April7739

What were you expecting, Becks?



ETA:

So I really loved this episode! I could hardly wait to re-watch it last night. It was a great episode for two people who have consistently been my favorites this season (Bellamy and Indra), and a great episode for Monty as well. It was filled with stunning acting, some unique directing, emotional gut-punches, and an amazingly choreographed fight scene. Plus, some jaw-drop moments. Now, there were a few things I didn’t like, and I’ll discuss them, but overall, the good far outweighed my minor complaints!


Octavia: For some reason, I wasn’t really expecting this episode to be as Octavia-heavy as it was. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t know that going in, because I may have been less enthused about it than I was, just given my struggles with Octavia this season.

I’m gonna be honest here, because this is a place I can be honest. (But I’m not going to bash.) I’ve reached the point of no return with Octavia. And it saddens me to say that. And this is a new experience for me, because I’ve never truly felt like I had to give up on a character who I once had ranked as high as #5 on my favorites list. But . . . I’m at that point. And I hope that no one is disappointed in me for that. I said I would hold out through the Dark Year and re-evaluate then, but this episode just pushed me over the edge with her. I tried, I really tried, to not give up. Because I do like to believe that anyone can be redeemed, and maybe that’s the path the writers will choose to go with her. (Good luck to them if they do.) But I no longer really care to see her redeemed. I’ve been viewing her as the villain for a while now, and I’m going to continue viewing her that way.

There are two things that have caused me to reach my breaking point with Octavia, and they both happened in this episode: The first was making Bellamy fight in the pit. And what was worse is that, even after he saved her life, once again proving why he is the best big brother ever, she was just going to sit there and have him keep fighting. And she had the power to stop it. She had the power and she didn’t use it. I don’t think I can ever forgive her for that.

But the thing is, even with what she did there, I could still at least accept the whole “she did it for her people, she did it for Wonkru, to keep them united” idea. I still would not forgive her for it, but I’d probably be better able to understand that others might. But the real kicker, the other thing that I will not be able to get past, is her burning up that hydrofarm. I’m sorry, but in my mind, there is no way a decision like that can ever be justified. First off, she took away something that would sustain the human race and offer an alternative to Shallow Valley. What the hell, Octavia? Without the worms, you know you might not win that war. If they lose, she gave her people a death sentence by burning up that farm. And as if that isn’t bad enough, she literally took away people’s choice. Contrary to what she might be telling herself, she didn’t give them one. She eliminated their choice completely, and that is awful. She destroyed Monty and Harper’s dreams of peace. She destroyed . . . everything.

Octavia still has mental functioning. We’ve seen her outsmart Bellamy and Clarke’s tactics this year. She’s not an idiot. And I don’t think she can be completely out of her mind if she still wanted Bellamy to survive. She’s unhinged at this point, no doubt. And I have to be honest, I love the thought of her walking into the valley with an army at her back that will want to kill her. They are justified. Right now, Octavia is not.

And I know that we still have the Dark Year reveal coming up, but I just cannot think of anything that would be enough for me to be able to sympathize with her right now. Yes, I will sympathize with her DURING the Dark Year, I’m sure. I will feel bad for her then. But that does not change the fact that she put her brother in a fight-for-his-life scenario that she had total power to stop, and it does not change the fact that she destroyed an option for peace that was perfectly viable, just so she could get her war. Monty was right to call her a dictator.

And I think the idea that Taryn brought up in the last episode thread and again in this one about how perhaps Octavia fears like her sacrifice will be for nothing if Wonkru follows Madi . . . it could very well be true. But it’s still not enough for me. In fact, that would be very selfish of Octavia, in my mind. I’m sure that what she did in the Dark Year was probably very selfless, if the foreshadowing we’ve gotten is completely accurate. But selflessness then would not negate selfishness now.

In 5x08, I started thinking that Octavia would not die this season. Now I’m back to thinking that she very well might. And I would feel bad for Bellamy, but that’s it at this point. I wouldn’t even feel quite as bad for him as I once would have, because I honestly do feel like Octavia no longer deserves Bellamy anyway. I could also once again envision a scenario in which Bellamy might be the one to kill her. The only way I could see him being able to live with himself is if it’s clear even to him that Octavia can no longer live. We’ve seen him spare her life by poisoning her. We’ve seen him save her when Gaia tried to kill her. How much longer will he keep trying?

Having said all this, we can at least all agree that nobody is indifferent about Octavia, and that’s a good thing. Criticizing her character (or even giving up on her or even rooting for her demise, as some people are doing) doesn’t make her a bad character. She’s given us a lot to talk about these past two seasons especially, and she’s been the biggest driving force in the season 5 storyline. And Marie has absolutely committed to this material and has done some phenomenal work this season.


