Tag: tloo

I’m awake and dying – just to ask – where the hell does the electricity come from?

Becca’s lab/home – now the bunker under Polis.  They had one day to move in all those beds, furniture, computers, etc – and set up a generator?  From where?  How?  What powers it?  

And what are they planning on eating for five years?  

If the ‘radiation deathwave’ can knock over the pyramids and turn people to ash, what will it do to the local plant and animal life?  When they emerge from their bunker – what do they expect to eat?  How will crops grow again?  

I know the characters had no time to plan, but the writers did.  This is what they come up with?  

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Hi hope you don’t mind me venting can i do that? I’m angry af about them turning Luna and Clarke into monsters tf is that about? Is she going to kill Bellamy so he can be a hero like Octavia? Get out, messed up. SAVE US

It is a mess, yes, but I don’t think Clarke will kill Bellamy, least of all to make him a ‘hero.’  It is regressive and it is appalling that the Blakes are given morally superior stances that neither have earned and all at the expense of two women who have known better, but the narrative doesn’t want it that way, I guess. There will always be a problem with Skaikru depicted in anyway as heroes as most (save Clarke, Kane and Octavia) see grounders as savage, inferior and have isolated themselves from them and their influence.  Skaikru were always heading in the direction of becoming another Mt. Weather (one of the first comparisons grounders make of them is to the ‘mountain men’), hypocritical and responsible for at least one-thousand grounder deaths since they came to Earth. 

Bellamy’s participation in a massacre, his open murder of two messengers and later, no one seriously calling him into account for it (especially Clarke and Indra who both had deep personal losses as a result – it’s baffling) – is uncomfortably echoed in Octavia turning into an unrepentant ‘assassin’ – almost mockingly taking up her brother’s previous ‘occupation’ and shaming him with it (yet Indra is ‘proud?’ Confounding character reasoning, not much a surprise, really). Killing to give Skaikru an advantage.  Neither deserve to be the ones to deliver ‘justice’ or point out the flaws of those around them.  It’s a painfully dishonest form of storytelling.

I don’t want to guess too much on this (I’m ALWAYS wrong), but Clarke’s shaking gun waving made me think of Titus, having also lost all hope, trying to shoot Clarke to get Lexa to go to war.  Here, Clarke is, as far as we can tell, trying to prevent what could be a mob of angry grounders from getting in and wiping them out (as, if this all holds true, they deserve – and Titus is exonerated as Lexa rolls in her non-existent grave) – but what if the gun goes off and hits someone else?  I’ve been curious why Abby has been so seldom-seen (and whose death might shake Clarke back to her senses?).  

I’ve no evidence for this, just a thought.  

Whats up doc? we’re sitting here waiting for ze update AND it would be nice to get your breakdown of recent events COUGH COUGH theloo COUGH COUGH you usually have something by now! stay cool my doc

I’m sorry you’re having to wait – I’m writing from bed with inflamed tonsils and a cough that won’t quit. I promise as soon as I’m able, the update will happen.  

As for ‘recent events’ –  I’d like to wait until the season is over and see how things pan out, really.  I am bothered (like everyone else) by what appears to be Clarke’s betrayal of all her progress, but I want to know more about her reasoning.  Is it going to put her in parallel with Lexa’s betrayal at Mt. Weather, is she the new Dante Wallace, is it just the old ‘doing it for her people’ reasoning, is the narrative twisting her in a way to mirror Bellamy of series 3 while Bellamy is twisted to mirror her from the same season?  Are we calling JR petty for writing Clarke in a way that, from the narrative perspective, destroys her credibility as Lexa’s partner?

I am on board with the idea that Clarke is mostly in character, by the way – her progression is being twisted – but, like Bellamy and much of Skaikru, she never really integrated with the Grounders or took much interest in them.  She bonded with Lexa and had minor relationships with Any and Niylah – but we never saw her working with or interacting in any meaningful way with the Grounders (except to get what she wanted at the time).  She gave Lexa preference because they developed a personal relationship – and Lexa isn’t quite as ‘savage’ as her people appear.  Through Lexa, Clarke should have developed a greater understanding of the Grounders, made friends even – but she didn’t. Her actions to protect only ‘her people’ are nothing new – it’s just a shame that, as a character who has been built up to ‘unite all of our people,’ as a character who claimed to love Lexa and believed her legacy should be peace – she just seemed to have kicked off and said ‘fuck it, I can only deal with my own.’  Really, Clarke?  

