jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
jaina ([personal profile] jaina) wrote2014-12-29 03:12 pm
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Thoughts on The 100 2x08

I know, a TV show episode reaction in my livejournal? Who am I? But I typed some stuff as I was rewatching 2x08 on cwtv.com (trying to help boost viewing numbers) and I think this is really the best place to put it vs facebook or tumblr. I honestly don't know if anyone still reading this even watches The 100 or is caught up through the S2 MSF so, you know, feel free to skip, esp if you are Maggie and aren't caught up yet, because spoilers. Uh also if you like Finn you should probably skip.

basically this is just a bunch of angry typing as I was rewatching the episode.
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"it's a punishment for what happened in the village" NO. it's a punishment for WHAT YOU DID. Say it. WHAT YOU DID. It wasn't something that "just happened."

this bullshit scene with Murphy and Clarke blaming EACH OTHER for what FINN did holy shit i'm so irritated

lincoln is the only one speaking sense jfc

ew ugh i hate this clarke and finn scene so much "it was all for you, all these horrible things, so now i need you to forgive me" the worst kind of emotional manipulation Finn is such a gross Nice Guy

like i legitimately don't understand why everyone suddenly worships finn. I just don't. Everyone is defending the shit out of him and the narrative paints those who don't as being in the wrong

Kane: "i've gotten to know the commander" me: "YEAH I BET YOU HAVE"

why are they so against any kind of punishment for MASSACRING EIGHTEEN PEOPLE? like he should get off scot free? because he feels bad about it? look if some guy from the US went to Belgium and killed 18 Belgian people and then came back to the US, and then Belgium was like "uh, we're gonna need you to extradite this guy on account of him killing 18 innocent people" the US wouldn't be like "no, but see, he feels real bad about it, so we're just gonna let him stay here."

no but why are the writing Bellamy defending Finn, idgi at all, since when does he like Finn so much??

"let's go to the dropship!" yeah that...makes no sense and is a terrible idea. bellamy. you are a full on idiot for this episode. lots of people carrying the Idiot Ball this time.

'oh he's so selfless, he took the fall instead of Raven' IT WAS HIS FUCKING IDEA. such a Nice Guy. uuuuugggggggghhhhhh

Kane: "i spent time with your commander" me: "YEAH YOU DID"

I just really hate how they centered the entire episode around showing us how noble Finn was and how sad we should all be for him so that the ending would be Super Tragic but if he had been written well all along then we would already feel how tragic it is without the writers metaphorically grabbing us by the shoulders and going SEE? SEEEEEEE!!!

and if JUST ONCE he had actually come out and said, "What I did was wrong. I'm the only one responsible for my actions. It doesn't matter what my intentions were. I deserve the full consequences" then I would be so much less angry at all of this. COOL MOTIVE, STILL MURDER.

"i never meant to hurt you" not "i'm sorry I hurt you" just "i didn't mean it so forgive me" THIS IS WHY I HATE HIM
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and that's where my patience ran out. but I will say that I spent most of my first viewing of the episode yelling "KILL HIM!" every five minutes and then when Clarke went over to Lexa at the end I was like "oh god I hope she kills him. can't get my hopes up. can't get my hopes up. KILL HIM!!!!!" and then when she DID Rogue and I burst out in cheers and clapping. i have not been that pleased to see a fictional character die in a long time.


Okay, all that said though, if you aren't watching The 100 YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING THE 100 because on the whole it's a pretty killer post-apocalyptic funtime teen drama. If you like: 1) post-apocalyptic stuff, 2) kids-on-their-own, 3) team-as-family 4) characters being Team Mom and Dad, you might like this show. S1 is all on Netflix and it's only 13 eps. My recommendation is to watch through the first 4 eps, and by then you'll either know if it's for you or not. Don't stop after the first 2 because 3 and 4 are much better.

[identity profile] brightcupenny.livejournal.com 2015-01-03 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah! That's it exactly. Looking at it from that angle makes it a much better storyline. I get where the writers were coming from and what they were trying to do. But for me, at the time, in the moment, it just didn't work the way they intended.

(Also the most jarring thing for me was how vehemently Bellamy defended Finn. Because Clarke, Raven, absolutely. They both like him. Unless we missed a lot during their funtime trip through the woods earlier this season, Bellamy has never had a whole lot of personal love for Finn. His usefulness, yes, him as a person, no. Maybe it was meant to show how protective he is of all the remaining members of the original 100?)

[identity profile] padawansguide.livejournal.com 2015-01-03 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
I think with Bellamy it is that they're *his*. He sort of took over the de facto leadership and with the adults coming in and messing with things and making decisions. I think he is fiercely protective. I think it's like one of those sibling things where only you are allowed to pick on your sibling - but if anyone outside tries to... Finn is one of them, the people sent down sacrificially. Bad shit happened to them as a result and I think they're way more banded together as their numbers dwindle, then they were on Day 1.

This show is funny - because episode by episode there have been things that don't work (ie, all this stuff with Finn, and the teen cliche characters (slutty popular mean girl! bully popular douche guy! bully sidekick guy! nerd guy! cool goofy cute reckless guy! sassy girl!) that 2 episodes in totally threw those all away as Bellamy and Murphy went Lord of the Flies, and Octavia went awesome, etc. In retrospect that contrast is stark and really works. As does the moral ambigiousness around Finn. But in the moment, before the story unfolds, less so...

[identity profile] brightcupenny.livejournal.com 2015-01-03 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
I think you're right. I wish they'd been able to toss him a line like that to lend Bellamy a little more justification (and more character development, woop).

Your second paragraph, that's one thing I love, where they had these total stereotype characters and then they break down and explain why they were that way in the first place, and then put them through the wringer and their shells burned away and their true personalities came through. Like, this is a little headcanon-y, but in my mind basically everything Bellamy did early on in the show was because of Octavia, in one way or another. He seizes power, and planned to seize power from the moment he got on the ship, because it was the best way to ensure her safety. And then all the ridiculous sleeping around and posturing and "whatever the hell we want" was partially to maintain that persona he constructed to keep power, and partially because he really did just want to let loose and be young for a change. He likely had next to no close friends/relationships/whatever on the Ark because of Octavia, and then he lost basically everything in his life because of Octavia (not her fault ofc), and so finally he's like "FUCK YES whatever the hell we want" with a handy side effect of helping him gain and keep power.

I may have thought about this a fair bit.

[identity profile] padawansguide.livejournal.com 2015-01-03 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
Agreed on Bellamy.

Oh, very interesting.

Yeah, because Bellamy wasn't douchy popular guy on the ship, which doesn't gel very well with Bellamy on the dropship. Bellamy on the ship was the guy who made sure not to attract attention onto Octavia. But I like the head canon that this was his chance to be young and do whatever he wants. Clearly some of his actions were out of self-interest as well as protecting Octavia - because he didn't want the adults showing up and both taking his power and jailing him again. But so much of what he did was clearly in defense of Octavia. I like this headcanon.

:D