Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) are a unique facet of The 100, and this episode served as a reminder of that relationship, which has been swept under the proverbial rug for the most part since the pilot. As the only brother and sister pair on the show (and in the last three generations of humans aboard The Ark), their relationship is somewhat of an oddity in a society built on the shoulders of children in the singular sense, for both us and the characters. There’s nothing to compare this connection to within the realm of the show and that makes it something worthy of being exploited, which seems to be the direction that The 100 is moving in.
With life support a constant concern in space – a problem that obviously has not improved with time since the issue has marred current events and resulted in the 100 being sent down to Earth – The Ark took on a set of rules to keep the population under control. As it has been explained, this included keeping the human race from becoming extinct while at the same time limiting the size of the nuclear family to three – mother, father, child.
In one sense, this is a very practical decision. But on the other hand, it is reminiscent of communist China – which gets mixed reviews. The laws on The Ark are finite, break one and you get floated. Bellamy’s mother gave birth to Octavia in secret and lost her life for it when she was later discovered. Octavia was locked up and chastised for the same offense.
Of all the characters, she definitely drew the short stick. She was headed to death for simply being born, never actually personally committing a crime. You can easily see why her motivations for leaving everything that The Ark stands for behind are more tangible than her peers. As opposed to the other “delinquents” aboard the drop ship, Octavia didn’t do anything, at all, for most of her life. She didn’t even technically break the law, which raises a lot of concerns about social injustice – none of which will ever be addressed considering the rapid deterioration of her former homestead
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