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Season 2 Episode 10
Survival of the Fittest
- Lincoln: The world has been trying to turn me into a monster for as long as I can remember.
Bellamy and Lincoln are disguised as Reapers as they head toward the Mount Weather mines. Lincoln spears an animal and cuts it open. He smears blood on his face along with limestone to enhance his Reaper disguise. Lincoln tells Bellamy about the intake process and how each person is tagged for either Cerberus Project (like Lincoln) or for harvest. Bellamy mentions that his mom read mythology to him and Octavia all the time and that Octavia loved it, causing Lincoln to smile. Bellamy asks why he protected Octavia before he knew her. Lincoln then tells Bellamy how when he was a boy, a Sky Person dropped from The Ark in a pod and onto Earth. For three days, Lincoln tended to the man, eventually telling his father. His father made Lincoln kill the man and the world has been trying to turn him into a monster for as long as he can remember. Bellamy tells Lincoln, that he'd heard about people from the Ark doing that.Indra arrives at Camp Jaha with her warriors. Marcus Kane makes them leave their weapons behind and invites them to a reception. Jaha tells Kane that this alliance is a mistake but Kane disagrees. While Kane is giving a speech about how this is a chance for Grounders and Sky People to work together against the Mountain Men, Penn starts accusing Murphy in Trigedasleng for being at the massacre in Tondc and not doing anything. Murphy tells him he doesn't speak "Grounder" and the two get in each other's faces. Kane gives Murphy two days of work detail and tells him to apologize to Penn. Murphy refuses and Penn tells him he's going to burn like Finn. Murphy swings a punch, which causes everyone to start fighting. Octavia and Kane trying to break up the brawl while Jaha watches smugly.
Clarke is back in Tondc, planning with Lexa and her leaders a way to get both of their people out of Mount Weather. Quint gets argumentative with Clarke before storming off, saying he can't be in an alliance with the Sky People. Lexa tells Clarke that waiting for Bellamy to get into Mount Weather is a prayer, not a plan. Clarke excuses herself for some fresh air and Major Byrne follows after.
Lincoln and Bellamy are on their way into the mines around Mount Weather. Lincoln tells Bellamy that he remembers everything from when he was on the Reaper Red drug.
Clarke is wandering around outside when she spots Quint tracking her. He starts to taunt her and shoots arrows at her as she runs.
Kane and Octavia watch the Grounders training and Octavia attempts to get Indra to let her train with the grounders, but Indra refuses.
Clarke pauses while running from Quint and sees Byrne whose arm has been ripped off. Byrne tells Clarke to save herself.
Murphy is busy mopping floors when Jaha tells him he got him off work detail because he wants Murphy to take Jaha to Wells' grave at The Camp and hands Murphy a gun.
Kane is working with the Camp Jaha Guards on the firing range when they notice Penn and a few other Grounders watching them. Kane offers to teach them but Indra interrupts and tells Kane they don't need their weapons. Octavia tells Kane that Grounders are scared of guns because of the legend that Mount Weather will wipe out their entire village if a Grounder ever touches one. Denby, one of the guards, points out to Kane that Octavia seems to know a lot about the Grounders.
Clarke is running through the woods when she is attacked by Quint. Lexa comes up and tells Clarke she can kill Quint when they hear a loud roar. Lexa says that it's a "Pauna" (a giant mutant gorilla) before she slices Quint's leg, telling Clarke to run. The Pauna attacks Quint while Clarke, Lexa, and her guard look for a place to hide. They quickly realize their hiding place is actually the feeding ground of the Pauna when she leaps over and attacks their guard. Clarke shoots at the Pauna but the bullets don't stop her and she chases after Clarke and Lexa, causing Lexa to injure herself. The Pauna grabs Lexa's leg but Clarke refuses to leave Lexa behind, saving her life even as they trap themselves into a room.
Jaha and Murphy are walking through the forest on their way back to the drop ship and Jaha tells Murphy he remembers his father; he remembers everyone he floated. Murphy leads him to the graveyard.
Bellamy and Lincoln have finally arrived at the entrance to the Reaper mines, Lincoln appears hesitant but goes on anyway.
Back at the drop ship's graveyard, Jaha is having a moment over his son's grave and asks Murphy how well he knew him. Murphy tells him the truth about how Charlotte killed Wells because she couldn't kill Jaha. Jaha tells Murphy they'll rest at the drop ship for a while.
At Camp Jaha, Indra commands her warriors to get ready to hunt because the Sky People don't have any food. As the grounders are about to leave Camp Jaha, Octavia stands in Indra's way and tells her to make her move. Indra calls over Fio to give Octavia the fight she is looking for. The Grounder, Fio, defeats her, but Octavia continues to stand up again and again until Indra calls it off. Kane helps Octavia stand up, asking her what she was trying to prove. She replies back, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Clarke and Lexa are still trapped in the room and Lexa tells Clarke that she's being weak by helping her escape the Pauna. Clarke tells Lexa that she needs her because she's smart. The Pauna finds them and begins beating against the door. Clarke has Lexa stand on one side of the door while letting the Pauna charge in and then race out the door, shutting it behind them and trapping the Pauna in the room.
As Octavia is recuperating from the fight, Indra appears and tells her that she fought like a child but Indra is willing to train her and take her on as her Second. Octavia agrees.
Jaha and Murphy are hanging out in the drop ship. Jaha tells Murphy that he deserves a second chance and that "good can come out of even the darkest acts." Jaha tells him how they're similar and are both outcasts by their own people. He tells Murphy about the City of Light and how he wants to find it and lead his people home.
