The 100 Season 2 Episode 2 Review: “Inclement Weather”

The 100 was one of the better new shows last season. It’s a great combination of sci-fi, ensemble drama, and action series. It hasn’t generated a ton of buzz, but season 2 has picked up and carried the momentum from the end of season 1 (which is saying something, because it was A LOT of momentum).

Season 1 ended with a war that scattered the 100, and with most of the adults crash landing on earth after intentionally breaking apart “The Ark”. Season 2 picks up with our heroes divided. Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington) is still up on what’s left of “The Ark”, the adults have found their way to Bellamy, Finn, Raven and Murphy, and Clarke, Jasper, Monty, and 46 others are “guests” in the ever mysterious “Mount Weather”.  Oh, and Lincoln has returned with Octavia to his village.

This week, Chancellor Jaha makes a startling discovery aboard the remains of the Ark, Clarke remains unconvinced of the safety of Mt. Weather, Kane finds that he is not prepared to deal with the imminent threat that the grounders pose, Raven has an impromptu surgery, and Octavia does what she has to do for the return of her beloved Lincoln.

One of the show’s core strengths to this point has been its cast. While it IS large, a cast led by veterans like Washington and Henry Ian Cusick, and complemented by strong young actors like Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley has an excellent talent pool to draw from. I’m constantly impressed with each of the young actors in turn, as their turn in the limelight comes. This week, that actress was Marie Avgeropoulos, who plays Octavia.

I’ve been really impressed with the growth of Octavia, from a spunky little child protected by Bellamy, to a warrior. Her relationship with Lincoln has made her tougher all the time (though I was personally hoping she’d choose Jasper), and that toughness came to a head today when she captured a grounder medic (Ty Olsson, Supernatural) to negotiate the return of her beloved. I was especially impressed with her in this episode, as she conveyed her clear wants and needs and proved her acting chops.

I REALLY loved the scene when Jaha jumps across to the missile. It was extremely tense, and for a second I was worried they kept him alive in Season 2 just to kill him off. His helmet cracked, but he still made it across. That scene also saw the return of Eli Goree as Jaha’s son, Wells, in what was an extremely powerful moment.

The casting in this show is just excellent. I’ve already done plenty of raving about the main cast, so I’ll tone that down for now, but it has also put forth an extremely strong guest cast for the first two episodes. In addition to Olsson (of whom I am a HUGE fan, by the way) the casting of Raymond J. Barry as the president of Mt. Weather. He’s delightfully creepy in his portrayal, and I guess you’re supposed to side with Clarke because I can tell that he’s hiding something too. Now we all can, Mr. President.

So now our heroes Bellamy and Finn are on the loose again, and Clarke has discovered something actually wrong with Mt. Weather. Will Jasper and Monty believe her? Will she get Anya out and find their way back to their friends and families? There are SO many loose plot ends that the season needs to tie up, and I am so excited for every one of them. I love large ensemble casts, especially when they mix up the pairings of characters and split up the group (see: The Walking Dead Season 4).

This is an excellent show, and Season 2 has been rolling on all cylinders thus far. I liked what I’ve seen from the show, and it definitely has the potential to carry the momentum into the rest of the season and beyond. What do you guys think? Do you like The 100? How do you think the season is going? Let us know your thoughts!

Image via CW