Season 2 Episode 5 – “Human Trials”

The 100 is the show that keeps on giving for the moment. Most of the elements making up this show are really strong and interesting and the second season continues to go from strength to strength.

This episode comes with something of a suspension of disbelieve -that is to say, more so than usual- in regards to Finn. There have been hints that Finn is unraveling in the episodes leading up to this one but it seems that the final straw happens completely off screen. I am going to largely let this slide as what came from it was fantastic viewing. Seeing him continually shoot and kill innocent people was both jarring and exciting. Real props to Thomas McDonnell for selling the hell out of this. It would have been nice to see the point where he snapped but the payoff was good enough. Adding to the lunacy of the situation was the fact that Murphy of all people was trying to appease him. That alone shows how messed up this entire situation is. I really liked how the calming influence was reuniting with Clarke. It’s almost as if being apart from her and the concern that was subsequently caused by that drove him to go on this rampage. It’s a really risky place to take a character and it generally worked so applause to the writers for doing this.

Speaking of reunions, this episode had plenty of them. Clarke gets to reunite with Abby and the emotional moment involving some tears on both sides was entirely paid for as far as I’m concerned. Given what these two characters have collectively experienced an emotional release was entirely warranted here. Seeing how beat up Clarke looks in the episode is quite a harrowing image and it’s nice to see that she’s not magically healed between scenes. Consequences are a big thing in this show and it shows in the physical appearance of the characters.

Clarke’s reunion with Bellamy was a nicely touching moment that shows just how much these characters have grown. These characters have grown to respect each other across all the trials they’ve had to face and their reunion illustrated that perfectly. The evolution of these characters is what makes this show worth watching.

In terms of character evolution, we see more of this through Bellamy’s treatment of Octavia. He no longer sees her as the silly little girl he needs to protect. It’s clear to him that she knows how to take care of herself and is an asset that should be respected. I like that he already had a pack ready for her when she insisted on joining him.

The Mount Weather side of the story was great as well. Maya starting to burn to death from her radiation exposure was really gruesome and made me feel really unsettled. Props to the makeup department for making this work so well. There was some shaky science involved with the magic blood being able to cure it but it works in a pinch. This show has never really defined itself by scientific accuracy and it worked in story so I didn’t really mind. This whole sequence works really well in allowing Monty to start to get wise to the seedy nature of what’s going on around here. It’s worth noting that Rekha Sharma is a welcome addition to the cast, it’s always good to see a Battlestar Galactica alum playing another shady character in a genre TV show.

An interesting contrast was introduced in this part of the story through President Wallace’s son who represents a morally unhinged presence to the presidents unclear yet seemingly softer ethics. Seeing Lincoln tortured by this sadist was really harrowing and just kept getting more brutal. I really appreciated Lincoln’s strength in the face of this but I wonder if this will result in him becoming a Reaper. Seeing the familial contrast definitely adds layers to this arc.

In some cases the fast pace of the show is a problem for it given how quickly things can sometimes happen. Take this episode for instance where Clarke is reunited with her mother and friends at the camp before disobeying her mother’s wishes and leaving within the same episode. I think letting her hang around at the camp for the entirety of this episode and saving Finn’s psychotic break until next week would have been just fine. It would have let these stories linger a bit more and might have given them some more weight when used that little bit later. A similar problem exists with Kane being reunited with Jaha so soon. I would have liked to see Jaha hang around the desert area functionally on his own for a bit longer. At times this show doesn’t realise the storytelling potential that it’s passing up by moving things along a little too quickly.