S01.E04: Murphy's Law

[formerlyfreedom]

After the shocking death of one of their own, Clarke and Finn grow closer as they try to figure out a way to communicate with the Ark. Bellamy must keep the group from turning on one another as life on Earth takes a desperate turn. Meanwhile, Abby risks having herself floated in order to give Raven the chance to stow-away in the escape pod bound for Earth.

Original airdate: April 9, 2014

[shapeshifter]

It's being preempted in Chicagoland by sports, and zap2it.com's tv listings imploded this week, so I can't tell when it will air. Anyone else know? Or, I can just get it from CW.com.

[Stinger97]

Well, that escalated quickly. Charlotte is there one minute, the next she's committing suicide in a most dramatic fashion. Like, instead of stabbing that innocent kid last episode, you could have saved everyone the trouble and tossed yourself off the cliff from the very beginning. Either way, sayonara, Swiss Miss (... she looked like the Swiss Miss). 

Also, as a big a dick as he was, I felt like Murphy was a teeny tiny bit justified in being hella pissed off at Charlotte and the rest of the group. If you're gonna string someone up for a murder he never committed (even though he was indiscriminately peeing on people who expressed that they were feeling a touch parched from building the Great Wall of Earth), be prepared for him to organize a big unruly mob once he's cut down. Just sayin'. 

Clarke and... that dude who looks like all the other dudes... bonking at the end of the episode, and in that very romantic bomb shelter no less? Good stuff. 

I have zero idea of what is going on up in the Ark. How is Abby planning to save everyone on the Ark by sending Raven down to Earth? Why did Nigel flip on Abby? What is Gladys from Reaper doing leading a class on bonsai care?

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Here's what I wrote about it! (Bonus Grease 2 reference.)

[maraleia]

It's airing on Sunday at 8pm for Chicagoland viewers.

[shapeshifter]

It's airing on Sunday at 8pm for Chicagoland viewers.

Thanks maraleia.

So.

*shapeshifter consults TitanTV app that doesn't allow grid by channel*

It's the same time as new episodes of The Good Wife, Believe, and Resurrection.

Hrmph.

And I can only record one other show while I watch, and The Mentalist is on at 9, and I have to get up early Monday.

I'll either wait till it goes online at the CW, or, you know....

Oh. Also on at 8 on Sunday in Chicago on WGN DT3:

Stargate SG1 "Fair Game":

During a ceremony in which Dr. Carter is promoted to Major due to her role in defeating Hathor, O'Neill is transported onto a ship where Thor offers to make Earth a part of the Protected Planets treaty to save them from retaliation by the Goa'uld.

Likely better than all of the above, IIRC. Edited April 10, 2014 by shapeshifter

[shrewd.buddha]

Bellamy is the worst leader. Ever. His motto's :
"Whatever the hell we want!"
"Give the people what they want - like, maybe a lynching!"
"We should use fear and secrecy to control the mob .. errr, my people."

If I cared more, I would rant more. The teen logic is mind-boggling - the way it evolved from discovery of murder , to the confrontation, to the lynching , to the angry mob wanting Charlotte's blood, to Bellamy scared of his own 'people', to the banishment of weird-face-guy -- do the writers think they are capturing authentic teen reactions?

You just know weird-face-guy is going to show up as leader of the Morlock Grounders in a couple of months. And Clarke just had to get naked with Hair-boy before his girlfriend shows up. And from the look of next week's promo, Raven(?) manages an impressive pin-point accurate landing.

But on the plus side, I enjoy watching a good sci-fi television train-wreck.

Edited April 10, 2014 by shrewd.buddha

[Tara Ariano]

I haven't read the books, but I predict that this is Phase 1 of a Bellamy personality makeover (à la Chuck Bass) to make him a viable romantic prospect for Clarke, and create a love square with whatsisface and Raven when she lands.

[ParadoxLost]

I was getting more of a Vampire Diaries vibe. At one point I said, "Oh, Bellamy is Damon." Although something about the other one reminds me more of Dan on Gossip Girl.

[shapeshifter]

I haven't read the books, but I predict that this is Phase 1 of a Bellamy personality makeover (à la Chuck Bass) to make him a viable romantic prospect for Clarke, and create a love square with whatsisface and Raven when she lands.

That's what I saw too.

And I knew Clarke's mom wasn't going crash the teens only party.

Unless they lighten up a bit, I'm done. Production values and scifi are not enough to make me watch if it's just a mirror for the grimmest aspects of my own life. That's why I quit Revolution. Isn't banishment in that environment just a crueler way to die than hanging? Sheesh. Where's Rodney "Can't we all just get along?" King when you need him?

ETA: It's up on the CW now.

Edited April 11, 2014 by shapeshifter

[Sarah D. Bunting]

 

I predict that this is Phase 1 of a Bellamy personality makeover (à la Chuck Bass) to make him a viable romantic prospect for Clarke

Except he'll still be 35 years old.

[Joystickenvy]

I was kind of rooting for Charlotte to stab Clarke in her sanctimonious neck. I mean I know she's supposed to be the good guy and all, but good lord girl, chill. But no, she had to go the obvious route and jump off the cliff, like we all knew she would as soon as we saw there was a cliff.

I suppose she was supposed to learn a Very Important Lesson about how sometimes telling the truth is bad so that she can forgive her mother and such.

It looked like the secret bunker had food in it. If I had been subsisting on radioactive panther, I think I woulda been more interested in that than they seemed to be.

Far as I can tell Nigel's motivation in turning Dr. Clarke's mom in was advancing the plot.

Perhaps when weird face guy returns with his Morlock Grounder army, Charlotte will swoop in on a radioactive flying monkey and stab him in the neck.

[millahnna]

They said the food was expired.

[Joystickenvy]

I imagine it was, but if your choices are radioactive panther, expired canned goods or air, I'd at least open the cans and have a sniff :)

[millahnna]

True enough.  I mean hey you never know; that long dead survivalist family might have been super prepared with some top secret canned goods and the nukes seem to have gone off at some time in our own future (I keep forgetting the year the show is set in so I can't recall by how much) so maybe the canning process got really long term or something.

[Joystickenvy]

Apparently there was supposed to be some kind of edible food in whatever that place they were trying to get to in episode 1 one was, so who knows. Hard to nail down the technology on this show. They seem to have some rather futuristic stuff on the ark, but one wouldn't think they'd have the resources to invent fancy new tech that wasn't at least recycled from pre-existing tech, so it seems it should have existed pre-ark, yet other tech like the gun Bellamy had, the van they found, etc looks decidedly not futuristic.

[Helena Dax]

 

Far as I can tell Nigel's motivation in turning Dr. Clarke's mom in was advancing the plot.

Maybe she knows something about  Kane's plan and wants to be sure she isn't going to be chosen to float away. 

I'm enjoying this show. It isn't perfect, but I'm curious about the grounders and this new Earth. Also, I like the space station stuff.