S07.E10: A Little Sacrifice

[CooperTV]

Quote

Sheidheda makes his move. Meanwhile, a Disciple goes rogue.

Original airdate 8/5/2020.

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by CooperTV

[Guest]

Is Indra dead or keeled over in exhaustion?

[quarks]

I think Indra is still alive. The death count for this episode seems to have been everyone that didn't survive last week's massacre, Echo's three kills, Damien Darhk, and Diyoza. Indra just seemed to be stunned.

As far as the rest of the episode goes:

1. MAN DRENCHED with BLOOD ENTERS the room.

EVERY SENSIBLE PERSON: Yeah, the food here is not worth sticking around for.

MADI: I'll just keep eating, then.

2. YAY ECHO! (in the initial kill scene.)

3. Why are these people trusting the supposed last words of an alien civilization? 

4. Awwww, Murphy has learned how to calm people down from panic attacks.

5. Dude whose name I've already forgotten, I told you that you should have watched more of this show before sleeping with Octavia. That never leads to happy things for anyone she's been with. 

6. I know that they needed to separate the group the way they did in order to give Octavia and Miller a character moment, and then the big Echo and Raven bit, but, that said, leaving the evil guy with only Gabriel, Jordan and Niylah as guards was, not just in retrospect, not the wisest move. 

6. So what, exactly, were all of the criminals from the Eligius ship AND all Gabriel's followers and the various Sanctum people who weren't massacred doing while WonKru was running around dealing with EvilHeda and while EvilHeda was using the loudspeaker to bore everyone to death? Trying to figure out the language? Getting some pizza? Playing soccer? Wondering if they too should head off to the Anomaly to see what's going on in the other, less repetitive part of the show? What?

7. On a related note, how many people did Murphy and Emori take to the nuclear reactor? Was that just some of the Sanctum people?

8. And on an extremely related note, I realize that by this point, Murphy and Emori's idea of "safe space" and indeed "safety" in general is pretty warped but YOU ALL ALMOST DIED OF RADIATION SICKNESS THERE JUST A FEW EPISODES AGO. WHY ARE YOU HEADING BACK THERE? 

(I am fairly sure that the answer to that question is, "to save on set production," but, geesh, that's an Arrow stunt that nobody should be copying. Especially since they have access to a spaceship and Emori is a pilot. Why didn't they try to airlift people off and go back to those sets?)

9. I can't help but hope that EvilHeda is going to be killed off by an eye infection.

10. That's the thing about forcing everyone to kneel to you; they can't see a kid running off while they're doing that.

11. Is this the first time we've heard that Monty was Korean? Because I feel it was, and I also feel that the timing of this little plot revelation was, how to put this, suspiciously convenient. I think I might have been more inclined to buy this sudden interest in a non-English/American/Canadian based culture/language if Jordan had instead revealed that Monty was waaaaayyy into K-pop.

12. Anyway, suspiciously convenient knowledge of Korean aside, I also gotta say that Jordan's sudden "THIS TRANSLATION IS ALL WRONG" was also, how to put this, yes, suspiciously convenient. It takes time to translate simple things like Spanish to English, and I'm expected to believe that Jordan managed to do some code breaking over lunch? Geesh.

13. Odds that Clarke is going to be the character who has to pass whatever this alien test is, 100%, 200% or 500%?

14. Odds that this alien test is going to be, "You win if you can avoid pushing this lever," and Clarke is all, "DAMN IT, PULLING LEVERS IS SO MY THING NOW THAT I JUST DO IT AUTOMATICALLY," 500% or 1000?

15. What I like about Damien Darhk is that no matter what show he's in, he always combines evil with common sense and logical arguments. "Yes, dude, you really do need to stop eating lunch now because WE HAVE A PROBLEM," and "We're not feeling overly inclined to trust people who just tried to poison all of us."

16 I can't believe we lost Damien Darhk but we're still stuck with EvilHeda.

17. Really nice scene there with Echo and Raven.

Echo's so going to die before the end of the season, isn't she?

18. So there we had a nice storyline where, for the most part, everyone, even the villains, was being all intelligent and thinking AND THEN HOPE HAD TO GET INVOLVED.

Seriously. I have not liked this character all season, and this scene just made it worse. She just heard Clarke/Wahnheda, Octavia and her mother say that murdering people is not awesome, she heard Echo say that it would kill everyone in an hour, she knows that the only four people she knows/cares about are all in that hour of death area, and she pulls that stunt? Killing her mother in the process?

Grr.

