Season 2 Episode 2 – “Inclement Weather”

The 100 continues with the strong stories set up in the last episode and furthers the different plots involving each of the key characters in interesting ways.

There’s a lot going on in The 100 at the moment with most of the characters separated and dealing with their own thing which really gives them the chance to shine in unique and interesting ways as well as putting them in new situations. The disparate stories work well in giving the show a great sense of scope and brings it out of two static locations in the first season. For the second season the show goes bigger and in this case it’s for the better.

My favourite plot in this episode was Jaha’s solo adventure on the failing Ark. The cliffhanger last week resulted in the discovery of a baby left aboard when everyone fled but the signs were apparent from the outset that there was something abstract going on here. The baby holding the chess piece was particularly telling that they were going for something symbolic here. Your move Jaha perhaps? Why he was seeing a child that wasn’t there wasn’t explicitly explained but it really didn’t need to be. It could be a symptom of the dwindling oxygen affecting his brain or some kind of profoundly spiritual experience, that’s really up to the viewer to decide and it serves the function of giving him the impetus to see a way out of this situation. Isaiah Washington does a fantastic job of portraying Jaha’s desperation as he contemplates his impending doom as well as his paternal instinct forcing him to really think about what he’s doing.

In terms of his escape to the surface the use of the missile was a little too convenient for my tastes as well as the scientific odds of him surviving the impact with the surface in such a makeshift vehicle but I was generally fine with it. It gets an interesting character in a place he can continue to benefit the show and gives us a new environment to explore at the same time. All in all, good for Jaha and the show. It also gave us a really cool scene involving a leap of faith to the other side of The Ark in a space suit that had seen better days.

Coming in a close second was Raven. Lindsey Morgan was excellent in this episode, showcasing a lot of fear as well as a lot of strength in a really short time. Raven has always been strong willed and determined to beat the odds so her decision to risk the life threatening operation is completely in character as well as the decision to risk death instead of living a life being unable to walk. The resolution of this story was appropriately dramatic and carried the right level of emotion. It should give Raven plenty of material to carry her through a few episodes.

Bellamy’s new position as prisoner instead of reader really isn’t easy for him as he’s used to being in charge and the contempt he has for Kane is played very well. It’s also cleverly done that he has no idea where Clarke or the others really are and leaps to the conclusion that it must be Grounders because isn’t everything? It really ramps up the urgency for the audience to be in on the information that help is on the way to the wrong place. It certainly brought in a bit of a pantomime moment for me where I wanted to yell at the characters to tell them that they are about to charge in based on incorrect assumptions. Really engaging stuff and I hope things continue like this.

Speaking of Clarke, the Mount Weather stuff continues to be strong with focus on a chasm developing between Clarke and Jasper which becomes very poignant considering how close they were last season. Jasper is all about how great this place is and Clarke really doesn’t trust anyone, least of all President Wallace who is clearly lying to her. Clarke’s discovery at the end is pretty disgusting and the implications are intriguing to contemplate. I do think more time could have been spent on this story as parts of it really did seem rushed. There definitely was potential to have more time spent on Clarke seeming paranoid at not trusting this apparent paradise.

I was really surprised at how easily I managed to accept Octavia’s assertive and threatening attitude here. Clearly she really cares for Lincoln and will do anything to protect him. There was no doubt that she was in complete control of that situation and she seems to have a dark side just like her brother. If we get more of this then I look forward to seeing how this develops. It was pretty weak that Lincoln finds himself kidnapped by two different parties this week, he’s supposed to be better than this and it would have been a bit neater to have left it at one.