In The 100 season 4, episode 7 “Gimme Shelter,” the black rain finally arrives, with dire consequences. Read our spoiler-light preview!

“Clarke’s arrival on the island quickly takes a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, Bellamy tries to avoid further tragedy in Arkadia.”

I’m so sorry to be the one have to tell you this, but with next week’s “Gimme Shelter,” we’re officially more than halfway through this 13-episode season. Good thing there’s gonna be a season 5, right?!

In the seventh episode of season 4, written by Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer (both first-time writers on the show) and directed by Tim Scanlan, our heroes are forced to change course once again in their desperate scramble to save humanity.

Related: The 100 season 4, episode 6 review: Girl, Interrupted

In last week’s “We Will Rise,” the plan to go to space and make Nightblood got shot to hell with a Trikru arrow: Clarke, Bellamy and Roan lost a precious barrel of hydrazine on their way to the island, which means they can no longer use the rocket in Becca’s lab.

There is still another solution, however, one which Abby would previously have considered unthinkable: Exposing someone to radiation to test a possible cure, very likely killing the test subject in the process.

Even knowing that this might be their last shot at salvation, Abby struggles with the choice (which would obviously bring them one step closer to becoming just like the Mountain Men they so feared and loathed in season 2), and can be seen in the trailer asking, “If I take a life to find a cure, does that make me a murderer?”

And not only does she have to agonize over whether to do it at all; if they do indeed decide to take one life to (possibly) save the many, the even bigger question becomes: Who do they sacrifice to test the radiation serum? Will anyone volunteer? And if not, who, of everyone currently present on Becca’s island, would be considered the most ‘expendable’?

These are the questions that weigh heavy on everyone on the island’s minds this week even as Clarke, Emori and Murphy (a surprisingly delightful constellation of characters) find themselves facing yet another problem in Becca’s mansion.

On the mainland, the black rain has finally arrived, and even though the Arkadians were prepared for it, no one was ready for the chaos it would cause.

The black rain is an interesting plot device for several reasons that should become obvious throughout this episode. For one, it forces the usually so scattered characters into confined spaces, which might facilitate hard conversations or confrontations that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. It might also keep characters apart, and/or make them acutely aware of their own or others’ mortality.

This all opens up interesting possibilities as we head into the second half of the season, considering how many things remain unsaid between these people, and how increasingly aware they are all becoming of their collective impending doom.

The only one who won’t be confined this week is Bellamy Blake, who heads out into the deathly rain on a dangerous mission. What could go wrong, right?

The 100 season 4, episode 7 is an action-packed episode with sky-high stakes, but above all, it is extremely claustrophobic — both literally in the sense that it keeps most of the characters confined in small, dark spaces, and because it exposes some uncomfortable truths and delivers several emotional gut-punches that will have the fandom reeling.

If last season’s episode “Demons” played out like a mini-horror movie, “Gimme Shelter” is a claustrophobic thriller, dark as the name of the rain that will wash away more than one character’s attempts to hide how they really feel.

10 teasing tidbits from ‘The 100’ season 4, episode 7

1. “Gimme Shelter” is a big episode for Emori, giving us a glimpse into her past and allowing us to get to know her a lot better.
2. The apt title of this episode not only references a famous Rolling Stones song with very à propos lyrics, but can be applied to all three of its storylines in more ways than one.
3. Clarke and Emori find that they have a shared appreciation for Murphy’s hidden talent.
4. At the end of last week’s episode, Kane asked Octavia, “Where will you go?” This episode answers that question.
5. Harper’s abs. That is all.
6. Despite the episode’s dark themes there are a couple of delightful scenes with Clarke that I like to think my Twitter friends would describe as “soft.”
7. Bellamy has something of an — excuse the pun — watershed moment with another character that will profoundly change their relationship.
8. I’ve liked Chai Hansen’s Ilian from the beginning, but this is his best episode yet.
9. Not everything is as hopeless as it appears to be.
10. Shower scene? More like shower scenes.

‘The 100’ season 4, episode 7 ‘Gimme Shelter’ airs Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW