‘The 100’ Review: “Anaconda”

Things we Learned/Had Confirmed:

• Calliope “Callie” Cadogan created Trigedasleng when she was a kid and it’s a derivative of Latin
• Tree Crew became Trikru (aaaaahhhh) so them living in the forest made perfect sense
• Becca Franco was a billionaire balling up there with her in Polaris and went to Harvard when she was 10
• Anaconda is code for “The missiles are in the air”
• You can’t get into the bunker if you’re not Level 12
• We see Callie say “Yu gonplei ste odon” and now we have the origin story of why the Grounders use this phrase when someone dies
• The origin of the first conclave and Fleimkepa
• How Nightbloods were created amongst the Second Dawners with the Natblida3000 (trademark pending)

Things that Triggered Me:

• Seeing all those people in masks as the newscaster talked about the Russian Ankovirus outbreak (Too soon)
• They had internment camps
• August. I swore I wouldn’t start shipping a couple on another Rothenberg show because that’s opening yourself up to heartache, but I’ve already started shipping August…with myself
• The fire and chaos above as below, people file into the bunker to the dulcet sounds of Cadogan over the PA sounding like a cruise director reminding them to remain calm,  that they are the chosen few who heard The Message and will become the mothers and fathers of the second dawn of the human race, and to drink their Kool Aid. Just kidding, but close enough
• Shepherds and Disciples. Next week’s episode is called the Flock. You see where I’m going with Fake Jesus Bill.
• “You think he’s saving you but he’s killing you”and having to watch Becca burn (again!) in the reflection of the shield on Reece’s face shield
• How Cadogan got that Red Sun Toxin look on his face before he tossed his wife to the wolves before scooping up that family pic (Okay, Russell Lightbourne) then leading his people into the light like the end of that Poltergeist sequel movie

Random tidbit I loved:

“You closed the portal.”

“Yeaaah, I didn’t want your father to throw me in it.”

A Few Parallels:

• “So I drop everything? My whole life? My best friend?” Shades of Josephine Lightbourne when she originally objected to going on the Eligius mission with her family in Nevermind
• In the chopper as Gemma and Callie saw the first missile hit it was much like watching the explosion that destroyed Eden in Damocles)
• The alarm sounding inside the bunker and them closing the hatch as a Praimfaya-esqe wave rushing through the city burning up everything in its wake
• Becca’s Polaris hatch floating towards Earth and her emerging from the hatch took me back to the drawing of the First Commander on the temple wall in Thirteen
• People want to believe their leaders are telling the truth (Mom pulls out the Doomsday packs and gives her a golden “key” with the Second Dawn logo that looks like the one Jaha and crew made rise from the ashes in God Complex
• Those red radiation suits showing up in the prequel and in Praimfaya

Bill Cadogan is Culture Vulture Cult Leader…and Other Reasons He Sucks

I had issues with this man from the beginning. I originally thought Cadogan was on that Jim Jones action. My disgust with this man is already legion. Him stealing the “device” from a hidden observatory in Machu Picchu is just tacky. The offhand way this man said “You can’t steal something that belongs to all of us” is probably the same tone of voice and justification colonizers used when they raped and pillaged the indigenous people in the New World. His blatant favoritism for Callie mirrors the unwavering love Russell had for Josephine but at least Josie was an only child! Him withholding love and affection from his son as he indoctrinates Reese into cult fanaticism is just disturbing. You can tell Reece is a decent person deep down and you can already see tension between his conscience and trying to garner daddy’s love.

Cadogan’s god complex is what ultimately led to Becca’s demise and the fracture within his family. This is also why I want to fight him. His underground dictatorship would surely fall apart if people knew they could alter their blood and be able to leave the bunker. He wants to be the savior. He would rather turn Becca Pramheda into BBQ rather than abdicate his total power. He needs them to believe or else his life’s work becomes meaningless–like Octavia burning the farm. Plus it probably chapped his ass that Becca figured out which 7 symbols out of 744 activated the Anomaly Stone in minutes. Cadogan’s solution to go on a magic space trip to another world is wild and I did a double take when Momma Gemma took his side. What?!?!