I’m going to secretly blame Roan.  If he’d kept his mouth shut at her Ascension, they could have argued over whether she was disrespectful or not in the safety of the bunker with all their people (or 1,200 of them at least – sorry you other 4,000 or so).

I think there is more going on (how long was the Conclave, anyway – long enough for Clarke to fetch her people and go back for all their furniture?), though I’m dubious that there isn’t a plan to make Bellamy ‘the voice of reason’ and offer him redemption through Clarke’s regression – a narrative cheat that is nothing short of an insult.  With Jaha in the mix – a man for whom morality is an inconvenience – and a possible other, as yet inactive plot point, this could be yet another unnecessary narrative contrivance. 

If my ‘theory’ (ha) that Raven is still possessed by Alie (who we last saw alive on what remains of The Ark), that means others could still be possessed by her as well (just because everyone was kicked out of the CoL doesn’t automatically mean Alie’s control was lost – just hidden, perhaps).  I do believe that Clarke, as the last Nightblood, will obtain the Flame, but to what purpose? Fight Alie again? Work with her?  

So – do we really think Skaikru will be in the bunker by themselves?  I don’t think it will be as simple as everyone coming to their senses and deciding to share. Outside, there will be anger – Skaikru has betrayed everyone again. There must be a way to get them out of the bunker or another way in. Or, that inactive plot point only to be revealed at the last moment.  

Deus ex machina. 

Raven is preparing to go into space – there’s a rocket, better use it – will she be going alone?  Can she take off in the midst of an explosive deathwave?  Don’t you need help to launch those things?  Is Alie on the Ark waiting for her like a ghost in the machine?  

What about Arkadia and those staying behind? Something about that bothers me, about Jasper, as well, but there isn’t enough to build on it.  

I’ve been reading influences with stories like Lord of the Flies, The Masque of Red Death, and others, but I wonder if an overriding influence will be Colossus: The Forbin Project (a remake of which Rothenberg was once associated with).  In the book (and film), the powerful AI, Colossus merges with another powerful AI, Guardian (sound familiar, POI fans?) and takes over the planet. Humanity is now in their ‘care.’   

Will we see two AIs merge for series 5 – and what will happen? 

If we don’t see the ‘deathwave’ devastating Polis (as an early teaser promised), is it a let-down?  I can picture that happening and leave everyone hanging as to who survived.  

Distorted Angel.

I might have one disagreement with some over Luna.  Moments of characters losing hope on this show are common and results vary – but Luna always felt a bit off to me.  From the moment we met her, she is a figure of drama: from the way visitors are brought on board her rig to the way they live: she lays on the ‘peace and love and zen’ vibe rather thick. Like Jasper, she’s a character who lost hope long ago. She ran away as a result. She’s been living in a bubble world ever since.  

Does Luna really believe all the things she says? Is she this wise and noble creature or is she someone trying to convince others (and herself) that she is? She seems to be clinging to her beliefs to save herself from the reality of her past as a trained killer.  When she attacks Clarke and tells her she would have killed Lexa in the Conclave – compare to her telling Octavia about her Conclave experience killing her brother (’I wanted to live’) – we see the distorted person inside.  She has always been dark, hurt, dangerous – but she pushed it down in order to help others.  

I’m not surprised if she came to the conclusion (especially after spending time with Skaikru!) that no one deserves to live. She’s lost everything and sees only the worst – instead of what could be.  She isn’t a ‘visionary’ (like Lexa).  She doesn’t see a bigger picture.  For Luna: she is a killer, she has killed, her world is brutality and death and she escaped for a bit – but it wouldn’t last.  

Is she mad?  Possibly.  It isn’t too far for her, but it is deplorable that they choose to turn her madness into villainy.  It is awful that she is taken out by Octavia in a manner that suggests she was never anything but a villain.  I would rather have seen her breakdown, then drop her weapons and ‘run away’ again, bringing herself full circle (if she’d returned to Raven, with whom she bonded, that might have been nice).  

Octavia – the only character written as the mythic hero archetype, begins to fulfill that character design (she gets Indra’s sword, even stands before the throne in Polis, symbolically, she is the rightful Commander who brings the people together).  She bridges the two cultures here – a foreshadowing that if they don’t work together, they’re all going to die.  The two cultures must either die off, or merge, or develop as something else.  Is one better than the other, no – but one thinks it is and that’s a huge problem that haunts this show.  Interesting trio we are left with: Octavia, Kane and Indra to deal with the Grounder chaos.  

