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The 100 Recaps: “Sanctum” and “Red Sun Rising”

By Rueben | May 9, 2019

At the end of the fifth season of The 100, the big surprise was that our ragtag “team” of survivors had been in cryo-sleep for 125 years, much of that time being watched over by Monty and Harper, who got to live a very full life, growing old and having a son, Jordan, together. At a pre-determined time calculated by Monty, their son, who was also eventually put into cryo-sleep, was also awakened and instructed to wake up Clarke and Bellamy before anyone else. It was then that the young leaders got to glimpse a planet discovered by Monty that could just be their salvation: Planet Alpha.

As the sixth season opened, a handful of other survivors surrounded Clarke and Bellamy as they looked down upon the new planet and watched Monty’s video message. They knew that this planet could potentially help them get their humanity back, but there was a LOT to process. There was a lot of animosity to conquer, but first they needed to send a team down to the new planet (which actually turned out to be a moon) to see if it was survivable.

Much like when they were teens, being forced down to the post-apocalyptic Earth from the failing Arc in the debut season, they were once again headed to an uncertain planet and an even more uncertain immediate future. That planet seemed much like the Earth, but was filled with strange colored vegetation, even stranger bugs and a very red Sun. When a swarm of bugs attacked, the team ran toward a beacon they had been following since landing on the surface only to have Shaw fatally injured by a radiation field circling around a small village that centered around a pseudo-looking castle. The only problem was there were no people in the village.

As the episode moved on, the team discovered chains hanging from walls in every structure and a strange shrine to a family named Lightbourne. In the end, after Emori attacked Murphy in a blind rage and Clarke discovered a children’s book that seemed to reflect all the bad things that were starting to happen to them, she uttered the words, “It’s in the air.”

Meanwhile on the Eligius, Abby was not only dealing with Raven’s full-blow wrath but also trying to save Kane’s life only to have him collapse after Abby and Niylah conducted surgery on him. His collapse was due in great part to the warpath unleased by a newly awakened Octavia. [They should have just left her on ice!]

As the second episode opened, the fate of the Lightbourne family and those in Eligius Outpost, who were placed on that planet 236 years earlier, was revealed. Those from the Outpost were there conducting scientific research with the Lightbourne family in charge. Unfortunately, the red Sun affected the patriarch of the Lightbourne family and he literally massacred everyone on the Outpost.

What the people on the Outpost went through eventually began happening Clarke and the team from Eligius. They first chained themselves up, hoping to survive the rage of the red Sun, but then they all began going mad, having horrible hallucinations and nearly killing one another.

Things were just as bad on the Eligius because a family from the new planet stole the jump ship, making their way to the Eligius, locking up all those awake (except for Raven) in the mess hall. While trapped in there, those who were awake were attacking and beating down on Octavia who still believed she was the Red Queen, and had she been able to follow through on her plan back on Earth that everything would have gone the way she had envisioned (which, of course, it didn’t and wouldn’t have).

Having the ship taken over caused Raven to do the unexpected: she awoke Diyoza, who she knew could help her retake the ship. In true Diyoza style, she soon got the better of that family – well actually she shot the father and the two grown children, leaving only the mother alive – and they were able to take back control of the ship. In the end, they decided to send another team of explorers down to the surface to find the initial team.

They did find Clarke, Bellamy and the others – who thankfully survived the horrible effects of the red Sun – except for Murphy who seemed to be infected by something – only to be surprised by the arrival of a horde of children, one of whom asked, “Are you here to take us home?” only to have Clarke ask back, “Isn’t this your home?”

What did you think of the first two episodes? Did you think it was right for Octavia and Diyoza to be awakened? What do you think of the children discovered on Planet Alpha? What do you think is affecting Murphy? Also where are the adults on that planet? What is Raven going to do to Clarke because of Shaw’s death? What is Octavia going to do to everyone given her anger? Please share your thoughts in our comment section below.

The next new episode of The 100 will air on The CW on Tuesday, May 14 at 9/8c.