Alie tells Clarke that if she stays in the City of Light, if she says no to pulling this switch, she would never be faced with another switch ever again. The fate of her people would never be on her shoulders ever again. And I think Alie’s one mistake is that she didn’t say what I’m sure was weighing on Clarke: She could be with Lexa. Forever.
But she does say that she would be free of the pain of the lives she’s taken, and the ones she’s lost. But Clarke knows that running away from your pain is never the answer. If Alie would agree to give everyone back their pain and let them choose, she’d consider not pulling the switch, but that’s not possible, and there are only 20 seconds left.
In the battle in the throne room, things aren’t going so well, and Pike has to save Octavia from being strangled to death.
Clarke decides that the human race will figure something else, and Becca is proud of her for having hope. So Clarke tells Alie they’ll overcome this, pain and all.
Then she pulls the switch.
This time, she pulls the switch alone, and this time, instead of hundreds of people melting, hundreds of people are flooded with their forgotten pain and the memories of what they did under Alie’s control. Instead of hundreds of people dying, she gave hundreds of people their life back. For better or worse.
Clarke comes to and says the code to remove the flame, which stays in one piece and hopefully will stay in its tin until we’re ready to visit Lexa again.
In Arkadia, Jasper comes out of his stupor and is shaking and sad and in pain. But Monty tells him that pain is what makes things real and that they’re all going to get through this dark and twisty life together. Jasper says that he could use a drink and Raven and Harper LAUGH. What a foreign and beautiful sound!
In the throne room at Polis, Clarke is glad that Alie is gone, but isn’t quite happy yet. They won a very important battle, but they’re not even close to winning the war.
Before she can explain what she means, Octavia, stone-faced and calm, stabs Pike right through the gut.
And my favorite thing? No one flinches. No one moves to try to stop up his wound; no one tries to pull Octavia away, no one yells or cries out. Everyone just watches as Pike falls to the ground, as Octavia waits until the life drains from Pike’s eyes. Everyone just watches as Octavia saunters out of the room.
I think everyone expected it would happen, and it’s not like anyone particularly liked Pike. He’s the reason this war even got this bad in the first place.
