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The 100 Discussion: 'The Blood of Sanctum' marks the end of an era
Friends, countrymen, grounders: we have reached the end of another season of The 100. The threat of the Primes may be over (gotta love some handy airlocks), but as per usual, the season finale left fans with more questions than answers. With Season 7 being the show's last, The 100 is squaring up for one hell of an ending. With Octavia lost to the Anomaly, Madi no longer the Commander, and Sanctum freed from their corrupt leadership, it's hard to imagine where the show will go next.
But more pressing matters are at hand: that finale. We're Alyssa Fikse and Jessica Toomer and we're here to break down every betrayal and almost kiss.
The Blood of Sanctum
Alyssa: It’s always the deepest wish of liberators that the people they are freeing see the truth and thank them for their service. Unfortunately, that is often not the case and that is DEFINITELY not the case in Sanctum. Finding out their entire existence was a lie to keep the Primes living forever is a tough pill to swallow, and the people of Sanctum have decided that the best way to handle it is to burn it all down and blame Skykru for their problems. Neat!
Jessica: I often devalue reality for my own sanity but I normally do it through copious amounts of fanfiction. Burning people just seems a bit extreme. It’s difficult to empathize with these people when they’re willing to kill themselves and others for a belief system they now know is a lie — which is why I so appreciated hearing from Octavia this episode. If anyone understands these psychos, it’s her and I think this chaos in Sanctum helped me to see where she was coming from when she burnt that damn algae farm down in season five. Although, if it’s between burning a couple of plants and setting fire to an entire village, I’ll take Blodreina’s cognitive dissonance any day.
Alyssa: Agreed. Octavia has a lot of insight into this level of desperation, and I think this whole ordeal has helped Bellamy understand her a little better, too. But yeah, when being beaten to death in a storage unit or forced to drink some unholy mixture of human blood and red toxin are your options, I’d say you’re in rather deep sh*t. Luckily, they have people on the inside: Murphy and Emori. I am still not 100% clear on how they managed to avoid going Full Prime, but I’m willing to accept it in order to see them save the day while rocking some futuristic glam rock looks. The plot holes I am willing to overlook in favor of A Lewk are endless.
Jessica: If it means seeing Murphy sporting heavy eyeliner and jewel-toned dresses, I AM HERE FOR IT. It’s funny though, I think at one point Echo (or someone in the group) actually questioned how Emori and Murphy were still alive as they were making their way to the palace and the pair just completely ignored it. I’d like to think that was the writers’ wink of, “We know this is batsh*t, but you’ve bought this host-swapping storyline about returned Gods and time-shifting anomalies so really, why not this?” Touché, writers. Touché.
Alyssa: Honestly, as silly as The 100 can get at times, I wish more shows would follow its lead and let things get weird. Luckily for the group, they’ve faced worse odds than this, so despite a prolonged, fire-lit fight that featured Bellamy giving me huge Aragorn Fighting The Nazgul At Weathertop vibes, the people of Sanctum were relatively easy to overcome. While that one woman decided that setting herself on fire was the best option, I think that there are only so many punches you can throw in favor of an oppressive regime before you start to wonder what it’s all for.
Jessica: Add torch-wielding Bellamy to my list of Favorite Bellamy Blakes we’ve seen on this show (so far). As terrifying as the firefight was, it had nothing on the level of creepiness that is a fully-indoctrinated Jordan Green. Our sweet cinnamon roll has had his brain fried and he’s now a true believer in Sanctum and the Primes. I love Bellarke, but great godparents they are not.
Alyssa: I think that Jordan as a character kind of got lost in a seriously plot-heavy season. While I understand that there is only so much time that can be devoted to each side character, I feel like Jordan was set up to be someone really interesting — grew up in space with only his parents, has to learn how to be a human with other humans — and then he kind of got tossed aside into an uninteresting romantic plot and subsequent downfall. I almost felt like they were setting him up to be a villain towards the end of the episode, so we’ll have to see where they take him next season.
Go Float Yourself
Jessica: Jordan’s definitely going to be a thorn in our sides next season — but first, we have some space pirates to deal with. Russell, Simone, and the rest of the Primes commandeer the ship and plan to set sail for other planets yet to be explored. They’re still 100 percent on board with their mind-wiping agenda — once you’ve tasted immortality, it’s hard to give it up — and Clarke carries on the ruse for a bit before she’s forced to show her hand when Simone suggests killing everyone in cryo so that they can have their pick of perfectly-preserved hosts. These people are… somethin' else.
Alyssa: Every time I think the Primes have reached their capacity for evildoing, they really up the ante. While Russell was initially set up to be the Big Bad, I think Simone might have been the stealth choice for biggest threat in the long run. Russell at least hems and haws over his decisions. Simone is straight-up ruthless. I dig it. Give me more lady villains who aren’t softened by their circumstances. It’s 2019. Let us be bad, too.
Jessica: Simone is diabolical and I love it. Russell’s whining is such a turn-off, I’m surprised our girl has stuck with him so long. She’s clearly on a different level. Still, she stole Abby’s body and that cannot slide. Truth: On a scale from silent tear to inconsolable sobbing as your roommate questions your mental health, how emotional were you after watching Clarke float her mother’s body this episode?
