The 100 has always explored the complexities of morality and survival, but the episode “Acceptable Losses” served as a strong reminder that nobodies hands are clean in this war. 

In The 100’s five seasons, we constantly have seen that division in something fueling conflict. Much like life, a societal divide can spark fear, unity, and the most harmful aspect – violence. We’ve seen several groups battle it out for land, with promising alliances but only against even more foes which brings me to a greater point the episode additionally acknowledges via Jasper’s suicide note: maybe humanity is the root of the problem. 

A main portion of the plot in this chapter brings Octavia’s reign into question, something that was expected from the moment Clarke and Bellamy acknowledged she has exceeded their expectations. It has been entirely clear that Octavia doesn’t shy away from violence after creating a massive army with crimes that are punishable by a grounder fight-club. There’s also the fact that she shot at those leaving her leadership for Diyoza – but this episode leads Octavia to a decision that causes an uproar by a majority of the core characters. 

We now know that these space-worm creatures are a parasitic entity that kills from the inside and spreads like an infection. It has plagued roughly 75% of Diyoza’s population, but Octavia has decided it’s time to use in to their own advantage. Cooper has begun experiments on people with these cringeworthy parasites and Octavia hopes to weaponize it to kill off all foes in the valley. Clarke and Bellamy see this as an awful inhumane act that will kill some like Raven, Echo, Kane and Abby – so they make their attempt at rationalization with Octavia. 

Queen O isn’t so keen on their judgements and is quick to remind them something viewers also need to keep in mind – that they have done far worse. Clarke and Bellamy made the conscious decision to murder every resident of Mt. Weather, Clarke allowed a village to be bombed, Bellamy enforced Pike’s leadership which essentially killed more of their own than anyone else, or even Clarke just recently killing two men on her own without hesitation. Because of the fact that Clarke is the lead, viewers often look past her flawed choices because they feel connected to her but she has been the cause for more death than most. Even going back to the end of season two when she fled Arkadia, she made a bold choice and decided to ditch out on the consequences and leave Bellamy to pick up the pieces. 

Clarke historically does her best to make herself a martyr for her people, so now seeing people rally behind Octavia really irks her. Yes, Octavia is almost too gutsy with her choices, but what I believe makes her more threatened is that Octavia is a mirror to Clarke who has seen the highs and lows, reminding her what she’s done to get where she is now. When Octavia wants to bring Madi in as her second, you can see the shift in her demeanor that leads her to say they will “take her out.” Now here’s my issue – when Clarke was getting people killed for the same reasons as Octavia, (she made a choice to let Octavia die back in the day…) anyone who opposed Clarke was written off as an enemy. Despite not having the same beliefs as Clarke and Bellamy, she has still welcomed them as Wonkru but Clarke hasn’t really been the most open minded as a leader. If Octavia dies for a fraction of the crimes against humanity that Clarke has committed – it will be another injustice. 

On Diyoza’s side, we learn that the leader has a history of taking down politicians for disagreeing with their views (the relevancy is too real) and she much like any leader from The 100 has a tendency to commit dire acts to live. In “Acceptable Losses” Diyoza is revealed to be pregnant without any explanation so far, but this creates a string of new questions. How will people in opposition handle her now? Is this something that isn’t straightforward given their current parasitic conditions? It will be interesting to see how they navigate through the storyline but I applaud the writers for throwing a curveball for a “villain” that feels truly unique. 

In this new Eden, Echo does her best to play double agent which results in her compromising Shaw’s position and Raven’s trust (that can once again prove that there is no innocence when the world is crumbling around them.) Abby struggles to cope with an addiction that has developed for years and in a tearful scene can’t even push herself to choose Kane over the substance much like someone struggling with addiction has been faced with. 

With a pregnant Diyoza, stoic Octavia and Clarke looking to overthrow the leader, things are quickly building towards an explosion of turmoil that we certainly aren't prepared for. 

Overall Grade: 8/10

I understand the disagreements in power or ruling, it has been a timeless struggle in real life so of course it’s natural to see various depictions in media – but I stand by Octavia that she’s receiving harsher treatment than necessary. This is what makes the series so powerful, by forcing characters down different paths it ultimately causes people to choose a “side” in the series and as a viewer. I would hope to see Clarke acknowledge her mistakes without becoming a victim of tragedy, but based on her last sentence in the episode I don’t think I’ll be seeing that anytime soon. To Clarke, blood must have blood – but only when she deems it necessary. Kudos to the writers for establishing multiple perspectives, “Acceptable Losses” is able to push its viewers to form their own opinions on what’s right or wrong. 

Aedan;s Final Thoughts:

– Clarke may frustrate me beyond belief at times, but I do still see her as the protective type that is good to have on your side – I just don’t agree with her approach almost every time. 

– Bellamy looks like he will be forced to choose between his sister and Clarke based on their individual plans, but I hope he strays from doing anything detrimental to Octavia’s position as leader.