The title of tonight’s episode of The 100 is a little baffling since calm isn’t exactly an adjective that I would use to describe anything that was happening on the ground, or in space. If this was what the writers considered to be the calm before the storm, then fans should probably brace themselves for the final two episodes of the season. There’s a above average chance that all hell will break loose.
After going dark for an entire episode, the Ark returns to the screen. There was a lot of speculation that what crash landed on Earth wasn’t the drop ship, but a large chunk of the Ark thrown out of orbit by the departure of the Exodus, or as a result of the ensuing power failure. Although that was the theory that I subscribed to as well, The 100 has put that mystery (err, part of it) to rest. But before you start mourning now that these new facts are in, rest assured that as predicted Abby (Paige Turco) has defied the odds and is a surviving member of the space station. At least for the time being.
The real surprise was tonight’s MVP – Kane (Henry Ian Cusick). Talk about character development. Kane is the same guy that we met on the pilot that told his wife, who we magically haven’t seen or heard of since, that he was willing to take things down to a biblical Adam and Eve. The obvious turning point was a couple episodes back when his mother was killed, but even before that we started to see a shift.
On “The Calm,” Kane risked his life to save Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington), against orders to do the contrary. And not only did he rescue Jaha, Kane earned bonus points when his tenacity to do the right thing, which has come to dominate his personality, was also largely the reason that Abby was discovered alive.
Even though the Ark managed to survive that huge blow to all life support systems, there’s still a metaphorical danger sign posted on the door. The entire show revolves around the idea that the option of living in space was quickly reaching its expiration date. That’s why the 100 were originally sent down to Earth, and it’s been the underlying premise this entire season. The caveat, that was recently revealed, being that even if Earth was survivable, there wasn’t enough room in the exit vehicle to make it a possibility for the masses.
Now that the only ship capable of transporting them to Earth has left the building (and blown up), and the population has been drastically (read: tragically) reduced, the new challenge is how to get the survivors to Earth. With no ship. And half a crew.
