S02.E15: Blood Must Have Blood - Part 1

[mustbekarma]

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK — Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Lexa (guest star Alycia Debnam Carey) prepare for battle, while Raven (Lindsey Morgan) and Wick (guest star Steve Talley) experience a major setback. Meanwhile, Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) and Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) are each forced to make a difficult decision.

At Mount Weather, Jasper (Devon Bostick) and Maya (guest star Eve Harlow) witness a horrible act, Bellamy (Bob Morley) follows through on a promise and Cage (guest star Johnny Whitworth) goes public with powerful information.

 

 

What the fresh hell was this? All the Grounders, except Lincoln, are backstabbers who stab. Seriously, now I don't care if they all died. Hook those suckers up to some more blood letting machines.

 

I seriously want all the Mount Weather people, except the kids and those who helped the Sky People, to die now.

 

For Pete's sake, how long can they string this plot along?

[ShortyMac]

Holy plot twist, Batman! I was not expecting that!

[MostlyC]

Oh Lexa, that was cold.  I don't see Clarke forgiving you any time soon.

[kdm07]

Aww man, just when I was beginning to root for you Lexa.

 

No commentary from me this week. Need to see Part 2 before I make any conclusions because something does not add up.

Edited March 5, 2015 by kdm07

[ShortyMac]

@ Lexa:

 

[curlygirl]

That was cold. I wonder what would have happened if Clarke had reciprocated more with Lexa instead of telling her she wasn't in the right place for a romance. Probably the same thing, I guess.

 

Also, damn, Octavia, got demoted fast. Just getting to be one of the grounders and then dumped by Indra a couple of scenes later.

[mustbekarma]

Indra and Lexa both suck out loud. However, I do wonder if Indra would be OK finding out that Lexa made a deal with the Mount Weather people instead of fighting a glorious battle. The Grounders wanted revenge, and Lexa has just denied them that. In the short term, Lexa gets her people back. In the long term, her people turn on her because she deprived them a chance at avenging the hundreds of their people that were slaughtered. Not giving them the outlet of slicing and dicing some of the Mount Weather people may come back to bite her in the ass.

 

Or course, I'm certainly rooting for that. If Indra could be the one to kick Lexa's ass, then I could be happy. Indra thought her people were in trouble, not that Lexa played "Let's Make a Deal."

[ottoDbusdriver]

Grounder-speak for 'Shut Up' is 'Shuf Up' -- that makes no fucking sense.  And the Mt. Weatherites have no video surveillance in the harvest room with all the grounders.  None at all, not even one camera.  That is just ridiculous.

 

Bellamy is still on the loose due to the complete ineptitude of Mt. Weather security, and has no problem freeing all the grounders.

Jasper and Maya get captured, but the couple hiding them were executed for being traitors to the new administration.

 

How come the grounders don't know about that backdoor to Mt. Weather ?  Because that's the more obvious entry point than that big ass door.

 

That's pretty short-sighted to blow up the turbines for the dam -- they should just take over Mt. Weather and it's free source of electricity.  Because there aren't any new turbines to be had in this world.

 

Did anyone else notice Raven running without even a hint of a limp ?  You know, because she has a dead leg with no feeling or control in it.  That's why she has to wear a brace.

 

I can't believe that the grounders are buying into Clarke's "We're only here to rescue, not wipe out the Mt. Weatherites" plan.  Mt. Weather has been stealing and torturing and killing Grounders for decades, I don't think they will just let it go.  Was there a meeting that Clarke wasn't invited to ?  Though that was a lovely diorama that someone built to plan the attack.

 

How is Indra's team supposed to breech the tunnels into Mt. Weather ?  Is Bellamy going to prop the door open with a cinder block and hope no one notices ?

 

When did anyone discuss the backup power generator inside Mt. Weather with Bellamy, let alone when did Bellamy communicate that to Raven.  How about never ?

 

How would the Grounders gathered at the Mt. Weather door know to chant that phrase when the camp is a long way aways, couple of miles minimum.  Did they sync their grounder watches ?

 

One guy was guarding the turbine room in the dam -- one guy ?  Did they even bother to lock the doors ?  Add getting blown up to the list of severe trauma that Raven has now undergone.  Don't worry, she'll walk it off.

 

Knowing that they have a minute to blow the big door, Clarke decides to take her time.  Of course.  That had to be the most underwhelming explosion when Lincoln fired that arrow at the hydrazine bomb in the door.  And how did the bomb retract the mechanical pins in that door ?  Because the Mt. Weatherites opened it from the inside.  So I guess the bomb didn't really do anything.

