A surprise overture from Diyoza puts Octavia's ironfisted leadership to the test. Clarke turns to an unexpected ally for help protecting Madi.
Tropes in this episode:
- A Day in the Limelight: Echo plays a larger role in this episode than she has in any other this season.
- And Then What?: Invoked by Diyoza the Mccreary. The prisoners have few to any farmers or engineers in their company, and killing all of Wonkru will only eventually lead to all of their own deaths.
- Blatant Lies: Both Nylah and Gaia see through Clarke's attempts to claim that Madi is an artificial Nightblood like herself, and not a naturally born one.
- Blood Oath: Madi and Octavia perform one to officially welcome Madi into Wonkru. Octavia also implies she intends to groom Madi as her successor.
- Call-Back:
- Octavia references the atrocities committed by Echo in the past, including helping kill Gina at Mount Weather, killing Ilian at the Conclave, and stabbing Octavia on the cliff.
- Echo brings up how she and Bellamy met in cages in Mount Weather.
- Niylah and Clarke reunite, and Niylah brings a toy panther, a reference to the one that almost got the better of Clarke in season 3.
- Continuity Nod: Bellamy's fighting style is that of Azgedakru, a reminder that Echo was the only one of the seven on the Ring formally combat-trained. It's likely all of Spacekru fights in that style.
- Hide the Evidence: When it appears the Eligius crew is going to take her watch, containing the device she needs to help Monty shut down the Eye, Echo hides it in the exit wound of the woman who was shot in the defection.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Mccreary makes a sudden appearance while Murphy and Emori are making out in the woods. They don't seem to upset, though, as they now have a hostage.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Murphy and Emori start to get it on just after they blow up several Eligius scouts. See Interrupted Intimacy above.
- Sadistic Choice: Two in fact:
- Diyoza delivers one to Wonkru at the beginning, along with parcels of food: Abandon Octavia's leadership and join them in the Shallow Valley, unarmed, or stay in the remains of Polis and slowly starve to death. However, all Wonkru understand that Octavia will not tolerate dissent.
- Octavia gives Echo a choice: face expulsion in the desert waste around Polis, or help her find the potential traitors in Wonkru who will inevitably try to defect to Diyoza.
- Shirtless Scene: For Bellamy (and Echo) when they have sex.
- Shout-Out: Diyoza quotes Sun Tzu to Mccreary.
- Took a Level in Badass: Like Raven, Bellamy trained with Echo for years aboard the Ring. It's enough for him to match a wounded Octavia.
- We Used to Be Friends: Clarke comes to this conclusion about her and Octavia. They have grown too far apart.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Monty calls out Bellamy on helping Octavia go to war and Echo being assigned to route out the potential dissidents. It actually gets through to him.
- You Fight Like a Cow: Bellamy spars with Octavia and after a few minutes she spits out that he "fights like Azgeda," disgusted. Bellamy is nonplussed, pointing out there wasn't much to do for six years in space.
