The 100 Review: Damocles – Part Two (Season 5 Episode 13)

The battle for the last survivable land on Earth has come to an end.

The 100 Season 5 Episode 13, “Damocles – Part Two,” brings this epic journey to a close in another classic, high-stakes finale, taking the show places it’s never been before both literally and figuratively.

“Damocles – Part Two” opens up The 100 to a whole new world, gives one pairing the show’s very first happily ever after, and yet still leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions and pushes the majority of Season 5’s emotional resolutions to be solved in Season 6.

YU GONPLEI STE ODON, EARTH

The first half of “Damocles – Part Two” is textbook The 100 that audiences know and love. With epic fight scenes, witty banter, and moral quandaries galore the first 20 minutes of this finale have us laughing and crying all while on the edge of our seats, rooting for our heroes.

This portion of the finale echoes the Season 4 finale in a lot of ways as everyone we love races to make it to a spaceship to save them from certain, fiery death.

Indra: Look around you, do you see signs of hope here?

There’s not a lot of hope for our heroes, but that’s never stopped them from finding the light before and it doesn’t on “Damocles – Part Two.”

Clarke has always toed the line of hero and anti-hero, doing whatever it takes and killing whoever gets in her way when it comes to saving the people she cares about. I’d like to believe that literally shooting a baby isn’t something she’d actually do, but I also know better than to test Clarke Griffin in an armed standoff.

The gratuitous torture of Zeke and Raven is somewhat predictable; hopefully, these moments are the last we’ll see of that particular plot device for a while.

The 100 has always had a bit of a pacing problem and I think that “Damocles – Part Two” suffers from that. Season 5 didn’t really have any “filler” episodes and everything built pretty directly to these final moments, but I can’t help but think that my issues with this finale could have been remedied with just another half hour of screen time.

Clarke’s stand-off with McCreary and his rash decision to just destroy all that remains of Earth, as well as parts of the conversation between Abby and Octavia which I’ll talk more about later, all feel slightly inorganic to where they fall in the story either coming too late or feeling like a rushed necessity to move the story forward.

Diyoza: It’s hard to keep track of who’s side you’re on.

Clarke: I guess we have that in common.

In contrast, the moments between Madi, Wonkru, and Spacekru all carry significant emotional weight, acknowledging the show’s past while also taking a distinct step in a new direction.

Octavia is still battling her demons, but the moment she bows to Heda Madi the tone of this entire storyline shifts into something good, something filled with possibility. Madi fully comes into her own on “Damocles – Part Two” and it’s a joy to watch.

She carries on Lexa’s legacy with strength and bravery, while also portraying all of the fear and vulnerability of a child turned leader. Lola Flanery has done an exceptional job on The 100 Season 5; Madi stole all of our hearts and I hope we get to keep her around for many seasons to come.

I’m so glad to see her relationship with Octavia work out in a mostly positive way. In fact, most of her relationships from the people in Clarke’s stories turn out better than I could’ve expected at the start of The 100 Season 5.

Everyone Clarke loves came back to her and Madi different from the people she knew before. Madi came face to face with the real versions of these people while knowing them all from fairytales. Madi’s innocence combined with Clarke’s idealized versions of the people she loves allow Madi to be the key to leading each of Clarke’s friends out of the dark.

Madi helps both Octavia and Abby move past the horrors of the bunker, pushes a stubborn Bellamy toward forgiveness, and she shows Clarke that there are still good guys left.

In return, Bellamy is able to keep Madi from going down the path that each of them had fallen into before they met her.

Bellamy: We’ve been here before, Madi. We were the criminals, the 100. We landed in someone else’s home and we went to war. You can execute them because they’re the enemy or you can break the cycle. You can be better than them, you can be better than us. The choice is yours, Heda.

This is one of the best speeches The 100 has given us and I deeply hope that it marks a turning point in the show itself. Break the cycle, be better than those who came before, act on hope and build a peaceful future. If this is an indication of where the show is going on Season 6 (and I really do think that’s the case), then I cannot wait to see what the new world has to offer.