Alyssa: I literally said out loud to my dog “they better let Clarke REST next season!!” as that went down. Jesus, they just keep putting that girl through the ringer and she keeps going anyway. When I say I stan, I really mean I want to wrap her up in a plushy robe, plant her on my couch, serve her some wine, and watch a fluffy rom-com together because Clarke Griffin has earned a break. But alas, this is The 100, and she has to deal with the Flame. One. Last. Time. Hopefully?
Jessica: Oh Alyssa, you sweet summer child. Your hopeful optimism is just adorable. Girl, that Flame will plague us until the day we die. As cool as it was to see Raven coding her way through the bullsh*t and making jokes about being possessed by Alie, Becca’s legacy was always destined to live on. With Madi back after Raven transports Shadeheda to… somewhere else, I’d hoped Gaia would have a moment of clarity and just stomp the sh*t out of that implant. Clarke literally almost killed herself to save Madi from that evil contraption, the least she could do was smash it to smithereens.
Alyssa: Seriously. But despite my disappointment that she didn’t go into Hulk mode on the Flame, this scene did give me two things that I really needed in my life: Raven possibly making a veiled Buffy references — “once more with feeling” — and Clarke and Raven reconciling. These two have been through so much and I wish the show would lean on this relationship a little more. Raven and Clarke don’t always agree (rarely do, honestly), and I think that conflict is important and interesting. They’ve got a season to give us more of this! Please deliver, writers! But yes, as always, it was a thrill to see Raven do her science thing. But the real question is: where did Shadeheda go?
Jessica: I’ve got some theories and they have everything to do with that green swirl of doom that dominated the final few minutes of the show. For now, though, I think it’s safe to assume that Shadeheda will continue to be a threat next season and we probably haven’t seen the last of Russell Lightbourne either.
Anomaly Problems
Alyssa: You are definitely correct there. Jessica, we need to discuss the elephant in the room: Bellarke, once again, kept things to an emotional, teary hug. I am not one to go down without a fight, but it may be time to accept that Jason Rothenberg will never, ever let Bellamy and Clarke kiss.
Jessica: He certainly seems to have a weird aversion to seeing these two soulmates physically embrace via their mouths. I’m not sure what the hold-up is — maybe he’s dragging it out until the final episode of the final season, just for the dramatic flair — but Jason’s delusional denial aside, I think we all know this couple is canon. I mean, if you compare Bellarke’s reunion to any other couple’s on the show, it holds up (or more than holds up). The searching for one another, the recognition when they finally find each other, the hurried walk, the firm hug, the emotional outburst from Clarke, the calm reassurance from Bellamy, the damn sunset? Either Jason is concerningly obtuse or he’s just teasing us before delivering in Season 7. Or, ya know, he’s an evil genius who derives pleasure from our perpetual Bellarke longing.
Alyssa: I love a slow burn, but this one is killing me. However, there are more important issues at hand (I never thought I would say that about Bellarke): what the HELL happened to Octavia? A grown-up Hope — Diyoza finally got to give birth, I guess! — emerging from the Anomaly only to stab Octavia and then O just disappears into the green smoke? WHAT!!! Octavia seemed to have some idea of what was going on, so either she had some latent memories come to the surface or she’s been playing dumb about what went on when she went into the Anomaly for a while.
Jessica: I think it’s the former. She seemed to have a moment with that Anomaly Stone as the rest of the group was freaking out about what was going down outside. It’s like she knew Hope was coming, and once Hope stabbed her, she knew why. Which brings us to the biggest mystery of this episode (So. Many. Mysteries.): Why did Hope try to kill Octavia? I refuse to believe O is actually dead — on TV, if you don’t see them die, they probably didn’t — and I think we’ll catch up with her in the Anomaly at some point next season, but her interaction with Hope where she reassures her she can tell “him” it’s done left me all kinds of confused. At first, I thought “him” might be a reference to Shadeheda. Jason has said the Anomaly does weird things to time, so perhaps in the future, he’s once again in power? But then, Hope seemed to stay behind while Octavia was sucked into the green swirl, so does that mean the “him” she must tell is with us at Sanctum? Is it Russell? Or Jordan? Honestly, I don’t trust any of these people at this point.
What’s Next
Alyssa: I agree that there’s no way that Octavia is gone for good. Out with a quick stab? Absolutely not. While this finale was a bit of a mess, I do think that it set up a fun and trippy final (sob) season. As much as I love space antics, having to deal with time warps and whatever else is going on in the Anomaly really appeals to me. Also, I am really curious to see how the leadership shakes out now that Madi is no longer Commander. After being the de facto leader for pretty much forever, will Clarke finally be seen as the ultimate authority? I think it’s about time. I also really hope to see everyone dealing with their trauma a bit more. So much is happening all the time on The 100 so no one ever gets to deal with everything that they’ve seen and done, so I really hope that in the final season (again, sob) everyone gets to find a little absolution and deal with the fallout.
Jessica: Agreed. It’s going to be interesting to see how things flush out in Sanctum now that the Primes are gone and the people aren’t hulking out because of that toxin. I could easily see Clarke and Gabriel — who, despite all of our doubts, managed to survive this season — working together to lead. But I could also see Gabriel and Bellamy teaming up to figure out this Anomaly nonsense and bring Octavia home. There are just so many possibilities for next season, it’s truly exciting. But, as always, our biggest wish remains Bellarke. Let. Them. Kiss. Dammit!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors', and do not necessarily reflect those of SYFY WIRE, SYFY, or NBC Universal.
