The 100 season 5 episode 13 review: Damocles Part Two

The fifth season of The 100 came to a close last night, and emotions on the show have never been higher.

When showrunner Jason Rothenberg said that the fifth season finale of The 100 could have made a “satisfying series finale,” he wasn’t kidding. “Damocles Part Two” took fans on an emotional roller coaster, but it somehow managed to drive home every lesson the show has taught us since its first season.

While much of the finale went as fans anticipated, the very ending was certainly not what we were expecting. If you haven’t watched it yet, or if you plan on re-watching, we recommend keeping a tissue box close by. But as much as “Damocles Part Two” will make you cry, it left off on a high note —  for humanity and for the officially confirmed season 6.

Wonkru’s comeback

The episode opens with Miller surveying the Wonkru camp, taking in the damage that Octavia’s assault on Shallow Valley has done. Monty and Harper remind him that they can’t stay in the desert, but he rightfully tells them that no one will follow him into the gorge. And considering that McCreary won’t accept their surrender, they don’t have any other options.

But just when hope seems lost, Madi and the others arrive to save them. The grounders immediately react to Madi’s presence as their commander, but the most powerful moment during Madi’s return is when Octavia bends the knee to her. It seems Blodreina won’t be making a return this season after all.

With a little help from the commanders before her, Madi finds a way to guide her people safely into her old home. Bellamy and Echo dismantle Eligius’ canons, tipping the battle in Wonkru’s favor. Once the canons are gone, they easily march into the valley.

And before Madi sentences the surrendering Eligius prisoners to death, Bellamy gives one of his impassioned speeches — something viewers haven’t seen in quite some time. “We’ve been here before,” he tells Madi. He reminds her that the hundred were once the prisoners, prisoners who landed in someone’s home and began a vicious cycle of war.

He begs her not to make the same choices they did. And to her credit, she doesn’t. Unfortunately, her wise decision doesn’t lead the group to “happily ever after” — not yet, at least.

McCreary’s decision

Despite Wonkru’s resurgence in the battle for the valley, McCreary refuses to accept defeat. While Madi and her people march through the gorge, he tortures Shaw and Raven into helping him bomb Wonkru. Luckily, Clarke shows up and stalls for time.

But as Clarke holds a gun to Diyoza’s belly, McCreary makes a disastrous choice. Seeing no other way to regain control, he launches Eligius’ missiles. “If I can’t have this valley,” he says, “no one can.” And just like that, humanity causes a third apocalypse on The 100. 

Clarke and the others manage to take out McCreary and his men, but the damage is already done. Raven sounds the alarm, announcing to everyone in Shallow Valley that they have nine minutes to get to the ship. And that nine minutes is the most emotional and stressful nine minutes fans have ever had to sit through.

Though Madi, Bellamy, and Echo make it to the ship first, the rest of Spacekru remains at the back of the army. Monty and Harper agreed to transport the wounded, and Emori is struggling to carry an injured Murphy to safety. Despite Raven’s insistence that they need to get airborne, Bellamy refuses to board the ship.

“I am not leaving my friends,” he tells Clarke. “I can’t do that again.” He’s obviously referencing his choice to leave Clarke behind during the previous season finale, and his words are heart-wrenching — particularly after Madi’s admission that Clarke called him on the radio every day for six years.

Wrapping things up

The rest of the episode is relatively calm by The 100 standards. With the battle at an end, and Earth destroyed yet again, all that’s left is closure. Raven gets the ship flying just in time, and the characters begin to cope with all that’s happened.

It turns out there were no important casualties during the war itself; even Kane makes it onto the ship alive, thanks to a change of heart from Octavia. Unfortunately, Clarke tells Bellamy that he’s in a drug-induced coma, and they aren’t sure he’ll wake from it.

Clarke and Bellamy also finally address all the tension between them,

Sadly, things are still tense between Bellamy and Octavia. But Octavia might find an ally in Diyoza, as the two share a brilliant scene together. “Your mistake was liking it,” Diyoza tells her. “Power.” She points out that they have that in common, to which Octavia replies, “One garden. Two serpents. Eden never stood a chance.”

Following that, we get one final glimpse of our heroes deciding the fate of humanity. They realize that their only option is to put the human race into cryo-sleep for 10 years, until it’s safe to return to Earth. You have to hand it to the writers; this was the perfect way to revamp the series without having to “age” the characters in the process.

A new adventure

When Jason Rothenberg spoke of the season finale, he said that the sixth season would begin a “new adventure” for our characters. Judging by the final moments of “Damocles Part Two,” that’s exactly what Clarke and the others will be getting.

The season closes with Bellamy and Clarke waking from cryo-sleep. When they look around and realize they’re the only ones awake, they quickly sense something is awry. “That’s the way Mom and Dad wanted it,” a new teenage character tells them. He reveals that his name is Jordan, and that he’s Harper’s and Monty’s son.

They soon discover that they’ve been asleep for 125 years. It turns out that Monty and Harper decided to grow old in space, waiting their entire lives for Earth to be inhabitable again. They even had a child, whom they named after Jasper (and if that in itself doesn’t make you burst into tears, you can’t really be a fan of The 100).

And finally, when they realized that Earth would never be survivable again, they found another solution for their friends. Remember Eligius III? It turns out they weren’t on a mining mission. As fans have guessed for most of the season, they discovered a completely new planet.

Monty’s final words to the pair remain true to his character: “I hope we do better there. I hope Jasper was wrong, and we aren’t the problem. I hope your lives there will be as happy as mine has been. Be the good guys. May we meet again.”

As the screen fades on a shot of Clarke and Bellamy staring out at their new home, viewers have to hope that they’ll do better there too. We have an entire year before season 6 airs and we find out for sure.