S03.E06: Bitter Harvest

[Carrie Ann]

I let this season pile up on my DVR for the first four episodes because I'd heard the rumblings of One Bad Storyline, but when I caught up, I was disappointed to find that I have issues with every storyline. Basically the only characters I haven't had issue with yet are Octavia, Kane, Miller, and Murphy. I think everyone else is acting slightly or hugely OOC (or are just stuck in an annoying plot), and storylines are too rushed to find them credible or engaging.

 

Sheesh, in the first half of Season 1 I couldn`t stand the Bellamy character, then surprisingly he became one of my favourites and had a good development, if limited screentime, in Season 2. So why the hell is he now doing an Anakin Skywalker impression to Emperor Pike in the weakest storyline of Season 3? Why? At that was missing was Pike whispering evilly in an opera house. Meanwhile Bellamy`s questions show that he at least has an understanding how wrong they are being. This is frustrating.

 

The worst part of the worst aspect of the worst storyline is this: Bellamy is acting monstrously, and of course it's OOC, but it's even worse because unlike Pike, he knows this strategy is not sustainable. He knows the Ark can't be isolationist and survive/defend itself against the much larger Grounder coalition, especially if some factions of that group split off like the Ice Nation did. So Pike is a hateful moron, but at least he has ignorance going for him. What's JR's excuse for why Bellamy would lose all knowledge he's gained since landing on the planet? I have heard his weak reasoning for Bellamy's sudden and violent turn against Grounders, but even that doesn't explain the stupidity. Bleh. I'm going back to letting the episodes pile up until I hear conditions have improved.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

The 100 Turns Its Characters Into Sheeple
Jaha continues feeding Arkadia his empty-calorie salvation, while Clarke experiments with being boring.

[Riful]

The worst part of the worst aspect of the worst storyline is this: Bellamy is acting monstrously, and of course it's OOC, but it's even worse because unlike Pike, he knows this strategy is not sustainable. He knows the Ark can't be isolationist and survive/defend itself against the much larger Grounder coalition, especially if some factions of that group split off like the Ice Nation did. So Pike is a hateful moron, but at least he has ignorance going for him. What's JR's excuse for why Bellamy would lose all knowledge he's gained since landing on the planet? I have heard his weak reasoning for Bellamy's sudden and violent turn against Grounders, but even that doesn't explain the stupidity. Bleh. I'm going back to letting the episodes pile up until I hear conditions have improved.

 

I actually don't think Bellamy is acting super OOC at all. Especially with regards to the horrible things he has done and is willing to do. Bellamy never been guided by this innate sense of right or wrong. In S2 he did heroic things, but it wasn't born so much out of a need to do the right thing. His actions have often primarily been guided by his need to protect his own ass, and the few he cares about. The number of those people grew as the show went on, but it still includes a very sharp us vs. them divide in his mind.

 

To protect himself and those he cares about, Bellamy has consistently shown to be willing to do monstrous things.

 

In S1 he was fine with letting Murphy burn a girl's face off because it served to protect his own skin. That is a pretty horrific thing. For large scale killing, even when unprovoked, we have seen that before as well with his plot to make all the Arkers die in space. There he was working towards having not only innocent men and women die a slow horrible death, but also elderly, children and even infants. Death by lack of oxygen is not a fun pain free way to go, but Bellamy was working his ass of trying to make it happen in S1. So mass killing of innocents of all ages has been within Bellamy's scope from the start. 

 

I think it is very consistent with Bellamy that if you are not a part of the group of people Bellamy cares about, he will when it comes down to it, not give a fuck about you in comparison. Currently the battle lines drawn in Bellamy's mind is Arkers vs Grounders, which is why he can disregard their lives so easily and do such horrible things. There are parts of Bellamy that knows what is right or wrong, but when it comes to his motivation and how he divide things up, right and wrong has never been the place he formed that basis from. It has from the start being me and mine. So he might object here and there, but when push comes to show he defaults to his us vs. them mentality.

 

What I do find OOC is how utter short sighted Bellamy is. He has never been good at thinking long term and the bigger picture, but he has been at the receiving end of the Grounders guerrilla warfare tactics and know they can present a challenge against their technology when you are wandering about in their forest. But definitely not OOC with how far he is willing to go in my view. I know the show gave him a huge pass and ignored a lot of the shitty and outright terrible things he did in S1, but they are still part of his character and the history of his character. Ot seems as if the writers remembered some of those things in this season. Now the fact that they skated over it in the end of S1 and in S2, has probably caused some whiplash.

 

For other characters being OOC, I don't see it. Clarke had a very well plotted out character arc so far with her slowly coming back to herself while still exhibiting her core traits (could probably write a 11 page essay on this as a huge Clarke fan I have been very happy).

 

Raven's story line is just starting and it is looking good and I dont see her actions as far out so far. She has suffered a lot and we seen her seek refuge from it using stuff such as sex, so I could see her curiosity make her lead her into trying the chip. She probably didn't expect much past maybe getting high/feeling of drunkenness with some pain relief.

 

Monty is getting more involved, but sadly a scene with him showing reservations over Pike and Bellamy, and that he was mostly just following his mom was cut for time, which definitely caused some sense of lacking character insight. Octavia and Lincoln been consistent with Lincoln wanting to integrate more into SkyKru and Octavia clearly identifying more with the Grounders. We are getting more Indra, Kane been great and we are seeing the payoff from a long character arc where he has now evolved into the diplomat trying to guide others like Bellamy. Abby been Abby, we learning more about Miller, Jasper spiral seems very in character to me as well. Lexa always aimed towards peace, even if it meant making alliances with enemies and letting go of big transgressions (Ice Nation + Mount Weather).

