Should Fans Be Worried About Clarke’s Future on ‘The 100’?
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 6, Episode 4 of The 100, “The Face Behind the Glass.”]
Sanctum may seem like a great place for the survivors of The 100, but Clarke (Eliza Taylor) learns its dark secret — and can do nothing about it.
The big question for Tuesday’s episode is exactly what happens during the Naming Ceremony, and Jordan (Shannon Kook) gets an idea watching Delilah (Ashleigh Lathrop) after hers. Russell (J.R. Bourne) presents her as “Priya, seventh of her line,” and she doesn’t even recognize Jordan. Instead, she calls a mechanic Raven (Lindsey Morgan) met earlier “my beautiful baby boy.”
But it’s Clarke who finds out the truth first hand. Because she’s a Nightblood, she can serve as a host. And that presents an opportunity Russell and Simone (Tattiawna Jones) can’t pass up: a way to get their daughter back ahead of schedule.
After Sanctum’s doctor, Cillian (Carlo Marks), fails in his attempt to bring Clarke to the Children of Gabriel, Russell brings Clarke, who has been paralyzed, into a room filled with skeletons. “Tell me not to do this, and I won’t,” he tells his wife. But they’re facing the possibility of their daughter’s Naming Day not coming for 56 years.
(Shane Harvey/The CW)
While Simone “preps for insertion,” Russell assures Clarke she won’t feel any pain. “The mind of the host is erased, but the brain is left unharmed,” he reveals. She can “be at peace.” But that isn’t really peace, is it?
When she wakes after the procedure, she’s no longer Clarke. She’s Josephine, thanks to the chip inserted into the back of her head. As she looks at her new body, her father tells her to “stop with the hair,” just like he did in the flashback to 236 years ago in Episode 2.
But the others will find a way to get Clarke back, right? Just because Russell says that the host’s mind is erased can’t mean it’s permanent, at least not in this case. It’s impossible to imagine The 100 without Clarke going forward, for however long the series lasts. (It’s already been renewed for Season 7.) At some point, no matter how long it takes, she has to return.
Instead, this just has to be another obstacle the survivors must face, one they don’t even know about yet. Because even though Jordan has an idea of what’s going on, he doesn’t know what has happened to Clarke. How long will it take for him or someone else — the logline for Episode 5, “The Gospel of Josephine,” teases that “Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Clarke butt heads,” so he may notice something’s different about her — to figure it out?
(Shane Harvey/The CW)
What is clear, especially from the promo for the next episode (below), is that Russell is going to be determined to keep “what [they] are” secret.
But even if that truth gets out, the others are going to have to determine if they can get Clarke back. What would removing that chip from her body do to her? What exactly happens to the host’s memories? Can Clarke do anything to help herself?
Whatever does happen, fans are likely in for a long road, and this could be why showrunner Jason Rothenberg told TVLine, “Eliza Taylor has such an arc this season as an actress. … We really set out to push her and give her things to do that she’s never done before.”
Sound off with your thoughts on what’s happened to Clarke in the comments below.
The 100, Tuesdays, 9/8c, The CW
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