2.3 Reapercussions As of the end of episode three, this includes Clarke and Anya leaving Monty and Jasper (and 40+ faceless kids) behind at Mount Weather, Bellamy, Murphy and Finn on a rescue mission, Octavia with the Grounders, Lincoln with the Reapers, Abby and Kane at Camp Jaha and, as far as we know, the real Jaha stuck in some nondescript desert. That’s a lot of stuff for a show to pack into one 40-minute episode, but the groundwork The 100 did last season really helps it out now. We’ve already met and spent time with Anya, for example, making her and Clarke’s escape from Mount Weather more interesting than it may have been otherwise. They both need each other to survive, and to help their respective people, but there’s history there that prevents them from being true allies. The cannibalism aspect would be even more disconcerting had The Walking Dead not done it at almost exactly the same moment, but that doesn’t stop the storyline from having the desired impact. This, coupled with Kane’s decision to punish Abby with ten ‘lashes’ for her bungled rescue mission, has really pushed The 100 into brand new, darker and more daring territory for season two. Another great decision was to make Finn into a more complex character, whereas last year he was simply the nice, well-meaning guy at the centre of a boring love triangle. That’s fine on most CW shows, but The 100 seems to have loftier ideas for even its minor characters. With Clarke missing and Raven partially paralysed, it makes sense that he’s no longer willing to mess around with lengthy debates and hand-wringing. The Octavia/Lincoln stuff is still the weakest part of the season, though it did take a step up this week. The key to mending this storyline for audiences not invested in the love story is making Octavia into a better, less passive character, and having her join the Grounders even in Lincoln’s absence is a good step towards eventually doing this. We’re also set to get a greater insight into the Reapers, as Lincoln has been selected for a purpose other than ‘Harvest’. Could the Reapers be eating the bodies put out for them by Mount Weather and capturing others for some kind of conversion process? We can be fairly sure that Lincoln won’t be dying any time soon, but I can also see them keeping him away from Octavia for the majority of the season, just to reunite them in the end. The decision to pursue individual story threads rather than unifying them continues to pay off for The 100, and I’m certainly looking forward to exploring a brand new environment when we pick up with Jaha. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Inclement Weather, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