 

That line of gun flashes above the door appeared to be uniform across the mountain -- unless those guns were built-in, how did they get them so evenly placed ?  Plus, that was a pretty vertical rock face above the big door, so where were all the Mt. Weatherites hiding in order to gun the grounders down ?

 

Clarke is all butthurt because Lexa made a deal to save all of the grounders inside the mountain, but not the The 45.  No more sexytime for Clexa, but so much for that 'Blood Must Have Blood' nonsense.  Poor little Clarky can't believe that she was betrayed -- gee, that whole conversation about planning for beyond the battle really came back to bite Clarke in the ass.

 

And poor Octavia is no longer "of the tree people" -- it's just so sad.  And you basically see Octavia saying "I have no home" coming down the highway.  Man, the writers on this show are so sad and predictable.  As Octavia waits for door that will never open.

 

That has to be the cleanest tunnel in the history of existence -- do the Reapers have a service come in twice a week to tidy up the place ? 

 

You've got Octavia by herself at the side door, Clarke by herself at the front door, Wick and Raven captured (so I guess that brings us back up to 'The 47' inside the mountain) -- what will they do ?  Since everyone else has left, why don't the Mt. Weatherites just grab the both Clarke and Octavia ?

 

And Cage finally figures out that they can raid Camp Jaha for more bone marrow.  Finally !!!!

 

I'm still waiting for Jaha and the Horse Armies of Rohan to come over the hill to the rescue of the Clarke and Octavia's assault on Mt. Weather.  Because you know that's coming.

 

In the preview for next week,

how does Clarke get the drop on anyone ?  Seriously, how ?  And Abbey ends up in Mt. Weather for some marrow donation.

Edited March 5, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Minneapple]

This show keeps surprising me every week. Is it perfect? Hale no. But it somehow avoids stupid TV tropes and keeps you on edge. Kudos to the writers for that.

[Agent Dark]

Goddamm it, I can't even hate Lexa because she clearly made the correct tactical decision - gets all her people out without having to take heavy casualties assaulting a fortified mountain stronghold.  However, whether that was the correct strategic decision remains to be seen, since Mount Weather does remain standing (albeit crippled, at least for the moment) and that she probably just lost her alliance with the Sky People (though I think the Sky People were getting much more out of the alliance than the Grounders were - namely not being overrun by the Grounders...). 
 

I am going down with the Clexa ship though.  Lexa will see that Clarke is not going to give up no matter how slim the odds are, and after Lexa sees that her people have got to safety she will come back alone to try and redeem herself to Clarke.  Then they will team-up to liberate the hell out of the 46 (including Bellamy and Octavia), take out the evil Mountain Men leadership and let the good Mountain Men live, then retire to a little cottage and have lots of Princess Commander babies and live happily ever after.  The End.  La-la-la-la. 

 

 

Though on a serious note, at least they have a reason now why Alycia Debnam-Carey can leave the show for a bit without having to kill Lexa.  THERE IS STILL HOPE.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Though on a serious note, at least they have a reason now why Alycia Debnam-Carey can leave the show for a bit without having to kill Lexa.  THERE IS STILL HOPE.

 

My money is on Clarke killing Lexa for this betrayal in the season finale (but not before they anger bang at some point).

 

I'm thinking that Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia won't have to kill anyone at all because Maya will go on a killing spree because Cage had her father murdered.  I'm kidding, that won't happen.

[shrewd.buddha]

Just more muddy, bloody craziness. This show needs a death tally, because it could easily be rated by deaths per episode. 

 

I did like the Indra and Octavia scenes. "You are one of us now." Pause. "You are dead to us now." 

 

Note to Sky People and Grounders : when you get a huge-ass, gazillion ton door open, make sure you keep it blocked open with a boulder or something.  

And did the Mountain People have more than 250 Grounders to trade? Because Lexa let a whole village get bombed so that she could get inside the Mountain. 

 

I hope Jaha is out scouting for more people to kill. I'd hate for them to run out..

 

Is next week the season finale? 

Edited March 5, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[patchwork]

Lexa's retreat is for the best in the short term but long term she's either going to have Weatherites with superior weaponry capable of living outside their bunker or less likely Mt Weather being under the control of the Sky People who have every reason to hate her personally.
 
And for all the blood demands blood talk she abandoned the best shot the Grounders have at getting revenge, how many of her own people are going to be happy about that?
 
