope, Echo and Gabriel kept their memories when they moved to Skyring.  We don't know where Clark and the others went, but they seem to have kept their memories.

The rules are very confusing, and I'm not quite convinced the timelines are accurate.  But I'm still along for the ride, and I desperately want to learn more!

I really don't care what's happening in Sanctum, anymore, but I did enjoy watching Murphy and Indra.

[Taryn74]

17 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

The only thing I didn't really get was, the mind reader guy told Octavia that she wouldn't remember anything that happened to her after originally leaving sanctum. But then when Hope arrives to stab her, she knows who Hope is??? 

Last season when Octavia realized/recognized who Hope was, I assumed it was just deductive reasoning. Octavia knew Diyoza had gone into the anomaly following a girl she thought was Hope, Octavia went into and out of the anomaly while time passed for her but not Gabriel, and now a strange woman comes out of the anomaly (which Gabriel has never been able to understand despite studying it for decades/centuries) and immediately focuses on and goes to Octavia. It's not too far of a stretch for Octavia to think this is possibly Hope.

But at the beginning of this season, I'm pretty sure Gabriel said something about Hope only retained her memories while the anomaly was still close to the tent. After stabbing Octavia with the tracker device and telling her that "he" still had her mother, just a few minutes later she was confused as to who Octavia and Diyoza even were when Gabriel mentioned them by name. The anomaly had receded at that point and presumably took her memories with it.

[Samwise979]

Aaaaaahhhhh thank you @Taryn74. This is one of those series that needs a rewatch I think. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

Shouldn't Russel be dead since they removed the commander thingy from his neck? Why do I have the feeling we ain't seen the last of this stupid Sheidheda  storyline. Who do you think he's going to end up in next?

[Taryn74]

4 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Shouldn't Russel be dead since they removed the commander thingy from his neck? Why do I have the feeling we ain't seen the last of this stupid Sheidheda  storyline. Who do you think he's going to end up in next?

Russell's consciousness would still be on the mind drive and able to transfer to another body (unless they destroyed it after they removed it, which I hope they had enough sense to do LOL) but the body he was inhabiting would still retain memories and be able to pretend to be Russell. What they did by removing the mind drive was insure that once this "host" died Russell couldn't be resurrected in another body. (Again, though, they need to destroy the mind drive to prevent that from happening once and for all.)

Didn't Jordan give Russell Pria's mind drive when he went to see him under the guise of talking the people down a couple of episodes ago? I've only watched the episodes once so I might be mistaken. But if so, I'm sure Slim Sheidy (not my name, but it made me laugh really hard so I'm stealing it) has already figured out a way to jump to it. 

[AudienceofOne]

5 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

Slim Sheidy

Love it so much