[Episode Discussion] 1.01 Pilot

[tassosss]

The first discussion topic post! How this is going to work, is for those that want to do a rewatch of the show (which includes me), I'll put up a weekly discussion post where you can put reactions, links to old reaction posts, questions, thoughts, squee, joy, headshaking and anything else that strikes you. I'll have a prompting question or two to get things going if you don't know what to say but want to join in.

BEWARE! This is a spoiler zone! Unless someone requests a spoiler-free post for each episode, assume spoilers for all aired episodes through the end of season 2.

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The Pilot episode! Where we meet all of our characters with shining clean faces. What were your first impressions of the show, based on the pilot? Which characters made a good first impression? Who made a bad one? What kept you watching after the first episode?

Comments

[amalthia]

What were your first impressions of the show, based on the pilot?

Oh man, I was kind of excited about the production values and pacing. I thought it was going to be a lame romance show with all the teenagers on Earth, with smoking hot women and not so hot guys. Then the last five minutes of the episode happened and I had to see what happened next.

Which characters made a good first impression? Who made a bad one?

Clarke, Jasper, and Wells were the only characters I liked in the first episode. Bellamy was annoying, not hot, and an idiot. I wasn't sure how this group of people would survive one week on Earth let alone months.

What kept you watching after the first episode?

I kept watching because I wanted to see who the hell speared Jasper to a tree and I really liked Clarke's pov and seeing how she handled this, plus space station. I love shows that take place in space and we have so few of them, that I was willing to give the 100 a few more episodes before I called it quits.

[tassosss]

The reason I put off watching it for so long was I terrified it would be basically high school in a really cool setting, and it would be another show wasting its awesome potential. I was really not into Octavia to start with because she was the epitome of that int he Pilot. But then, yeah, the last five minutes. That's what had me coming back too.

The space station and what was happening up there was a huge draw for me too. I really liked Abby right off the bat, and did not like Kane at all.

[amalthia]

Man I was so worried especially since it seemed like Octavia was going to be the main love interest and I didn't really care for her at first. Actually, I have a list as long as my arm of all the characters I didn't like and then sometime halfway through season 1 I realized I cared what happened with these kids! I never thought I would have come to love Bellamy and find Murphy interesting. I also adore Octavia and love her storyline.

I also loved the conflict on the space station and that we see both sides, and I kept going back and forth and the right thing to do. I love Abbey and Kane's dynamic.

[lea_hazel]

I liked the Clarke and Wells dynamic immediately. I also noticed the name thing pretty quick, although I have to admit: of all possible authors, why specifically those two? I mean. I suppose it could be a coincidence, but that doesn't seem likely. Is there a connection between their bodies of work in some way? I am not very familiar.

[tassosss]

I did not notice the name thing and didn't know about it till I was reading about the show. Here's a quick thing on it. Apparently it's something the author of the books did, but it doesn't go into much detail why some names were chosen over others.

[marina]

I didn't really start enjoying the show as a whole until probably Bellamy's flashback episode, so all the early episodes were a mixed bag for me (I kept watching in a sort of half-hearted way). I remember liking Clarke and Bellamy right away - Clarke because I thought I'd never really seen a heroine like her in SFF TV before, she was so incredibly confident in telling everyone what to do and didn't seem to be punished for it by the narrative. Bellamy because he was so clearly a fucked up little shit who was humanized by his relationship with Octavia, and fucked up little shits is definitely is the only people I care about if we're talking stories about teenagers. Also I loved how competent Bellamy was at everything he was doing, and how obviously lower class compared to Clarke.

It was interesting to me to note, upon rewatch, how WTF Bellamy's characterization in the pilot (and ep 2) was compared to where they ended up taking him. I mean we later find out Bellamy's spent his whole life guarding his sister (which def put a damper on his social life, his ability to make close friends or invite anyone to his place), that the person with connections in his family was his mom and he was... less than enthusiastic about how she made and utilized those connections. And then the last year before the drop ship was Bellamy devastated by everything, working as a janitor. In fact he was still naive and desperate enough to go along with the offer of killing Jaha in return for space on the drop ship at the last minute!

So the portrayal of him as a super competent leader who thinks on his feet, can inspire large groups of people, understands how to wrangle delinquents, etc (a portrayal I LOVED and that probably kept me watching the show), was pretty much out of nowhere. I mean his CONFIDENCE in doing all those things was just... where on earth would Bellamy even get that? When has he ever done anything like this in his life ever? lol

[tassosss]

Clarke was such a breath of fresh air. I pretty much loved her from the beginning, because she would tell people what to do, and when they didn't listen, she went and did it anyway and got shit done. She was clearly central to the story.

