The 100 Review: Die All, Die Merrily (Season 4 Episode 10)
The 100 gives us its version of Grounder “Hunger Games,” and it’s both more impressive and more devastating than we ever imagined.
On The 100 Season 4 Episode 10, “Die All, Die Merrily” we see Octavia rise, her relationship with Bellamy begins to heal, we say goodbye to some beloved characters, and Clarke makes us all want to scream.
OCTAVIA BLAKE, THE GIRL UNDER THE FLOOR
For almost all of Season 4, it has been nearly impossible to see where Octavia’s journey would lead her, but it all comes to a head on The 100 Season 4 Episode 10, “Die All, Die Merrily.” At the beginning of the season Octavia’s brief stint as a political assassin was incredibly interesting, but for the last 4-ish episodes, she’s been a little all over the place.
Octavia is a natural born warrior, but who she’s been since she came to the ground isn’t all that makes Octavia who she is. Before she was Skairipa, she was the girl under the floor, as Bellamy reminds her when they’re helping her prepare for the fight. This piece of advice is crucial to her survival once more, and it’s a considerable part of why she wins.
Octavia doesn’t win the conclave because she’s the most skilled warrior, it’s because she’s the smartest warrior. She uses her ability to hide in small spaces, her skills as a warrior, and help from her allies (both deliberate and unintentional) to outlast all of the other competitors.
Octavia: I wasn’t fighting for Skaikru today. I thought I was fighting for myself, but now I know that’s not true either. I was fighting for all of us.
Finally in this battle Octavia reaches a sort of peace with the demons she’s been battling for so long, bringing honor to Lincoln’s memory, as well as to Kane and Indra who have become parental figures to her over The 100’s 4 seasons.
BLAKE SIBLINGS
Since both Blake’s lost their way during Season 3, their relationship has been in shambles. When Lincoln died it created a chasm between Bellamy and Octavia that I wasn’t sure they’d ever be able to bridge. But it looks like The 100 writers just needed to break the two of them all the way down so that they could begin healing together.
Bellamy had to stop trying to force their relationship back into place and Octavia had to face and overcome her grief before she could forgive him or accept his love once more.
Roan: Before she dies I’ll tell her she’s lucky to have you as a brother.
Bellamy: I got a better idea, after she guts you and before you die, you tell her I was the lucky one.
The Blake siblings have been through so much, but their bond is unbreakable and at the end of the day they’re still the most important person in the world to each other. Octavia was only able to hear and believe Bellamy’s love for her after drowning out all of the darkness inside of her.
This turnaround is going to make next week’s episode of The 100 even more intense as Bellamy must fight to save her.
THE FALLEN
Ilian is the first named character to fall in the conclave and his death, though expected, cuts right to the heart, literally. His main purpose on The 100 Season 4 turned out to be acting as an emotional catalyst for Octavia.
Though I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive him for burning down Arkadia, at his heart he was a good person. The romance between he and Octavia may not have been necessary, but his role in helping her heal was crucial. Reshop Ilian kom Trishanakru.
Roan’s death is easily the hardest for me to accept, part of me even hopes he faked it. He was tactful and honest, truly born to be a great leader to his people. Even when we didn’t agree with him, he was always straightforward with his intentions. Long live the King, he will be deeply missed.
Roan: I know it’s hard for you to accept that it’s over, but it is over.
As the conclave’s only nightblood, Luna is the best warrior and the last to fall. Like Octavia, Luna has had her own demons to battle, unfortunately in the end Luna’s won. For so long she ran and tried to create a life of peace, but the second coming of primfiaya has robbed her of even that.
She came back to the belief that people are the darkness, that none of them are worth saving. It’s utterly heartbreaking to see her give up on humanity, and just as heartbreaking to see her life extinguished.
CLARKE’S BETRAYAL
Clarke Griffin has reached a new low on The 100 Season 4 Episode 10, “Die All, Die Merrily,” which is possibly the most upsetting thing about this entire episode. She doesn’t wait to hear the news of who won, she doesn’t respect the rules of the conclave.
Though Octavia wins and chooses to share the bunker evenly among the clans (the most honorable and just choice) Clarke doesn’t believe in her enough to trust the system or her judgement. Selfishly, she locks all the remaining clans out of the bunker and drags Bellamy in with her before the end result.
At this point, Clarke has become her own Aaron Burr; she’s the villain in her own story.
There is absolutely no heart in this decision. It also entirely undermines her previous statement to Roan about wanting humanity, as a whole, to survive. Her trust in Jaha is blatantly misplaced and I won’t be surprised if we learn he’s convinced her this was her only choice.
Clarke: We did what we had to do.
Time and again on The 100 Season 4, and throughout the series really, Clarke has been given opportunity to share the burden of leadership. From her mother, to Kane, to Bellamy, to Raven, and even Monty, she has had no shortage of morally good characters offering to help her.
And yet she thinks she must do everything alone. I truly don’t know how Clarke will come back from this choice, if she keeps heading down this path, we won’t be able to recognize her anymore.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Gaia leading the ceremonies is really amazing to watch, Tati Gabrielle does an amazing job.
- Raise your hand if you cried over both of Indra’s daughters being incredible and competent and wonderful in their respective arenas!!!!
- Raise your other hand if you cried every time someone mentioned Lincoln.
- Murder Fashion: literally where can I buy Luna and Octavia’s battle gear? Because good grief they look amazing.
- Master Strategist, Marcus Kane. Kane hasn’t really had much to do on The 100 Season 4, but this week he shines through with brilliant battle strategies and honest emotion for his would be kids. I love him.
- Echo cheats to help Azgeda and it gets her banished. This blow is absolutely devastating for her, but with Roan gone, the only one who knows it happened is Bellamy. Will he expose her banishment or fight for her survival along with Octavia, Kane, Indra, and Gaia?
- I’m really excited to see Bellamy and Abby, a pair often paralleled but rarely seen together, find out what Clarke’s done next week. With both Octavia and Kane locked on the outside, I doubt they’ll be okay with her betraying their loved ones and leaving them to die.
What did you think of this episode of The 100? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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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.