The 100 Review: Shifting Sands (Season 5 Episode 5)
The 100 Season 5 Episode 5 “Shifting Sands” takes us on a gut-churning adventure through the show’s new world as Octavia marches her people toward Eden, and Diyoza and the Eligius prisoners make themselves at home.
Directed by Omar Madha and written by Nick Bragg, “Shifting Sands” continues The 100‘s Season 5 streak of excellent television. The episode is both emotional, and intense, and filled with nostalgic elements, as well as things we’ve never before seen on The 100.
In the darkness of The 100, the show still manages to center around themes of hope and love, making it one of the best shows of its genre. “Shifting Sands” in particular looks at the different ways that love exists even at the end of the world.
LOVE IS WEAKNESS
On “Pandora’s Box” Bellamy and Clarke got a taste of just how much Octavia has changed during her six-year rule as Blodreina in the bunker, but on “Shifting Sands” it becomes frighteningly clear just how much of a cult she’s created. And how much it’s gone to her head.
Both Clarke and Bellamy had a lot fewer people to take care of during their six years apart, but they’ve each learned to perfect the heart/head balance in their leadership roles.
Clarke: So what does your head say about two armies fighting a war in the only green place on Earth?
Bellamy: Same as yours.
Octavia, on the other hand, has been leading entirely with her head, cutting out her heart almost entirely — or at least building a wall around it.
Blodreina is someone that neither Clarke nor Bellamy recognizes.
Clarke and Bellamy’s “people” have become the small families that each of them created over the time jump. Octavia’s rise as Blodreina and her responsibility for Wonkru has made her priorities wildly differ from Clarke and Bellamy’s.
Clarke and Bellamy just want what’s best for Madi and Spacekru respectively. Blodreina wants to continue her rule, and claim the valley for her people, no matter the cost.
Blodreina is the leader of a cult devoted to her beyond all rhyme or reason. Blodreina uses human life as a resource rather than something to be protected. Blodreina’s one and only priority is Wonkru.
Confirming some worrisome theories, Indra reveals that this is part of Gaia’s teachings. Gaia, a former flamekeeper, followed the same religion as Titus, who tried to force the same philosophies on Lexa when she was heda.
Octavia: Love is weakness…Love no one and no one can hurt you.
Indra: I love you, does that make me weak?
One of the most consistent themes of The 100 is that love can be your biggest weakness, but also your biggest strength. Believing that it is strictly one or the other — and using that as a philosophy for how to rule — is inherently flawed.
“Shifting Sands” shows us just how over-the-brink Octavia has gone. She uses the lives of Wonkru as she pleases, and shows very little remorse for the loss of not one but twelve of her own people. People who give up their own lives shielding her from a sandstorm because their devotion to her is that strong.
Wonkru’s blind devotion to Octavia is at it’s most frightening as her people pull guns on Bellamy for trying to help her.
Indra is currently the ultimate MVP of Wonkru’s entire story. Previously, on The 100 Season 5 Episode 4″Pandora’s Box,” she played both sides to keep Kane alive even though he openly defied Octavia.
On “Shifting Sands” Indra takes a similar role by presenting herself as an ally to Clarke and Bellamy, while also beginning to question Octavia’s beliefs to her face. I believe that Indra’s position as both Octavia’s second and a strong maternal figure is going to be crucial to saving Octavia’s soul.
It’s clear that there is still a soul left inside Octavia to be saved, as every moment that she is reminded that love exists is a crack in the wall she’s built up around her heart.
Kara seems far more devoted than Indra to Octavia’s crusade as Blodreina. But when Octavia declares that they’ll be leaving behind the bodies of their own people, Kara also seems to question if Octavia’s gone too far.
I’m so interested in how Octavia’s arc is going to play out over The 100 Season 5 as she wages war on her enemies as well as within herself.
LOVE IS COMPLICATED
Back in Eden, Diyoza struggles with her own army and deduces the best ways to use her newly acquired doctor (and her husband).
Unlike Octavia and Wonkru, Diyoza’s people have a false sense of security as they make themselves at home in Eden. Further departing from Octavia’s fanatical army, Diyoza’s people are unorganized criminals who just want to relax for the first time in over 100 years.
Not only does Diyoza have to deal with Wonkru marching ever nearer to take the valley, but something is also killing the Eligius prisoners from within. Which is why they were willing to go to war over Abby Griffin.
Diyoza: We don’t just need a doctor, we need a good doctor. Congratulations you get to stay. Keep being useful and so does he.
Even in spite of her addiction, Abby remains the best doctor this side of the apocalypse. I’m thrilled by the fact that Abby’s getting such a complex and vital storyline on The 100 Season 5.