About Bellamy, I think a case could be made that his characterization as a people wrangler is not out of nowhere. Yes, he grew up as Octavia's protector, but this also means that he had to be really good at wrangling her, and especially as a small child she would have been difficult to get to comply with all the rules and hiding that would keep her safe without it ending in a fatal temper tantrum. How soundproof were the walls between living spaces? So I think Bellamy would have learned valuable people wrangling from that alone, how to inspire someone he doesn't want to hurt to do what he wants her to. That's some serious persuasion skills.

On a more handwavy note, with his love of the Classics, and presumably he read what the library had of the Roman emperors, the importance of oration and the speeches might have been an influence that stuck. Or at least that's what I like to think. Growing up, I agree that he was probably standoffish, probably didn't have close friends, but I think there's room to have more casual friends and learn about people in there, especially if you are in a negative power situation like he was that being attuned to how the power is playing out. Not wanting to arouse suspicion he'd be as normal as he could possibly be, fake it till you make it kind of attitude, and with living spaces that small on Factory, I could see it not being a big deal that no one came over. It might even be normal for friends to socialize outside of the living space. But that's very handwavy to make things work.

Even if you go with that though, he is definitely bad with the subtleties of group dynamics in the early episodes. He's much better one-on-one with Charlotte. He does have a long way to go - that's one of the things I also found most satisfying about his arc in season 1. I agree, if Bellamy hadn't had the growth he did and become the charismatic heart of the leadership team, I probably wouldn't have kept watching. I could watch that all day. I think his confidence may come from being older than the rest of the delinquents. It's not much, but at that age, it's enough. Also the fact that he is an older sibling. He's used to having someone look up to him. He's used to being in charge to a certain extent.

[marina]

I agree with you about some of this, but it doesn't really explain that much of Bellamy's early characterization at all, for me. His mom gave birth in their room, so I'm going to guess the soundproofing is pretty OK, and what we see of their family dynamic growing up is Aurora working from home (I'm sure she didn't always, but she did a lot) and being the absolute, indisputable boss. Bellamy's job is to entertain and educate Octavia, which is nothing like getting a bunch of criminals to listen to you and do what you tell them.

Octavia is shown, in fact, to be a model child. She really doesn't know anything outside their room, outside Bellamy and their mom, so she's not difficult to please or occupy. I could see this argument to an extent if Octavia had had serious issues and Bellamy had grown up taking care of her, but he mostly offered comfort and joy and their mom took care of the discipline (I mean, Octavia barely goes with him when he tells her to leave their room, she's not chomping at the bit and she doesn't see Bellamy as a huge authority figure), two things that he basically never offered anyone in the early episodes and still got things done.

I disagree that he's terrible at the subtleties of group dynamics! I think they actually make him a lot more terrible at reading people later - and it's a lot more realistic! - than they do early on. In the pilot Bellamy has to be a credible, interesting antagonist, and so his competency has to match Clarke's or outweigh it. But come on, Clarke's been raised to be a leader SINCE BIRTH. Her dad is chief engineer and her mom is on the council, she been primed her whole life to feel like what she has to say is Important and she herself is Important, and that confidence makes perfect sense for her (it's also why she's the only political prisoner in the bunch - she is literally the girl who was privileged enough to go to jail for her beliefs. Everyone else is there because they stole/broke/killed/etc, or in Octavia's case, there for being born at all).

Anyway, in the pilot Bellamy is HELLA competent. Clarke leaves and in her absense he gets the entire camp working for him. He doesn't waste a second, even though nothing could have prepared him for the dynamics of a bunch of delinquents left to their own devices all alone, with no set goals - that would never happen on the Ark. But somehow Bellamy super quickly figures out who the power players are, who's easy to control, HOW to control these different people with different needs and different issues (Atom and is not Murphy, for example, they require totally different attitudes and yet both are working for Bellamy at the blink of an eye). He gets the attitude right, the words, the sequence of things he has to set in motion. He's delivering big, inspiring speeches that hit the spot just right for all his listeners while secretly advancing his agenda less than 24 hours after they land. That's not skills you acquire from having a few close friends back home, or being an older sibling, or generally feeling superior because you're older. That's some mastermind strategist shit, it's experience and confidence, and Bellamy has absolutely no life experience to justify that.

