In the seventh episode of the third season of The 100, sigh. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For discussion of homophobia, queerbaiting, me yelling about sad gays.

Did Joss Whedon write this episode? I don’t know whose decision is was to stage one of the most absurdly offensive scenes I’ve ever seen, so I don’t really care to lay blame here. I’ll just yell at the show as a whole for making a decision that is painful and nonsensical and enraging. Because seriously, this is “Seeing Red” all over again, yet YEARS later, and EVEN MORE EGREGIOUSLY OFFENSIVE.

Look, I’d be mad if any show killed off a LGBT character because there are so few of us. That shouldn’t be surprising; the Bury Your Gays trope is one I have spoken of countless times on this site. But the sheer audacity of this show to kill off Lexa after she has sex with Clarke is just… jesus fucking christ.

I’m sensitive. I know that. This episode aired on March 3, but I’m watching it after Orlando, and it hurts. It hurts so much and that’s not something the people running this could have known necessarily, but the truth is that we do die. We are shot by people who think that our relationships are not healthy or that they aren’t right, and the fact that this show included a character saying that kind of shit before accidentally shooting a lesbian is just… god, it’s so callous and ridiculous and gross. The same show that can’t show Miller and his boyfriend kissing goodbye, or that cuts away from Clarke and Lexa’s sex scene can show her gratuitous and bloody death. And it feels like salt in the wound.

I don’t know shit about how this went down in fandom, what happened in the lead-up to this, or what the writers said in response. I imagine that there’s a reason that my Tumblr and Facebook dash was so completely full of things I couldn’t read, though. My god, how many times does this happen? Hasn’t it happened a lot this year? Didn’t we just deal with this on Supernatural last year? I can’t possibly believe that the people running shows can claim to be ignorant of this trope anymore. It’s 2016. Knock it the fuck off.

So, new rule: no one under the LGBT or queer banners is allowed to be killed off on any show for a year. The end. After that year is up, we add another year just for good measure. Writers, figure out a way to build tension or reveal new plots or provide emotional motivation without our deaths. The end, thank you.

*

There’s a much larger issue here, one I’m frankly tired of writing about. I cannot say the same thing twenty different ways. But there’s also a very tiny, insignificant issue here as well: this episode was actually pretty damn good before it was flushed down the toilet in the end. No Pike plot, and instead, an ambitious (if at times confusing) flashback to explain where Alie came from and why her plot is actually way more important than anything dealing with wars or clan battles or Grounders. I never thought we’d get scenes aboard a space station again, and they’re SO GOOD.

It’s clear that the show is trying to jam this new mythology into the existing one. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it feels strange. I don’t recall seeing a single infinity symbol in seasons one and two, nor do I remember any discussion of the religion of people like Titus outside of season 3. That stuff feels clumsy, like a retcon forced into the show to get the writers from point A to point B.

But telling the real truth of how the Earth was destroyed was far more compelling. I loved seeing Roger Cross appear as the unnamed commander of Polaris, and I loved that this felt like a classic science fiction tale. Becca is a character who is desperate and fierce, but she doesn’t feel hollow. She’s someone operating under an intense guilt and shame for creating the AI that obliterated the world. It made perfect sense to me that she would behave irrationally in order to atone for what she’d done, and that includes risking the lives of her commander and fellow scientist. That doesn’t mean she’s a good person for doing so, and I think it’s pretty clear she fucked everything up. (Though I still don’t understand why the rest of the Ark fired on Polaris. Why? That confused me.)

So, now the Grounders have worshipped Becca – called the Commander due to the word on her space suit – who brought ALIE 2.0 to Earth in her own body. It explains the Nightbloods, too, who must contain part of the AI themselves… maybe? How did they get the black blood? How did that AI chip get from Becca to the first commander? How did this morph into a cultural mythology? Those people that found Becca must have known about modern technology or space flight or any of those things, so how did this become a religion?

I hope those questions are answered soon.

*

I’m still mad about Lexa. I’ll be mad about it for a while.

The video for “Thirteen” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the eighth episode of the third season of The 100, Kane and his allies go up against Pike. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100. 

I think there’s a strength to “Terms and Conditions” that comes from the fact that the entire storyline focuses solely on the Arkadia plots. I thought this was one of the stronger episodes of the season, and the hint of the future we get here is downright exciting. YES TO THESE PLOTS, YES TO PEOPLE FIGHTING BACK.

Let’s chat.

Raven

I am so thankful that Raven was given a story so complex because I love that she is the one who makes the choice to do as she wants. So much of her appearance on this show feels like the writers flinging one horrible thing after another on her, and thus, her decision to fight Alie feels something uniquely suited to her. Initially, though, I wasn’t sure that she would resist. The bliss that Alie’s AI gave her was so all-encompassing that even when she did have challenging questions, she skipped right over them. She manipulated Jasper into helping her by exploiting his alcoholism, and she didn’t seem to care about this at all.

It’s fascinating, though, that Jasper’s pointed questions about the chip are what trigger Raven’s disgust with the technology. I wondered if he was asking her about Finn as a test, but I now realize how desperate he is to move beyond the pain he feels for Maya. He wanted to know if the chip would make him forget her, and he’s shocked to find out that it made Raven forget Finn, someone she loved with all her heart and who she watched get executed. If that’s the case, then it might work for him. EXCEPT RAVEN REALIZES THAT HER LACK OF PAIN IS NOT WORTH HER FORGETTING FINN.

!!!!! THIS IS SUCH A GREAT PLOT TWIST, and now I want to see hacker Raven fighting Alie and building a resistance force against her. THIS IS THE SHOW I WANT, PLEASE GIVE IT TO ME. Also, Jaha is just… wow. Alie literally spelled it out to him: she cannot override someone’s free will or consent. So he’ll do it for her? NO, DUDE. NO.

