Written by Avani Goswami
The 100 Season 7 Episode 8, ‘Anaconda’ takes us back in time to the first apocalypse giving us all the answers we’ve hoped to learn for years and teasing at a possible prequel series focused on the compelling characters we meet in the eighth episode.
The flashback to the night the world ended begins with Callie Cadogan (Iola Evans, Carnival Row), who would be our new main character should we get a prequel series. She’s determined, especially to join a rebellion group known as “Trikru.” Sound familiar? So ‘Anaconda’ is where we find the origins of Trikru, but also of the anomaly stone, the bunker, and the Disciples.
Callie’s father is Shepherd Bill Cadogan (John Pyper-Ferguson, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), the leader of the Second Dawn. His people are apparently called Disciples. Callie and her mother are no longer apart of the Second Dawn apparently, but when they are video chatting with Bill, he says “Anaconda.” This is code for the fact that the missiles are airborne and that the end of the world is upon them.
The two of them rush to get to the bunker which is, yes, the bunker from season five. Except this time there is no Blodreina, just Callie’s parents, her brother Reese (Adain Bradley, The Bold & The Beautiful), and a bunch of members of the Second Dawn. Callie’s brother is extremely loyal to their father which causes a lot of conflict between them, especially because Reese just wants Bill’s love and never seems to get it. We meet August (Leo Howard, Santa Clarita Diet) who is also a secret member of Trikru and wants to open the doors to let his girlfriend in, but the Disciples forbid it. He and Callie have somewhat of an instant bond because she was forced to leave her best friend out to die too. If the prequel show becomes a reality, I definitely see the relationship between these two at its heart.
Time passes and in drops Becca Franco, who we all know ended the world. She can hear the anomaly stone. which Bill could never do, and she is able to open up the portals to other planets. She and Shepherd Cadogan butt heads and disagree about what to do. Becca wants to make everyone immune to radiation (a.k.a. make them Nightbloods) and work on entering the portal, but he shuts her down. But when Becca and Callie get to talking, they form a friendship and Becca lets Callie in on the secret of the Flame. Yes, the Flame, a huge part of the show’s story for five whole seasons. Becca enters a new code onto the stone and is thrust into what she refers to as “Judgement Day,” something no one is ready for. Bill says he is, and imprisons her, but luckily Callie is able to go talk to her. She tells Callie the passphrase is “goodbye for now” in Latin, and then Bill orders his Disciples to take out the A.I., as in the Flame, from Becca’s head. And they burn her at the stake in order to do so.
Callie is able to get the flame from her brother and leave the bunker with a group of people they’ve made into Nightbloods. She did have to shoot her brother in the arm to do it, and I’m guessing their sibling relationship is going to be another huge part of the prequel series. Her, August, and those now immune to radiation are able to get out (sadly, Callie’s mom did have to sacrifice herself to make this possible). The moment they are let out onto Earth takes me back to season one and reminds me of the same freedom and recklessness the characters once had. That bit of nostalgia was really nice to see.
And that’s how the flashback ends. I assume the prequel series will kick off with Callie and August’s stories on the ground as Reese tracks them for the Flame. Bill obviously continues his exploration of the anomaly with his Disciples as he has ended up in Bardo, where we do see Clarke and Raven confront the truth of Bellamy’s death. Not only that, but they get to meet Octavia, Echo, and Diyoza in a whole new way as they’ve also become Disciples.
If the prequel series does get picked up, I can’t wait to learn more about the origins of the grounders and maybe meet some of our favorite characters’ ancestors up on the Ark. I thought this small glimpse into the past was really interesting and would love to see what they do with a whole show dedicated to the story. In terms of our friends on Bardo, I’m excited to see how everything plays out for Clarke and the others, especially now that many of the main characters are back together again.
The 100 Season 7 Episode 8, ‘Anaconda’ is now streaming for free on The CW app.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzGrZen7ApA
