The 100 Review: Watch the Thrones (Season 3 Episode 4)
OH. MY. GOD. It will take at least a full week to recover from what was hands down the most thrilling episode of The 100 so far.
First of all, major props to the fight choreographer who designed the fight scene between Lexa and Roan in “Watch the Thrones.” It had the perfect amount of brutality, suspense, and surprise to keep viewers invested while still dying for it to just be over.
The death of Queen Nia might seem like a solution to a bunch of problems — Clarke being hunted for her power, Lexa’s coup, Roan’s banishment, the threat to Arkadia — but this is The 100. Nothing is hunky dory for long. Who’s to say Roan won’t be just as hard to manage as his mother? He’s already tried to kill both Lexa and Nia. Clarke might be safe for now, but she still refuses to return to her people, and Polis has proven to be a pretty dangerous place to hang out. Lexa’s coup appears to be resolved, but she just murdered the Queen of the Ice Nation and broke a pretty important rule of single combat dueling. That’s got to come with a few repercussions, right?
More importantly, how does the Nightsblood factor into all of this? Is it a product of the radiation from the bombs, or something more mystical like the Grounders believe? Whatever it is, I don’t imagine we’re quite done with it or the political coups it’s likely to create yet.
Basically, strap in. If this show keeps true to form, our problems are only beginning.
Speaking of problems, Pike seems determined to escalate every problem happening within Arkadia.
Weirdly though, I like that Pike’s rise to Chancellor has nothing to do with him being power hungry or manipulative. His desire to lead doesn’t come out of selfish ambition or power plays. He genuinely believes in his cause. Sure, he might be a warmongering alarmist, but I still can’t seem to dislike him because of how obviously sincere he is. If only he’d channel that sincerity into a plan that won’t get the Sky People wiped off the map.
His manipulation of Bellamy is the only strike we can really count against him. Using Bellamy’s grief and guilt to help him assemble a Grounder assassination team was pretty sneaky. For his part, Bellamy’s quick anti-grounder turnaround is definitely jarring, but ultimately not all that surprising. If you remember where Bellamy’s head was at in the first season and most of the second, he was about as anti-Grounder as you can get. The violence at Mount Weather (which he solely blames himself for) would likely have been more than enough to tip the scales back in Pike’s favor.
As much as we’d like Bellamy to see reason and give peace a chance, he says it himself in the intro: “Peace is a foreign concept here.”
The person I’m really worried for in the coming weeks is Lincoln. Attacks keep coming at him from all sides, and he’s just trying to weather the storm and create some peace in the center of it all. But a Grounder living in a camp that is so aggressively anti-Grounder can only end in tears. Exhibit A: Octavia and Bellamy’s heartbreaking scene from the Season 3 trailer. Something terrible happens to put them at odds.
Other Thoughts:
- Jasper’s downward spiral creates some AMAZING scenes, but it’s not really doing anything for the plot.
- Aiden would be the cutest Commander in the world. Just saying.
- Float you is the greatest insult of all time
- Where can I get a Grounder nightgown?
- Ontari seems like someone we should keep our eye on, yes?
- Does some of Pike’s blatant scapegoating rhetoric remind you of any current presidential candidates? Just me? Cool.
What did you think of this episode of The 100? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The 100 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Lindsay MacDonald
Lindsay is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, viewer, and internet addict. Her obsession with TV started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has been going strong ever since; current favorites include Scandal, The 100, The Walking Dead, and Arrow. She considers a perfect Friday night to be a joint-cuddle-session between an adorable puppy dog and her Netflix queue. Follow @lindsayjoane
One thought on “The 100 Review: Watch the Thrones (Season 3 Episode 4)”
Nice and concise review! I didn’t think it quite topped last week’s – it seemed more cohesive last week – but everything in Polis was glorious. Not just the Roan/Lexa fight, but Clarke’s continuous manipulative streak, the premature but shocking killing of Nia, and I agree re: Lincoln. I think he still fastidiously believes he can be the symbol or link between Skaikru and the Grounders, especially now his kill order’s been lifted–but now Donald Trump–er, I mean– Pike runs the Arkadia show, it’s gonna be hell.
Interesting spec re: the Nightbloods. Lexa says it came from the 1st commander…but who was that? How many commanders have there been? Titus has served four, it’s been 97(?) years since the apocalypse…I think there may be a bit of creative licence here to be honest, but it’s interesting indeed. Will we learn more on the 1st commander? Bonkers, but will it be Rebecca the programmer manipulating blood samples once her AI got out of control? Does explain why they seem to heal so quickly? And scientifically–anything to do with Haemoglobin, low oxygen binding=dark blood or something else entirely?
Nice condensed but detailed wrapup! thanks for sharing 🙂
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