S03.E16: Perverse Instantiation Part Two

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

In the conclusion of the third-season finale, everyone faces the reality of their tragic situation as they prepare for a final showdown.

[ottoDbusdriver]

That has to the one of the vaguest episode descriptions in the history of this show -- it basically translates to 'stuff happens'.

[quarks]

Well, I, at least, was wondering if the finale would involve "everyone" or only "eh, maybe two thirds of the characters - the rest decided to get some beer and catch up with some old TV shows that they rescued from the Mount Weather vault." So it's good to get that cleared up.

[janeta]

Woo hoo Lexa!

No more Pike. Not sad.

All these people really need a bath.

[kdm07]

Well initially Pike was going to survive this season but with Mike Beach's pilot being picked up, his character became expendable. Octavia killing him was a fitting end.

Good seeing Lexa again.

Overall, an average finale which cements my position to drop this show. Goodbye The 100. You started off bad, got better, peaked in Season 2 and went downhill after that.

[JohnSmithSensei]

Up until the very end, Alie underestimated Clarke's ability to make the hard choices, and that's why she lost. I'll be exciting to see the world deal with the impending apocalypse.

Even spoiled in advance Lexa's comeback and reunion with Clarke still lived up to the hype. And she got to go down fighting.

If I was Harper I'd be concerned about Jasper and Monty being way too cozy.

Loved that Octavia followed through with Pike no matter how many times he tried to be a hero. Blood must have blood.

[shantown]

Was it just me, or was there something weird about Jasper walking off on his own at the end? And then standing there smiling? Maybe I totally read the scene wrong but I felt like he still had an AI in his brain or something. Just seemed strange that he walked away from the others, and that no one followed him.

[Delphi]

I miss Lexa.   I loved everything about her.  She was the best. 

So I'm most likely not tuning in for next season,  but I'm glad that Octavia killed Pike.   Glad that Clarke got to say goodbye to Lexa,  but they could have had her on longer.

Enjoyed the hell out of Murphy.

 

Good luck to the rest of you that keep watching. 

[xaxat]

This season was so busted, I wasn't expecting a good finale. But proved to be serviceable at least. Lexa's bad ass self (I was unspoiled, so that was easily my favorite moment). Octavia killing Pike (and Bellamy's "Oh shit, maybe she hasn't forgiven me." look). Clarke once again facing the hard choice.

Someone check on Indra!

[Halliwell]

To say it was a bad finale is an understatement. Only 2 good things:

Lexa kicking ass and her reunion with Clarke. They killed me. 

Octavia killing Pike. Yas, girl.

And.... I'm done with this show. This season was a mess in every way and I had enough. So Boom.Out. 

[Solace247]

I kept saying that they'd have to stick the landing to this AI story to make up for the season's missteps--that was... underwhelming. The 100 went from my favourite show to one I may catch up on, if miraculously, something  phenomenal were to happen next season.

[BungalowSummer]

Quote

Was it just me, or was there something weird about Jasper walking off on his own at the end? And then standing there smiling? Maybe I totally read the scene wrong but I felt like he still had an AI in his brain or something. Just seemed strange that he walked away from the others, and that no one followed him.

I had the impression that Jasper was going to kill himself. He seemed glad that Monty had someone and some measure of happiness, but Jasper's own pain was back in full force and he still couldn't cope with it. Maybe they changed course at the last minute and re-edited the scene to keep him alive. 

It was great to see Lexa in action one last time. I was also surprised by how much Murphy was able to step up.

Octavia did not disappoint. Pike was a goner from the moment he killed Lincoln. (O/T, but I caught Ricky Whittle today on an old episode of NCIS in which he played a character named-- Lincoln!) 

What happened to Indra?

[ShortyMac]

37 minutes ago, Halliwell said:

To say it was a bad finale is an understatement. Only 2 good things:

Lexa kicking ass and her reunion with Clarke. They killed me. 

Octavia killing Pike. Yas, girl.

And.... I'm done with this show. This season was a mess in every way and I had enough. So Boom.Out. 

Pretty much. I don't know if I'll show up for Season 4. 

[wevel]

Yeah, it was ... good-ish to see Lexa again, but all the main plot points that took place had been predicted for months: Clarke taking the flame, going to the City of Light to defeat ALIE, and saying goodbye to Lexa.  The S1 and S2 season finales were powerful and left me wanting to know how things would play out for Clarke.  This?  I was semi-engaged, but have no desire to continue watching in S4.  (Yay, I'm free!)

Also, a continuity thing I couldn't help notice: wasn't Kane crucified very recently?  He had no wounds on his hands as far as I could tell. 

