The 100 season 5 episode 6 review: Exit Wounds

Octavia Blake becomes an increasingly dangerous force to contend with. More than any other episode, “Exit Wounds” draws a line between who our characters are and who they used to be — particularly when it comes to allegiances.

During the previous episode of The 100, Kane convinced Diyoza to make peace with those in the underground bunker. He persuaded her to offer the members of Wonkru the chance for a better life.

“Exit Wounds” opens with Wonkru scared and vulnerable. Having finally seen their leader retreat, they’re beginning to understand that Bloodreina is not unbeatable. It’s clear that Diyoza is the more powerful opponent in this war, and many of Octavia’s people begin questioning her choices.

The situation worsens when Diyoza’s message reaches Wonkru. She offers those “weary of Octavia’s rule” a place in the valley, pushing them to abandon their leader and join her instead. And despite their unwavering loyalty to Octavia during “Shifting Sands,” many of her followers consider the option. In the valley, they would have the opportunity to start anew.

Octavia’s reaction to the dissent is typical of who she has become. She tells Kara to shoot any members of Wonkru who attempt to defect, and Kara is eager to do as she commands.

Echo and Bellamy

This week’s episode places a lot of focus on Echo, something we knew would happen from the end of “Shifting Sands.” Octavia and Echo have history together, much of it involving them trying to kill one another. At the end of the fourth season, Octavia banishes Echo. And she makes it clear in “Exit Wounds” that she’s sticking to her decision.

Initially, she gives Echo 24 hours to leave the camp. After pushback from Bellamy, however, Octavia offers Echo another option. If Echo spies for her, locating defectors before they leave for Diyoza’s ship, Octavia will give her another chance.

But Echo is no longer the spy we met during the show’s second season. After speaking with those planning to defect, she realizes that something is unsettling about Octavia’s rule. She returns to Bellamy with the decision to leave rather than betray the dissenters.

Bellamy offers to go with her, as does Monty. Both are opposed to the coming war, and they’ve adopted a team mentality while in space. Fortunately, they devise a better plan to undermine Octavia.

Monty is unable to take out Diyoza’s missiles without getting a USB drive to Raven. Echo offers to bring it to her, playing the role of a traitor seeking refuse in Diyoza’s camp. Surprisingly, Octavia agrees to let her go.

Less shocking is the fact that Octavia and Kara still gun down their own people, despite Bellamy’s opposition. Octavia claims that Echo’s dissent wouldn’t have looked realistic without this, but it’s clear that Bellamy is uncomfortable with what his sister has become. It seems inevitable that the two will reach a breaking point this season.

Trouble for Madi and Clarke

“Exit Wounds” also opens a storyline we all knew was coming: Madi’s. The grounders believe that the time of the commanders is over, but Madi’s appearance could alter the way they handle their politics completely.

At the beginning of this week’s episode, Madi finally meets Octavia. The scene starts off humorous, portraying Madi’s hero worship for the girl Clarke has told her about. But things quickly become uncomfortable when Octavia asks Madi how she managed to survive Praimfaya.

Clarke chimes in with a lie about giving Madi synthetic Nightblood, something Octavia accepts in the moment. Clarke fears that if Wonkru learns the truth about Madi, they’ll attempt to replace Octavia with her. And she doesn’t want the child caught up in a power struggle with the grounders.

Unfortunately, others in the camp are less ready to accept Clarke’s story about the Nightblood. Clarke catches Gaia warming up to Madi, and it soon becomes clear that Gaia realizes the truth about the girl.

Niylah also realizes that Clarke is lying about Madi’s blood, though her intentions are less kind than Gaia’s. She intends to betray Clarke and Madi to Octavia, but Gaia steps in to protect Madi “as her order as always done.”

Realizing that the camp is no longer safe for them, Clarke makes plans to leave with Madi. Clarke is willing to risk her own life to get Madi to the safety of Diyoza’s camp. During a heartwarming scene, she begs Madi to find Abby if something happens to her.

But Madi isn’t willing to let Clarke sacrifice herself. She seeks out Octavia and tells her the truth, a decision she may come to regret. Octavia proceeds to initiate the girl into Wonkru, telling her that she no longer needs to be afraid. Unfortunately, this statement seems much less sincere than it appeared in the trailer.

Octavia also plans to train Madi going forward, something Clarke is less than thrilled about. Learning to fight could be in Madi’s best interests, but let’s hope Octavia’s less admirable qualities don’t rub off on her in the process.

We’ll see how their training goes in the next episode. “Acceptable Losses” airs on Tuesday, June 19.

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