Written by Jakob Andreasen
Coming off last week’s episode, the Bellarke feels are at an all-time high, Kane is The 100’s personal Gerald Butler, and the Space Prisoners are not here to make friends. In ‘Pandora’s Box’, while everyone cries and hugs each other, some serious strategizing is being made by our prison leader, Charmaine Diyoza.
ACT 1 SCENE 1 – Gladiator
Within the first few minutes of the episode the blood is gushing, and the violence is peaking. Kane’s head is on the chopping block after stealing medicine from the bunkers supplies. Ironic. But, a resident reoccurring character versus a few extras? It’s quite clear that Kane is walking out alive and while Kane fights for his life, Abby pleads for his life, claiming he is only protecting her. The noble Kane, always protecting, only to have his victory cut short, not having earned his freedom yet.
ACT 1 SCENE 2 – Feels
Up on the surface, Bellamy is making moves of his own. Both he and Diyoza are at a point of negotiation, and coming off lasts week’s episode, 283 lives in exchange for freeing all the people in the bunker. Tensions are high, and most definitely mirror the early days of the original season. It’s interesting, that there are so many parallels between this season and the first. The 100 has come back full circle and is taking no prisoners. Diyoza and Bellamy reach a mutual understanding, mostly based on the threat of the 283 lives in orbit. Raven, being the super genius that she is, has prevented ‘Team Diyoza’ gaining control over the cryochambers. One point to ‘Team Skykru’.
BELLARKE. *screams of joy in the distance* Every moment of every episode has led to this moment. Yes, there was a glimpse in the previous episode, but now we get to experience physical contact. A ship that has not set sail but will hopefully leave its dock by the end of the season. And, not only are we treated with some Bellarke, we are treated with a little Clarke and Raven interaction, and Murphy’s there too, but he’s not the Beyoncé of this scene. These few precious minutes are reminiscent of the original dynamics of ‘The 100’, bringing back a whole truck load of feelings for long-time fans.
ACT 1 SCENE 3 – Wonderland
However, all is not well down the rabbit hole. Kane is still on trial for his crimes, or should we say Abby’s crimes. Octavia lowkey knows that Abby is the real culprit, but Kane is too macho and protective to admit it. It’s a low point for these two characters. Abby, who has become an addict and Kane, a man willing to die for love. We follow Kane to his trial in the cage fights, and plot twist: the honourable Kane doesn’t want to fight. Octavia steps in, willing to kill Kane herself, and boom, vitamin D.
ACT 2 SCENE 1 – Vitamin D
Pandora’s Box has been opened, enemies of the heir beware. Six years after entering the bunker, the occupants witness a sliver of light. Who is the mysterious figure descending from the sky? None other than lover boy Bellamy. Tears fill Octavia’s eyes as she is reunited with her brother, “I knew you would come back for me,” and Clarke soon joins the party. A party it is indeed, minus the cake and decorations. Her main priority, Abby, her mother. A lacklustre and unemotional reunion between the mother and daughter, a lot less tears than expected, but none the less, a special moment.
ACT 2 SCENE 2 – No Air
‘You Raise Me Up’ plays in the distance. We learn 814 souls are in the bunker, and inconveniently are brought up two-by-two by ‘Team Diyoza’. It would’ve helped to have had dug a hole near the entrance of the bunker. As wonKru and everyone else is distracted by their first intake of vitamin D, Diyoza and her team are trying to cease control of their ship, back from Raven. Diyoza, being the Navy-Seal that she is takes a more practical approach, venting the oxygen from the whole space ship, which would leave Raven and Murphy dead and the remaining prisoners alive – they’re safe in their cryo-chambers. But it’s Murphy who provides a quick solution. Open the cryo-chambers. Not a good plan in the long run, now the two have to somehow deal with 283 prisoners, but at least they’re alive.
ACT 3 – Betrayal
And now that the 283 prisoners are safe, Diyoza and co. no longer have a threat hanging of their head, meaning free reign over the ground, specifically, the little patch of green. Abby hands herself over to ‘Team Diyoza’, as Doctors are a dying breed of human and prioritising health is important on both teams. Of course, Juliet can’t be without her Romeo, so Kane joins Abby. Now, here is a moment of clear stupidity, one prisoner decides to take it upon himself to try to kill Octavia with an energy weapon. A grounder steps in front of blast, becoming a Jackson Pollock original, but Octavia still loses her hearing in the process.
The ending of the episode is quite dramatic, ‘Team Diyoza’ rendezvous back onto their ship and Dioyza wants to bomb everyone, in order to prevent a war. But, Raven and Murphy’s antics on the space ship lead ‘Team Diyoza’ skywards instead. Leaving the grounders and everyone recovering from their interaction with ‘Team Diyoza’.
CONCLUSION – Blame
The most tragic line of the whole episode, “This is all your fault.” Bellamy can’t catch a break and somehow everything that he does, which he does from a place of love and protection, always screws everyone up. It’s ironic that the episode title is Pandora’s Box, the ending of that whole story surrounds the concept of hope. There is no hope right now for our favourites. Not even for our dynamic duo, Raven and Murphy, up in space.
Overall, this episode offered a lot of action and emotion. Was it an amazing episode? It offered a bridge between the previous episode and the next, and more importantly, we no longer have to deal with the claustrophobic setting of the bunker. You know what, that’s the element of hope we were missing. The hope that the bunker no longer is a part of the story.
Next week we reach Season 5 Episode 5, Shifting Sands. “Octavia leads her people towards Shadow Valley against the advice of Clarke and Bellamy; Kane and Abby adjust to a new set of challenges.” Let’s hope that everything works out.
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