S02.E10: Survival Of The Fittest

[MostlyC]

A new enemy puts lives in dangers; Lincoln and Bellamy decide to break into Mount Weather together.

[ottoDbusdriver]

A new enemy puts lives in dangers;

 

It's gotta be the people of the Ice Nation -- there had to be a reason for that seemingly throwaway line by Lexa about the Queen of the Ice Nation killing her girlfriend last episode.

[Lila82]

This episode was embarrassing, which is unfortunate because there were so many great moments, but they're all overshadowed by a CGI, mutant gorilla.  I mean, couldn't they just have paid for the rights to the smoke monster and called it a day?  But when the show wasn't humiliating itself, it was really, really great, and mostly because almost the entire core cast had a story.  Even if Kane did quote Kanye West.  Or maybe Nietzsche, but I'm going to go with the former.  They both have a propensity for leather pants and self-aggrandizing speeches.

 

Clarke was awesome.  Octavia was awesome. Indra was awesome.  Even Lexa, terrified of CGI, mutant gorillas, was awesome. Bellamy had more to do than the rest of the season combined. 

 

Stepping into the shallow end of the pool: each and every male Grounder is more attractive than the next one.  RIP Lexa's mute replacement for Gustus; more Penn bonding with Kane.  More closeups of Bellamy's freckles.

 

Jaha is living off dreams and jobi nuts, right?  So much of this episode was hilarious (read: CGI, mutant gorilla), but his parts had to be intentional.  I'm desperately praying the next episode channels Wayne and Garth's long strange trip with Jim Morrison and the weird naked Indian on the journey to the City of Light.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Lila82

[shapeshifter]

I happened to catch the 1976 King Kong on over-the-air TV this weekend, so seeing the giant gorilla in the forest was just another walk in the park for me. Heh.

[ottoDbusdriver]

It's gotta be the people of the Ice Nation

 

Wow, was I wrong about that -- nope, mutant gorillas.  Who'd a thunk ?

 

Poor Major Byrd -- what a terrible way to killed on this show, by having her arm ripped off, off-screen no less, by a giant mutant gorilla.

Quick question -- how come none of the grounders mentioned that there were giant mutant gorillas wandering the forest nearby (i.e. within walking distance) of the grounder camp in D.C.  It looks like the gorilla's home is part of what's left of the National Zoo.

 

Both Clarke and Lexa make the leap to get away from the gorilla, and both hurt their ankles, but I'm sure they will walk it off. </snark>

And later when they escape from the gorilla, Clarke asks Lexa how her arm is -- WTF ?  Try asking her ankle that went crunch when she jumped ?

 

The stuff with Octavia showing that she's a warrior was just stupid -- and she gets her ass kicked for good measure.  Seriously, she's going to have busted bones from that beating, but I'm sure she'll be fine in about an hour.

 

Murphy and Jaha at the dropship -- could they be more boring ?  And he's still going on about the City of Light -- give it a rest already. But no, he's got a team to follow him on the quest to wherever the City of Light might be -- because he doesn't know.

 

Bellamy and Lincoln playing getting to know you on the route to Mt. Weather, not much interesting there either.  Except for the story Lincoln told about the ship that landed on Earth when he was a child, and the guy survived but his father made him kill the occupant.

 

Lexa and Clarke caged up together -- bom - chika- wow - wow.  Wow, they outsmarted a gorilla. 

 

The grounder leaders are chosen like the Dalai Lama via resurrected souls -- that just seems like an odd choice.  Do they scour the globe looking for replacements when one dies, performing the reincarnation test, because I would imagine that grounder leaders die pretty often.

 

Why are the grounders training at Camp Jaha ?  They aren't learning to coordinate attacks or communicate with the Sky People, so why even bother ?

 

And Lincoln takes one for the team -- dude is back on the horse.  I don't think Octavia will enjoy that, they just got him clean.

[Coxfires]

No time to review the whole episode right now, but definitely glad they kept Murphy, the actor does a wonderful job, and his "Camp You is that way" to Jaha cracked me up. I love how no-nonsense and blunt this character is.

[Slider]

This episode was just meh for me, but at least it sets up next week when Bellamy actually has something to do - For the first time all season; finally!

[Asha124]

Murphy was finally allowed to wash his face! No matter what everybody else says I think Richard Harmon is gorgeous. I hope he and team Jaha won't disappear for the rest of the season.

 

Why was Clarke aimlessly wandering around the forest when she was attacked? Where was that mutant gorilla untill now? Why is nobody trying to connect with the Grounders? And why am I still watching this show? (*cough* Henry Ian Cusick & Richard Harmon & Ricky Whittle *cough*)

 

Yes, I am shallow.

[taragel]

 

And later when they escape from the gorilla, Clarke asks Lexa how her arm is -- WTF ?  Try asking her ankle that went crunch when she jumped ?

 

 

 

I thought it was definitely her ankle/leg that was hurt too but when she got up, she was cradling her arm/elbow. 

 

This was the slowest episode this show's ever had I think. I fell asleep halfway through and had to rewind to rewatch. Meh. I could've skipped it till next week honestly.  I did like that we got different pairings this ep and that Jaha actually has a plan to find the City of Light. What happened to Abby and Raven? Did anyone even say where they were/what they were up to?

 

The Octavia's-a-badass storyline is veering on overdone. I'm glad she wasn't really able to hold her own against the grounder.

[Artsda]

Jaha wanting his city of light, while his people go to war to get more of his people back just makes him an ass. He doesn't deserve to be their leader, nor should he. I wished Murphy would have said no and go get the rest in Mt.Weather back instead. He was right on when he said Jaha didn't care about the people or he wouldn't be walking away from getting their people back.

 

Poor Lincoln, he just got the drugs out of his system and he took it again to help the others. He's more a leader than Jaha.

[shrewd.buddha]

How does Clarke always manage to end up on a girl-date camping trip with the leader of the Grounders? First Anya, now Lexa. It usually doesn't end well for whoever is not Clarke..

 

I must have mistook Clarke when she said she was going out for some fresh air. She must have been directed : "Exit, stage right, pursued by bear ..or gorilla."

She and Lexa somehow managed to wander miles away from camp and discovered an old zoo -- that is somehow unknown to the Grounders from the camp. 

 

And now Jaha has transformed into some hybrid of Jesus-Moses, leading his people to the promised land. Did he put out a Bat-signal during the night that allowed this disciples to show up at his door the next morning? 

 

Oh show, promise me you'll always be crazy...

Edited January 29, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[ottoDbusdriver]

During Clarke's confrontation with Quint after Byrd was killed, Lexa asks CLarke "Where's your guard ?"  Huh ?  At what point was Major Byrd guarding Clarke on her walk through the woods ?  Byrd was in the meeting room with Clarke and grounders, but she was no where to be seen on her walkabout. She just showed up suddenly far away from Clarke with her arm ripped off -- I hope they at least go back and bury her or she'll become dinner for the gorilla.

 

She and Lexa somehow managed to wander miles away from camp and discovered an old zoo -- that is somehow unknown to the Grounders from the camp.

 

In nearly a 100 years, the Grounders never found this home base for the killer gorilla this close to their camp (but apparently were aware of the gorilla since they had a name for it).  And since it appears to be the remains of the National Zoo, should we also be on the lookout for man-eating giant mutant pandas, or did the gorillas eat them already ?   </snark>

 

That was the remains of a moose in the gorilla's compound -- why wasn't it a mutant moose with two heads ?  I like how the gorilla was able to aim for the grounder before he blindly leapt from the other side of the wall of the compound -- it's not like he could course correct in mid-flight.

 

When Clarke shot the gorilla, it reminded me of a scene from the movie 'Blazing Saddles':
Sheriff Bart: I better go check out this Mongo character. [bart reaches for his gun]
Jim: Oh no, don't do that, don't do that. If you shoot him, you'll just make him mad.

 

Which it basically did since Clarke's aim kinda sucks.

 

Jaha wanting his city of light

 

What happens if the City of Light is populated by ...... cannibals ?  That would kind of suck.  Jaha's quest is based on one grounder's description of this mythical city, and even she didn't know where it was, so how does Jaha expect to find it without a map or even basic direction information ?

