‘The 100”s second episode back packs the same wallop as the premiere, but it is hard to look at the Jaha storyline as a bit of a stumble.

Jason Rothenberg and the rest of The 100’s production team spent the entire summer dancing around questions about the fate of the myriad characters last season’s finale left in significant danger. Isaiah Washington, who plays Chancellor Jaha, was even more dodgy (remember the beginning of this video?). Last week’s premiere cleared up the disposition of Bellamy, Finn and Raven – to an extent – but this week covered the last man in space.

Unfortunately, I found the Jaha storyline to be a rare misstep by the writing team. It was obvious early on that the infant was a hallucination brought on by oxygen deprivation. Hell, even in the final scene last week Wells’ picture was up on his father’s monitor as we first heard the baby’s cries. It was a weak way to move Jaha beyond his “the captain goes down with the ship” mentality, and motivate him to finding a way to get down to the planet.

Despite his protestations at Comic-Con, I didn’t buy into Washington attending the convention to promote the show if he wasn’t going to be involved (Though Arrow and Caity Loitz have me rethinking that mindset). Regardless, Jaha now has two feet firmly planted on terra firma. He’s still separated from his people – the temp effects available in our screener gave no hint to his location beyond it being in a sandy desert – but that’s something that has to be resolved eventually (else why bother bringing him back?).

The 100 doesn’t seem to be the kind of show to shy away form the consequences of the tragedies that befall our characters. Raven’s operation left her without the use of her leg. Unless Abby Griffin has some miracle cure hiding in another part of the wreckage, Raven is going to have a great deal of difficulty adjusting to her new normal. And really, if some miracle occurs like Hal on Falling Skies (or Maggie on Falling Skies for that matter) we are all worse off for it.

You can take her legs, but you cannot take her spirit. Reminding Finn – and to a certain extent the audience – that the bond between the remaining 100 is more important than following the rules of a society that banished them to an unknown fate. We as an audience might like Abby or Jaha or even Kane to a certain extent (Though I wonder how he will react next week to the prison break) … but the core of this show has always been about the teenagers sent to the ground. Finn, Raven, Jasper, Monty, Bellamy, Clarke … the children that were cast into an unknown hell bonded and became their own dysfunctional family. There was never any doubt that they would go searching for the others, it was just a matter of time. That it was Raven who prompted them – and Abby that supplied them – was a nice touch.

Clarke keeps pushing and pushing, despite everyone around her urging against it. Jasper can say “someone’s got to keep her out of trouble” but he’s a bit busy with his new lady friend. Instead, Clarke discovers the Mountain Men’s secret (or perhaps just the first). I’m no doctor, but I am sure with years of research and experience, the inhabitants of Mount Weather could have found a way to buoy the immune systems or whatever they would need to do to develop a resistance to the radiation that didn’t include (medically) sucking the blood from Grounders.

Notes and Quotes

That opening title sequence is amazing, isn’t it? Rothenberg promises that it is full of easter eggs, so I’m sure someone will have it uploaded and examined by the time I’m eating my cereal tomorrow morning.

Felix Gaeta. Ellen Tigh. Tory Foster. The 100 has been filled with Battlestar Galactica alums from day one. This week introduced Ty Olsson (Captain Aaron Kelly) as a grounder friend of Lincoln’s.

“Ai laik Okteivia kom Skaikru; and you have something I want.” – Man, Marie Avergopolous – and Octavia — certainly has become a badass.

“Only patients are allowed in medical,” I’ve seen that scene twice now, and both times Clarke had me cringing and pulling myself into the fetal position.

Photo Credit: The CW