[quarks]

Since I mentioned it over on the Arrow forum I figured I should mention it over here: I completely cracked up when Clarke's search for the kill switch brought her right to the same outdoor staircase in Vancouver that Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow have all used in multiple episodes and which I'm expecting Supergirl to use next. I was just waiting for Clarke and Lexa to head to a dark warehouse after that.

Nice ending episode for Lexa, though.

Unanswered questions, some that I just may have missed:

Did Alie tell Jaha about the upcoming nuclear meltdown, or was his absolute dedication to her cause just her computer code speaking through him?  

Octavia was heading off to get Indra off that cross, right? Right? 

Is Roan alive?

Is anyone ever going to call Abby out on her decision to start letting people back into Mount Weather again earlier this season - the decision that led directly to a renewal of hostilities between the Grounders and the Arkers, part of the reason the Arkers weren't really paying attention to ALIE and the chips until it was too late, and the decision that led to Mount Weather, the one place that would be safe for them all to be, getting destroyed?

No one is ever going to tell us what happened to Clarke's horse from several episodes ago, are they?

[ketose]

I have to say, even though the season was kind of uneven, I did enjoy that they didn't follow the plot of the CW DC's shows Plot Outline Number X. Even though Alie was the big bad, there was also Grounder drama and Mt Weather revenge. Plus, they did something a little different and ripped off The Matrix 17 years after it came out.

I'm just wondering how Clarke ends the nuclear apocalypse on her own, because that's the standard story line on the 100.

Also, Octavia kind of sucks. Pike was a moron, but he had really bad experiences with Grounders. Octavia just did dumb shit from Day 1, like diving into that lake and getting cut up by a sea monster.

Edited May 20, 2016 by ketose

[AnnaMayWong]

Well, well, well. Bellamy gets "to LIVE with what (he's) done", huh[?].  Although he's just as culpable as Pike in slaughtering a host of people, Bellamy is able to just...live. Okaa-ey. Whatever.                  

I get it--Octavia killed Pike due to Lincoln not the 300(!) warriors without.                                      

Olivia looked ridiculous sitting there sharpening that 'blade'. Uugh.  Gosh, she's irritating.  Hey, Olivia, do something that doesn't involve your incessant scowling--find Indra❗

Sooo, herein lies the ending of the season...PITIFUL.

Edited May 20, 2016 by BookElitist
preposition/vocabulary

[Duke Silver]

It was cool to see Lexa get a decent send-off, and while predictable/actually predicted, I got a small sense of closure, though the whole Bellamy storyline still bugs the fuck out of me.  Goodbye show.  I just won't be spending anymore time w/ you; I have zero trust it will be time well spent.  I wish the actors well on their next gigs.

[Agent Dark]

Why is everyone talking as if this is it for Lexa?  The Flame still exists, therefore Lexa still exists inside it.  I fully expect that to come up again in Season4, especially given the amount of discussion generated by Lexa's death in the first place.  This is a pretty obvious way to bring Lexa back, in a way that doesn't retcon everything before it.

 

I don't think you can fault the show for not delivering on their season finales.  While not quite as a good as the Season1 and 2 finales (which is probably due to the glaring mistakes made throughout Season3 which takes some of the shine off), this was still a pretty tense episode.  I was spoiler free except for the very broad 'Clarke goes into the COL and encounters Lexa', so it was all on a knife's edge for me up until Clarke finally threw the lever.  Lexa had some kickass scenes - even though I knew she was going to be there, when she leapt over the steps with some dual-wielding swords I still got all 'aww, hell yeah!'.  Octavia running Pike through was long due, and I kinda like that she didn't need to say anything either.  I think things changed for Jasper in the editing room too - pretty sure he was about to end himself there.

 

Interesting setup for next season as well - an impending global meltdown - and I'm kinda interested to see how they handle it.  I'll be watching season4

[Grischa]

I thought Alie was bluffing with the meltdown. Apparently the surface is already so full of radiation that the mount weather people turned into crisps in seconds without protection, how much worse can it get from just a dozen places melting down? A meltdown doesn't even lead to an explosion, it just leaks radioactive material into the surrounding area, that's bad news for those living close to the installations but it wouldn't affect almost the entire world at least not to such a degree that the surface becomes uninhabitable for people already immune to large doses of radiation.

[placate]

wtf did I just watch? I'm not quitting this show like a bunch of other people because this time slot is desolate on my dvr. I can get into a hate watching of this show but all this show has taught me is that Lexa would be amazing on Fear the Walking Dead instead of Alicia.

