The 100 Review: Sic Semper Tyrannis (Season 5 Episode 9)

The phrase “game changer” has been tossed around a few times when discussing The 100, but no other episode fits that mantle more than “Sic Semper Tyrannis.”

Writer Miranda Kwok makes this single hour of television feel both twice as long and still as if it goes by all too quickly as she fills the episode with heart-pounding twists, choices, betrayals, and reveals. It almost feels as if The 100 Season 5 Episode 9, “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” is two complete episodes within one.

THE HEAD OR THE HEART.

Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship is one of the pillars of The 100, who they are as individuals, leaders, and partners is a driving force of the show. But part of what makes the two of them so fascinating is the flaws and complexities within each of them that they then bring to that relationship.

“Sic Semper Tyrannis” highlights those differences in who Bellamy and Clarke are as individuals, and how that leads to clashes in their leadership choices.

Separately, Clarke and Bellamy are both fairly decent leaders, they each make understandable mistakes, but they both almost always have the best intentions and a desire to do good. Together, when they are on the same page, when they communicate clearly, Clarke and Bellamy can move mountains (literally, just re-watch Season 2).

But the problem is, Clarke and Bellamy often have a lot of trouble actually listening to each other.

This failure to communicate isn’t new, in fact, it’s been a major point of conflict in almost every season of The 100. Both Bellamy and Clarke are often so consumed with the belief that their way is the only way, that they are unable to hear anything the other has to say in opposition.

One of the best things about The 100 is that rarely is anyone ever completely right or completely wrong

Bellamy: Six years ago you tried to force the flame on Luna, you were willing to put it in your own head to prevent a war over this bunker. How is this any different?

Clarke: Madi’s a child, that’s how!

Bellamy has a point, in the past, Clarke probably would have done the same thing. And maybe, if it were anyone but Madi, she’d agree with him now.

But a mother’s love for her child exceeds all rationale, as Clarke knows both from witnessing the lengths Abby went to for her, and now knowing she’d do the same for Madi.

Clarke’s cries for Bellamy to let her go and not to harm Madi, are a direct and heart-wrenchingly eery callback to Bellamy in the same position when Clarke shut the bunker door with Octavia on the other side.

Bellamy and Clarke’s friendship is akin to Murphy and Emori’s romantic relationship, in that it’s only ever existed in a time of war. These two have never gotten to know each other outside of a time when they weren’t fighting for their lives and it shows.

“There has to be another way” is one of the most repeated motifs of The 100 and usually Clarke is one of the best people for finding that other option. Bellamy’s refusal to work with her leaves them both without the outcome they wanted, an end to the war and safety for the people they love.

Deep down, Bellamy and Clarke do have the ability to understand each other because they often want similar things, which is perhaps why in the past forgiveness has come relatively easy for them. But this is a betrayal that is probably going to take a bit longer to heal than their past transgressions.

The love of family has always been a cornerstone of The 100, but Season 5 has used it to anchor the show in a way that makes every choice hit home more than ever before. On “Sic Semper Tyrannis” Bellamy chose his family over Clarke’s and Clarke chose her family over Bellamy.

Bellamy: I’m sorry Clarke. Echo, Raven, Murphy, and Emori are my family. This is happening.

Who do you become in order to survive is a compelling question that The 100 has asked over and over. But the question driving Season 5 is who do you become in order to protect the people you love, and I for one am captivated by every minute of it.

FAITH OR STRATEGY

“Sic Semper Tyrannis” gives us some of the best Indra content in the history of The 100. This is the kind of material I want to see Adina Porter tackle every week; when you give her the good stuff she takes it up ten thousand notches to pure and utter perfection.

Indra: Listen to me, I trained Octavia as my second and I love her as I love my own child. I advised her, I lead her army with pride. It was her desire that if she should fall, I step forward to lead you.

This speech to the remaining leaders of Wonkru and its army is so awe-inspiring that it makes Miller’s protest against Indra’s power that much more frustrating. Indra would make a fantastic leader and I want to see her get that opportunity. With only some fully committed to Blodreina and her cause, and many still loyal to their grounder clans before the bunker, Wonkru is a powder keg waiting to explode.

While it’s apparent that much of Gaia and Indra’s relationship mended over the six-year time jump, their major sticking point continues to be the role of a warrior vs the role of a priest.

Indra: I didn’t mean to interrupt your prayers, as it turns out I’m here to answer them.

Gaia: You don’t come to me with faith, this is desperation.

For once though, their goals align. Indra and Gaia both want the same thing even if they want it for different reasons. I love seeing these two work together because even if they don’t completely understand each other, they still have a profound amount of respect between them.

Indra: You are as responsible for what Octavia became as I am. Blodreina was a leader we needed then, we need a true commander now.

Together they created Blodreina and what she became. I really hope we’ll get to see more of this relationship as well as each of their relationships with Octavia in spite of them both being thrown into the ring to fight to the death by the end of “Sic Semper Tyrannis.”

BLODREINA OR HEDA

Madi is aware of the flame and what it does. Our very first introduction to her as a character is to see her fighting off Clarke after she assumes she’s a flamekeeper, there to take her away and force her into a conclave.

Indra makes a good point, in that throughout the show’s history, commanders have always been far younger than one would expect of a leader with that much power.

Indra: She’s the same age Lexa was when she ascended.

In the context of grounder society, it’s perfectly normal for Madi to take the flame and become the next Heda. But in our reality, and to anyone not acclimated to the ways of the grounders and Wonkru, she’s still just a kid. Even when Lexa was Heda, Clarke had legitimate concerns over all of her successors being under 15.

Madi being a kid who just wants to keep her mom safe makes her entirely susceptible to Bellamy’s and Gaia’s influence as they insist that this is the only way for them to save Clarke.

It’s equally daunting and dubious as Madi consents to the ascension and then doesn’t wake up shortly after the process is complete. But when she does finally awaken, Lola Flanery gives such a solid and confident performance that I question anyone who isn’t moved to goosebumps over Heda Madi kom Griffin kru.

Madi: You believed in her, now believe in me.

This is an incredible arc for Madi to take on and I can’t wait to see where she goes with it. Since the mythology of the flame was revealed on The 100 Season 3, I’ve been dying to know more about how the technology works as well as the past commanders.

This gives Madi’s role even more weight than it already carried and allows her to open up the show in fascinating, world building ways.

We’ve all been anticipating a major throw down between Clarke and Octavia, but on “Sic Semper Tyrannis” they end up on the same side. Neither of them wants Madi to ascend, and both of them feel betrayed by Bellamy. That betrayal and their shared desire for Madi not to ascend leads them to work together.

Octavia: I’m surprised, the Clarke I knew would’ve thought this through. You kill me, my people kill you, Madi still ascends, they come after her. It’s lose-lose. Or we both could win.

Octavia’s relationships with virtually everyone around her may be irreparably damaged, but the fact that she shows mercy for Clarke and strategically gets Madi out of the way without killing her shows that she may not be entirely gone. Octavia only shows her humanity when it works in her favor.

Who Octavia has become is a culmination of everything that she’s ever been through, all of the tragedy she’s faced and the burdens she’s had to carry. In many ways, she and Clarke are two sides of the same coin, their positions during the time jump shaping which paths each of them would go down.

Octavia: I’m ashamed of you.

Indra: And I’m afraid of you.

Marie Avgeropoulos is an absolute powerhouse on “Sic Semper Tyrannis” as she emerges from her the coma she was put in by her brother, only to wake to further betrayal from her closest confidant. Octavia shows stunning moments of vulnerability through the bloodstained mask she wears to protect herself and lead her people.

During this moment with Indra, we get more teases to “The Dark Year” and the toll that it took on Octavia as well as the rest of Wonkru.

While we still have to wait two more weeks for that episode, these glimpses into what Octavia must have been forced to do during “The Dark Year” both garner sympathy for her carrying the burden of those decisions and terror over what those decisions were.

With Bellamy, Indra, and Gaia all committing treason while she was unconscious, due to the severity of her own rule, Octavia has no choice but to put them in the ring if she wants to maintain her power and control of her people.

After throwing Kane into the ring at the start of the season, it’s not really a surprise that Octavia would do so with the rest of her family. Kane’s insistence that there is a better way and Octavia’s refusal to listen lead her straight to this point.

But as the doors close during the final moments of “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” Octavia’s facade begins to crumble.

The music swells to a fever pitch showing Octavia’s maniacal refusal to back down and her ability to inspire the crowd. It softens the minute the doors shut and the mask falls as tears begin to roll down Octavia’s cheeks as the true weight of what she’s done threatens to crush her entirely.

MURPHY’S MASTERPIECE

John Murphy is an enigma buried in a garbage can. He knows how to read people, he knows how to get what he wants, and he knows how to survive. On “Sic Semper Tyrannis” Murphy orchestrates the entire civil war amongst the Eligius prisoners, using things he observes to push McCreary’s people into fighting Diyoza’s.

He and Echo play off of each other really interestingly in this episode. Murphy has always fought for himself and Echo has always fought for an army, but ultimately the tactics are the same. Murphy takes on Echo’s straightforwardness and uses Raven’s intel to get what they all want: weaken the enemy so they can escape and get the rest of their family back.

Echo: What’s he doing?

Emori: Being John Murphy.

