The 100 Season 5 Episode 6 Review: Exit Wounds

This The 100 review contains spoilers.

The 100 Season 5 Episode 6

This season seems determined to keep most of our cast apart – there’s only really been one episode when they were mostly all together, and already they’re scattered again. That separation can often feel like the most tedious parts of a season, since it’s a bit of a waiting game for when the real action can come. At least this season everyone seems to be up to something equally interesting while they’re apart, even if we still wish they were together for the fun of it.

Murphy and Emori got some much-needed time together this episode. I can’t imagine taking McCreary hostage is going to turn out well for them, but it certainly messes with the power dynamic of Shallow Valley. Besides, McCreary is the most fun psychopath we have so far this season! I love what Emori’s friendship and apprenticeship with Raven has added to her character, and it certainly works to Murphy’s advantage to have another technical mind.

Emori’s reasoning for dumping Murphy made sense, and I love the idea that for her, finally having a real community meant way more to her than she anticipated. That he was immediately freaked out be feeling redundant makes sense, too, but it’s always more fun when this perfectly ambiguous couple is together. I’ll be curious to see if their old habits of only looking out for themselves will create more conflict, as Emori has a newfound trust in Spacekru.

Diyoza continues to show her skill for strategy. Even when she’s only in a few scenes, she’s so well drawn that we can feel her presence throughout the episode. It was great to see Octavia and Echo matching wits about strategy, and picturing a (mostly) unseen Diyoza doing the same thing from the Valley. She knows that she needs engineers and farmers, and she knows just how to twist the knife that is Kane’s intel. Whenever this final showdown happens, it’s going to be good.

Of course it doesn’t take long for word about Madi to get out – first Nyla and then Gaia come to Clarke, already certain they know the truth about the girl. I’m glad that Gaia’s faith is still there, even if her loyalty to Octavia and the need to survive briefly lowered its visibility among her priorities. Nyla, on the other hand, is a bit of a wildcard. She has always been loyal to Clarke and otherwise kept out of politics, but Gaia suggests that isn’t the case. I’ve wondered if Octavia and Nyla have a relationship – Gaia would certainly know about something like that, even if it was meant to be a secret. It’s hard to imagine Nyla betraying Clarke and hurting a child, but that’s the fun of a time jump: people are all over the map.

This is the first that we’re seeing of Madi’s ability to push Clarke into all kinds of interesting positions, like when Bellamy realizes he doesn’t actually know a damn thing about what Clarke’s life is really like now, and what her priorities are. There’s her mother, who I’m guessing will learn what happens when Clarke has to choose between mother and child. And at some point, the rest of Clarke’s people might just realize that she’s not there to rescue them anymore.

Bellamy is likely in for one big, long rude awakening this season. It’s one thing to play heroes in the desert and say you can’t even imagine six years alone – it’s an entirely different thing to actually think about what those six years would be like, and to be confronted head on with the reality that he’s not the only one who has priorities beyond Clarke or Octavia.

This episode more than any other convinced me that in another lifetime, Bellamy and Echo have a really amazing love story. If our story had started with Mount Weather, this would be the ship everyone rooted for, at least the people who like relationships that start with antagonism. But this is not that lifetime or that show, so Echo is off burying a flash drive in someone’s bullet wound while Bellamy has to figure out how to keep his sister from killing Clarke’s kid (and everyone else), all the while keeping Spacekru safe and his feelings in check. Good luck, sir.

Madi going to reveal their secrets and pledge herself to Wankru is exactly the kind of stunt Clarke would have pulled – like mother, like daughter. Just like Clarke so many times in the past, though, Madi doesn’t really understand how dangerous of a decision she has made. Nothing in Octavia’s voice sounded comforting or trustworthy. The parallel between O and Madi as hidden girls is a strong one, and something that could either make Madi safe or make her a threat that O feels she has no choice but to eliminate, depending on the day.

I’m eager to see how different Octavia really is – so far all she’s done is rule her people and disagree with Bellamy and Clarke. While that’s a capital offense to many fans, it’s really no worse than how she was behaving last season. I hope we learn more about the dark time soon. Personally, I’m pulling for some light cannibalism.

I was hoping to see Kane put up a little more resistance, or at leats try some subterfuge before telling Diyoza exactly how to find Octavia’s weaknesses. If this is a case of necessity briefly aligning with his previously held misgivings about Octavia’s rule, I’d like to see more of that on screen. Kane is all about agonizing, but so far he seems almost eager to help Diyoza – perhaps her creepy line about helping her friends indicates that Kane is about to look and feel pretty gross for being a collaborator. This wasn’t his episode so it’s understandable to keep it to narrative necessities, but we need all corners of this world to be populated with ethical and emotional anxiety, thank you very much. Here’s hoping that the next episode will bring it to us!