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Contents Under Pressure
The Camp is battening down the hatches in preparation for a storm, while Raven tries to get through on the radio to the Ark and Clarke is tending to a severely injured Finn.
Up on the Ark, Abby is before the Council and is told that even though she had broken laws and should be floated, they need her medical expertise too badly so she's received a stay of execution. However, she is being stripped of her council position immediately. They suddenly hear Raven calling over the Ark-wide channel, asking for help from the ground. Sinclair boosts the signal and Abby is able to talk to Clarke for the first time. Clarke asks for help with Finn and tells Jaha that Wells didn't make it. Sinclair patches Clarke through to Medical so Abby and Jackson can help Clarke with Finn's stab wound. The storm, however, temporarily disrupts the communications.
Octavia returns to the drop ship with Monty's moonshine to help disinfect Finn's injury. Bellamy, Miller, and Drew return, carrying the unconscious Grounder who had saved Octavia's life and stabbed Finn into the drop ship. Bellamy tells them to tie him up on the third floor while they send the rest of the Delinquents to the second floor to give Clarke room to work on Finn. Abby gets back on the radio and Clarke describes Finn's injury to her.
Octavia has followed Bellamy up to the third floor where he's tied up the Grounder. She tells Bellamy that the Grounder saved her life and he doesn't have to hurt him. Bellamy makes her leave.
On the Ark, former Chancellor Diana Sydney approaches Chancellor Jaha and tells him that the workers are getting disgruntled after the Culling, especially now that they know the ground is survivable. She wants Jaha to know she is on his side.
Abby guides Clarke through removing the blade from Finn's side. As Clarke is doing so, the storm gets worse and debris hits the drop ship, knocking everyone down, including Clarke and Finn. Luckily, the blade was removed without doing further damage.
Bellamy beats the Grounder, trying to get information about the other Grounders. The Grounder's bag is then looked through and a collection of vials and a journal are found. The journal shows he's been spying on the Delinquents and has taken a particular fancy to Octavia, much to Bellamy's displeasure.
Clarke finishes stitching up Finn's wound and realizes he is feverish. Abby wants to talk with Clarke but Clarke leaves to the third level. Bellamy asks how Finn is doing and shows Clarke the journal, telling her they're fighting a war. Raven calls up to Clarke that Finn has started seizing so Clarke rushes back down to him.
On the Ark, a disheveled Marcus Kane visits with his mother, Vera Kane, at the memorial for the victims of the culling. He is confronted by Cuyler Ridley whose wife died in the culling and is shoved down. Jaha interrupts and puts a halt to it, calling for a General Assembly of the Station Representatives to give the Sky People the truth. Jaha then sends everyone away before telling Kane to pull himself together.
Clarke is able to stop Finn from seizing and quickly realizes that the blade Finn was stabbed with had been poisoned. She heads back up to the third floor with Octavia following her. Bellamy remembers the vials and they ask the Grounder to tell them which one has the antidote but he doesn't speak. Bellamy tells Clarke she doesn't have to be there while he tortures the Grounder to find the antidote, but Clarke stays. Octavia begs him to stop, telling him the Grounder saved their lives even though Finn was dying downstairs. Bellamy brutally tortures the Grounder, whipping him with a seatbelt, yet the Grounder still will not speak.
On the Ark, Jaha speaks at the General Assembly, telling all the Station Representatives that earth is survivable and they now have time to get everyone to the ground. Ridley questions Jaha, asking if he's finally telling the truth and gets angry at him about the death of his wife. Jaha tells them how he also lost his son. Diana Sydney comes up to him to apologize and then speaks to the General Assembly, telling them that because of the sacrifice of their loved ones, their children will now be able to go to the ground. Ridley says they still can't trust the Council so Jaha gives Sydney Abby's old position on the Council to foster trust.
Bellamy and Clarke escalate the torture of the Grounder with Bellamy putting a spike through his hand. Raven comes into the room after Finn almost dies again and begins to electrocute the Grounder, causing him to scream in agony. Octavia puts a stop to it by slicing herself with the knife that the Grounder used on Finn, saying that the Grounder wouldn't let her die. The Grounder finally helps Octavia find the correct antidote to save her (and Finn).
Clarke gives the antidote to Finn and sends Raven out for water. Abby comes on the radio and Clarke tells her she knows about her mother's involvement with her father's death.
Kane is at the "last tree," giving it some of his daily water ration. His mother, Vera, enters and he breaks down, telling her that he doesn't even know who he is anymore. She tells him he is her son and that God will forgive him but he needs to also forgive himself and she gives him a hug.
Clarke tries to clean the Grounder's wounds but he sees Octavia enter the room and refuses to let Clarke do so. Octavia walks over to help and he allows her to clean up his wounds. Clarke tells Octavia that they tortured him to save Finn. Octavia replies that Clarke didn't even save Finn; Octavia did. Clarke leaves and Octavia apologizes to the Grounder for the "thanks" he got for saving her life. He then speaks for the first time, thanking Octavia for helping him. Miller asks if he heard the Grounder speak and Octavia lies to him before Miller makes her leave.
