Watch the Thrones

Watch the Thrones is the fourth episode of the third season of The 100. It is the thirty-third episode of the series overall. It aired on February 11, 2016. It was directed by Ed Fraiman and written by Dorothy Fortenberry.

Summary
Clarke discovers the mastermind behind a devious plan. Kane struggles to keep the peace. Meanwhile, Jasper's grief drives him to reckless behavior.

Plot
In Polis, Nia is brought in in chains. She has confessed to the destruction of Mount Weather. Nia wants to have the throne and asks the ambassadors to vote for her. They all vote except for Clarke which means it isn't unanimous. Queen Nia of Ice Nation challenges Lexa to fight to the death for the right to the throne in which she has to oppose Nia’s son, Roan. Clarke is worried for Lexa but Lexa says that nobody fights for her.

In Arkadia, Pike says that they can't trust any grounders after the attack although Kane says the real attack was against Lexa, not them. Abby says they will hold the election tomorrow and they can deal with Pike then. Bellamy and Kane talk and Bellamy is upset that 49 people died, including Gina that he was supposed to protect. Kane says he did his best but Bellamy says he failed. Jasper refuses to attend the Mount Weather memorial and sneaks out of camp. Monty follows him.

In Polis, Lexa is teaching Aden how to fight. Titus and Clarke haven't managed to talk her out of fighting yet. Lexa introduces Aden as the most promising nightblood and Aden pledges his allegiance to the thirteenth clan. Clarke tries to convince Lexa not to fight but Lexa says that if she does die, her spirit will choose wisely.

In the Ice Nation, Roan practices fighting with Nia but remains angry and insists he doesn't need her help. Nia says that when he wins, he won't be banished but Roan is cross with her and says that none of it is for him. He leaves and Clarke approaches him in secret. She says she wants him to be king and she wants to kill Nia. Roan says he can help.

In Arkadia, the memorial takes place. Bryan sits down after speaking for Iris and Bellamy goes up and speaks about Gina. Pike publicly confronts Kane and Abby, questioning them about the Grounders in Arkadia and the army outside. Lincoln gets injured by one of Pike's men and Abby checks if he is okay. Lincoln goes outside and is upset but says that if you get knocked down, you get back up again to himself. Monty and Jasper are outside and Monty tells Jasper that he has had enough. Jasper ignores him and Monty sees in Jasper's pack that he has Finn's ashes with him.

In the Ice Nation, Clarke visits Nia and says that she has changed her vote. Nia is impressed and says that Clarke is thinking like a leader. Nia says she will protect the sky people as she dislikes Lexa, not them. Clarke makes a blood oath and nearly poisons Nia with the knife, but Ontari notices. Nia cuts Ontari's hand and drips Ontari's blood, which is black onto Clarke's face. In Polis, Lexa explains that black blood is from nightbloods. All nightbloods should have been taken to Polis to be trained. Titus tried to convince Lexa to choose a champion but she still refuses.

In Arkadia, Pike convinces Bellamy that they need to kill the army of grounders outside the walls. Pike convinces Bellamy to steal the guns for them. Bellamy says it's treason, but Pike says it is survival.

Back at Polis, the battle between Lexa and Roan begins. Although Roan nearly impales Lexa, she rolls out of the way and holds a spear to him. Roan tells her to end it. Nia calls from the crowd that if he dies, he dies a coward not a prince. Instead of killing Roan, Lexa throws the sword and murders Nia. She shouts that the queen is dead, long live the king. Roan has become the new Ice Nation king.

Whilst Bellamy is helping Pike steal guns to murder the whole Grounder, Lincoln tries to stop them. Pike says if he wants to prove he is one of them, he must let them pass. Somebody says that Pike should run for chancellor and somebody starts chanting Pike's name. Bellamy joins in with Pike's chant whilst Abby and Kane exchange worried glances. Jasper wakes up, hungover, and asks Monty how he could kill Maya as she was his friend. Monty says he didn't have a choice but Jasper laughs. Monty gets angry and Jasper trips over spilling Finn's ashes.

In Polis, Lexa comes into Clarke's room. Clarke changes Lexa' bandages and asks what will happen to Ontari. Lexa says she will be at the conclave when Lexa dies. Clarke asks why Lexa still trusts the ambassadors after they betrayed her but Lexa argues that they were doing what was best for their people.

In Arkadia, Kane reveals that Pike is the new Chancellor. Pike then pardons himself and his supporters. He rejects their status as the thirteenth clan and says to Bellamy that they must finish what they started. They leave with guns to murder the grounder army. Kane says to Bellamy that it isn't too late to pick the right side, but Bellamy says he already has.