Who wants to bet The City Of Lights=Polis (or whatever Lexa called their HQ).

[Lila82]

So apparently the History Channel exists in the future, because the Grounders are huge "Vikings" fans.  Shield Wall!  Best thing this show has ever done.

 

Who wants to bet The City Of Lights=Polis (or whatever Lexa called their HQ).

 

 

Does that mean the capital is in Annapolis???  Woot MD!  Everyone forgets that my home state exists.  There is more to it than Baltimore and "Wedding Crashers".

[absnow54]

though I think the Sky People were getting much more out of the alliance than the Grounders were - namely not being overrun by the Grounders...

I thought the Sky People really pulled their weight when it came to the actual fight. They infiltrated the compound and killed the acid fog machine, which would have left the Grounders dead in the water. In the end, the Grounders got what they wanted, except for vengance, which unfortunately, Clarke taught Lexa that she no longer needed it.

 

I didn't love Lexa's betrayal because it seemed more heartless than I was coming to expect from her, but I guess it makes sense. I'm curious to see how the Sky People get out of this mess.

 

On another note. What was the graphic murder count? I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, since last week there were severed limbs scattered about from Murphy's travel companion exploding, but there were lots of shots in the head with blood splattering, which is usually too graphic for PG-13. Oh well, as long as there's no nudity (har, har, har)

[Slider]

The betrayal made zero sense. 

[tennisgurl]

My first thought? Damn Lexa. You cold, lady. 

Second thought? Tumblr is gonna loose their damn minds over this. 

 

I am really pumped for next week. I kind of wonder if team Sky People are finally just going to get the hell out of dodge. I mean, the rest of Earth clearly sucks too, but at least they don't have the Mountain Men chasing them down for harvesting purposes. 

 

I like Raven and Wick. Hoping they can add more of him next season, I like his character. He adds a little necessary lightness. Jasper and Monty used to do that, but the poor things haven't had much lightness this season, so someone needs to be there for some relief. 

[Carrie Ann]

I love this show, so much. It's the only show I watch where even if I'm trying to do something else, I can't. I just end up dropping my phone or magazine and moving closer to the TV and clenching my fists and saying "oh shit" like 100 times.

 

So many great character moments this episode: Raven asking Wick not to leave her, Octavia refusing to leave her brother no matter what it meant for her, Clarke realizing she misread this whole situation and being unable to accept that it's over, Jasper and Maya going with Bellamy. If I have one critique, it would be that I wish some of that--particularly the Raven stuff, but also Clexa--had more than one episode to marinate. If we'd had the Raven/Wick hookup and frosty period lasting a few episodes, then the thaw would have been more effective. Ditto the Clexa thing. Had their kiss happened a couple episodes ago, or had we had a few romantic/intimate moments with them, I think it would have hit a little harder.

 

But still, I'm not going to complain too much, because I'm so invested in all of these characters and their relationships, that even if things move fast, it still works for me. I am so sad next week is the last until fall/winter.

[Ceeg]

I can't really blame Lexa for sacrificing Clarke's people for her own. Even though it's been half a season for us, it's been...what two weeks since Lexa and Clarke met? Less than that maybe. She saw the opportunity to save hundreds of her people, so she took it. At least she's practicing what she preaches, i.e. ruling with her head instead of her heart. But damn, as a viewer, that hurt. Also poor Octavia. I just want to hug her.

 

Sidenote, FOR THE LOVE, will someone please kill Cage? My god.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Ceeg

[TwistedandBored]

I understand about The Grounders following their leader, Lexa and leaving but what was up with the rest of Sky People leaving like that? This was a total WTF!

 

I don't know if that was because the show writers needed those scenes of Clark and Octavia looking at closed doors all sad or tragic but I was just like this doesn't even make sense! 

[kieyra]

Ok, the show might have just gone *too* dark for me. They were building up this big Blackwater style battle, then Lexa sucked and it all collapsed. I feel so deflated.

[absnow54]

Sidenote, FOR THE LOVE, will someone please kill Cage? My god.

Thank you! I knew he had a name, but couldn't for the life of me remember what it was. I've been calling him President Jean Ralphio.

[Riful]

There was so much going on, with some big stuff relegated to off-screen, that it took me a second viewing to catch it all.

 

I was wondering how this episode would stack the deck against our group, since at the end of 2x14 it looked like the odds favored them way to much. I gotta give the writers some props for managing to take everything away from the group.