If the bunker is Becca’s ‘crypt,’ might something significant be buried there?  I’m completely not serious, but I think it’d be hilarious if there is a locked space that requires Lexa’s little gear to open – and they have to figure out yet another way to screw the Grounders in order to get it. 

its baaack doc i need your thinking cap for DNR did you see? do you think raven is dying? i’m crying cuz they are still fing with us.

thedoctor-smith:

At some point, I might post about all the disquieting ideas this show brings up (colonialism, preference of intelligences, narrative disconnects, retcons, etc) – but it’s so depressing.  I’ve been brought up to speed this morning, and a couple of things stand out: 

– Is Raven dying? Possible, but look at the show. Is it going to be that simple? Is it possible that Alie’s ‘code’ remains in Raven and instead of her hallucinating Becca (as many of us thought), she’s being manipulated?  The last we saw of Alie, she was on the Ark. I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns out to be the twist at the end of the season.  Alie takes over Raven again – or did she ever lose control, just stayed hidden?  Begs the question if Abby is in the same metaphorical boat.  Don’t count Raven out just yet.  

Keep reading

Just to add: Clarke’s list of clans showed over 5,000 lived in Polis (I believe).  She tells the others the shelter can hold 1200 and they can ‘all’ survive there together.  That’s a lot of people left out.  Did they forget this detail?

So many narrative flip-flops here and all just to have a hunger games-style battle that needn’t exist, or undermine Raven’s storyline to show her still being possessed by Alie (if that turns out to be the case – I really hope it isn’t).  And the Flame never meant anything (funny, since JR made a big deal out of its reveal and killed Lexa off to make it happen).  

This show undermines itself so much.  Such great characters and potential, wasted.  

its baaack doc i need your thinking cap for DNR did you see? do you think raven is dying? i’m crying cuz they are still fing with us.

At some point, I might post about all the disquieting ideas this show brings up (colonialism, preference of intelligences, narrative disconnects, retcons, etc) – but it’s so depressing.  I’ve been brought up to speed this morning, and a couple of things stand out: 

– Is Raven dying? Possible, but look at the show. Is it going to be that simple? Is it possible that Alie’s ‘code’ remains in Raven and instead of her hallucinating Becca (as many of us thought), she’s being manipulated?  The last we saw of Alie, she was on the Ark. I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns out to be the twist at the end of the season.  Alie takes over Raven again – or did she ever lose control, just stayed hidden?  Begs the question if Abby is in the same metaphorical boat.  Don’t count Raven out just yet.  

– At last, the Hunger Games.  This show has borrowed from everything that came before it, a Hunger Games was just a matter of time.  It’s also one more paper bag the writers want their team to fight their way out of, because, of course, it’s only the last minute and we’ve got to have a big fight, first.  

– Roan. The great flip-flopper. One minute you’re telling Clarke how she’s the one to unite all your people, the next, you undermine her actions to do just that – all because your faith and way of life are suddenly so important to you. Again, at the last possible minute.  Let’s have a fight to make everything fair.  You talk to her about Lexa and how proud she’d be of you – but then you undermine all that Lexa stood for (her coalition, unity, peace, blood must not have blood).  THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS.

– Flame fake-out.  I’ve long had the feeling this show has been not-so-subtly dragging the Clexa fandom this year.  Funny how there have been media supporting this show with articles about how ‘Clexa could be endgame’ if Clarke takes the Flame.  It’s something some Clexa fans want to see (if they can’t have them alive, this is the next best thing, I guess), and have discussed since last season.  Funny how they bring Clarke so close to this – then take it away at the last possible minute. All of this so Roan can make a point – not a bad one, mind you – Clarke taking the Flame is a narrative washout for the colonialist storyline – but he knows Clarke isn’t mocking their beliefs, he knows Clarke is just doing what he himself has said she was the one to do: unite their people before the end.  So much for following The One True Commander’s ideals (unity, peace, blood must not have blood).

Could there have been a better time for Roan to question this action, like, say, after everyone is in the shelter and safe? If he can reason for himself that nightblood really means nothing and anyone can be Commander, then why not let Clarke as Commander play out to unite and save their people – then, once everyone is secured, have Skaikru explain what nightblood is and maybe, I don’t know, help form a new idea of a government?  

We know why.  Armed conflict is always necessary.  Big fight scene.  Whoo.  