 

What happened to Abby and Raven? Did anyone even say where they were/what they were up to?

 

Nope. Not even a mention. Which is kind of weird since both Raven and Abby were at the grounder camp in D.C., and didn't travel with the grounder group back to Camp Jaha.  So where are they ?  Wherever she is, Raven is probably heavily bandaged up from all those knife wounds from the last episode.

Edited January 29, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[patchwork]

I'm confused did I miss the part where they hinted that the red drug was addictive? If Mt. Weather is using it to control their Reapers then it makes sense but I don't remember him going through withdrawal or any of the other flags that would have suggested he would betray Bellamy to get another hit. 

 

But I tend to not pay much attention to his scenes so I could have easily have missed something. 

 

I liked Jaha last season but I'm glad he's going off on a vision quest or whatever, him lurking around camp going "You're all DOOOMED!" was getting tiresome. Murphy's my favourite villain/gray hat but him leaving too gives the writers a chance do something new and interesting with his character. Loved that the BSG guy turned up for 2 seconds as Jaha's lead disciple, great use of the character!

 

This was repositioning the pieces ep hopefully next week's will be better. 

[Carrie Ann]

I'm confused did I miss the part where they hinted that the red drug was addictive? If Mt. Weather is using it to control their Reapers then it makes sense but I don't remember him going through withdrawal or any of the other flags that would have suggested he would betray Bellamy to get another hit.

 

The red drug is very addictive--immediately addictive, and yes, MW uses it to create and control the Reapers. The red drug is what makes them Reapers. There was an episode where Clarke saved him by putting him through a detox which is apparently usually fatal, and then she shocked him back to life, which is why the Grounders and the Ark people came to a detente in the first place. She proved that she could help their people.

 

But I guess I didn't read that end scene as Lincoln betraying Bellamy--maybe I misread it or misheard their plan. I thought that Bellamy was trying to get inside, so he was going to go along with things to get in, but Lincoln was going to fight his way out and escape. Instead, he let them dose him again and now he's a Reaper again.

[bluebonnet]

Yeah, super addictive.  At one point, he even killed another grounder just to get a hit.  The intense addiction to the drug is why grounders haven't previously survived withdrawal.  

 

ETA: What Carrie Ann said.  

Edited January 29, 2015 by bluebonnet

[patchwork]

They have shown it's addictive then, fair enough. I just don't remember Lincoln having any problems once Abbey saved him. 

 

But I do think the plan was for Bellamy to act like a captive so they can get close, Lincoln snatches the vial and runs, forcing the Weatherites to chase him, and Bellamy sneaks into the base. Being able to move freely seems crucial to the overall plan to save the 47/Grounders. 

[bumblebee]

But I do think the plan was for Bellamy to act like a captive so they can get close, Lincoln snatches the vial and runs, forcing the Weatherites to chase him, and Bellamy sneaks into the base. Being able to move freely seems crucial to the overall plan to save the 47/Grounders. 

I'm on the same page, I thought that he was going to grab the vial and inject the doctor or lab guys or just run considering the other reapers were rolling on the ground incapacitated. I really hope they don't plan on killing Lincoln off the show I will be seriously disappointed especially after they killed Anya. Aside from that found this episode and last week's episode to be a very slow start to the rest of the season. Could have done without the gorilla plot. 

 

I hope there is more Bellamy/ Mountain Men story line progress next week. I've seen the promo for episode 11 and it looks a lot more interesting than this week. 

[shapeshifter]

They have shown it's addictive then, fair enough. I just don't remember Lincoln having any problems once Abbey saved him. 

 

But I do think the plan was for Bellamy to act like a captive so they can get close, Lincoln snatches the vial and runs, forcing the Weatherites to chase him, and Bellamy sneaks into the base. Being able to move freely seems crucial to the overall plan to save the 47/Grounders.

I remembered the addictive properties of the red stuff, I just forgot the plan for this episode when they finally got there--so thanks for reminding me.

So Lincoln succumbed to the drug and thereby ruined the plan???

[thuganomics85]

So, the big creature that all the previews were hinting about was a gorilla?  Alrighty, then.  Not the best CGI there, but I guess a CW show can only do so much.  Hopefully The Flash will do it better whenever they around to Gorilla Grodd.

