The 100 hits us with a new episode thats powerful, complicated, and absolutely riveting.

ThisThe 100review contains spoilers.

And what an hour it was!

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Some may disagree, but I think this was the strongest episode of the season so far.

How can you rebuild society from the ashes if civilization itself is still engulfed in flames?

To do so is Sisyphean at best, building a new life upon a crumbling foundation of ash.

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And yet, here we are, bystanders to a world seemingly hell-bent on its own failure.

Seriously now poor Jasper.

All season long weve been watching his slow self-destruction since Mayas death.

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Not just for us, but for Monty the one true friend he still has.

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Jasper cant see this, though.

Christopher Larkin does a great job in conveying this hidden, deep-seated pain.

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it’s possible for you to see how hes struggling to keep self-recrimination at bay.

As for Jasper, his despair reaches its nadir when its revealed hes stolen a canister containing Finns ashes.

This is the last straw for Monty, who finally leaves Jasper to his own devices.

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Id like to think theres nowhere now for Jasper to go but up.

Kudos again to Devon Bostick for another powerful performance.

This episode finds him resigning from his post.

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The guilt of costing 49 survivors their lives is simply too much for him to bear.

To Bellamy, 49 people still lost their lives.

To Pike, a Grounder is a Grounder is a Grounder.

There is no middle ground.

Tensions mount within Arkadia when an army of 300 Grounders is discovered a mile outside camp.

Kanes insistence that they are a peacekeeping force sent by Lexa to protect them only fuels Pikes ire.

Diplomacy will get everyone killed.

Anger is our policy, Pike insists.

We can defend ourselves!

Little by little, his take-no-prisoners stance is winning the hearts and minds of his fellow survivors.

Bellamy, too, comes around to Pikes way of thinking.

The way its played is not as Bellamys fall from grace.

Instead, his treason is framed as an act of self-defense.

In the end, actions speak louder than words, and Pike is elected the new chancellor.

An interesting development with far-reaching consequences, to say the least.

Like Octavia, Lincoln is embracing the customs of a different culture that would rather see him dead.

Some closing thoughts:

I liked Lexa tonight.

She not only remained steadfast in her choices, she fought well against Roan.

Plus she took out the Ice Queen which I should have seen coming, but didnt.

One thing I thought I saw coming from a mile away was Clarkes reconciliation with Lexa.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Had it happened tonight, the moment would not have truly been earned.

I like and appreciate that the writers are being patient as they slowly draw these two together again.

Rating:

4.5 out of 5