Spacekru working together, and alongside Wonkru warms my heart and makes me want a million more adventures with this crazy family. Bellamy and Echo show off their battle couple skills, while the escalating war pushes Murphy and Emori back into each other’s arms.

I love both of these pairings and their dynamics within the Spacekru family as well as with the rest of the team. Their stories have been consistent threads through this season, and these moments on “Damocles – Part Two” bookend their arcs well.

It’s satisfying to see them come together (or stay together) wrapping up the things they’ve gone through while also giving these relationships engaging places to start from when they come out of cryo-sleep.

TIME FOR BED

“Damocles – Part Two” does it’s best to resolve all of the emotional conflicts that Season 5 has wrought on all of the relationships that we love. In most cases, it succeeds, while others are left on tenterhooks until Season 6.

Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship is at the heart of the show and they’ve been through it all on The 100 Season 5. Madi’s safety was what drove the two of them apart, earlier in the season, so it only makes sense that she’s the driving force that pushes them to come back together.

Madi: I shouldn’t tell you this, but when you were on the ring she called you on the radio every day for 6 years. You didn’t know that did you?

Clarke and Bellamy spent the last 6 years apart growing and becoming the people they were always meant to be. While they have spent so much more time apart than they have together, they each shaped who the other’s journey in ways that allowed them both to become better leaders, friends, and people.

Things between these two have never been easy, but their friendship is real and it pushes them to see past their differences and realize they’re just two humans who would do anything for the people that they love, including each other.

The Blake siblings have also had a pretty rough time this season (actually most of these relationships have gone through the wringer on The 100 Season 5). Bellamy became a soft yet strong leader of a small family while Octavia became the blood-soaked dictator of a gladiator cult.

It’s safe to say that they still don’t quite see eye to eye again yet, and honestly, I think that’s a good thing. Octavia became the darkest version of herself within the bunker. She’s done things that she may never be forgiven for, things that she cannot be redeemed from.

Octavia has begun to atone for her sins, but she still has a long way to go before anyone will completely trust her again. I like that Bellamy and Octavia leave things in this place of uncertainty. They will always love each other, but the damage to their relationship is going to take more than the worlds longest nap to heal.

Blodriena seems to be fading into the background as Octavia comes back to herself, which leaves the young queen in a strange place.

She bookends her relationship with Kane and Abby this season in a very satisfying way. At the start of The 100 Season 5, Octavia was ready to kill Kane (and probably eventually Abby), but she ends the season by deciding to save them both.

The relationship between Abby and Octavia is dark and complicated and completely fascinating to me, I really hope we dive deeper into the connection between these women as two sides of the same coin on The 100 Season 6.

Their conversation on “Damocles – Part Two” is necessary for the narrative, even if it feels like something these two characters wouldn’t bring up at this moment if not for the story.

However, I am really glad that they do choose to go there because there’s still a lot of unresolved tension between these women because of this burden that they both share. Abby and Octavia both processed their guilt in completely different ways, and they’re also healing from it in their own ways.

On “Damocles – Part One” Kane was able to give Abby a piece of absolution that allows her to accept the past and fight for a better future. Maybe as she begins to heal she can offer the same to Octavia on The 100 Season 6.

Though we only see her for a few moments on “Damocles – Part Two” this is 100% the Abby Griffin that I have always loved. A little worse for wear, but she’s filled with a strength and determination stronger than she had all season. These few simple lines give me a lot of hope for Abby’s story going forward as well as for her relationship with Kane.

At the beginning of Season 5, Kane and Abby essentially vowed that they would die for each other, and now they’ve each practically followed through with that promise. They’ve quite literally gone to hell and back this season between multiple near-deaths, Abby’s drug addiction, and surviving both serial killers and a full-blown war.

Though Kane’s fate is left up in the air by the end of “Damocles – Part Two,” The 100 continues to place a high value on Abby’s skills as a doctor and Henry Ian Cusick has been confirmed by multiple sources to be returning for Season 6.

It may prove difficult, but I have no doubt that Abby will save the man she loves, and that when he wakes up they’ll face the new planet and a brighter future together.

Madi and Clarke are reunited just as Clarke promised and their relationship is perhaps even stronger for the time they spent apart. Clarke gently assuring her daughter of the future as she puts her into cryo-sleep is one of the softest and purest moments on The 100 Season 5.

