Warning: Full spoilers for The 100: Season 4 finale follow.
The 100 season finale was terrifically entertaining, putting our characters in a scenario with a huge ticking clock element that added to the tension throughout.
So let me get my complaining out of the way! And honestly, it’s more about what the finale was lacking than what we did get, since what we got was so good. But still, it felt like a couple of missed opportunities here for strong drama away from the central scenario.
First off, the only focus in the scenes at the bunker were on Octavia and her doubt about being a leader. A compelling situation for her, to be sure, but it still felt odd to skip over everyone else at this particular point. Abby’s absence felt especially strange, given how much was going on with her. She’d specifically asked Kane to give her spot to someone else, and he’d disobeyed her. But we never saw her wake up, nor anyone else, to see how they reacted to Kane and Jaha’s decision to use Clarke’s list after all.
Also, it felt odd, on this show particularly, to not really depict what it was like for those caught in the death wave to actually be, um, death waved. Okay, none of the main or prominent recurring characters were killed by it (a bit surprising itself, actually), but hell, even showing Miller’s dad when the end came for them in Polis would have been powerful and better humanized the situation for those without a bunker or rocket to possibly save them.
Basically, it felt like this episode would have really benefited from being double-length, since it would have allowed for other storylines outside the central one to be better included.
But all that being said… the story of Clarke, Bellamy, Raven and the others trying to get that rocket ready in time was incredibly well told and exciting! Even with Raven laying out a lot of info at the top, the basics of what needed to be accomplished and how tough it would be to do it were made clear, and look, everyone understands what a clock ticking down means. Each little “mini-mission” -- including Murphy and Monty’s trek to get a crucial piece of machinery, and Clarke needing to go to the dish -- added to the tension, with a ton of “Oh no” moments, such as Monty having to take off his gloves in the midst of the black rain in order to get the job done.
The character interaction here was really strong as well. I’ve mentioned more than once recently The 100’s strength when it comes to not forgetting and evoking its own past, and that was certainly the case here again when Monty brought up ancient history (for us as viewers), calling out Murphy for nearly killing Jasper early in the show’s run. Plus, Murphy calling Jasper a coward for killing himself and how that set Monty off was a great dramatic moment between the two of them – even as it set up Monty wonderfully hugging Murphy when he realized he’d made the choice to save the oxygenator before him (but then had still come back for him).
It all led to two incredibly intense back-to-back scenarios that closed out this quest, as Clarke attempted to align the dish with the freaking death wave actually in sight behind her, while everyone up on the Ark tried to get the oxygen working before they ran out of air. Okay, Clarke dying seemed unlikely, but it was still a well done, nerve-wracking sequence. And there was something particularly stirring, emotional and powerful about that scene with everyone else up on the Ark, as they all began sharing, via oxygen masks, the tiny amount of air they had left, and the very real danger rose of at least one of them not making it.
And then there’s that ending!!
Okay, the time jump itself seemed almost a certainty – and a welcome one at that – but simply making it six, not five, years later was a strong eyebrow raiser, as we learned that even though it was safe to return to the surface, no one had yet, either from the Ark or the bunker, raising big questions about what was going on for both groups. And then there was Madi, the young Nightblood it turned out Clarke had found and clearly was protecting… and then that spaceship showed up and it wasn’t from the Ark! A prisoner transport, you say? That’s a huge new development, and one especially dangerous for Clarke given it’s just her and Madi right now. It’s a very cool way to end the season, and the stage is set for some big new changes in The 100: Season 5.
Bullet points!
-Echo’s subplot, as she was going to kill herself rather than try and escape, was another that felt rushed by the finale’s need to focus on the crisis, but still was an interesting new shade for her character…
-…and it feels like we almost have to open Season 5 with the reveal that, while in space, Bellamy ended up in a relationship with either Echo or Raven, right? The finale certainly managed to set up the possibility for either…
-…and (yeah, these bullet points are pretty connected so far) there’s gotta be at least one couple that comes back from space with a kid, right?
-Come on with Octavia finally telling Bellamy she loved him! A very sweet, well-earned moment between the two siblings.
-Damn, the Blake siblings sure remember Prometheus’ story well!
-Madi’s introduction of course raises the possibility of other unknown nightbloods being out there, somewhere. And there has to be a few other scattered survivors, right?
The Verdict
The 100: Season 4’s finale felt a bit truncated, leaving out some beats and characters that felt notable, given this was the end of the season and the death wave was upon us – and yet what we did get was excellent, as the show delivered an expertly told story about Clarke and the others at the rocket racing against time, with one taut sequence after another. And it all wrapped up with a time jump that included a couple of very notable reveals, setting the stage for another compelling scenario in Season 5.
For more on the season finale, check out what showrunner Jason Rothenberg told me about the finale's conclusion and where The 200: Season 5 will take the story.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire