There's ten days left to the end of the world and everything is grim and dark and dark and grim. Yes, it's what The 100 has become famous for at this point. The problem is the unrelenting darkness though God Complex did provide the first bit of hope for the season as well as possibly set up future conflict for season five. We've always known that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel, it was always a matter of when the light would appear and what form it would take. Unfortunately, this light involved Jaha, a character second only to Jasper in being useless and annoying.
Let's begin with the hope shall we? Okay, so y'all remember that cult bunker Jaha found in episode three (The Four Horseman)? Well, it seems that Jaha has been thinking about the cult and wondering if perhaps they checked out a decoy bunker. For some reason, the cult has 12 levels and they checked on bunker 11. Yes, it's contrived as hell but go with it because at least it's a step away from grim and dark and dark and grim. Jaha puts the pieces together and convinces Kane that he's right. Now they have to get to POLIS and speak to the last flamekeeper who just happens to be Indra's daughter.
Jaha, Monty and Kane arrange a meet up with Indra and Kane is shocked that rather than being greeted with a hug this time, he's greeted with a slug. It seems that Indra is not over Skaikru forming and alliance with Agzeda which of course resulted in the death of Trikru warriors. Kane tries to explain that it's the end of the world and that they are looking for a way to save everyone. When Kane tries to suggest that it's shortsighted for Indra to expend her efforts battling Agzeda with death so close at hand, Indra claims that all anyone can wish for is a warriors death. It's only when Kane calls out that he needs to speak to her daughter and that they might have the key to saving everyone that Indra relents.
They head to the temple and Kane uses his pass from Roan to get the Agzeda warriors to let them in. Indra however isn't done with her war and she grabs Monty's gun and shoots all of the warriors. Something about seeing the gun in Indra's hands feels good. Kane of course is ruffled and upset but Jaha points out that this isn't their war and they have more important things to worry about just now. For once, Jaha is right about something.
The pieces come together when they realise that the symbol of the doomsday cult is at the center of Gaia's tattoo. The same symbol just happens to be on Becca's crypt. So now it's off to the temple -- where after moving some junk -- they discover a hatch with the words "salvation lies within" on it. Now we're cooking. This is it at last; except that the medallion won't work as a key because they are at stage 12 and the medallion is for stage 11. Oh those pesky cult members. It's Monty who suggests that maybe the phrase "rise from the ashes" should be taken literally. Jaha grabs the medallion and burns it and it turns into a key. Now with proof that they are onto something, Indra is willing to risk her warriors and she orders them to keep Agzeda away at all costs. Indra also makes it clear that if they do indeed find a bunker, Agzeda is not allowed in.
They open up the hatch and begin to descend. Did anyone else start thinking about Lost at this point? The last time Henry Ian Cusick was in a bunker things got sticky. Has this all been the secret work of the Darma Initiative all along? Are they all going to have to start pushing a button to stop the world from coming to an end? Okay, I'll stop with the Lost references now but you have to admit that they work. By the light of flame, the group descends into the bunker. Now that they've found a place to live out the radiation, there's still a question of who gets safety and who is left to die. How big is this bunker anyway? There's also still the little matter of supplies.
At Rebecca's lab things aren't going well. The man whom Emori convinced them to test last week, survives the initial bout of radiation but as the levels increase, his body begins to get lesions and he starts spitting up black blood. Before long, he's dead. So much for the last hope for humanity. When Abby and Jackson review the test, they realise that they inadvertently used an additive which stopped clotting. You would think that with so much at stake they would have double checked everything before risking a man's life, especially with all the drama of Abby worrying that she would become a murderer. With a small change, they're ready to run the test again, only this time they don't have a person to test nor do they have time to run out and hunt someone. This is the situation Emori feared.
Things start getting rough for Emori when they figure out that the man they killed is not who she said he was. Clarke is quick to decide that this means that Emori should be tested next. Wow no lying is grounds to be experimented on medically? Clarke has left the grey area and gone full on dark. Emori and Murphy are both locked up. Roan is in complete agreement with Clarke not only because it's the end of the world but because he doesn't see Emori's value due to her disability. When he goes as far as to refer to Emori by a slur, it's Raven who calls him out.