When Finn wakes up, Clarke tells Finn that Raven needs him and calls Raven over to him. She leaves the drop ship and sees the delinquents cleaning up camp after the storm. Bellamy approaches her, taking the spike that had been in the Grounder's hand and tells her, "who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things," and that it is hard being in charge.
Diana Sydney is sworn in as a Council member on the Ark. Jaha reveals that the problem with Project Exodus is that there are 2237 people on the Ark but they only have enough space for 700 to get to earth.
Tropes
- Berserk Button: Downplayed. Abby bringing up Jake sets Clarke off on her, and she reveals she knows Abby is responsible.
- Big Storm Episode: The backdrop of the episode. It turns out to be a hurricane that is sweeping in from the Chesapeake Bay. It interferes with the newly established communication between the ground and the Ark. It also turns out to be a Torture Chamber Episode, at least from Lincoln's perspective.
- Bilingual Backfire: Lincoln successfully pulls this throughout most of the episode, and gives his interrogators the Silent Treatment.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Kane makes a point that Abby's medical expertise is far too valuable for them to execute her for her crimes.
- The Chains of Commanding: Clarke and Bellamy on the ground, and Jaha and Kane on the Ark are all suffering from this.Bellamy: It's not easy being in charge, is it?
- Crucified Hero Shot: The way Lincoln is chained up in the dropship, complete with Bellamy driving a spike through his hand. The soundtrack when Octavia cuts her arm with the poisoned knife as she's kneeling at his feet also drives home the religious imagery, as this echoes depictions of the crucifixion with Mary Magdalene kneeling at Jesus' feet.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Jaha realizes that Kane has been drinking after he sees Kane attacked at the memorial.
- Dwindling Party: Bellamy reveals that ten members of the 100 are dead. There are 92 left because of Bellamy and Raven's presence.
- Easily Forgiven: Averted. Clarke is still deeply upset for her mother getting her father executed. Once Finn is seemingly out of danger, she immediately gets off the radio with her before Abby can say anything.
- Electric Torture: Raven gets desperate enough to subject Lincoln to this, after all of Bellamy's methods fail. She yanks two live power cables of of the drop ship wall and promptly shocks his chest. It still doesn't work.
- Fan Disservice: Shirtless Lincoln. He's built like an underwear model, but covered in blood and grime, and getting whipped by Bellamy.
- Impaled Palm: Bellamy graduates to this in his torture of Lincoln after whipping him doesn't work.
- Internal Reveal: A few.
- The Ark finally learns that the ground is survivable, and of the presence of the Grounders. Jaha also learns of Wells' death.
- Abby and Clarke have a brief conversation where Clarke reveals she knows why Jake died. Abby claims she went to Jaha to talk Jake out of his plans, but he executed him instead.
- Intimate Healing: Octavia cleaning Lincoln's wounds has a touch of this.
- Manipulative Bastard: Diana Sydney, Jaha's predecessor as Chancellor, spends a portion of the episode manipulating Jaha and the Council so that she can reenter politics. Jaha ends up giving her Abby's newly vacated seat to pacify the angry Ark residents. The music tells us this isn't a good thing.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Twice:
- Kane is the first person on the Ark to fully realize the Culling wasn't necessary. He spends most of the episode devastated by the news.
- Clarke starts processing just how horrible their treatment of Lincoln is by the end of the episode.
- Not So Stoic: Downplayed since it is clear that learning about Wells' death left an impact on Jaha who has to take a step back and tries holing out in his room. However he keeps a fairly calm demeanor for most of the episode all things considered. However when one of the loved ones of the culling victims says that Jaha doesn't know anything about what they've lost he finally screams that he's lost his son with his voice cracking and shedding a Single Tear.
- Oh, Crap!: Twice:
- Lincoln's stoicism cracks twice. Once when Raven pulls out the electric cables to shock him. He really loses it when Octavia intentionally poisons herself though.
- Jaha reveals to the Council that Project Exodus only will be able to get 700 people to the ground safely, but that there are 2237 people on board the Ark.
Jaha: We are on the Titanic, and there aren't enough life boats. - Only Sane Woman: Octavia is the only member of the 100 to realize that Lincoln was trying to help her, and meant the rest of them no harm. She keeps trying to keep the others from torturing him, but ineffectively.
- Self-Poisoning Gambit: Octavia pull this on Lincoln after realizing he doesn't want her to die. It convinces him to give up the antidote.
- Suddenly Shouting: When one of the people who lost their family due to the culling tells Jaha that he dosen't know anything about the pain they experienced Jaha yells "I LOST MY SON!".
- Suddenly Voiced: Turns out Lincoln was giving the delinquents a combination of Bilingual Backfire and the Silent Treatment. He finally breaks his silence in the end when he thanks Octavia for helping him.
- A Taste of the Lash: Bellamy MacGyvers a lash out of the seatbelts on the Drop Ship. Turns out Torture Is Ineffective against the badass that is Lincoln.
- Tragic Keepsake: All of the keepsakes the victims of the Culling left behind have been turned into a memorial around the only tree on the Ark.
- Worst Aid: Averted and played straight with Clarke's treatment of Finn. Clarke does her best to sterilize her hands and the wound, but keeps wearing her watch, which is a haven for bacteria in real life.
