The 100: Twilight’s Last Gleaming, review
Sacrifices are made for the greater good of the Ark.
Tonight’s show opens with Clarke and Finn enjoying some post-coital bliss in a candle-lit bunker. We quickly learn that their night together meant a lot to Clarke, that it wasn’t a one-night stand. Finn, on the other hand, jokes that the opposite was true for him—Clarke just happened to be there, at the right time Very romantic pillow talk, that. As we’ll soon find out, there’s a grain of truth to Finn’s words. And Clarke learns this the hard way. But more on that in a bit. In the meantime, the two exit the bunker and continue to flirt beneath a starlit sky. Finn even confesses that he wanted Clarke the same way she wanted him. And yet, he’s quick to call her a romance killer when she refuses to make a wish on what looks like a shooting star. I guess you could say Finn is a little ambivalent about their night together—and with good reason.
In any case, hopes are definitely raised when people realize the shooting star is some sort of craft sent down by the Ark. It could contain supplies, or rations, or weapons. Or a love triangle.
Our plucky mechanic, Raven, crash-lands the pod on Earth—and survives. (That’s so Raven!) Bellamy wants to get to that pod first. He’s afraid that if the Ark discovers the prisoners are alive that he’s a dead man. And if the Ark thinks everyone on the surface is dead (and escaping to Earth is not a viable option), the council will kill 320 people to make the oxygen supply last longer. There’s something very O. Henry about this predicament, if you ask me.
In the midst of the excitement surrounding the capsule, Bellamy finally confesses to Octavia that he shot the Chancellor. (Yes, but did he shoot the deputy?) He says he did it all for Octavia—so he could protect her on Earth. He also says he made a deal with someone: if Bellamy shot the Chancellor, they’d get him on the Exodus. So in light of this confession, the bigger question is who offered him this deal? Does it even matter? I think it does matter, but Octavia is horrified by this revelation, and runs off.
Meanwhile, Clarke is determined to get to the ship before Bellamy does. He beats her there and steals the radio, tossing it into the river, presumably to be devoured by a mutant eel.
Clarke and Finn are the next ones to discover not only the downed capsule, but its injured pilot, too. Clarke is excited to meet a new survivor, but she’s less excited when she realizes that Raven and Finn are a thing.
In addition to being a major buzzkill to Clarke and Finn’s budding romance, Raven informs Bellamy he didn’t succeed in killing the Chancellor after all. So, technically, Bellamy isn’t a murderer—just a lousy shot. Now there’s the matter of finding the capsule’s radio so they can contact the Ark.
Which brings us to what’s been happening above the planet—and it’s not good, folks, not good at all. The limited oxygen onboard the Ark is becoming a major problem as people are truly suffering the effects of oxygen deprivation. The council is moving ahead with their plan to kill off 320 people. They’re specifically looking to cut off life support to section 17—and make the population reduction look like an accident so order can still be maintained. That is, unless they hear back from Raven about the fate of the 100.
The interesting thing about the plan is not just how drastic and desperate it is, but the fact that the Chancellor himself wants to be in section 17 when the air is cut off. He leaves the grim task of cutting off the oxygen to Kane, who Jaha believes will make a better Chancellor in the long run. Contrary to what you might think, Kane is less than thrilled by Jaha’s questionable sacrifice.
Abby is likewise not thrilled by Jaha’s decision. She feels the people have a right to know the truth about the crisis they’re facing. She decides to air her late husband’s recorded confession about the state of the Ark’s life support. Rather than inciting riots, the video inspires people to volunteer for termination—all in the name of the greater good. Before they know it, the council has more than enough volunteers.
I’ll be honest—I didn’t think the council would go through with this plan, that the prisoners down on the surface would somehow contact the Ark in the nick of time. That didn’t happen, though. Abby and Jaha do see the rockets’ red glare, but by then it’s too late.
You could argue that Jaha is responsible for the volunteers’ deaths since he gave the actual order to terminate. But, really, in my mind it’s Bellamy who is to blame. He may not have killed the Chancellor, but his insistence on removing the bracelets, and thereby convincing people on the Ark that the 100’s mission was a failure, doomed those volunteers to death.
Some closing thoughts:
No prisoners lost this week—but we lost 320 people! That is not so Raven.
Bellamy seems to have himself quite a harem.
No toxic clouds or mutant animals this time.
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I've been known to dabble in happy thoughts from time to time, with mixed results. I've written a few novels and even created a successful line…