After watching a broken Bellamy and guilt-ridden Clarke part ways almost a year ago, The 100 certainly had a lot of anticipation building towards it’s season three premiere. With the Mount Weather threat eliminated, there was finally a chance for the remaining 48 to gain some sense of normalcy in their new environment and, if they were smart, start to connect with the Grounders instead of making more enemies.
The show starts off immediately after the previous finale, with John Murphy at the mysterious house he stumbled into while searching for the City of Lights with Jaha. Murphy has a good time for a minute, settling in to watch the video that starts playing...until he quickly realizes he’s been locked in. Desperately as he tries, he can’t get the door open and the video on screen fills in the gaps. Apparently, Alie is an AI that was created as a replica of a girl on Earth named Becca and also the same AI that set off the nuclear war that forced Earth’s residents to flee to space just 98 years prior. Slowly, Murphy descends into madness, spending three months watching the boy on the video do the same thing, reaching the same lows he reached as well. In a moment of weakness, Murphy has the idea to kill himself, just like the former resident. He decides not to at the last minute and, suddenly, there’s a voice over the intercom announcing the doors are unlocking.
Running out, he follows the drone outside that was apparently waiting for him. He manages to stumble into a mansion conveniently located in the middle of nowhere where he runs into Jaha. Upon finding him alive and paired up with Alie, Murphy doesn’t take it well, especially when Jaha starts explaining that the City of Light is real in a very cult-like way. Of course, Emori makes a reappearance, though, quickly prompting John to tag along, despite his skepticism about their mission.
Back at Arkadia (formerly Camp Jaha), the Sky People have been busy. The wreckage of the Ark has been transformed into a community; there are homes, people are gardening, and they’ve even got a community center. There’s even a nicely subtle mention of how women are removing their contraceptive implants, proving just how far the Ark has come from their limited space on the ship.
Even more evolved? Bellamy and Lincoln’s relationship. The two are sparring together, becoming integral parts of the Ark community, and there’s even a touching moment where Bellamy presents him with a guardsman jacket. In fact, Bellamy is vying for the title of Most Changed with Murphy -- the boy who went by the mantra “whatever the hell we want” in season one has now become the man who organizes day trips to look for survivors.
Most angst ridden? Jasper, who has visibly fallen into a downward spiral with the death of Maya and the others in the mountain. The rest of the team, especially Monty, is frustrated and fed up with Jasper’s attitude and lack of sobriety. The writers use this as an excellent moment to remind us that these are still just kids, most of them still under 18. They’ve all had things happen to them that have caused them to deal with more than they ever bargained for (see: Raven’s worsening leg, Jasper’s depression, and Clarke’s guilt) but at the end of the day, they’re just kids.
They’re not quite prepared, however, to run into several members of said tribe; when they’re less than amused with Jasper’s attitude and threatening to kill him, lethal force is used for the first time in three months. Bellamy promptly radios the event in to Kane who is less concerned with that and more concerned with who they were looking for: Wanheda.
When Bellamy and Monty finally catch up with Kane and Indra, she explains that Wanheda, or Commander of Death, is what they’ve been calling Clarke. Though they’re grateful Clarke took care of Mount Weather, Grounder legend claims that if they kill Clarke, they’ll inherit her power -- and the Ice Nation’s commander is desperate for it. The group is off to search for her, starting with the trading outposts. They’re stopped by a tree in the middle of the road and another one ominously being cut down behind them.
Finally, we see what Clarke is up to as she jumps out of a tree and, armed with only a small knife, takes out a panther. Apparently, she’s been spending the last three months living in the forest and trading with a local girl, Niylah. After she saves Clarke from being uncovered, Clarke finally starts to be a little vulnerable and opens up. The two fall into bed together and when she wakes from a nightmare, Clarke quietly gathers her things and leaves, only to promptly be captured by the man that had been hunting her earlier.
In Arkadia, another type of identity crisis is going on. Raven refuses to accept help, even after admitting that the pain in her leg has been getting substantially worse for the past three months. Octavia and Lincoln are having problems as Octavia, who has always felt like an outsider and connected with Lincoln because he was one too, isn’t happy with how much he’s fitting in and feels like he’s leaving her behind. Even Jasper, who seemed to make progress when they were out in Sector 7, attacks a boy (guest star Shawn Mendes!) playing the piano because it belonged to the people on the mountain.
Personally, this was a solid start for season three. Although I wish they’d get the kids all back together a la season one, I’m enjoying watching them all branch out and grow up. Watching how Clarke and Bellamy have each handled their guilt after pulling the lever at the mountain in just one episode was promising and I’m excited to see their development in the next couple episodes as well.
The 100 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.