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| TV Fanatic |
S3E7 "Thirteen"
The episode begins showing us where Murphy is in Polis. He tells Titus about ALIE. Then, we flash back 97 years, to the scientists working on ALIE. ALIE causes China to fire missiles at the United States. It is a very tragic scene. A man talks to his family on Earth for the last time, and they are cut off mid-sentence. It is extremely tragic. This scene is extremely well acted. Back at Polis, Octavia is brought before Lexa as a prisoner of war, and she is informed of the destruction of the village. Lexa, Titus, and Clarke talk, and it is a great discussion. Clarke brings up the fact that some people voted for Kane, not Pike. Lexa decides to blockade Arkadia until the people remove Pike from the chancellor position. I personally think that the Sky People should divide, those who support Kane going with him, and those who support Pike staying with him, but this solution could work.
Murphy tries to escape, and he discovers the connection between Polis and Polaris. We flash back again to Polaris, where the scientist is still working on her project. The commander enters, and it turns out that this is Unity Day, and all 13 stations are planning on joining. Of course, we know that Polaris will not join, what happens? This scene is very reminiscent of the season one Ark scenes. The scientist then shuts the others out of where she is.
Octavia is angry about the part of Lexa's plan that says that any Sky Person who leaves Arkadia will be killed, and she is angry that Clarke is defending Lexa. Clarke leaves the room, and she tells Octavia to stay, but Octavia, after Clarke leaves, she responds with "yeah, right". Octavia doesn't like to be contained, this is really sticking to her backstory. Clarke talks to Lexa, and she is upset about the kill order. Trying to stand up for two people who disagree is really difficult, and that is what Clarke is experiencing. Octavia goes to Indra for advice. Indra believes that she should have died on the battlefield, and her performance in this scene is excellent.
Titus enters the room and finds that Murphy is not where he was. Murphy attacks him, in an excellent fight scene. He almost kills Murphy, but lets him live. Murphy tells his captor about Polaris. The commander tells the scientist that she needs to get rid of her AI, or else they will die because the other stations will fire at them. The scientist takes the pod, and the commander tells the other stations that Polaris will join, but it is too late, and the other stations have no mercy. It is very sad for the people on Polaris. Octavia tells Clarke that she needs to come back to Arkadia, and that is where she will be most helpful. She says that if she doesn't come, she's not the person she thought she was. Clarke decides to leave. She says goodbye to Lexa, who fully understands Clarke's decision. Lexa says "may we meet again" to Clarke, which is really perfect, because it shows how Lexa really has taken on a small amount of the Sky People's culture. Clarke and Lexa then kiss.
Clarke asks about tattoos on Lexa's back, but she doesn't want to answer one of her questions. Clarke discovers Murphy. Titus shows up, and tries to kill her by shooting at her. Lexa enters the room, and gets shot. Clarke tries to help Lexa. Lexa makes Titus swear never to hurt Clarke again. Lexa prepares to die, but Clarke is not prepared for this. It is a very tragic scene, with a lot of emotions, and wonderful acting from both actresses. Lexa's death, looking back on it, has been coming from the beginning of the episode, it was really hinted at in the first act.
Indra calls out Octavia's name, and they walk together, and it is amazing. Lexa is almost dead now. She says that her fight is over, and that Clarke is right about life being about more than just surviving. Clarke then says the poem to Lexa that Kane said to his mother back in "Unity Day" as she was dying. Lexa finally dies, and Clarke cannot stop crying. Titus turns Lexa over, and Murphy recognizes a tattoo as the sacred symbol. Titus cuts the back of her neck, in the middle of the symbol. It turns out what they believe is the spirit of the commander is ALIE 2. The scientist from ninety-seven years earlier first put ALIE 2 in the back of her neck when she went down to Earth. This is some really interesting information.
Despite the fact that only three main cast members appeared in this episode (that's right, only three of the eleven: Eliza Taylor, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Richard Harmon), it was a great episode that delivered a lot of interesting backstory and emotion. "Ye Who Enter Here" didn't get to be my favorite episode for long, as "Thirteen" has now topped it.
What did you think of "Thirteen"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!