“The 100” Review: ‘Adjustment Protocol’ – Way Too Much For Way Too Little

I love the way I format my reviews, guys. It’s usually so easy to label things and put them in to boxes. Alas, the time has officially come when those boxes just don’t apply. I have been praising season six of The 100 pretty consistently because after season five which was is (in my opinion) the weakest of the series, season six has been a vast improvement. It’s actually been a breath of fresh air. I have repeatedly praised this season for never having that much feared lull, being strong and consistent since episode one of season six.

That all changes now.

I’ve mentioned a few times in previous reviews that were strong that I enjoyed them despite maybe having a little too much going on. Episode 12, the episode before the finale that’s supposed to take us in to another long hiatus, knocks that out of the water. Not because there was a lull but for the exact opposite reason. There was so much happening. In fact, there was entirely way too much happening. Emotional moments that should have had a bigger moment to settle in for the audience weren’t granted that opportunity and neither were we. There were also different plot points thrown at the wall with little to no explanation that unless you’re one of the most dedicated or most shrewd viewers, you’re going to be confused. I may not be the smartest reviewer but I like to think I can usually hang and even I was getting lost in the context of everything.

There is such a thing as too much and Adjustment Protocol is a Prime example of that. (See what I did there?) Because of that we’re getting rid of the meh, didn’t like, and theories section of this review. There will only be the few things I was actually able to pick up on to the Love section and the rest will be in Honorable Mentions.

[This review contains spoilers for the “Adjustment Protcol” episode of The 100.] 

The 100 Review: “Adjustment Protocol”
Season 6, Episode 12 | Airdate: July 30, 2019
Directed by: Antonio Negret | Written by: Kim Shumway

Things I Loved

Eliza Taylor’s Acting (yes, again): Eliza has delivered so much this season and anyone who says otherwise is a filthy little liar. I only speak facts. From her crying face-down while listening to crazy Madi rant about how she was going to kill them all, to slipping back flawlessly in to the Josephine persona, to her hug with Abby as she let her know she was actually alive, to watching Bellamy reunite with Echo and not looking all that thrilled about it (it’s okay Clarke, Bellamy forgets Echo is his girlfriend all the time too)  to finally realizing her mother was dead because of Russell resurrecting Simone in her body. It was all brilliantly executed and I’m happy for the fact that we got to see her stretch her wings and truly show us what she’s got this season. From beginning to (almost) end, it’s been a true delight.

Russell’s Prime Wardrobe: There’s not much to say here except that I just really loved that entire get-up and we can go shopping together anytime. But he’s got to pay because I don’t get paid for reviews  and he’s been alive for 200+ years so I’m betting his savings account looks less bleak than mine. (Ha. Like I have a savings account.)

Abby’s Death (but again, not for why you’re thinking): Abby’s been on both my “meh” and “things I didn’t like” list for so long that it actually shouldn’t be a surprise that her death is on my loved list. She’s another character that has been on the show since the pilot episode so I’m not happy she’s dead, per-se. But I’d be a dirty liar if I said that I didn’t see and appreciate the irony in which she died. She took Gavin’s life to bring back Kane and it came full circle where she lost her life in the same way. There’s symbolism there that even I can see, understand, and appreciate.

I’m not going to pretend to be Abby’s biggest fan. There’s been a lot over the last two seasons about her character that rubbed me the wrong way and made her go from a character I was at least interested in to one I wanted to smack every time she came on screen. She’s the reason Octavia enforced cannibalism (and then acted as if she was an innocent in the entire ordeal), she shock collared Raven, she had a miracle healing from the drugs (which was such an irresponsible way to tell that story that I cannot even begin to express my outrage over it), she cared more about saving Kane at any cost that she willingly ignored the signs of Clarke being taken over by Josephine despite knowing that her daughter was a nightblood and was acting bizarre. As a character, Abby has been on a downward spiral for awhile.

Despite that, she made amends with Raven telling her that she is part of her family, she found out Clarke was alive, she made herself in to a nightblood so that she didn’t have to sacrifice Madi’s life to honor their deal with the Primes. In her final moments, she did some good. While that doesn’t erase the facts of her two season downfall it does help the audience feel a deeper connection to the character before her demise.

It should also be noted that while Abby may be a character that I’ve grown to dislike Paige Turco is an absolute powerhouse and her transition from Abby to her (rather awesome) entrance as Simone was glorious to be witness to. Just maybe ease up on the eye make-up next time. Finally, I have to give a shout-out to whoever decided to put Abby’s Greatest Life Moments in to flashback form as she died because if anything made me feel for a second, it was that moment. Extra kudos for the majority of the flashbacks being of her daughter. She finally felt like a mother again for the first time in a very long time.

Gabriel: Chuku Modu has been another delight this season. I am so grateful that we got such a talented actor to bring life to a character that really could have been hit or miss. Luckily for us Chuku’s portrayal of Gabriel has been awesome since his debut episode.