Murphy isn’t really the type to ask questions or think about consequences, he just acts. This isn’t the first time that strategy has come back to bite him, but it is the first time he’s really cared about other people being bitten as a result.

Of all of the characters we knew before the time jump, Murphy might be the one that changed the least while we weren’t looking. But coming back to Earth is his turning point. This is a Murphy that’s willing to grow beyond the cockroach and do what’s right beyond just himself or Emori.

He slices into the Eligius people like a scalpel, perfectly tearing open all their internal wounds with no way to point the finger back at himself or Spacekru when it all goes up in flames.

But when Kane storms back into the village looking for Abby and revealing a plan for peace, Murphy is the only one that sticks around to fight for it.

Murphy: I’m going with Kane.

Emori: John, not again.

Murphy: It’s Abby, I have to.

Abby is the only authority figure that Murphy’s ever respected and her belief in him to do the right thing is obviously something that he took to heart. Murphy’s definition of family has grown the most over the entire series. His soft spot for Abby combined with Emori’s honesty with him over who he is when there’s no war push him to evolve for the better.

I love that Murphy has become a person who’s willing to fix his mistakes, to own that they were mistakes and take action to make it right. I can’t wait to see how he and Kane (a duo I never knew how much I needed) team up with Diyoza to get Abby back and fight for peace.

IT’S A GIRL, BY THE WAY.

One of my new favorite trends in science fiction is the willingness to write real-life pregnancies into the show’s plot instead of writing around them. All too often when an actress gets pregnant shows will resort to having her wear oversized coats and stand awkwardly behind random objects.

With Wynonna Earp last year and now The 100 and Diyoza, sci-fi is proving that you can still be 100% badass while carrying a baby.

Diyoza gets to show off her skills as both a diplomat and a Navy SEAL on “Sic Semper Tyrannis” equally impressive in either role.

Echo: She’s telling them about the cure, diffusing a bomb with the truth. I gotta say, she’s good.

Her desire for peace and her adaptability to make sure they get there make her an admirable leader. Her choice to let McCreary and his people slowly die until only those loyal to her remain has echoes of Kane suggesting that letting half of them die wouldn’t be such a bad thing when he asked her to stop enabling Abby’s addiction.

Vinson: Killing someone and letting them die are not the same thing.

Spacekru’s interference means she doesn’t get the chance to see that plan through, however, leading her to a direct showdown with McCreary. Their relationship is a fascinating one, there’s no love between these two and very little respect. They’re equally formidable leaders with completely opposing views of how to lead.

It drives McCreary insane that Diyoza is always two steps ahead of him, and it’s by sheer brutality alone that he overtakes the camp. But not before Diyoza gets away and reveals that she’s pregnant with his child.

This fight scene is one of the coolest The 100 has ever done. Does McCreary actually care about their child or is he just shocked enough by the news to give Diyoza an opening to escape his chokehold and leave him a nasty neck scar to match her own?

I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN WITH HER HELP. WE CAN ALL SURVIVE.

This entire civil war comes down to Abby Griffin, who not for the first time, holds the survival of humanity in her hands. Abby is crucial to the survival of the Eligius miners so when the war breaks out getting to her is priority number one.

The Abby on “Sic Semper Tyrannis” is the brilliant badass that I’ve always loved. She’s capable, she knows her worth, and she’s ready to fight if she has to.

When Diyoza runs out of bullets Abby jumps in front of her without a second thought. She knows they can’t kill her and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect Diyoza and the baby.

Abby: It’s okay. If I die the cure dies with me.

McCreary now has her captive, but something tells me he’s severely underestimated the stubbornness of yet another Griffin.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Vinson has become Schrodinger’s cannibal. I love that he’s basically Abby’s pet criminal now, but what happens when the monster comes out?
• As happy as I am for to see Raven finally get some love from a good guy, this romance all feels a little fast for me. I want to be more into it because I love both of them, but for now it kind of feels like a gimmick.
• I love love love Niylah and Clarke working together.
• I get that Miller is a fanatic and all, but also can he like chill for a sec?
• WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DURING THE DARK YEAR??? What do you think? Tell me in the comments!
• Murphy started “a fire” by kicking off the riots, and Kane walked right through it looking for Abby. I love one (1) man who sticks to his word. Guys that Kabby reunion is going to be off the charts full of emotion.
• Echo trying to find the balance between the skills of the person she used to be and the priorities of the person she is now is fascinating to watch.
• What’s McCreary going to do to Abby to get her to comply? And how hard will she fight against him?
• Have I told you guys how much I love Mama Bear Clarke? Because I really love Mama Bear Clarke.

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 8/7c on The CW.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Quiz: How Well Do You Know ‘The 100’?