WiC Watches: The 100 season 7
By Zac Giaimo
Episode 701: “From the Ashes”
The premiere picks up right where the last season left off, with Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) being spirited away by the Anomoly and Hope (Shelby Flannery) being thrust into reality alongside Echo (Tasya Teles) and Gabriel (Chuku Modu). The three are immediately attacked by invisible foes while failing to stop them from taking Bellemy (Bob Morely) away. This show has never shied away from action-heavy episodes and this one is no different.
What struck me as a major difference from previous seasons is how this episode was shot. Many of the shows airing on The CW follow a formula found in most soap operas. Historically this has worked for the network, as it’s been able to adapt this style to fit many different shows, from The Flash to All American. But in “From the Ashes,” the camera angles, the lighting, and even some of the scene transitions reminded me of more of a gritty action movie. And I gotta say, I’m loving the new direction.
You see, to me, The 100 has always been defined by war, whether that’s war against the Grounders or war against Mt Weather or war amongst themselves. But too many times, the lighthearted atmosphere and character melodrama keeps the audience from becoming fully immersed in that story.
Not all the time, mind you. Remember when Lincoln was killed? How gut wrenching it felt to see such a positive character killed off because of the ignorance of another. And in the middle of the season, no less! Now that’s how you subvert expectations. It reminded the audience that this is a post-apocalyptic war world and no matter how happy someone is, everything can be taken from them in an instant. And based on this new episode, it feels like this final season will be full of those kinds of moments and is fully committed to the real effects of war and conflict.
On the other hand, the show is still making some iffy decisions regarding the main characters’ personal lives. For some reason, all the main characters, besides the ones mentioned above, now live in what looks like a Cape Cod beach house. The inclusion of something so normal in a world so alien is off-putting.
You can feel it as the the main cast — Clarke (Eliza Taylor), Madi (Lola Flanery), Raven (Lindsey Morgan), John (Richard Harmon), Emori (Luisa d’Oliveira), Indra (Adina Porter), Gaia (Tati Gabrielle), Jordan (Shannon Kook), Nathan (Jarod Joseph) and Eric (Sachin Sahel) — sit around and have a picnic, discussing what their next steps will be now that they’ve overthrown the Primes. Their discussion doesn’t feel weighty enough. It’s hard for the audience to feel the gravity of the situation because of the way the show is framing it, even though the characters are discussing the literal fate of the entire human race.
Which brings me to my final point: the episode itself did a fine job of setting up plenty of storylines to follow, but I feel they’ve set up too much for a final season. The final season of a show should see all the storylines that have already have running converge and finish. But The 100 decided that it needed to set up not one but three different antagonists all at once, while a few main characters continue with a plotline that has been building since the beginning of last season when the original cast landed on Sanctum.
I’m curious how the writers will handle the multitude of bad guys and girls. A part of me believes that they felt compelled to give Clarke a challenge worthy of someone who has already overcome so much, in order to show how the lessons she’s learned thus far give her the ability to overcome this final obstacle and begin rebuilding humankind. It’s no small task, and I’m crossing my fingers the show can pull it off. Either way, this season is shaping up to be one to remember, and I already can’t wait for next week.