The 100 Review: Join or Die (Season 3 Episode 13)
You know what they say, the night is always darkest just before the dawn. Now I don’t know if there’s any scientific truth to that statement, but it certainly looks to be so on this episode of The 100.
When Kane and Pike finally reach Polis in “Join or Die,” it is a far cry from the flourishing city it was when Kane first laid eyes on it back in “Ye Who Enter Here.” The streets are filled with blood and kneeling City of Light zombies, while those who resisted have been crucified and made horrifying examples of.
The city isn’t the only thing that’s changed since Kane last saw it. Abby has fallen to ALIE and Jaha and we see the way the wicked AI has decided to attempt to twist the relationship between Abby and Kane to her advantage. Something I find really interesting about the scene where Abby is sent to interrogate Kane is that, she never makes eye-contact with the AI in her head.
Sure, she responds to her prompts, but she never actually looks at her. It makes me wonder how much of Abby is still in there.
Kane realizes she’s been chipped after things get a little too steamy between them. The Abby Griffin he knows, while very willing and ready to make out with him, wouldn’t pick “trapped in Polis and worried about Clarke” as the undertones for their first time.
We see ALIE tighten her hold on Abby as they give up questioning him and decide to crucify him into submission. While I understand that Kane would have to endure extreme duress, and Henry Ian Cusick does an incredible job of being tortured, seeing the nails dripping with his blood is another foray into goriness that I feel the show could do without.
The torture is pointless anyway as Kane only has one real weakness: Abby. The minute her life is threatened he surrenders and takes the chip. It’s a beautiful juxtaposition to the simmering tension between them in the flashbacks peppered throughout the episode.
Kane and Abby have gone from barely being able to look at each other, to being ready to die for each other in the space of only three seasons/six months in canon. This is the enemies to friends to lovers trope at its finest, folks.
Kane: Abby, this is madness!
Abby: This is unity.
Kane: Abby, please! Please, wake up!
In the quest for Luna it looks like the Adventure Squad is in for quite the roller coaster as they face a wild amount of ups and downs in the space of literally only a day. First they run into a roadblock, but then they find the village, but wait it’s abandoned! Then they figure out how to work the signal fire, but the Blake’s can’t even look at each other.
And then Luna’s people show up with “safe passage” which turns out to be some seriously powerful night night juice that knocks them out long enough to end up on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean with no recollection of the journey!
Luna has been around for less than five minutes and I already love her, which probably means she’s going to die. She left Polis and her conclave after swearing to never kill again. A grounder commander who abhors the idea of murder? Where do I cast my vote? Unfortunately, she isn’t interested in anything Clarke or the flame has to offer. We’ll have to tune in next week to see if Clarke can revamp her sales pitch.
Clarke: You don’t have to kill. To lead is your birthright, how you lead is your choice.
The Ark flashbacks bring an overwhelming sensation of nostalgia for Season 1, bringing us back to the two weeks leading up to the series pilot.
We get to see a different side of Pike and the return of several delinquents who won’t survive the next 6 months. Pike is a man who just wants to do the best for his people, at any cost. So if that means slaughtering grounders or beating up a teenager to teach a lesson about survival, he’ll do whatever it takes.
Pike: The key to surviving on the ground and on the Ark is to keep fighting at all costs, against all odds. The minute you give up, you’re dead.
He makes an incredibly compelling point. Let’s hope our heroes don’t give up hope as the war against ALIE approaches a fever pitch as we head into the final three episodes of the season!
Questions and other thoughts:
–Bellamy and Clarke have a very important discussion about forgiveness. Neither of them can be truly absolved of the things they’ve done, but Clarke understands Bellamy because she’s been where he’s at. She also has a lovely throwback line to something Kane’s mother said to him. We are always hardest on ourselves.
Clarke: Octavia will forgive you eventually, the question is will you forgive yourself?
–Jasper’s sense of humor is back! I love this smart ass so much. When did that happen? I don’t know, probably when he started hanging out with Abby, but anyway we must protect him now.
–The haunting version of Radioactive played over the scene where the delinquents are loaded into the dropship is nothing short of perfect. I love everything about these flashbacks.
–Indra is ready to kill Pike, but she’ll wait until after they’ve saved their people. Though I want Pike to survive the season, I love the way Indra prioritizes her to do list.
–Where do you guys think that oil rig is? Do Luna’s people have high speed boats? How much time has passed? Did they take a submarine? How are they going to get home?
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.
Samantha Coley
Samantha (she/her) is a social media specialist by day and a sci-fi junkie by night. As a freelance writer and podcaster, she also enjoys live-tweeting, blogging, good music, and better television. Her current favorite television shows include Star Trek (yes, all of them), Riverdale, and Stranger Things and there will always be a place in her heart for Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, and The West Wing.