Gabriel is a bit of a loose cannon and man has he been through a lot these last few episodes. He had to kill the love of his life, he got revealed and beaten up by his followers, he witnessed a classic Bellamy Blake break-down. Hasn’t the poor man been through enough? Apparently not because he’s decided to take a stand and run head first (literally) in to Sanctum through the shield once he hears about the namings that are about to take place.

He deploys the Red Sun Toxin in to the water following the plan he, Clarke, Octavia, and Bellamy came up with before allowing himself to be captured by the guards. He is then taken to Russell and the two former allies were finally reunited. I could have used more of that to be honest.

The pair trade some barbs and Gabriel tries his best to get Russell to understand that what he’s doing is wrong while Russell does everything but twirl his mustache and tell him he’s too late to be foiled, the resurrections are already completed. The guards come in to take Russell to safety once the RST alarms start sounding and Gabriel hesitates to actually kill Russell once he has the opportunity. I still love you, Gabe. And I actually like Russell too so, you know. Thanks for not shooting him yet, I guess.

I also have to give Gabriel kudos for giving Clarke as Josie a reason to be tearful and upset as she watched her actual mother enter as Josephine’s mother. He spoke to her, bringing her attention to him as he saw her start to break-down, forcing “Josie” to focus on him, and literally give her something to cry about. Good looking out, Gabe, You’re the real MVP.

Honorable Mentions

• Confused about what the hell happened with Murphy and Emori? Yeah, it took me a forking minute too. Their consciousnesses are going on to the drives that were vacated via Simone and Josephine of Daniel and Kaylee Lee. This was supposed to be made clear to the audience as they both emerged Hunger Games garb and all to where the other resurrected Primes were and Gabriel quipped that they were supposed to be siblings and not romantically involved. So, Murphy and Emori are pretending to have been wiped and “returned” when in reality, they’re just fibbing. Does that mean that each time they would be (hypothetically) resurrected they’d have to keep pretending? What the actual hell?
• For those keeping track at home, Murphy, Emori, and Clarke now all have mind-drives which I’m sure has no plot relevance at all. Yes, that was sarcasm. Also, Echo is still a nightblood which I’m sure will come in to play eventually as well.
• Priya got kidnapped by Clarke and threatened with Ryker’s mind drive if she didn’t help them take down the shield and get Bellamy and the COG in. She complied but since Gabriel deployed the RST too soon and Russell was able to tell the people of Sanctum that it was a false alarm they had to go with Plan B. Bellamy took Priya in to the center of the mob and gave a classic Bellamy speech about how the Primes were lying to everyone and Priya backed him up. They way she snatched her son’s mind drive and held it to her chest was touching.
• Russell threw his own RST bomb in to the mob at the naming day ceremony to have the believers attack the non-believers and the non-believers killed Priya. I did actually gasp out, “Noooooo.” Not. Amused.
• Clarke has once again put on her Josephine face and gone up to space with her “parents” and her “prisoners.” I will say, the final shot of the “Primes” holding their guns to the heads of the Earthlings was an excellent one.  Do I appreciate Clarke being so separated from her main group again? No. But whatever.
• Raven saying that the AI is trying to protect itself from her hacking will definitely come back in to play. And I’m sorry but can this story just hurry up and get over with? Just cut it out of her head and hit it with a sledge hammer for God’s sake. It’s tainted! It’s basically been taken over by a deadly virus. If Madi were an actual computer she’d be flashing the blue screen of death. Either get the dark commander out of the flame or get the flame out of Madi but either way please, just end it.
• Since when are Echo and Clarke friends? What was with that hug? I’m sorry but that…just doesn’t make any sort of sense. As a viewer we just saw Echo tell Clarke she wished she had killed her when she had the chance at the end of last season. This season it’s like she’s trying to be her best friend and it’s jarring. What are they trying to accomplish here? Also, Echo is not a chameleon.  Pick a personality for her and stick with it. She can’t both be killing folks left and right and then also talking about doing better. Pick a lane!
• The Blake’s seem to be getting back on better ground. Bellamy spent the first half of the episode worried that Clarke would get caught and would be unable to get the shield down while Octavia told him to have faith that she would get it done. Once the shields were in fact brought down he shoots her at smirk and tells her that he told her she’d get it down to which Octavia playfully shoves her brother. It was cute and I liked it.

No theories this week because honestly, what’s the point? There’s only an episode left and I’ve been mostly wrong anyway so let’s just see what happens. This week’s episode was the weakest of an overall great season so I really hope that it can be saved in the final episode and not end on a lackluster note. Perhaps if things had been more streamlined or actually had the opportunity to begin wrapping up sooner or had been granted a few episodes longer it wouldn’t have been so disappointing. Overall, I’m hoping the next and last episode can save it.

What were your thoughts? Sound off below or hit us up on twitter @TVSource. Agree with me? Disagree with me? Let us know!

Watch the season finale of The 100 Tuesday at 9/8c on The CW.