The 100 Review: Eden (Season 5 Episode 1)

Guess who’s back and better than ever!

That’s right, The 100 Season 5 Episode 1, “Eden,” has finally arrived and boy does it deliver. After an, 11 month hiatus and a six-year time jump, we’ve been dying to know what happened to Clarke and all her friends while The 100 was away.

“Eden” is the opening of what looks to be a season-long love letter to fans of The 100 both new and old. Time jumps can be risky but The 100 appears to have used this one damn near flawlessly. The episode is only 43 minutes long, but so much happens it feels like we just watched a full-length movie.

Six years have passed for our favorite adventure squad, they’ve evolved, but at their hearts, they’re still the characters we fell in love with all those episodes ago. I for one am already in love with the people they’ve become while we weren’t looking.

NO GOOD GUYS. JUST NIGHTBLOODS.

For the first 20ish minutes of “Eden,” Clarke is completely and utterly alone. If you were wondering if Eliza Taylor could carry The 100 entirely on her own, the answer is yes and she could probably do it in her sleep.

We’ve always known Clarke to be quite resourceful but seeing her find the rover with nothing more than a good sense of direction and a makeshift map is just one of the examples of how impressive she can be when she’s tested.

Clarke’s initial plan to get inside the bunker is so pure and hopeful that my heart breaks for her as she tries so hard to get back inside to her mother.

Clarke: Up until that moment, I believed I’d live in the bunker with the others. With my mom. I can’t bear the thought of leaving her down there.

Clarke has always known how to use her head too, and as much as her heart yearns to reunite with Abby, she knows it’s no use on her own.

On “Eden,” not only is Clarke faced with the loneliness of being unable to reach anyone underground or in space, but she’s also confronted by the ghosts of her past. Both Lexa’s throne and Jasper’s goggles and suicide note are stark reminders that Clarke is no stranger to losing people she loves.

The 100 brilliantly uses Clarke’s radio broadcasts to the Ark as a way to have Clarke narrate her journey to the audience, and a way to keep her from going insane.

Faced with such profound solitude, it’s no wonder Clarke reaches her breaking point just a few scenes into “Eden.” Eliza Taylor’s acting as Clarke is brought right to the brink is downright bone-chilling. Seriously, give this girl all the awards already.

When it seems like all hope is lost, Clarke finds not only a home but also a companion.

Enter Madi, an absolute spitfire of a nightblood with a survival instinct as strong as Clarke’s. Which becomes all too evident when their first meeting ends up with Clarke on the losing side of a bear trap. But what mother/daughter relationship hasn’t had its rough patches.

Clarke: Last two people on Earth and one of them happens to be the child from hell.

After spending six years alone together, it’s easy to see how Clarke and Madi have become a family. I’ll say it, Mama Bear Clarke is my absolute favorite version of her we’ve ever seen. Clarke has always had that protective instinct, but now “her people” is just one little girl. And she’ll do everything in her power to keep her safe.

In the midst of all the action, The 100 does an amazing job of both showing and telling the audience all of the little ways these two have built a life together.

From the way Clarke parents Madi, to the stories she’s told her of her friends and family, to the things that Madi has taught Clarke in return, everything between them feels as natural as it does unbreakable.

But as we saw at the end of Season 4, there’s trouble on the horizon in their little paradise. Clarke’s clearly spent the last 6 years prepping Madi for any sort of danger that might come, and now it’s here.

Madi gets a throwback to Clarke’s favorite oxymoron when it’s her only choice to shoot one of the Eligius prisoners as they raid she and Clarke’s home. Though it’s certainly been a while since she’s had to use them, Clarke’s kill-or-be-killed instincts come rushing back with a vengeance.

The 100 always does a good job of showing how everyone has their reasons for fighting and killing. When it comes to Season 5 Clarke, knows exactly how to be Wanheda again if it means keeping Madi safe.

Madi: He tried to help me, I think he might be a good guy.

Clarke: There are no good guys.   

NO HEROES. JUST FAMILY.  

I love literally everything “Eden” shows us of Clarke and Madi for the majority of this episode, but in the space of fewer than 10 minutes, Spacekru fulfills so many of my hopes and headcanons that they easily earn a special place in my heart.

While nothing is ever easy on The 100 it appears that Spacekru hasn’t had the worst time over the time jump.

Monty: I think we can all agree that green is good.