Yes, Octavia stabbed Pike, but why? He was there fighting with her until the end and she wants to stab her bro more? I'm glad that Clarke still has a mom but that scene with her was drawn out.

Props to this show for grossing me out. I have seen many gross things on tv and irl, but force beating a heart takes the cake. Why didn't they put the AI in Luna? She is brain dead, that might actually be a humane use of an AI.

[AudienceofOne]

So this was quite a good finale for such a poor season. It was just weighted down too much with what came before it and that showed.

Bellamy is actually cracking me up with his 1000% TEAM CLARKE shtick. Some time spent on his "redemption" would have been better but in lieu of that I'll take his earnest, unwavering and over-enthusiastic support of everything she does and says - even when she doesn't particularly seem to need it. Keep it up, Bell and maybe she won't remember that time you yelled at her and tied her to a chair.

It was good to see Pike die but, because it was Octavia that did it rather than Indra (I wanted it to be Indra), it seemed to be more about revenge than justice so was much less satisfying than it could have been. Also, Indra? Nowhere to be seen. What was up with that?

My biggest gripe with this was no doubt budget-related. There was far too much time in the City of Light and far far too much time spent making the decision with the Kill Switch. This is Clarke. We knew that she would have the guts to do what needed to be done and that she'd have zero time for ALIE's "avoid your pain" rhetoric. The moment dragged out too long. I could have done with less running through streets and more falling action.

Edited May 20, 2016 by AudienceofOne

[ottoDbusdriver]

How much time elapsed from the end of last episode to this episode ?  Murphy and Bellamy secured Jaha et al offscreen and secured the elevator and stairwell, but Harper was right outside the door unconscious so where was Jasper dragging her from like a rag doll ? 

And of course Nightbloods are universal donors so Clarkie has no worries about dying from the transfusion.

Clarkie will be protected by the Flame from the Chip -- geez, who writes this crap ?

Why is the City of Light so dreary and depressing ?  And it apparently just rained. Clarke -- the traffic light is calling to you.  

The CGI of ALIE 1.0's minions climbing the tower is pretty bad and cheap looking.

Please, please, please let Clarkie's brain liquify. Eliza did some of her finest acting all season while pretending to be seizing and sitting on the throne doing nothing. </sarcasm>

Ontari's heart pumping was just stupid.  

Thank goodness for the pink bicycle of fate.  WTF ??

The killswitch is symbolicly represented by a giant manual switch.  Wow !!  The writers on this show really do pull out all the stops.

So wait a minute -- the nuclear power plants NOT destroyed by the bombs have begun to melt down.  All at once. 95 or so years after the bombs fell.  How exactly ?  What have they been waiting for ?  According to that view, one of these nuclear plants is in Algeria or Libya.   Really ?  The others look like they are in Spain, France, Germany, Russia and what used to be somehwere in Yugoslavia.  Was ALIE 1.0 pulling this out of her ass or is it real ?  How is Clarkie going to stop Apocalypse 2.0 ?  By making out with Luna ?

How exactly will the City of Light save them if all of their bodies are dead from radiation ?  ALIE 1.0 needs to work on her sales pitch.

If all the ALIE 1.0 minions were climbing up the outside of the building, how come none of them are coming in through the balcony ?  They just showed them earlier in the episode looking down from the balcony.

Wait a minute -- ALIE 1.0 killed 6 and a half billion people, but there are over 7 billion people now and the nuclear apocalypse was supposed to take place in the future.    So where did everybody go ?  Because there is no way that billions of people survived the apocalypse.

 

[Save Yourself]

4 hours ago, Agent Dark said:

Why is everyone talking as if this is it for Lexa?  The Flame still exists, therefore Lexa still exists inside it.  I fully expect that to come up again in Season4, especially given the amount of discussion generated by Lexa's death in the first place.  This is a pretty obvious way to bring Lexa back, in a way that doesn't retcon everything before it.

 

They could bring her back in that way but it depends what happens with her character on FTWD. Also her body is dead in The 100 so it would only be in The Flame that she'd live on, I don't know how they could incorporate that, it would be like continually going into a dreamland.

3 hours ago, placate said:

wtf did I just watch? I'm not quitting this show like a bunch of other people because this time slot is desolate on my dvr. I can get into a hate watching of this show but all this show has taught me is that Lexa would be amazing on Fear the Walking Dead instead of Alicia.

Yes, Octavia stabbed Pike, but why? He was there fighting with her until the end and she wants to stab her bro more? I'm glad that Clarke still has a mom but that scene with her was drawn out.

