The 100 season 2 episode 10 review: Survival Of The Fittest

This review contains spoilers.

2.10 Survival Of The Fittest

There’s a giant gorilla on The 100 now, and it’s a testament to all the crazy the show had thrown at us thus far that it really isn’t that big of a stretch. Why wouldn’t there be an angry primate hiding out in the woods? We know very little about this world our characters have landed in, proven again and again when we find new groups of people to unite with or battle against.

Right now, The Sky People and the Grounders have an uneasy alliance based on the fact that both groups stand a better chance of bringing down Mount Weather if they have each other’s backs. Both are expecting some grand betrayal at any given moment, which keeps things interesting to watch, and the show’s dedication to the grey area means that it’s really a toss-up as to whose side we should be on as an audience.

And that position is represented by Octavia who, though still annoyingly reckless and naive, has finally been given a storyline outside of her relationship with Lincoln and Bellamy. Watching her get beaten to a pulp by a Grounder much larger and better trained than her apparently alerted others to her ‘spirit’. That means that she’ll be trained as a warrior, which is a better option than Kane’s offer to be his spy.

The adults, then, continue to actively sabotage sense and reason as represented by the young offenders they previously sent down to die. That undoubtedly being the case makes the current arrangement so tenuous that it’s rarely mentioned unless Kane, Jaha or Abby steps substantially over the line, so it’s satisfying to see Murphy deliver some home truths to Jaha in this episode.

The initial conversation between Kane and Jaha also indicates that it’s the former who is relying on blind faith more than logic, trusting the Grounders to stick by them long enough to save the 40-plus kids inside of Mount Weather, but Jaha’s determination to find the City of Light takes this even further.

In both cases, while the younger characters are planning, negotiating and generally getting stuff done, the adults are still grasping at thin air, hoping for a magical solution. The City of Light is nothing more than a fairytale at this point but, given the flawed regime on the Ark, this particular group of people have never been known for their solid decision making.

And there’s an element of faith in everyone’s plan, even Clarke’s. She may have sworn off love and emotions for the time being, but her faith in Bellamy’s ability to get inside Mount Weather is guiding everything she’s doing right now. Bellamy, too, had a degree of trust in Lincoln to get him there safely, but it turns out that the Reaper-juice had more of a hold on him than anyone thought.

So Bellamy’s effectively on his own, and all Clarke and Lexa can do is trust that everything is going according to plan. There’s no doubt we’re gearing up for some kind of epic showdown before the second season wraps up, but there’s a good chunk of time left before that needs to happen.

Right now, The 100 is committed to being painfully bleak, with characters continuously pushed to their limits and boundaries tested. It doesn’t seem too interested in being an action or sci-fi show, but an exploration of pretty ordinary characters in situations that wring them dry on a weekly basis, and never is this better demonstrated than when Clarke and Lexa are alone on-screen together.

These formidable leaders have nothing more to go on than faith in their own instincts, and really they’re just as frightened and clueless as everybody else.

Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Remember Me, here.

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