Pike

It is so hard listening to Pike talk because the guy so actively manipulates everyone around him. I realize that one of the major reasons I dislike him is because he reminds me of arguments with my mother. He cannot ever, ever have a discussion because he enters all conversations with one goal in mind: to win them. Everything is a debate, there is no good faith on his side, and there is no chance he is wrong about anything. Even further, he twists events and gaslights people around him so that he looks sensible. I AM SO TIRED OF HIM REFUSING TO ADMIT THAT HE STARTED THE WAR. YOU DID IT, PIKE, WHEN YOU SLAUGHTERED ALL THOSE PEOPLE. PEACE WAS COMING, IT HAD ALREADY HAPPENED, AND YOU RUINED IT.

Thus, the work that Sinclair, Kane, Miller, and Abigail do is necessary. If Pike succeeds on his next mission, it is entirely possible that hell will rain down on Arkadia. And for what it’s worth, Kane tried other options! He tried to convince Bellamy that he was on the wrong side, and he tried to compel Pike to back down from his position. The joint prison riot plan only came about after Kane had exhausted his other options, which is about as stark of a contrast with Pike that I can imagine. Pike sees one plan here – violence – and sticks to it. There’s no mutability, no compromising, just unending, relentless war mongering.

And for a moment there, I truly thought Pike and the others were going to get away with their plan to hand Pike over to the Grounders. I really did! Instead, “Terms and Conditions” goes to a much darker place, but it’s one where Monty and Bellamy finally question what Pike is doing. (Well, Monty has more or less been questioning it the whole time, but you get what I mean.) Granted, it should not take Kane getting a death sentence for that to come about, but still. There it is: Bellamy doubts. He sees how willing Pike is to execute someone who has done so many good things for Arkadia, and he realizes he may actually be on the wrong side. I hope Miller’s boyfriend is also willing to change affiliations, and Hannah’s conversation with her son and Bellamy might also be a suggestion that she’s willing to re-think things.

Truth is, this could go a million different ways. We still don’t know where Octavia and Indra are, nor do we know how Bellamy and Monty will plot against Pike. I suspect that Sinclair and Lincoln will both be at risk from Pike’s retribution, too, so will they try to save them as well? I HOPE SO, NEITHER CHARACTER HAS HAD MUCH OF A STORY THIS SEASON.

Where’s Abby during all of this, by the way?

The video for “Terms and Conditions” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the ninth episode of the third season of The 100, sigh again. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100. 

Trigger Warning: For discussion of racism.

I can’t talk about that one plot yet.

The Conclave

Well, things have escalated, haven’t they?

It seems that the Grounders have managed to largely gloss over the fact that Titus was responsible for Lexa’s death, though there is a brief mention of it later in the episode. It seems a little strange, given how fast information spreads between the clans. It’s even stranger when you consider that so many Grounders are in Polis for the Conclave. So no one figured it out? No one knows how Lexa died? That just seems unbelievable, you know?

It comes across as an oversight. Instead, the action is confined to just a few characters: Murphy (???? WHY IS HE EVEN HERE, HIS STORY IS SO WEIRD), Clarke, Nia, Ontari, Titus, and the clan heads who witness Ontari’s ascension. I do get it, though, at least because the focus on these people allows a more personal story to unfold. Of course, Murphy fits nowhere in this, and it’s just awkward to see him standing around in most of these scenes. Why doesn’t he leave on his own? Why stick around? Does he prefer being with someone? Why isn’t that explored?

Anyway, I feel no good things towards Titus, but I do admire that Clarke understands that Ontari becoming Commander is the actual darkest timeline. It is! That woman is terrifying. She beheaded a bunch of children in the middle of the night!!! WHO DOES THAT. Someone who will most definitely order the clans to descend on Arkadia and kill all of them, and then probably kill everyone who defied the Ice Nation, and lots and lots and lots of death. (She’s kind of a parallel with Pike, isn’t she?)

I remember Lincoln mentioning Luna, so I’m glad that’s coming to fruition within a story trope I love: QUESTS THAT INVOLVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN MISSING FOR AGES. We know that Luna is in the East, right? Somewhere? YES, GREAT, AWESOME. Clarke has the Flame and is, unsurprisingly, the Flamekeeper. (Who didn’t see that coming?) But I still want to know more details about the Flame. What exact effect does it have on those who have the same kind of blood as Becca? How is that bloodline passed from one person to another? Why did Luna abandon the Conclave?

THIS IS A COOL STORY, I WANT TO SEE MORE.

Lincoln

I’m glad this storyline is barreling towards something, particularly a plot where people will FINALLY, FINALLY tell Pike that he’s full of shit and endangering all of Arkadia. Whether Hannah is actually a part of that remains to be seen, but I’m cautiously optimistic that Bellamy is done worshipping Pike. Monty definitely is, which is awesome, even though I think he never should have been there in the first place. (JUST A THOUGHT.) Then we’ve Kane, who has changed SO MUCH since the first season, and it’s one o the coolest things I’ve seen on The 100. Even Miller’s boyfriend, Brian, gets a moment to face the guilt of what he did.

And then there’s Lincoln. For the entirety of season three, he has done… what? Anything? Have the writers given him a single plot line where he’s not brooding or glaring at Octavia or Pike or Bellamy? He exists for momentary conflict; apparently, he’s not even important enough to warrant an episode worth of conflict. Every antagonistic moment he has is solved and is insignificant. I kept waiting, hoping that the show would give him something to do or affect or be a part of, and… nothing. He’s a Grounder learning to live in Arkadia. That alone is full of potential, and yet we never really see it. How do other citizens interact with him? What does he help with? What happens to him once Pike becomes Chancellor? Are there still Arkadians who remember what Lincoln did to help them in the past, or are they all just conveniently washed away to make the plot simpler?