Octavia/Pike Comparison: Perhaps not a pleasant topic of conversation since Pike is so disliked, but I think it’s worth discussing at this point. Octavia hated this man. And in my opinion, she has now become worse than him. There, I said it.

It’s hard to compare them objectively, because as viewers, we tend to give Octavia more leniency because she does have her relationships with Bellamy and Indra, two characters who a lot of people love, and because we have known her since the beginning. But if we are comparing them objectively, just off the top of my head . . .

Pike tried to take Trikru land because Arkadia couldn’t sustain itself. Octavia has actually been the one to make the bunker no longer self-sustainable.

Pike probably did keep his promise to Lincoln to keep the other grounders alive. Octavia still made an order to kill Clarke and Madi (a child).

Pike did not consider his own people acceptable losses, nor did he issue any orders to shoot defectors like Kane when he met up with them at the Dropship in 3x10. Octavia issued the order to shoot her own defectors.

Now I am by no means sitting here preaching that Pike was a great leader or a good guy. (I don’t think he was as clear-cut of a villain as people try to make him out to be, though.) But my point is, Octavia has become just as bad (in my opinion, worse) as the man who killed Lincoln. And I wonder if she’s ever thought about that. It’s no coincidence that Monty called her a dictator in this episode, just like Kane once called Pike a dictator. I don’t understand how there are people out there in the fandom right now still championing Octavia while denouncing Pike as a pure villain.

Oh, and Octavia decided to bring up Bellamy siding with Pike? Girl . . . No one’s gonna deny that what your brother did there was wrong. But what you’re doing is worse.


Dark Year: I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out soon enough what it is. It’d better be good. As I said previously, I just don’t think it will be enough for me to forgive Octavia. It might help me better understand her now, but I just . . . I can’t continue to hope for her redemption.

I feel like it can’t just be cannibalism. It has to be cannibalism plus something else. Right? Right? And you know what else gets me is that it's not just the Dark Day or the Dark Week or even the Dark Month. It's the Dark Year. I feel like we got some foreshadowing of it having something to do with the "farmers" or . . . just that place. She seems almost haunted by that place. (Still not an excuse to burn it down, though!)

I hope it’s worth devoting the majority of an episode to.


Bellamy: Onto my favorite part of the episode, my brave babe Bellamy Blake! I don’t care what some people out there are saying, because I really have loved Bellamy this season. I think Bob’s been doing some of his best work. Case in point, that conversation with Octavia tonight. There are so many subtle nuances to his portrayal of Bellamy, and his eyes just evoke so much emotion. I just think he’s an incredible actor. When my friend and I were re-watching, we paused it on an image of him during the fight, where he does that growl/yell thing, and we were like, “Oh my god, how is that Bob? How is that the same loveable dork we spent a weekend with?”

Bellamy was amazing in this episode. I’m not gonna lie, part of me just wishes he’d let Gaia kill Octavia, but I understand why he couldn’t. This guy is literally the best big brother ever. The flashbacks wrecked me, and hearing the story about his and Octavia’s childhood wrecked me. But I loved that he was brutally honest with her in that scene. He called her out for being a ****ty leader. He called out Bloodreina as a joke. (Joke probably isn’t the right word, but bravo, Bellamy, for saying all that stuff.) He did say that there was no going back if she did this. And Octavia didn’t save him. She didn’t snap out of it, not even after he saved her. And then she went and did something even worse by burning the hydrofarm. So . . . is this foreshadowing that Bellamy will now accept that there’s no going back for her? Will he have to be the one to take her out?

The fight scene was amazing, too. It’s probably my favorite physical fight scene the show has ever done, because . . . yeah, Bellamy was involved in it and I’m shallow. But no, also because the choreography was extraordinary. I loved the contrast between Bellamy’s scrappy style and Indra’s more refined tactics. Plus, I just think it’s really cool to get to see a guy on the show fight like this! So many of our fight scenes revolve around Octavia, and the most notable fight scene prior to that revolved around Lexa. We did get to see Roan fight several times, but seeing the male lead do it was really cool, and Bob's really well-suited to this type of action. Plus, I just love that Bellamy was finally fighting for himself here and not somebody else! I know he said he wasn’t going to, but his survival instinct kicked in, and I can’t blame him for that.

Okay, but who yelled “Bellamy, watch out!” during the fight. Somebody yelled that. Did you guys hear it? Was Monty already there? He couldn’t have been. He would have stopped it sooner. Was it, like, Jackson or somebody else from Skaikru?


Indra: Amazing yet again. I have never had as big of a turn-around with a character as I have had with Indra. I’m so glad this season has given me some content where I am truly and fully able to appreciate her. I totally get why she would want to kill Bellamy and then have Gaia live, even though I was like, “Uh, Indra, no, I’m gonna need you to not kill Bellamy.” The relationship between her and Bellamy has been an unexpected highlight for a lot of us this season, it seems.