I probably had the same look of dismay that Becca and Callie exchanged. Callie is of the mind that Becca came to Bill not to create a bridge to another world, but to remake Earth. How does that ungrateful man repay sound advice? “I will save us, not her, now get out.” Megalomaniac much? This man says he’s not a cult leader, but if it looks like a cult and walks like a cult dot dot dot. When Becca went into the white light and came back shivering, at first I thought she had gone to Hoth…uh Nakara, but whatever she saw on Judgement Day was wild enough to make her want to shut down the Infinity Stone…er…Anomaly Stone ASAP. When she told Bill, “Especially not you,” I knew she was toast.

Becca trying to keep Cadogan from getting the final code from the Flame because, once he has it, the last of the human race will be wiped out was shades of A.L.I.E. This dude had her chained up and looking starved and bone tired like Daenerys Targaryen when she thought they were trying to poison her on Game of Thrones. We learned the Flame is the ultimate self-preservationist:  “If you drown, it will swim, if you burn, it will crawl out of the flames.” Becca created a backdoor for the Flame much as she made a backdoor for the City of Light and crafty girl that she is, she didn’t put the backdoor in the notebook.

Did anyone else get flashbacks of Emerson when Becca was talking about how the Flame will liquify the nervous system of the host if they don’t have the blood alteration? As she was talking about how one must choose wisely because, in the right mind, it will amplify all that is in there and save the world, I heard Abby in Adjustment Protocol, “Now go save us all…again.” Conversely, when Becca was talkin about “All that power in the wrong mind,” I kept seeing Sheidheda’s wonk eye.

Back on Bardo

“Yes, Calliope is in here.” Even in her grief, Clarke’s mind is sharp. That looks passed  between Raven, Clark, and Gabriel were everything. They were quick on the uptake. I love all the conversations that happen with a meaningful glance or a facial expression on this show.Me personally, seeing as Madi is drawing the visions she saw when her mind was merged with the Flame, I think she’s the true key. I’m wondering if the writers of The 100 are Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, because if they are, we know what happened with The Key on THAT show. Blood opened the portal and until the blood stopped flowing (AKA died) chaos was unleashed. I’m going to force my mind to take a sharp detour because I will take to the streets in protest if Bellamy or Clarke has to die to stop crazy cult man from unleashing Armageddon. Speaking of Clark and Bellamy, I could virtually hear the entire Bellarke fandom collapse in a heap of emotion when Clarke said, “You killed my best friend so I’m not sure I want to help you.”

We end the episode with Clarke asking for her friends and then Octavia, Diyoza, and Ash Echo rolling up into the chamber like a cross between an all-girl R&B singing group and District 13 soldiers from the Hunger Games with the vacant expression of the brainwashed.

I enjoyed this episode way more than I thought. The premise of the potential new show was set up exceptionally well. You have sibling rivalry, the struggle of trying to please a parental unit and feeling like you’re constantly failing, the moral dilemma of doing what’s right vs. self-preservation, family strife, life and death in a hostile environment, self-discovery and charting your own course, and because no Rothenberg production would be complete without one, I can already see the beginnings of a future love triangle. The dialogue, the pacing, and the action flowed organically and it felt like I was watching a movie. All the necessary elements were there for this show to be successful and run for several seasons if picked up.

Questions I Still Have That I’m Sure One of You Has Already Solved

• Was Bellamy not getting Clarke’s radio calls because the Anomaly Stone in the bunker was jamming up the frequency?
• Why didn’t any of the bunker inhabitants find the Earth Anomaly Stone during the Rise of Blodreina?
• Where is Hope?
• Was it Bellamy or absentee Hope that pulled Gaia into the anomaly?
• What happened to Echo’s freshly carved Azgeda scars? Did they laser them off or did the spy draw them on with Sharpie or what?
• Those crystal giants in the preview: Are they the indigenous species? Are they what happens to your body once you’ve been exposed to the atmosphere above ground?
• What happened to the Bardoans and why can’t Second Dawn go above ground on Bardo?
• Where the beep beep beep is Bellamy Blake?

Thank you for having me. Feel free to discuss and leave your theories in the comments. Quia nunc vale (Goodbye for Now).