19. I can't believe we lost Diyoza but we'll still stuck with Hope.

 

[Guest]

You know, I have no actual idea what happened during that Gabriel/Shephed lunch scene because I was looking at the food domes thinking that food domes are never a good sign.  There is going to be something disgusting under there like someones decapitated head with the eyes still twitching.

Yeah, I don't know what I've been watching either but I think it traumatized me.

I also don't understand Gabriel's leap from turning everyone in to study the artifact thing to one of Clarke's trusted people.  I kind of needed him to have to explain that one, even if it was just a one sentence to explain why he was wearing the clothes of the enemy that Clarke just accepted.

I still find that Echo is ruined for me.  I don't care that they talked her out of mass murder.  But I did appreciate that she countered Clarke's plea to not to kill everyone with a 180 from what Raven usually does,.... Clarke didn't do it out of vengeance.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I think our favorite cockroach Murphy isn't long for this world.  😞
 

I am so over this other weird planet, hope and one-eyed Heda.  But I liked tonight's episode better than the last couple ones.  I like it when the OG is together (or mostly so).

Speculation but I'm spoiler tagging it in case I'm right:

I think Echo being sent to Purgatory for 20 years is convenient, because the next time we see her, she'll might be old and dying.  Bellamy will be able to say goodbye and then be free to be with Clarke or someone else.

Edited August 6, 2020 by KittenPokerCheater

[thuganomics85]

So, in mere seconds, Hope managed to decrease the entertainment value of this show by a bit, thanks to a) killing Anders, which takes off the more interesting (and better acted) villain off the board and b) causes Diyoza to have to sacrifice herself, which means losing one of the more interesting characters here (and also one of the better acted ones as well.)  In other words, you kind of suck, Hope.

Anyway, so it turns out Octavia/Diyoza/Echo were all faking being brainwashed, but while the first two just wanted to find an opportunity to get out of dodge, Echo was actually planning on getting some good old vengeance by using the chemical weapon to take out everyone in Bardo.  On one hand, it is hard to really care about her wanting to kill a bunch of faceless folks I barely know.  On the other hand, this mainly being driven by her Bellamy obsession is still eye-rolling as always.  At least it ended with Raven being the one to talk her out of it instead of Clarke or Octavia, which was at least a good moment for the character and Lindsey Morgan (who really is better than a lot of the material she's been given this season.  Granted, I could say the same for Tasya Teles as well.)

I feel like I was suppose to be enthralled by the big lunch scene between Bill and Gabriel, but I was nodding off through most of it.

Meanwhile, things aren't much better back in Sanctum.  Sheidheda is just sauntering around and pretty much everyone in Trikru is falling in line, except Indra, who.... gets tricked into challenging him in combat and basically gets her ass handed to her.  I get that they're probably trying to knock her down, since Indra at 100% would be a force to be reckon with, but I wished they didn't make her suddenly become easy to manipulate and even dumb to do so.

Glad Murphy and Emori saved the rest of the town-folks, at least.  Between that and helping Madi through her panic attack, Murphy continues to be the least selfish selfish person ever!

JR Bourne was having a blast getting to gear-up with the eyeliner and Grounder outfit, which was fun.

This was probably the most I liked Jordan in a bit.  Probably because Niylah really played off of him well.

I know a lot of this was probably final season "It has to get bad before it gets good" stuff, so that the heroes can rise above it come endgame time, but it kind of sucked just watching all of my favorites either die or get humiliated.

Surprise, surprise: 

Spoiler

Bellamy ain't dead, baby!

 

 

 

 

[quarks]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

I also don't understand Gabriel's leap from turning everyone in to study the artifact thing to one of Clarke's trusted people.  I kind of needed him to have to explain that one, even if it was just a one sentence to explain why he was wearing the clothes of the enemy that Clarke just accepted.

I think Clarke trusted him because he had just lied about the Flame and alerted her to that lie. That said, she trusted him - and then he went off to lunch with Evil Deluded Guy and lost his gun, so, uh, trusting him, not the wisest move there, Clarke. And right after she immediately deduced that Echo, Diyoza and Octavia were faking it, too. I'm assuming Gabriel is staying on Clarke's side because he recognizes that the Shepherd and his followers are kinda bonkers and evil. Which, ok, is true of just about everyone on the show, but I suppose he's looking at in a lesser evil sort of way - and of course he lived for years with Echo and Hope. (And didn't kill Hope when he had the chance, which lowers my opinion of Gabriel. Lots.)

Speaking of the Flame, I don't think that Diyoza was specifically told onscreen about the Flame before this, or that Clarke had it at one point during a season finale, but I'll buy that Clarke told her during the "let me catch you up on seasons 1 through 4" back in season 5, or that Octavia told her at some point when they were both bored and Octavia was like, hey, did Clarke tell you about the time our previous annoying leader tried to get us all brainwashed by an AI? Fun times.

