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The 100 Discussion: 'Sanctum' throws the group into a whole new world
Welcome back, Delinquents! It's been a long winter without The 100, but the sun is shining and humanity is in peril again. Season 6 kicks off with "Sanctum," a table-setting episode that hits the ground running. As the group emerge from their cryo pods and face their new future, things get really real, really fast.
As the group explore their potential new home on Alpha Planet, losses and revelations begin to pile up. It may just be the first episode of the season, but things are already shaping up to be a barn burner. We're Alyssa Fikse and Jessica Toomer, and we're here to guide you through every twist and turn.
Jessica: (Cryo) nap time is officially over and if you thought 125 years of beauty sleep would quell some of the grudges these guys have, boy, you don’t know The 100. Not only is Clarke still on everyone’s sh*t list, but Bellamy is sticking to his holier-than-thou attitude when it comes to forgiving his sister and Raven couldn’t be less interested in Abby’s apologies for the whole shock-collar torture bit. I know for them, it’s only been a minute since the second apocalypse happened but damn, can we focus on trying to not f*ck up this new planet instead of squabbling amongst ourselves?
Alyssa: My own personal grudge is that they all come out of 125 years of cryo-sleep with hair that looks better than anything I’ve ever spent hours on. Are there blowouts in space? But seriously, everyone blaming everything on Clarke is never going to fly with me. Has our girl made some mistakes? Of course. Has everyone done morally compromising things on this insane show? YES. And yet Clarke is the one shouldering their scorn every step of the way. Hopefully everyone will realize that she’s the best chance at survival they’ve got, but for now, they just sound like a bunch of whiny babies. Except that they’re all exceptionally horny. Raven jumping Shaw in about five seconds flat was admirable game.
Jessica: Y’all should’ve known as soon as we saw Raven’s hair curled, homegirl was getting it in! And I’m so happy for her. But also I need everyone to give our mama bear a break. Their hatred for Clarke is such hypocritical bs at this point. Everyone on this ship has done someone dirty, massacred hundreds of people, betrayed someone they loved. Quit acting like y’all don’t live in glass houses. Besides snarking at Clarke every five seconds, most of the action on the ship centered around getting our exploratory crew to the ground and Abby trying her best to save Kane. We’ll talk about the planetary adventures in a sec but first, what did you think of Kane’s fate on the show?
Alyssa: I mean, in our trailer recap, we were a little worried that Kane was going to be written off because Henry Ian Cusick got a new show, but this was an easy way to sideline him while not losing him entirely. I think it was more than fair for Octavia to call Kane out on his hypocrisy. You are 100% correct that no one on this show can throw a single stone, and Octavia has plenty of demons to fight at this point. She bears enough of her own guilt, so maybe Kane shouldn’t try to pile on more. I am curious about where the true loyalties on the ship lie, though. I thought it was interesting that Niylah woke up Octavia first after Abby explicitly told her to leave her asleep.
Jessica: The sheer hubris of these two, chatting about how they get to do better here one second while condemning Octavia the next. Look, I don’t support arguing with a fatally-wounded Kane when his condition seems so perilous, but I also don’t support trashing a young woman you manipulated into being a leader, then abandoned when she wasn’t doing it the way you wanted her to. And I think, for all the terrible sh*t Octavia did as Blodreina, she’s still able to command loyalty from people, so maybe Abby should show a bit more respect. I’m happy Kane might make it back to the show, but if/when he does, he needs to come correct on how he’s contributed to the mess everyone’s in.
Alyssa: As rough as most of these interactions were, I am so, so, so glad that Abby seems to be getting back to her old self. She certainly has some ground to make up with Raven after that whole torture situation, but she’s on the road to getting clean and she’s taking charge of the ship in an admirable way. Abby’s done what she’s had to since the beginning to safeguard humanity, so having her at the controls seems like a pretty decent shot. The moment where Raven realized that even though Abby has made some critical mistakes she’s still her friend and mentor was a powerful one. Also a great part of the episode? Jordan Green. Another cinnamon roll for us to love!
Jessica: The contrast between the gloom and doom on the ship and the chance for a fresh start on Alpha Planet is night and day. Can we just stay down here guys? Swim in the sea, sing along to a broken iPod, read children’s books? Answer: no, no we can’t. Because this planet is even more dangerous than the last. But for a quick second, it was so fun to see our core group horsing around, laughing, reconnecting, having just a shred of hope. It reminded me that this show can do lighter moments and still make them feel poignant and meaningful. More of the good times, please.
Alyssa: Sadly, we can’t have nice things on The 100. One quick swim and that’s it. We did get a one fireside chat though, which is a pretty important trope on this show. I know we aren’t the biggest fan of Echo, but she’s really coming for my heart in this episode. Defending Clarke and Octavia? Is it too soon to say that I stan? I’m also glad that Miller got his moment to decompress a little. He’s been on the fringe for so long, it’s about time he finally got a more significant arc. In another vein, while I am still disappointed that it looks like we’re only getting humans and not aliens (at this point!), I am glad that we at least got some weird creatures with these monster bugs. I got some major Hunger Games trackerjacker vibes from these things.
