Shifting Sands is the fifth episode of the fifth season of The 100.[1] It is the sixty third episode of the series overall.
CHALLENGES - Octavia leads her people towards Shallow Valley against the advice of Clarke and Bellamy. Meanwhile, Kane and Abby adjust to a new set of challenges.
Plot[]
Despite being injured, Octavia is determined to lead a battalion of Wonkru soldiers to take Shallow Valley. Clarke, having learned the pattern of the sandstorms, advises against it: if they have to go, she suggests using a longer but safer path. However, Wonkru doesn't have enough food to last more than six days, so Octavia boldly rejects Clarke and Bellamy's ideas and marches her people down the dangerous path.
Meanwhile, at the valley, Diyoza tests Abby's medical skills and Kane's loyalty while Paxton McCreary tortures Raven to unlock the launch codes for the missiles, as Shaw had told them that Raven is the one who hacked the system. Raven is clueless because she's innocent but no one seems to believe her. When McCreary becomes impatient and is ready to kill Murphy for Raven to talk, Shaw uses force to send everyone out so that he's left with Raven and Murphy. He explains to them that he lied about Raven locking the launch codes to save Octavia's people from a missile attack. The option is to either let McCreary beat Raven and Murphy to death or tell the truth and have Diyoza launch the missiles and kill all of Wonkru.
Raven comes up with a plan in which Shaw agrees to let Murphy go (and warn his people about the missile attack) while Raven "unlocks" the system. Shaw lets Murphy go but to avoid others becoming suspicious, he lets them put a tracker / collar on his neck. Raven and Shaw then pretend to be working on unlocking the codes but instead they are tracking Murphy to make sure that he's in a position to communicate to Octavia's team about the missile attack. Their plan progresses forward until Murphy is shocked by the shock collar still around his neck. He is forced to stay behind since the shock collar doesn't allow him to go beyond a certain range. Emori chooses to remain behind with him while the others move forward to warn Wonkru.
The Wonkru battalion stops to camp for the night. One of the scouts, Obika, gets infected with parasitic worms. The worms lay eggs within his torso and later that night rupture out of his body, killing him. Octavia gets infected by one worm, but Clarke manages to pull it out. At the same time, the rover gets in range to communicate with Bellamy, and Monty tells them that missiles are incoming. The battalion knows that if they stay at their campsite or try to move forward into the field of parasitic worms, they will be in the open for the missiles to hit. The path backwards is blocked by a sandstorm with razor-blade winds, but the Gagarin wouldn't be able to go there. Wonkru goes into the sandstorm and huddles together over the injured Octavia.
On the Gagarin, Diyoza orders Shaw to launch a missile at the desert camp, successfully blowing it up. The next morning, Diyoza reveals to Kane that they know Octavia survived, but, since her men wouldn't have followed her into the sandstorm, she couldn't pursue Octavia. Diyoza is impressed by Wonkru's loyalty to their leader and agrees to let Kane help her against Wonkru.
The sandstorm lets up in the morning, but eleven Wonkru soldiers died during the night. Indra is badly injured and Octavia orders a retreat. Just then, the rover rolls in with Madi, Monty, Harper, and Echo inside. The groups reunite, however Octavia glares at Bellamy kissing Echo.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Guest Starring[]
- Adina Porter as Indra
- Jarod Joseph as Nathan Miller
- Luisa d'Oliveira as Emori
- Chelsey Reist as Harper McIntyre
- Sachin Sahel as Eric Jackson
- Ivana Milicevic as Charmaine Diyoza
- William Miller as Paxton McCreary
- Jordan Bolger as Miles Shaw
- Kyra Zagorsky as Kara Cooper
- Lola Flanery as Madi Griffin
- Mike Dopud as Michael Vinson
Co-Starring[]
- Christopher Jordan Judge as Obika
- Neil Webb as Wonkru Warrior
Quotes[]
- John Murphy (seeing Madi Griffin): "Who's the Hobbit?"
- Octavia Blake (to Bellamy Blake): "I'm glad you're alive, big brother. But if you ever speak out against Wonkru again, then you are an enemy of Wonkru. And you are my enemy."
Notes and Trivia[]
- The 100 goes on a two week break after this episode.
- Jason Rothenberg tweeted a couple pictures, with the caption "Ep 505", showing what appears to be the reunion between Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia.[2] But they actually reunite in the previous episode.
- This episode includes several reunions:
- Octavia Blake, Indra and Clarke Griffin see Echo, Monty Green, and Harper McIntyre for the first time in six years.
- Madi meets John Murphy for the first time.
- Kane takes his first shot of tequila with Charmaine Diyoza.
- Raven and Murphy meet Miles Shaw and Paxton McCreary.
- Murphy's first words upon seeing Madi Griffin are a replay of their first words on set.[citation needed]
- This episode is Jarod Joseph's 40th episode.
- In this episode it was almost impossible for Ivana Milicevic to hide her pregnancy.
Body Count[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The song played after Diyoza says "play something with a beat" is "Every name has a number (007)" by Deniro. The band's frontman is William Miller who plays Paxton McCreary.[3]
- Writer Nick Bragg tweeted a warning about this episode saying "remember not to eat beforehand!"[4]
Multimedia[]
Music[]
- "Every name has a number (007)" by Deniro
Images[]
Video[]
