If there’s one The 100 episode you watch live this season, make it this Wednesday’s “Die All, Die Merrily.” Spoiler-free preview within!
Prepare for something epic: The 100 season 4, episode 10, written by co-executive producers Aaron Ginsburg and Wade McIntyre, will hit you like a ton of bricks, raising the bar for the series in terms of both action and emotion. Some characters will rise and some will fall as the fate of humankind is determined by one final, glorious battle.
“OCTAVIA FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL — Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) fights in the final battle for her people’s survival, but not everyone is willing to play fair. Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Paige Turco, Devon Bostick, Lindsey Morgan, Christopher Larkin, Richard Harmon, Zach McGowan, Isaiah Washington and Henry Ian Cusick also star. Dean White directed the episode written by Aaron Ginsburg & Wade McIntyre (#410). Original airdate 5/3/2017.”
The 100 season 4 has seen Clarke and her friends attempt to save humanity one failed plan at a time, and with six days left until the world goes boom, they’re forced to accept that there simply is no way to save everyone.
The only hope they have now is the Second Dawn bunker, and rather than share the limited spaces among all the clans like Clarke wanted, the Grounders have elected to hold a conclave, the winner’s clan getting the bunker to themselves.
This is obviously a blow to Skaikru, and especially to Clarke, who has been working so hard all season trying to find a way to save both her own people and the Grounders.
Related: The 100 season 4, episode 9 review: The die is cast
But the Grounders — who have been on the brink of war all season, as more and more clans have objected to Azgeda rule — are not about to share the space in the bunker with their enemies. Instead, they are going to settle this on their own terms.
And so here we are: one champion from each clan will enter the fight, and the last one standing wins salvation for their people. And Skaikru are forced to enter the conclave on the same terms as everyone else, even knowing that their chosen champion Octavia doesn’t stand much of a chance against her competitors, who have been training for battle since birth. But no pressure, O!
Marie Avgeropoulos herself has declared this her favorite episode of the series, teasing in an interview with Hypable that, “Everybody is going to be rooting for Octavia, and everything the fans have ever wanted for her to cumulate to be, this is it.”
In many ways, this is what Octavia’s entire arc has been building towards, and through the episode you’ll see her grapple to reconcile the different, conflicting sides of herself, with surprising consequences.
But while the episode certainly revolves around Octavia in many ways, it is as much about the people who care about her. This includes but is not limited to Kane, Indra and most especially Bellamy, who has a significant and surprising part to play in the fateful battle.
And of course, Octavia isn’t just fighting nameless foes, but also several characters we know and care about including Ilian, Roan and Luna, who all have their own reasons for entering the arena. The stakes have never been higher as several of our favorite characters are facing each other in a battle to the death — who are you rooting for?
“Die All, Die Merrily” is unlike anything you’ve seen before on The 100, yet somehow manages to be the most ‘The 100’ episode the show has ever done. This is their Battle Royale, their Hunger Games, their chance to truly test the limits of the world they have created and push the boundaries of what the show is capable of.
It is a claustrophobic and almost non-stop battle sequence taking place solely inside Polis, the city transformed into a mesmerizing arena that promises death in a thousand horrible ways. In fact, the location comes to life in a way it never has before, a post-apocalyptic playground that makes the episode live up to its Shakespearean title.
This is a masterfully crafted piece of television, with all areas of production — including set design, music, choreography, stunt work, costumes and makeup — coming together to elevate the series above its usual (already excellent) standard.
The action and sheer violence of the conclave contrast with beats of genuine, heart-wrenching emotion that will assault your senses and leave you breathless, all adding up to a grand finale you won’t soon forget.
