The 100 – Stealing Fire

By starrymag | April 1, 2016

By: Allison Schonter

 

After a two-week break, “The 100” finally returned with Stealing Fire. The ninth episode of the season is set in both Polis and Arkadia and each setting is dealing with its own issues. Pike is still the big threat in Arkadia and in Polis the aftermath of Lexa’s death is being dealt with. Huge moves that change the course of the entire season and of the characters are made.

 

Arkadia

 

Things pick up right where they last left off in Arkadia. Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), Sinclair (Alessandro Juliani) and Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) have all been sentenced to death. Pike (Michael Beach) is just as bad as ever and he has new plans. Not only will those three be executed, but he decides that he wants to become even more of a villain and sentences all of the Grounders being held to the same fate. Fortunately, he changes his mind and instead settles with the arrangements of the executions of Lincoln, Sinclair and Kane taking place at dawn.

 

Elsewhere on the grounds of the fallen Ark, Harper (Chelsey Reist) and Miller (Jarod Joseph) are laying low, afraid of being caught. But Bellamy (Bob Morley) seeks them out, wanting their help in saving Kane and the others. It seems as if he has really realized what Pike is doing. Miller and Harper don’t trust Bellamy and Monty (Christopher Larkin), though, and refuse to work with them, believing that if they do, they will be turned in as traitors to the new Chancellor. In a last ditch effort to save the trio that is set to be executed, Bellamy pleads with Harper and Miller to tell Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) to meet him at the dropship if she wants to save Lincoln.

 

Prior to the execution, the prisoners are given the chance to say their final goodbyes to loved ones and those to whom they are close. Kane meets with Abby (Paige Turco). Abby doesn’t want to let this happen, she wants to save Kane. But Kane tells her that she can’t help and that she shouldn’t try to stop it because Arkadia needs her. Arkadia needs someone to show them the way out of the dark and Abby is the only one at the moment who can do that. If she tries to stop the execution, she will succumb to the same fate. Kane is later seen telling Sinclair and Lincoln that their deaths can be an act of unity; it can unite their people.

 

In their attempts to save the prisoners, Monty and his mother overhear Harper on the radio. The mother and son duo recognize that there is an escape plan taking place and they immediately tell Pike that there is a plan to save the prisoners. Lincoln, Sinclair and Kane are put in a locked and guarded room, momentarily postponing their execution. These guards are later knocked out and it is revealed the prisoners are no longer in the room. In reality, they are hiding under the floor with Octavia, just as she had been forced to do for sixteen years on the Ark.

 

Just as Octavia is about to lead them out of the Ark and to safety, Harper warns them over the radio not to do it. Pike and his men block the exit. They are trapped. Monty goes over the radio and informs Pike that the prisoners are headed towards the main gate, creating a distraction so that his friends can escape. As they are leaving, Abby and Kane once again have a brief moment together. Abby tells Kane that she is staying behind in Arkadia because he is right – their people need someone to lead them out of the dark. And then there is the long awaited Kabby kiss!

 

Things can only run semi-smoothly for so long, though, and Pike interrupts things. He comes over the radio and speaks directly to the traitors. He tells them that if they don’t surrender, the other prisoners will all be executed. Lincoln can’t let his people die, but Octavia can’t let Lincoln go. As he kisses her for a final time, he injects her, knocking her out and telling Kane to get her out of Arkadia.

 

The story at Arkadia ends with Lincoln surrendering to Pike. Lincoln is being led outside and then kneels on the wet and muddy ground. His final words are not meant for Pike, but rather for Octavia: Mebi oso na hit choda op nodotaim. May we meet again. Lincoln dies a martyr for his people.

 

 

The Cave

           

The cave. There is a gold old cave that Octavia was hanging out in earlier in the season. Only this time, Bellamy gets to hangout in it with Indra (Adina Porter). After going to the dropship to meet with Octavia in the hopes of helping to save the three prisoners set to be executed, it turns out that Octavia doesn’t trust her brother. So, she knocks him out with some drugs and takes him back to the cave. When he finally wakes back up, he once again tries to convince Octavia that he’s on her side and for the first time, Octavia doesn’t believe him; nor does she believe that he’ll actually be able to help her.

 

While Octavia is back at Arkadia trying to save Kane, Lincoln and Sinclair, Bellamy remains in the cave with Indra. He desperately tries to convince Indra to let him go so that he can stop Octavia. He knows that her being in Arkadia is dangerous; she is risking her life. Indra retorts his arguments by telling Bellamy that if Octavia should die attempting to save them, she will die a warrior’s death.

 

By the end of the episode, when the horns from Polis sound, Indra realizes that Lexa has died and that a new Commander has been chosen. She goes to leave and when Bellamy tries to stop her for the sake of Octavia, she tells him that Octavia is her people and that she will understand.

 

 

Polis

           

The last time we were in Polis, Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) had just taken her last breath. The Commander had died and the Commander’s spirit had been removed from her neck. In Stealing Fire, we pick up with Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Murphy (Richard Harmon) still locked in the room. They’ve been locked in there for an entire day. When Titus (Neil Sandilands) re-enters the room, and Murphy snarkily asks if he is here to finish the job of killing them, Titus tells them that he is there to finish his vow to Lexa. He promised the former Commander that he would never hurt Clarke again and this includes seeing that she safely makes it out of Polis. Clarke has other plans, though, and refuses to leave. She needs to make sure that her people’s safety is ensured.

 

Titus reluctantly takes the two members of Skaikru to the room where Lexa’s body is, surrounded by the Nightbloods. Clarke speaks to Aden (Cory Gruter-Andrew), the Nightblood whom Lexa was confident would become the next Commander. He informs Clarke that if Heda’s spirit should chose him, he will keep Skaikru safe. He tells Clarke that they all vowed to Lexa to keep Skaikru safe. Unfortunately, there is one Nightblood who feels differently – Ontari (Rhiannon Fish). She is the Nightblood whom had been kept secret by the Ice Queen. Ontari makes her grand reentrance by trying to kill Clarke.

 

Cut to Titus’s room of sacred symbols, where Clarke and Murphy enter without permission. Clarke needs to find a way to make sure that Aden wins the conclave. Titus tells them that it is up to Heda’s spirit to chose. When Clarke asks if Lexa is really in the AI chip, Titus assures her without doubt that she is. Before the conversation can go further, the victory horn sounds. Ontari has executed the other Nightbloods in their sleep.

 

Roan (Zach McGowan) warns Clarke and Murphy that if Ontari sees them, she will kill them. Paying his debt to Lexa (she had spared his life in their battle to the death), he leads the two to a tunnel leading out of Polis. Once again, Clarke refuses to leave. She wants to steal the chip. She literally wants to steal the flame. They go back to Titus’s room and Murphy watches the door as Clarke goes to the pod where the chip is kept. Just as she retrieves it, Titus appears. He tells Clarke that Lexa’s death is her fault. He may have been the one to pull the trigger, but Clarke is the one who killed her (the entire love is weakness thing is sort of big to him). Clarke asks why the flame can’t just be put into somebody else who isn’t a Nightblood. It turns out that when someone else takes the flame, the flame takes their life.

 

Clarke, in her desperation to keep Ontari from ascending, questions Titus about the eighth Nightblood at Lexa’s conclave, the one whom Lexa was reluctant to talk about. Titus tells Clarke that the eighth Nightblood was a coward and fled before the conclave. She is unfit to be Commander. As Ontari comes to the room to accept the flame, Titus tells Clarke to hide. Titus tells Ontari that she cannot accept the flame until she is cleansed and orders Murphy to take her to the Commander’s room.

 

Once Ontari leaves, Clarke comes back out. Titus realizes that Ontari is unfit to be Commander, possibly more so than the eighth Nightblood at Lexa’s conclave. He tells Clarke to find the Nightblood. He gives the Commander’s flame to Clarke. The eighth Nightblood is Luna and knowing that she won’t let Titus anywhere near her, Titus makes Clarke the Flamekeeper.

 

In the Commander’s room, Ontari is bathing, purifying herself so that she can accept the flame. A knock on the door causes her to get out of the bath, Murphy watching her. Roan enters with Titus and informs Ontari that Titus has lost the flame, but Titus confesses to what he has done and informs them that he gave it to Clarke. Murphy points out that Ontari can’t kill Titus because he is the only one who can perform the ritual of ascension. Ontari has other plans, though, and Roan kills him regardless. Ontari orders for the pyre to be burnt and for the horns to be sounded once again. For the time being, she will lie about having ascended.

 

 

Finals Thoughts…

           

Stealing Fire was about exactly that…stealing fire. Or rather, stealing the flame that is the Commander’s spirit. In a last ditch effort to keep Ontari from becoming Commander and ensure her people’s safety, Clarke goes for the flame and in the process becomes Flamekeeper. Will she be able to find Luna? And even if she does, will Luna become the next Commander? And speaking of the flame, which is now in Clarke’s possession, how will Clarke react to that? That chip is the last connection to Lexa that she has and whether you are a Clexa shipper or not, you cannot deny that Clarke was deeply in love with Lexa.

 

Lets talk about Bellamy. Bellamy is undergoing a redemptive arc right now. It began in episode eight and it is continuing now. The seemingly dark and dangerous road that he had been traversing down became a little too dark and dangerous for him and he began to realize that what he was doing was wrong. Is it a little too late in the eyes of Octavia, though? Will she ever be able to forgive him because his actions and his initial support of Pike are what have led to Lincoln’s death?   And speaking of Octavia and Lincoln, how will she deal with his death? She watched as her love died before her. Will this event manage to bring Clarke and Octavia closer together? They’ve both witnessed their loves die. Octavia being the warrior that she is, though, will keep fighting. Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim (Get knocked down, get back up). She didn’t let herself cry. She can’t. She has to keep fighting, if not for herself, then for Lincoln. She has to save his people.

 

Don’t forget to tune in to The CW Network next Thursday at 9 pm EST for “Fallen.”