TV Review: The 100 3×13 “Join or Die”

This week’s episode included flashbacks which I hadn’t realized that I missed until now.

The flashbacks were nicely weaved throughout the episode and gave us background on what Pike was like on the Ark. Did I gain more sympathy for him? Not quite. But it showed me he did have a heart at some point.

Pike and Kane arrive at Polis, but Jaha and his chipped army have already gotten there. They wasted no time in chipping all of the grounders who are meditating throughout the streets of Polis. Even Ontari has been chipped too and gives it to the new grounders that escorted Pike and Kane to Polis. She’s basically the chip dealer out on those Polis streets. Pike tries to threaten Jaha and the others by holding a knife to Ontari’s throat, but they aren’t alarmed. Instead Pike gets taken away to a holding cell with all the others who haven’t taken the chip, including Murphy and Indra.

Kane has also refused to take the chip of the City of Light and A.L.I.E insists to Jaha that they need Kane. He’s smart and strong, and they have to find a way to get him to join them. Abby volunteers to help which basically means playing the damsel in distress to try to get information about Clarke and the others out of Kane. However, Kane isn’t spilling the beans so easily and when Abby begins to throw herself at him he immediately knows that she’s been chipped too. I loved how Kane was able to recognize who Abby is at her core, it shows a lot about their relationship outside of being romantic or not there’s a sense of intimacy they’ve developed as friends and leaders working together.

Kane declining the chip means that he is going to be crucified. Yes, CRUCIFIED! We have seen gruesome scenes in The 100, but this is another level. Kane is having his hands nailed to a metal cross. Insane! And the pools of blood scattered throughout the streets of Polis make for an even more chilling scene.

Anyways, Kane is fiercely faithful and loyal even under extreme pain. He refuses to join the City of Light and doesn’t mind being shot to death. Jaha realizes that the way to get to Kane is instead by pointing the gun at Abby’s head. He takes the chip to save Abby’s life and my heart shattered at the loss of Kane to A.L.I.E.

Meanwhile, Pike’s chained up at the cell, but Indra isn’t going to let him off easy after all that he’s done. With a sharpened stone she begins to give Pike 300 cuts for every person that he murdered on that field. The flashbacks show us Pike as the Ark’s earth teacher. He was more gentle, honest but just as righteous. It turns out that Pike was ordered by Jaha, Kane and Abby to teach The 100 earth skills so they could survive. He was never told why they were being sent down but just that he had two weeks to get them ready.

We get to see our faves as young babies walking into Pike’s earth skills class, and they have zero interest in what he has to say. Pike is getting frustrated because they aren’t taking him seriously since they don’t know they’ll actually need to know this once they get shipped out to earth. Jaha has prohibited Pike from explaining what’s going on to The 100 and so Pike resorts to violence. Pike has clearly used his fists as a weapon even before he touched the ground.

He beats up Murphy in order to teach the others a lesson about sticking together and working as a team. The methods to his madness has never made much sense.

Indra continues cutting Pike up at the cell but Murphy finally decides to intervene. He says how Pike may be a really pitiful excuse of a person but he’s strong which means that he’s useful in order to escape and fight the chipped grounders. They need him. Indra hesitates until a grounder tells her that Murphy’s reasoning is spot on. She desists with the cutting and promises she will have her revenge later on.

It seemed like Pike swore that he and Murphy were going to become best friends, but Murphy quickly cleared things up and made him have several seats. He tells Pike to go float himself and that all that he’s learned has been on the ground not because of his teachings. That burn stung and was oh so good!

Away from Polis, Clarke and the squad are making the voyage to find Luna by using the drawings and maps that Lincoln left behind in his journal. They finally hear water nearby and find rocks where they thought a village would be. Accidentally, Jasper figures out how to signal Luna by throwing leaves that make the fire turn green.

Bellamy and Clarke are having a moment to themselves as they discuss the weariness that they carry around. All that they’ve done and been through has taken a toll on them. Bellamy worries that Octavia will never forgive him and always attribute Lincoln’s death to him. At the same time he’s had a hard time forgiving Clarke for abandoning him. They hug as they come to the conclusion that they need each other and need to let bygones be bygones. A great moment for all Bellarke shippers out there! Until it was interrupted by underwater grounders, coming up from the sea to attack them. HOW RUDE!

The underwater grounders gather Bellamy, Octavia, Clarke and Jasper together and its Lincoln’s name that gets them the right to safe passage. But in order to get that they must drink a potion that will knock them unconscious. Octavia and Jasper drink up hastily and without any option left but to trust, Clarke and Bellamy do the same.

The four of them wake up in a container stripped of all their weapons. Clarke frantically searches for the flame and luckily she still has a hold of the second chip. A mysterious woman walks into the container to greet them, and it’s Luna! Finally!

Clarke fills her in on how she’s the last of her kind and how she needs to step up to be the next commander. She tells her how Lexa’s spirit has chosen her to ascend as the next in command but even Clarke’s urgency doesn’t strike Luna’s interest. She politely but sternly declines and walks away.

The four of them follow her out of the container and their eyes widen and jaws drop as they find themselves in the middle of the ocean on what looks to be an oil rig. It’s no wonder that Luna doesn’t want to leave. It’s easy to live a peaceful life when you’re in the middle of the sea.

This scene was amazing and what it represents is even greater.

These people have done everything to preserve a peaceful and war free environment. They have created a system to live the life they wanted and like Luna probably have sacrificed a lot. With the members of Skaikru arriving, what does this mean for this grounder village? Will Luna want to give her water world life up to be commander?

Clarke delivered a great line about the fact that we get to choose HOW we lead others. Towards the end of her reign, Lexa made a remarkable decision to break tradition and not have blood for blood. It may have cost her her life, but it also made her legendary.

It will be interesting to learn so much more about Luna! Why she decided to sacrifice her birthright and leave her conclave. What did she want to avoid becoming? What kind of leader is she on this oil rig?

I’m rooting for her, and once again I love the fact that this show decides to create different aspects of powerful women leaders.

Leave your thoughts below on what this introduction to the people of the sea will mean.

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