Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week is a freebie week, and I couldn’t resist talking about one of my favourite shows. In fact, it’s my favourite show that’s currently airing right now. And the new episode airs tomorrow night, so you could realistically catch up between now and then and watch it live. Anyway, this is a post about the top moments in The 100, and there will be major, MAJOR spoilers. If you haven’t seen the show, then please don’t read on. Go and binge-watch it, then come back so we can discuss.
10. The village massacre (2×05)
Let’s get right down to business, shall we? While I’m not a fan of how Finn’s storyline progressed after the massacre or how certain other characters reacted to it, I was very impressed by this scene. Don’t get me wrong, what Finn did in this episode was awful. It was difficult to watch, but at the same time it’s one of my favourite moments of the show so far. It showed that Finn had gone so far over the edge and was suffering after the loss of his fellow Sky People (even if the show didn’t develop or portray this very well). I mean, if Murphy is screaming at you to stop, you know you’ve fucked up. The directing was also fantastic, with the slow motion and the focus on Finn’s blank face as he shot down villager after villager, and then the “I found you” right at the end of the episode… It makes my skin crawl every time.
9. “We are Grounders”/”We are NOT Grounders” (1×12 & 1×13)
Technically these are two separate moments but whatever. I can’t be tamed. I adore the parallel between Clarke and Bellamy here, so much so that I want to write an essay about it, but I’m restraining myself. You are welcome. Earlier on in the two-part finale, Bellamy is trying to get his and Clarke’s people to stay and fight, telling them that they are Grounders and they deserve to be there. Towards the end of the finale, Clarke tells them the opposite – that they are not Grounders. But Clarke and Bellamy aren’t actually clashing here. They are talking about two different things (“who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things” is somewhat relevant), which shows a contrast to how they were at the beginning of season one when they were butting heads and trying to lead in two different ways. This time around they still have different opinions and views, but they are making them work because they are the king and queen of this group.
8. Raven trying to climb the tower (2×04)
Aside from Bellamy and Clarke, who are pretty much a given at this point, Raven is my favourite character of the show and her storyline has been one of my favourite things ever. Not only has she been betrayed by the guy she loved, she has been shot in the spine and paralysed by Murphy. 2×04 is the episode where she learns to walk again, and all of her scenes in this episode were flawless, but in the end I had to go with the part at the tower. Raven, a woman who has always been first to do everything and has rocked at it, who is so fucking intelligent and smart and brave and strong-willed, has absolutely no control over her leg and is unable to get up the tower and prove that she’s still the same as she was before Murphy happened. She wants to show Wick that she doesn’t need help, that she’s still independent, but the truth is that she does need at least some help. She needs to learn that it’s okay to accept it. Things aren’t going to go back to the way they were before the season one finale, and this is the moment that breaks Raven and breaks my own heart at the same time.
7. Clarke killing Finn (2×08)
No, I don’t love this moment because Finn has finally left this world (although that is a tiny part of it). I love it because Clarke is so fucking strong and this is one of her finest moments. For me and most other viewers, this moment isn’t about Finn at all. It’s about Clarke and her leadership abilities and her love for her people. By killing Finn, she saved an entire settlement full of people, and she stopped a war. She killed the guy that she (supposedly *sniffs*) loved for her people. Clarke is a selfless goddess. And it’s obviously going to be important to her character progression and her future storyline, which is AWESOME because hellooooo, the white guy was killed off to progress the leading female’s character. Would this happen on any other CW show? No it would not.
6. Murphy hanging Bellamy (1×12)
Admittedly, this is partly because I love seeing my favourite characters in pain. I also love Murphy’s character and the fact that he’s such a loose canon. This whole sequence was fantastic, and I love that it paralleled what Murphy went through earlier in the season. Except the differences were clear. Murphy was hanged for being a bully and allegedly murdering someone. The people hated him because he hated them. In contrast, Bellamy is pretty much adored at this point (I would say worshipped, but I think that’s just me and Clarke) and, if they were able to, everyone would have broken into that drop ship and got him down. Murphy had none of that. And while Bellamy might have acted like an arse in the beginning, he is a much better person by this point. He has become the protector. So it begs the question: does Bellamy deserve to be hanged for trying to kill Murphy without any evidence? This is why I love this show. It asks the good questions. (My answer will always be no because you can’t kill off my king. He makes no mistakes.) I also love every scene that Bellamy and Murphy are in together because I think that Bob and Richard play off of each other so well.
5. “It won’t survive me.” (1×10)
This is another one of those moments that stand for pretty much the entire episode. Raven says the above quote when the gang are talking about blowing up the bridge to stop the Grounder attack. Everyone is doubting the plan to take out the bridge because it’s survived so many years, and then Raven comes in and saves everyone with her genius brain. I honestly don’t think the group could survive without her for ten minutes. Later on in the episode, a very sick Raven treks all the way to the bridge with the bomb, sets it up, and pretty much manages to execute the plan all by herself. She’s unable to move away from the bomb, so she prepares to blow the bridge up while she’s still on it. Bow down to the queen.
4. “I’d pick you first.” (1×13)
Raven has just been shot and is feeling very sorry for herself, all while trying to help Clarke to fix the drop ship. It’s not going too well because only one of them is any good at rocket science and that person is unable to move. I love Clarke and Raven together, I always have. I love that the writers made the decision to NOT pit them against each other even though they were both in love (or “in love”, in Clarke’s case. I told you, I refuse to believe it) with the same guy. In other TV shows, the writers would jump on this trope and have Raven and Clarke despise one another and compete for the guy. Instead they say screw the guy, and become best friends. This is how it should be done. “I’d pick you first.” is THE Claven (Rarke?) quote, and it’s in my top ten favourites because a) they’re both phenomenal characters, and b) Clarke will always be there for Raven, 110%.
3. Bellarke hug (2×05)
PLOT TWIST, this isn’t my #1. It’s very, very close, but there are a couple of other moments that top it. This is the moment that was advertised back in November that got so many people into the show. If Tatum and Dee hadn’t convinced me to watch it before I saw the photo, it would have converted me. How can one scene have so. much. chemistry?! It’s a truly epic moment, with Clarke seeing Bellamy for the first time since she closed the drop ship door (when she thought she was killing him, might I add) and sprinting towards him and flinging herself at him. Bellamy had no idea Clarke was even alive prior to this point, and I’m pretty sure he thought she was an angel flying towards him. AND HE HUGS HER BACK. I have been waiting years and years for one of my OTPs to have a proper, decent mutual hug. I spent three seasons waiting for it to happen in TVD, who knows how many with SPN, and then all of a sudden there’s this epic pairing mutually hugging in the SECOND SEASON. And it’s not even a “hey, good to see you” mutual hug, it’s a “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD I NEED YOU NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN” mutual hug. And I don’t know about you, but those are my absolute favourite kind.
2. “I need you.” (1×08)
HAAAAAAA. How could I not put this on the list? This is their epic moment. They’ve just fought off Dax, and Bellamy had gotten high and hallucinated Jaha and all the other people whose deaths he felt responsible for. Clarke had just had a full blown conversation with her father, and both of them were in a pretty bad place. This episode was tough on them. But this scene shows that they have each other. I love slow burn and character/relationship progression, and this scene had it in spades. Clarke and Bellamy started off hating each other and disagreeing about everything left, right, and centre. Then they decide that it’s necessary to team up and lead their people, although as Clarke says at the beginning of 1×08, they still don’t actually like each other. (Which is a total lie but Clarke’s obviously in denial about a lot of things and dealing with so much that she’s built up a wall.) Then Clarke goes and says something LIKE THAT because they really do need each other. They balance each other out, and they fit like pieces of a jigsaw. There is no way they would be able to work alone, but together they are un-fucking-stoppable. And this is my ship, guys. My OTP.
1. “The truth is, it didn’t start until then.” Octavia leaves Bellamy (1×13)
Okay, so you were all probably expecting a Bellarke moment to take the top spot. I’m very sorry for letting down the team, the country, the empire, but it had to be done. I picked this moment for a couple of reasons, the first being that it’s the moment where Bellamy finally lets Octavia go. The guy shot the bloody Chancellor to get on the drop ship with his sister, and he pretty much didn’t let Octavia out of his sight once they were on the ground. As the season went on, he very slowly started to loosen the leash he had on her, although that was as much to do with Octavia rebelling against Bellamy’s orders as it was to do with him giving her more freedom willingly. But it’s not until this moment that Bellamy finally realises that he needs to let her go. It’s a life and death situation, and if he doesn’t let her go (with Lincoln, a Grounder that he tortured who should be their enemy) then the Grounders will probably get to them. I love the symbolism behind this scene so fucking much.
The second reason is the quote that I mentioned above. Earlier on in the season, Bellamy tells Octavia that his life ended the day she was born. And it’s understandable, since their mother put so much pressure on Bellamy, who was around six at the time, I believe, to look after his newborn sister and to always protect her. Bellamy’s entire existence from that moment became about Octavia, and to me it’s pretty understandable that Bellamy said those things in the heat of the moment. He didn’t have much of a life, did he? But to me, the quote is more than that. My little sister, Brooke, was born when I was fifteen and my home life was pretty shit. After she was born, our family started to come together a bit more (although it still had a long, long way to go), and I was able to look after her. She gave me something else to focus on, and – this is going to sound so cliché – she gave me a purpose. My life didn’t truly start until she was born.
In case you hadn’t realised, The 100 is an epic show and there are so many more moments that I would have loved to have included in this list. The honourable mentions are as follows: “Brave princess.” (aka the moment that hooked people), Raven and Bellamy sex (I want to write essays about the contrasts between this and the Flarke sex), Clarke and Anya’s fight scene (flawless), Clarke and Bellamy walking away from the drop ship together because OTP ROYALS, Lexa walking through the Grounder graveyard (MY HEART), Murphy’s “I’M ON THE EDGE” cliff/seatbelt situation (he saved Bellamy and therefore I owe him my life), Clarke mercy-killing Atom (for Bellamy, with Bellamy watching and realising that he somehow respects her and also kind of wants to kiss her), Monty’s “sit down” moment at Mount Weather, Monty’s “I can’t change the tide if the moon won’t cooperate.”, Jasper getting an anti-Grounder stick as a gift from Octavia, the people on the Ark who sacrificed themselves for their loved ones when they found out that the Ark was running out of oxygen, Jaha sacrificing himself in the control room so that his people could get down to Earth.
everything on this list is a lot
also ‘So it begs the question: does Bellamy deserve to be hanged for trying to kill Murphy without any evidence?’ SAME. SAME. les and i had a full on discussion about this (we came to the same conclusion as you, that bellamy is a king etc etc he is immortal how dare you question him so on and so forth) but it does bring up one of the best parts of the show – morality is a huge theme in the 100 and ultimately you could argue that bellamy doesn’t get hanged b.c he already faced his demons and his guilt and accepted responsibility for his actions. i’m v sorry about essaying all over your post I’LL STOP NOW
*thanks for your no1 making me cry
*i hate you
*so much
I PROPOSE WE REVISIT THIS TOPIC WHEN S2 FINISHES HMMM HMMM
YOU’RE WELCOME. I also hate you.
And yessssssss, we must do a part two.
*weeping* you’re beautiful this post is beautiful I’ll come back later when I can word properly but I have to go cry for a bit
OMFG IT’S ALMOST WEDNESDAY
NO MEG COME BACK DON’T RUN AWAY FROM ME
This post is life. Legitimately the greatest TTT of all time. AND ALSO THANKS FOR THE TEARS WITH #1 YOU JERK.
Hahahaha, thank you *accepts the crown* YOU ARE WELCOME. Embrace the pain.
Amber! This post is flawless. Thank you for introducing me to this amazing show. I was surprised that number 3 wasn’t higher up the list but then I read number 1 and cried and forgave you. So many great quotes in this series. ‘I think the princess is dead, and I know the king is about to die’ / ‘you hesitated’ / ‘it’s basic physics’ / ‘you’re the most beautiful broom in a closet of brooms’ I could go on. This show is epic. This post is epic. You are epic. That is all.
You are welcome 😀 It makes me happy when people obey me and watch it. IT’S BASIC PHYSICS.
I still have to watch “The 100” but now after your post I want to watch it immediately!
Drop everything and do it now!
I’ll have to start watching this! I read the introduction and then none of the post, so don’t worry, I didn’t get spoiled! 😛
I admire your self control 😀 Please do, because it’s an amazing show!
Ah I love the 100 so much. How much do you want Bellamy and Clarke to get together??…I am pretty sure Finn is not dead, like I felt sad for Raven but I was also kind of glad that he was out of the way for Clarke and Bellamy haha I didn’t really like him but I have a feeling he is still alive.
*high five* Bellarke are my OTP. Finn is definitely, DEFINITELY dead. There’s no coming back for him and the writers have confirmed it. Thank god.
This is probably the best TTT I’ll ever read. Octavia/Bellamy make me sob. Your number 1 left me with tears rolling down my face because it’s so perfect <3
Also, Jasper with his anti-Grounder stick. One of the best moments, and best episodes ever.
Haha, thank you! I got a little bit carried away and went into full on essay mode. The anti-Grounder stick was AWESOME. “Yeah, yeah, makes sense.” Absolutely flawless episode.
Mm. Mmmmmmmm. *wallows*
Oh gosh, the people sacrificing themselves on the Arc scene would definitely be up there for me. POOR GINGER DADDY.