Props to this show for grossing me out. I have seen many gross things on tv and irl, but force beating a heart takes the cake. Why didn't they put the AI in Luna? She is brain dead, that might actually be a humane use of an AI.

 

I always wish it was Lexa in FTWD! She'd be great, they are wasting ADC over there.

Because he killed Lincoln. He doesn't make up for all he has done by suddenly coming through at the end. I thought (and hoped) she'd thrown him off the tower but then she stabbed him. I think if Bellamy wasn't her brother she would kill him too, it's hard to kill family!

I think you mean Ontari. As she was brain dead there is nothing for the AI to merge with, the AI doesn't take over, it enhances/blends with the Commander. 

2 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

It was good to see Pike die but, because it was Octavia that did it rather than Indra (I wanted it to be Indra), it seemed to be more about revenge than justice so was much less satisfying than it could have been. Also, Indra? Nowhere to be seen. What was up with that?

My biggest gripe with this was no doubt budget-related. There was far too much time in the City of Light and far far too much time spent making the decision with the Kill Switch. This is Clarke. We knew that she would have the guts to do what needed to be done and that she'd have zero time for ALIE's "avoid your pain" rhetoric. The moment dragged out too long. I could have done with less running through streets and more falling action.

 

I was soooo glad bloody Pike finally died, he was such a crap character. I thought it would be Indra who killed him but I was happy for Octavia to do it and am fine with the revenge aspect, Indra had the same incentive. 

That annoyed me with the delaying about the kill switch. I wish as soon as Becca showed her the switch she'd straight away pulled it, it would have been a nice change from that typical fake suspense. 

[CooperTV]

3 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

Bellamy is actually cracking me up with his 1000% TEAM CLARKE shtick. Some time spent on his "redemption" would have been better but in lieu of that I'll take his earnest, unwavering and over-enthusiastic support of everything she does and says - even when she doesn't particularly seem to need it. Keep it up, Bell and maybe she won't remember that time you yelled at her and tied her to a chair.

 

Nah, he actually doesn't support everything she does, like it's obvious from every episode you watch. But it's true, Clarke gives no fucks about "bad" things Bellamy's done because it would make her a GIANT hypocrite. She's the biggest Bellamy stan you could find on this show.

[absnow54]

My biggest gripe with this was no doubt budget-related. There was far too much time in the City of Light and far far too much time spent making the decision with the Kill Switch. This is Clarke. We knew that she would have the guts to do what needed to be done and that she'd have zero time for ALIE's "avoid your pain" rhetoric. The moment dragged out too long. I could have done with less running through streets and more falling action.

Agreed, especially since we just went through this "running down the clock-will they flip the switch" scene two weeks ago with Murphy.

Speaking of which, Murphy is the series' MVP. I wouldn't be surprised if the series finale is everyone dead and him sitting on his throne as the King of cockroaches.

[diebartdie]

I LOVED this finale! I mean yeah, some stuff was ridiculous but overall, it was GREAT! OK it was ridiculous that blood transfusion didnt kill Clarke outright BUT by doing that she got to see Lexa again! And hold her in her arms again! And KISS again!!! Oh be still my heart! Oh shit seeing Lexa being all super bad ass with the leaping and the dual blades and the battle cry, HOT!!!!! Yeah I was ok with that blood transfusion :) The thing that was just dumb beyond the telling of it though was ALIE 1.0 saying the nuclear plants were suddenly just now all at the same time melting down. EL OH EL!!!!! Without maintenance, nuclear power plants would melt down within 3 months (this is something I learned during my years as a zombie apocalypse aficionado). I kept expecting Becca bot to tell Clarke that ALIE 1.0 was just telling her things that had happened 97 years ago lol.

The best part of the episode (and again, I really thoroughly enjoyed this very very tense episode) the very best part was when Octavia ran Pike through with her horrible big knife! Now a few minutes earlier when she slashed his leg, I thought that was really dumb on her behlf, seriously they needed him for fighting at that point but in the end, when she just went right there and BOOM omfreekingg, I literally SHOUTED "HELL FUCKING YEAH KILL THAT MUTHERFUCKER" (excuse my language) and shouting like that is really rude at 1 in the morning which is when I watched the episode but seriously.....hell fucking yeah kill that mutherfucker good Octavia!!!!

Here's my prediction. I think the magic that is keeping the ark remnant in orbit and keeping it powered is also keeping ALIE 1.0 alive. I think Jasper WAS wandering off to kill himself but right at the end he heard/saw/felt ALIE inside himself. I think he will be the big bad of next season (seriously, how the fuck are our heroes supposed to stop multiple nuclear plants from melting down lol? Fukushima is still melting down!!!!!)