 

There really does seem to be something about Clarke that just makes Grounder leaders become her new traveling companion.  First, there was Anya, and now she and Lexa are already on trips together.  I enjoyed their scenes as always.  But, since they made sure to explain that Grounder believe that when a chief dies, her spirit is reincarnated into the next chief, I think that all put confirms that Lexa probably won't be making it out of this season alive.  Still think Indra will be the new person in charge.

 

Speaking Indra, totally knew that Octavia getting her ass kicked was going to make Indra take notice, and be willing to train her, because she respected the effort.  Of course, Kane wants her to be a spy, but Octavia doesn't seem down with that.  Have no idea what to expect.

 

Speaking of no idea, Jaha has gone off the rails, I think.  Going to look for this mysterious City of Light, huh?  That group seems more like a religious cult, then survivors.  But I love that Murphy as somehow got dragged into this, and is going probably end up being a voice of reason, in his own bizarre way.

 

Bellamy/Lincoln: my interpretation was that Lincoln did screw things up, because their original plan was going to allow Bellamy run in, and they would have been distracted.  Instead, he's actually captured and it's unlikely he'll be able to wander free.  I guess detoxing Lincoln wasn't enough to fully cure him of the addiction.

 

I did wonder where Abbie and Raven went.

[roctavia]

I remembered the addictive properties of the red stuff, I just forgot the plan for this episode when they finally got there--so thanks for reminding me.

So Lincoln succumbed to the drug and thereby ruined the plan???

 

 

Basically... He was too weak to resist the appeal of another hit of the drug... so he sort of screwed the plan, since his job was to act as distraction once they got Bellamy that close...

 

Though it got Bellamy inside... but now he's captive which is going to make it harder for him to act as an inside man.

[EverCat]

I had forgotten about Raven until it was mentioned here. Didn't miss her either.

Didn't understand Lincoln not following through with the plan. If he snatched the vial and ran off (of course, eluding the weatherites), he could have still ingested it afterwards. Plus, as patchwork said, it seemed like Lincoln didn't have any jonesing problems.

[SourK]

I didn't really follow what happened with Lincoln, I think, because there were too many factors at play, and they didn't get a lot of screen time to set things up. Looking back on it, I think their original plan was to show up alone and then the fact that they showed up with a bigger group of grounders somehow screwed them up? But then also Lincoln let himself get drugged? Maybe because he saw how much fun the other guys were having? I don't know. It was really confusing.

 

I love that the A plot this episode is that Clarke and what'sherface go to the zoo and get attacked by an ape. I did wonder where Abby was.

 

And, I'm not thrilled that Jaha now has this Crazy Religious Quest narrative going on. I like that it ties into the story where he first landed on Earth, but it feels a lot like they just didn't know what to do with the character, so they made up this other story line that's going to split from the rest of the show.

 

Speaking Indra, totally knew that Octavia getting her ass kicked was going to make Indra take notice, and be willing to train her, because she respected the effort.  Of course, Kane wants her to be a spy, but Octavia doesn't seem down with that.  Have no idea what to expect.

 

I thought, for a second, that they were going to subvert that expectation by having it be totally pointless for Octavia to get her ass kicked by the grounders, but then Indra showed up all, "I really like how you didn't stop fighting even though you totally sucked at it."

 

I seem to have a problem with every incarnation of Octavia, and I appreciate that this one is a little less helpless and dumb than the previous ones, but I also have a hard time with the idea that she started dating Lincoln and that made her an honorary grounder because now she knows their "ways" and he taught her how to "fight." I like it better that she's training with Indra, because that seems like she's earning it more, but I still have a hard time buying it.

[Sulis]

I've only really liked Octavia with Bellamy so far, speaking of whom, thank goodness he gets something to do at last. I didn't really understand what went down with him and Lincoln either at the end there.

 

The whole gorilla plot was as everyone has pointed out, WTF. Though I do enjoy Clarke and Lexa together. And I am getting a bit sick of the 'grounders and sky people don't trust each other and fight' plot over and over, which was why I did like Jaha and Murphy's scenes. I'm actually looking forward to a change of focus and I really like the character of Murphy. Not that he's likable, but he's interesting, and like Kane, I've found myself disliking him intensely, then feeling sympathy and swinging back and forth. 

