Season 2 Episode 7 – “Long into an Abyss”

One more week until The 100 midseason finale and things are getting really intense between The Grounders and Camp Jaha.

The main focus of this episode is twofold. Trying to cure Lincoln of his recent Reaper status as well as the decision over vacating Camp Jaha take central focus. It’s pretty clever that these two plots are really well tied together. Clarke using the fact that she can cure Reapers as a bargaining chip to stop The Grounders from killing them all makes a lot of sense and it further shows Clarke’s negotiating skills by knowing that they will want this.

Her interactions with the new Grounder leader Lexa (Alycia Debnam Carey) were generally really good. There’s an undercurrent of respect and resentment between Lexa and Clarke which produces a fascinating contrast. Both characters know what the other is capable of and are taking care not to underestimate one another. This scene goes over the main beats from both seasons and highlights that mistakes have been made on both sides that inspire mistrust between the two sides. Naturally Lexa is tempted by Clarke’s offer but ultimately the pot needed to be sweetened by the death of Finn. It remains to be seen what will be done about that.

In terms of Finn, I’m still not sure why they’re treating his massacre so lightly. As far as the other characters are concerned it seems to be something that happened years ago and is only referenced vaguely by being the thing that he had to do and now has to live with. Everyone around him should be terrified of this guy because it was like a week ago did this. Hopefully there will be some kind of penance for this as the episode implies.

I really liked the scenes where Abigail and Jaha were on opposite sides of the evacuation argument. Jaha thinks it’s too dangerous to stay and Abby thinks the opposite. Abby’s argument concerns the people trapped in Mount Weather and not abandoning them which shows the bond she has with the group and how much she has grown as a leader. Isaiah Washington and Paige Turco absolutely kill it here. They both show their characters as being completely uncompromising and having entirely different ideas of what is best for the group. This kind of conflict is part of what makes this show so great.

Clarke’s reaction to Jaha’s suggestion was great as well. She calls him out on in and says that it’s a bad idea. It’s a rash reaction that might ultimately land her in much more trouble but the fallibility of these characters is part of what makes them interesting.

Lincoln’s difficulties being cured of his affliction were really harrowing to watch. Ricky Whittle did a great job of portraying his feral rage and was genuinely terrifying as this beast who was eager to tear the people near him apart. Octavia’s strength in this scene was great and the relationship between these two characters feels more real after the hardships they have endured. Dramatically speaking they have earned their connection in many ways.

The development of the Mount Weather story added more intrigue. Jasper, Monty, Harper and Miller start to question whether going along with the experiments is the right thing to do or not. They don’t know if Clarke is coming back or even made it out so they finally decide to be proactive and try to uncover the truth. I have mixed reactions about the heist scene as it seemed a bit overly typical of those sorts of scenes but it was good enough for what it does. The cast did a good job of making it believable. Seeing them find proof that their friends are alive is an important step and the seeds of mistrust are growing.

With good reason since Dr. Tsing wants to extract bone marrow from the 47 so that the residents of Mount Weather can live on the surface permanently. She confirms to Dante that the necessary transplants would kill each of them which gives him pause despite Cage’s attempts to convince him that the procedures need to be done. It doesn’t matter what Dante thinks since the procedures begin anyway. I’m getting the impression that Dr. Tsing is the real power in Mount Weather considering that she does what she likes and even tells Cage what to do. The scene of Harper’s hip being drilled into to extract the bone marrow is particularly jarring.