– Octavia.  If she wins the conclave, does she become Commander?  I had discussion on this a little while ago. She fits in the classic hero mythos: a hidden child, taught by a wise mentor, becomes a warrior (Arthur, Luke Skywalker, et al), obtains a weapon of power, belongs to two worlds (though often doesn’t fit well into either), usually fulfills some prophecy, survives a near-death experience (fall from a great height, led out by a horse – Aragorn deserved better), leads their people out of darkness.  Octavia bridges a gap between the Grounders and Sky people – but so far she’s only seen rejection from both sides.  And she hasn’t really shown leadership potential. She’s just angry and broken and we get little else from her. Is there time to elevate her? Eh.

– Jasper. He would have made a decent Greek chorus. Instead, he’s just the DJ at the End of the World dance-off.  And Monty joins him.  Will they kill these kids off this year?  Wouldn’t it be funny if the ‘deathwave’ never actually happens?

– What are 1200 people supposed to eat in that shelter?  Season 5: the cannibal horror show.

– Miller and Jackson: Millson? Jiller? Your new OTP.  

– Where’s Luna? Taking another nap? Since the Boat People are extinct (?), will she fight in the Conclave? Will she be the spanner in the works?  Sounds like something she would have a few irritated words over.  Slap Roan silly, Luna. Slap him. 

– Will you fight, or will you burn?  I’m going to be pissy about this: Roan knew Clarke was willing to die to come up with a solution to save their people.  This line is just mean-spirited. She’s been fighting for awhile now, Roan – I’m sorry the writers didn’t bring you up to speed.  You really shouldn’t be the character to point out Skaikru are a bunch of elitist, colonialist wankers, though – that should be

 – Indra.  You should have risen up as the Trikru leader, opposing Roan, taking Skaikru to task and – whatever happened to your army? And the guns? The writers really don’t care about certain details and it is maddening. 

Oh, and how funny/awful is it for Bellamy to point out none of them (save, ahem, Octavia) had Grounder battle training?  If you hadn’t killed them, you might have made some friends and avoided future conflict. 

Somebody’s wishing they’d never had a genocidal storyline.

Ironical twist: at the Hunger Games, Trikru shows up with the guns and just shoots everyone dead.  

Abby: Who gave them guns?!

Kane (pointing at Jaha): It was his idea!

Jaha: I don’t know, I can’t read suddenly. 

Really Bad Definitely Won’t Happen Prediction: since the Flame has been rendered into its final obsolescence, Gaia gives it to Clarke as a keepsake. Clarke goes back to Lexa’s bedroom to watch the ‘deathwave’ while everyone else bickers and scrambles for shelter.  She is surprised by the arrival of Raven, in her rocket, offering her a ride.  Since Earth sucks, she climbs aboard and they head off back to space, their minds happily occupied with their dead girlfriends.  

theory time DOC have you seen the DNR spoilers? Whatcha think?

thedoctor-smith:

I love how I get these as if I’ve ever had a correct theory about ANYTHING.  

Yes, I’ve seen the photos now and all I can say is probably what others are saying: it looks like Raven is trying to solve a Big Problem and is likely hallucinating a conversation with Becca to help herself.  

Clarke back in the old Commander gear suggests she’s probably going to ascend and the Grounders are probably all grumbly about it but Roan and Indra and some of the other ambassadors look like they’re agreeing on something, so, she probably does take the Flame again.  I think this has been assumed for awhile now.  Clarke unites all of their people.  Or something.  

Now that I’ve written this, everything will turn out to be completely wrong.  :-p 

I’m going to add to this: Clarke assuming Lexa’s role puts her in as dangerous a position as Lexa ever was.  She’s not a ruler, she’s not a politician, either.  I don’t think her being ‘Commander’ is for much more than show, to get everyone to cooperate.  Emotionally, this symbolises a near-permanent joining w/the other Commanders (including Becca and Lexa), as, if she dies with it, her consciousness gets recorded onto the implant as theirs were. 

If you wanted a Clexa endgame – this might be as close as you’ll get (also sets up the possibility – being baited in some media – of a return for ADC in s5, if only in Clarke’s head).  Don’t get your hopes up for this, though, and don’t see this as a reason to return to support the show, if you’re staying away.  I think this was a foregone conclusion from the beginning of s3, really, but it doesn’t undo the trope and it doesn’t make up for what they did (if any of this happens at all – remember I’m rotten with the theory game).  

theory time DOC have you seen the DNR spoilers? Whatcha think?

I love how I get these as if I’ve ever had a correct theory about ANYTHING.  

