Season 2 Episode 13 – “Resurrection”

This week’s edition of The 100 picks up right where the last episode left off and deals with the aftermath of the missile attack while the situation in Mount Weather gets all the more intense.

As if the missile attack wasn’t terrifying enough there had to be a sniper stationed to pick off any survivors that might be lingering around. It makes absolutely tactical sense to work on thinning the herd when they are at their weakest but it just goes from bad to worse for the Grounder/Sky people alliance. Seeing Indra being pulled to safety before instantly getting shot is really typical of this show never letting a situation settle and give people a chance to catch their breath. The audience feels the same intensity as the characters and it’s nicely done.

Jasper leading the revolt in Mount Weather shows great progression for his character. He’s definitely been changed by his experiences in there and has conducts himself well here. His loyalty to his people informs everything he does and their safety is paramount to him. Seeing him attack the soldier left behind from the group that took one of his friends was a great example of this and his devotion arguably goes someway towards justifying his actions. Whether you agree with what he’s done or not it’s clear what has driven him to do so. This part of the story also has a reunion between Jasper and Bellamy that hits the right emotional beats, it was a nice scene and showcased good work by Devon Bostick and Bob Morley. A particular highlight was when Jasper asked about Finn and Bellamy was forced to lie so that Jasper’s mind would be on task for now. I wonder how that will all turn out but it was a clever moment.

I wasn’t as on board with the sudden revelation that Maya’s parents wanted to be rebels. To spring this as well as a whole group of willing rebels felt a bit forced and would have benefited from being established later. It’s too late in the game to spring plot elements like this on us and have them come across as believable. I’m sure this group of people has a significant role to play in the ensuing episodes but as I said it’s a little late to be meeting them.

As always Lexa and Clarke were portrayed really well here. Her expression as she looked at the burning village gave her a further sense of depth showing that there’s a vulnerability beneath her badass exterior. She is emotionally affected by her decisions but doesn’t show weakness to those around her. It was subtle and powerful while telling us so much about the character. Lexa ensuring that Clarke wouldn’t see the expression was another nice touch.

Subtle touches like that are all well and good but the episode does fail to deal with the immediate consequences of Clarke and Lexa’s decision in any meaningful way. We see Clarke visibly affected by it but beyond that there’s very little exploration of the consequences of this decision on a psychological level. Maybe it’ll all catch up with her later but I think more could have been done here to explore this.

We do get some of this through Abby’s discussion with Kane as they are trapped. She tells Kane that growing up on the Ark affects people more than they realise. Clarke saw people sacrificed for oxygen and her Dad be blown out into space so naturally exposure to this would partially inform her own decision making process whether she wants it to or not. It’s the classic example of the past being doomed to repeat itself and a great example of The 100 using what has come before as effective world building.

Clarke’s requisite awesome moment came when she shot through Lincoln to hit the sniper. Her sincere line about Lincoln being considered one of her people was touching and it was just a really cool scene. I was also glad to see Indra make peace with Lincoln as well as complimenting Octavia who seems to be nearly there when it comes to proving herself to live up to Indra’s nearly impossible standards.

In some ways this episode was largely setting up the attack on Mount Weather as many of the scenes were devoted to moving pieces around to be in the right position. With only 3 episodes left of the season I dare say that it will stop spinning its wheels and really go for it. Many of the pieces are in place for the finale so it should be fast paced from here.