TV Show Review

TV Review: THE 100: Season 3, Episode 2: Wanheda, Pt. 2 [The CW]

Neil Sandilands Alycia Debnam-Carey Adina Porter The 100 Wanheda Pt. 2

The CW’s The 100, Wanheda Pt. 2 TV Show ReviewThe 100: Season 3, Episode 2: ‘Wanheda, Pt. 2′ had a pair of interesting reveals for viewers; but spent more time on the journey, towards the second reveal, than the reveal, itself. Not to say it wasn’t that important a moment – I just appreciated the effort that went into trying to make it a surprise. Between Clarke & Roan’s (Eliza Taylor & Zach McGowan) interaction, and the new dynamic promised by the ep’s initial reveal, I’ve seen less enjoyable attempts at stealth twists.

Speaking of stealth, Team Bellamy (Bob Morley) had been left cooped up in its RV, having allowed itself to be trapped. The eventual plan of action played right into the hands of the trapsters, who displayed an unprecedented level of stalking skill – considering that not even Indra (Adina Porter) saw them coming. That was just too good for any Kru I know, and just as well – they weren’t Grounders.

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Enter Pike (Michael Beach), leader of the Ark’s Farm Detail, and Earth skills trainer to the likes of Clarke (prize student) & co. The 100 has set up a nifty little plot device, in the form of the Ark re-entry breakup, that allows the show to add Skaikru when convenient; and in this case, the diaspora brought Sky People considerably more feral than any before. Pike’s people had been fighting Grounders from the moment they landed. This will make for an interesting turn to any Arkadia-Grounder coalition diplomacy. The episode left more than enough room for conflict, between Pike & Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), over Pike’s “only good Indian is a dead Indian” stance. The initial tension between Pike & Indra, alone, might be indication enough – or maybe something new for the shippers to work with (PIndra? Ike?)

There was more to the Pike reveal – one that should be getting Monty (Christopher Larkin) some more attention (the kid’s been under-utilized, IMO). Turns out that Monty may have had the most stable, nurturing family back-story of the original 100. More points for Monty.

On the way to the second reveal, Clarke showed a little Wanheda spirit, but fell for her own trick (no such thing as too dead, kids, keep doing the deed that makes the bad guy dead). The initial clash, between Clarke & Roan helped establish the malevolent limits to Roan’s agenda; and with the weight of all that hair dye lifted, Clarke was determined to take advantage of her prized status. One attempt seemed like a conveniently reckless gamble, to me; but Roan going all Hawkeye (Last of the Mohicans, not Marvel) came out of it – so I guess it paid off, from the viewer standpoint. At the very least, it was a good first impression to have of what McGowan brings to the field.

Convenience also seemed to be the order for the ep’s third subplot. With the Ice Nation going “boo” all over the place, Nyko (Ty Olsson) made a return trip to Arkadia, in the worst shape. It would have been too convenient for Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) to have the solution handy; so, naturally, Abby (Paige Turco) was professionally prompted to take the matter to Mt. Weather (“Dammit, Abbie – you’re a Doctor, not Lilith, Mother of Monsters”). More conveniently, it was a good excuse to get Jasper (Devon Bostick) back to the mountain, for a much needed emo-ectomy (note: if you have to tell someone not to do anything stupid, when left alone, you probably shouldn’t leave such a person alone). Hopefully, the trip did the trick (artfully, even).

The most well-established subplot of the season, so far, continued to follow Murphy (Richard Harmon) trying to stay well clear of Thelonius Jaha’s (Isaiah Washington) Rabbit Hole. The fact that he was willing to take the Apocalypse Now boat ride with him, however – after the T-‘Jonah’ experience – might have had more to do with Emori (Luisa D’Oliveira) being the boat skipper. Once she re-established herself, as a bad influence even for Murphy, the focus shifted to the nature of Alie (Erica Cerra) & her City of Light. As if all the BSG alums running around weren’t enough, the show has taken a decidedly Cylon approach to this corner of the mosaic (and Thelonius ‘Baltar’ gets added to the list) – begging the question: who else will be taking up permanent residency in the city, by season’s end?

It was a little tough watching Nylah (Jessica Harmon) get roughed up; but the show needs this level of credibility, to overcome the occasional bout of needless melodrama & leaps of logic. One such leap involved what had to be a cross road of destiny. Team Bellamy, an Ice Nation army, and the Roan & Clarke roadshow all wound up there, at roughly the same time. Roan’s Hawkeye action kept Team Bellamy from getting what they were after, one Team member spotted a safe haven that the entire army missed, while Bellamy took to playing ‘Hobbit in Mordor’ over his Clarke obsession. That obsession may have left him sidelined, for a bit (he’s not a Jedi, yet – kept his hand, though); but the whole affair smacked of Bellarke fanservice.

I think I’ve made it clear where I stand on the whole idea of shipping; but it almost seemed like the showrunners were trying too hard, this time around. ‘Wanheda’ had not provided as much quality time, between Clarke & Roan, either; so between Bellarke impulsiveness, and Roan keeping his cards down, the final reveal sort of took shape before it even happened. I suppose the easiest way to put it would be to ask Bellarkies what the single biggest threat to a Bellamy-Clarke pairing would be, and that would be the very thing the episode had been trying to keep from them.

Take heart, me Bellarkies, the return of the competition may be worth spit, at the moment. Clarke’s eventual recipient got off easy (a third eye ornament would’ve made a headbutting pretty nasty); but really shouldn’t have expected anything less than a hostile reaction. Sorry, Bellarkies, but this was the first real rise to come out of Clarke in a while; so hard feelings or not, there was clearly still plenty of feeling.

For now, the ‘Wanheda’ two-parter has left us with a looming boogeyman, in the Ice Nation, an underlying devil in a red dress, and some new diamonds in the rough. Still not as eventful a start as I had hoped; but as promising a start to the show’s expansion as any. One weak link could derail the whole thing, though (I’m looking at you, Jasper), when some of these threads start coming together. Otherwise, a successful balance & payoff, to the show expanding beyond its dual-arc format (it’s basically been Clarke & Thelonius, up to this point), could give the series some real legs.

Leave your thoughts on this review of The 100 below in the comments section. For more The 100 reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our The 100 page, subscribe to us by Email, follow us on TwitterTumblrGoogle+, or “like” us on Facebook.

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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.
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