 

Grounder Army Alliance? Gone.

Engineer/Science Team Up? Captured

Army on the inside? Released and now made *peace with the enemy

The once in a life time opportunity to get inside through the main door? Supposedly lost.

Arkers hidden amongst civilians sympathetic to them? Captured

Radition working against the MM? Most have barricaded them selves in an impossible to breech area that is safe from radition along with some of the captured Arkers.

 

Now for the big one. Lexa's betrayal.

 

From the start Clarke clarified that it was a rescue mission. The whole ruckus at the main gate meant to distact and put preassure on the Mountain Men, while Indra and the others went through the mines into the Harvest Chamber and got the Grounders and Ark kids out. That plan didn't last long though due to all the delays, and Cage going public and thus capturing a fair share of the Arkers.

 

The one big thing I missed on my first watch, is what probably gives the biggest indication of the deal Lexa struck and the circumstances behind. I didn't hear Monty saying that he overheard that the soldiers were going for the harvest chamber. Bellamy, Maya, Jasper and Monty rushed there to stop it, but by the time they reached the chamber, all the grounders were gone and leaving through the main gate, while Indra's team had just reached their entry door. Now if things had gone according to plan and no delays, maybe the soldiers would not had gotten there before our guys, but they did.

 

The show chose to not let us see the deal struck between Lexa and the MM in favor of having it blind side us. I get why they decided on that, but it really left some stuff off screen and in the land of connecting the dots. And some of it they even had to clarify on twitter, which is a really bad sign. However going by the time line (I know I know on this show it can be iffy), it seems that the soldiers were likely right outside the harvest chamber when the deal was struck. Because by the time Bellamy and the others reached the chamber, the grounders from there were already walking out the main door several levels above.

 

So the deal offered to Lexa at the ridge was to say no, which would then be followed by the soldiers killing all those grounders in the harvest chamber and take that Ark people in there with them up to that level they were barricading themself in. This would be followed by hundreds of grounders dying trying to get through the main door (stated by Jason on twitter), followed by hundreds more trying to fight through narrow tunnel(s) (confirmed by another writer), which would then be followed by even more dying trying to reach the Ark people and MM holding out on that floor, which Maya described as impossible to get into when they first have settled in.

So I get why Lexa chose to get her people out and minimize losses. But I have so God damn many issues with the execution of it all. The fact that you have to learn through twitter a peace deal was a part of this is just dumb. Also leaving the deal off-screen that while it created the sucker punch, it leaves us to connect the dots and speculate on the exact nature of the deal (or apparently go look at the writers social media accounts). Not to mention it then removes Lexa's perspective, and the deal also appears rather short sighted.

 

It would seem like the MM would become radiation immune and then come out and use their superior technology to take more land and kill Grounders (which they might still do if it wasn't for Clarke and the rest somehow winning in the end). Now I get Lexa can do things to make that harder (I seen suggestions of closing off the mine exit and keeping guards at the main door), but in the actual episode? I do not think the show showed clearly enough that they were loosing. I read so many people that thought with the door open that the Alliance was assured a victory and other things. The whole soldiers going to the harvest chamber, the shooters on the ridge, fighting through choke points against people with guns, fair share of MM barricaded in, what they delays meant etc. are all aspects that it seems variate how many noticed or considered these things. I missed some of these on first watch, and reading comments it variates a lot how much people picked up on and how they interpreted it. I love a show that does not cut everything out for their audience, but I felt in this case, with the battle and plans failing and new plans being made and them failing etc. it would not have been a bad thing to make some things a bit clearer in what they meant for the overall goals/plan(s).

Another thing there seems to be an obvious solution where the Grounders wait a bit of time for the MM to move out of the area they went into lockdown. Then Lexa or Indra (since Lexa is considered less expenable and it might make her look weak) take any Grounders (including Lincoln) who feel disatisfied with the 'peace' + Octavia+ the remaning armed arkers, and go through the mines to annihilate the MM, and get the Ark people out. But that won't happen.

 

The Octavia and Indra moment was sweet, but I felt like they really undermined it with it basically being one scene later that they split apart. Made it so obvious and come across rather clonky with that switch around. However it was great to see Lincoln get a bit of a hero moment with the arrow, and it was a nice bit of continuity with the guard being worried about his son inside and trying to get to the door.

