The 100 Review: False Gods (Season 7 Episode 3)

The number of people who could possibly be considered absolute lawful good is dwindling on The 100 Season 7 Episode 3, “False Gods.”

This aptly titled episode has an imminent problem, gives a couple of characters a chance to shine, and isn’t afraid to let them rest in their grief. 

While these are ingredients for a balanced episode, “False Gods,” doesn’t move the plot further beyond advancing a couple key plot points. In fact, it’s slightly more character driven then usual, and as such might feel out of place. 

The major through line of this episode, the malfunctioning nuclear reactor, sets Raven on a downward spiral. 

Raven has been a very strong character throughout The 100‘s seven seasons. She’s been an invaluable resource to solve problems, and consistently rises to meet the challenges presented to her. 

However, she’s also had the ability to have a righteous slant whenever she disagrees with one of her friends. She’s never been in a scenario where she personally has had to make life and death decisions.

That came to an end on “False Gods.”

The fact that the big bad on this episode is radiation feels a little old hat. After all, The 100 Season 4 was all about nuclear reactors breaking down to the point of a death wave. 

Understandably, Raven needs to — and will — solve this problem. There’s no surprise there because you can’t have the entire planet melting down for the third time in a series run. 

This is the storyline with the most action, the biggest transformation, and the most to lose. 

If the writers were gonna present Raven with a moral dilemma they picked the perfect way to execute it. She knows what needs to be done, knows that she needs help, and needs to find qualified hands quickly. 

She can rationalize her choice because she doesn’t trust the Elygius prisoners after her experiences with them during The 100 Season 5. She’s doesn’t have a stake in if they live or die, but she actively lies to them as it becomes clear she can’t contain the radiation. 

In those moments, Hatch and his buddies aren’t people they’re tools. She sees them as a means to save more people.

Watching her make the choice to seal Murphy in with them has an eerily similar feeling to when Clarke closed the hatch to the drop ship on Bellamy and Finn at the end of The 100 Season 1. It was the few for the many then, and it’s a few for the many now. 

And just like Clarke she’s going to have to take responsibility for the calls she made. 

This is a new position for Raven, but given the way that Sanctum is going, this can be just the first of many hard calls. 

It’s a bit worrisome that maybe this is the beginning of a transition for Raven. Until now Raven has thriving in strategy and tech, and not in the active leadership and decision making some of the other characters engage in. If that trajectory continues, I’d worry about her finding a “happy ending.”

Speaking of Clarke, she takes a bit of a back seat on this episode. That’s okay. Clarke’s been making a lot of calls over the last few season and it feels like it’s time for her to rest.

At this point, it feels like Clarke’s ideal happy ending is getting out of survival mode. Clarke has always been making calls in the interest of her people. She needs to take off the leadership hat and figure out where she’s going. Aside from her time in Eden, she’s never really had that. 

She shouldn’t cut off communication and rush off to the farmhouse just yet, but she can take a break from volunteering for life and death missions. It’s gonna be hard, but it’ll be better for everyone overall. 

She does shine when it comes to protecting Maddie and telling people the truth.

Clarke’s impassioned speech to Gaia and Indra about not wanting to put Madi in the position of having to order people into a nuclear reactor dovetailed nicely with Raven’s storyline and matched up perfectly with Gaia’s ennui about the loss of the flame. 

Gaia and Clarke have a shared interest in protecting Maddie, but for Gaia the death of the flame means a lot more. 

Gaia has been devoted to The Flame ever since she was first introduced in The 100 Season 3. Not only has that been ripped away she’s also the one who made the call to destroy it to save Maddie.

The notion that she has destroyed what she spent her whole life protecting is just starting to hit her. That’s a very relatable emotion for someone in their mid-to-late twenties, and rightfully, the character should be given a moment to pause and reflect.

There is definitely going to be tangental work that Gaia can do in regards to Maddie and Sheidhed’s return, but for the moment the characters need a second to breathe. 

After all, this is The 100, another crisis just around the corner. 

Stray Thoughts: 

• Seeing Emori and John work together with Raven were scenes that the show needed to reinforce the growth of these characters. These two outsiders deserve each other and watching them support each other was a good light-hearted moment in the mix of all this. 
• The fact that Jackson feels guilty about wanting to see Russell burn is so him. He’s probably the last remaining lawful good character on the show and the fact that he can’t reconcile his feelings makes a lot of sense. I am also glad that at that moment they don’t lose the fact that a lot of their emotions are tied up in Abby’s death. Grief is complicated and shouldn’t be rushed through. 
• Knowing that Sheidheda is pulling the strings of Russell Prime’s followers is disconcerting and honestly we should have seen it coming. 
• Maddie doesn’t appear on “False Gods” and that’s a good choice. Given Clarke’s speech, she probably would have volunteered to give the order, and they would have been too much angst.

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

The 100 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

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

30 Binge-Worthy Dramas on Netflix