The 100 Round Table: Who's the Boss?
Amanda Festa
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Bellamy finally made it inside Mount Weather, but if the The 100 Season 2 Episode 11 taught us anything, it was to be careful what you wish for.
Bell is fighting for survival, and with power up for grabs inside and outside the mountain, it's anyone's guess what's to come.
Join TV Fanatic staff writers Lindsay MacDonald, Paul Dailly and Amanda Festa, along with longtime reader and The 100 super fan Marko Pekic, as they break down the developments of "Coup de Grace."
President Wallace has done some questionable things in the name of survival, but is he a good guy in a bad situation or simply a lesser evil when compared to his son, Cage?
Lindsay: His crimes against the Grounders definitely put him in the evil category, but you can almost excuse him on the grounds that he inherited that evil from his predecessor. He's really just doing what has to be done to keep his people alive. He's proven to be a semi-decent guy – with his treatment of the Ark kids at least – and when you put him next to Cage, he looks damn near cuddly. Still, I'm not counting him in the good guy category just yet.
Marko: As we saw this week, being a leader in this world is a really tough job. Overall, I think he is a good guy because he knew where to draw the line. He approved a lot of violence during his reign, but he couldn't drain the life out of the Sky People – it would be simply too much. Taking his current position into account, I assume he'll be the key to getting the kids out of Mount Weather.
Paul: I'd say he's a lesser evil. He has done some good deeds, but if it came down to his people dying or the Sky People, we know what his answer would be. He let all of this stuff with his son go too far. If he had halted it and kept an eye on the situation, he would not be in the situation he is currently in.
Amanda: On the surface, I would say that President Wallace is a lesser evil, but evil nonetheless. Yet, I think it's important to remember that when you spend your entire life inside a Mountain for fear of radiation poisoning, your moral compass gets a little turned around. For each of the groups (the Mountain Men, the Grounders, the Arkers), this moral ambiguity has been an issue. Let's look at the justice system on the Ark for example. President Wallace has seemed to see the light and he did right by Jasper in the end, so I think he is trying to be redeemed. Whether he lives long enough to fulfill this redemption, it's too soon to tell.
What did you think of Echo, the female Grounder in the cage next to Bellamy? Was their interaction a one-off, or do you think this was priming her for a larger role, perhaps setting up a potential relationship (platonic or romantic) post-escape?
Lindsay: Echo seems a little shoehorned in to me, but I might have my Bellarke goggles on. My bet is she's here to stay. I'd love to see Bellamy and Echo team up again to get out of Mount Weather, but any kind of romance between them would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Marko: She is hot! I like those feisty Grounder girls. Bellamy and the girl certainly exchanged some "meaningful" looks, and she most certainly will be part of these next couple of episodes. It would be funny if she becomes the Grounders' next Commander and bonds Bellamy to her fraction.
Paul: I have a feeling she will die during the escape, killing this idea off. She's obviously been in there long enough to be in the dark about what's going on outside with the alliance. I liked their interaction and I was very surprised she even attempted to save him, but she could also have known this could be the only chance for an escape.
Amanda: I definitely caught a spark between the two. She seems like she has an edge to her, and I think that is something Bellamy appreciates. Also, they saved each other's life, which at the very least lays a foundation of appreciation and value. While I think the long game is Bellarke, it's too soon for that, and I think developing interactions between individual Grounders and Sky People is important to the merging of the two groups.
After Bellamy kills Lovejoy in self defense, we see Lovejoy's son at Mount Weather's preschool. How does this humanizing of Mount Weather influence the upcoming battle?
Lindsay: Just when you think this show can't get any more amazing, they pull a move like the Lovejoy kid. These aren't just nameless, faceless guards anymore, or the evil Cage and Dr. Tsing. There are babies and children and innocent lives at risk inside Mount Weather, and any chance of a full frontal assault just went out the window. Seeing Clarke battle with Lexa on this issue is going to be so interesting to watch.
Marko: I think this is a great story coming up for Bellamy. The 100 is doing a great job with introducing these tough choices the characters have to make. If Bellamy allows the Grounders to enter Mount Weather, they won't have mercy. I assume Bellamy will try to avoid a battle and just try to extract the remaining Grounders and 47 Sky People.
Paul: It is a little upsetting, but for Bellamy it was kill, or be killed. Sure, it is nice to know that these "bad guys" aren't just one dimensional. Bellamy appeared visibly shaken after the realization that he killed the kid's father. I'm sure going into the battle, it will make him wonder about the families of the people they will have to kill.
Amanda: First of all, little kids wearing backpacks that are way too big for them ups the adorable factor, making that scene even harder to watch. It was wrenching. Poor Bellamy. I think this scene was so important though, because it does show us (and the Arkers) that a lot of these 382 Mount Weather citizens are just regular people living life. Approaching the upcoming battle, with the potential for civilian casualties, it will be interesting to see how the Grounders and Sky People handle this hiccup.
Clarke publicly challenges her mother's authority, with support from the Grounders. How will this move impact the future of Ark governance?
Lindsay: Cage wasn't the only one to stage a coup, that's for sure. Clarke said it herself, Abby might be Chancellor, but Clarke is in charge. I can't see the adult Arkers accepting Clarke as their leader, but I don't know how much choice they'll have if she's got a Grounder army behind her.
Marko: I was really hoping that here Abby would step up as a mother. Clarke is in a fragile state, and yes she needs support and love, but she deserved a slap over the face for threatening her mother. I really don't approve of Clarke's current attitude, but it's part of her character evolution. I think Abby will finally step up after this move by Clarke. She backed down at that moment cause she is the adult in the relationship, but Abby is a resourceful woman and I hope she'll start be more proactive in her leadership.
Paul: I think her mother will continue to be the Chancellor, purely because the grounders are warming up to Clarke in a way I could never have imagined. I think Clarke will be the successor to Lexa when she inevitably dies. With Kane away, I don't see him taking on the burden of looking after the Arkers any time soon.
Amanda: This is going to be an ongoing issue, for sure. Clarke has continually stepped up and taken control and yet, she is not the "Chancellor." I think they will have to eventually move towards a different system of government at some point. Obviously the system they had in place on the Ark is not effective on the ground.
The cast of the show is clearly phenomenal, but with such a large cast of characters it can be hard to give each their due on a weekly basis. Which supporting character would you like to see more from?
Lindsay: I think they're doing a pretty amazing job of balancing their characters. The only dangling plot line I want readdressed is Raven's potential love interest, Wick. We saw some small sparks fly with those two back in the fall, but we've seen neither hide nor hair of Wick in quite a while. Is he gone? Dead? Discarded into the "whoops let's hope the audience doesn't notice that" bin? I need answers!
Marko: Cage! I wish for him to interact with more main characters. He is so devious and shady, just send him into Camp Jaha and let the sparks fly.
Paul: I love the show – it's my favorite show on the air – but my main complaint is that characters just randomly disappear for a few episodes and then scenes take place that they should be in. I'd like to see more of Raven. Sure, we see a decent amount of her, but I'd like to see her move on from Finn and start a new relationship.
Amanda: I would love to see more from Jasper and Monty once they are out of Mount Weather. They each had a couple of strong scenes inside Mount Weather, but I am looking forward to having them back at Camp Jaha. I also would like to see more from Murphy. I think he's a really interesting and redeemable character and I hope we get to see a lot more from him.
There's so much to think about before next week, so watch The 100 online at TV Fanatic and join in the conversation!