 

I loved Raven at the dam, and her getting to work out the solution. It was also a rather sad moment with Wick being pretty shocked at his own actions and Raven going "welcome to the ground". A very strong moment showing the inherent difference between the 100 and the later arrivals. One nit pick is however how she could run/move like there was no injury and the brace is apparently the magic cure. Maybe I been spoiled by Michael Emerson on Person of Interest that has perfected to moving with a limp under any circumstances. It just really stood out and sorta took me a bit out of the scenes.

I did really like this episode despite several things irking me. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster.

*Jason said on twitter the deal included peace, which sigh. I get wanting to blind side the audience but having to explain plot holes or semi-illogical actions through twitter is not a good sign.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Riful

[SourK]

Well, A for surprises, C- for making sense.

 

It makes zero sense to me that, in Grounder culture, it would be acceptable to make a trade like that instead of going into battle with your enemy. The show went out of the way, at the start of this episode, though, to tell us that this was the lamest plan ever -- basically they were just trying to distract the Mountain Men long enough to smuggle their people out another way; the objective wasn't to take control of the mountain (which it probably should have been). So, when you look at it that way, then I guess, tactically, trading juicy sky person bone marrow for the Grounder prisoners makes sense?

 

What I really wish is that they'd shown us the conversation where Lexa was convinced to do this -- but I also think there's no conversation that would have convinced me that she didn't want to kill some Mountain Men while she was there. I'm so confused.

 

Grounder-speak for 'Shut Up' is 'Shuf Up' -- that makes no fucking sense.

Jasper and Maya get captured, but the couple hiding them were executed for being traitors to the new administration.

I can't believe that the grounders are buying into Clarke's "We're only here to rescue, not wipe out the Mt. Weatherites" plan.  Mt. Weather has been stealing and torturing and killing Grounders for decades, I don't think they will just let it go.  Was there a meeting that Clarke wasn't invited to ?

As I've been listening to the Grounder language more, a lot of it sounds like mumbly English. But I did enjoy that "be quiet" sounds basically the same as "shut up." It's a whole different culture!

 

They want to keep Jasper alive because of his bone marrow, but I have no idea why they wouldn't just kill Maya. They knew she was that other dude's daughter, so it's not like they got her confused with the others. (I got legitimately emotional when her dad said that her mom would be proud of her, though.)

 

I had the same thought about the meeting -- I was sure that Lexa had already gone over a different plan with her army and they were all just pretending to listen to Clarke. Guess not.

 

I am going down with the Clexa ship though.  Lexa will see that Clarke is not going to give up no matter how slim the odds are, and after Lexa sees that her people have got to safety she will come back alone to try and redeem herself to Clarke. Then they will team-up to liberate the hell out of the 46 (including Bellamy and Octavia), take out the evil Mountain Men leadership and let the good Mountain Men live, then retire to a little cottage and have lots of Princess Commander babies and live happily ever after.  The End.  La-la-la-la.

 

See, this is maybe why I'm confused. I think the writers just didn't come up with a very sound tactical plan from the beginning? Because, I want to say, there's nothing to stop Lexa from storming the mountain now that she has her people back (either way you slice it, it's not like keeping your word seems to matter to her), except that we were just now made to believe that there was no possibility of storming the mountain and the whole point was to create a diversion at the front door.

 

But, if there was no legitimate chance of storming the mountain, why were the Mountain Men so worried? Also, what was all that talk earlier in the season about the Grounder army on the inside that could wreak havoc once they were set free? 

 

If there is a legitimate chance of storming the mountain, how could Lexa not take it? Either before or after making that deal? Even if the Mountain Men are too busy injecting themselves with Sky Person marrow to worry about bleeding any more of the grounders, aren't they still really dangerous and isn't this still the best chance to take them out?

 

This doesn't make any sense.

 

ETA: Riful posted while I was typing -- so, okay, there was more to what was going on, but it didn't come through in the episode. :(

 

I did like the Indra and Octavia scenes. "You are one of us now." Pause. "You are dead to us now."

 

Indra is so dramatic. She's known Octavia for, like, a week, and she's already wiling to a) welcome Octavia into the clan as one of their own, and b) banish Octavia because she will never be one of them -- both within the same half hour. That whole arc would have had a lot more meaning if Octavia had been trying to join the Grounders for longer than a few days in show time.

