Despite the hopeful title of this episode, We Will Rise is decidedly dark and meant to remind us of just how grim the current situation is. Arkadia has gone up in flames thanks Ilian's desire for revenge against tech and the tech in Raven's brain seems to be taking over, making her violent and desperate. No one really knows where to turn at this point and with the clock counting down to the end of humanity, there seems to be no relief to the unrelenting grief.
Clarke and Niylah have spent the night together. Niylah clearly sees their relationship as friends with benefits. At this point, Clarke is resigned to the fact that Arkadia has been destroyed and that they need to focus their efforts on turning everyone into Nightbloods. To that end, Clarke asks Niylah to stay at Arkadia and wait for her rather than returning home to ensure that when the Nightblood is created, Niylah will be among the first to receive the treatment. Niylah suggest that Lexa would be proud of Clarke and adds that they are all Clarke's people now.
Jaha is absolutely feeling the strain of exactly how desperate the situation is as he takes in the wreckage of Arkadia. Of course, Jasper is not the least bit concerned having accepted that humanity is coming to an end. Jasper actually quotes Dr. Seus at Jaha and suggest that Jaha adapt his method of dealing with their current crises. Why oh why won't someone slap Jasper?
Ilian survived the destruction of Arkadia and is locked in the brig. As it turns out, the people of Arkadia decide that revenge can work both ways. Ilian may not have known how dire the situation is, or how necessary the Ark was for humanity's survival but the people simply don't care. The people of Arkadia make their way to the brig and start to issue a beat down on Ilian, despite his attempts to defend himself. Were it not for Kane arriving, Ilian most certainly would have died. Kane is forced to fire his gun into the air to fend off the angry mob.
Because of the injuries sustained in the beating, Ilian is sent to sickbay. Unfortunately for Ilian, this puts him right into Octavia's path. Ilian is happy to see Octavia, revealing that even though he barely survived a beating, he hasn't exactly clued into just how much in jeopardy he is in. When he finally realises the threat that Octavia poses to him, Ilian starts to plead that he didn't know the situation and that he didn't mean to kill anyone.
Niylah is the first to realise that the guards Kane assigned to Ilian have no intention of protecting to him and so she appeals to Monty, who in turn appeals to Jaha. It seems that despite the fact that Jaha has been forgiven for his many heinous actions, Jaha has no forgiveness for Ilian and refuses to speak to the people on Ilian's behalf. Monty throws shade by suggesting that Wells would be ashamed of Jaha. Ummm yeah, Jaha has actually done worse to make his departed son ashamed of him.
In sick bay, Octavia is more than happy to open the door to allow the mob to get to Ilian. Octavia tells Kane that it's the end of the world and that darkness is all they have left. Kane once again tries to stop the mob by using his gun but is hit with a shot baton before he can take action. The crowd grabs Ilian and drags him outside and Octavia points her gun at Ilian. Monty once again tries to calm the situation down but the crowd and Octavia are past the point of listening. Seeing what is going on is enough for Niylah to realise that there isn't that much difference between the Arkadians and the grounders. Jaha has finally seen enough and he rushes to grab a radio and sound the siren. Kane yells out that the rain is black rain which is enough for the mob to choose self interest over vengeance; however, it does not deter Octavia. Kane is forced to take a much more pointed attack against Octavia and so he points out that if Octavia does this that she will be just like Pike. Kane suggests that Octavia is about to kill Ilian in the same manner that Pike killed Lincoln. This is too much for Octavia to bear and she runs away crying. It's Jaha who releases Ilian, who promptly runs after Octavia.
Now that Arkadia is no longer a viable option for shelter, it's become absolutely imperative that they get the fuel Raven needs to her. This is a risky proposition because the ten barrels of hydrazine represent the last ten on earth and if that were not enough, to get it to the island, they are going to have to go through hostile territory over very bumpy roads. With no troops from Arkadia to spare, Roan offers up himself and a few Agzeda warrior to help guard this vital mission. Kane wants to come along but Clarke reminds him of his position as the leader and points out how much he is needed in Arkadia. Clarke acknowledges that part of Kane's desire to go is to see Abbie again and promises to pass on Kane's concern to her mother. The two hug it out. I guess it's fair to say that Kane's redemption is complete, if he and Clarke are at the point where they can hug.
Bellamy finds Octavia curled in a fetal position and tries to reach out to her. Bellamy suggests that Octavia is a hero and that things would have been so much worse had she not risked her life to warn everyone that Agzeda was marching on Arkadia. O is not at all interested in making nice with her brother and suggests that Octavia is dead. Damn, she's in a really dark place. Octavia then suggests that the only reason Bellamy is still alive is because he's her brother. Wow.
Okay, it's time to hit the road and make their way to the island. They aren't travelling long before they come across some Trikru who have blocked the road and are fleeing from an Agzeda attack. Clarke being Clarke, hops out to see if she can help the wounded. While Clarke scopes out the injury, a young Trikru boy is making his way along the convoy. When Bellamy sees the kid, Bellamy instructs the child to get away from the back of the truck because that's where Roan and his Agzeda troops are. Clarke hops in the truck and Bellamy starts making excuses as to why he cannot give the Trikru troops a lift. They start to make their way through the troops when the boy spies the Agzeda in the back of the truck. Trikru warriors let their arrows fly.
