TV Review: THE 100: Season 2, Episode 8: Spacewalker [The CW]

The CW’s The 100 Spacewalker TV Show Review. The 100: Season 2, Episode 8: ‘Spacewalker,’ took the time to explore what made Finn (Thomas McDonell) tick, and why he has managed to tick so many people off. Finn fans might have found some vindication, with the treatment; but however you may have felt, about his character, be warned: ‘Spacewalker’ took Raven (Lindsey Morgan) along for the ride.

After… who knows how long, since the original exiling, it seems like very few lessons have been learned by… well, pretty much anyone, on the show. For starters, Clarke (Eliza Taylor) hadn’t learned anything about crowd control/ mob management. You don’t publicly declare an everybody-gets-out-of-dying option – that you have no intention of taking – in the midst of a crowd, facing down a massacre.

You know things are bad when the Grounders, surrounding your garrison, go from looking like NFL Raider fans, to chanting like soccer hooligans.

Suffice to say, the masses wanted the out. With a Spacewalker slur to his name, trading Finn, for the lives of everyone else, was a no-brainer. A coalition of doves, however, centered on Clarke, Raven, and the emergency powers of Abigail (Paige Turco), stood fast against the very idea. Never mind all the grown ups around, the Blood for Blood arc has brought the show right back to its original Lord of the Flies dynamic. Even Bellamy (Bob Morley) was revisiting the role of manhandling the impulse control challenged – but as the Clarke support version.

Not even Lincoln’s (Ricky Wittle) first hand knowledge, of what they were up against, could sway them from this course; so when Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) was returned to the garrison, with a considerably preferable compromise, there was already a wall in place. Finding Jaha (Isaiah Washington) bound, and under guard, likely didn’t encourage. The rabble-rouser Abby, of the Ark, was now stone-walling both Chancellors, and seemed prepared to go full tyrant, in order to ensure that no one gets sacrificed to protect the many.

To the show’s credit, it has done a good job of muddying up what an Abby Chancellorship, back on the Ark, would have been like. Her absolute dove approach might have actually been worse than Kane’s zero-tolerance measures, and Jaha splitting the difference may have been key to there still being a Sky People, at all. Not to be a Cheney sized dick about it, but the Abby-Exile coalition has been really unreasonable about the hand-over option. Selfish, really. Self-sacrifice for a loved one is one thing; being prepared to sacrifice everyone else for that person: not so noble.

No, Finn, declaring a mass killing as an act of love, and finding comfort in Clarke’s well-being, neither serves as justification, nor warrants forgiveness.

‘Spacewalker,’ however, continued to make a case for him, by way of a parallel flashback. In keeping with the still-present impulse issue undercurrent, of the series, Finn had decided to cheer up then GF, Raven – facing dim prospects for space duty – with an impromptu spacewalk. This was to serve as the explanation (if not justification) of Finn’s overall mindset, where his women were concerned. I didn’t buy it. Not only did it say the wrong things, about Finn, the flashback also added context to what would be an unflattering turn for Raven, as well.

As with the Charlotte story, being on the wrong side, of impending mob rule, forced the Finn-ablers to make a run for the drop ship. Why the Grounders keep letting these tenderfoot tots walk rings around them, in their own woods, I don’t know. Hasn’t this happened enough to at least warrant the Grounders securing the drop ship? There was a run-in, with a lone Grounder; but this was more of a chance meeting, than running a Grounder picket. Oddly enough, with Clarke knocked out, and both their lives in eminent peril, Finn went pacifist, again – sparing the grounder in his sights, thus guaranteeing a siege of the drop ship.

Unlike the Charlotte scenario, Murphy (Richard Harmon) was brought along, as part of the team. Well, he was brought along, anyway. After Raven’s little contingency stunt, I wouldn’t expect Murphy to much want to hang those guys. Between the Exiles, and the Grounders, Murphy might be better off as a Weatherman.

Maybe it was the notion that Clarke nearly died, getting him to the drop ship, or maybe he wasn’t crazy about watching Raven go mama Bear; but Finn ultimately decided to give the (Sky) people what they wanted. Better late, than never, right? Well, his act of self-sacrifice came after a lot of wasted risk… and much later than current events called for.

Back on the Ark, Finn’s romantic gesture resulted in a bit of public jeopardy. I’m not entirely sure why Raven couldn’t seal up her suit again, after the air lock was compromised, but Finn had to rescue her. Since being floated would have been a very bad way to end a date, Finn did the math, and took the fall; earning his titular slur, his place among the Exiles, and the lasting devotion of Raven.

That last bit was just as well – Finn & Raven deserved each other. The spacewalker incident amounted to someone on a life raft, long adrift at sea, risking the integrity of the hull over a desire to go swimming. The whole affair reminded me of everything I had originally hated about the Exiles. Impulsive hedonists, with no regard for others – or even their own predicament. The fact that an even more reckless act, leading to an even graver predicament, had seemingly set back the maturation of characters like Clarke & Bellamy, was bad enough; but it put Raven’s devotion in more of a fanatical light.

She was willing to unleash wholesale slaughter, on all sides, to either to save Finn, or avenge him. If I hadn’t described Finn’s ‘womanizing’ as cultist, before, then I should have. Clarke put a lot on the line for this guy; but Raven was prepared to let it all burn.

When Clarke finally came to her senses, a degree of carelessness, on both sides, allowed her to make the obvious choice. If the grounders didn’t see fit to search her, for her final audience with the Commander, then they should have, before letting her get up close to a captive Finn. By the same token, as a huge fan of Last of the Mohicans, I was left wondering why Clarke was the only person to consider the Duncan option.

‘Spacewalker’ should have been another entry, in the current trend of TV dramas going into Winter break with major character write-offs. Finn fans fume all you want, I really couldn’t care less. This has more to do with me being a big picture person, than a cold-hearted bastard. Call me callous, but I don’t see any nobility in sacrificing others, in order to repay a debt of self-sacrifice. Both Finn, and Clarke came around, but not before shirking responsibility, and common sense, respectively. That time also allowed for a further degrading of Abby’s stock, while putting Raven squarely on my #@^%! list.

It should also make things more than a little tense, for the show’s second half. Hawk v dove matters will likely lead to internal power struggles, for both the Grounder & garrison leadership. Clark will have to get past the episode’s outcome, in order to retrain focus on Mt. Weather… and then there’s Raven: hopefully stooping to these lengths nevermore, but prospects look dim….

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