Indra’s scene with Octavia was amazing. I was so glad to hear her drop those truth bombs on her. And I like the way she did it. She drew a line between Octavia and Bloodreina, but she didn’t use Bloodreina as an excuse for Octavia. She was flat-out acknowledging that that’s who Octavia is now and kind of insinuated that she should be appalled by herself.


Gaia: Dammit, I was hoping she’d die. If she had struck Octavia with that spear, I wouldn’t have been sad. I will admit that Gaia has not been as bad this season, though. She gave Madi a choice last week, and she was willing to take Octavia out this week. I still hope she’s a goner at the end of the season, but whatever.

(Side note: I saw somebody on Reddit who literally posted the exact same complaints I have about the actress! No offense. I don’t want to bash, so I won’t really say much, but I just . . . I need a wider variety of facial expressions!)


Miller: Damn, he’s loyal. Whatever Octavia did must have really benefitted him in some way, otherwise I have a hard time understanding this. Miller has always been loyal, but he’s always been loyal to people like Kane and Bellamy, not Bloodreina.


Monty: Monty may not be in my Top 10 characters (I’ve never disliked him, I’ve just never been quite as big of a fan as some people), but I was cheering him on so hard tonight. He might be in my Top 10 characters this season. Poor Monty, just trying to do what’s right and what’s peaceful. I am so glad he’s not scared of Octavia, that he straight-up called her a dictator, that he charged into her arena and called her out for keeping things from her people. Monty has balls of steel, and brains to match. It’s a shame Octavia destroyed what he was creating.


Harper: My girl got lines this week, but not much else. But I just have to say that I am SO HAPPY I got a Harpamy hug (yes, I coined this, and it’s my Harper/Bellamy crackship—don’t judge). I mean, I literally squealed. I was just so happy.


Clarke and Madi: I still see where Clarke is coming from and sympathize with her a lot, but I’m kind of . . . I’m starting to get to that point where I need her to take a step back and re-evaluate the decisions she’s been making, too. Because she’s made some poor ones. Like just carelessly tossing the worms like that. Oh, I feel like that’s going to come back to bite them. Now Bellamy has to march through that desert, and he’s all sliced up from his fight, so watch him get infected or something.

I don’t mind the Lexa mentions in this episode, either, but I just don’t want it to become an every episode thing again, because they’re a lot more impactful when they’re fewer and farther between. And I think this whole anti-flame mentality switching over to “I can’t destroy it” was a little abrupt. I mean, personally . . . the flame is such a plot device, I feel. It does whatever the writers need it to do. And I still think it’s just kind of a WEIRD storyline. I want it to serve its purpose this season, get out of Madi, and then be destroyed, because I really do want the time of commanders to be over. It’s just such an archaic system. I think Madi could be a different commander, but at the same time . . . I don’t want this for her, not forever. She’s a vibrant kid—we’ve seen her crack jokes this season—and I don’t want that dulled by the flame. Also, I like that she’s questioned Clarke’s trigger-happy ways this season, and I’d like her to get back to that.

But Madi . . . I’m here for you mentioning Bellamy. Keep doing that. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.

In regards to Clarke and Madi’s dynamic as a whole, I posted something about it in the Clarke thread, and I’d like to bring it here, too:


Vinson: You sick bastard. What a crazy character. I can’t help but just be interested in him.


McCreary: I think William is a great actor and has played the part amazingly well, but McCreary doesn’t really have the most layers.


Abby: Okay, I know I’ve said that I see the value in Abby’s storyline and I think it’s important, and I still do. Paige’s portrayal of an addict is absolutely heart-wrenching, and it really resonates with me because I wonder if that’s what my cousin is like when he goes into withdrawals. I can’t but also can believe that she sat there and scooped up her pills while Vampire Vinson chewed on people. That’s an addict for you.

One of my complaints with the season and with this storyline, however, is that I do feel like it’s eaten up a bit too much screen time. Abby isn’t like the fandom’s favorite character or anything. (I mean, I could part with her this season and be okay with it, though I would hate to see an addict succumb to the addition.) Maybe some of that screen time could have been directed elsewhere.


Did I get everyone? No Murphy or Raven this week (). No Kane or Diyoza or Shaw or Emori. () No Echo () (Just a preference, not a bash.) I really don’t know if any of these people will be in it next week, either. I don’t even know if my brave babe Bellamy Blake will be in it next week, and the thought of another Bellamy-less episode really makes me sad. I’m not actually, like, super pumped for next week, just because I didn’t love the other heavily-bunker episode of the season. But it will probably end up being a better episode than I think.

Overall, though, I loved this one! My episode MVP would be Monty, so . . .

5x01: Clarke
5x02: Octavia
5x03: Bellamy
5x04: Bellamy
5x05: Clarke
5x06: Echo
5x07: Clarke?
5x08: Bellamy
5x09: Madi
5x10: Monty