With Pike now in the custody of the grounders, Kane and the others arrive with him to Polis, immediately noticing the torture that has gone on at the capitol. Eventually they notice a mass amount of people kneeling on the grounder territory similarly to those who are transitioning to the City of Light state of mind. Jaha and the new commander (with ALIE) appear to the new group, convincing most everyone to take the chip to join – but Kane throws his in an act of rebellion before being taken captive by ALIE’s cult following. A flashback of the Ark shows us that Jaha, Kane and Abbie were on board to send the 100 to Earth in the first place, with Pike being the only one to plead that they don’t send them to their potential death. After some persuasion, they convinced Pike to train them to the best of his abilities to survive the harsh environments they could be facing known as “Earth Skills.” This moment is meant to show a different side of Pike – someone who once had compassion for the people he has repeatedly endangered.

Back in present day, a storm and rough terrain sends Octavia, Clarke, Jasper and Bellamy to a hidden shore that resembled a village where they hoped to find Luna, the last remaining nightblida. Unfortunately things aren’t that simple and they only come across an assortment of oddly placed rocks with open water extending past the small platform. The Pike flashback returns with him giving lessons like building a fire, but his students appear completely uninterested (with the exception of Octavia and Monroe.) He tries his best to inspire them to pay attention for their survival, but the lack of awareness from teenagers (big surprise) leaves major room for improvement. When we return to Pike currently, he’s subjected to 300 cuts at the hand of Indra for payback after the massacre of her army/allies. Octavia and the others make themselves somewhat comfortable at the shore, kicking off an awkward moment where Octavia makes it known that she hasn’t forgiven her brother and holds him responsible for Lincoln’s death. Instead of doing the right thing and taking responsibility, he tries to blame his sister for not accepting his “help” but the argument is shortened when Jasper accidentally discovers a plant that changes their fire to a pure green. Octavia turns to Lincoln’s book and shares that it was meant to be a signal fire, meaning we could be seeing Luna in the near future after all.

Abby pretends to be thrown in to see Kane, (a scheme concocted to get information) and ALIE uses her to pry about Clarke’s whereabouts. The AI forces her to seduce Kane, but he becomes fully aware that she is under the influence of the chip. “Put him on the cross.” Abby says coldly like a shell of her former self, so as she insists – he is nailed to a wooden structure and hung up in front of the entire population. Kane isn’t dead yet – but you can bet that he’s experiencing a gruelling amount of pain for not divulging information. Later during nightfall, Clarke leaves the signal fire to talk to Bellamy and says he must be willing to forgive himself because he had every right intention… Clearly Clarke doesn’t know that she’s missed a lot of Arkadia action. The two end their conversation with an embrace to show they are progressing to a better interpersonal relationship, until they are all surrounded by warriors who wonder why they summoned them. They are poised to attack until Octavia mentions they were sent by Lincoln. They tell them that in order to guarantee safe passage, they must drink a potion like substance in a vial – immediately rendering Jasper and Octavia unconscious. Clarke and Bellamy agree to take it “together” like the downfall of Mt. Weather, beginning a travel that they aren’t 100% sure of.

The slasher scene that Pike brought upon himself continues until Murphy convinces them they could use a strong ally to stop the death toll from rising via ALIE. The final past sequence shows that Pike’s methods became unconventional with his tactics, trying to prepare the youth for what’s to come – until they are sent to the pod that dropped them on Earth and began the series. We are shown a returning shot of Kane bleeding out from his torture asking to be shot. ALIE ups her game and places a gun to Abby’s head, so Kane decides he will take the chip to spare the woman he (possibly) loves. In the last moments of the episode, Clarke and the others wake up contained until Luna makes her entrance and learns that Lincoln and Lexa have been killed. Clarke asks her to be the remaining leader, but she says she has sworn to never kill again, declining to become the next commander. As they try to follow her out to change her mind, they find that they are on what looks like the remains of an oil rig, so getting back to where they need to be is going to be somewhat problematic.

Overall Grade: 8/10

This episode was slightly calmer than the previous episodes, but it was nice to at least provide us with insight on who Luna is. Clarke and Bellamy’s attempt to wash away his sins felt typical of the characters and equally frustrating since they are such massive roles in the series. Pike’s flashbacks weren’t completely able to make him an enjoyable character, yet gave viewers a better look at the events leading up to the 100 being sent to Earth. I’m expecting the last 3 episodes to take a serious turn with a possible rise in losses – so I’m crossing my fingers that Octavia, Raven, Jasper, Kane and Abby are a few who can escape ALIE’s crosshairs and return next season!

Aedan’s Final Thoughts:

• Poor Murphy was beat (yet again) even though it was via flashback, I still felt some sympathy for the guy who is always a scapegoat.

• Kane and Abby scenes are some of the most captivating of the series and I really hope to see them evolve even more as the season reaches its end.

• Bellamy and Clarke managed to irk me in the episode for excusing Bellamy’s actions and writing off his betrayals all season long. Team Octavia all the way!