The 100 Season 6 Episode 13 Review: The Blood of Sanctum

This The 100 review contains spoilers.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 13

Unlike past season finales of The 100, “The Blood of Sanctum” doesn’t come with a sense of inevitable tragedy. Yes, the Primes are dead and many others died in Sanctum, but for once it doesn’t feel like that was SpaceKru’s fault. In spite of what Jordan said, while there may have been quiet before they came, there was no peace. Giving voice to injustice is not the problem, the injustice is. There may have been a slight attempt to revisit the season 1 crowd panic quandary an episode or two ago, but The 100’s heart wasn’t in it.

Instead, this finale felt like it was more about plot and relationships. Pushing everything forward to get to the point where the Primes aren’t a threat and setting up the final season. In that way, it seems the tradition of The 100 season finales could be seen as transitioning from squaring off with a fatalistic moral quandary to shocking the audience with a major twist that sets up the next season, going back to the Mount Weather twist, season 4’s time jump and season 5’s new world. It was also about saying goodbye to some (ah, the brief glimmer of hope that Abby was okay), and reuniting with others (we deserved every last hug and kiss we got, though Raven and Clarke’s mutual grief might have been my favorite.)

More so than in the past, this finale embedded questions for next year’s final season throughout its entire runtime. The possibilities that Sheidheda’s code has been uploaded to the Eligius, the lingering effects of Jordan’s adjustment protocol and his intentions with that mind drive (or simply his not being satisfied that SpaceKru lived up to his parents’ wishes), and the idea that there are other planets/moons with other settlements (and even more mind drives?) were all woven in well before the final big mystery involving Octavia, Hope, and the Anomaly Stone.

There are smaller questions everyone will have to live with that I’m looking forward to as well, ones that tonight’s episode hinted at. Madi clearly doesn’t think of herself as Heda anymore since the flame is gone, a change that moved Gaia as well. Will they tell the rest of WonKru, who are now awake? Does that mean the end of the Grounder religion and a deterioration of their culture and loyalty? Or might Madi come to see that leadership can be about more? Russell was right to worry about the devotion of the Grounders, and I wonder what will happen when they learn Madi no longer has the flame.

Other aspects of life in Sanctum have clearly poked and prodded at Gaia’s beliefs, like when she saw the creation of a new nachtbleeda. I hope she’ll have the chance to explore her changing beliefs as well as whatever Echo’s status means for the group. Back on Alpha, seeing a woman self-immolate felt so unnecessary yet also in keeping with the season’s theme of religious fervor. I was sad to see Daniel’s sister killed so quickly in the religious melee, but it will be interesting to see what happens when those who remain try to put the pieces back together.

Octavia has something of a prophet in her, the way she ran straight at the woman on fire. She has the fearlessness of someone who either knows it’s not her time yet, or is completely comfortable sacrificing herself. That fight was pretty good, but the best moments were when it was shot from above, with someone whirling torches. It’s too bad they didn’t have the guts to keep shooting it like that, the way they might have on a show like Arrow. Instead there were a lot of sped up shots, and even those at a normal frame rate felt rushed, rather than allowing the stunning visuals to achieve their zenith and simply breathe.

It was good to finally see the Blakes back in action together for real, fighting and teasing one another. The best part is that Bellamy seems to finally have gotten over his infantilizing view of Octavia. When he says, “side by side, like it was meant to be,” it’s a sign of him letting go and allowing O to be her own person. She’s certainly earned it – after all, she was willing to fight for Gabriel’s people when no one else was.

Octavia’s new sense of serenity is hard-won, though I’m glad she hasn’t had to give up any of her rough and tumble exterior to achieve it. Instead, it feels like she’s expanded her empathy and finally allowed herself some much-needed introspection. And with the addition of the Anomaly Stone and the way she’s been discussing faith and fate, O seems to be joining Gaia as an unlikely conduit for the show to discuss religion.

Some seasons of The 100 take on a new quality of the genre, like Praimfaya being a real apocalyptic take while ALLIE was a more straight forward sci-fi plot. All things Anomaly – and the way the Anomaly Stone’s brought forth some sort of temporal mist – hints that next season will take things in a more mystical, paranormal direction. Diyoza is, of course, still alive, though detained by some unnamed “he.” Octavia, again, seemed oddly serene about the whole thing, almost like she knew who he was and already knew the stabbing and her apparent return to the Anomaly was coming.

In any case, I’m looking forward to getting to know Hope, seeing more of Diyoza next season, and figuring out the mystery of Octavia and the Anomaly, wherever and whenever it takes us.

Other notes

“We were explorers once, weren’t we?” – Who’s the lit major on The 100’s writing staff?

Murphy was in rare form! Winking, kissing, hamming it up. I’m going to miss the guyliner most of all.

“Where’d you learn to code like that?” “City of Light Community College”

“Once more with feeling.” Raven’s got jokes!

The Becca infinity sign lederhosen was truly creepy

Octavia’s Angelina Jolie-style Anomaly Stone tattoo might explain why the nautilus shape is all over Alpha.

Read more about Season 6 of The 100 here.