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The 100 Welcome To Bardo Recap-Review

Welcome To Bardo

What a sensational episode The 100 Welcome To Bardo was!  I was completely in love with the narrative because it was all leading up to a special moment.  Additionally, it answered a few lingering questions about certain plot points that were satisfying and understandable.  See the review for Welcome To Bardo.

The 100 Welcome To Bardo Recap-Review

You’re In For An Insane Ride

Episode 7×5 Aired: June 17th, 2020

Written by Drew Lindo; Directed by Ian Samoil

Marie Avgeropoulos gave one of her best performances in Welcome To Bardo.  In the fifth episode of season seven, Octavia is on the cult planet Bardo and is under intense pressure to reveal her truths.  The episode was penned by Drew Lindo of whom again took such a dark matter and sculpted it into beautiful mastery.

And then the ending.  Oh, god!  The ending!

The story does not end at Octavia’s as it expanded over to Sanctum who had their own tale.  It got a bit out of control.

Strap in your seat belts as you are about to go on a wild ride.

And the ending.

The Bardo Breakdown

Welcome to Bardo!  As your collective hosts, we will be giving you complimentary memory capping, religious services, and watching your every turn.  Please enjoy your stay!

Yep, we are on Planet Bardo, to say the least.  Octavia is strapped down inside a sterile white lab, Levitt, and Anders extracting her memories, trying to seek out useful intel.  Getting that information, however, is not easy as Octavia refuses to cooperate because her memories are hers alone, and how dare they tell her otherwise.

It is much to be said that Octavia went in with full force; she tried all necessary routes to escape, only to be captured at the end.  It is strange to see this volatile, yet pure-hearted woman under the power of someone else (other than Bellamy) because we are used to her own unique power.

Levitt is a fascinating man in his own right, albeit my early hatred of him.  He seems to understand Octavia’s perspective (and finds her “amazing”) and helps her out with finding Hope after unintentionally seeing the memory.  The latter does not come without a price.  In exchange for her memories, Levitt agrees not to use Hope as she is just a child and a sensitive token.  As he gains her mind, he is naturally fascinated by Clarke and her journey.

As you know, it is Clarke and we all have a thing pretty much for her.  Or at least I do.

Carrying on, amid the capping, a long-haired Hope comes into the lab and holds Levitt by knifepoint.  Thinking that it is Diyoza (of whom was taken to another Bardo location) Octavia reassures her, but to her complete surprise, it is the “Little One” that she loves unconditionally.

Aunt and niece have a tearful reunion as they should, and to find her mother, the recruit Levitt in on their hunt.  Levitt, who apparently has a crush on Octavia, submits and he takes them to the Stone.

Now, here is the missing piece fitting into place concerning the confusing ending of the season 6 finale.  The strange Anomaly back tattoo was done by Levitt to be used as an entrance code to get back onto Sanctum.  It was Hope’s code.  Then, the explanation of Hope stabbing Octavia shifts into light because to get her mother back, Hope had to bring Octavia back into Bardo.

In time dilation, it has been years on Skyring since Hope and Octavia reunited, but days on Bardo.  Octavia goes back to Sanctum without a memory keeper helmet. She will have the risks of forgetting about Hope, so it makes absolute sense that she had a blurred focus on who she was in the finale.

Hope stays behind on Bardo as her quest to find her mom is still in fruition. It had to be difficult in the emotional sense to see Octavia go, but she knew that they would meet again.

Later, Hope (short-haired) does meet Octavia again, but it appears that she has no recollection of her.  It is a distressing contrast between this reunion and the last, but if Hope fills her aunt in, then maybe the memories will come swimming back.

One could only hope.

The Three Not-So-Merry Musketeers

Continuing their Anomaly adventure, Echo, Hope, and Gabriel have finally crossed over the bridge to Bardo after a moral struggle in Hesperides.  The three on the lookout for their people, which proves to be a rather difficult obstacle course.  As soon as they step into the Stone Room, Echo and Hope are on the kill and poor Gabriel tries fruitlessly to get them to stop.

I understand Echo’s motivations, but Hope’s?  Yet, love is a strong and explicit emotion that can even bring out the most aggressive sides when projected in different lights.  It is no question and no limit that Echo would go to all ends of the universe for Bellamy as she immortalizes and loves him.  As for Hope, she too has a lost appendage without her mother and aunt, so she takes the Disciples as they are a barricade between her family and herself.

Poor Gabriel is at a loss here because Echo and Hope are interrupting his own journey of further knowledge and understanding of the Anomaly and its mysteries.  After witnessing too many injustices between nulls and Primes in his long lifetime, Gabriel has become pacified.

While it is not a bad characteristic to have, pacifism may not smooth over in the confines of Bardo. These people mean harsh business, I doubt that Gabriel will find peace amongst them.

The guy would be happier if he were left out of the group, but in every group, you need a reasonable member.  Gabriel is that guy.

Digging deeper, the three are herded to a speech that top Disciple Anders is giving.  It feels and looks like a typical cult sect; he speaks of the first colonists who transported through a stone on Earth many years ago, and that they were called Gen 9.

They were not Eligius.

Then he gets weird about how people became crystals which derailed me off course, so I became like a lost lamb.  There must be some follow-up explanations for the weird historical tidbit because it will just be a hanger.

Also, what the actual ficken?!

It has been a week since Anders sent Hope back to get Octavia, but she now has developed a lucid hatred towards him.  Not that she was fond of him at the beginning but seeing him in her present just exasperated it.

I also believe that the man has a sickening obsession with Hope and she knows it.

She is about to go in for the kill and imagine what would have occurred if it had not been for Echo stopping her.  Hope’s fury against the Man in White is perfectly understandable, but any disablement in their precarious mission must be avoided.

Mind control over emotion is key when it comes to rescue operations, but when you are struck upon with devastation, it becomes uncontrollable grief.

The Sanctum Shakeup

Enter present day Sanctum.  There is a lot compacted in the secondary narrative of Welcome to Bardo, which was just as imperative and noteworthy as Bardo.  Murphy and Emori were the Prime players in the segment, continuing their “Daniel and Kaylee” facades.  Meanwhile, Indra discovers a cold and dangerous realization.

The Faithful-as they liked to be called-are willing to self-sacrifice for Russell Prime, and one lady has already done so already.   Trying to save her, Nelson suffered from minor burns, but his legit disproval of the Primes is still very much a thing.

Murphy and Emori are getting treatments for the radiation consumption that they endured while fixing the radiation leak in False Gods.  Murphy-the undying cockroach- is fine, but Emori is a little worse.  Yet, being the trooper that she is, overpowers the pain.

Now what to do with Russell?  If folks are going to keep killing themselves over him, then Murphy believes that they should.

Not the worst idea, but also not the greatest as Indra knows that ramifications will follow.   We will have less of the weird cult behavior with the burning, but more of a humane and moral dilemma.

Another plan is devised.  Russell is not the only Prime.  The Faithful has no clue that Murphy and Emori are not Daniel and Kaylee, so they decided to play the roles once more to keep the reckoning down.  It does not go accordingly, and Murphy finds himself slipping up the four pillars of the divinity.  As retribution, the main Faithful, Trey sentences him to death by burning.

Okay, so they burn you if you are not them or for them.  It is really too disturbing when you think about it.

Coming to a surprising rescue is Russell/Sheidheda and he stops the execution.  Let me just say that JR Bourne is just masterful conveying dual characters at once.  He can map out each personality and give them a very creeped-out distinction.  It is surreal to watch him perform and give a shade of an extra ominous allure.

During his speech to his followers, Indra notices something is off with Russell.  With a deadening realization, she knows it is not Russell, but the merciless Sheidheda. This was the man who was responsible for her childhood trauma and damn, will she ever allow him to rule.

Especially with a child who just wants to be a child.

In the remembrance of Abby, Jackson begins the drive removal process while callous looks are given between Indra and Russell/Sheidheda.

If Sheidheda uploaded himself on the drive and it has been removed, will that mean he is gone?  Or will he be uploaded onto another device?  Or has he set himself in Russell’s brain?

If the latter rings true, then I am afraid for everyone.

The Best For Last

When this episode could not get any better, it does!  It is time for my absolute favorite part of Welcome To Bardo.  EEEE!  I am still in tingles as I write this.  My heart is palpitating as well.

*Takes a calming breath*

At long last, we are finally face-to-face again with the infamous Bellamy Blake-whose ending (at the episode’s end) presence wrapped Welcome to Bardo radiantly.   Although his scene was brief, it was powerful, setting the mood for both Echo and Octavia.  It partially solved the mystery of his abduction in 701, but it also projected a few questions.