MURPHYYYYYYYYY my wee murder puppy. *cuddles* Gosh. I hated him so much in the beginning, but when the people wanted to hang him and Bellamy LET them? The look in Murphy’s eyes when he realized this man he looked up to and served WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AND LOYALLY (seriously, I kept expecting him to backstab Bellamy and he never even tried, not once) was betraying him… Gah. That was the moment that got me. Also, when he talks to Bellamy about rescuing “OUR FRIENDS” up in Mt. Weather, because I am 100% convinced that he sees Clarke as a friend (she was the only one who tried to free him from the noose, she took care of him when he was sick, etc.) OH OH OH and when Clarke hit her head and both Murphy and Bellamy were FREAKING OUT.
Pretty much anytime Monty earns his title as Founder and Secretary of the Clarke Griffin Fan Club (esp. when he launched himself to hug her in Mt. Weather.)
Oooh, the moment we learned who Lexa really was and all those brawny guys bowed down to her because yesssssss.
ARE YOU OKAYYYYYY.
I was considering putting it in there but it didn’t include any of my favourite characters and I would have had to kick one of the moments mentioned above out of my top ten. DEFINITELY top 11 though!
Murphy’s character progression is sooooo interesting. Like, he’s a complete dick and he has done many atrocious things, but unlike Finn (ugh, that storyline) he is actually trying to make up for what he has done. WHICH IS ANOTHER AWESOME QUESTION: Does Murphy deserve to be redeemed? I love this show and its themes omg. (btw I would say no because he killed people and PARALYSED MY QUEEN, but I want him to stick around because he’s interesting and I like what he brings to the group and I love that he’s actually trying to redeem himself). WHEN BELLAMY RAN OVER TO CLARKE THOUGH “wHAT HAPPENED?” I’m ok.
The Lexa moment was flawless! I should have mentioned that as well. FLAWLESS QUEEN.
Honestly, I want to shake network execs everywhere and be like SEEEEEEEEE?!?! Women AND POC in positions of power and freaking rocking it. WE LOVE IT. DO MORE OF THIS THING. All of the white males on the show are either a) bad bad dudes (see: Psycho Prez and Psycho Son) or b) supportive of the women and POC in power (see: Nyko, Finn, Murphy, Jasper, etc.) It’s beautiful.
Haha, I could write a treatise about my murder puppy. Like, crummy background does not excuse murderous deeds, but there’s so much DEPTH to him. I’ve already named him VP of the Clarke Griffin Fan Club. I just can’t wait to hear those sentiments come out of his mouth on the show. And I’m just WAITING for him to have a big, shining moment in upcoming episodes.
RIGHT.
So, first I thought I’d comment in here with my own top ten. But my brain could not compute. (How did yours compute?)
Then I thought I’d reply individually to each of yours, but I am actually at work right now and I simply do not have the time to write a novel in the comments.
SO BASICALLY your top ten is A++++ AND THERE IS SOMETHING I MUST POINT OUT.
Sometimes a ship sinks its claws into you and you love it dearly, but the show it comes from ain’t that great. (See Captain Swan, currently…of Delena before TVD went completely off it’s rocker)
An accusation thrown against shipping fangirls is that they ‘only watch for the ship’. Now, I don’t really see the issue with this as PEOPLE CAN WATCH THINGS FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY WANT. However, it might sometimes put people off starting a new show if most of the talk they see is just about a ship. Your top ten does a great job of highlighting this shows greatness outside of Bellarke, and that’s so important! BECAUSE THIS SHOW IS GREAT ON SOOOO MANY LEVELS.
Am I making sense?
Do I ever?
OH WELL.
(P.S All that said, Bellarke are the greatest of the great and I bow down to their greatness)
AHAHHAHA. I think I broke a few people’s brains. OH WELL.
OMG I LOVE YOU FOR THIS COMMENT. I have heard the “the show is only popular because of the crazy shippers” argument so many times, and that could not be further from the truth with The 100. The Bellarke shippers might be the loudest, but we can all agree that the majority (excluding the trolls) watch it because of everything else as well.
I didn’t read your list o much because I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW! 😀 Haha, I plan to read some of those books so I want to be surprised too!
great list! I wish I had thought of that. :O
MY TOP TEN TUESDAY!
Haha, this isn’t a book post but nice try ;D
Okay so I can’t read this post right now because (don’t judge me toooo harshly…) I haven’t read the book or watched the show yet! I keep meaning to do both, but I feel very strongly that I need to read the book first and I’ve had so many books I need to finish lately for various reasons that I haven’t gotten to it yet. BUT I am going to come back and read this post once I’ve caught up – and looking forward to it!