Starring

 * Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin
 * Paige Turco as Abigail Griffin
 * Bob Morley as Bellamy Blake
 * Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia Blake
 * Devon Bostick as Jasper Jordan
 * Christopher Larkin as Monty Green
 * Lindsey Morgan as Raven Reyes (credit only)
 * Ricky Whittle as Lincoln
 * Richard Harmon as John Murphy (credit only)
 * Isaiah Washington as Thelonious Jaha (credit only)
 * Henry Ian Cusick as Marcus Kane

Guest Starring

 * Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa
 * Michael Beach as Charles Pike
 * Zach McGowan as Roan
 * Brenda Strong as Nia
 * Jarod Joseph as Nathan Miller
 * Neil Sandilands as Titus
 * Donna Yamamoto as Hannah Green
 * Chelsey Reist as Harper McIntyre
 * Katie Stuart as Zoe Monroe
 * Ty Olsson as Nyko
 * Jonathan Whitesell as Bryan
 * Rhiannon Fish as Ontari
 * Cory Gruter-Andrew as Aden
 * Christian Sloan as Uzac
 * Bill Coyne as Ambassador
 * Shaine Jones as Shawn Gillmer
 * Matthew Mandzij as Guard

Quotes

 * Clarke: "Commander, what is this?"
 * Lexa: "This is a coup."
 * Nia: "This is the law. Her law. A unanimous vote of the Ambassadors or death are all that can remove a Commander from power."
 * Clarke: "It's not unanimous."
 * Nia: "We don't recognize the legitimacy of Skaikru."
 * Titus: "We do. Yesterday, Skaikru took the brand. They are the 13th clan. This vote of no confidence fails. All these coup plotters will suffer the same fate as the Ice Queen."


 * Nia: "None of us here wants war."
 * Lexa: "We both know what you want, Nia. If you think me unfit to command....issue the challenge. And let's get on with it."


 * Pike: "So when do we strike back?"
 * Abby: "We don't. The Ice Nation took credit for the attack and the Commander will bring them to justice."
 * Pike: "So, now we're trusting Grounders to punish Grounders? I'm sorry Madame Chancellor, but I lost more than half of my remaining people yesterday. And four times the many since we landed. In my experience, Grounders understand one thing - strength. It's simple, we need to hit them now, we need to hit them hard. Leave no survivors..."
 * Kane: "There's nothing simple about this. This attack by the Ice Nation was against Lexa. Not us."
 * Pike: "So, are you saying this isn't our fight?"
 * Kane: "I'm saying we were collateral damage in someone else's war."
 * Pike: "But is not someone else's war anymore. Look, if we don't defend ourselves, they will take what we have. That's what they do. Mark my words - the Grounders are coming for us."


 * Abby (to Kane about Pike): "After the election tomorrow, he's your problem."


 * Octavia: "Jasper, what's wrong?"
 * Monty: "He's not going to the Mount Weather memorial."
 * Jasper: "It's a little late for a Mount Weather memorial, don't you think?"


 * Lexa: "See. Nothing to worry about."
 * Clarke: "I'm sorry if the fate of my people lies in the hands of a child."


 * Clarke: "You don't stand a chance against Roan."
 * Lexa: "You've never seen me fight."
 * Clarke: "No. But I saw him kill three men in the time it took the first one to hit the ground."
 * Lexa: "If you're right...today is the day my spirit will choose its successor. And you need to accept that."
 * Clarke: "Like hell I do."


 * Nia: "When you kill Lexa, your banishment will be over. In the wake of your victory, our people will be more powerful than ever. That will be your legacy and your legend."
 * Roan: "Don't pretend you do anything for me, mother."
 * Nia: "You're right. Everything I do is for Azegeda. But, what's good for Azegeda is good for you. (offers him her sword) If you won't fight for your mother or your Queen. Fight for your clan. I want her head."


 * Roan (to Clarke): "Is that death I hear stalking me? Or just the Commander of Death?"


 * Clarke: "I want you to become the King. I know you've thought of it. She was willing to let you die. Willing to let you be banished. I know you just want to go home."
 * Roan: "When I win today, I will."
 * Clarke: "For how long? How long until your mother finds another reason to cast you out? To sacrifice you. No one can cast a King out of his Kingdom."
 * Roan: "I can't do it. My people will never take me back. But, I can help you do it."


 * Abby: "We're all grieving. This has been hard on all of us. But, we can't let anger drive our policy.
 * Pike: "Anger is our policy."


 * Pike: (to Arkadia residents): "We do not attack our own. Fighting each other only makes us weak. The enemy is not in this camp. The enemy is out there."


 * Clarke (to Nia): "My priority is with the living. Not the dead."


 * Clarke: "Titus is right. You're giving her exactly what she wants."
 * Lexa: "Only if I lose. I know you're just trying to help Clarke, but there's nothing you can do here."
 * Clarke: "I can't just let Roan kill you."
 * Lexa: "If that is to be my fate...you must. You're driven to fix everything for everyone. But, you can't fix this. I have to do this on my own and you have to let me."
 * Clarke: "I won't just sit there and watch you die."


 * Pike (to Bellamy): "Every life we honored at the memorial was lost because we trusted a Grounder."


 * Lexa: "I'm glad you came."
 * Clarke: " Me too."


 * Monty: "For three months I watched you torture yourself and everyone around you. Mostly me. But I'm done being your punching bag. Either you pull yourself together and get on with your life, or you fall apart alone."
 * Jasper: "Are you done?"
 * Monty: "I miss my best friend."
 * Jasper: "He died that day too."

Notes and Trivia

 * The episode title was revealed on December 10, 2015, by Linda Ge on Twitter.
 * The episode title was named after the Kanye West and Jay-Z album "Watch The Throne".
 * This episode marks Devon Bostick's 25th episode on The 100.

Body Count

 * Nia