The 100 Review: Wanheda Part 1 (Season 3 Episode 1)

After the longest hiatus known to man, it’s finally time to start discussing a new episode of The 100.

There’s a reason this review gets five stars, and it’s because even after so much time away, The 100 still manages to keep all of our favorite characters exciting, evolving, and absolutely the best part of the week. If you don’t believe me, just check out the social media frenzy that took the Internet by storm last night. Trending #1 Worldwide on Twitter doesn’t just happen for everyone.

Let’s start with the kissing stuff, so we can move on to the cool stuff. Bellamy has an adorable new girlfriend who pilfers books from him from Mount Weather, and Clarke has a sexy new friend who at least tried to protect her from the bounty hunters. Bellarke shippers must be going nuts.

Meanwhile, Jasper’s grief over Maya is driving him looney toons, and Lincoln and Octavia’s relationship might not survive their conflicting opinions over who and what they should be in this world.

Out of all of it, Lincoln and Octavia’s romantic storyline is the most compelling so far. Their complete role reversal over the past season has been amazing to watch. With a kill order out on him, Lincoln is now the sheltered, cooped up stranger who must be protected. He’s desperately trying to integrate into the ways of life of a culture that is the opposite of everything he knows. Octavia, meanwhile, has taken on the fierce warrior persona and the gruff nature we used to best know her boyfriend for. As Lincoln becomes more tame, she becomes more feral.

What’s most interesting about their dynamic is that Octavia seems to be pulling away from the Sky People, while Lincoln pushes for acceptance and inclusion.

Octavia: They’re using you. Look at that nice Grounder in his uniform. They think it proves we can live together.
Lincoln: It does.
Octavia: What if I don’t want to live together?

The search for Farm Station is on after Bellamy’s search party gets a signal from their distress beacon, and with it we get an interesting new bit of information: Miller’s boyfriend lives on Farm Station. The way this show handles sexuality — and the totally nonchalant way everyone deals with it — is possibly my favorite part of the show. You like to kiss boys? Cool, but we’re literally facing life or death stakes every day, so forgive me for not turning this into a moral quandary.

Indra’s assistance in searching for the missing Ark members is a surprising development. After her tempestuous relationship with the Sky People last season, she would be my last guess for Ark-friendly Grounders. If the Ice Nation is bad enough to make Indra start sporting ‘the enemy of my enemy’ kind of talk, then this season is going to be incredibly interesting.

On the other side of the seemingly endless forest, Clarke’s red hair is not the only thing different about her. If we’re talking feral, this girl takes the cake.

Over the three month time jump, Clarke has not only learned Trigedasleng, she’s learned how to take down a panther (sidebar: what on earth is a panther doing in the D.C area?) and pass herself off as a Grounder. Living in disguise is probably a good idea, when the entire native culture considers you a powerful omen of death.

Bellamy: The Ice Nation guys we killed asked about Wanheda. They’re looking for Clarke. Why?
Indra: My people believe that when you kill someone, you get their power. Kill Wanheda, and you command death.

Enter Roan. It’s impossible to tell at this point whether Roan is a bad guy, a bad guy with a heart of gold, or a literal monster of a human being, but chances are it’s one of the three. Now that he’s got Clarke as his captive, we’re sure to find out soon enough.

Overall, this was the perfect episode for The 100 to return on. Gritty, action-packed, and right on track for an awesome Season 3.

Other Thoughts:

• A woman named Becca created the artificial intelligence known  as A.L.I.E, and I feel like that is going to be important later
• Shawn Mendes totally killed it, more musical interludes please!
• Did the show just subtly tell us that Wick will no longer be around? Bummer.
• Violent Femmes = A++ road trip music
• No sign of Lexa yet. Hmmm…
• This gif. Because I can.

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The 100 airs Thursdays on The CW at 9/8c.