The 100 Season Finale Review: Perverse Instantiation – Part Two (Season 3 Episode 16)

I can’t believe we’ve already made it to the end of Season 3! 

“Perverse Instantiation – Part Two” delivers a gut-wrenching, heart-pumping (literally) ending to the most ruthless season of The 100 yet.

An intense mix of action, information, and character driven moments, “Perverse Instantiation – Part Two” picks up moments after the end of part one, with Clarke bringing Abby out of the City of Light. The scene is heartbreakingly beautiful as Clarke is so happy to have her mother back, and Abby is overwhelmed with self-hate at the things she was forced to do.

Clarke forgives her immediately, and it’s clear that the Griffin women love each other more than anything in the world. Their love makes them stronger.

Love is what keeps Clarke going for this entire episode, both outside and inside the City of Light.  

Abby: May we meet again.

Clarke: We will.

Bellamy: We’ll keep you safe.

Clarke is quite literally surrounded by love. Abby and Bellamy protect her in different ways in Polis: Abby watching over her medically and keeping her alive, while Bellamy leads the fight to keep ALIE’s chipped soldiers at bay.

Meanwhile, within the City of Light, Clarke is protected by Lexa. Lexa’s return is glorious and it has everything I wanted from her final farewell. 

The incredible commander comes in swords blazing to protect her love and she does so beautifully. When Lexa leaves Clarke this time it isn’t because of some horrible stray bullet; now she goes out protecting the love of her life as she fights to save their people.

Clarke: I love you.

Lexa: I’ll always be with you.

The portion of the Adventure Squad stuck back at Arkadia takes on a backseat to the rest of the action in the episode, but Raven is crucial to saving their people. She bides her time watching Clarke move through the City of Light; knowing she only has one shot, Raven is determined not to waste it.

In a visually stunning move, she hacks a shortcut to the kill switch into ALIE’s code and communicates with Clarke by painting a Raven over it. I hope we get more of Clarke and Raven together in Season 4, because their relationship is so nuanced and understated and I need so much more of it.

Ultimately, love drives this finale home as Clarke choses a life full of pain, fighting, heartbreak, passion, and love, over ALIE’s false paradise. 

As Clarke and Lexa told each other multiple times throughout the series, life is about more than just surviving. If Clarke were to give into ALIE that’s all that they would be doing, surviving. She chooses for she and her people to live.

Clarke: You don’t ease pain, you overcome it.

Love is what will get these people through the pain they suffered throughout this season, and it’s what will give them the strength to keep fighting. In the aftermath of ALIE, we see sky people and grounders alike clinging to each other. Murphy is reunited with Emori, Bryan and Miller are both miraculously still alive, and the Blakes share a look of understanding.

Through some very telling looks, Clarke sees how much Kane means to Abby and urges her to go to him. 

Clarke knows that she’s Abby’s priority, but she also sees that Kane is the one who needs Abby’s affection most in this moment. She also knows how fleeting love can be, which makes it all the more beautiful as she encourages Abby to hang onto it.

Kane is just as wracked with guilt as Abby was upon leaving the City of Light and becoming fully aware of the things ALIE made him do. So when she falls to her knees in front of him she doesn’t have to say a word and he holds her close as he cries into her shoulder.

I’m so grateful to see Kane expressing his emotions and being open with Abby. Abby’s strength comes from a place of vulnerability and I think she’ll be able to give that to him too as they heal together, both physically and emotionally.

I hope Season 4 takes the best things from this finale and moves the story forward with them. These characters finding love, strength, and hope within each other is going to be vital to their continued fight for survival as they face next season’s catastrophes.

Questions and Other Thoughts:

• Octavia’s plot line this episode, as well as the season in general, felt disjointed. She’s fueled by anger and vengeance and she acts upon impulse. Her motivations for taking Pike’s life at the end of the fight are understandable, but the way it was used as the final scene felt strange and slightly rushed. It just feels like an odd note to have as the last thing we see this year.
• Indra is confirmed to be alive, thank goodness.
• Monty and Jasper get their real reunion and it’s infinitely better than ALIE’s falsified one.
• How amazing is it to see Abby’s doctor skills in their full glory? When she cracks open Ontari’s chest to massage her heart and keep her blood pumping into Clarke I actually cheered. I also need Murphy and Abby to team up all of the time in Season 4, because their back and forth in this episode is fantastic.
• ALIE says the world is dying (again). Over a dozen nuclear power plants around the world are melting down and Clarke’s people have approximately 6 months before 96% of the world is uninhabitable. How do you think our heroes will take on this challenge? Will they go back to space? Will they go underground? Or will they figure out a way to literally save the world?
• They took the flame out of Clarke, but they still have it. Do you think Becca will be able to help them solve the radiation problem?

What did you love about The 100’s Season 3 finale? What did you hate about it? What are you looking forward to most in Season 4? 

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The 100 will return midseason on The CW.

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