Harper: Yes he is.

Spacekru is without a doubt a family now, with a variety of relationships of every kind both new and old. They have their own rules, they eat together as a family, they train together, and they bicker and they have family meeting style conversations.

Echo’s taught her new family how to fight, Raven’s got herself new tech assistants in Emori and Monty, Monty and Harper are still going strong, and Bellamy’s fallen into his natural role as everyone’s dad.

By mixing both new and old dynamics here and keeping just enough the same while changing various relationships makes this new found family feel as natural as that between Clarke and Madi.

The wild card up in space is Murphy, who appears to have isolated himself from the group and caused a good deal of friction in doing so, so much to the point where he’s on the chore list right next to dishes and latrines.

My heart breaks for my angry trash son finding himself veritably useless in space, but Bellamy makes sure to remind Murphy that they still care for him in the world’s most loving game of mercy.

Bellamy: You’re not worthless, Murphy. Say you’re not worthless and I’ll let you go.

Everyone’s been dying to know how the romantic situations on the Ark have changed over the past six years and The 100 doesn’t waste any time in letting us know on “Eden.”

Murphy’s isolating himself is definitely wrapped up in an ugly break up from Emori, and though she appears to hate him now it’s obvious there’s still an abundance of passion there.

Monty and Harper are as in love as they ever were if not more. In fact, these two seem downright happy where they are, especially Monty. He’s found peace and love back on the ring and the concept of losing it is unappetizing, to say the least. I can’t blame Monty for not wanting to risk losing the home he’s created, but I have a feeling he’s in the minority.

There is one person who shares his concerns though, Echo.

Similar to Monty, the former warrior has also found peace and love in the sky. In some of the very last moments of “Eden,” we learn that Bellamy and Echo are very much a couple now. I know this might not be the most popular relationship on The 100, I am more than 100% here for it.

Bob Morley and Tasya Teles have an incredible chemistry that I can’t take my eyes off of, seriously I think I’ve watched that scene 5 times while writing this review alone. This too feels organic as far as new relationships in Season 5. Bellamy didn’t immediately forgive Echo and fall into bed with her (in fact it took him 3 years), but they’ve created something real.

Bellamy: We’ve kept each other alive, all of us. We’re a family and nothing can change that.

I love every part of this space family, from their cute jokes to their new bonds, I am rooting for everyone on Spacekru this season.

NO. JUST NO.

The Eligius prisoners have descended upon Eden and even though we’ve only seen a few minutes of them, I’m shaking in my boots. These guys are terrifying.

A prison ship falling to Earth with the “last” of a chosen set of people sounds pretty familiar on The 100 but these guys seem a lot more hardcore than a bunch of teenage delinquents.

With only two non-violent offenders on board and a number of mass murderers that’s greater than one, these guys are downright terrifying.

Diyoza: Relax McCreary, you’re still my favorite mass murderer.

I can’t wait to see what’s next for Clarke, Spacekru, and Wonkru, especially with these new guys mixing everything up. If “Eden” is any indication, it’s going to be pretty hard to even blink during The 100 Season 5.  

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Octavia’s got herself her very own Thunderdome down in the bunker and it looks almost as incredible and intimidating as her new red war paint. Bring it on, Blodreina.
• Can we talk about the cute details of the sleeping quarters we get to see on the Ark? Monty and Harper’s is filled with versions of algae in their own little mini garden/kitchen, while Bellamy and Echo’s room looks to double as weapons storage and a mini gym. I love these background touches.
• Clarke’s love for Abby is so clear in the first half of “Eden” and her newfound role as a mother has only made me more excited for their reunion.
• Murphy and Raven are definitely brotp. But so are Raven and Emori, and Bellamy and Murphy, and Raven and Echo. You get it. I love this family.
• Emori’s love for spacewalks makes me so happy. That little grounder has taken to space like a fish to water.
• The return of Clarke’s art skills as a narrative device is one of my favorite little details about “Eden.” I cannot wait to see how the drawings of her friends and family, and the stories she’s told her inform how Madi views Clarke’s loved ones when they finally meet.
• The “girl under the floor” parallels are stronger than we ever anticipated between Madi and Octavia, which explains a little of why Madi’s become such a Skairipa fangirl. I am so ready to see how this relationship plays out.

What did you think of this episode of The 100? Share your thoughts in the comments below

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

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