Edited March 6, 2015 by SourK

[thuganomics85]

Well, then.  I guess that kiss wasn't that great for Lexa.  Not sure what to think about this little turn.  Stone cold and ruthless, but I can buy Lexa accepting the offer.  I do have problems believe that the rest ofThe Grounders would be all for it (they seem like they would rather get revenge for all of their fallen), but maybe she's that convincing and respected.  Even still, assuming this all works out for them, I have to think the Mt. Weather people would be an issue again, once they have all the bone marrow.  But, maybe Lexa has an idea for that.  Either way, I have to think Lexa/Clarke has already been torpedoed.  No way will Clarke ever forgive her for this.  And, I still think Lexa is probably doomed.  At best, she will come to their aid and sacrifice herself (doubtful.)  At worst, Clarke will kill her.

 

Octavia and Indra are already done too.  I kept waiting for Octavia to say what Lexa did, but then I remembered she already did, but Indra respected that choice, so I don't think anything she said was going to convince her.  These Grounders, man.  You can't get too close to them.  They just ain't loyal!

 

Interesting that it was all thanks to The President.  I knew he helped Bellamy in an earlier episode, but I guess he really worried that The Grounders would kill everyone, so he decided to back his damn son in the end.  But, I have to think Mt. Weather is going to be in a world of hurt still.  Can't see them winning.

 

Raven and Wick are now captured.  That's not good.  Of course, they find a way to have Bellamy, Jasper, Monty, and Maya all avoid being captured, so I'm sure they'll try something.

 

Really not sure how the finale is going to play out.  It would be a miracle for Clarke and Octavia to somehow get in there, find the rest, and destroy everyone.  

[Agent Dark]

See, this is maybe why I'm confused. I think the writers just didn't come up with a very sound tactical plan from the beginning? Because, I want to say, there's nothing to stop Lexa from storming the mountain now that she has her people back (either way you slice it, it's not like keeping your word seems to matter to her), except that we were just now made to believe that there was no possibility of storming the mountain and the whole point was to create a diversion at the front door.

 

But, if there was no legitimate chance of storming the mountain, why were the Mountain Men so worried? Also, what was all that talk earlier in the season about the Grounder army on the inside that could wreak havoc once they were set free? 

 

If there is a legitimate chance of storming the mountain, how could Lexa not take it? Either before or after making that deal? Even if the Mountain Men are too busy injecting themselves with Sky Person marrow to worry about bleeding any more of the grounders, aren't they still really dangerous and isn't this still the best chance to take them out?

 

This doesn't make any sense.

Charging warriors equipped with leather armour and melee weapons through narrow corridors and chokepoints against defenders holed up with machine guns was always going to end in massive casualties for the Grounders.  Up until the point that the deal was offered, I think Lexa was willing to accept that.  Keep in mind that a key part of their plan involved Bellamy releasing the Grounders imprisoned inside in order to cause a diversion to the defenders.  Without that diversion it probably didn't really matter that they could get the door open, because they weren't going to get too far inside with axes and spears vs .50cal machine guns. 

 

But when she suddenly had a way to get her people out and leave with her army intact, she took it.  I think she came to the conclusion that it's not much of a victory if she exhausts her army achieving it - The Mountain Men don't appear to be the only threat in the world and if she has no army left to defend her lands then the Grounders will get picked off.  Even if the Mountain Men renege on their deal and come after the Grounders, Lexa's army stands a far better chance of fighting them in the woods where they're not getting funneled down chokepoints with heavy weapons cutting them to pieces. 

 

I get that the writers may not have got those points across that well (as they're apparently clarifying it on twitter and stuff), but it made sense to me from Lexa's point of view as I was watching it. 

[GaiusB]

WOW that was the best set up for hate sex i ever seen. I did not seen it coming, but retrospectively it was perfectly fitting with Lexa character. We know 2 basic things about her:

 

1. She is taking her position as  The Commander very seriously and is willing to do absolutely anything if she thinks it is for the best of her people

2. Her blood for blood mantra is merely populistic chant to keep her authority, she is actually a peacemaker. She united 12 clans, she even allied with Ice Nation, whose members brutally murdered her girlfriend. She allied with Arkers who killed 300  of her warriors and could be a new serious threat. And now she made peace with MM, saved many of her people while removed primary source of hostilities between MM and grounders.

 

It was completely in character, much better outcome for her then to sacrife many of her warriors for the rescue mission, which would not solve problem with MM on long term. I admit i expected different sort of treachery in form of order to massacre all MM, but this was definitely more unexpected, while still in character of Lexa.