 

Hope we see more of Bellamy and the mountain men next time. And RIP cute grounder who defended Lexa and Clarke from the gorilla. :-(

[Misty79]

Lexa and Clarke had some nice chemistry. Not that that will ever happen on this show, but it was amusing. 

 

I didn't mind the CGI gorilla so much, I've seen worse. How they ended up inside a zoo, that was more of a mystery. 

 

I like the idea of Jaha's mystical tour, I think it'll open up the world to the audience a lot more. This year's title sequence has a very Game of Thrones feel about it and I'm keen to find out more about the other places it references. I think it's a good direction for the show to head in, as the Mount Weather stuff will surely be wrapped up by the end of the season. 

[Jordan27]

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my.  Oh wait, just gorillas.  

 

This show is all over the place.  I'm not sure why I watch it.  I really like the look and feel of it, but not much else.

 

The writing is painful.  The characters are mostly all dumb.  They make stupid choices that mostly make things worse.

 

It's getting close to Under the Dome and Revolution quality, if you didn't see either, that's not good.

 

This season is slightly better than the first, but that is faint praise. 

 

I'm rooting for the gorilla.  Go Magilla!!!

[allthatglitters]

I just had to add that it says a lot about the choices of good sci fi right now if THIS show is one of the best going right now. I do enjoy it mostly. But this show really taxes ones patience in the art of the suspension of disbelief.

 

But what was with mini-kong? So this zoo collapsed 100 years ago and the animals stuck around the area. Most humans died from the radioactive exposure, and probably the same for the animals. But for some strange reason, SOME of the people and animals survived, and instead of the radioactivity making them weaker, and their babies weaker still, either miraculously, or through some trick Mother Nature was saving in her purse, their offspring were bigger and meaner and fitter. So bigger meaner moose living with insane in the brain giant gorillas. And how many other mutant offspring types of animals are wandering close to their ancestors ancient enclosure? And why?

 

When I think to hard about story lines in The 100 it starts to feel like one of those dreams that you wake up to and i slowly dawns on you that this dream you're just finishing makes absolutely no possible sense.

[Lady Calypso]

So...after 10 episodes with Major Byrne, getting several scenes with her....that's the way she's going to go? A half assed death scene with her arm ripped off by a gorilla? That's...disappointing, to say the least. It wasn't like she was just a redshirt; she was an actual character. I mean, we didn't know much about her, if anything, but I was growing to like her, especially after defending Abby. 

I think I like Octavia best when Lincoln isn't in the scene at all. That includes being mentioned, talked about, or thought about. Basically, whenever Octavia has a goal that isn't about saving Lincoln or loving Lincoln or being sad about Lincoln. I don't even hate them together; it's just become the only thing and person Octavia cares about, from the way the show presents it. So her scene fighting the Grounder was damn awesome. If we got more badass Octavia by her own merit, then I could really grow to like her more. I liked that she didn't win the fight, but she kept getting up and kept persevering, which is what Indra seemed to like about her.

What I like about Clarke this season is that she's finally not just doing something for a guy. She's had two individual plots with the women commanders and it's the most I like Clarke. I really like Lexa as well; I like that she also has many vulnerabilities, which is what keeps her as a leader. I was impressed that the show actually had Clarke/Lexa make a smart decision in hiding beside the door to escape from Gorilla Grodd. 

Wow. And somehow, the redemption arc for Murphy works on me. Either that, or Jaha has become so increasingly insufferable for me that Murphy looks good in comparison. I'd rather Jaha just left for this City of Light and be done with it. I'm not even quite sure why I'm disliking him as much as I do. I assume that'll change, like most of the character whiplash I've had these past two seasons.

Bellamy and Lincoln finally get stories of their own that's not just torture or following the leader this season, so at least there's that. But Lincoln's addiction to the drug led him to not help get Bellamy in as an inside man...well, not in the way they probably expected. Bellamy was supposed to be free and not captured, so things aren't looking good there. 

I didn't miss Raven, even though I like her, and I didn't even miss Abby.