‘The 100’ 7×14 Review – “A Sort of Homecoming”

After a week of grieving and questioning The 100’s devastating decision last week, we’re now able to see how exactly the people of The 100 are mourning Bellamy’s death.

Part of me expected Clarke to hide the fact that she just gunned down Bellamy, but she confessed rather quickly. I mean, it would have been hard to mask the complete wreck Clarke was when she returned from Sanctum. Even a stranger could tell something monumental just occurred.

This episode was filled with a lot of grief, as expected. And honestly, it was hard for me to watch this episode and get past my anger for what they did to Bellamy. But the show must go on.  

So much was riding on this episode because it not only had to deal with the aftermath of Bellamy’s death, but also set the stage for the final two episodes of the series. It was a hard balance to maintain but I feel as though this episode did a decent job.

Let’s dive into how exactly Clarke, Octavia, and others dealt with Bellamy’s demise as well as what progress was made towards the final war for mankind.

Aftermath  

When Clarke and company landed back on Earth, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The 100 was at its prime when they were on Earth and you can’t convince me otherwise. Seeing them back where it all began was a touching tribute to what the show once was.

But nothing tugged at my heartstring more as when Clarke told everyone what she had done. When she did, I fully expected some fists to be thrown. But I was pleasantly surprised as both Octavia and Echo embraced Clarke instead.

They understood that Clarke killed Bellamy to protect her daughter. Echo said it best and it was perhaps the most profound thing she’s ever said in her life. She said that the Bellamy they knew died a long time ago. This Bellamy fell prey to a man who took advantage of someone looking to make sense of everything he’s done and seen.

If only they were more empathetic towards his shift of beliefs when we was alive. It is heartbreaking knowing that Bellamy believed all his friends and family hated him in his final days alive.

What kills me the most in this episode is the fact that Bill got the book and found out about Madi anyways. This just makes me believe even harder that they killed Bellamy for the mere shock of it, instead of it adding value to the story.

Still, each character had their own ways of grieving throughout the episode which was important. I would have felt even more robbed had they just skipped over Bellamy’s death as if it was nothing.

The truth is Bellamy was anything but nothing, despite the fact that the writers treated him as if he wasn’t a character we’ve seen grow up on our screens for seven years. Bellamy deserved better and I’ll never forgive the writers for this.

This Is Our Home

As I mentioned earlier, I loved the fact that they are back on Earth. It’s a huge callback to the earlier days of the show.

Even before Clarke smashed the helmet, preventing them from traveling to another world, I also was wondering why they would ever go back to Sanctum or Bardo. Clarke has a point – everyone that is from Earth that they care about is here. Why mess that up?

If they were to go back to Sanctum or Bardo, who knows how many more lives will be lost. They’ve managed to survive in the bunker before, they can just as easily do it again. They can have a new beginning.

Madi and Murphy have solid points as well. Those two are also the ones who were actually starting to view Sanctum as their home. Madi was making friends and building a life. Murphy was becoming a leader. How can they just abandon everything they built?

One of the best parts of this episode was the little moments shared by everyone as they become accustomed to their new home. We get a peek at Miller and Jackson’s relationship which has only really been a D plot this entire time. It’s been nice to see the one non-heterosexual couple have some screen time for once.

This episode also introduced to a potential new couple. Jordan and Hope, the children of lost parents, are really starting to hit it. They share a sweet dance and Jordan even went to console her after she felt guilty about having fun. These two kids deserve some happiness in the midst of all this tragedy.

We also learn that Echo’s real name isn’t Echo, it’s Ash. I mean, cool I guess?

Let’s be real, though. Niylah being drunk for a majority of the episode was a real mood. I’m starting to think that’s what I’ll need to be to get through the final two episodes.

May We Meet Again

Of course, their plan of settling on Earth goes down the drain after Bill finds out that he needs Madi to continue his quest to win the last war of mankind. Sheidheda ultimately convinces him to send him to Earth to retrieve Madi. He’s able to do this using Bardo’s invisible technology which makes him even more creepy than he already is.

Now, I know Clarke and Octavia can’t possibly know that Sheidheda is following them the whole time, but I feel as though screaming “Madi” every two seconds wasn’t the best plan. No wonder Sheidheda was able to find Madi so easily.  

I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised that Bill really believed Sheidheda was on his side. Did he really think he would just get rid of his murderous tendencies? Because he sure didn’t. The second he found Madi, he admitted the only thing he wanted was power and that her death would lead to that.

Fortunately, and thanks to a valiant effort by Gabriel, Madi is able to escape Sheidheda. He eventually goes back to Bardo after losing a fight to Gaia and Indra. Gabriel ends up succumbing to his wounds meaning another life was lost due to this last war of mankind. Makes you wonder if its all really worth it.

Madi sees Gabriel’s death as another person dying because of her. So, she opts to surrender herself to Bill in an effort to save everyone else which I completely understand. Even though she is a child, she has had to grow up tremendously fast. She even held the responsibility of The Commander at one point. I can understand her not wanting to sit idly by as more people die when she could prevent it.

I also don’t understand why everyone believes Madi helping Bill is automatically a death sentence. If she complies and doesn’t fight it, Bill can easily poke around in her mind without damage. Maybe I’m remembering things wrong, but I believe this is possible.

If a truce had been made, maybe Bill would have agreed to get his information in the safest way possible for Madi’s sake. Now, we just have to hope.

Bill, however, is a hypocrite so I’m not holding my breath. I find it hard to believe that this man wants to save humanity when he sends a bomb to the bunker with the goal of killing more people. Now everyone who was in the bunker is trapped as the walls come down.

Guess not all of mankind is worth saving, Bill.

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