Shows with female leads or co-leads now have a strong presence on network television, as representations of women in lead roles has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years. The complexity and multi-dimensionality of these roles varies greatly, however, and on more than a few network shows, female leads continue to be idealized …
Toward the end of “Blood Must Have Blood, Part Two,” the extremely brave Maya utters the phrase: “none of us is innocent.” This phrase essentially sums up the theme at the heart of the episode, and the series, thus far.
If there’s one thing The 100 can guarantee, it’s the ability to shock and awe, especially when it comes to the show’s mulitude of characters–the majority of The 100’s plotlines hinge on its characters’ decisions and behavior and general response to their surroundings.
“Bodyguard of Lies” marks the beginning of the attack on the Mountain Men, but that isn’t why the episode is notable; instead, the most important moment of the episode is a kiss between Clarke and Lexa, two powerful and complex female characters (and leaders).
“Resurrection” is a master class in handling the aftermath of an attack, as the episode never loses its intensity or urgency, even when pausing for heavy moments of character reflection or development.
The 100 is no stranger to throwing heavy, morally-ambiguous situations at its characters and then watching them struggle with the decisions they’ve made; “Rubicon” gives Clarke perhaps her biggest ethical dilemma yet (even more so than mercy-killing Finn), and this is only the beginning of the war against the Mountain Men.
“Coup de Grâce” is not only an astonishingly well-done episode of The 100, but also a brilliant piece of television. While the show is naturally concerned with the flow of its story–and the various pieces of its story falling gracefully into place–The 100’s biggest concern lies with the characters and how being in this harsh, unforgiving landscape is transforming them. Some of them are broken by it, some of them adapt to survive, and some of them rise steadily to the challenge of living in such a dangerous, lawless place.
Aside from some outright atrocious special effects, “Survival of the Fittest” is an excellent episode. The latter half of season two is rapidly moving in new directions, especially with the Sky People and Grounders alliance underway, as well as Jaha’s decision to blindly lead some of his people to a new place altogether; these are all really well-chosen storytelling moves, as the audience is learning more about the Grounders culture and the world all of these characters are currently inhabiting. All of these decisions make for some thoroughly-engrossing television.
“Remember Me” may be about the Sky People’s shaky peace treaty with the Grounders in plot, but in spirit, it’s wholeheartedly an episode about Clarke struggling with the grief of killing Finn, as well as the harsh decisions the leaders–particularly women–on this show have to make on a regular basis. As Abby notes, and as Clarke seems to realize, all of these leaders’ lives mirror one another; they have the same goals, they have to make the same decisions, and they have the same pressure put upon them to keep their people alive.
San Diego Comic Con International 2013 kicked off on Wednesday with Preview Night. The events started up at 6pm, though people had been lined up, sometimes necessarily, sometimes inexplicably, all afternoon. For those so inclined, the exhibit floor was delightfully open and upstairs in Ballroom 20, Warner Bros. once again screened a handful of their …