Final note, Bellamy sucks and Indra (once Octavia pulls her down from the cross) should give him the Pike treatment.

[Gulftastic]

I spent three minutes saying 'JUST PULL THE F'N SWITCH!', then followed it up with 'NOW STAB BELLAMY!'.

Loved seeing Lexa and Clarke back together. 

[Primetimer]

In the City of Light, Clarke is given an offer she has very little trouble refusing.

View the full article

[RCharter]

15 hours ago, shantown said:

Was it just me, or was there something weird about Jasper walking off on his own at the end? And then standing there smiling? Maybe I totally read the scene wrong but I felt like he still had an AI in his brain or something. Just seemed strange that he walked away from the others, and that no one followed him.

I thought that either the AI was in his head....or he was going to commit suicide because he was back to feeling all his pain.

[RCharter]

10 hours ago, Grischa said:

I thought Alie was bluffing with the meltdown. Apparently the surface is already so full of radiation that the mount weather people turned into crisps in seconds without protection, how much worse can it get from just a dozen places melting down? A meltdown doesn't even lead to an explosion, it just leaks radioactive material into the surrounding area, that's bad news for those living close to the installations but it wouldn't affect almost the entire world at least not to such a degree that the surface becomes uninhabitable for people already immune to large doses of radiation.

I was sort of confused about that, because I thought that there hadn't been people on the surface of the planet for like hundreds and hundreds of years, which is why the arc was becoming non-functional.  This is why I thought that nightbloods were "created" so that they could handle the surface radiation.  Its hard to imagine that in hundreds of years without any care that nuclear facilities didn't start to go down earlier.

[wevel]

Does anyone have any additional info about the alternative ending that Eliza Taylor refers to here?  Despite myself, I'm curious how else the finale could have ended. 

[kdm07]

1 hour ago, wevel said:

Does anyone have any additional info about the alternative ending that Eliza Taylor refers to here?  Despite myself, I'm curious how else the finale could have ended. 

One of the endings had Jasper committing suicide.

[wevel]

Ugh, glad they didn't go with that.  I didn't love Jasper's season-long funk, but to have ended it with him killing himself would have been waaaaay too bleak.

[Triskan]

Wow, so much negativity ! ^^

I totally admit the season was ups and downs and full of lazy writing moments, but it had its great ones as well, and I for one found the whole ALIE idea and story arc clever and interestingly written.

I'll be back for next season ! It's sure as hell not one of my favourite shows, but it's still a damn good guilty pleasure ! 

[Nay]

Not a fantastic ending, but a good one with lots to love and a few things that felt meh.  

Lexa, fine she has to be there for reasons and she is less annoying in small doses but I hope like hell her story is now over. I had hoped the flame would be destroyed with the removal, as the keeping it around feels like hedging their bets, but no.  At least shove it in Luna at the earliest and be done with it. 

Pike, he had it coming. Shame he is dead as I liked the conflict he created but it did lead to Octavia losing it and cracking.  Watching her mental decline should be at least interesting if they go that way next season. 

Monty and the Ark crew were all solid, and I agree the alt ending would have had Jasper shoot himself. In fact I think the alt ending would have decimated the cast, maybe going with the 'everyone connected mentally with the CoL when ALIE bit it would become brain dead' idea.

I liked Raven saving the day, with a bat signal and everything, and I hand wave the silliness because everything about AI/VR is always silly and you just have to roll with it. 

Which leads to the meh.  The power stations melting idea is a bad one and frankly a task too big to result in anything but everyone dying.  Honestly they would have two choices, die while trying to fix nuclear fires in multiple plants with no training or experts to help or run and try and find somewhere to avoid the fall out, I recommend New Zealand, which brings Luna and her boat people back into play.

Over all it was good, but pacing wise something felt off in the last few minutes. I guess we are use to hints at next season, (like s1) or musical round ups (s2) that give a thematic full stop to the final episode, but this one just seemed to end. If they are going with the nuclear idea then Clarke coming out of the CoL with 'something bad is going to happen' tm, then a shot of a plant on fire might have been a better way to edit it. Get the Pike killing out the way before Clarke wakes up, then have the ending focus on next years threat with musical treatment.  

[ottoDbusdriver]

11 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

That annoyed me with the delaying about the kill switch. I wish as soon as Becca showed her the switch she'd straight away pulled it, it would have been a nice change from that typical fake suspense. 

 

6 hours ago, Gulftastic said:

I spent three minutes saying 'JUST PULL THE F'N SWITCH!', then followed it up with 'NOW STAB BELLAMY!'.