Which is why they backed away from it pretty hard. By the second half of S1 Bellamy is shown to have blind spots, to be pretty terrible at reading people sometimes, and in S2 he's demoted to being the tactician to Clarke's strategist (a decision I LOVE that MAKES SENSE!). I think he understands group dynamics - how to get people to do what he wants - much better than he understands individual people, actually. Or at least, the ability to understand people certainly plummets for him. He goes from being the guy who diagnosed exactly what a bunch of boys he's never met with diverse issues needed to hear to follow him blindly, exactly how he needed to act to maintain that trust while also maintaining discipline, to being the guy who's utterly baffled at why Clarke, who he knows incredibly well, is unwilling to stay at Camp Jaha even after he offers her his forgiveness.

I think Charlotte is actually a perfect example of Bellamy's older brother cred. THAT is straight out of him/Octavia, but it has nothing to do with anything he does as a leader. Charlotte is very much Octavia - she's young and she's scared and she could benefit from some comfort and cheering up and a sense of safety. And Bellamy is very good at offering those things, because Octavia, but they're almost completely unrelated to the way he manages people when he's leading a group. (one could even argue that the last time Bellamy acted as Octavia's sibling she was pretty much Charlotte, since Octavia was incredibly sheltered and naive for her age. In fact we see this in the pilot - Bellamy exepcts total obidience from Octavia. He expects her to stay put when told to stay put, to leave with him when told to leave with him. He's not prepared for her saying no, and she doesn't even know how to say no outright at first - she just kind of leaves with Clarke, forcing Bellamy to deal with her decision. That's DEFINITELY not behavior that would have prepared Bellamy in any way to deal with a bunch of teenage murderers who grew up parent-less).

[tassosss]

Thanks for expanding your thoughts on Bellamy. That helps me see what you're saying, and I don't think I really disagree. I just rewatched tonight (I was having cat issues last night) so having what you wrote in mind, if anything rewatching makes me disagree with myself. When I wrote that Bellamy not being good at stuff in the beginning I was definitely thinking of some stuff that happens in the next couple eps, which as you point out, they back track his characterization on.

Rewatching also reminded me why I kept face-palming during the first episode, because Wells and Clarke keep trying to logic the group into action and that's not the best approach with this kind of group.

I still think that Bellamy's role as Octavia's sibling would give him skills with managing people, even if not as strong as I suggested before. Even if Octavia was a model child, she'd have good days and bad days, and even the best kids are going to be difficult. I wouldn't be surprised if she did go through a phase of wanting to get out all the time. I can see her mom laying down the law and terrifying her into obedience, but who knows... I guess, dealing with little kids a lot, I see a lot more variation there, and a lot more of a dynamic relationship that pushes Bellamy to grow in ways that other kids wouldn't, and not just because of the secrecy and that pressure, but because he has a sibling. Even if his mom is still there doing a lot and being the prime disciplinarian, olders do help raise their youngers.

The other thing that came out of me thinking about this, was how did Octavia change when she was in Lock Up? Clearly she was on her own, and Bellamy couldn't visit her for some reason (we know there were visiting days, and he would have gone, I'm sure of it, if he was allowed). Here, Octavia is still naive but she's no longer meek. I kind of want that story.

I take your point about Bellamy being really good at taking control of the group in the Pilot, which should take more experience than he has. I hadn't really watched closely before for that. I guess I'm just trying to make the characterization work with what we've got :)

[marina]

I LOOOOVE meta, so my thing when I get into a canon is to make sure I know all the details of that canon - as in, rewatching/rereading everything until I feel I've almost memorized it - so I can be sure my meta is based on what's actually there. Obviously my opinions are totally subjective! But I try to make sure they're based on what was actually there in canon rather than what I remember (a lot of my analysis changed when I rewatched S1, which I originally partially fast-forwarded through). But I totally understand the desire to make exisiting canon work rather than go "oh the writing is just not quite there in this part"! THere's a point up to which I'll handwave, but past a certain point I'm just like "whatever, let's just acknowledge this bit doesn't quite fit" lol. I actually originally remembered Bellamy being unreasonably badass for much longer, but on rewatch I think they started backstracking in episode 3, so only the pilot and the second episode are really "unreasonable" in light of his later characterization.

