‘The 100’ 7×04 Review: “Hesperides”

Up until a couple of days ago, I had the distinct pleasure of not having cable or internet for a week thanks to Comcast.

Not only did that make moving a lot harder, but it also meant I wasn’t able to watch the third episode of the seventh season of The 100 until yesterday. However, I’m now all settled in which means I’m back on The 100 grind.

Last week’s episode reminded me of a lot of the early seasons of The 100 in which tough decisions were made that resulted in lives lost.

In lieu of no review of last week’s episode titled “False Gods,” here are just my quick bites on what went down:

Raven’s decision to sacrifice members of Eligius was understandable, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch. It also guarantees that Raven is going to have a hard time making it out of the final season alive.
Sheidheda is already showing signs that he is going to be one hell of a villain and a formidable foe for Clarke. I can’t wait to see this unfold even more.
Maybe Murphy wouldn’t be such a cockroach if people stopped assuming he’ll always be one?
Indra seems to be the voice of reason these days. Despite Clarke’s attempt to unify everyone, her love for Madi is preventing that. I feel as though stopping a nuclear fallout is worth having Madi pretend to be The Commander one more time.

That was last week’s episode and so it’s time to talk about this week’s wild episode.

Remember Bellamy?

The first few episodes of this season have given me some Lost vibes. Only because The 100 has been doing this thing where each episode focuses on one group of the main cast while another episode focuses on the other.

Episodes one and three dealt with those in Sanctum while episode two focused on introducing us to Planet Beta. This is kind of how Lost dealt with its huge ensemble cast – by not having everyone appear in the same episode and dividing them. It worked incredibly well for them and it’s also sort of paying off for The 100.

However, we have finally reached the point where the two groups collided. Better yet – we have finally reached the point in which Clarke realizes Bellamy is gone. Took her long enough.

Maybe less time has passed than I’m assuming, but it’s a bit perplexing that not one person has questioned the whereabouts of Bellamy, Echo, and the leader of the Children of Gabriel. Sure, it’s not as though Sanctum doesn’t have their own drama to deal with, but I’m still hard pressed to believe that not one person wondered where they all are.

Anyways, “The Disciples of a Greater Truth” (as they call themselves) show up to Sanctum to announce that they have Clarke’s friends. As if there is nothing else going on, Clarke drops everything to save Bellamy and her people. Because nothing stands between Clarke and her people.

As it turns out, The Disciples may have taken Bellamy as a bargaining chip to get Clarke. Apparently, she is the one they need to wage this final war mankind has to face. They couldn’t have been more cryptic if they tried.

I have no idea where this is going and I can’t even begin to guess. It sounds like they’re about to meet God but, come on, that can’t be. Can it?

Back to Planet Beta

It’s a good thing I’m intrigued by Hope because otherwise, I’d wonder why we’re getting a bunch of backstory on this brand-new character.

Normally, in a show’s final season, I’d question introducing us to someone new. I’d rather not waste time on a new character and instead spend it on the characters I already know and love. However, Hope is an outlier as I’ve genuinely enjoyed all the time that’s been spent on her.

The first few minutes of this episode gave us insight into her time on Planet Beta after Octavia and Diyoza were taken from her. We also got to explore her and Octavia’s relationship more which I loved to see.

What I wasn’t too jazzed about was the additional time spent with Echo, Gabriel, and Hope on Planet Beta. I already explained why when I wrote my thoughts on episode two so I won’t beat a dead horse. I will say that what they are doing with this storyline is exactly what I mentioned shouldn’t happen in a show’s final season.

They are spending too much time on two relatively new characters and Echo. I’d rather see literally anyone else in the main cast.

Seriously, about seventy-five percent of this episode was focused on the three of them plus another new guy, Orlando. We could’ve spent more time with Raven as she dealt with her PTSD from killing those Eligius members. We could’ve seen how that also impacted Murphy. So much wasted opportunity if you ask me.

What’s even more frustrating is that all this time spent trying to show us Echo’s growth as a person was for nothing. The writers led us to believe that her new friendships with Hope, Gabriel, and Orlando meant that she had become more than a cold-blooded assassin.

Shocker: she is just as cold-blooded as we remember.

Echo betrayed Orlando and lied to Hope and Gabriel. Despite her relationships with these people, she had her own plan to betray them all along. In Echo style, it involved more murder and leaving Orlando to be alone for years.

Thank god, this storyline is over.

This Planet Sucks

Of all the dumb decisions Clarke has made over the years, this one tops the cake.

After Raven discovers how to use unworldly technology, she uses it to save Clarke during her meeting with The Disciples. They then head on over to the anomaly stone and realize that with the help of this technology, they can jump to other planets.

They have no idea what life is like on these other planets or if they’re even habitable. Do they have oxygen? Who knows, but let’s go anyways!

Honestly, why they think hoping to another planet while Sanctum is currently falling apart is beyond me. Even if they can breathe, they have no idea what is waiting for them at the other end of the portal. They have barely any weapons, no food or water, and a complete lack of a plan. What do they possibly hope to accomplish?

Lo and behold, it seems that they have jumped to Antarctica. Too bad they didn’t pack their winter gear.

I seriously am beginning to question the thought process going into this season. But hey, I’ll buckle my seatbelt and continue on this wild ride. The 100 has surprised me before so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt. This season has only just begun after all.

The 100 airs on The CW on Wednesdays at 7/8c.