The 100 concluded “Wanheda” with the return of a major character, and took us back to a place that serves as a constant reminder of death for many… There are many spoilers for the action-packed episode below, so consider yourself warned.

This week’s episode titled “Wanheda

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Part 2″ begins with Bellamy and company being captured by a group cloaked characters, who turn out to be members of the fallen “Farm Station.” Before we get more answers, we are taken to a place that somehow separates Jaha’s mind and body, taking him to the futuristic looking “city of light” with Alie. At this point we aren’t clear if it’s a form of astral projection, or quite what this “city” actually is. Back at the unknown location with Bellamy and the others, Monty is reunited with his mother for the first time since being sent to earth, learning his father wasn’t among the lucky survivors. This gives viewers a better chance to witness a vulnerable Monty unlike what we have previously seen. We are introduced to Charles Pike, a former teacher from the ark who has fallen into a leadership position for his surviving sector. The teams unite forces and decide they will add a joint effort to locate the wanted (and captured) Clarke.

While Clarke is being taken by the brute Ice Nation soldier, she attempts to fight back – unsuccessfully. The warrior takes a moment to drown Clarke, washing out her temporary red hair dye in the process. Blondes have more fun, right Clarke? Octavia and Lincoln wake up in the wilderness (oh, the romance) but the frisky nature lovin’ is cut short by discovering a wounded grounder riding towards Arkadia. Abby takes time to assist an injured Jasper, trying to get past the surface and discuss other issues – but Jasper maintains his emotional barrier. Lincoln and Octavia bring the dying grounder to Abby, and they decide to risk a truce with other groups by transporting him to to Mt. Weather for medical equipment. Nyilah finds herself in a precarious predicament when she is nearly killed by another person seeking out Clarke/Wanheda. She is saved by Bellamy, Monty, and Kane, who are a day late to finding Clarke, but are close on her trail.

Clarke and the Ice Nation representative continue on their trek (clearly involuntarily for Clarke) and she manages to alert other grounders near them, which give her a brief opportunity to run. While the “Wanheda” takes her shot at escaping, her captor disarms and kills each warrior in his way, proving to be deadly with blades, arrows, and even his own hands. Clarke isn’t going to have an easy time escaping his presence, that’s for sure. The select group from Arkadia arrive to the desolate Mt. Weather, and Jasper is left alone which will most likely cause some extra emotional baggage to appear once again in the episode. Bellamy and the other three come close to finding Clarke, with Bellamy having her in sight – but they can’t make their move due to unsafe territory, leaving their reunion for another time.

Murphy, now in company with Jaha and Emori (who turns out to be under the Alie influence) embark on more of Alie’s missions. They come across a mutated man who they have done “business” with in the past, and Emori takes a chance at stealing from him while in a meditative state. The man lifts her by her throat instantly, and says in a distorted voice “there is no pain in the city of light.” Which cause Murphy a little extra concern about the sought after location. Emori slits his throat and after being initially shocked, they run off together leaving him to bleed out. The man from Ice Nation and Clarke seek shelter in a cave where he admits she came close to killing him, and they unsuccessfully pry into each other’s past. We do learn that he was in fact bashed from Ice Nation, and hopes to use Clarke as a bargaining chip for re-entry.

While the search group also finds themselves hiding out, Monty questions what happened to the Farm Station survivors. We discover that many died at their initial landing and Monty’s father died saving lives in true heroic fashion. Elsewhere, Murphy and Emori pry open the box belonging to the mutated man, finding flashy advanced technology. A partner of Emori in partnership with Jaha demands the mysterious technology is given to them, turning a knife on her to persuade Murphy. Luckily for her, Murphy ops to trade the technology (by tossing it into water) and the two escape. We see Jaha, Alie, the grounder, and the mutated man appear in the futuristic looking city of light – without a single physical abnormality. Anyone else wondering how a dead man is in this other plane of existence?

At Mt. Weather, Abby is able to save the life of Lincoln’s friend and ally. Her medical associate realizes they are surrounded by a high-tech facility that he believes they should utilize for the survival of themselves and others. Abby has remained reluctant based on the history, but decides to give it a shot and begin using Mt. Weather to their advantage. While they discuss the future of Mt. Weather, Jasper is focused on the history of it – locating artwork that was important to Maya. When he discovers the painting, Octavia finds the grieving Jasper and offers him her support and a shoulder to cry on. A very poignant moment between two increasingly interesting characters. In the undisclosed hideout location, Bellamy makes an exit and dresses as one of the warriors to delve deeper into the hunt for Clarke. Though successful, the reunion is very short lived when the captor wounds Bellamy enough to leave him alive (for Clarke’s sake) and warns him not to follow. Bellamy barely finds his way back to the group and begs them to follow the trail for Clarke, but because of safety reasons and his own injury, the decide its against their best interests.

The man takes Clarke to – surprise – Lexa, and this marks the first time they have been in each other’s company since Lexa’s heartbreaking betrayal. Lexa admits to playing a part in the hunt for Clarke, and that her captor is actually a prince named Roan, the son of the dangerous Ice Queen. His deal with Lexa had him under the impression he could return to Ice Nation – but once again Lexa isn’t true to her word, locking him up as a prisoner. Lexa is very proficient in the art of flat out lying, so kudos that she keeps finding ways to manipulate the situations. Clarke doesn’t respond well to her encounter with Lexa, spitting in her face and screaming “I’ll kill you!” at the grounder queen like a true mad-woman. This probably isn’t the Clexa reunion fans hoped for, but given their history – it felt like the most realistic form of a “conversation” that was bound to happen.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10 

The 100 concluded the two-parter “Wanheda” by introducing a multitude of storylines that  could take a few viewings to process. Ice Nation is already turning out to be a dark looming presence over the characters in The 100, and I like that the Ice Queen reveal is using a building suspense to add anticipation to her debut. Jasper has become a tragic character in a sense that he can’t cope with the world he lives in, and I’m impressed with his developments so far this season. Clarke isn’t in a position of power which is a nice reversal from her character last season, and seeing her solely adjust to her survival needs is an interesting direction for the series to take. So far The 100 season 3 is off to a great fast-paced start, and who knows what the series will delve into next week!

Aedan’s Final Thoughts:

-Octavia and Jasper shared the most touching moment of the episode, reminding us of their initial companionship now in an evolved state.

-Abby is shaping up to be such a remarkable character in The 100’s third season, and I love her attempts to mother everyone in a dire world. I just wish others treated her better…

-Murphy seems doomed to return to the path towards the City of Light, so hopefully it doesn’t require him to compromise his own sense of morality like they’ve hinted so far.

-Although Lexa isn’t exactly a character you are meant to root for, it will certainly be a fun dynamic to see how she handles Clarke post-betrayal.