TV Show Review

TV Review: THE 100: Season 4, Episode 8: God Complex [The CW]

Nadia Hilker Zach McGowan The 100 God Complex

The 100: God Complex Review

The CW‘s The 100, Season 4, Episode 8, ‘God Complex,’ would’ve been a necessary call-out, on the Clarke (Eliza Taylor) tendency to do massive good at massive cost, if not for the fact that it’s kind of been a thing since season one. I suppose the point of the episode (if not the whole season) was just to relentlessly needle everyone – Clarke, in particular – that such roles perpetually snowball.

What started as a bad case of engineer’s block, for Raven (Lindsey Morgan), had turned into something personal for Murphy (Richard Harmon), once Emori (Luisa D’Oliveira) made-up a pig to look like a guinea pig. For the balance of Arkadia’s brightest, it was an easy way to get some potentially fatal Human testing done; but the onset of Black Rain left them with very few options, in that regard – turning the Becca Bunker into a pressure cooker, once that first guinea pig failed the test (or, more to the point, the test failed him).

Meh – it could’ve been worse. At least he didn’t go nuked burrito, all over the inside of the chamber. No, the worse part was that now the Becca Branch had its own melancholy to work through – and I so had enough of that, as of the previous episode.

Advertisement
 

Obvious segue aside… <sigh> Arkadia still had Jasper (Devon Bostick); so I’m not about to complain about the Becca Branch, just yet – it still had Memori going for it (the melodrama’s worn thin, when the murderous devotion between Murphy & Emori become an episode highlight). Showing a characteristic lack of self-awareness, Bellamy (Bob Morley) ignored his previous profound statement (the one about saving people who don’t want to be saved), and went after the Laughing Lemming. Ah, but what really ticked me off about their side jaunt: Bellamy’s presence meant that the Lemming wasn’t going off a literal cliff, as both God & Darwin intended.

As much as I appreciated Bellamy’s ‘take away’ from the exercise (the guy does need to loosen up), what Jasper has been peddling as Zen liberation is just giving up. That, and being a brat to anyone that hasn’t lazily abandoned the instinct to fight for survival. I don’t appreciate the showrunners wasting script & screen time on him doing so. Go now, and die in what way seems best for you, already.

Now, just to take my mind off all that, I’m going to take a moment to wonder what the quality of the mud would be like, after a long Black Rain storm.

Alright, so a plot-grade coincidence got the Thelonious (Isaiah Washington) Monk bone raised, once more. Since the significance of the Flame symbol has been played out, a key phrase set Jaha on the New Dawn becoming his new crusade. Fortunately, any misgivings I had – about it being maybe a little soon, after the outcome of his last crusade – were mitigated by this new path starting at the feet of Gaia (Tati Gabrielle).

Of course, now I have to hope she will be having a better time of it than Murphy did; but between all-around smart-guy, Monty (Christopher Larkin), getting roped into it, and some of that melancholy setting into Harper (Chelsey Reist), I might be worrying about the wrong person (sorry, Monty).

Of course, for all the trouble this quest stirred up – Indra (Adina Porter) with guns will do that – some trouble could’ve been spared had Jaha remembered his own speech about not bringing an eleven to a twelfth level requirement. The fix to that problem, however, was just silly enough to force me to mantra up some Occum’s Razor reassurance – just for the sake of Monty’s contribution (sorry, Monty).

Well, at least Indra was forced to acknowledge that her daughter’s Liberal Arts degree didn’t go to waste.

Meanwhile, back at the Becca Branch, Emori’s make-up job had come undone, making her the center of attention for Survivor‘s next Tribal Council. Naturally, Murphy would have none of it; but the desperate times atmosphere (’cause no one on this show is barbaric enough to consider animal testing) ticked off Luna (Nadia Hilker), again. Unlike last time, however, Roan (Zach McGowan) was on hand, to set her straight.

Well this Luna cycle brought the wolf out of the man, so we actually had an interesting moment of action (all high-stakes, no Red Shirt filler). At least it would’ve been, but they remembered to keep Luna’s handicap as a handicap. Everybody lower your dog ears, that brief conflict only served to set up a more damaging Raven summation of Clarke’s latest means-to-an-end call.

If we are to believe that the likes of Clarke & Bellamy live with such decisions, at every moment, then it shouldn’t have taken Raven to make the irony of the scenario clear to her. Her assurance to Murphy should’ve opened up the floor to volunteers, as well – say, dutiful Miller (Jarod Joseph), for instance – but the well-meaning monster trope had to be followed through.

That said, I half-expected Abie (Paige Turco) to take one for the team; so when that didn’t happen, the twist came as no surprise. With no clear villain, this season – only a countdown clock to doomsday – there is no person, or group, to deflect some of Clarke’s responsibility for her own actions.

In other words: the Wanheda thing’s been played out, and the character really needed to get out from under it becoming a definitive theme to every season’s overall moral crisis.

The act of Abie that did happen, however, sort of undermined the whole effort – contradicting their assurances to Murphy, as well as just spoiling the moment, overall. When the showrunners get set on buzzkill, no buzz is safe.

Advertisement
 

Unless it’s Jasper’s <ptooey>.

The melancholy morality play has been pretty much as expected, since it became clear that the fight would be against time, this season. With the pressure now spread across the spectrum, a lot of licenses have been written for mood-swings & petty things. Without even getting into the redemption of the Ark Bomber (who wasn’t in this episode, anyway), it seems nobody cares about Thelonious getting his monk on, again; Clarke just being Clarke (until her choice hits home); or that Jasper’s PTSD treatment, and old Grounder beef, now seem like good ways to pass the remaining time.

Alright. When the mess gets spread this wide (and kinda thick), I guess I am kinda curious about how it gets handled. How seriously the showrunners try to clean it all up, however, will be the thing to watch out for.

Leave your thoughts on this The 100 God Complex review, and this episode of The 100, in the comments section, below. Readers seeking more The 100 coverage can visit our The 100 page. Readers seeking more TV show reviews can go to our TV Show Review Page, our TV Show Review Twitter Page,  our TV Show Review Facebook Page, and our TV Show Review Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notification? FilmBook staff members publish  articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend