April7739

I thought about it, and I think I'm just going to post my episode thoughts in here this week. So sorry, this is a long post and it's not all about Bellarke. (Actually, very little of it is. So feel free to read or not read. It's up to you.)


So I’m not actually sure if this episode or 6x04 is my least favorite of the season. I still think they’re both better than about half the episodes last season, so that’s good. But I might actually say this is my least favorite just because of how confusing it was in parts. My friend and my mom also said this episode was their least favorite, too. I do hope the finale ends on a stronger note.


Clarke: Just awesome. I think this is going to end up being my favorite season for Clarke, dethroning season 2. I’m just in awe of her strength, particularly in that last scene, keeping up the charade despite the fact that she found out her mother was murdered, despite the fact that her child had a gun to her head, despite the fact that she had to leave her people out there to fight for their lives. I’m so impressed with Eliza. Such growth, like others have said. There are so many subtle nuances to the variations in character she’s had to pull off this season. (Wouldn’t it be horrific if she had to kill Simone? Just due to the fact that it’s still her mom on the outside?)


Bellamy: Pretty straight-forward with him this week. I was glad he got to give another speech. It’s been too long. I think it’s natural for him to feel guilt over leaving people behind, but Bellamy, you did what you needed to do for your girl. We were saying in the Bellamy thread that it’s too bad Abby didn’t find out he was the one to save Clarke. That may have given her some peace in those final haunting moments to know that her daughter wouldn’t be left to fend for herself.


Octavia: Also a pretty straight-forward episode. I liked the interaction between her and Bellamy and how we got to glimpse them being more lighthearted with each other again, even if just for a moment. “My sister, not my responsibility” is going to be the best thing for both of them.


Gabriel: Episode MVP for me. Chuku Modu (sp? I never know how to spell his name!) is a really strong actor, and that confrontation between him and Russell was an episode highlight. It’s interesting that the “demons” they’re battling against are technically his creation. And he’s technically the same as them. I would totally not mind if this character sticks around, because he is intriguing and well-portrayed, but at the same time, I feel like he could die and find peace, too. So I feel like either one will work, though if I had to guess, I think he’ll stick around.


Russell: I’ve enjoyed his descent into rage and madness. JR has portrayed it so well, and it makes sense why it would be happening. It’s very rare for us, actually, to see characters on this show go from potential ally to straight-up villain. Usually they go from potential villain to ally (i.e. Diyoza, various Grounders, and even characters like Bellamy and Murphy). I don’t personally see how he can survive the season and still have a role/place in this show, but I think he’s added a lot to this season.


Abby: Oh, my. For some reason, I didn’t see this coming until during the episode itself. I thought that, with Kane’s final words to Abby telling her that she was strong and she could do this without him, she’d survive the season. But I guess not.

I’ve never been a particularly big Abby fan, though I did enjoy her relationship with Kane in seasons 3 and 4, in particular, and I think Paige is a very good actress. She always did seem to struggle with taking responsibility for her choices and leaned too hard on the idea of getting her humanity back while never actually taking continuous steps to do it. Her addiction storyline last season, though I said it was important, was resolved to quickly for me to praise as a really well-done portrayal of drug use. So this character and her storylines were . . . not my favorite. But having said all that, she still has been here since the very first episode, and she was the last of the “adult” characters. Do I feel like it was time for her to go? I mean . . . I guess. But my goodness, my heart just breaks for the Kabby fans this season. I can’t even imagine losing both halves of your ship within the span of just a few episodes.

Kane’s death was much more impactful to me, probably because I liked him a lot more as a character. Abby’s demise also became painfully obvious as the episode wore on. She got her goodbyes with Clarke, Raven, and Jackson, which, while nice, felt a tad too . . . convenient. But I’m not mad about them, either. I think I realized it when Russell smiled at her. I was like, “Oh, he’s turned on. He thinks his wife would look good in you.” (God, that sounded weird. ) Anyway, I wasn’t sure if he would actually succeed or not, but he did. Those last moments for her were pretty ****ing haunting. That must have been terrifying, knowing what was going to happen, not being able to stop it (much like her daughter back in 6x04), and seeing Jackson and Raven screaming and crying and trying to get to her. Very well-done scene. I loved the way it was filmed, the way the sound cut out for that weird noise to take its place, and the flashbacks. Yep, the flashbacks did kind of get to me, especially when they showed Clarke as a baby and a little girl.

Will Paige continue on past this season? I have a hard time imagining that, tbh, her still being second in the credits when she’s playing a character who’s not even Abby. And I don’t want that. I don’t want to see her as someone else.


Raven: Well, I think we can pretty much say it’s official: Raven has no tangible storyline this season. Even if she gets something in the finale, that’s an episode, not a whole storyline. I used to love Raven, but seasons 5 and 6 have seen her character devolve progressively. She’s been an accessory to others this season. And they couldn’t even have her hug Clarke or look the slightest bit relieved after leaving things on such a judgmental note with her.


Madi: Lola’s doing a great job, but . . . this storyline is going to roll over into season 7, isn’t it? Ugh, and it’s my least favorite of the season. I just want her back as a kid.


Jackson: I hope he can step up now that Abby’s gone. It was a nice goodbye moment that they had, and I appreciated that Abby admitted she was wrong to say what she did to him earlier this season.


Miller: Small moment, but I loved him growling at Octavia that he didn’t take orders from her anymore. They’re bringing Miller back for me.


Echo: Didn’t do much this episode, but cool leap over the counter.


Gaia: I hope she cares more about Madi than the flame at this point. The end leads me to think . . . maybe she does? That’d be nice.


Priya: Such a beautiful actress. That’s about all I have to say, though. She’s gone, deserves to be, just like all the Primes apart from, arguably, Gabriel.


Murphy and Emori: Okay, the absolute most CONFUSING part of the episode to me, and to many people, it seems, based on the reviews. It took me reading reviews to try to piece together what was going on. (Maybe I should have watched with subtitles. But if I have to do that, that should maybe be a red alert that it’s not very well-written . . . I mean, it should come across to the audience more easily than it did.)

Shallow note first: They looked super cool.

So Murphy and Emori were going to pretend to be the Lees, who had been erased from drives previously. Okay, that’s expecting a lot for the casual viewer to remember that, as even some of us dedicated viewers had trouble with it. But Russell needed them to do that to further perpetuate the myth of the divinity of the Primes and regain control over an increasingly restless population in Sanctum. (Did anyone else find it strange that, after his sit-down where he was going to tell them all about their new personalities, he didn’t tell them they were going to be siblings? Maybe he didn’t want them to back out.) In exchange, Murphy and Emori would get mind drives and be resurrected upon their deaths. Right?

So . . . they currently have mind drives installed? So they’re nightbloods now? I feel like so much happened off screen with them. It just feels like whole chunks are missing. Like for instance, how did Murphy think that what they were doing was going to help everyone else? What was the plan? Why did he say to Abby, “Believe it or not, this is good for you, too.” I just don’t get it. Not to mention the abrupt change of heart at the end. I’m glad they’re no longer going along with Russell, but it would have been nice to see them get to that point, particularly Murphy. All season long, I’ve said that, although he’s disappointed me, I have to admit that it’s a well-written storyline. Until this moment.

Side note: I also hope that they don’t have Clarke just instantly forgive him, but I feel like she will, if that last scene between them is any indication. Maybe at least Bellamy can make him earn his forgiveness back. Because I feel like that’s the only way Murphy is going to change. They can’t just let him off the hook, or he’ll pull a sneaky maneuver all over again.


Did I forget anyone or anything? I don’t think so.


Stray Thoughts: I quite like Antonio Negret’s directing.

No Jordan again, huh? They’re kind of wasting his character, and that’s sad, but at the same time, this episode already felt too bloated, so I get it.