Yes, I’ve seen the photos now and all I can say is probably what others are saying: it looks like Raven is trying to solve a Big Problem and is likely hallucinating a conversation with Becca to help herself.  

Clarke back in the old Commander gear suggests she’s probably going to ascend and the Grounders are probably all grumbly about it but Roan and Indra and some of the other ambassadors look like they’re agreeing on something, so, she probably does take the Flame again.  I think this has been assumed for awhile now.  Clarke unites all of their people.  Or something.  

Now that I’ve written this, everything will turn out to be completely wrong.  :-p 

clexacloneclub:

weasal:

Who has been watching S4? I just watched the latest episode and I just cannot. We’ll be talking about it a bit on the next podcast episode but I just feel the need to vent my complete dismay at the assassination of Clarke’s character. What a different show this has become. Eight episodes in and it just gets messier and messier. And if Jasper doesn’t die by having the black rain melt his fucking face off and soon, I might explode. I really should give up but apparently I’m a masochist. 

They’re running out of ideas so fast on this show they’ve resorted to rehashing old ones. Everything about S4 and taking Luna’s blood/bone marrow screams S2 with the mountain men. Something I’m sure JrothenBerk thinks is clever but it’s boring because it’s old ideas (like the whole lever thing.) There’s nothing fresh or exciting. Nothing positive, every attempt at survival seems futile because something ultimately more damning always rears its head. It would be nice to see some different storylines, situations where the characters can grow and show off their strengths and general badassery. Rather than continuous knock back after knock back for what feels like pure dramatic effect.

Excellent point here, CCC – how can you have serious character development when they have nothing to move forward over?  It’s relentless downward spiral with a tiny reprieve at the end.  You can’t do much with that.  

This show writes itself up chimneys.  That’s not world-building.

I was watching the loo tonight and I thought about something you wrote recently about how the AI story should have been the grounder’s origin story. With Jaha taking charge of this quest something just hit me about that but I can’t really articulate it very well I hope you know what I mean?

I think I have an idea. There is a problem with
the fact that the Grounders are not the ones to tell their story or participate
much in it. Their history, where they came from, what made them what they are:
all of this becomes a convoluted puzzle for Clarke/Jaha/Skaikru to work out, so the
story becomes theirs, instead. It’s their adventure/journey toward ‘understanding’ and ‘overcoming’. Grounders are not the
main players here. They will never be the protagonists in their own play. 

It is awful because of the mixed messages against technology
and the colonialist themes, and how that could have been coordinated more
carefully around The Commander/The Flame.
Lexa should have Known Things. The Flamekeepers like Gaia should have
more agency in the secrets they are there to protect (secrets they don’t seem to know much about – but give an Arker five minutes and it’s child’s play). Indra is just there to be
almost mindlessly angry and guard the door?
Meanwhile, three Skaikru – men – get to play Hero and find the Highly
Unlikely Safe Space That Was There All Along (one of the most ridiculous plot
threads they’ve spun out).  

[And what is it with Jaha’s storylines, anyway?
He reaches earth strapped to a missile, goes searching for enlightenment and
finds an AI that just so happened to have caused the apocalypse (how
lucky is that), becomes her puppet, is sent out to draw people into a virtual
reality platform that is supposed to save them (in digital format) when another
round of deadly radiation hits their side of the planet (what IS causing the
blast, eh?), returns to Arkadia and seems to have no regrets over what he
participated in, encourages Bellamy not to punish himself for what he did,
starts studying doomsday cults (so random, I know), leads them on a wild goose
chase for a totally plausible bunker so easily found even though they have no map, just so happens to overhear a Grounder prayer that, amazingly, leads him
to believe there is ANOTHER bunker somewhere else (because, you know, he would
have totally had another one if he were in charge), convinces Kane, grabs
Monty, they haul it to Polis, he shows no problem with Indra gunning down
innocent guards (the woman is traumatised by what Pike/Bellamy did –
should we tell Jaha to shove his advice to Bellamy up his arse?) because
DAMMIT, he’s on a mission and this is just trivia, and whoomp, there it is, the
magical hole in the ground (Alice, anyone?) and thanks be to Frodo – I mean,
Monty – we now know the password to enter the Underworld.]

PS: I’d still like to know how Becca’s home/lab are still so pristine and have power and running water after a century.  I’d also like to know if there’s more at the house we could learn from. No one seems interested in investigating it, though.  Eh.  Her unlikely ‘crypt,’ though.  Is anything really going to come from it?  This show loves its dead ends.