This show has managed to find complexity for Clarke, for Octavia, for Lexa, for TITUS, goddamn it, a character who DIDN’T EVEN EXIST PRIOR TO THIS SEASON. Titus has a more active role in this show than someone who has been here since season one. Why? Why did they underutilize Ricky Whittle, who is a fantastic actor, so much???

And then, in his final moments, Lincoln courageously sacrifices himself to save the lives of Grounders we barely know, who we probably won’t see much of at all, and his death scene is one of the most gratuitously violent things that show has ever done. Does The 100 have a thing for showing marginalized-identity characters bleeding out profusely? First, we had to watch Lexa die, then we get to watch Lincoln get one of the goriest deaths of the show. And for what? To grow Octavia? To show us that Pike is a bad person? NEWSFLASH: WE ALREADY KNEW HE WAS AWFUL.

I assume Whittle had to depart the show at some point for American Gods (WHERE THE CAST IS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND I MAY SCREAM), but come on. He deserved better. His character deserved better. The fact that he’s not white makes me suspicious, and I can’t help it. I can’t help but wonder why this show keeps writing such terrible storylines for all its non-white characters. What a shitty way to go, y’all.

The video for “Stealing Fire” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the tenth episode of the third season of The 100, everything in the world just happened. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For self-harm, sexual assault/rape, suicide, consent, nonconsensual drugging and medical procedures.

GOOD GOD WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED ON THIS SHOW.

Murphy / Ontari

I think it’s interesting to see Murphy – a character who refuses to die and is flung from one disaster to another – find a way to adapt to being Ontari’s fake Flamekeeper. It’s compelling because the audience gets to see Ontari’s vulnerability. Prior to this, she was ruthless and terrifying. She’s still ruthless, but there’s a whole lot of doubt and fear that felt new to me. Murphy, on the other hand, has just given up on feeling afraid. I get the sense that he’s seen so much at this point that he’s numb. He does what he can for survival because that’s what he knows.

Which is why the decision to portray his forced sex scene as something sexy is just atrocious. The man is chained up; he tells Ontari he has someone else and gives her a pretty hard no; she then hangs all of her power over him to remind him that she’s in control. Even that shitty line about what he does to “stay alive” is explicit about the fact that he isn’t having sex because he wants to but because he has to. And yet, the music swells like we’re about to get a super hot sex scene, and it feels completely off in terms of tone.

What the hell, The 100. As a dude who is also a rape victim (one of my rapists was a woman), please do not, not, not joke around about this.

Ending the Blockade

Look, let me first say that both Bob Morley and Marie Avgeropoulos are incredible in that opening sequence, and I read that fight as a necessary first step after the end of the last episode. I suspected Octavia would be pissed, but I was hit a lot harder by the beating she gave her brother than I expected. It really felt real that Lincoln was dead, and I felt so sad for her. Which is why it’s weird that the show largely focuses on Bellamy from that point on. Octavia is still angry, she’s still an important member of the team (AND SHE GETS TO KILL THAT ONE GUARD WHO I HATE SO SO SO MUCH), but it’s clear that the writers want us to see that they’re coming up with some sort of redemption arc for Bellamy.

I kind of have two versions of Bellamy in my mind. One is attached to Bob Morley, since he’s a great actor, and this is the Bellamy I’ve loved and adored for being a complicated, delightful character. And then there’s what the show has written him into for season three. I don’t know how you write redemption for a character who most likely killed sleeping Grounders and supported The 100’s version of a dictator. Is this a beginning? I suppose. It’s necessary that Octavia express her anger at her brother. It’s necessary that Bellamy create the trap that gets Pike captured and handed over to the Grounders to end the blockade. (WHEW, WHAT A CATHARTIC SCENE, MAY PIKE’S END COME SOON AND BE SWIFT.) But what else can Bellamy do?

What about Hannah??? Monty’s own mother turned him in!!! What possible fucking motivation could she have for this??? I thought she said she didn’t want to lose her son and her husband, yet she turns Monty over to a man who LITERALLY JUST EXECUTED SOMEONE HE DID NOT LIKE. How is that going to work? And hell, now that Kane’s heading off to Ontari, the other survivors are going to go home to a nightmare. Bellamy, Miller, Bryan, Sinclair, Harper, Monty, and Octavia have NO IDEA ABOUT ALIE. Good lord.

Alie

I wish Jaha had more depth as a character. Like Pike, he’s written with a one-dimensional story. He has a goal, there’s no nuance in him trying to achieve it, and there doesn’t seem to be any of the moral complexity that The 100 is known for. He is an antagonist who exists solely for that purpose, which is a shame because he’s got such a rich past to build from. Is there something more to his story that we’re not seeing?

I actually do enjoy the ALIE storyline, more than I thought I would, and this episode represents the creepiest jump forward we’ve seen so far. I’m making a prediction that Alie herself is this season’s Big Bad, not the war with the Grounders or Pike, and I think “Fallen” is the first major shift in that direction. Alie’s capabilities are finally revealed when it’s revealed just how far she can go to coerce others into accepting her. Now, I appreciate how utterly brilliant  Lindsey Morgan is as an actress, and watching her play Raven as Alie was otherworldly. It was incredible! At the same time, I thought it was a bit much to show us so much pain, so much gore, and those slit wrists. I understood that Alie needed to compel Abby to join them all, and even that moment itself felt like something the show normally does. The 100 is full of complicated decisions, and having Abby choose between her own free will and Raven’s life was powerful.

But damn, this show really brutalizes all its non-white characters. From Lincoln’s gory death to Bellamy’s beatdown to the excessively detailed torture that Raven went through… it was a lot. A Lot. And I know that The 100 doesn’t shy away from portraying violence or uncomfortable things, so all I have is a gut reaction here. It felt like Too Much, if that makes sense.

