The political allegory here is obvious, and makes me wonder if we haven’t perhaps been taking the “transcending tribalism” narrative too literally. It’s a relationship that positions them as true equals in a way we haven’t seen much on The 100 so far, seeing as the show largely explores power structures by having characters represent conflicting points of view and try to convince each other to submit to a different way of thinking, rather than working to accept each other’s differences. He trusts her, within reason, but won’t just let her get away with doing whatever she thinks is best (as evidenced later in the episode, gloriously). Ultimately, the episode tells four versions of the same story: One or more characters come to the realization that they want to be in charge of their own death(s), and the characters around them have to accept that they can neither force nor compel them to change their minds.Ĭlarke protests, even calling Roan her friend - and rightly so, because he is her friend, arguably one of the only people who admires and respects Clarke as a fellow leader while simultaneously seeing right through her bullshit (Bellamy being another). It was a necessary calm before the storm ahead of Act 3, but felt so much more significant than just putting pieces into place. Despite juggling four separate storylines rather than the usual three, the episode felt slower-paced and softer than we’re used to, giving the characters time to breathe and quite literally make their peace with the world’s imminent end. The Murphy/Raven arc continues to be a personal highlight of the season for me, but in general, I really appreciated the nuances of both friendships and romances (and potential romances?!?!) across the whole episode.

“DNR” marks the writing debut of Miranda Kwok, who will also return for season 5 - which is even more delightful after seeing her conscientious and well-crafted take both on the characters and the difficult themes The 100 sometimes tackles (I was particularly impressed with how she handled the Clarke storyline, more on that later).

House of cards season 4 episode 9