After a few weeks on hiatus, The 100 returned to pick up the pieces after things in Polis and Arkadia began to fall apart. The episode featured some very heavy emotional moments, but before that all occurs – we begin by discovering Clarke and Murphy remain in captivity while the conclave gathers elsewhere. Titus arrives to greet the pair (after Clarke tells Murphy that Aiden must win his position as ruler.) Titus gives them the option to leave, however Clarke refuses to depart without seeing Lexa’s potential successor. Clarke finds him in the middle of a ceremony for the deceased Heda and insists that he stay strong but is interrupted by the second in command to the former ice queen (oh yeah, she also wants to be the new Heda.) with a strong desire to wipe out Arkadia and anyone in association with Clarke.

Over in Arkadia, everyone on team Kane has found themselves in dire circumstances – still locked away by Pike. The corrupt leader tells them that everyone involved in Kane’s plan will receive the same punishment of death but settles on a few power players (Lincoln/Kane) as a bargaining chip. A wavering Bellamy tracks down Miller and Harper, offering assistance to aid a plan to save Kane and the others. They haven’t quite come up with a strategy yet, but nothing is solid and trust doesn’t come easy after everything that transpired. Bellamy requests Octavia on her own to finally have a discussion, but she renders him unconscious to assure her potential scheme will go off without a hitch.

Titus tells Murphy and Clarke that if Ontari becomes the next to ascend to power, their balance will be completely altered for the worst – and Clarke remains firm on doing whatever is necessary to help Aiden. Unfortunately in a devastating turn of events, they hear a victory horn that sends everyone to the throne where Ontari sits covered in the blood of the youngsters who had such great potential. “I win.” the brute savage declares before dropping the head of her competition. I can truly say I didn’t expect that to go down and The 100 continues to shake things up as often as possible.

When Bellamy regains consciousness, he discovers he’s been chained up by his sister and Indra who have no trust in the man who betrayed them. Miller is met by his boyfriend Bryan, now realizing that he had bugged him in cooperation with Pike’s faction. Bryan insists that he truly loves Miller, but this divide has sent them down two completely different paths. Abby is given a few moments to say her goodbyes to Kane but she tells him that she can’t let him suffer for doing the right thing. Kane pleas with her to leave it alone in fear of her receiving punishment so he pushes her away in a last ditch effort to make his death easier in his own eyes. Sidenote; these two belong together. In a moment of clarity for Clarke, she faces Roan, the prince of ice nation, and comes to a decision that she isn’t willing to leave Polis without getting her hands on “the flame” AI and out of the reach of a dangerous leader.

Kane, Lincoln and Sinclair are taken away to be killed for their “crimes” but Monty’s wicked mother foils part of the plan (she thinks) by overhearing Harper patch through to Monty. Pike realizes that Octavia and others are on the premises, setting up his own to kill anyone who appears. In polis, Clarke prepares to steal the flame – but Titus appears out of nowhere and blames Clarke for the death of Lexa. She tries to persuade him that anyone else would be better than Ontari, but she’s the only remaining Nightblida after the madwoman went on her murderous rampage earlier. Clarke knows that Lexa spoke of an eighth in the conclave, but Titus doesn’t offer much information at first. Eventually he begins to agree with the notion, referencing a girl named Luna who is their last option. Titus reluctantly hands over the flame to her and explains the process in which Luna will use it (Clarke remembers the name spoken by Lincoln.) Titus then promises to help Murphy escape (uh-oh) telling Clarke her main mission is to locate Luna.

Pike has his crew sweeping the camp for any signs of Octavia and the others, feeling as if something about the situation felt wrong. They can’t locate Kane and Lincoln, because Octavia has hidden with them in the floor of a room they were temporarily kept in. Harper notices a slew of guards that complicate the escape plan, so Monty diverts the attention against his mother’s will. As they all begin to leave through another route, Abby tells Kane she can’t follow – hoping to change the way things are managed. They share a kiss, but are ultimately separated in a dangerous time. Pike makes an announcement throughout the facility that if they don’t offer one of those who were meant to be punished, the other grounders will be killed. Lincoln begins to turn around, with Octavia pleading that he doesn’t leave her. He tells her he loves her, kisses her, and drugs her – making it impossible for her to stop him. Lincoln gives Octavia to Kane, offering himself to Pike for execution in a truly honorable moment.

Murphy (who is stuck at Ontari’s side) becomes aware of her interest in him, beginning to try and lure Murphy in. Roan bursts through the door with Titus to tell her that he’s no longer holding the flame. They decide they need him around to partake in the ceremony, but he uses Roan’s blade to slit his own throat before bleeding out into the bath of Ontari, as a last ditch effort “for Lexa.” The (hopeful) queen tells them to announce her ascension regardless of the flame which is heard across the land. As the sun rises, Lincoln is taken to be killed in front of Arkadia where Octavia has awoken and made her way to see it for herself. Lincoln tells him he has no last words for him, looking to the sky and whispers “may we meet again” about Octavia and she meanwhile cries in the distance as the love of her life is shot point blank. The heart wrenching scene shows Octavia go from devastation to rage with a pent up anger ready to seek revenge on anyone responsible. Congratulations The 100, I’m emotionally compromised  by this excellent series yet again.  

After a few weeks on a temporary break, the episode jumped right back into multiple storylines with a ferocity that made the wait worth it. We earned major developments on both ends of the spectrum (Arkadia/Polis) that felt evenly distributed in a single episode. A devastating death hit hard, but made sense given the loyalty he has always had for his own people. The loss of Lincoln was brilliantly different from Lexa’s demise in terms of consequences and characterization, but both undoubtedly pulled at the heartstrings effectively. I guess this ends my enjoyment of the romantic pair of Lincoln and Octavia, but at least we’ll have the memories… Farewell Lincoln.

Aedan’s Final Thoughts:

– Ricky Whittle will be missed for his honest and commendable portrayal of the complex character Lincoln, maybe we’ll see you in the City of Light?

– Octavia is going to be rightfully pissed off at Pike and her brother, so he definitely has a major ass-whooping in his future.

– I have a strong feeling Abby won’t be able to survive much longer, which will be yet another hard pill to swallow.

– The 100 is past the halfway point with so much going on and more evidence that it’s an all around successful series.