Bellamy appears in Bardo in the Stone Room holding the Conductor at knifepoint. He is demanding for Octavia who needs to talk him down by order of Anders.  He is not making the whole scenario any easier; he wants Bellamy to go back to Sanctum, but Bellamy contends his stance that he will only go back if his sister goes with him.

Octavia tells her brother that she will be alright, but she will comply with the “rules” and share her memories, even about Clarke.  To get Bellamy back home safely.

Then, one of the knocked-out Disciples detonates a bomb and Bellamy disappears yet again.  A terrifying feeling flowed in my veins for a few seconds as I thought he was killed off.  You can imagine the very deafening screams that exited my own mouth.  I was a mess, so to speak.

What if Bellamy is not dead? (My bet is that he is not dead.) That the blast caused the Anomaly to suck him back in?  There was no blood, no body, and no physical evidence that Bellamy is dead.  For the audience to believe and finally accept that a character has passed, a body of said character must be present.  If there is no body and you are just going by off-screen activity, then it is not believable.  I strongly believe that Bellamy is not dead but transported to one of the planets as the blast misconfigured the Sanctum code.

While I was quite excited and pleased with Bellamy’s entrance, another part of me felt that his scene felt controlled.  He was not crying or in pieces when he saw his sister (As he had done so previously.  Think seasons two, five, and four.) or getting even more aggressive.  Another reason why it felt disconnected is that Bellamy could have also been another key to Anders because he knew as much as Clarke.  He could have used Bellamy as a hostage to get Clarke to Bardo.

I can easily picture that it would have made sense for the storyline too.  In fact, I think that it could have been essential, but unfortunately, it did not take root.  Imagine the possibilities though.

Now, allow me to discuss how this affected Echo and Octavia.  I will begin with Octavia.  Octavia was visibly torn as she just witnessed her brother-her only family get killed.  Not much else was given from her point of view, but we do see Levitt pull her back.

Hmm, which leads me to believe that something romantically will happen in between them, based on his past behavior and just ogling her with pure admiration.  Knowing Octavia, she will not allow those responsible to go down lightly, she will have a renewed energy to continue searching for Bellamy, and she might cause a few bombings herself.

Moving on to Echo, her reaction after viewing Bellamy’s death in a memory sequence went a little differently.  Keep in mind that she is in present-day when Bellamy’s “death” happened seven days prior.  The memory could be fake or manipulated, but only the Disciples know that.  For the sake of everyone who loves Bellamy, hopefully, the memory is fake, meant to throw off people’s courses so they can establish better control.

Yeah, leaders in crazy-ass cults tend to do this.  Mind manipulation so they can reign over you.

Whether seeing the tragedy live or recorded, it still holds the same poignant effect.

She is sobbing for she had just seen the man that she loved, cared, and searched for many years “die” in front of her eyes.  I must admit (please do not hate me) that Echo’s reaction-though violent- was a normal reaction as she has always been more of the aggressor.  Love and anger when integrated can be become a powerful weapon.

Echo, in her response to her grief, kills the Disciple that has been reassigned for Octavia’s mind-capping.  It was not cold blood as he has harmed Octavia as she was sickly, emaciated, and weak.  While Hope and Gabriel shouted her to stop, neither one went to try to physically pull her back.  Octavia, albeit weak, can be supported by Gabriel, as Hope could have pulled her back.  That would have been the instinctive thing to do, but they just froze.

This is worth mentioning because I thought it was a bit askew.  After the kill, Echo is still consumed with the rage, and judging by her facial expression, her Bardo journey will be going rogue and/or be damning from this point forward.  I am afraid for her as her emotions if not settled, will only lead to even more anguish.

Bellamy’s “death” will either propel Echo to move on, building herself into a person outside of him and becoming her own person.  She has always been her own person, but her commitment to Bellamy blurred a few personality characteristics.  Or she will discover the truth about everything, making her search greater, and she will be reunited with him.

If anything, Bellamy will be found, no matter by whom, and once he will be, there will be cheering.

Bonus Bullets:

 

What did you like about Welcome To Bardo?  Are you glad about Bellamy’s much-needed return and where do you suppose he went?  Did you agree or disagree with Echo’s reaction?  Where do you think Diyoza has gone to?

The 100 airs Wednesdays on the CW


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