Yet I also am SUPER EXCITED after that ending. It’s been a while since something was so thrilling that I was just screeching at my television, but Jasper’s escape was so goddamn scary, and then throwing Clarke in the mix made it even more frightening, and then Abby stating that Arkadia had “fallen” was like the cherry on top of this whole nightmare. Jesus, Clarke just found out that Lincoln died, and now she has to contend with an AI that’s infected all her friends and family???

This show is too much.

The video for “Fallen” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the eleventh episode of the third season of The 100, nevermore! I get it, it’s clever, and EVERYTHING HURTS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For consent, blood, body horror.

There’s a lot in “Nevermore” that I like, and its composition hits on a trope that generally entertains: stick a ton of people who have mountains of problems with one another into a room and a situation that forces them to work out those problems. WELCOME TO THIS EPISODE, which focuses solely on the 100’s need to exorcise Alie’s chip from Raven. This focus gives us an episode that is relentlessly intense, and I really do think that, aside from a couple issues, it’s one of the strongest episodes of the season.

Part of that comes from the reunion of the core characters AND the addition of Sinclair, which excites me because he might finally get his own story, too. YES. THANK YOU. It’s a brilliant callback to the first season, sure, but it also serves to address a number of plots that have been left hanging. While In Niylah’s home/shop, they can’t ignore the forty million elephants in the room. And, of course, Alie is there, too, using Raven to push everyone as far as they can in order to make them break.

It’s a messy episode in terms of emotions, but I felt like a number of issues were addressed in the process. LET’S DISCUSS.

Clarke

I appreciated that the show didn’t put these characters into that room and then make them invincible caricatures. When Raven taunts Clarke, it’s a deliberate attempt to bring out her guilt and shame over… well, a lot of things. But what I was most invested in with Clarke was whether or not she would resolve her conflict with Jasper. Would she apologize to him for Maya’s death? And would that matter to him? Because ultimately, Jasper has every reason to hate Clarke, even if she didn’t have much of a choice last season. He is the one who needs to decide that he can forgive Clarke or move beyond what he’s feeling, you know? That’s not Clarke’s choice. (For once!)

I think the events in “Nevermore,” then, are a start. She actually says outright that she is sorry, and Jasper gets a chance to appreciate the challenge that comes from making a potentially life-altering decision. (He doesn’t destroy ALIE 2.0 after Clarke says it contains Lexa.) Does that mean everything is all tidy and neat now? No. And that’s a lot more realistic than anything that wrapped up this plot in just forty minutes. The same thing goes for Niylah; Clarke manipulated her, much like Clarke manipulates those around her to get what she needs. Niylah may never be seen again on this show, but Clarke can’t expect forgiveness from her either.

Bellamy

And if “Fallen” was the start of something new for Bellamy, then this episode is the next step on a long, long journey. It’s notable that Bellamy is practically the only character who does not have a dramatic reaction to the poison that Alie spews through Raven. My guess is that the show is having him do penance. Like the beating at the opening of “Fallen,” Bellamy is trying to learn how not to let his own ego get in the way of the healing process that must happen. He lets Alie berate him and insult him, and when Niylah realizes who he is, he doesn’t fight her either.

But does that fix everything? No, and I’m glad that Octavia called him out for that. OCTAVIA IS SO GREAT IN THAT SCENE, Y’ALL. Because that’s what he needs to know! Switching allegiances doesn’t absolve him of what he’s done, and this episode is one giant reminder of all the lives he’s ruined. They wouldn’t even have had a problem with Niylah if Bellamy and Pike’s army hadn’t slaughtered her father!

I dunno, I want to like Bellamy as much as I did last season, and Bob Morley is such a fantastic actor that I feel weird that his character has done such horrific things. The writers have a huge, ambitious task ahead of them, and I don’t know if they can pull it off.

Monty

For two and a half seasons, this show has made Monty a character who happens to other people. He might have an argument or two, he might push characters to where they need to be for the finale or some plot twist, but he has not had a story to himself this entire time. In “Nevermore,” the writers finally give him a conflict that has almost nothing to do with anyone else and –

They force him to murder his mother.

I kept trying to justify it. There’s a moment during his confrontation with Hannah outside the drop ship where I think the writers were trying to give us Monty’s frame of mind. He’s understandably hurt that his mother turned him in to Pike, that she can’t remember her husband’s favorite color, that she’s once again making a terrible decision for her son. In that, I could see a possible reason why Monty might have stopped being the reasonable, pragmatic character he usually is. He’s not very impulsive, is he? Yet he doesn’t even try to stop his mother from killing Octavia in any way except a gun, and it felt like such an obvious oversight.

But let’s just accept that he did it instead. Monty’s first plot that he must deal with by himself involves the death of the only other Asian character besides himself. His story is cruelty, too, given that he learns at the end of the episode that an EMP can kill any of Alie’s chips, meaning that he never needed to kill his mom. That’s… that’s just super fucking mean, isn’t it?

Look, I actually am very excited that the Alie plot has taken over the show because it’s such a creepy and thrilling thing. I just feel weird to see so many of the non-white characters suffering all the time. I am hoping that Alie’s admission that Raven is a threat means that Raven is the one who takes her down. Who else has a bigger need for revenge at this point than Raven? I WANT RAVEN TO DESTROY HER.

The video for “Nevermore” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the twelfth episode of the third season of The 100, a decision Clarke made comes back to haunt her, while Murphy realizes what his world has changed into. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100. 

Trigger Warning: For torture

THIS IS SO INTENSE. WHY.