So a lot of people, myself included, seem to think that this episode had too much going on. (Kim Shumway excels at writing bottle episodes, I feel.) So I was thinking about other episodes that had a lot going on, and another penultimate episode, 3x15, came to mind. And that episode is one of my favorites and seems to have gotten a good reception from fans and reviewers alike. So what made that episode work while this one (arguably) didn’t? Both episodes revolved around one big conflict (ALIE’s rising control vs. the Primes fading control), and both episodes involved lots of characters. I mean, in 3x15, Roan returned, the plan was hatched to the put the flame in Ontari, Clarke volunteered to be taken hostage, Roan got shot, we found out Jasper took the chip, Monty got stabbed, Clarke got impaled by her chipped mother, Murphy and Co. came to the rescue, Pike and Bryan got shot, Indra saved Kane from blowing up, Murphamy fought off chipped Grounders in an elevator, Abby hung herself, Jaha got shot, and Ontari got knocked braindead. SO MUCH! Yet that episode also allowed time for some really high quality character moments, too: Bryan and Miller talking about their chickens, Monty and “Jasper” having a heart to heart, “Start with Bellamy Blake,” a moment of Octavia grieving Lincoln with Indra, Bellamy noticing her grief. That episode had balance. This episode focused too heavily on the plot. I think it’s quite telling that my character sections, in general, are so short this week, with the exception of Abby’s section. (Murphy and Emori was more just me being confused.) I still don’t think it was a bottom tier episode of the show, but it was definitely a bottom tier episode of this season, which has been very high-quality.


Episode MVP: Gabriel.

6x01: Bellamy
6x02: Murphy
6x03: Clarke
6x04: Diyoza
6x05: Jordan
6x06: Bellamy
6x07: Clarke
6x08: Emori
6x09: Kane
6x10: Bellamy
6x11: Clarke
6x12: Gabriel

Spacewalker

" Okay, the absolute most CONFUSING part of the episode to me, and to many people, it seems, based on the reviews. It took me reading reviews to try to piece together what was going on."

Yeah I was confused too. Online a theory stated that Murphy and Emori are really themselves and are just acting as Primes, impersonating Kaylee and Daniel. My guess, Because the entire of Kaylees family was wiped by Josephine... So Russell lacks those 2 mind drives, therefore cannot truly resurrect all of the Primes. So Murphy and emori are merely dressing up and impersonating the two lost Primes. The cuts on the back of their necks are just so nobody finds out what happened to Kaylee and Daniel. It makes it appear real. Clearly, they are themselves as they didn't know Kaylee and Daniel were siblings and Murphy recognized Clarke.

BlueDog9

Good thoughts there April! I'd go with Clarke as my MVP.

I think a bit more Murphy POV or even Russell POV would have made the Murphy/Emori stuff less confusing.

Not feeling well so I'm off to bed.

Babyloveau03

Murphy and Emori actually got blank mind drives so they could become primes. However, Russell didn’t think it was the best time to reveal this given that the Sanctum population was starting to question their divinity, so they had to impersonate Kaylee and Daniel Lee. I too found it interesting that Russell sat down to tell them about Kaylee and Daniel so they could impersonate them but failed to mention that they were brother and sister. I also found it interesting that it was Abby’s murder that seemed to change Murphy’s mind even though I can’t recall him having much to do with Abby on screen throughout her run (the most significant interaction was the night blood testing which wouldn’t have exactly made them friends).

April7739

So glad the confusion about Memori seems to be relatively widespread and not just me. They were definitely just impersonating, but I still don’t know what Murphy’s ultimate goal was or how he thought that would help their people. Did he just think that he would have leverage over Russell? That he could say, “Hurt one of my friends, and I’ll tell the people of Sanctum the truth.” Oh, maybe that’s actually it! Did I crack the case?

Question: How do you think Bellarke will work with Murphy moving forward? Or will they? Do you think they’ll have problems trusting him again? Do you want to see him earn back their forgiveness?

Kate, the more I think about it, the more I’m thinking I might switch it up to be Clarke. Again. She’s been my MVP a lot this season. Actually, I could even switch her to MVP for 6x01 since she ran through the radiation or whatever. I don’t even remember why I have it as Bellamy. Because he showed good leadership? Because he read the children’s book? We do love a good reader. I don’t remember what my reasoning was, but no one jumped out at me in that episode.