Edited March 3, 2016 by Riful

[AudienceofOne]

Also, Clarke is a fucking badass.  "May you live forever".  The Commander of Death has just given you a life sentence.

 

You're free to spend the rest of our life in brutal poverty reflecting on what you've lost. I am Clarke and even when I don't kill somebody I'm fucking awesome.

 

Of course!  Pike and his men massacre 300 Grounders and it's just the cost of "war."  But when a Grounder village sets a trap because the Arkadia crew is totally going to invade them (and I don't see a "Please leave!" approach to their methods), and it causes two deaths, Pike is all "How dare they?!  They fought back, instead of just bending over and taking it!"  The hypocrisy is so stunning, only equal to how most of the citizens don't seem to be able to see it.  

 

I can't think of a single real-life example I could use without upsetting somebody and starting a forum shit fight so I will simply note that there are plenty. This is accurate. Almost every day we hear a politician or former soldier or commentator say "how dare they try to steal back what we've rightfully stolen?" or "how dare they kill one of the soldiers we sent to invade their homeland?"

 

I find it interesting how the original 100 and "their people" are now, in my eyes, looking like the bad guys. I spent 2 seasons praying for their survival and now I wouldn't mind so much if the 12 clans just wiped 'em out.

 

In this episode in particular, I thought "and now the Grounders will come and wipe them from the face of the Earth, Yeehaaa! Burn, baby, burn" and then I had to check myself. Actively rooting for your main protagonists to die horribly? I don't know if it's a mistake on the show's part or brilliant writing. I will say this show is one of the best things on TV at the moment because of it.

 

This. So much. I was hoping that Pike and crew would just get wiped out at the grounder village attack. That would solve so many of the problems going on. 

Also, are there NO sane people left at Arkadia who are thinking "murdering people in their sleep is not a good thing?" Has the concept of war crimes gone away?  So many issues with the Grounders could be solved by a quick trial, bullet to the head, and handing the bodies of the Pike team over to the clans for whatever ritual they like. It's not like the Arkers have any cultural history of killing criminals, or anything like that.../sarcasm

 

Why is anyone following Pike? There is absolutely zero reason he should have won the election. He got most of his people killed before joining up with Camp Joha, then sent more of his people to Mt Weather--against advice--and got THEM killed. Then he went out and almost started a war that he would have definitely lost (dude, you DON'T have a impregnable fort or unlimited ammo). Tactically AND strategically he's absolute crap.

 

Pike's position is stupid. But it's also simple and certain. Stupid but clear-cut definite stupid. There's something about how definitive stupid is that humans find attractive. There's been so much uncertainty in this society for so long that they're just happy someone is giving them a clear cut direction. That doesn't excuse it - it's the worst part of humanity and its why we say evil is banal. Because it is. It's completely banal because it's totally lazy.

 

And it's why I don't buy Bellamy's role in it. Because Bellamy has many flaws but laziness is not one of them. He's hardly going to revert to kneejerk fascism just because it's easy.

 

EDITED because I forgot to say that the most interesting thing about this dichotomy is that Pike is running with the xenophobic Grounder = Enemy. It's simplistic, it lacks nuance and it treats them like a monolithic 'other', which we know they aren't. Lexa in comparison has grown so much that she's now willing to see the nuance and complexity in her enemy. So they're not just a monolithic other but a collection of organised individuals. She's willing to buy time for Clarke to destabilise the leadership from within because she's seeing the group in all its complexity. It shows an intelligent and mature attitude. She understands her enemy and is willing to tailor her approach. And that is greater than her feelings for Clarke. It shows her capacity to be an amazing leader.

Edited March 29, 2016 by AudienceofOne

[Lady Calypso]

So, Bellamy continues to do whatever Pike tells him to. What is worse is that leader Bellamy is gone; here lies cowardly follower Bellamy. He speaks up about him not liking the killing and all that, but then he cowers when Pike stares him down and he does what he's asked. It's pathetic, especially coming from someone who started off as an antagonist, but still a leader who made choices on his own. It actually makes his character assassination worse. He's always been weak to his emotions, but he hasn't been weak in general. 

And he's basically following a complete dumbass, who can't see that his actions will isolate them from everyone that's not Skaikru, which will lead them to death even faster. Pike doesn't get that they can't just survive on their own; they need allies in order to keep their people alive. He's getting his people to be marked for death. 

I mean, Jaha's crazy and all and leading his people into death, but he's getting to do it to themselves, not to others. I mean, it's false choice, but better than what Pike's doing. Speaking of Jaha, it looks like Raven's fully immersed in the crazy, as is Jasper. 

Once again, Clarke's plot is one that I care about way more and it's underused. I appreciate Titus' stance on the entire thing and how he thinks Lexa's wrong for changing their policy. I appreciate the dilemma Clarke has with Emerson. He murdered not just her people, but also the Grounders for years. Why wouldn't she want to stop someone like that? He's basically like Pike, after all. I appreciate Clarke's reasoning for not killing him, though.

I rolled my eyes at the whole "your sister did this" line from Monty's awful mother. No, dumbass, you did this. She just saved more lives since you would have killed them all. Poor Monroe, but I barely remember her in the first place.

I'm hoping for Pike to be thrown off of a cliff soon.