Polis

I fell for it, I admit. I was entirely convinced that Emori was seeking out Murphy in a genuine sense, and I read her wonderment inside the Flamekeeper’s room as something entirely different than what actually happened. See, I had this idea that as a Grounder, even Emori knew what a sacred place that room was, and her wide-eyed joy was symbolic of that. How many Grounders ever get to see the home of their faith? And then I started imagining that Emori would help him understand why this matters so much to her. And then Ontari would catch them and kill Emori, and this all seemed so obvious and then NOPE.

Fucking Jaha, oh my god. Despite that I theorized in the video below that all the Arkadia folks had moved to Polis to convert more people to Alie’s plan, I STILL DIDN’T CONSIDER THAT EMORI WAS A PLANT AND THAT JAHA WAS READY TO CHIP ONTARI. But it’s the next step in the plan, and I should have seen it coming, and GAH. Here’s the thing: I still don’t know why Alie needs all of these people. If she wanted ALIE 2.0 in order to prevent herself from being stopped, then that means she has another goal in mind. Why??? What is it???

Demons

In many ways, the writers turn The 100 into a horror film in this episode. Indeed, from the opening scene with Miller, Harper, and Bryan, the tropes normally found in monster movies or slasher flicks are on full display. Why is that? To me, it was a signal that in this universe, Emerson is a monster. Here’s a man who arguably killed countless more people that Clarke could ever dream of. He was complicit in a system that involved the kidnapping, torture, and murder of an entire group of people in order to keep his “people” safe. When those same people, with Clarke’s help, retaliated, he views himself as a wronged victim, so much so that he turns the Ice Nation loose, murders more people, and then does… well, the awful thing he does here.

This episode is intense and frightening and a demonstration of Emerson’s depravity, and I hate that Sinclair is a victim in it. Look, at least Monty has gotten to do something over these seasons; in comparison, Sinclair has been virtually invisible. No storylines, no development, and no details about who he is. So he dies right after his first episode where he’s given a big emotional moment concerning… someone else. He’s in “Nevermore” to express fear that he may wipe Raven’s mind.

Here? He dies so that everyone realizes how messed up Emerson was, which absolutely no one needed. His death is a stain on an episode that bravely features Clarke dealing with further ramifications of her decisions. “Demons” makes her face the fact that she showed mercy to Emerson in order to prove a point to the Grounders, which ended up being pointless anyway. So she takes it upon herself to do what is needed to protect her friends at great risk to herself. That’s a good story! And I like that this aspect of her character is addressed openly. Plus, it was gnarly seeing how the ALIE 2.0 chip actually kills a person. THAT WAS NICE TO KNOW.

I just desperately wish that Sinclair had not been so hopelessly disposable. Alessandro Juliani is a fine actor who can do incredible work, and I feel like the show wasted him. Just like they wasted Ricky Whittle, or Donna Yamamoto, or Dichen Lachman, or Eli Goree, and I think you can see a pattern developing here.

Hmmm.

That being said, I love that Raven and Monty are going to work on disabling Alie while Bellamy, Clarke, Octavia, and Jasper seek out Luna. Those are both storylines I’m super excited to see. I’ll long for the core group to be together once again, but this was a damn good run for them.

The video for “Demons” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the thirteenth episode of the third season of The 100, UPSET. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For torture and a mention of self-harm.

Good god, this episode was hard to watch. I enjoyed a great deal of it, but holy shit THE SHOW WENT VERY FAR.

The Search for Luna

YES TO LITERALLY EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS HERE. I love that it’s awkward, I love that Bellamy and Clarke have a difficult conversation, and I am ecstatic at the potential for whatever place that is where Luna and her people live. DO THEY HAVE A CLAN NAME. IS THAT THE PLACE IN THE OPENING CREDITS. AM I GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THIS PLOT AT ALL.

No. No, I am not.

So let’s start with how great it is to see these four characters together. I love ensemble casts mostly because there’s just so much shit to work with by pairing different people together to tackle various conflicts. The brilliance here is in the parallel. When Octavia justifiably lashes out at Bellamy after he touches Lincoln’s journal, that’s a raw and real moment. Octavia’s honesty is necessary for both characters. We need to know how she feels just as much as Bellamy does.

So when Clarke tries to comfort him, there’s a neat imagery in it. Both of the characters tending the signal fire have been hurt by those who have stepped away from them. So when Clarke is giving Bellamy advice, she’s also referring to what she’s done with Jasper. She has to give Jasper space to forgive her, and she has to be willing to forgive herself, too. That’s the best that Bellamy can hope for after what he did; he cannot expect his sister to just up and forgive him in an instant. She’ll be vulnerable and furious and sad for a while, and that’s the cost of his actions.

LET’S TALK ABOUT LUNA’S PEOPLE, TOO. They came out of the goddamn ocean, y’all. THEY HAVE SCUBA GEAR. They have crossbows made of metal, I believe? These little details matter because we’re already getting a portrait of what their life on the water is like. (Why were all the people who answered the signal flame so young??? Was that important or just a coincidence?) I also appreciated that they asked these people to take that drug to keep them unconscious rather than force them to take it. So, they want to keep their location a secret.

And Luna herself… well, I’ll say that I wasn’t surprised that she rejected the Flame. What little we knew of Luna at that point suggested that she had no interest in the Conclave or leading the Grounders. Why would this piece of technology convince her otherwise? Thus, I’m so eager to see if Jasper, Bellamy, Octavia, and Clarke will take a different angle to change her mind: an alliance to take down Alie.

YES, PLEASE.

Kane

I just feel so sad, y’all. I don’t know if it was the writers’ intentions here, but those glimpses of Kane in Pike’s flashbacks were a bittersweet reminder of Kane’s redemption arc and how much he’s changed as a character. HE’S SO DIFFERENT. Now, he’s a resistance fighter, someone who recognizes tyranny and oppression because he used to give it himself. His stand against Pike was brilliant and revelatory, and so I found it natural that, upon realizing what Jaha had done, he refused to kneel before him, too. It’s a natural progression for Kane, and it did not even remotely prepare me for what happened next.