Steph26

I’ve been MIA. Sorry y’all. I just wanted to come in a give y’all a big

But now I have to go to sleep. Maybe I can post some thoughts tomorrow.

madness

I would hope they make him grovel, but with the "I'm proud of you, Murphy." moment, who knows? Clarke is too good for them. I would hope Bellamy would remind him of his errors once in awhile when Murphy tries to play the innocent card, you know?

Babyloveau03

I definitely want angry, holding a grudge Bellamy for what Murphy did to Clarke. I go back and forth on how I want Clarke to react to him, though I think I keep settling on Clarke being the bigger person by forgiving him in direct contrast to how Raven and Murphy treated her after season 5.

But I absolutely want Bellamy to be angry with Murphy.

CanIcallYouKate

^I think that's where I am at as well

Clarke being Clarke, she forgives him because he did the right thing in the end.

(Clarke did the right thing in the end in s05 as well, but no one seems to care about that LOL)

But Bellamy being angry for Murphy's betrayal? AFTER knowing that Clarke was alive? I want that, yes! I want him to give Murphy hell for that. And I love Murphy

April7739

Double posts here, double posts there, double posts everywhere.

April7739

HUG to you, too, Steph!

Yeah, I’m saying all this as someone who loves Murphy, too.

I’m thinking about this and wondering, does it make me hypocritical to want Clarke and Bellamy to be mad at Murphy when I was upset with Murphy for being mad at Clarke? Maybe mad isn’t even the right word. Rather, hurt. Sad. She did “die” for them in Praimfaya, after all. At the end of season 5, Clarke’s actions were . . . not good. But she was still doing what she felt she had to do to protect her child, which requires less forgiveness, IMO, than a decision to protect oneself. And Murphy still went along with Josephine even after he knew Clarke was still in there. I get the sense that the storyline is meant to be that now Murphy will have more empathy for Clarke and the choices she’s had to make.

Now Bellamy, on the other hand . . . that’s different, because Bellamy considers Murphy part of his family. They lived up in space together for six years. Murphy saw firsthand how devastated Bellamy was to have lost Clarke. Yet he didn’t even tell Bellamy when he found out she was still in there. That’s some shady ****.

CanIcallYouKate

one could argue that Murphy did it to protect Emori, but he also did it for himself

I will always empathize more with Clarke's POV than anyone else's and to me, she had to feel like spacekru's priorities didn't include her after Bellamy's whole they're MY family speech. From her POV, her CHILD became a pawn in a bigger strategy, for once she CANNOT remove her emotions from this equation. So yeah, considering that a. she did do the right thing in the end and b. it was about her child, I think this is more forgiveable than what Murphy did

But she will be the bigger person so I need Bellamy to not be

Also wtf are you doing up at this hour, April?

April7739

Did you ever listen to Bob talk about the “family” line at Conageddon? What he says is exactly the way I interpreted it, but it’s hilarious because the fan really puts him on the spot.

I’m just up playing The Sims. Sim Octavia grew up from a toddler to a child last night, so it was time for the Blake family to move into a bigger apartment. Of course, I had to renovate it, and I spent way too much time on that, but I love it! It’s perfect for them.

Anyway, now I’m going to bed.

April7739

Did you ever listen to Bob talk about the “family” line at Conageddon? What he says is exactly the way I interpreted it, but it’s hilarious because the fan really puts him on the spot.

I’m just up playing The Sims. Sim Octavia grew up from a toddler to a child last night, so it was time for the Blake family to move into a bigger apartment. Of course, I had to renovate it, and I spent way too much time on that, but I love it! It’s perfect for them.

Anyway, now I’m going to bed.

CanIcallYouKate

Nope, I don't think I ever heard him talk about that (or I forgot).
I heard other people rationalize it by saying he didn't mean to exclude Clarke or never explicitly said she wasn't his family but I recently rewatched that scene and I'm sorry Bob.

The emphasis wasn't "they're my FAMILY", the emphasis was "they're MY family". Even though Clarke had not explicitly accused him of using HER child, it was implied. (They argued over what's the difference between Clarke trying to put the flame in Luna and him putting it in Madi). Anyway, to me, it came across as him defending his actions by saying "Madi is YOUR family, they are MINE".

Ok, now I need to know what Bob said about this
Anybody have a link for me or remember what he said?