The 100 Recap: Human Trials

The 100 (or, The Bellarke Chronicles)

Season 2 Episode 5: Human Trials

Wednesdays 8|9 c

SPOILERS

As I did with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm going to attempt to recap what's happened thus far in Season 2. Warning: It's a LOT to condense. Think of it as 'The 100 Season 2 in 60 seconds,' or, '100260.' Here we go: The 100 (now the 48, thanks to the war) are split into groups – most of them are at Mount Weather, where 'civilized' people eat chocolate cake while surrounded by classical art. Little do most of the teenagers know that the 'medical center' is hiding a sinister secret; namely, they're using Grounders as living blood bags, then once they're drained, giving them to the reapers for food. Bellamy, Finn, Murphy, Monroe, and Other Guy are searching for Clarke and the others (BELLAMY MUST FIND HIS ONE TRUE LOVE), Chancellor Kane is looking for a Grounder camp in order to make peace, while Clarke's Mom, Abby, is 'acting Chancellor' back where all the adults from the Ark have crash-landed (camp Jaha) and are currently trying to work out how to survive Real Life. Little do Bellamy & Co know, Clarke and Grounder leader Anya have escaped Mount Weather and are heading in the opposite direction. Just as Clarke and Anya make a truce and decide to bond as allies, the trigger-happy guards at Camp Jaha open fire, killing Anya. Um. Oops. That just about covers the basics (but seriously, watch the show. Watch it) so, let's do this!

Last episode, we saw that pacifist Finn has finally begun to snap, and it was beautiful to watch Bellamy take over Clarke's role as the peacemaker while Finn was the bad guy. It seems he only has two settings: Annoying Pacifist, or Annoying Troublemaker. Either way, he's annoying and should be stopped.

This episode, Finn and Murphy (seriously, who would have thought I would be rooting for Murphy? Is he manipulating the situation again, or is he actually...turning over a new leaf?) are looking for Clarke while Bellamy takes his sister Octavia, Monroe, and Mel (a recently rescued survivor from another piece of the crashed Ark) back to the camp where the adults are adulting.

Clarke wakes up, injured but alive, and her mother tells her that Bellamy and Finn are alive. Clarke, overwhelmed at the news, hugs Abby and cries with relief. It was emotional. I cried inside. My sister shed real tears.

Major Byrne comes into the tent and announces there was movement in the woods, and Abby and Clarke go outside in time to see Bellamy arriving with the others in tow.

THEN COMES THE MOMENT. THE MOMENT WE HAVE WAITED FOR OVER A YEAR TO SEE.

Clarke flies through the camp and tackles Bellamy in a hug.

Look.

I have proof.

When I saw this, my sister and I squealed so loudly that our Mother came into the room thinking we'd had a bout of sudden violence and started attacking the family dog. (Now you know. Shipping meltdowns = animal abuse.)

Bellamy, Clarke and Abby have a conference, where Abby states they can't risk sending anyone out after Finn and Murphy because they have to focus on finding Kane.

(also look at how handsome Bellamy is. I mean, seriously.)

Clarke and Bellamy are adamant that they can't leave their friends to die, and volunteer to go back and get them, to which Abby says NO I JUST GOT MY DAUGHTER BACK AND YOU'RE ONLY KIDS.

She then orders Major Byrne to keep them from leaving the camp. Thanks for nothing, Abby.

But of course, Bellarke isn't going to stand by and do nothing, so they get Raven's help, steal some ammo, and head into the woods to catch up with Finn and Murphy. They need to rescue their friends from their rescue mission!

Meanwhile, while Bellamy and Clarke are reuniting, Finn is being a huge jerk and Murphy is being strangely moral. They've found the Grounder camp where they think the 48 (it isn't as catchy as the 100, but oh, well) are being held. They wait until dark, then sneak in and set fire to the Grounder's food store.

While the Grounders attempt to put out the fire, Finn and Murphy search for their friends. Unfortunately, they're caught; but they have automatic weapons, and round up the Grounders in a...animal pen? Thing?

Anyway, Michael (a friend of Octavia and Lincoln, Octavia's boyfriend who is actually a prisoner at Mount Weather but presumed dead by everyone else) insists they don't have the 48 there. Murphy believes Michael's telling the truth, but Finn discovers a bunch of jackets that belonged to their friends.

His immediate reaction: THEY HAD THEM AND THEY KILLED THEM.

Murphy's reaction: Chill out, dude, they're scavengers.

Finn's response: I WILL NOT CHILL.

Michael: We don't have your friends. Please don't shoot us.

Finn:

 Well, they don't. In fact, when a Grounder attempts to escape captivity, peaceful, annoying, neutral Finn opens fire.