Loved seeing Lexa and Clarke back together. 

Like there was any doubt whatsoever that Clarke would NOT pull the kill switch.  But yet they dragged it out like it was some huge moral dilemma.

And Clarke, with her years of expertise in nuclear power mgmt. and dealing with radiation leaks, is somehow going to organize an effort to stop the breakdown of 100+ year old nuclear power stations.  Really show writers ?  That's what you came up with ? FFS !!!

[SourK]

Wait, so, if they had put the flame in Ontari like she wanted right at the start, then Ontari would have known how to kill the AI, and, when she swallowed the chip, she would have gone to the city of light and done it and none of the rest of this stuff had to happen?

I agree with everything in Alex's review. I'll add that I think part of the problem this season is that so much of the action was propelled by characters making poor-to-fair decisions based on bad information -- as opposed to last season, where, at least some of the time, the action was propelled by characters making surprising decisions based on good information. Especially in the second half of the season, it felt like everything that happened was just a plot device designed to explain why none of the obvious solutions to anyone's problems would work.

Thematically, it also would have made a lot more sense if Jasper had been the one faced with the final decision of whether or not to pull the kill switch and force everyone to live a pointless existence full of pain, because that's what he's been struggling with all season, and it would demonstrate growth if he arrived at the decision that it was better to live honestly with pain or whatever. Even with Jasper absent from the throne room this episode, I thought ti would have made a lot more sense for someone other than Clarke to take the flame, since that would leave two people with medical training in the room to monitor what was going on -- which turned out to be a two-person job anyway. And why did they need Murphy to do the ceremony?

This story is so messed-up.

[Artsda]

Loved Octavia killing Pike and what was with the horrified looks from Bellamy & Clarke. After all Pike did, Octavia should have made him suffer.

I adore Murphy, his one-liners are awesome.

Bellamy should not get to go free, he was Pike's side kick. 

[Lila82]

This show went from my only must-see show of the week to a show I'm embarrassed to admit I watch.  My biggest frustration isn't anything Lexa/Lincoln/Pike/Luna related, but that I watched 16 episodes of television and absolutely nothing happened.

Bellamy and Clarke save the day, but there's more work to do.  Check.

Bellamy believes he succeeds at his redemption arc.  Check.

Lexa and Clarke's sexual tension is resolved.  Check.

Lincoln suffers repeated acts of brutal violence.  Check.

Octavia wails into the wilderness while she mourns Lincoln.

Jasper and Monty come to odds over wanting to live in a place with clean clothes and pie and potentially a girl.  Check.

SERIOUSLY. 

90% of this season was gratuitous violence with character regression thrown in for good measure.  I'll give the writers a grudging 10% for balancing screen time and saving Indra (YES!!!), but the entire season was filler.   3x9 was literally a retread of 3x10 - Bellamy said so himself - but with more shooting!   I couldn't tell you why ALIE destroying the world was important other than it gave the characters something to do.  Jasper's one sentence admission about life sucking doesn't make up for the ten minutes of waterboarding we got to suffer through.  I don't need to like the overarching plot, but I need to understand it.  I don't.  

The premiere had such promise, these broken, haunted people living with the consequences of their unfortunate choices and trying to figure out how to do more than survive.  That should have been the backbone of this season, and the very valid choices ALIE gave them in contrast to the pain and regret they had to bear every day.   That would have made a whole lot more sense.

But, you know, that story wouldn't have included crucifying Kane or hanging Abby or shooting Lincoln in the freaking head.  Violence doesn't = good story telling.  I hope, but know it's wishful thinking to believe, that the writers learned their lesson.  Give us back our characters with a side of plot.  That's what drew me into the show in the first place. 

Edited May 21, 2016 by Lila82

[thuganomics85]

Of course, in the land of The 100, the only way to finally destroy ALIE and the City of Light, would mean that a nuclear winter is likely to happen.  I don't know; I just felt like this was basically trying to repeat the "Clarke makes a choice" bit from season two, but make it bigger.  And it just lacked the emotional impact compared to last time.  And was too long.  I was getting bored with her waiting till the last minute, and wanting to just pull the damn thing, because it was obviously the only solution, because next season isn't going to be everyone in the City of Light living their days carefree.

Also, I was confused with how different it was for when everyone snapped out of it, and they reacted to their "pain."  You've got Jaha howling because of the gunshot, but Kane just seem to be having emotional pain, and didn't seem to be acting like a guy who was only just nailed to a cross episodes ago.  I would have thought there would have been a little bit of soreness!

