Murphy bought them 24 hours to save their lives last episode and Abby didn’t waste them. Ashes to Ashes shows her hard at work, trying to procure a serum to turn willing subjects into nightbloods and suitable hosts for the Primes and she uses Madi as her test subject.
The Dark Commander’s control over Madi and her mind is slowly gaining ground and it’s obvious straightaway. She fakes her symptoms to get free and he reprimands her after attacking Jackson, saying that he was disappointed she didn’t go for his throat. So although it’s clear she’s still fighting, his grip on her has definitely tightened and her visions of him have become more vivid. This will definitely lead to more issues but for right now it’s still not the main focus.
Bellamy apologises to Clarke, ashamed for not protecting her. She tells him that he saved her. It was a pretty good reunion and a long-awaited one too. Clarke immediately poses the idea of going back to the compound pretending to be Jo and Bellamy shoots it down just as fast, saying it’s too risky.
Miller, Gaia, and Murphy remain imprisoned after their release from the pyres until guards come in to escort Murphy to the Palace.
Russell tells Echo that she must earn his mercy and by that he means that she will serve as Ryker’s very first test subject of Abby’s experimental bone marrow serum. Upon this decision, Murphy enters the palace and he tells her to treat him like a traitor as she’s escorted out. This helps prove to Russell that he can trust him and with his reputation proceeding him this isn’t hard for Echo to sell and perfect for Russell to buy. Ingenious! He gives Murphy a choice, help him get his daughter back and he will gain his immortality as well as Emori’s, but tells him that if he doesn’t take it, then it will be Emori that suffers. So he basically has no choice. We never see Emori in this episode.
As they try to plan a way to save their friends, it’s obvious that there’s still bad blood between Bellamy and Octavia, making their situation awkward. Gabriel fills them in on the Anomaly and Octavia’s impromptu trip. They realise the possibility of weaponizing it and how that could be just the thing to solve their dilemma. Becoming unbearable for Octavia to stomach, she leaves to get some fresh air but it’s not long before she calls them outside.
As they leave the hut, they see Octavia on her knees with a gun to her head, surrounded by rebels. According to Layla, who seems to be the leader of that group thought Gabriel abandoned them. She beats him out of frustration revealing that he had lied to them for 10 years and discover he’s still a Prime. His own people turning on him was unexpected as I thought he took a more active role since defecting but apparently not so much.
Bellamy tries to barter for their freedom by explaining their Red Sun weapon theory and they like it, but they want Gabriel to kill Clarke first, thinking it’s still Jo.
Echo tries to reason with Ryker for her freedom but it proves folly. Miller confides in Gaia about their past mistakes, specifically what they did down in the bunker. She tells him that mistakes are forgivable but not learning from them isn’t. This was a great scene to include because she shows how much the bunker years affected so many, not just Octavia and Kane. It was a new take on the past and it proves how deep those scars run for everybody. The guards come in to feed them and Miller attacks them, which is very out of character and you can see that shock all over Gaia’s face. She only realises why he did it after the guards go and he shows her their means of escape, a knife and a coil.
Clarke approaches Gabriel and suggests lowering the toxin to make it only enough to trigger the early warning alarm without harming anyone. He says it could work but the shields would need to be disabled before they set off the weapon making it an even riskier plan.
Bellamy and Octavia finally air their grievances. She tells him that he was right to leave her behind. She WAS a danger, but she insists she’s changed, however, they need to be focusing on their plan. She calls him her rock and that she was lost. He tells her that she’s his sister but not his responsibility, not anymore. Not what I expected for their talk but you know at least it was a step in the right direction in repairing their bond.
Echo bleeds black. The serum worked. Before Ryker can do anything more upon this discovery, she asks him to listen to a story. She was playing with her friend in the woods when their Queen approached discussing an upcoming mission for her friend. She gives her the task of executing a prisoner to help prepare her but when she tries, she can’t follow through. So she gives her an even harder task, kill her friend (Echo) or be killed herself. They fight and when it seems like she’s won, she hesitates to strike that final blow and gives Echo the opportunity to kill her instead. And that’s what she does. Then the queen tells her second that their expecting a young girl named Echo, nothing more and nothing less. She turns to Echo and says that that’s what they will get. Revealing that Echo isn’t even her name but a friend from childhood. The very same one she just murdered.
Seeing this conversation take a turn, he calls the guards in but it’s Miller and Gaia instead. They release Echo and she stabs Ryker. She tells him hesitation is weakness. It was a gut shot so he does have a chance of surviving it because I still have a theory that he goes with Raven and him dying ruins it!
Layla watches Bellamy, Octaviam and Clarke as the others go out to see what the commotion is outside camp. Murphy and Jade enter the tent and Jade goes right to Clarke asking her if she’s Jo. Clarke gives a quick glance to Bellamy and nods before confirming her question.
She takes on her plan of posing as Jo. Jade gives her a weapon to shoot Layla and leaves but Clarke shoots it into the ground instead. Layla is astonished, having figured that she was lying when she said she wasn’t Jo. That bullet in the floor proves she was telling her the truth.
Clarke makes it back to Russell telling him that she’s no longer immortal because she lacks her drive. Russell tells Murphy that he’s earned his place and goes to see Emori. Clarke asks where Simone is and he tells her to not worry because they’re going to get her back. He leads her to the lab and she sees Madi as their latest test subject. She asks Clarke if that’s her and to keep her cover she has to lie to her, enraging Madi.
And that’s it! Stay tuned for next week!
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