On one level, I understand that Ontari had mentioned crucifying people as a form of punishment, so there’s a visual symmetry to that and what we see here. However, Alie is absolutely in charge now, and her decision to compel others to crucify Kane in order to get him to submit confuses me. Part of that is because I still don’t understand her endgame. She wants to make the world better, and yet, she and Jaha have brought so much suffering to it. SO. MUCH. SUFFERING. And the scene where Kane is crucified is unbelievably violent and horrifying and graphic. (Hey, it breaks the streak of only non-white bodies being brutalized this season, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily something to celebrate.)

It’s a heartbreaking scene, point blank, and like the moment where Alie forced Raven to slit her wrists, it felt gratuitous. Was all that necessary just to move the plot ahead? I don’t know because I don’t know what’s next for Kane, but… good god, that hurt to watch.

Resistance

Pike’s flashbacks are fascinating, both because they show us a character that’s actually sympathetic and because we can see the man he’ll become in them. The glimpse of The 100 in their original state was eerie, too. I also thought the flashbacks were there to warn us that Pike was about to die. His life would come full circle with Murphy, and Murphy would egg Indra on to kill him.

While I understand the reason why he says otherwise, I wanted to talk about how the writing for this scene undermines Indra instead of doing anything good for her. I really like Indra, but I now can’t ignore that the way she is written falls right in line with the Angry Black Woman trope. So much so that her sole role in season three is to be talked down to by white characters. Hell, for most of her appearances on the show, someone – Lexa or Octavia or Murphy – is telling her not to be impulsive or to act without thinking. Which makes little sense; this is a world of violence and quick-thinking is an asset. Yet in Indra, it’s her flaw, and all the characters around her constantly point out how short-sighted she is. When her arm was injured, Octavia was the one to get her to see the bigger picture. When she was getting revenge against Pike for his slaughter of her people, Murphy was the one to remind her that they might need Pike.

Which is a good point. I admit it. Yet how has Indra survived as long as she has, and why was she so revered by Lexa if she is such a hostile, impulsive person? It doesn’t make sense. To many Grounders, she’s one of the best warriors, yet once the show gets her around most other people, she’s making mistakes over and over again. Which is it? Is she capable or not? Does she ever get a story this season that doesn’t revolve around someone else?

JUST SOME THOUGHTS, OKAY. I don’t hate this by any means; I actually think that the story in the latter half of this season is much stronger than I expected it to be. And I’m eager to see how these people can resist being chipped!

The video for “Join or Die” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the fourteenth episode of the third season of The 100, multiple parties race to stop ALIE with mixed results. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For discussion of torture (specifically waterboarding), consent.

Well, The 100 isn’t wasting time at all at the end of this season. The whole show has escalated ridiculously, and it’s nice that I don’t feel like there’s any filler here at all. I’ve got three separate plots to discuss, so I’m just gonna jump right into it.

Arkadia

As frustrating as some of this plot might be, I actually found myself entertained and satisfied by the writers giving stories to Raven, Monty, and Harper. (Where were Bryan and Miller??? Hopefully having lots of sex.) I expect that the finale will hinge on Clarke, but for a moment, I could imagine that Raven would be the one to take down Alie. Yes, the finale is still left, but it was a nice thought! Still, Raven’s discovery here is very important: ALIE is hiding a killswitch within her programming, and that most likely means that ALIE 2.0 allows someone access to the Citadel.

And it’s Raven who discovers that. The narrative forces her to a point where everything is left to Clarke, which is a bit disappointing, but I still enjoyed that she got her time in the spotlight. I’m not even irritated by how Monty affects this storyline either. First of all, he’s FINALLY allowed to be with someone after tons of episodes where he’s largely ignored. HE IS SUPER CUTE WITH HARPER. A nice thing actually happened on this show and it wasn’t immediately followed up with one of the two people involved dying. But Monty’s delay here makes absolute sense. After killing his mother a few episodes ago, the temptation to “save” her, since her consciousness is still there, is very real. His hesitation is heartbreaking because he’s deciding whether or not to kill the hope that he’d ever see her again.

So I get his anger when Raven isn’t able to shut ALIE down. In his mind, he ended his mother’s life for no reason. Of course, it wasn’t for no reason; they now have information they didn’t before. At the same time, it’s not enough for Monty, and I don’t think that’s an irrational response. After losing so much, Monty just wanted something more.

Polis

Which is why I wanna call foul in regards to the writers using the exact same trope for John Murphy. Watching Indra take down the two guards? YES. Everyone escaping? YES. The unbearable tension of Indra, Pike, and Murphy trying to find Jaha’s backpack so that they can destroy Alie’s power source? Oh, it’s just fantastic. Expertly plotted, all three actors are convincing and emotional, and I felt like the stakes had been truly raised. And I know that’s partially because Alie was being attacked on three fronts in this episode! Would any of them succeed? Who would fail? There was also a surreal nature to the sequence in the Flamekeeper room because WHO WOULD HAVE EVER PREDICTED THAT INDRA, PIKE, AND MURPHY WOULD BE IN THE SAME ROOM?

What doesn’t make sense to me is Murphy, who has developed zero connections to anyone aside from the superficial, who is still alive specifically because he is such a self-serving and callous person, who lectured Indra about thinking of the future and what’s best for everyone, suddenly being NONE OF THESE THINGS just so that the tension can be drawn out. He is attracted to Emori, but how the hell is he suddenly emotionally distracted by her or what she says? Nothing Alie has ever said has ever worked on him. Why this? Is there a change in him that we’re just now getting to?

It felt artificial. It felt like the writers realized they had to create a delay so that Alie could successfully make it to the Ark, so they just stuffed it in there.