Anyway, my favorite part was easily Lexa's return/possible send-off.  I knew something was up since I heard Alycia Debnam-Carey was seen filming around finale time, so I figured she was going to be part of the Flame and help Clarke out.  But I enjoyed watching her being a badass and the nonstop chemistry she and Eliza Taylor have.  Good luck to the next love interest.

At least Pike is dead, even if it was less about justice and more about Octavia's revenge for what happened to Lincoln.  Kind of a disservice to the other 300 Grounders he murdered, but hey.  He's still gone!  Still feel bad for Michael Beach, because I really enjoyed him on other stuff, but he really couldn't win with this role.  Of course, Bellamy's involvement is just shelved a way under a "I have to live with it!" drawer.  Yeah, I don't see Bellamy getting any long-term consequences for what he did.  He's pretty much Clarke's right-hand man again, already.

Glad Harper didn't die, and Raven/Monty were able to help Clarke in the end.  I thought for sure Jasper was going to kill himself, but I guess not. I hope they go somewhere different with his character next season, and not continue having him be mopey or angsty.

I would say Murphy was the surprise MVP of the episode, but it really isn't surprising anymore, because he's actually been kind of stealing episodes this entire season.  He might be one of my favorites now.  Not bad for a guy who started out as a psycho.  I mean, sure, he's still kind of a psycho, but one who can be helpful, and knows how to bust out the one-liners.

I'll be back next season, but yeah, this was a pretty bumpy ride.  Most shows tend to suffer the infamous "sophomore slum", but for this show, the second season was at it's best, and it kind of faltered here.  Still a few highs at least, but they clearly seemed to be struggling with certain characters and story-lines.  Maybe they'll get it together, but I know it's wise to also prepare for the worst as well. 

[InsertWordHere]

18 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

If all the ALIE 1.0 minions were climbing up the outside of the building, how come none of them are coming in through the balcony ?  They just showed them earlier in the episode looking down from the balcony.

I believe they said they poured oil on all the access points except the window in the Commander's chamber. I'm pretty sure ALIE could find a way around that, but that's the explanation they gave.

I hope Octavia is able to get down so she can take Indra off the cross. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

21 May 2016 - finally free! ;)

Well, the last scene was good (but who knows, maybe Pike will pull a Murphy and survive). Seeing Lexa was bittersweet. The rest was crap.

The whole planet was irradiated by thousands of nuclear explosions but there were still quite a few survivors somehow and now the meltdown of mere 7 power stations will render it virtually uninhabitable? What? Asspull much?  And really 7 nuclear power stations melting down at the same time? Convenient, isn't it?

Quote

And while many people predicted that Clarke would take the flame, it's also somewhat unexpected that she was only able to take it for a limited amount of time, so it's not like she's a wunderkind that's going to be the next commander, because it turns out she is not THAT special.

It's not like there are any Nighbloods left, so I suspect they will waive the Nightblood requirement and make Clarke commander anyway.

Quote

Nah, he actually doesn't support everything she does, like it's obvious from every episode you watch. But it's true, Clarke gives no fucks about "bad" things Bellamy's done because it would make her a GIANT hypocrite. She's the biggest Bellamy stan you could find on this show.

Nobody gives a fuck about the bad things Bellamy has done. It's called bad writing. And there is nothing hypocritical for people who kill in self-defense or to protect their friends from imminent mortal danger to "give a fuck" about other people who commit ethnic cleansing and kill because an army maybe, possibly, could attack (an event that even Bellamy admitted was not certainly imminent in any way, shape or form). But hey, if you think all crimes are equal be my guest.

Oh, and Bellamy - you don't freaking get to compare Octavia wanting to kill Pike with you plotting to commit genocide. One of these things really is not like the other. Unlike you she targeted the actual culprit, not every member of the group he belonged to.

I know there wasn't much time to portray that but you would think that Lexa wouldn't accept so easily that her religious belief were merely a crappy AI. But no, she is all "upload, AI, etc.", didn't seem to wonder if Clarke was dead too, etc. It would have been cool if the previous Commanders had appeared to help too because as much of a badass Lexa is, her holding off that crowd all by herself was kind of ridiculous.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Jack Shaftoe

[ottoDbusdriver]

3 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Well, the last scene was good (but who knows, maybe Pike will pull a Murphy and survive). Seeing Lexa was bittersweet. The rest was crap.

Considering that Jasper survived a similar wound in the very first episode of this show -- without access to a doctor or antibiotics, heck no one even tossed a couple of stitches into his chest to close up the massive hole that he should have had from that spear --  means that Pike should be just fine.