People die.

Murphy tries to stop him (seriously, Murphy, you're dangerously close to making me like you again.) He fails, but he gets so many points for trying. Claps to you, Murphy. Claps to you. (Also, seriously, you know you're in trouble when MURPHY is the voice of reason.)

 As luck would have it, this is the exact moment when Bellarke and Octavia show up.

Finn:

Meanwhile, back at Mount Weather, Jasper is feeling a little uneasy about Clarke's sudden disappearance. He's a little suspicious, seeing as how he visits Medical (where Clarke supposedly is) four times a day and he's always told to skedaddle.

Dante, the president of Mount Weather, confesses that Clarke ran away, but also tells Jasper that he can go look for Clarke, if he wants. He can't send anyone out, since Mount Weatherians (or, as my sister and I call them, Weathermen) have lived underground for 97 years and aren't resistant to the radiation like the Grounders/Sky People.

Jasper relays this to Monty.

Monty: Let's go get Clarke!

Jasper: ...I don't know.

Monty: Dude.

Jasper: Um.

In the middle of this heated argument, Jasper's crush, Maya, comes into the room. They exchange a few awkward sentences while Monty continues to pack his bags, when suddenly alarms go off. There's been a containment breach, and Maya's skin begins to blister and burn because radiation!

Meanwhile, in the Mountain basement, Doctor Evil Babyface has LINCOLN (gasp) and is injecting him with some kind of drug, then using a device (pretty sure it's Stark Technology) we've seen formerly repel the Reapers. Several sessions of this, and Lincoln is no longer resistant to said device – and suddenly, we realize -

HAS MOUNT WEATHER BEEN CREATING THE REAPERS BY TORMENTING GROUNDERS? HAVE THEY CREATED THE ENTIRE SYSTEM? HAVE THEY?

Gads, Mount Weather. To think, the Ark wanted to send the kids there when they first landed. Some safe haven, that.

Meanwhile, Maya is in bad shape, and Doctor Singh suggests they use Jasper's clean, radiation-proof blood to save her, and then we realize – Mount Weather is using the Grounders (and now the 47??) to save themselves.

Fortunately for everyone, Monty is wonderfully skeptical about everything. In fact, my appreciation for Monty SKYROCKETED this episode. He, for lack of a better term, ROCKED. Go, Monty. Use that uncommon sense of yours.

The blood treatment is successful, which is good for Maya but bad for the future of the oblivious 47.

In a small side-scene, we see Doctor Evil Babyface, Doctor Singh, and President Dante discussing the procedure, and we find out that Singh went behind Dante's back with her procedure. This could, of course, mean that President Dante is actually an upstanding citizen, but let's face it – it's The 100. He probably wants to use them all as monster bait. Oh, and D. E. B. calls the President 'Dad'.

This can't be good.

Elsewhere, Kane's search for the Grounder camp is fairly successful, for about five minutes. Then their Grounder guide leads him into a trap, and Kane gets thrown into Grounder prison with no help. And, emerging from the shadows?

JAHA!

ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A BATTLE OF THE CHANCELLORS?

Probably not, because Jaha's awesome and Kane knows it.

But wait. So now we have....three chancellors? Three?

Are we going to have a triumvirate? Not gonna lie, that would probably be a very smart thing to do, which means Kane (with all the well-meaning in the world) will probably veto the idea. Alas.

HIGHLIGHTS

BELLARKE. There was so much of it. I don't know whether the writers are just teasing Bellarke shippers (probably) but if Bellarke isn't meant to be, someone should really tell Bob Morley. And also Eliza Taylor. Because GOOD GRIEF, everyone can see the galaxy of potential there. Then again, I really do like this maddeningly slow build-up.

THE BLAKE SIBLINGS. THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER. I can never get enough of those two.

MONTY. THIS DUDE. Jasper, you need to appreciate your bestie more, because if you keep acting like an idiot, he's going to stop being said bestie, and then you will die.

FINN IS OFFICIALLY CRAZY. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES. AND THIS MEANS THOSE LITTLE FLARKE SHIPPERS, ALL TWO OF THEM, CAN START SHIPPING BELLARKE.

LINCOLN. Does this mean that Doctor Evil Babyface is turning Grounders into REAPERS? That the Reapers are actually a product of Mount Weather? IS LINCOLN GOING TO TRY TO KILL OCTAVIA THE NEXT TIME HE SEES HER?

And, of course, Bellamy.

I know I say this every week, but...

I need the next episode. Stat.

- Mirriam

(p.s. there will be no AOS/100 recapping next week because it's Thanksgiving, and the episodes aren't airing. Urgh. Expect something else, but just as enjoyable.)