Abby quickly diagnoses what’s happening to the Eligius prisoners, impressing Diyoza and further proving her usefulness. Abby and Diyoza know exactly how to deal with each other, making this dynamic extremely interesting.
They each have something the other person needs or wants; Diyoza needs Abby’s skills as a doctor, and Abby needs Diyoza for both her continued painkiller supply, as well as to ensure Kane’s safety from Octavia.
On “Shifting Sands” we dive further into Abby’s addiction and see how it’s affected her relationship with Kane.
Every scene that Paige Turco and Henry Ian Cusick share is absolutely electric with passion, tension, and a deep, deep love for one another. Kane and Abby have an unbreakable bond, and their story deals with all of the messy and complicated parts of what happens when love and commitment are tested.
“Shifting Sands” shows us Abby at two wildly different places on the spectrum of addiction. First, we see an Abby who is hours into withdrawal, an Abby who is far enough out of the haze of her medication to recognize she has a problem.
Kane: I can take care of you, I know what to do. It’s okay.
Abby: It’s not okay, no. I almost got you killed in the arena, you had to kill someone because of me.
This interaction gives me hope for both Abby and the future of her relationship with Kane. It shows us that when her head is clear, she knows that her addiction is a problem.
If Abby can be kept away from the painkillers long enough, if she can go through the process of detox and recovery, she can find her way back to who she used to be.
But that Abby is immediately swallowed up again by her addiction when Diyoza gives her back her pills. She relies on them to function. When presented with the option to continue using, Abby takes it.
It’s the addiction talking when Abby refuses to give up the pills again when Kane asks. Though this is a source of conflict in their relationship, the love between them is still so very present.
Abby: If anything happens to him, I won’t help you.
Diyoza and McCreary take on a divide and conquer approach to Kane and Abby’s relationship in the final moments of “Shifting Sands.” Diyoza is trying to determine Kane’s usefulness and testing the bond between the two of them to see how she might use their relationship against them.
Diyoza: The pill thing is between you and your wife. As long as she can do her job, we don’t have a problem.
Kane: Abby’s not my wife.
Kane denying a marriage vow gives Diyoza an opening to test the bond between them, to determine if what they share is breakable and how she can use it to her advantage. Wedded or not, if the relationship between Kane and Abby can withstand her addiction, it can withstand whatever Diyoza has up her sleeve.
Meanwhile, McCreary reveals to Abby that he’s one of the 13 members of Eligius suffering from pulmonary tumefaction. He knows that Kane is Abby’s other weakness, but McCreary determined to get her to save his life.
This dynamic promises to be fascinating and I for one cannot wait to see how this new formation of #TeamAdults works together and against each other throughout the rest of The 100 Season 5.
LOVE IS FAMILY
Every scene between any two members of Spacekru confirms how much those seven people have become a family.
Murphy and Raven making sure each other are okay during their torture, Echo and the rest of the Kru watching the camp and scooping up Murphy the moment he’s free, and Emori being unable to leave him behind at the border, are all perfect examples of how well this group works as a team and how much they care for each other.
This storyline also gives us what we’ve been asking for since we met Shaw. Having always shown more heart than the rest of Eligius, Shaw meets Raven Reyes and immediately makes himself an ally of Spacekru.
Raven proves once again that she’s a hero in pulling a trademark The 100 move by finding a third option between two impossible choices.
Raven: Trust me Murphy, you’re gonna like my plan more.
This team is as much a family as Clarke and Madi are, and as Clarke said in the Season 5 trailer, family looks out for each other.
As The 100 Season 5 continues, these bonds will likely be tested as well. With many of our favorite characters having a much more concentrated concept of who “their people” are it will be fascinating to see how they fight for those they care about in this season’s war.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- It looks like Clarke doesn’t have any issues with Bellamy and Echo’s relationship, but the same might not be true for Octavia.
- Diyoza and McCreary totally boned, but there’s no lost love there. I can’t wait to see how this dynamic plays out.
- So that stomach thing was definitely the Praimfaya’d version of the lampreys from Season 3 right? Jenkies.
- Have I recovered from Diyoza calling Abby Kane’s wife? No. Will I ever? Probably not. Let them be married, please and thank you.
- Octavia’s cult is nuts, but it might be starting to crumble. How do you undo six years of blind devotion?
- Kane taking his first tequila shot and choking on it is highly relatable.
- I love that Clarke has continued to hone the medical skills Abby taught her.
- It’s interesting to see how none of the people from Skaikru turned Wonkru listen to Clarke anymore.
- Seeing Jackson refuse to tell Clarke about Abby’s addiction leaves that thread to be picked up further in the story. I wonder how Clarke will handle that information when she finally learns the truth.
- Mackson are still together! I love these pure boyfriends!
- Guys where’s Niylah? I’m starting to worry.
