By Lindsey Marie
In the latest episode of The 100, we continuously heard the name of someone who hasn’t been mentioned for a really long time: Jake Griffin. At first I was glad and a little surprised at just how many times he was mentioned. Even though he was only in two episodes, there’s no doubt how important Jake has been to the plot of The 100 since the first season. He has always been important to the relationship between Clarke and Wells in season 1, Clarke and Jaha, and Clarke and Abby, but last week’s episode seemed to excessively mention him. I soon began to question why Jake was finally being talked about again and I thought of two possible reasons, the first having to do with Abby and Kane’s relationship. The opening scene of “Heavy Lies the Crown” was a scene between Abby and Kane, a scene that focused on the beginning of their relationship and Abby’s past with Jake. To me, it was an odd way to begin an episode, but my initial thought was that we might see Abby find out she’s pregnant this season. That might be a stretch but it could be interesting to see how it will complicate the Sky People’s fight for survival and her relationship with Clarke. Ever since the beginning of the show, Clarke has resented her mother and has blamed her for her father’s death, and if Abby finds out she’s pregnant, it might cause Clarke, the ever-sacrificial leader, to really try her hardest to save the world and secure a future for her mother and Kane. Also…it would be interesting to see how this potential pregnancy would play out since the end of the world is pretty inevitable at this point…
But since there have also been many callbacks to season 1 so far this season, all of the Jake mentions might be used to strengthen the parallels between him and Clarke. Both of these characters have been put in difficult situations where they know about the fate of their people but are forced to keep devastating secrets from them. Like Jake, Clarke is a selfless character, willing to sacrifice herself for the wellbeing and future of her people. Clarke has sacrificed her life for her family and friends over and over again since the first season of the show, and I think the constant reference to Jake is really solidifying the parallels between them and how they were both given the responsibility of fighting for the future of their people.
The moral dilemmas the characters face have always stood out to me as the one of the strengths of The 100. “Heavy Lies the Crown” called back to those difficult decisions when Bellamy and his team were faced with two options: save approximately 30 Sky People who were prisoners from the Ice Nation or leave them behind in order to save 500 of his people. Usually Clarke is the one to make these impossibly difficult decisions, but she took a backseat this episode, leaving Bellamy to decide what the better option was. Choosing to save the lives of the prisoners might have been a way for Bellamy to redeem himself, for him to be the good guy again after joining Pike in his fight against the grounders last season, but it was a strange decision to make because of the hundreds of lives he put in jeopardy. Clarke has been making hard decisions since season 1 and she knows that sacrificing the few to save the many is inevitable sometimes and that there’s no such thing as good guys in this world. Despite Bellamy saying “I am not sacrificing more innocent lives…I made the call and I’ll live with that,” Bellamy’s decision will have serious repercussions. Raven and Clarke are desperately trying to find a way to save everyone and Bellamy relying on having 6 months to figure everything out is another mistake. In the world of The 100, that are no decisions or consequences that impact just one person; they affect everyone. 6 months is not a guarantee, and when something goes wrong, Raven might not able to find something else to save them and Clarke will probably get blamed and held responsible for not coming up with another plan and for destroying the City of Light.
Here are some other thoughts I had about the episode:
– I’m glad Jaha is finally being confronted for all the pain he’s caused and for all the mistakes he’s made. Since he landed on the ground, he’s pretty much been removed from the survival storyline and has been closely linked to the City of Light. Though I mostly see Jaha as a secondary character, he is responsible for so many deaths and is responsible for the pain and suffering that characters have endured since season 1 and I loved seeing Raven and Clarke confront him.
– I’m a little concerned about just how many callbacks there have been to the previous seasons so far. The show has only been back for 2 weeks, but past storylines are being recycled and redone and season 4 isn’t really standing out on its own. Every season had a different focus, a different battle, but this season is reusing those plots, making season 4 a blend of everything that has occurred since season 1. It looks like the show is backtracking a little too much, even repeating plot points from last season, especially the fight between Lexa and Roan and Lexa’s authority being challenged.
– I mentioned last week how it was nice to see that Lexa’s legacy is still continuing, but now it really is looking like the writers are catering to the fans they lost since her death last March. I’ve lost track of just how many times she’s been mentioned since the premiere, but even characters who hated her, like Octavia, are commenting on her. It’s clear that Lexa was incredibly important to the plot The 100 and still is, but it’s a little strange just how many times she’s been referenced. Lexa was killed off last season for the City of Light plot to further develop; the City of Light was prioritized over her life. But now she’s more important than the City of Light again…so I’m confused. Especially since the second half of season 3 seemed to discredit her importance. Last season, Luna was revealed to be the rightful Commander who was stronger than Lexa, making her seem weak and less worthy of being the Commander. Lexa’s legacy was pretty much destroyed last season by Ontari, but now she’s being elevated again. It’s just a little strange that she’s been mentioned in more scenes than some of the main characters have been in.
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via The Nerd Machine
http://www.nerdhq.com/the-100-review-heavy-lies-the-crown/
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