BUT, the reminder that Clarke had the Flame at one point brings up another issue I have with the Sanctum storyline: in the Sanctum timeline, Clarke hasn't been gone all that long - and although I know seasons 4/5 confirmed that the Grounders wouldn't see her/accept her as a Commander, she does have Nightblood (as does Echo) and she did have the Flame at one point, and she's been one of the recognized leaders of the Skicru part of Wonkru and before she went off to follow the more interesting plot, she was one of the Sanctum leaders. EvilHeda knows all this, so why isn't he sending out his people to track down Clarke - and for that matter, Bellamy, Gaia and Octavia, the other three people who can potentially challenge his leadership? I realize he's been told by now that the four (five, if we include Nightblood Echo) aren't in the little Sanctum village, but EvilHeda seems like the sort of person who would assume that meant they were plotting against him.

[ketose]

Is there a scenario where killing Russell / Shitheda weeks ago would have been WORSE for anyone? This is the lamest kind of Xanatos Gambit where the stakes are 100 times less than what's going on in Bardo.

So, Jordan figured out that it's Judgement Day, which is what Becca said about 300 years ago. Is this going to be like Red Dwarf's "The Inquisitor" where they are judged by their own standards? Clark could beat that rap from her self-righteousness alone.

[SourK]

Maybe I'm a jerk, but I lost count of all the times I would have just peaced out and left the planet rather than trying to save the Bardos. What have the Bardos ever done for anyone except be boring?

(Also, I understand that Diyoza has a whole thing about being remembered as a villain because of her war crimes or whatever, so stopping her kid from using WMDs is supposed to be her redemption arc, but, for me, it didn't work very well).

16 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I feel like I was suppose to be enthralled by the big lunch scene between Bill and Gabriel, but I was nodding off through most of it.

Yeah, I didn't follow along with that. I have no idea what's happening anymore, honestly. But I thought it was funny that he strode off so confidently, and then immediately got disarmed and sent back alone after his evil lunch.

16 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

JR Bourne was having a blast getting to gear-up with the eyeliner and Grounder outfit, which was fun.

I think my #1 favourite moment was when he was fighting Indra and a) he looked like an extra from Hook, b) he had to deliver all his dialogue in the stupid Grounder language, and c) he had to cover his eye with his hand and then turn his face away from the camera while someone tied a shirt around his head because I guess they couldn't/didn't stop filming to give him makeup??

After Madi jumped in the fight, there was a second when I thought maybe the Grounders would just be like, "Never mind single combat, we don't want this guy to be our leader," and turn against him and symbolically step into a new future where they choose their leaders based on something other than who stabs good... but, no.

1 hour ago, ketose said:

So, Jordan figured out that it's Judgement Day, which is what Becca said about 300 years ago. Is this going to be like Red Dwarf's "The Inquisitor" where they are judged by their own standards? Clark could beat that rap from her self-righteousness alone.

I don't know Red Dwarf, but now I kind of hope for a scenario where the judge has to try to figure out what standards these people live by and its head just explodes.

[Lady Calypso]

I mean, I'm happy for the group to FINALLY be getting back together, but it was still a bit of a slow episode, overall.

Once again, the editing has been terrible this season. There are still really weird cuts from scene to scene and the sound editing is not good either. The combat between Sheidheda and Indra was only so-so. 

Speaking of Indra and Sanctum, that entire ending was disappointing. I thought maybe Madi would jump in and Wonkru would turn because he got beat by a child. At this rate, just murder the guy. It's not worth trying to win Wonkru over, at this point. 

Murphy continues to impress, at least. He's really grown these last few seasons and he's been SURROUNDED by kids this season. Is it just further hints of a Memori pregnancy/baby this season? Because it feels like this is just a test to see how Dad Murphy is. 

I get not wanting Echo to kill everyone in Bardo like Mount Weather but...I dunno, is it even worth it, at this point? Now Anders is dead, Diyoza's dead and Hope is gonna have some serious guilt about this. It's a disappointing way to see Diyoza go out like this, but I guess if it stops Hope from being a brat, then....

Yawn to the Cadogan/Gabriel lunch scene. All I got out of it was that Cadogan loves avocado toast. 

Jordan finally puts his skills to good use! A mention of his childhood with Monty! Finally! It took two seasons for any sort of mention! 

I did love that it was Raven who pulled Echo back from mass murder out of grief. I like that they remembered that Spacekru really was a thing. 

Clarke, once again, doesn't do that much. I know that she'll be the key to save everyone and blahblahblah, but....at this rate, I kind of wish it was someone else. At this rate, I want Murphy to take the test because Murphy is proving himself to be the real saviour. 

[tennisgurl]

I retroactively feel very justified in my dislike of Hope, now that she did three horrible things right in a row. First, she almost murdered a bunch of people (including kids) because she was feeling angsty, not out of any sense of pragmatism like what happens when most of our heroes do seriously morally grey stuff. Plus, she very easily could have killed all of them when she slit Anders throat and let him drop the bio weapon, like a stupid idiot. Second, her stupid actions caused Diyoza, one of the best characters still around, to die. And third, and possibly worst of all, she killed Anders, the best villain left standing, and left us with stupid boring Bill. Your the real monster Hope, now we are stuck with Bill for even more long boring talks about nothing! 

Seriously, the fucks I dont give about Bill could cover this whole boring planet. His chat with Gabe was about as interesting as watching two people you dont know talking over dinner, that is to say not at all. I think it was supposed to be a fascinating power play between two ancient chess masters, but all I could think about was the weird proportions of all the rooms in this place. 

I also really am not interested in Sheidheda, and dont really get why he is still here. The whole point of the show leaving Earth was to do different things, but we are now stuck in yet another rut with commanders and Grounder politics, just on a new set. I also hate seeing Indra playing right into his hands, and everyone just falling into line with this asshole. 

At least Murphy showed more of his leadership potential and how far he has come, helping Maddie and the poor dumb sheeple. I love that Murphy has shown a lot of real growth, but it also makes me worry. With him engaging in some actual heroics, I fear that he might end the show dying to save people. Do not want! 

Not too surprising that everyone was faking the brainwashing, even if I am still pretty sure that Echo being a loose cannon will be a problem going forward. At least Raven got a nice speech about how we should say no to mass murder, even the mass murder of boring people, and we are finally getting some of our characters together again. Even Jordan got a nice scene in, and while Miller didn't get a whole lot to do, I always enjoy his reactions to the crazy stuff that happens around him. 

Never pays to be Octavia's love interest. 

A big issue I am having with this season is that we have all these big groups of people and all of these factions, but we dont really know anything about them, arent very attached to them individually, and what we do know isn't very likable (couple batches of religious fanatics, violent criminals, randos lining up to follow anyone with guyliner) or interesting. So while I am still invested in the characters we know and have been following, we are spending all of this time dealing with these other idiots who just keep causing problems. 

[quarks]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

A big issue I am having with this season is that we have all these big groups of people and all of these factions, but we dont really know anything about them, arent very attached to them individually, and what we do know isn't very likable (couple batches of religious fanatics, violent criminals, randos lining up to follow anyone with guyliner) or interesting. So while I am still invested in the characters we know and have been following, we are spending all of this time dealing with these other idiots who just keep causing problems. 

This, and, also, the rather meh reactions from Our Heroes at the revelations that OMG ALIENS ARE REAL EVEN THOUGH THE ONE ALIEN RACE WE FOUND IS NOW DEAD. I mean, yes, I get that Clarke and Gang are a bit distracted by Bellamy's "death" and the need to rescue Echo, Diyoza (sniffle) and Octavia (they don't need to rescue Hope), but, at least two of them really didn't know Bellamy all that well (Jordan and Niylah), and even the others should be going OMG ALIENS ARE REAL THIS IS A HUGE REVELATION and instead it's more like, huh, aliens had a language similar to Korean, huh, what are the odds?

And, sure, maybe if I found out about aliens in the middle of a grand rescue operation while surrounded by killers I might have a similar THAT'S NICE NOW LET'S GO FIND OUR FRIENDLY GROUP OF KILLERS, but I can't help but think that as a viewer, I might be a tad more invested in the aliens if the characters expressed more interest in them.

[Taryn74]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Speaking of Indra and Sanctum, that entire ending was disappointing. I thought maybe Madi would jump in and Wonkru would turn because he got beat by a child. At this rate, just murder the guy. It's not worth trying to win Wonkru over, at this point. 

Honestly, I thought Madi was going to stab and kill him from behind, or after she sliced his eye (which I loved, put his smug ass face back the way it was) she would step in and fight/kill him instead of Indra, and boy howdy I was cheering HARD for her to do just that. I'm disappointed. I hate the Sheidheda plotline so much. SO much. At this point, if he doesn't somehow tie in with Cadogan and make his supremely annoying presence these past two seasons worth it, I'm going to be really pissed.

[Gulftastic]

So, Indra disarmed her opponent then can't dodge him when he runs straight at her from 10 feet away? Hmmm.