Luna is not at all in agreement with testing Emori and though she's injured, she'd rather walk away than be part of the death of another innocent person. This brings Roan into conflict with Luna and the briefly battle it out before Luna is forced into submission. Raven points out that their actions are exactly like the Mountain people. The same mountain people who Clarke killed because they were experimenting on people in order to attempt to survive outside of their little bunker.
In their little cell, Murphy is desperate to free himself and protect Emori. Emori on the other hand has accepted her fate and is busy trying to coach Murphy on how to behave so that he isn't selected next for testing. Clarke arrives with Roan and Miller to take Emori away and Murphy begs, even going as far as to admit his love for Emori; however, Clarke is steadfast in her decision. Finally, Murphy reminds Clarke that while she was saving the world, he was saving her. Yes, that's Murphy calling in his I.O.U. in order to save Emori. When Clarke still isn't swayed, Murphy promises Clarke that if Emori dies so will she.
Everything is set to start the experiment and though Clarke tries to reassure Abby, she just cannot bring herself to inject Emori. Clarke takes the burden on herself and take the syringe from her mother. Clarke's hand shakes as prepares to inject Emori. Without telling anyone first, Clarke swiftly injects herself with Luna's bone marrow and announces that she'll be the next one tested. This action is far more in line with the Clarke we've come to know than deciding to randomly test people. We always knew that the writers were working on a way to make her a nightblood.
A few hours later, Emori is now awake and safely in Murphy's arms. Clarke's blood is tested and it has turned black. Clarke announces that she feels fine and that all that's left is for her to be exposed to radiation. Abby starts to freak the fuck out and says that she cannot allow Clarke to do this. Abby then breaks the machine to stop Clarke and explains that she saw Clarke die in a vision. Well, there goes the hope for humanity.
Back at Arkadia, Bellamy like I suppose all of the viewers is fed up with Jasper's attitude about this whole crises. They head into the wood where Jasper grabs some mushrooms for an end of the world party. Jasper explains that nothing can be done to change what's happened and that they have to make the most of the time they have left. Spending it hating themselves will not stop anything.
When they get back to Arkadia, the people are divided into two groups. One group is partying and the other is curled into protective little balls of fear. Japser tells Bellamy that he has to figure out exactly who he wants to be now because that's all that's left to decide. Japser heads off to party with the rest of the revelers. Bellamy is joined by a young woman who asks him to dance. Bellamy doesn't dance but he does cross the room and down some mushroom tea. It looks like Bellamy is finally off the redemption train.
With four episodes to go finding the bunker is clearly not the end of the grim and dark, dark and grim. Now that they've found a place to possibly ride out the radiation, there's still a little matter of who gets into the bunker and how they supply it. We already know that Indra doesn't want any Agzeda inside and since the bunker is in Polis which is currently under Agzeda control that's not going to be easy.
I'm not quite sure how it is that the characters at Becca's lab just suddenly decided to justify medically experimenting on others. The only one who makes sense to me is Roan given that he doesn't value the disabled and has prioritized his people's survival above all else. Watching Roan and Clarke bond over how tough it is to be a leader and the decisions they have to make got on my last nerve. The stress of leadership has pretty much been Clarke's only plot point this season and it has placed her into position to bond with Jaha and now Roan. It's simply away of explaining away her bad acts and offering up a redemption train for Jaha who should be dead and Roan.
I really liked that Raven spoke up twice this episode. She's the only one at the lab who showed any kind of morality even if she didn't personally intervene to stop what was happening. The comparison between what Clarke was doing and what happened at Mt. Weather is perfect. It speaks to the very hypocrisy of what they were planning and how despite all of this talk about saving humanity, they only really care about certain lives.
I really liked Raven not allowing Roan to get away with calling Emori a slur. We've seen Raven struggle with her disability for some time now. For most of the time she's been avoiding accepting her disability and the new limitations that it comes with. I think that this is a big step forward for her and hope she continues along this vein.
As for the party at Arkadia, I couldn't really give a shit. At this point, I'm done with Bellamy trying to redeem himself and I am beyond done with Jasper. I will admit that Japser has a point about them not being able to change the past but how does that relate to simply lying down and giving up? This is not a zero sum game. Accepting ones bad acts does not mean one has to stop trying to survive.