As Lincoln and Bellamy make their way through the Reaper tunnels, Lincoln finds himself struggling with his addiction to the Reaper drug. The two discuss the plan to infiltrate their base and once again, Lincoln says he doesn't think he can do it. He tries to back out of the plan, but they're interrupted by another Reaper raiding party and Lincoln has to pretend that Bellamy is his captive to keep their ploy from being discovered.
After Indra and the grounders bring back food for the people of Camp Jaha, Kane acknowledges that it was Octavia who brought the Grounders and the Sky People together. Fio, the man she had sparred with earlier, brings her a plate of food. Kane asks her to "look out for [her] people," to which Octavia ambiguously replies that she is.
Murphy awakens to find a group of people outside the drop ship. Jaha had invited them to come with him to find the City of Light and now Jaha wants Murphy to join them.
Clarke awakens to find Lexa watching over her in the woods. The Pauna is still trapped and they are safe as long as the cage holds. This gives Clarke the idea of using all the caged Grounders trapped in Mount Weather as an army as long as Bellamy can get inside and release them.
The Reaper raiding party has reached the underground entrance to Mount Weather. Bellamy and the other captured Grounders are marked for harvesting. Lincoln is unable to resist the Red drug and allows Bellamy to be harvested by the Mountain Men.
Tropes
- A God Am I: Jaha is starting to develop a Messiah Complex. He speaks to Murphy about going on a pilgrimage to find the City of Light, and then returning to "Lead my people home." He ends up leading a group of Sky People on a quest to locate the city.
- An Arm and a Leg: Major Byrne has her right arm ripped off by a gorilla, and dies from shock and blood loss.
- And Then What?: Kane reflects to Octavia that, even if the alliance defeats Mount Weather, the tensions will remain between the Grounders and Sky People, with the latter at a supreme disadvantage.
- Betrayal by Inaction: After their infiltration plan goes south, Lincoln betrays Bellamy to the Reapers due to his lingering addiction the the Red drug. Originally a fake prisoner, Bellamy becomes a real one as Lincoln decides not to kill the surrounding Reapers and instead surrender to another injection.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The Grounders refer to the gorilla as "Pauna".
- Compliment Backfire: Bellamy tries to break the ice with Lincoln by praising him for making Octavia "strong". Lincoln scoffs at this, declaring that she was already strong.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Octavia gets her ass kicked multiple times in succession by the Grounder she is training with. Her ability to keep getting up impresses Indra enough to take Octavia on as her apprentice.
- Due to the Dead: Jaha convinces Murphy to bring him to Wells' grave so he can pay his final respects.
- The Dead Have Names: Jaha reveals he remembers the names of every single person he executed during his tenure as Chancellor on the Ark.
- Dressing as the Enemy: The episode opens with Lincoln disguising himself as a Reaper, and Bellamy as his Trojan Prisoner.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Clarke has an epiphany regarding a strategy to take Mount Weather. They should use the Grounder captives to take the Mountain from the inside.
- Handicapped Badass: Lexa and Clarke are forced to jump into one of the zoo's enclosures to try and escape the Pauna, and Lexa injures her arm on impact, forcing Clarke to fight it off herself.
- Internal Reveal: Murphy relates the circumstances surrounding Charlotte's murder of Wells.
- Jerk Ass Has A Point: One of Lexa's commanders, Quint, insultingly points out that waiting for Bellamy and Lincoln to sabotage the Acid Fog is not a reliable plan. Lexa is forced to agree with him. Later he is proven right when Bellamy is captured and Lincoln relapses.
- Killer Gorilla: Major Byrne, who has taken up the task of guarding Clarke during negotiations, is killed by the gorilla.
- Made of Iron: The Pauna no sells a headshot from Clarke, and later absorbs her entire magazine, and is barely slowed down.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Weirdly, not the Killer Gorilla, which appears to be a descendant of a zoo animal. But the moose she has stashed in what's left of the enclosure is several hundred miles south of where moose typically live (in New England, Canada, and other cold climates in Europe and Asia).
- "Not So Different" Remark: Jaha compares himself to Murphy, who he believes is a kindred spirit. Murphy doesn't buy it.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Kane demonstrates his skills as a decent marksman.
- Reincarnation: Lexa reveals that, according to Grounder beliefs, the Commander is reincarnated after death.
- The Reveal:
- The reason Raven only had a single escape pod to work with on the Ark. The rest were used as a means of "Suicide by Earth", jettisoning from the Ark towards Earth without proper proper landing gear.
- As explained by Octavia, Grounders refuse to use firearms by tradition, as the Mountain Men would execute any Grounder who so much as touched a gun.
- The rank of Commander is based based on the belief that the spirit of the Commander is reincarnated after the death of each previous Commander.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Murphy and an unnamed Grounder start a brawl, Jaha discreetly excuses himself, convinced that Kane's negotiations are doomed to failure. Later, he leads a group of people, including Murphy, to locate the City of Light and avoid the war with Mount Weather.
- Shout-Out: Murphy's father was named Alex.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Forcibly detoxing a drug addict from their drug of choice, against their will, does not necessarily break their addiction. More often, it takes actual work on the addict's part to resist active temptation and to fully recover. Lincoln didn't choose to go cold-turkey from the Reaper drug, and spends the episode grappling with the still present addiction, and finally relapses near the end.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Indra recognizes that Octavia is this in spirit, and decides to nurture actual skill.
- We Need a Distraction: Lexa, intending to have Clarke execute Quint for his betrayal, but once they are attacked, she instead hamstrings him and leaves him to die at the hands of the Pauna, buying them time to escape.
- You Killed My Father: In a Call-Back, Murphy still resents Jaha for executing his father. However, Character Development has kicked in, and unlike with Wells, Murphy doesn't try to murder him over it.
