Paige Turco as Abby (left) and Henry Ian Cusick as Kane (right). Photo courtesy of TellTaleTV.
**This article contains spoilers for “Acceptable Losses” and events that happened in prior episodes.**
“Funny, that’s the same thing we said about getting back down to the ground…then we found you.”
Right out of the gate lets start with the fact that Clarke has officially placed a target on Octavia. That’s a serious move—but I guess that’s what happens when someone threatens Maddie. The visual communication that was happening within the performance and editing between Maddie, Octavia, Gaia, and Clarke in the arena scene was fantastic. A perfect example of show, don’t tell. Maddie’s annoyance at being the worst in the ring, to Octavia’s smugness about having an upper hand on Clarke, to Clarke’s extreme caution and hesitation at the situation—all of it was expressed through strong performance rather than dialogue.
Facilitating the war through Octavia started to take it’s toll on Monty, who thanks to Clarke, was reminded of Jasper and his take on the world. He’s tired of the circle of violence and war that they have been stuck in. As Monty puts it, do they really deserve the Valley if they have to do suh horrendous acts do take it over? It all came down to him airing these thoughts, but realizing that there is no real other option. They have to fight to survive—unless one gives up like Jasper did. Though Clarke did mention something about breaking the circle of violence by going after Octavia. While it may lead to less death and drastic actions, I’m not sure it will break the circle of violence.
Maddie wasn’t Octavia’s only focus this episode. Clarke and Monty stumbled into Octavia’s secret weapon to win the war—a biological weapon involving those sand worms. An extremely harsh way of doing thing, one that doesn’t seem very smart. But intelligence seems to go out the door with Octavia. When she has her mind set on something, it’s set, no matter the consequences. It was cool seeing everyone further turn against Octavia, and realizing how reckless she is becoming. Bellamy in particular has stopped taking her crap, and is actively telling her off—no better example than the opening quote in this review.
Pictured (L-R): Ivana Milicevic as Diyoza and Lindsey Morgan as Raven. Photo courtesy of TellTaleTV.
Over in the valley, Echo continued her mission. She became something she hadn’t been in a long while—a spy. Even at the potential cost of her friendship with Raven, Echo ratted our Shaw in order to take down the Eye in the Sky. Echo’s plot this episode was fantastic for her character, and helped remind us of who she once was before the world ended again. The determination, cunning, and risk that she put on display in order to accomplish her mission was admirable, and devilishly efficient. Not only did she take out the Eye, but she has gained considerable favor from Diyoza. It’s a shame that Shaw got thrown under the bus, but I have a feeling he’s going to have to work with our heroes sooner rather than later…even if he doesn’t want to.
Kane and Abbey struggled as a couple this episode. Abbey’s inability to save a wounded deserter got to her. However Kane couldn’t offer sympathy as he realized that Abbey was back on the pills she swore to stops, all thanks to Diyoza. In the end, and after a very well done emotional scene, Abbey couldn’t even chose Kane over the pills. I’m sure we’ll see Abbey fall a lot further before we see any kind of rebound. Until then it would seem that Kane will be remaining nice and cozy next to Dioyza, aiding in the Octavia situation.
Another strong episode of the 100 focused on the morality of everyone’s situation—something that has always been a strong suite of the show. Now with Maddie in danger, and their original plan in shambles, Clarke has set the Target on Octavia. Man this is going to get quite hairy.
Bonus Notes:
- I’m glad that they mentioned the life span of the worms in the valley. Had they not, the plan in general would have been indefensibly bad.
- Once again, I would like to say that I think it’s time we learned what happened in the dark year within the bunker.
- Maddie is a strong aspect of this new season.
You can catch The 100 on The CW when it airs on Tuesdays at 9pm EST.
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