The 100 S4E2 Review

Leadership is a challenge, and that is something that Clarke has to deal with heavily this week, while not everything is at ease yet in Polis, which Kane, Octavia, and Abby must tend to.


S4E2 "Heavy Lies the Crown"

The episode begins with a flashback to nine days earlier. where a man kills his brother in order to get his mother to take the key, and is about to slit his own throat. However, ALIE becomes deactivated, leading to an emotional moment for him. Abby and Kane are together, which should make some fans happy. I really couldn't care one way or the other. What I do like about this romance though is that it isn't part of any sort of love triangle. Octavia overhears a clan planning to challenge Roan, so she and Kane inform him, and urge him not to fight. Clarke, Bellamy, Raven, and Monty discuss what to do and how to save everyone. Jasper and Monty have an entertaining scene as he is in a positive mood, because he sees no point in trying to survive. I hope we get a lot of Jasper this season, because what he is going through is interesting.

A team goes to the ruins of farm station, and it's one of those scenes that screams Cascades, not Appalachians (because it's filmed in Vancouver, but set in what was formerly Virginia). The team is captured, but they are released once they reason with them. Clarke and Raven have a great conversation when Raven feels out of place as a leader, even though she is so qualified. I hope these two have more conversations. Jaha offers to help, and Raven is still furious at him for all of his sins. It was great to see Jaha struggle with the things he has done in attempts to do right. The team is taken to farm station, where they discover that not everyone died, unlike they had thought.

Roan trains to fight, even though Abby says he needs more time to heal. Echo and Roan rival about what to do, and it is interesting to see them both being right about some things, but not all things. Kane explains to the clan that wants to challenge Roan that while Skaikru brought the City of Light, they also were the ones that destroyed it. However, this reason won't be accepted. Back at Arkadia, Raven isn't the only strong woman having issues. Clarke is also frustrated. Then, she talks to Jasper, who wants everyone to survive, rather than live, and encourages Clarke to tell everyone about what is going on. Jasper compares Clarke to the council on the Ark, which actually makes sense, because they also kept the major problems occurring secret, and it was Clarke's father that died for trying to alert people.

The team debates whether they should blow up farm station to save the people imprisoned there, or take what they need in order to save everyone. In the end, they decide to trust that Raven can come up with another way to save everyone. That is a lot of weight to put on one person, even if that person is genius Raven Reyes. Jaha discovers what is going on, and Jaha talks about just how hard leading is, and how often times you have to lie to your people. I am finally liking Jaha again, after he was just so annoying in seasons 2 and 3. His living when he should have just been left to die is finally paying off. Octavia kills one of the people plotting to challenge Roan, and wow. So, she just stabbed this guy in the head! Octavia is great.

Octavia has a wonderful scene when the ambassador's death is announced, caring for the person working with him. Clarke and Raven are critical of Bellamy's decision. Raven says that the ship can only keep 100 people alive, instead of the 500 they need to keep alive. Clarke announces what is going on to everyone, and she promises that everyone can survive. That is quite a promise to make, and Raven is critical of it, valuing truth above all, while Clarke values hope most. This conflict of how to lead, what you tell people, and how you overcome cases where it seems like not many can survive is what The 100 does best, and I think that this episode proved that.


This episode really connected back to The 100's roots, specifically the politics of the Ark in the first season, and I loved that. I was a huge fan of the first season, so I am glad that elements from it are making a return in this way. Also, the characters in this episode all really got a chance to shine (and almost every main character was in this episode, with Murphy being the only exception).

Score: 10/10

What did you think of "Heavy Lies the Crown"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Share this

Related Posts

Previous
Next Post »