In the three months since we’ve left them, they’ve somehow found working vehicles, gasoline, and learned how to drive. Raven’s raven from Finn is hanging from the rear-view mirror, and they follow Octavia and her horse down the road to Sector 7. And it turns out the ability to road trip is an inherent human quality (or, some of the best movies survived the apocalypse) and they all start to rock out during the drive. Like real teenagers who haven’t been fighting for their lives on a foreign planet.
Before they make it to Sector 7, they pick up a signal from another part of the Ark that might have safely landed on Earth. It’s technically in Ice Nation territory, but it’s Farm Station, on which lived Miller’s boyfriend. YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. I’m not going to make a huge deal of it because they didn’t, but the way sexuality is a non-issue on this show is how I hope our real future will be. With less radiation. And more showers.
They’re not allowed in Sector 8 but they have literally never followed a rule they didn’t make, not since landing on the ground, and maybe even before that, so off they go. Almost as soon as they get into the forbidden territory, they notice the ping getting closer, and soon enough, men from Ice Nation are in front of them. The boys and Raven pull out their guns, Octavia brandishes her sword. Octavia speaks to them in Grounder, and they tell her they’re looking for Wanheda.
Octavia tells them they don’t know who that is, but Jasper notices the beacon around one of the Grounder’s waists and saunters over to steal it. The Grounder drags a knife across his throat, but Jasper is unhinged and seems to think this is a fun game. They all try to shoot the Grounders, but Octavia ends up getting the last one with her sword.
Bellamy’s walkie goes off and Kane calls them to Section 4, and the team moves quickly to the meeting point. Kane and Indra show up to warn them that Clarke is being hunted. By everyone.
Cut to a panther creeping along, and a bunny tied to a trap. Clarke leaps down from the trees and basically wrestles the panther before stabbing it. I’m talking, as close as she was to Finn, that’s how close she was to this panther. Her eyes are fierce, and her face is dirty, and her hair is wild—and somehow red.
She tells the panther its fight is over because she’s still our Clarke under there somewhere. Clarke carries the game to a trading post and the girl who works there thinks it’s interesting that Clarke always waits til her father is gone before coming in. Clarke doesn’t comment on this, so the girl moves on, offering her a drink. Clarke still doesn’t say anything, and is distracted from the offer for a drink by the bracelet on the girl’s wrist, metal and shiny and probably not of Grounder origin. (PS. All this was spoken in Grounder, so I’ll be patiently waiting for the fic of the missing Lexa-teaches-Clarke-Trigedasleng scenes.)
Somewhere outside Arkadia, Indra tells the boys that the Grounders have started calling Clarke “Wanheda,” which means Commander of Death. They want to kill Clarke to absorb her power because of course they do. Indra says the first place they should check is the trading posts, which seems like an awfully civilized outfit considering the whole kill-someone-to-get-their-power thing they’re working with.
At the trading post, Clarke asks Trader Girl about her metal bracelet, holding her arm while she asks.
But they’re interrupted by someone else entering the trading post. Clarke lets go and pretends to be shopping while the man who entered shows Trader Girl a sketch of Clarke. (That man also happens to be Jody from Shameless and Vane from Black Sails.)
Trader Girl says that it’s not a good likeness, but in this really subtly flirtatious way, even though she’s not even talking to Clarke. It’s very well played. Anyway, Trader Girl lies right through her teeth, saying Clarke was here two days ago but went north, never to be seen again, so the men head out. She also blames Clarke for the bracelet, so I’m really confused about that whole thing.
Clarke asks Trader Girl how long she’s known, and the girl has always known. She switches to speaking English, as if proving her lack of threat, and offers Clarke that drink again. Clarke is suspicious, but Trader Girl says Clarke rescued her mother and stopped the reaping, so she’s on Clarke’s side.
Trader Girl tends to one of Clarke’s wounds from the panther. And as soon as the cloth gently touches Clarke’s back, she looks as though she’s been longing for human touch, human kindness.