Jessica: Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a city girl more than the word “swarm." I cannot stress how terrifying a mass of flying bugs truly is when you despise all things “nature.” But even those winged demons weren’t as troubling as more Echo/Bellamy PDA. I thought a long hiatus might make seeing Echo and Bellamy cuddle in public less nausea-inducing but nope, still want to vomit every time they touch each other. And it’s not even about Bellamy and Clarke being endgame. I’m much more excited to see Clarke’s journey and her attempt at redemption this season than to see any romantic pairing involving her and Captain Space Daddy. Bellamy has a lot to atone for too, but already it feels like we’re reducing Echo to his acting conscious and making it harder to understand why he can’t forgive his sister if he forgave the woman who tried to murder her. I want Echo to grow and succeed. I want the same for Bellamy. I just don’t think they need to be doing that together. Does that make sense? Probably not. But it’s where I’m at right now.
Alyssa: I’m not sure that I agree about her just being Bellamy’s conscience at this point, but I understand what you’re saying completely. I really hope they give her a chance to grow on her own. But I agree that it’s the worst that Bellamy is refusing to forgive Octavia. I guess 125 years of cryo isn’t enough to realize that his sister is a woman who has had to make some difficult choices. It’s 2019, Bellamy. Grow up. Or whatever year it actually is there. Either way, he’s being petty because he can’t control her like he used to, and that sucks. I don’t think he meant to in a malicious way, but he definitely preferred when she was more malleable to his leadership. Not a good look.
Jessica: Well all this fireside chatting and leisurely swimming had to end somehow, and of course, because this is The 100, it ended with a major character death. Shaw is a fairly new addition to the crew but he made an impact last season and it felt like he might become a more central character, but when you get zapped by radiation while trying to outrun a horde of flying insects, even some good lovin' from Raven Reyes can’t save you. Was I sad to see Shaw go? Of course, but even more than that, I’m worried what this might do to Raven. I’m so tired of seeing Raven cry. And just when she let her hair down too! It already rubs me the wrong way how she reacts to Clarke but I truly hope the writers let her move on from Shaw in a way that’s not so painful.
Alyssa: I was pretty shocked that they killed off Shaw so quickly, to be honest. It really seemed like they were positioning him as a new major part of the group, so this death was certainly a shock. And seriously, my god, why must they heap more pain onto Raven Reyes?! At least it’s a reverse fridging, but still.
Jessica: Shaw’s death was not a highlight of this premiere for sure, but I have to admit, the way the back half of this episode was shot got me excited for this season as a whole. I love the eerie quality the compound exploration took on as the group began venturing into the abandoned city. There was just enough suspense coupled with this hopeful attitude the gang had to put me completely on edge. Mind you, I’m still reeling from Avengers: Endgame and that Game of Thrones battle, so my nerves are already frayed, but if we could get more of that and less of the bickering in space, that’d be great.
Alyssa: Yes! My favorite part of the episode was everyone exploring the village. It was so beautiful and colorful, and yet they built this quiet menace throughout these scenes with each new discovery. However, in the midst of all of the growing weirdness in the world around them, Bellamy and Clarke had a minute to talk about those radio calls. Did I have flashbacks to Parks and Recreation when Andy told April “Ahhh, babe, you had a crush on me! How embarrassing!” when Bellamy joked that it was a tiny bit pathetic that she called him so frequently? Reader, I did.
Jessica: These two really are the softest cabbage patch kids of the bunch. Even when things are tense between them, there’s so much trust and faith in each other. I hope this season explores that a bit more and gives the “let’s rag on Clarke” bit a rest. First, though, we’ve got to survive these strange eclipses and whatever’s causing Emori to go stark raving mad. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed when Murphy’s little performance got cut short by Emori’s knife. Our boy was living his best life, knocking down doors, jamming to oldies, getting some digs in with Clarke and Miller. He was back to his messy b*tch self and I was loving it.
Alyssa: I really, really enjoy the rare moments when Clarke and Murphy unite as a team, so I am hoping he gets over his frustration with her really quickly. But yes, it was a real shame to have his fun cut short because the man has some moves. Damn you, twin suns! Clarke realizing that whatever contamination that was making Emori lose her absolute sh*t was a great way to end the episode, honestly. Welcome back, The 100. I’m all in yet again.
Jessica: I’m betting Clarke’s able to figure this red-sun-rising sh*t out pretty quick but after the trailer for this season gave us clips of Bellamy, Echo, Clarke, and Murphy raging out, I’m guessing more crazy is in store for next week’s episode. I think Octavia’s going to make it to the ground sooner rather than later too and, for god’s sake, someone please find out who stole that ship. That’s pretty f*cking vital at this point.
Alyssa: Yeah, I’ve got a bad feeling about that stolen ship. Something tells me that the people still up in space aren’t “safe” for long. As for the people on the ground, surely the eclipse madness is going to take the rest of them pretty quick, except for maybe Clarke with her night blood. I’m sure the residents of this strange moon will show up as well, and I look forward to our band of misfits trying to fit into a new culture yet again. I’m sure it will go terribly.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors', and do not necessarily reflect those of SYFY WIRE, SYFY, or NBC Universal.