It was also interesting how similar she and Dante were. Both did something they did not wanted to do at all, but both did it for the greater good of their people. Though i wonder if Lexa would take the deal if Clarke was little more enthusiastic about Lexa´s offer to go live with her.

 

I will still reserve a judgement about the twist until the next episode. If it will be done right, it could be brilliant set up for the next season. It offer good chance for Lexa to survive and to have interesting relationship with Clarke. What i feared most before the episode was that Lexa will tragically die  in Clarke´s hands. Which would be the worst and the most predictable end of this storyline.

Edited March 6, 2015 by GaiusB

[Artsda]

I don't really feel bad for Clarke, she seems really stupid and naive when it comes to the grounders. She wants so much to follow Lexa and be like them. She first let those bombs blow up without warning anyone including her own people and now she's shocked the grounders are out for themselves?

 

When Lexa was doing the chanting before they marched over to Mt.Weather. Clarke joined in like she was one of them when she probably didn't even know what they were chanting. Meanwhile Lincoln did not, Lincoln knew better and Clarke was instead trying to be a cool person they let into the group only to realize she's not.

 

She put all her eggs in that basket and it blew up in her face. 

[marcee]

So I love this show the way I love cookie dough ice cream (that is, a lot) but I have a real problem understanding how Lexa is okay with losing -let's just say- 200 grounders by not warning them about the bomb simply in order to save -let's just say- 200 grounders... I'm so confused. I thought the whole point of letting them bomb everyone was because "this is war" and the war on Mt. Weather was more important than the lives of -let's just say- 200 grounders. I thought she wanted their vengeance on the Mt. Weather people?

Edited March 6, 2015 by marcee

[GaiusB]

marcee, on 06 Mar 2015 - 6:34 PM, said:

So I love this show the way I love cookie dough ice cream (that is, a lot) but I have a real problem understanding how Lexa is okay with losing -let's just say- 200 grounders by not warning them about the bomb simply in order to save -let's just say- 200 grounders... I'm so confused. I thought the whole point of letting them bomb everyone was because "this is war" and the war on Mt. Weather was more important than the lives of -let's just say- 200 grounders. I thought she wanted their vengeance on the Mt. Weather people?

 

I think the writers could explain it better, but it make sense. At time of the missile attack Lexa did not had a peace deal offered from MM. At that time it was not a question of which 200 grounders will live. If she had that offer at that time, she would most likely accepted it. Only in this episode Lexa had a choice to accept peace and save many hundreds of grounders against lives of 44 Arkers. Easy choice.

 

Now there can be an argument that in the long term it would be better if she used the opportunity to murder all MM, but that was not plan of the operation and it was not something she ever did to any of her enemies as far we know. Actually i think original plan to just rescue  captive grounders and Arkers was  worse option then a peace deal or a "final solution", as it would solve nothing in the long term and number of casualties would exceed number of  rescued people.

[roctavia]

I can sort of see why Lexa took the deal, but I think it was very short sighted and is going to backfire on her badly (which maybe is the point, to set up more stuff for next season)

 

Yes, she saved the however many grounders that were held captive... though really, how many were there? I know they showed us a lot of cages, but I wouldn't expect them to keep more than 40-50 grounders captive at a time (if that... since it didn't look like that many coming out) Do we know how many people are in Mount Weather anyway? I'd wager more than the amount of bone marrow they could get from the remaining arkers, since they are killing them with each harvest.

 

But anyway... Yes, Lexa saved her captured people and stopped more of their people from dying in the rescue attempt (though i don't think the casualties would be as high as some others have speculated. Only a small number of MW people are radiation proof, the rest have a huge weakness and can be killed by simply tearing a hole in their radiation suit... and all but level 5 of the bunker is being flooded with radiation... so if the plan had actually worked, I think they could have gotten their people out with less damage) but what about the hundreds (if not thousands) of grounders that have been captured, tortured, killed or turned into reapers for the last however many years MW has been using their blood? The one woman who was harboring Jasper had turned down 30 blood treatments, and that's just her.

 

Plus mount weather still has the reaper population roaming around which can continue to harm the grounders... do you really think they are going to give up their cerberus project? Even if the agreement was peace? I just don't buy it. Especially since the mount weather people want to go outside, they will have to survive amongst the grounders, which makes me think their approach is going to be to kill the grounders if they do anything remotely threatening.

 

Is Lexa's deal for all the grounder clans, or just hers?

