The 100, “Wanheda Part 2”, is a fast-paced hunt for hope. The numerous story lines are perfectly balanced as the writers continue to acknowledge the severe impact that the events from season 2 had on all of our central characters. “Wanheda Part 1” felt like a complete season set up episode, part 2 is filled with movement, literally as the hunt for Clarke (Eliza Taylor) continues. The grounders may view her as “the commander of death,” but for the sky people she’s a beacon of hope; the ark princess sent to the ground alongside a hundred under aged prisoners. A natural leader for The 100, who “tried to be the good guy” in season 2, but ultimately chose to sacrifice an entire group of people for her own. Actions have consequences, no matter the good intentions, and the writers continue to explore the penalties of survival in “Wanheda Part 2”:
5. The Others 
“The ice nation can be ruthless, take pride in the number you saved.” says Indra (Adina Porter) to Pike (Michael Beach). The season 2-finale events allowed the grounder clans to make peace with the sky people. Now within the first two episodes of season 3, we are beginning to see internal strife on both sides threatening this coalition. The Commander (Alycia Debnam-Carey) continues to be threatened by ice nation; a direct parallel to our sky crew encounter with farm station. Monty (Christopher Larkin) reunites with his mother and learns about his father’s heroic death. This sky people reunion is bittersweet as Pike and his fellow survivors have a clear prejudice against the grounders. A fact that makes Indra’s presence in their rescue team especially awkward, “English please” yells Pike after she slips into her native tongue. Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), Bellamy (Bob Morley), Monty, Indra and Pike all venture into ice nation territory in an attempt to find Clarke. Along the way they share their tumultuous relationship with the grounders since landing on Earth. The writers cleverly and subtly remind viewers that not too long ago both Bellamy and Kane stood against the grounders, until it “turns out we had a common enemy.” Brilliant! The very event that led to peace serves to trigger civil wars on both sides this season. Neither Pike’s farm station crew, nor ice nation were at “the mountain,” so there’s no reason for them to support this coalition between the sky crew and Trikru clan.
4. Return to Mt. Weather
“Places are not evil brother, people are” explains Nyko (Ty Olsson) to Lincoln (Ricky Whittle). During the premiere I completely disregarded the discussion about Arkadia’s need for a new medical facility; a motivating factor that plays a pivotal role in Abby’s story line. The 100 writers skillfully interweave the grounder’s fear, Jasper’s mourning, and Abby’s guilt together, as they all return to Mt. Weather. Oh the irony, as Nyko needs a blood transfusion, but nobody in Arkadia is a match. Jackson (Sachin Sahel) recommends they take him to “the mountain” where there remains a fully stocked grounder blood supply. Meanwhile, Abby has Jasper come along in an attempt for him to confront his feelings about Maya (Eve Harlow), once and for all. The scene where Abby compares Jasper to Finn (Thomas McDonell) is so incredibly poignant, “Your daughter killed him too.” We also observe Abby’s continued struggle to balance being both a doctor and the chancellor. The duel role requires her to consider the political ramifications of doing what’s necessary for her patients. Remember, in season 1 on the ark, Abby constantly went up against Chancellor Jaha and broke the rules in order to save lives. Now both the sky crew and the grounders would benefit from a new medical facility, but this involves returning to a place built on grounders blood. The same place where Maya and the mountain men were sacrificed for the sky crew. Lincoln and Nyko advise Abby to open the facility and in turn she makes her decision; one that will come full circle this season.
3. #Bellarke
“I’ll do anything. I’ll stop fighting. Just please don’t kill him.” says Clarke to Roan (Zach McGowan), after he has Bellamy pinned down. Full disclosure, I remain a #Bellarke shipper, especially after this episode. Bob and Eliza continue to retain their palpable on screen chemistry, even though their characters are constantly being torn apart these past two seasons. There’s the shared history from season 1, a past that has them in need for one another. Bellamy is restless after spotting Clarke in the distance, but can’t go after her due to the ice nation army crossing the Trikru border. He then disguises himself as a grounder to go after Clarke, before she’s lost to him again. Their reunion is cut short, as Roan prevents Bellamy from taking her back to Arkadia. He doesn’t kill Bellamy after noticing the desperation in Clarke’s pleas for mercy. Instead Roan stabs Bellamy right in the thigh, forcing him from going after Clarke again. Heartbreaks across the board as Monty convinces Bellamy that they need to let Clarke go for now. #Bellark will be reunited for good within the next couple of episodes, but I suspect sky people/grounder politics will put them at odds again. More importantly both Bellamy and Clarke need to work through their leftover guilt from the Mt. Weather genocide; they can only do that with each other.
2. No Pain, No Light
“Here there will be no more suffering,” says Alie (Erica Cerra) to Jaha (Isaiah Washington) as they stand in the city of light, during the opening sequence. Now what is the city of light? I am not entirely sure, but it appears to be a virtual reality that Alie created; a world that she’s created in her own image, since she’s an artificial intelligence being. We learn more about Emori (Luisa D’Oliveira) in this episode as she explains to Murphy (Richard Harmon) her scavenger/buyer relationship with “the woman in the flying machine.” She also mentions having other buyers, as she attempts to steal from another Alie follower. Murphy attempts to save Emori from being choked to death, but she saves herself by slitting the throat of her attacker. Most likely, we’ll meet Emori’s other buyers during a later episode, as she and Murphy drive their boat away from the city of light in the end. Jaha is left behind with Alie, and the other follower, whom Emori killed… “There is no death in the city of light.” The writers continue to expertly pull those emotional burdens from our sky crew adventures over into this story line, seamlessly tying them all together. The very burdens Jaha has lifted through his belief in the city of light, weigh on Kane, Abby, Bellamy, and Clarke’s backs; the burden of leadership in a dystopian world. We see the appeal on Murphy’s face after witnessing first hand that there’s “no pain in the city of light.” In addition, Murphy ultimately abandoning Jaha to his newfound faith advances the religious context found within this plot line. They are both sky people, but Jaha is a believer and Murphy is an unbeliever. Some find hope in religion, while others find it elsewhere.
1. The Princess & the Prince 
“I was banished, nothing like you… you had a choice,” says Roan to his wanheda prisoner, Clarke. Okay, I am pretty sure all viewers knew that he was taking her to the commander and not the ice queen. However I did not expect all those parallels between this odd couple; Clarke was technically banished on the ark in season 1. Granted, he’s not wrong about her choice to abandon the sky people following “the mountain”. Between the verbal and physical sparring, there’s an unlikely kinship formed between Roan and Clarke throughout this episode. They see through each others tough exteriors and attack the emotional vulnerability beneath. “Why are you hiding from your own people?” asks Clarke after he saves her from being captured by other Azgeda (ice nation) scouts, “Why did you run away from yours?” he counters. Now I am really curious about Roan’s banishment, considering the possibility that it’s a direct parallel to Clarke’s sentence on the ark. Again, I knew from the beginning that Roan was taking her to the commander, but even this ending scene teased an unexpected backstory. Roan is the prince of ice nation, so throughout this whole episode we were watching an outlaw grounder prince and sky crew princess bicker. Well, Clarke’s “earth skills” continue to earn her allies from her enemy’s clan.
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