What did you think of this episode of The 100? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
The 100 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
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.
8 comments
Definately disagree that Clarke is “OK” with Bellamy & Echo. The scene was totally out of focus for their reunion, instead clealry focusing on Clarkes reaction to them. That look was not “has no problem” with it, just the opposite.
To me, Clarke only looked surprised and perhaps a bit worried for Bellamy given the conversation she just witnessed between him and Octavia. The scene focuses MUCH more on Octavia’s reaction to the relationship between Bellamy and Echo than Clarke’s reaction. The shot of Clarke is merely one of exposition to me, it’s a shot to see that she’s now caught up to where the audience has been read in on this relationship. Clarke almost immediately goes back to smiling at Madi because Madi is her priority. All of the emotional impact of those reaction shots rests on Octavia, her menacing glare, the shift in the music, the zoom in on her face, Bellamy and Echo realizing they’re being watched, and closing on Octavia’s face. If that scene was about any one person more than the others, it was about Octavia.
I agree that Octavia is the one who is going to openly respond to it but showing Clarke and her reaction, I think, is more important that just “she is caught up”. The deliberate parallel to when she saw Raven/Finn in S1, down to how they stood, is not by accident imo.
Thanks for reading!
I’m struggling a bit with Abby’s addiction story – my problem? Where the heck are the pills coming from? There isn’t a drugstore or pharmaceutical company near by, so how can she honestly have this many pills over 6 years of time? But, with that said, the delightful and wonderfully talented Paige Turco is rocking the story line. I believe Abby recognizes she has a problem, but she still does not fully believe she deserves to live or to be happy with Marcus. Although, I do think getting out of the bunker has helped her, in addition to knowing that Clarke is alive.
But now, Marcus’ life is again on the line. Abby desperately needs to be successful here to save Marcus. She believes the only way to do this is to take the pills. I do think Marcus will help her see that she doesn’t need them. He will help her find her humanity, her hope.
Much has been said about the various groups protecting each other – Octavia and her followers, Clarke of Maddi, Bellamy and his group…..but I also think we have Marcus and Abby. They will absolutely take care of each other, but within that, they will work to take care of the rest of their people.
I believe that is what they are doing here.
Try as they may, the criminals of Diyosa and McCreary will not be able to break them.
I’m hoping Dyosa planted a seed in Marcus’ mind……propose to Abby. To me, they are already married in every sense of the word, now, we need to make it official.
And is it too much to ask for them to not be interrupted at least once? Marcus and Abby need some them time.
I think in 5×02 Kara mentioned there were medicinal crops in the farm in the bunker so that’s probably how she’s been able to continue taking the pills for so long! The way that Marcus says he knows how to take care of her in withdrawal also indicates to me that she’s gone through it multiple times so she’s probably struggled with the addiction on and off for the whole six years and her stealing them and getting caught this most recent time is her current relapse.
I totally agree about them being a unit! Their love is so strong. Since they’ve done the interrupted kiss thing twice now I’m thinking that we’re leading up to a big kiss at some point! Maybe during an argument or a battle scene? I’d also love to see them get married, I know it’s not super practical for the show but wow I’d love it so much!
Thanks for reading!
I was thrilled to see the hero/unhero/hero again thread for Murphy. Can’t wait to find out the reason behind his and Emori’s breakup. It can’t be just that he was lazy about furthering himself with learning and work during the sky hiatus.
Madi is a great character, giving us clues to Clarke’s true feelings, revealed during the years Clarke was able to let her guard down a little and enjoy some Eden – plus she’s sassy. I loved all the emotion in this episode. Now that we know our players as well as we do (or we think we do) it will be fun to see if Wonkru shifts to Skaikru side or the opposite happens. Love O but she goes to the dark side so easily. Echo gives her one more reason to turn on her brother, again. If she does anything to hurt Bellamy, I think my love affair with her will be over 🙂
Also, am I the only one who occasionally wants to punch Abby in the throat? Just asking.
I think Murphy sulking and letting his ugliest parts come out on the ring is a totally valid reason for he and Emori to have broken up. But it does look like they’re setting the two of them up to fall back in love with each other. I love all the little ways spacekru has evolved over the time jump, they’re all a family and it looks like they’ve all become better versions of themselves!
I understand Octavia not approving of Bellamy and Echo’s relationship, but I don’t think that its a good enough reason for her to hurt him or turn fully against him. It feels like just a point of friction in their relationship to me. I’m hoping next episode we’ll get to see more of Echo’s story this season outside being Bellamy’s lover.
Also, I’m not sure why you felt the need to ask that last question especially after reading my review, wherein I dedicated a whole section to Abby and the importance of her storyline this season. If you’re looking for anti-Abby content, this isn’t the place pal.
Thanks for reading!
Comments are closed.