 

I don't know... I'm just not a huge fan of this twist, since it seems like another stupid decision, just like the MW people have been doing stupid things for decades- a breeding program with radiation immune should have been started a long time ago.... I also have a feeling that if MW had let the kids go before they started killing them, they could have made a deal with the ark people to donate marrow to free them all. Now that the Ark is down, there are a lot of people who could volunteer... not to mention the fact that the Ark people also have advanced weaponry and skills to build more bombs and stuff like that. Not a group I'd want to keep pissing off at a time when I want to start exploring the area outside my safe little bunker.

[viajero]

I can sort of see why Lexa took the deal, but I think it was very short sighted and is going to backfire on her badly (which maybe is the point, to set up more stuff for next season)

 

 

It certainly seems that way.  I can't see letting the MM loose as being positive in any way for the grounders over the long run.  But I suspect that we haven't yet been let in on a lot of what's going on.  I'm hesitant to reach conclusions until we see the second half of the episode next week and maybe even into next season.

 

In the meantime, I'm consoling myself with the thought that the chances of Lexa getting killed off before the end of this season just went way down.  That would have been a real pity because it's so rare to find a TV show that has done such a good job of developing such complex strong female characters and I think there is a lot more to be gotten out of Lexa and her relationship to Clarke; whether they end up as lovers, friends, allies, enemies or some weird combination of the above.

 

I really don't know what I'm going to do once this season is over. next week  This show has become so incredibly addictive that I can't stand the idea of having to wait months until Season 3 starts.

Edited March 7, 2015 by viajero

[Aeryn13]

Wow, tough episode. But in general this Season has been really good.

 

I get Lexa taking the deal. Ever since she has been introduced, she made no secrets about what she was about as a leader. However, why break up the alliance over it. If you don`t care about breaking your word, then take the deal, wait till the prisoners are out and then STILL storm the Mountain. Break your word to the enemy, not your fucking allies. Somehow, I can`t believe that a warrior culture like that would be just okay with letting the Mountain be. After everything they did, They were so adamant about Finn paying for killing 15? villagers yet those people have enslaved, killed and tortured them for decades and you just leave them alone on the eve of victory? Possibly to recover and get up their acid fog thing again or fire more missiles? That was tactically short-sighted and I think unworthy of Lexa as a strategist.

 

Also, she does not seriously wish to meet Clarke again, right? Because Clarke will never forgive her for this and next time they meet might be quite unpleasant.

 

I want Cage, father and son, as well as that smug soldier to all die very gruesome deaths. I wanted their stupid smug smiles wiped off their faces. And the former President is worst of all because deep down he knows it`s wrong. They never wanted to deal with the "savages", fine. They had too few kids to have them make safe marrow donations (without killing them) to heal them all, fine. But how about simply asking all the people who came from the Ark for help? If every one of those did one simple marrow donation, they could easily heal all the freaking Mountain People. Die for your stupidity alone.

 

Something that cracked me up in a kind of sad way was Raven semi-consoling Wick after he had clubbed that soldier to death with a "welcome to the ground". Because it`s true, this Earth seems to bring out the killer in people and you haven`t really arrived until you joined the club.

 

What I`m looking for the most are some reunions in the Finale. The core cast has been seriously divided over the Season. 

Edited March 7, 2015 by Aeryn13

[BooBear]

 

I get Lexa taking the deal. Ever since she has been introduced, she made no secrets about what she was about as a leader. However, why break up the alliance over it. If you don`t care about breaking your word, then take the deal, wait till the prisoners are out and then STILL storm the Mountain. Break your word to the enemy, not your fucking allies.

 

I am not sure that is not going to happen in the next episode. At the very least I think there will be a substantial wing of the grounders that will not agree with the decision. If it were me, and I were Lexa, I would get my people to safety and head back. The Mountain is still a clear and present threat to them, another day, and the only shot they have at taking it out is the sky people.  Letting the Mountain people use the sky people to get out of the Mountain signs the Grounder's death warrant, eventually.

 

But how about simply asking all the people who came from the Ark for help?

 

This has been a problem for me all season. Makes no sense the way it has gone down. You would think if they really felt the grounders were savages they would have bent over backwards to make friends of the sky people - even if they planned eventually to take marrow by force.

[Tippi Blevins]

There has to be more to Lexa's deal than there appears to be, right? She's been fairly sensible, so there's no way she'd believe that the Weathermen would ever keep their side of the bargain. They'd wipe out all the Grounders ASAP. She's pragmatic, not stupid. 

 

I like "Shuf up." It sounds like short form for "shut the fuck up."