That premiere left many stunned. Clarke’s realisation that Emori’s bout of insanity was transmitted through the air was shocking. With their drop ship stolen and nowhere to escape, it leaves all their loved ones as sitting ducks with no way to warn them, plus let’s not forget Murphy and his injuries. So much had happened within the first 42 minutes of the show’s return and seemed to leave fans with even more questions than the heart-stopping season 5 finale.
Communication was definitely an issue and unfortunately still remains unsolved after episode 2. However, we finally see the origin of Planet Alpha and the infamous Eligius III. Red Sun Rising opens 236 years earlier and retraces the steps of geneticist, Josephine and her family and friends as they start to settle and observe this new Planet. We see her father be the first to get infected and take it out on her mother first before proceeding to open fire right in the populated camp, which kills many and forces others to flee.
Back to the present, Jackson patches up Murphy claiming Emori only inflicted ‘superficial’ wounds. As a precaution, they chain Emori to the wall and once again pick up the children’s book for any additional clues into what this could be and how they can defend themselves against it. They discover the air pollutants are coming from the plants and figure that Emori succumbed to the effects first because of her tumble in the brush when they fled from the bugs the night before. However, they know that it’s just a matter of time before they too become just as rabid as her. They then decide to break up into pairs and chain themselves up for everyone’s safety and hope that it passes. Bellamy holds the keys to everyone’s locks and Clarke has his.
Meanwhile, back on Eligius IV, Nylah and Octavia brush up on their fighting tactics to keep them sharp until they are pushed down because of the unexpected docking of the ship. Before they can notice something wrong, they are subdued and held in the mess hall with the others, except for Raven. There is a fleeting hint about Octavia and her red blooded hands almost as if red blood is a shock to the captors, but this isn’t mentioned again. Knowing she’s outnumbered and at a severe disadvantage, Raven resorts to waking up a very pregnant Dioyza and leaving all their fates in her hands.
Clarke, Bellamy, and Murphy are sharing the main room of the house and their captivity brings out Murphy’s cockroach side once again and his sights are dead set on bashing Clarke. Clarke does seem to have the power over life and death and she’s used it more than once so it’s realistic for others to be pissed, angry and upset and Murphy is definitely all of those. However, she handles herself incredibly well, like always and breaks it down for Murphy, making him realise that being Clarke and having that power isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seeing this side of her causes him immediately to become quiet, realising just how hard it must be.
Shouting from upstairs alerts both Clarke and Bellamy, leading them to believe another friend has succumbed to the polluted air. They unlock themselves and leave Murphy to investigate. However, this time it’s Miller and Jackson sharing the same delusion. Miller is convinced that it’s inside him and they arrive just in time to stop Jackson from carving it out. They rush back downstairs to discover Murphy gone and fine him outside where he opens fire on them. During their search for Murphy, Echo gets affected next and Emori (who’s still suffering) just encourages her more, who is later joined by Bellamy leaving Clarke the last to succumb. Echo stabs herself with a tranquilliser (their precaution when they first locked themselves up).
Back on Eligius IV, Dioyza continues to negotiate with the only leverage she has, dead hostages. Having no other options, Dioyza tells Raven to dress up as a hostage and meet up with the dead hostage’s wife. While they plan their next move, we see Octavia smashing away at the door to no avail. Fed up and frustrated, she lashes out, first at Jordan when she calls his dad (Monty) a coward and then again to every other person locked up with her. They respond with violence. Beating her up until Abby finally stops them, telling them that her punishment is to live with all that she’s done.
At this point, everyone has gone crazy except for Clarke, that is until she hears her mother’s voice on the turned off radio in her bag. Abby is telling her to kill herself because that’s what would be best for Madi. Thankfully, Murphy stumbles on her before any damage can be done and talks her down. Telling her that she’s talking to a radio that isn’t even on. Now, it’s Murphy and Clarke teaming up to find and save Bellamy before it’ too late.
Dioyza’s plan almost works until the hostage refuses to remove her gear to show that it is in fact her husband. She has someone force it off after seeing a bullet hole in the suit, revealing Raven, and not her husband leading her to believe he’s dead. But before anyone can be hurt, Madi jumps from the vents in the ceiling to save them. They decide it’s about time to meet the others on the ground. Gaia, Madi and Dioyza stay behind as Raven, Octavia, Jordan and Abby embark to find the others. Along the way they find the radiation field and then Shaw’s grave.
Murphy finally finds Bellamy and a fight ensues. Unbeknownst to Bellamy, the fight is only a distraction so Clarke can swoop in and subdue him. However, she gets distracted yet again by the pollutants. She snaps out of it just in time to drag out a drowned Murphy from the water. He’s still alive but before she can access the damage Bellamy attacks her. Murphy wakes and saves her. Clarke reaches for the grenade and pulls the pin, knocking all three out.
The others find them but Murphy doesn’t wake. He has a pulse but it’s weak and he has black veins running all down his chest. Before anymore can be said, they are interrupted by a stampeding bunch of children returning to the village. They ask them if they were here to take them home, leaving Clarke to ask, “Isn’t this your home?”
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but is Murphy okay??? That’s my burning question from this entire episode and for some reason it’s sticking with me. He’s definitely a character you hate to love. And I really hope the next episode won’t leave his life in the balance because I’ve grown to appreciate his character and he’s honestly a realistic personality to the situation they’re in. And where are all the adults?? Because only kids came back…
I give this episode a 7/10 because although it left me again both stunned and wanting answers, it seemed to drop the ball a bit in terms of story because most of it was about Clarke and the others going crazy. It needed something more. But I’m still eager to see where this season is headed! Stay tuned for the next recap.
