Thoughts on The 100, Spacewalker *spoilers*
* GIANT BIG HUMUNGOUS SPOILERS*
I enjoyed seeing Finn and Raven's backstory. It was sweet, and something seemed to click into place with those two - genuine feelings, yes, but also Raven's overwhelming sense of obligation. This was never going to be a relationship she could let go, because of what he did for her. It's a nice little setup to show how youthful mistakes, now matter how innocent or well-meaning, can haunt you for the rest of your life, which isn't something we see a lot on television? Real consequences that never go away.
Such an incredibly tense episode with everyone pushed right to their most basic instincts - Abby, Kane and Jaha having to think of the ultimate survival of the group, versus one "kid" (back to being regarded like chesspieces, rather than individuals with a right to guide their own destinies), Bellamy desperate to hold onto one of their own, even at the expense of an attack, Raven slowly falling apart, battling to contain her guilt and anger at what had happened to them all, but - in a masterstroke of plotting - still thinking underneath it all.
I remember thinking, good, Clarke hasn't forgiven Murphy, but Raven is embracing practicality to keep Finn safe. And then, bang, Raven hasn't forgiven him AT ALL, she has invited him along as a sacrifice. MAD PROPS for this twist which knocked the breath out of me, and was played so subtly by Lindsey Morgan. Everything she needed to say was expressed in the disdain in her eyes, the unforgiving lines of her face. Perfection.
Interesting to see Bellamy so shocked by that little interlude. Does he harbour some belief that he and Clarke are the only ones changed by the experiences on the ground? Raven has lost more than he has, and is about to lose the reason she came to the ground ... why is he surprised? Is he actually seeing the person Raven is for the first time?
I'd been expecting Finn to give himself up from the first minutes of the show, it does fit with both his early character development, the recent Spacewalker revelations, and his guilt over the massacre (he KNOWS he was in the wrong, isn't trying to make anything about that defensible, knows, in fact, the Grounders are right to be claiming his life as forfeit.) But I do like that when he does yield himself over, its for the immediate group in the DropShip, back where it all started, rather than as a member of Camp Jaha.
He's not willing to die for the political, but the personal, essentially. And he may have killed those people because he was unhinged over Clarke (but really? They knew there was nothing there. No Clarke. He was simply unhinged, and I HATE the way this massacre has been dropped at her feet. "I did it for you." He might have lost his moral compass and his reason for Clarke (the torture episode), but he did not kill those people for any reason that can be laid at Clarke's feet.)
Clarke's last minute negotiations with Lexa were agonising. You can see the respect and sadness in Lexa's eyes, but her ideals - the ideals of her people - must hold sway, because that's a leader's role. Not to give in to the vicissitudes of human emotion, but to hold course for the group. And Clarke knows this, respects this, so takes the decision out of her hands.
I think she went in there intending to kill Finn herself from the beginning.
What follows is a little too Angel and Buffy for my liking, but beautifully done. Unlike Angel and Buffy, though, I don't believe there is a real connection here, Clarke will suffer demons because of it, but not those of having sacrificed her love. She is helping a friend in desperate circumstances, and sending him to his death as happy as she can make him.
Raven is desolate and it hurt watching her go through that. Their personal histories are so entangled that it would be impossible to divine what is love, what is loss, what is guilt and what is sheer, horrible defeat, none of which would sit well with Raven Reyes. And the line (earlier) about love and family is so true - there are all types of love, and sometimes one becomes another (and sometimes, it was that all along, but it takes a while to figure that out.)
Bellamy and Raven give good hurt/comfort, that's for sure, but part of me hopes they (the showrunners) won't use that to build something between them. It's always kind of grotty for a new relationship to start on the back of someone's death, other shipping considerations aside. If they wanted to explore Raven and Bellamy I'd be happy to watch it, but I need moments that don't relate to Finn to actively ship it.
And the one overriding fear this episode left me with? What the hell's going to happen between Raven and Clarke now? (If we get a shitty love triangle with the two girls hating each other and vying for Bellamy, I'll be frothing at the mouth.)
And will this be the end of 'the kids' from Abby, Kane and Jaha? Seeing just what they are willing to do to help and protect each other? Probably not, but it damn well should be. Wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall in the Abby/Clarke conversation that will have to be had.
And Bellamy will just look at her, and nod. Because that's what they do.