I’m not judging you, I promise, I’m just cheering you on! Very loudly XD The TV show isn’t like the book at ALL, since it was written before the book was even finished. That said, if you feel the need to read the book first then GO FOR IT 😀 And then hurry up and watch the show because it’s epic.
I’m so happy I finally got to read this because Y E S S S S S.
I could never make a list in actual order (seriously how) but here are moments I also loved: the massacre (such an important moment tbh), the Finn slaughter (because HOLY SHIT CLARKE YOU ARE A QUEEN I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO WHATEVER END and no matter how much I hate Finn, I think that was BEAUTIFULLY done), hang on taking a minute to die over how beautiful Bob looks in that hanging gif, okay continuing, IT WON’T SURVIVE ME/I’D PICK YOU FIRST YASSSSSS, THE HUG, THE BLAKES, I NEED YOU.
Other AMAZING moments were Bellamy and Clarke walking away from the dropship together, LEXA’S ARRIVAL, the entire I Am Become Death episode but mostly Clarke and Bellamy working together and Clarke shooting in the air like the motherfucking badass queen she is, Bellamy and Raven having sex, Clarke killing Atom and BELLAMY LOOKING AT HER, AI LAIK OKTEIVIA KOM SKAI KRU. Also every Bellamy moment, every Clarke moment, every Octavia moment, every Raven moment, every Monty moment, every Lexa moment… oh wait.
Your part about Brooke made me sob. I’m so happy you have her in your life, and she is so lucky to have you <333333
WHEEEEEEEEE
TO WHATEVER END ALSO BELLAMY ALSO LOOKS BEAUTIFUL JUST LIKE HIS TRUE LOVE EHEM ANYWAY
AI LAIK OKTEIVIA KOM SKAI KRU IS THE BEST THING AND I WANT IT TATTOOED BC THAT LANGUAGE. THAT. LANGUAGE.
Well thank you for that last sentence now I’m the one crying. (I almost quoted Gannicus there, do remind me to elaborate after WOTD)
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY FEELS I HAVE FROM ALL OF THESE MOMENTS. STOP IT. GOD DAMMIT. I’M GOING TO GO CRY NOW. BECAUSE I AM ACTUALLY INTERNALLY FREAKING OUT. gOD.
MWAHAHAHA I AM HAPPY TO ASSIST. DO YOU NEED A CUPCAKE?
Oh my gosh. I love this idea! I didn’t read the post because I haven’t seen the show(though I really really want to!), but seriously genius idea!
Thanks!
DAMMIT, AMBER. I’M TEARING UP AT 3 AM, THIS IS NOT OKAY.
The fact that you chose a Blakes moment just goes to show just how fucking awesome this show is that one doesn’t even need to mention the OTP as number. Infinite points for unpredictability or what.
I love so many things about this show! Mainly, the fact that how female characters OWN THE 100, how they killed a major MALE character, how- Nope, can’t do it. Can’t write a coherent comment. FML.
MWAHAHAHHAHA
YEsssssssss, the OTP is epic but everything else (except Phil) is too! There are so many other important things besides the OTP of Epicness.
I loooove how they killed a male main character for CLARKE. CLARRRRRRKE.
This show has killed me and you are worse than the show. I mean how could you do that to me. Compare the Blakes to your sister and yourself like it’s not big deal. IT IS A BIG DEAL AND I BLAME YOU FOR ALL MY TEARS.
The moment they killed a main character for Clarke was THE MOMENT for me. I fell in love with the show and I realize just HOW much after the last episode. This show is a vicious cycle of emotions and I never want it to be over.
I didn’t read this post because I haven’t seen the show yet, but I know my dad really likes it and has been trying to get me to watch it!
Thanks for stopping by The Local Muse
You should listen to your dad 😀
I’m too scared to read the post because I haven’t watched it yet but trust that I will one day. Every time I stop by your blog, I literally think of The 100 haha!
I WAS GOING TO COMMENT INTELLECTUALLY AND I ACTUALLY JUST BURST INTO FUCKING TEARS LIKE WITHOUT OUT WARNING BOOM THERE THEY GO FUCK YOU MOST EMPHATICALLY AMBER YOU MONSTER AND NO I DON’T MEAN LIKE A BELLAMY MONSTER I MEAN LIKE
I DON’T KNOW WHAT I MEAN I’M CRYING
IT WAS THE BELLAMY OCTAVIA GIFS AT THE BOTTOM THAT JUST COMPLETELY SNAPPED ME
YOU ARE VILE