[RedKeep]

5 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

And there is nothing hypocritical for people who kill in self-defense or to protect their friends from imminent mortal danger to "give a fuck" about other people who commit ethnic cleansing and kill because an army maybe, possibly, could attack (an event that even Bellamy admitted was not certainly imminent in any way, shape or form). But hey, if you think all crimes are equal be my guest.

Yeah, this. Hands down one of my biggest problems with the terrible writing for Bellamy this season is how much it's insulting the intelligence of everyone still watching the show with this "there are no good guys!!!!1!" and "everyone's a murderer!!!1!" sort of reasoning that's apparently meant to convince us Bell's actions as Pike's willing accomplice are on the same level as Clarke's, for example, and him shedding some pretty tears and making puppy dog eyes at Clarke is enough. It's rather depressing to me to see some fans so very willing to buy into it as well because not only is the show throwing the characters they're trying to compare him to in order to justify his crimes this season under the bus in their laziness, they're also turning Bellamy himself into a trainwreck of a character because this goes way beyond wrapping him in multiple layers of plot armor and Bob Morley deserves so much better. Bell was never my absolute favorite, I always felt the show had more interesting male characters, but I'm at a point where I never want to even see his face on my screen again since they keep acting like there's no reason why he should have to work his way through an actual redemption story and worse: Bell's justified in acting like he has a reason for being upset with Octavia because she's not already past/willing to handwave everything he's done and has been involved in literally two days after Lincoln's death. Or that Clarke acting the way she does around him is something I'm supposed to root for.

Anyway, I kept up with the show through the episode threads on this board and a few selected reviews I trust for the most part, then tried to watch the finale yesterday and failed/skipped through a lot of stuff to some key scenes. So thanks to everyone who kept watching and sharing their thoughts. I was mostly done with this show for a while now, but the finale only confirmed that and actually makes it incredibly easy for me to move on. Apart from all my other issues with the writing this season, I still can't believe they're serious with what they presented to us as their setup for season 4. Level of interest in watching that play out = below zero. Too bad, so much wasted potential with this show.

Edited May 21, 2016 by RedKeep

[Cekrypton1]

Man, I hope the first episode of S4 is Clarke discovering that Alie was just lying about the nuke plants to distract Clarke.

[diebartdie]

"

Nearly ALL reactors WILL melt down without active cooling systems.

This means a loss of electricity, failure of emergency generators, or failure of decay heat removal pumps, will ALL cause core failure." In other words, it is highly doubtful any nuclear reactors would still be even partially functional 97 years after total nuclear annihilation. ALIE was a lie.

[Jack Shaftoe]

This is a show where radiation kills in a matter of seconds, causes horrible skin blisters and can be "cured" with bone marrow transfusion. So I think we were supposed to believe ALIE's claims about the power plants because the scientific element has been a complete joke from the start, especially when it comes to radiation. Or computers.

[diebartdie]

Doesnt matter anyway, Raven can fixthem remotely. She's the Macgyver of The 100.

[CloudySky]

On 20-5-2016 at 5:41 AM, ketose said:

I'm just wondering how Clarke ends the nuclear apocalypse on her own, because that's the standard story line on the 100.

By pulling a lever, obviously. The choice will be using The One Anti-nuclear Meltdown Device Raven manages to scrounge together to shutdown 6 plants and save thousands of grounders OR use it to shut down the one plant closest to her merry band of skaikru. It is a doozy because as the new commander she has pledged to protect all of the people. She does the unthinkable and actually lets the skypeople die but they miraculously survive because of A) Raven or B) Bellamy except for 1 person: Abby. And so Clarke's neverending cycle of pain and suffering continues. Before she can even shed a tear, she is faced with the latest problem: a supervirus that is spreading fast because of the close quarters they are stuck in. Of course Superdoctor Abby can no longer figure it out because she's dead. Also: Miller and Jackson have died sometime in the season, Raven lost an eye because of reasons, Bellamy held Clarke's hand a bunch of times as Jason tries to figure out the appropritate amount of time to wait for Clarke to jump his bones post-Lexa, Jasper tries to help Octavia through her issues because he knows, Luna dies after giving them access to her submarine (hey, here are some new parts for Raven's Convenient Device), Indra makes heart-eyes at Kane (set up for S5 cuz Abby is dead), Harper keeps ignoring that Monty is gay for Jasper and after Roan is wasted in 5 minutes despite being awesome and surviving his bulletwound, Azgeda remembers they hate Clarke and Trikru and want revenge for the Ice Queen and Ontari.

Azgeda is marching South to attack as people are getting sick and dropping like flies. Sounds familiar...We need some Rocket Fuel, STAT!

Whew, there it is. Season 4.