Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the DVD reviewed in this post. The opinions shared are those solely of the writer.
When we last left Clarke (Eliza Taylor), she had just walked away from her friends after their battle with the Mountain Men. Having had to pull the switch that killed them all with radiation and some of the other horrific things she had to do to keep her people safe. she felt herself unworthy to be amongst them and committed self-exile.
Unbeknownst to her it, was too late to simply walk away. The story of her deeds carried across the lands. Not only was there a bounty on her head placed by the Grounders, but there was also the belief that whomever killed her would inherit her strength. Luckily for her, she was captured by someone who turned her over to Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), the Commander of the Grounders whom she had previously formed a relationship with. While Lexa did not want her killed, her people were not so understanding, which caused a rift between the clans. The Ice Nation was particularly upset and tried to use this situation to stage a coup.
The Ice Nation appeared to be the biggest threat to the alliance and the Sky Crew, but there was an even bigger threat back at the newly named Arkadia. Former Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington) had stumbled onto an Artificial Intelligence that had not only set off the nuclear weapons that killed most of the Earth’s population but was now trying to install computer chips into every human being in order to bring them into the City of Light and take over their minds.
Clarke now not only has to deal with the Ice Nation and the fragile alliance with the Grounders, but she must also find a way to stop a mind-controlled mob of her family and friends and defeat a power-mad computer entity. But as we’ve learned in previous seasons, not only is she up to the task, but she is willing to do what is best for her people whatever the cost.
The DVD has a number of Special Features that are scattered throughout the four-DVD set.
- “Polis: Grounder Capitol” – Cast and crew discuss their opinions on the apocalyptic city and the inspiration for its creation.
- “Pre-Viz Stunts: Season 3” is a compilation of the season’s biggest fight scene where the video goes back and forth between the actors in the finished scene and the stunt crew acting the scene out.
- “A Short-Lived Victory: Unlocking the Season 3 Finale” is a feature discussing the episode, how it was created, and what the surprise twist means for the survivors.
- “The 100: 2015 Comic-Con Panel” is just the discussion panel featuring the cast as they discussed what happened in Season 2.
- “The 100: Season 3 Blooper Reel” isn’t that different than other blooper reels but with a season so intense and serious it’s actually a nice relief to see them smile, laugh, and make mistakes.
- “Deleted Scenes” are few and far between. They aren’t marked in any way to inform you in what episode they belonged in or any information on why they were cut. They were short and not that interesting.
- “Arkadia: From Wreckage to Salvation” is a short feature on how the Sky Crew used the remnants of their crashed ships and developed their own small city in the middle of the forest.
- “Ice Nation: Brutal and Fierce” is a short description of who the people of the Ice Nation are and how the creators and wardrobe crew came up with the Nation’s more dominant look.
- “Wanheda: Clarke’s Journey” is a discussion about how Clarke has grown from being a child to becoming a leader who has stepped up to do whatever it takes for the survival of her people and being known as the Commander of Death.
Season 3 was a huge departure for the series. While it was always a science-fiction show, it was more about general survival and the relationships between the three warring factions. With the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence, Allie (Erica Cerra), the show incorporated a lot more of the futuristic technology like the virtual reality world of the City of Light. It’s not a new idea for a computer to take over the minds of people, but the way it was threaded throughout was always entertaining.
There were multiple twists that were unpredictable and the writers did not hesitate to kill off characters to advance the story. Even with the major changes, it still held true to the previous seasons and was just as enjoyable. I’m looking forward to what Season 4 will bring as it appears a second apocalypse is heading towards the remaining survivors.