My only wish for the cryo-sleep scene is that it was about 15 minutes longer. The moments we get with the Griffins and the Blakes are both perfect, but there are so many more key characters who I’d have loved to have seen share their goodbye’s and may we meet again’s as they embark on this new and slightly terrifying journey.

The 100 Season 5 handled post-time jump reunions pretty well this year, so I can only hope that they’ll do the same when the rest of our heroes awaken on Season 6.

HAPPY EVER AFTER

In an unprecedented twist, the only major deaths of this The 100 Season finale come a the end of a long and happy life. Seeking the peace and love that they found on the ring once more, Monty and Harper choose not to go into cryo-sleep with the rest of their loved ones.

These two, Monty particularly, were not built for the continual cycle of war with their soft hearts and optimistic minds. So they broke the cycle for themselves. When Monty and Harper decide not to go to sleep, they don’t realize that they will never see their friends again, and they’ll grow much older than the planned ten years.

Their choice is both selfish and sacrificial. Monty and Harper choose to take that time and that peace for themselves at first, but they continue to make that choice even when they know the truth, giving the rest of their lives to their friends, and their son so that the rest of humanity has the opportunity to live happily ever after too.

Monty and Harper’s series of messages to Clarke and Bellamy is easily one of the most emotional and impactful scenes in the entire history of The 100.

They leave behind a son, Jordan Green, named for Jasper and filled with all of the bubbly, hopeful kindness of all three original members of “the 100.” He will carry on their legacy and hopefully encourage our remaining heroes to strive to fulfill Monty’s dying words.

Monty: I hope we do better there. I hope Jasper was wrong, and we aren’t the problem. I hope your lives there are as happy as mine has been. Be the good guys. May we meet again.

As Clarke and Bellamy take in their new planet and say their goodbyes to Monty and Harper, I hope that Monty’s words, as much as Bellamy’s to Madi earlier in the episode, are the sign of a new direction for The 100. These moments have me truly excited for what the show will bring us next.

Closing these final scenes with “End Book One” makes me believe that they will continue forward from this turning point. The 100 is best when it is driven not by the plot, but by the characters we love so dearly. Season 6 will give The 100 a chance to build something new, our heroes can go on new adventures, their relationships can grow–they can finally be the good guys.

OTHER THOUGHTS AND SEASON 6 SPECULATION:

• The greatest improvement from “Priamfaya” to “Damocles – Part Two” is that when the rocket door closes this time, no one gets left behind.
• Octavia and Diyoza’s strange understanding as they’re both barred from their positions of power is something I never knew I needed. Can they please become best friends next season?
• What would you name the new planet? Let me know in the comments!
• I hope the new planet is filled with crazy plants and beautiful sci-fi scenery. And you know, aliens. Or cylons, I’m not picky.
• Can I just say how much I love this return to hard-science fiction? I didn’t realize how much I missed space until they brought it back.
• It still hasn’t completely hit me that Monty and Harper are gone. I’m really going to miss those kids.
• Diyoza has been pregnant for over 200 years.
• Kane is going to be really confused when he wakes up.
• Not to be that sappy romantic, but it’d be pretty darn great to see the rest of The 100‘s couples get the chance to follow in Monty and Harper’s footsteps to find their happily ever after’s. Kabby wedding 2k19, more Becho battle couple moments, reconciliation and growth for Memori, there’s even hope for Shaw and Raven to fly off into that binary sunset together one day.
• All of the mother-daughter relationships on Season 5 were absolutely incredible, and I’m so glad they’re all still alive and together. I hope each of those relationships continues to grow on Season 6, and maybe with Clarke, Abby, Indra, and Diyoza all on the same team, we’ll get to see a badass mom-squad on the new mystery planet. (With Harper’s force ghost, obviously.)
• There’s definitely still room for improvement but Season 5 is far and away The 100‘s best season yet. I can’t wait to see what this show does next.
• What are you looking forward to the most about Season 6?

What did you think of the Season 5 finale of The 100? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The 100 will return for Season 6 in 2019 on The CW.

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