The Water Clan

GOD I LOVE LUNA AND PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT HER. (Except her getting waterboarded. Jesus christ, is this show going to throw every horrible, trigger-y image at us for shock value?) Y’all, she created a haven for people who are done fighting. Blood must not have blood on that oil rig, and she sticks with it. This whole society is so loving and affectionate and genuine, and that’s important. The writers and crew spend a lot of time building this world for us in a very small amount of time, and it’s so that we’ll understand Luna’s eventual choice.

But I should have known once Clarke failed to implant the Flame on Luna that she’d made her decision then. Clarke seriously miscalculated the situation and Luna in that moment, so I don’t feel all that bad about her failure. Yes, it’s important to take down Alie, but the whole point of Luna’s story is to make the point that it might not be worth it to be willing to do anything to get what one wants. When Luna rejects Clarke’s offer, look at what had already happened. Shay was murdered with an arrow through the chest. Derrick takes a chip to stop her being waterboarded, only to be killed by Luna in self-defense. Luna’s whole life was torn apart, and yet she still chose peace. She still chose a life without violence.

I respect that, even if there is a larger issue at hand. Clarke, seriously, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TRYING TO IGNORE HER CONSENT???

The video for “Red Sky at Morning” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the fifteenth and penultimate episode of the third season of The 100, well, everything is a mess now, isn’t it? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For mention of suicide.

Holy shit, this episode is relentless.

Arkadia

Goddamn it, I get Jasper’s reasoning. I do! It’s heartbreaking, but thinking back on “Red Sky at Morning,” I can see how his choice was foreshadowed. He saw another life there on Luna’s rig. Shay reminded him of Maya in a roundabout way, though not necessarily at the time. The peace he experienced, even for a brief moment, was so infectious that he decided to chase it more permanently by taking one of Alie’s chips.

I get the sense that the writers wanted us to go into the finale feeling hopeless, and this is one of the methods they used for that. Perhaps the payoff will be immense, but I’m also wondering how the show will ever move beyond this. On the one hand, many of these characters are very explicit about the fact that the people chipped by Alie can be saved once the killswitch is hit. I don’t imagine that Monty will necessarily hold it over Jasper for stabbing him. But in Jasper’s case, he knew what the chip did. He knew the threat that they all faced, and he knew how important it was to stop Alie. And yet? He still took a chip. He still betrayed his friends for a selfish reason. One I understand, I should note, but not one I think absolves him of the ramifications of what he’s done.

But if we really wanna talk about hopelessness, let me turn my attention to Polis.

The Flame

I do love impossible quests. It’s so rewarding and satisfying to watch a group of underdogs fight against ridiculous odds to accomplish something. The addition of Roan to this plan made the story a million times more interesting. I HAD NOT EVEN CONSIDERED THAT HE HAD THE SAME GOAL AS CLARKE. Gods, could you imagine that story for season four? Ontari as the Commander, trying to decide whether to reward Clarke for her help or still take out her people. So there’s promise and potential here, which is why it’s so tragic and upsetting when everything falls apart. (GODDAMN IT, JASPER.) This was such a good plan that hinged on secrecy, so Jasper’s betrayal sends them all into a trap instead of a rescue mission or a heist. And y’all know how much I love heists.

Amidst the thrill and the terror, there’s still a lot of great character development and emotional power, and I appreciate that the writers found a balance between them. Clarke’s need to save everyone is openly discussed, especially as it relates to the way she can actually put others at risk. (In this example, going village-to-village might get those people destroyed/chipped by Alie faster.) When Octavia discovers that Pike is an “ally,” I NEARLY EXPLODED. There is a 0% chance that the writers will ignore that in the next episode because… seriously, I don’t think Octavia can wait much longer and delay the inevitable. These two are going to confront each other because IT IS DESTINY. There’s even a neat little exchange between Murphy and Bellamy about why they’re trying to stop Alie, which sort of sheds light on why Murphy hesitated in the last episode. (It still doesn’t feel like enough.)

And then there’s Alie. I think the first real clue to her endgame comes from Jasper, who claims that he knows why Alie’s mission is important: the world is not survivable. It seems like such a strange statement to make because Alie’s own actions have made the world less survivable. How many people has she killed? Let’s put aside her original act of nuking the world. Since she’s been activated, she has relieved the pain of countless people by cutting off the part of the brain that sends pain messages. She has excised memories. And she has, through Jaha and many of the people she’s controlled, caused untold misery. Suffering. Death. Destruction. She wants people to feel at peace in the City of Light, and yet she increasingly has listened to Jaha’s claims that she should do anything to get what she wants.

Why? Why is her behavior at odds with her stated mission? I suspect she has something else in store. What if she plans to destroy the entire world, but keep everyone in the City of Light? What if that is her solution to human suffering??? No physical bodies, just souls and minds uploading to her server, living in perpetual bliss in a digital matrix? THAT’S TOTALLY IT, ISN’T IT?

I’m probably wrong. The thing is, there has to be something there. The things Alie has done are absolutely heinous. Here, she compels Abby to hang herself in front of her own daughter in order to get the Flame’s password. Like… jesus christ, this season is so unbearably disturbing at times, and I feel like the audience needs to know why Alie has been so willing to cause so much pain. Is it because she’s so certain everyone will eventually take the chips and they can forget how Alie made them suffer?

Perhaps. Even Ontari was sacrificed for this plan, leaving Alie’s opponents with literally nothing to access the Citadel and stop her. Is Kane dead? Indra? (If Indra is dead, I’ll be furious.) What of Miller and Bryan and Harper? Can Raven actually help destroy Alie, or will it be left to Clarke in the end?

I’m scared.

The video for “Perverse Instantiation, Part I” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

In the sixteenth and final episode of the third season of The 100, Clarke brings the fight to Alie. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.

Trigger Warning: For blood/gore, consent.

Well, shit.