The Trikru soldiers aren't the only obstacles in the way. It's not long before they are forced to stop because a stream seems to have appeared which wasn't there a few days ago. Roan explains that it's the melting ice. Global warming certainly does happen fast in this world. Roan and Bellamy take a rover to see if they can find a place to cross. Roan leaves his guard behind to protect the fuel which absolutely must the first priority now. It doesn't take long for Bellamy and Roan to find a place to cross but when they try to get in contact with Clarke, she doesn't respond. Roan and Bellamy backtrack and find that the fuel truck is gone and one of Roan's men in bag. Given their last interaction with Trikru, Roan and Bellamy assume that they are responsible for the missing truck; however when they make it back to the area where they originally ran into Trikru, they find the Trikru warriors exactly where they left them. With Trikru now removed as a suspect that means that the ones responsible for taking the truck are Roan's men.
Because this is television, Roan and Bellamy manage to catch up with the Agzeda warriors and find that Clarke is driving with a knife at her neck. To act as a distraction, an Agzeda warrior is throwing the barrels of fuel off of the back of the truck. Were these fools not clued in about how vital the fuel is? Bellamy moves closer to the truck and Roan manages to jump on the truck to deal with the Agzeda warrior in the back. Bellamy then manages to get his vehicle in front of the truck and block the road. As the truck approaches, Bellamy pulls out his gun and shoots through the windshield and hits the Agzeda warrior holding a knife to Clarke. Despite a stunning rescue, Bellamy and Roan were not completely successful because one of the barrels of fuel has been damaged and is leaking.
Raven has been trying to run a simulation to send the rocket into space and return it safely to earth. Unfortunately, each attempt that she has made has resulted in a crash landing. It's worth noting that the attempts Raven is making are assuming that she gets all of the fuel in the barrels that Clarke, Roan and Bellamy are escorting to her. We know now that Raven is going to have even less fuel to work with.
It's Murphy who has been tasked with keeping an eye on Raven, given the brain damage she is dealing with. When Murphy snarks about one of her failures, it's enough to put Raven over the edge and she goes into attack mode. I swear, no one on The 100 has caught as many beatings as Murphy. Luckily for Murphy, Luna is close by and it's Luna who manages to calm down Raven.
It's now attempt number 29 to land the ship safely and unfortunately once again, Raven fails and crashes. Raven is about to lose her shit all over Murphy again when Luna suggests that Raven swim away. I cannot be the only one who started thinking about Finding Nemo in that moment. Raven attempts for the 30th time to land the ship and this time she lets the ship crash into the ocean. Raven is absolutely elated at finally being able to figure out a solution.
All should be good but in keeping with the grim and dark theme of this episode, Luna and Murphy learn about the missing barrel. Raven simply cannot deal with any more stress and when she learns about the barrel she starts to cry which leads to a headache and then a seizure.
Every avenue of hope seems to be cut off at this point. The problem for me is that no matter how grim and dark the writers make the situation, I cannot invest in the idea that everyone is in so much jeopardy. For the show to go on, a solution must be found and so we know that one will be and that it's only really a matter of how much suffering the characters must go through first. If I could have just one wish from all of this suffering though, I would wish an end to Jasper, who at this point I'm extremely sick of.
At the end of the day, I think the message we are getting is that humanity really needs to come together for the sake of surviving. The Agzeda warriors for instance, stealing the truck is a keen example of this. Where the hell did they think they were going? Sure, they could have potentially made it back to POLIS but then what? The fighting between Trikru and Agzeda is pointless now because unless something is done about the contamination, everyone is going to die. They seem to see the truth but are blind to the bigger picture.
I've been waiting for quite some time to see Octavia break down. I love that she's such a fierce warrior and how her character has evolved since the first season but she hasn't had a chance to heal and grieve from everything she lost and everything she's lived through. Certainly, the timing isn't great however, when one is broken, one is broken. What will be interesting to see is what becomes of Octavia after she rises from this depressive state.
I'm really starting to get worried about Raven. She's one of the few characters of colour on The 100 and she has had anything but an easy time. I really don't want to see her become a martyr saving humanity. I don't care how heroic this would make Raven, I want to see her live. Here's hoping that the nightblood will somehow fix the issues with the ALLIE tech in Raven's brain.
On to Clarke and Niylah. I really like that this relationship is developing slowly because it really wasn't that long ago that Lexa died. I do however think it's weird for Niylah to invoke Lexa right after getting out of Clarke's bed. Am I the only one slightly weirded out by that?
One final note, why is Jaha still holding onto the medallion from the bunker? The camera made sure to focus on it in his hand which leads me to believe that either the medallion or the bunker itself is going to have some meaning in the quest for survival, particularly because Jaha was holding it when he said that he still has hope.