I'm willing to agree that some of his older brother skills translated to his leadership, but again having grown up in what was essentially a society of juvenile delinquents left more of less to their own devices (early S1 is basically my highschool, part of why I stuck with the show. It's incredibly realistic in portraying how teenagers create mechanisms to police their own society and how "elected" authority figures have to behave in order to stay in power. For example, Bellamy was never a tyrant, he rules by consensus. If the other kids had wanted to topple him, they could have - especially his own lieutenants. One of my best friends in highschool was a Bellamy in that sense, and it's why Bellamy doesn't quite add up for me if you consider he was desperate and came from a very problematic background, so the amount of confidence and competence there doesn't add up) I can't see too much of older-brother skills being relevant here, especially given what we actually see of Bellamy raising Octavia. I guess for me the primary thing is - with Octavia Bellamy was always coming from a place of authority. She knew she had to listen to him, he knew he had the advantage, not just because of their mom but also because Bellamy was physically bigger and smarter and more capable. So yes he could have disciplined Octavia, but they had a pre-existing dynamic where he was in charge to rely on.

On the other hand, if Bellamy had approached someone like Murphy from the same "you know I'm in charge" perspective, no matter Bellamy's size or height, Murphy would have stabbed him. When Bellamy was taking control of the camp, he had to deal with people who were extremely disinclined to listen to anyone who seemed like an authority figure, which is totally different from Octavia and from being an older sibling in general. Again, I think we see Bellamy's older sibling skills much more with Charlotte, where it's more about guidance, protection, comfort. Maybe the only thing I'd think Bellamy did gain from his older brother experience (and incidentally, even though others didn't technically have siblings, I'm sure the other delinquents, especially, had experience at taking care of younger children, when children like Charlotte could be left all alone, surely among the poorest parts of the Ark there were various relationships like Finn who was essentially Raven's brother growing up) is knowing what it feels like when people do see you as an authority. I don't think that's exclusive to being an older brother, anyone who led a gang for example would know what it feels like, but maybe it gave him a greater comfort with that feeling, and of course, it definitely gave him experience on taking care of people and generally being the one people rely on.

Oh man, Octavia change in lock up is so fascinating! My theory is that Bellamy didn't go to see her because he was punished. I mean, he wasn't a minor when they all got caught, Octavia went to prison, his mom got executed and Bellamy... got a job? A shitty job, but still? I think there were additional sanctions on him, among them the fact that he wasn't allowed to see his sister, to prevent him from corrupting or traumatizing her further, perhaps. The system couldn't have looked favorably on two people who deliberately kept a girl locked up under the floor for 16 years.

But yeah, my theory is mostly that Octavia's time in lock up was her essentially facing her worst fear and coming out of it no longer afraid of anything. Her whole life she'd been told the worst would happen if she were found, and here, she'd been found so... the worst had happened. She lost everything, her family, her home, she didn't know a single person in the world, and yet... here she was, still alive. So, if she could make it through that, she could make it through anything, right? What could possibly happen to her now? I think the longing and grief and hardships of lock up keep Octavia from blaming Bellamy or her mom for her situation, but that changes when she actually meets Bellamy, and realizes he still thinks her being kept in a cage 24/7 is not only acceptable but desired, and suddenly she's fucking ANGRY, and so on.

[amalthia]

I thought in the first episode that Bellamy was totally faking it at being a leader, his one advantage is that he's the oldest on the drop ship, and that probably gave him some weight as a leader for some of the younger kids. I liked that they made Bellamy more than one dimensional, and showed that he did have flaws. I need to re-watch season 1 again, I only saw the episodes once, but from what I remember it didn't seem like Bellamy had that much control over anyone, it seemed like he just gave the kids permission to be free and it's only later that we see him exerting some control, but not too much.

[marina]

The thing is, no one actually knew that Bellamy was older, and he couldn't tell anyone because that would risk exposing why he was on the drop ship that his agenda, etc. As far as the other kids knew, Bellamy was just another delinquent. We never see any of them questioning why he was on the ship, or him explaining himself. As far as the kids knew, if Bellamy had been over 18 when committing a crime he'd be executed, so he can't be over 18. And he repeatedly tells people that he did indeed commit a crime to be on Earth. (I also don't see someone like Murphy or any other thug take orders from anyone based on a few years of age difference, regardless.)

You should rewatch S1! I did recently, and Bellamy very much has perfect control over the entire camp. He actually has LESS control later, when he shares the reigns with Clarke. But in the first few episodes he's the lord and master. He lets most of the kids do whatever they want, but that's because them doing whatever doesn't matter to him. But he has his own gang, he has the power to tell anyone what to do, when Murphy starts humiliating people for example no one but Clarke takes him to task because everyone's afraid of Bellamy, king of the camp.

p.s.