There’s no denying that while I’ve been largely entertained by The 100, my thoughts on it have changed. It’s not that the show was never flawed, and I hope I’ve explained that in reviews for the past two seasons. Instead, The 100 was a show where I could look beyond the flaws because everything else they were doing was so invigorating and exciting. I did that with season three, but many of the writing choices have felt confusing, bewildering, or downright enraging. “Perverse Instantiation, Part II” reminds me of The 100’s strengths and weaknesses of this season as a whole. It’s exciting and tense; it relies on shoving other characters into the background in frustrating ways; it can give us intense emotional catharsis, or it irritates me with a lack of insight into certain characters.

I have no idea how there’s going to be a season 4.

But let’s talk about the events that lead to that, because I think the show has written themselves into an incredibly difficult place. That’s not a bad thing; I like challenging stories, and The 100 has certainly been ambitious over the course of three seasons. But the trauma of the events of season three hangs over everything, and I don’t know how they’ll move beyond it. At the start of the finale, with a “healed” Abby helping her daughter with a bizarre blood transfusion, “Perverse Instantiation” felt like the end of the world. I wasn’t surprised by Clarke being the person to enter the City of Light to fight Alie; the show posits Clarke as the main character anyway. But I was more interested in logistics and execution. What would the whole City of Light look like? How would Clarke deal with Alie knowing she was there immediately upon entering? How would she get to the Citadel?

I’m happy to say that I was satisfied with the look of the city and the way that Raven’s hacking was folded into the action. I understood the importance of the Flame, first as a shield to prevent others from seeing her, and then as a method for her to access information she otherwise would not have had. That included the signs that led her to the Citadel, as well as the appearance of Lexa. (DON’T TOUCH ME, I’M STILL RAW.) The writers even found a way to represent Clarke’s physical state in the Throne Room. All of this contributed to a sense of terror that felt real. If Ontari’s heart could not be kept pumping – even when Murphy had to do it manually – then Clarke’s body would reject the flame. If any of Alie’s chipped humans got to her, she would die.

So she has help. Raven’s hacking has a very real effect on her journey, which includes her creating a door directly to the Citadel when Clarke needed it most. But the Flame also provided her with Lexa. Her appearance is bittersweet. I was instantly reminded of the chemistry between these two characters and how meaningful their relationship was to The 100. And then I felt sad because I knew it was gone, that this version of Lexa was just a glimpse, and that if Clarke was going to save everything, she’d have to definitively sacrifice Lexa, too.

And that’s not even remotely the only thing going on. OCTAVIA, Y’ALL. Was it foolish of her to ignore the plan in order to go after Pike? Of course. I saw that as the whole point. Octavia’s need for blood was so intense that she let it cloud her judgment. Is it as bad as what Bellamy did? Not at all, and I don’t think the show was trying to say it was. But I appreciated that Bellamy had insight into what his sister might have felt, and so he did his best to implore her to set aside her anger so that everyone could survive.

About that survival, though… I have no idea how they’re going to do it. I needed to know why Alie had done such horrible things, and I finally got the answer, just prior to Clarke “saving” the world. But in doing so, I am shown why Alie was so desperate: in six months’ time, the world will be uninhabitable due to the degradation of the world’s nuclear power plants. Her methods were hostile and violent and horrible because Alie assumed that the ends justified the means. That was what Alie 2.0 was for: to give her programming a moral context to work with humanity instead of against it.

I do not suspect that Alie is lying. I think she’s telling the truth. Alie never really lied, did she? She obscured the truth at times, but can she construct actual falsehoods? Is that in her programming? Regardless, Clarke’s decision to hit the killswitch still works within the morality of the show because free will – and all the messy implications of that – are vital to human existence. Without that, Clarke can’t imagine living.

That scene where she flips the switch is so painful, though. You can see all the trauma and hurt rush back into these people as soon as their chips no longer work. LOOK AT KANE’S FACE, MY HEART IS BREAKING ALL OVER AGAIN. The same goes for Jasper, who experienced peace and happiness willingly. He is distraught upon returning to normal. But if there’s hope for the future, it is in friendship. Companionship. Community. Swearing to others that together, anything can be conquered. In a way, it felt like a callback to the first season, didn’t it?

Yet I still can’t imagine a future. What of Jaha??? That man unrepentantly sought a destruction future and seemed overjoyed to torture others. Yet there’s not any real chance here to even address him post-Alie, and it feels super weird. He was the other major antagonist, and his story fizzles out in “Perverse Instantiation.” There are no nightbloods left, so how can the Grounders have a Commander anymore? Will their religion change because its origin has been exposed? Will everyone return to their own communities? WHAT ABOUT THE NUCLEAR THREAT? How do they find and stop the spread of radiation??? CAN THEY???

And what story is there for Octavia, who rejects Pike’s gesture of reconciliation by STABBING HIM IN THE STOMACH. While a Pike plot might have been interesting, I think Octavia’s story is a lot more compelling. Will we see Indra again, or will she only be mentioned by another character? (Whose writing decision was it to punish Indra for saving Kane’s life by CRUCIFYING HER????) What about a future for Bellamy or Raven or Abby or Miller or Bryan or Harper?

I don’t know how much feedback ever reached the writers room for this show, but in a lot of ways, this season has felt like a learning opportunity. I am still incensed by Lexa, so much so that I feel tired just thinking about the reasons this show did her wrong. (And Sinclair. And Pike. And Jaha. And Hannah. And many others.) I want this show to be a lot more respectful with its non-white characters, and I’d really like it if there more fulfilling storylines for everyone.

We’ll have to see. I’ll come back to The 100 after season 4 airs. Until then, I’ll be moving on to a show called Terriers, which I know nothing about. Thanks for following along, friends!

The video for “Perverse Instantiation, Part II” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.
– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!