S4E8 "God Complex"
The group on the island all prepare themselves for the difficult choice they are making, testing to see if the person they have injected nightblood bone marrow into can withstand high levels of radiation. Everything seems to be working, until they turn up the radiation to a point just past the levels of the black rain, and he immediately starts showing horrible symptoms. It is a pretty horrifying thing that they have done to him, even if it is something that they had to do in order to test this possible solution. The horrified expressions on their faces show how much what they have to do to survive affects them, especially how Murphy is horrified by this, when he was the most eager to get this done.
Even though the test went poorly, they discover another possible solution from it. Raven doesn't want to test on someone else, but Clarke recognizes that they don't have another choice. It is revealed that Emori lied about who the person they tested on was, which leads to everyone turning against her. Luna doesn't want to give any more of her bone marrow, but she is forced because that is the only thing that could potentially save everyone. I loved when Raven brought up how similar this is to Mount Weather.
Clarke knows that they have to test the possible solution, even if they don't want to. Her heart and her brain end up making a compromise here, as she chooses to test herself instead of Emori. However, Abby refuses to let this happen, because of the hallucination she had earlier of Clarke. It's a powerful emotional moment for Abby, and Clarke's disagreement with what Abby has done, but love for her mother is shown wonderfully on her face, as she also tries to figure out what they will do now.
Jasper insists upon leaving Arkadia, and when Bellamy can't get him to take a tent that would protect him from black rain, he joins him. Out in the forest, there are multiple references to season one, as Jasper tries to convince Bellamy of his ideology, including how Bellamy used to insists upon doing "whatever the hell we want". I really enjoyed these references, because I loved season one and because it reminded us that this is the same show that it was three years ago, even if it has developed and their problems are different now than they were then. Jasper takes Bellamy to a party, and he ends up actually participating.
Jaha gets an idea of how they may be saved based on something that the grounders say. However, only flamekeepers know the origins of the words and of a symbol, so Jaha, Kane, and Monty go to Indra. I love the exchanges between Kane and Indra, because while they both really believe certain things, they are still able to work together. However, the two of them working together ends up leading to Indra departing from the plan, picking up Monty's gun, and shooting the people letting them pass because she doesn't want them to survive if there is a bunker. The group's discovery of the twelfth seal and the bunker is very interesting, and it seems like it's the right time for a solution to be found, leaving five episodes for the complications of getting people to the bunker, and who gets to survive.
In short, I loved this episode. Dealing with the questionable ethics on the island ended up being a wonderful story, and it was presented very well, with unexpected things happening at the end. Jasper and Bellamy weren't the most compelling part of the story, but they provided for some great references to the past, as well as a bit of comedic relief. And finally, Jaha, Kane, Monty, and Indra's part of the episode provided some great advancement of the plot, and the timing of this solution seems perfect, because more things that would wind up not working out would get tiring very soon.
Score: 10/10
What did you think of "God Complex"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!