[amalthia]

I meant to mention this in my last reply, which I hope went to you, but I also loved seeing how Bellamy related to Charlotte and I thought it was hilarious how he kept trying to control Octavia and she wasn't having any of it.

Re: p.s.

[marina]

I found it FASCINATING upon rewatch to realize that Bellamy's original plan upon hitting the ground was simply to take Octavia and go. He never planned to stay with the other kids. It's only when Octavia refuses and then forces his hand by leaving with Clarke that he decides to stay, and that's when he comes up with the idea of removing the wristbands, as a way to ensure he's safe, and removing the wristbands is why he starts taking control of the camp in the first place. Once I realized that him fleeing in a later episode when it's clear the Ark is coming made more sense - it wasn't a spontanious, desperate decision, it's what he was planning to do all along. The difference is that originally he wouldn't leave without Octavia, but a few episodes later it's clear to him that Octavia doesn't really need anymore like she used to, so he takes off alone.

Re: p.s.

[amalthia]

See this is why I need to re-watch. The first time I missed so many things, I'd almost forgotten the part where Bellamy had planned to take off alone. I really liked your observations. I feel bad for Bellamy when he realized his little sister didn't need him anymore, even though I'm not sure their relationship was all that healthy growing up. Bellamy had a huge burden on his shoulders at a young age, when he helped his mom keep his sister's existence a secret.

[tassosss]

Rewatching is interesting because I'm kind of remembering some of my first reactions, but also watching it with my fandom feels too. So a few things.

When I first watched the show, I was lukewarm on the pilot. I was really worried it would be high school on the ground, and Octavia's characterization in particular didn't help since she is the one shown as boy crazy. The line that endeared Clarke to me was her saying in response to Octavia calling dibs on Finn, was "Just so you know, I don't care."

I liked Clarke from the beginning. Mostly because even when her approach of telling everyone what to do for their own good - which I definitely rolled my eyes at because that is not the way to handle a group like this - she went off to Mount Weather anyway, getting stuff done. I really liked that. And I really liked the adventure team for the most part. Jasper being girl crazy was annoying, but him and Monty together are gold. I liked Finn well enough, and Octavia's unique situation was definitely worth sticking around for.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I never really warmed up to Wells. Our introduction to him is when he tells Clarke, he got himself arrested for her, which just burns of man needing to protect woman. And then, like Clarke, he kept approaching the rest of the group the wrong way. Keeping in mind some of marina's point above, yeah, Bellamy totally wins at how to take control of a group. Appeal to their identity, don't bother with logic. (Now that I think about it, it plays the same way current politics in the US plays.) Wells comes across as better-than-thou and it just rubs me the wrong way, even though he's right. Clarke doing it too bothered me, but then she goes off pretty quickly, leaving Wells, who to be fair is injured so he couldn't go wtih, to be the unsuccessful voice of reason with the rest.

Murphy I did not like from the start, and Bellamy I was ambivalent about and definitely wary of. They did a good job setting him up as the antagonist on the ground. (On a shallow note, I definitely do not like his hair.)

Up on the Ark I was a fan of Abby from the start, and also enjoyed Kane as the antagonist. Watching it now, I love how far he's come, and knowing how their relationship will evolve.

Also, in my headcanon, Callie and Kane were an item for a while, but by the time of the Pilot have been broken up for a couple years. Then the reason we never see her again is she volunteers for Section 17.

What kept me watching after the first episode was wanting to know who had thrown that spear at Jasper - which I don't think in the show we ever get an answer for. I mean, they think it's "grounders", which at that point means everyone. But given what we know post season 2 I've seen the idea that it was a reaper guarding Mount Weather, and I like that idea. Also, I noticed this time watching that the track Finn finds in the glowing night forest is bipedal - was that the guy who through the spear who was tracking them? *makes silly inquiring face*

The other thing that kept me watching was the blue glowing forest. That's one scene with imagination that made me feel like they were taking the future radiation soaked Earth seriously. It wasn't just a mutant deer, it was mutant other stuff, and it was pretty. That and the Ark, which I also thought was cool worldbuilding enough to stick around for.

Watching it again some of my favorite scenes are still my favorite:
Octavia and Clarke's exchange when they set off to Mount Weather
Abby being put in Clarke's cell
Clarke waking up in the blue glowing forest
Clarke explaining why they were sent down while they're hiking.