The 100 Season 2 Finale Review: Blood Must Have Blood Part 2

This review contains spoilers for part two of The 100’s “Blood Must Have Blood.”I want to start by saying that this is my favorite episode of the season and probably my favorite episode of the series, period. Why? Because the finale had no qualms about going darker—and that’s really saying something when one considers the atrocities we’ve witnessed over two seasons. Lincoln’s torture in season one’s “Contents Under Pressure” seems almost quaint when weighed against Finn’s massacre of the Grounder village or Clarke allowing people to die in the missile strike on Tondc.

Tonight, we watched Clarke not only kill Dante Wallace, but slaughter hundreds of innocents to save her own people, including her mother, who is undergoing the dreaded drill for her bone marrow. This was not a run-of-the-mill quandary. In her troubled heart, Clarke understood the immediate dilemma at hand: us or them. Clarke rightfully chooses “us,” thereby irradiating the bunker.

Dante Wallace was but one casualty among the many. I was sad to see Maya go, and I wonder what losing her will do to Jasper. As I’ve said before, Clarke and Octavia have undergone stunning transformations this season. Jasper has too. Once a wide-eyed idealist, he’s now killed to survive, embracing a savage side more out of necessity than desire. Raven returning his goggles to him drives home just how far he’s come from the first episode. The goofy kid he once was is no more.

The same could be said of Olivia, who may not be a second but still retains a warrior’s instincts. We see her skills put to the test tonight, whether it’s advising the best way to slash someone’s neck with knife or taking down guards with ruthless efficiency. As for her and Clarke, there’s still friction there. Octavia is loyal now only to herself. Other people may count on Clarke, but Octavia knows better. Clarke is a strong leader, yes, but at times she’s in over her head. But to be fair, Clarke is also faced with far more difficult decisions. She’s also answerable to “her people,” whereas Octavia cares mainly for Bellamy and Lincoln.

As for Lincoln, he is finally able to conquer his demons when he strikes Cage down. This moment is incredibly cathartic. It’s one thing for Lincoln to find redemption, but it’s quite another to overcome the beast he was forced to become. Taking out Cage is a nice way to close out Lincoln’s arc. And while I appreciated Cage for the menace he brought to the show, I will not mourn his passing. He ultimately did more harm than good.

But does the opposite hold true for Clarke? Were the sacrifices she made for the greater good worth all the bloodshed? It’s morally ambiguous questions like this that give The 100 its undeniable mojo. As Abby tells Clarke, “Maybe there are no good guys.” And for once, I think I have to agree with her mother.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Jaha’s quest for the Promised Land. A common refrain on this show is the sacrifice of the few to save the many, and certainly Jaha is no stranger to this maxim, floating people on the Ark to maintain what passed for law and order. Indeed, still adrift in their rowboat and within sight of land, Jaha sacrifices someone who is not able to pull their own weight. Murphy is deeply unsettled by what he sees as a needless sacrifice, and wants nothing more to do with Jaha.

But this is where things really start to get interesting. Now on his own, Murphy encounters a well-stocked bomb shelter. While there, a video of a man begins to play. It would seem he might be indirectly supportive of the nuclear holocaust that decimated the planet. At least, that’s how I interpreted the video. The burden of his involvement is too much to bear, and he kills himself. I have to assume we’ll learn more about him, and about the woman he mentions just before offing himself.

Meanwhile, Jaha has stumbled upon a vast mansion surrounded by more of those drones. The manse itself is empty, save for a holographic projection that introduces herself as Alie. Not only does she know who Jaha is, she’s been expecting him.

This was definitely a very creepy encounter, fraught with foreboding. What ups the creep counter considerably is thanking Jaha for his gift—namely the nuclear missile he rode from the Ark down to the planet. Curiouser and curiouser, indeed. But it looks like we’ll have to wait until next season for answers to where Jaha and Murphy are, and what these strange revelations all mean.

Luckily for us, The 100 was renewed for a third season, and I for one can’t wait to see what Jason Rothenberg and company have in store for us. Thanks for joining me this season. May we meet again.Some closing thoughts:

This was an episode of contrasts. The Mount Weather dining hall took on a sinister quality when juxtaposed against the bone marrow drilling happening just across the hall. And the faint strains of classical music heard throughout the episode were a poignant reminder of a more civilized time.

I know Abby was very unlikable this season, but I’ll admit it, I’m glad she survived. I’m glad Kane survived, too. Together, they bring a lot to this show, and tried in their own ways to save Clarke from herself. Now that she’s gone off on her own, I hope she doesn’t become her own worst enemy.

As for enemies, we’ll surely be seeing Lexa and Indra again. Lincoln aside, never trust a Grounder.

Will Camp Jaha relocate to Mount Weather? It seems like a sensible option. Plus, as Indra told Lincoln, the truce with Cage stated the mountain is off limits to the Grounders. I can see Clarke being against the idea, but such crucial decisions are no longer hers to make.