The 100: Chapter Nine (Bad Touch)

I've been working on this post all day while recovering from a gigantic hangover, which actually worked out pretty well since that's the general mood that reading this book put me in. Like a foggy sort of "I drank way too much spiked Kool-Aid last night and the world no longer makes sense" mood. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up on that.

So okay, chapter nine is a Clarke one, and we open at dawn again, because all these chapters take place when something amazing is happening to the sky, and Clarke is...impressed? Sort of?

Clarke slipped through the flap of the designated infirmary tent and stepped into the clearing. Even without the luxury of windows, she sensed that it was dawn. The sky erupted with color, and the pungent air stimulated sensors in her brain Clarke had never realized existed.

So the smell makes you consciously aware of your "brain sensors"? I'm just...okay. Let's just...take a deep breath and leave that one alone, move on in this experience together.

So Clarke's parents are dead, and she's sad about that, and then Wells shows up, because God forbid he give her a little space, nope, dude's gotta be up in her face every waking second.

"Good morning."

Clarke stiffened. It was almost unfathomable that Wells's voice had once been her favorite sound in the universe. He was the reason her parents were dead, their bodies floating through the depths of space, moving farther and farther from everything they'd known and loved. In a moment of weakness, Clarke had confided a secret that wasn't hers to share. And even though he'd sworn not to tell a soul, Wells hadn't even waited twenty-four hours before skipping off to his father, so desperate to be the perfect son, Phoenix's golden child, that he betrayed the girl he'd pretended to love.

Clarke's assumptions about Wells' motives are interesting, here - we know that she's hardly the prime example of a typical Phoenix citizen (because she's not like other girls, remember), and that she harbors a lot of understandable resentment toward Jaha and the Council because of what went down with her parents. So it makes sense that she'd jump to the conclusion that this is why Wells blabbed - and that association she makes, that clearly he never loved her? Does that mean she thinks you can't really love somebody and also betray them at the same time? Which would also be interesting considering the situation with her parents, and how they lied to her about their radiation death camp, but I have a feeling this is just melodramatic writing.

So, yeah, whatever, we know how this goes already. Wells shows up and tries to help and Clarke gets angry and Wells is hurt and blah blah blah blah.

Wells didn't move. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay," he said quietly. "We're going to finish sorting through the wreckage today. Is there anything in particular you need for your patients?"

"Yes. A sterile operating room, IVs, a full-body scanner, real doctors..."

"You're doing an incredible job."

"I'd be doing even better if I'd spend the past six months training at the hospital instead of in Confinement." This time, Wells was braced for the barb, and his face remained impassive.

Then Morgan cuts in with another description, which I'm not going to quote because whatever. Her use of language in those sections is always rather impressive, but they always show up really randomly. Like one second we're talking, then the next, we're in a NatGeo nature documentary. 

But the important part is, that Clarke thinks it's pretty I guess, and then Wells makes my head explode:

Wells seemed to read her mind. "If you hadn't been Confined, you'd never have come here," he said quietly. 

FUCKING EXCUSE ME?

She whipped her head back to face him. "You think I should be grateful for what you did? I've seen kids die, kids who never wanted to come here but had to because some little shit like you turned them in just to feel important."

I mean, preach. I guess Wells had to make sure he reminded everyone what a prick he is. Christ.

So, okay, the actual point of this scene is that Wells finally apologizes, which is important. I'm assuming that this isn't the first time he's done it, or tried to, I guess, but since we haven't actually seen it yet, it needed to happen. So he's all like, sorry I got your parents killed babe, and I was just trying to help cuz you seemed sorta bummed about the radiation death camp thing, and Clarke is...less than impressed. 

The tenderness in his voice made Clarke's stomach twist. "They killed my parents," she said quietly, imagining the scene as she had so many times before. Her mother bracing for the prick of a needle, her body systematically shutting down until those final dreadful moments when only her brain was left. Had they been offered the customary last meal? Clarke's heart twinged as she imagined her father's lifeless body in a release capsule, his fingers stained red from the berries he'd eaten alone.

That is the...third time that somebody has said something "quietly" in the span of two pages, if anyone's keeping count. Also I feel like this passage would be a lot more heart wrenching if I wasn't distracted by how goddamn awkward it is. Like, honestly, just...so messy. It's physically paining me because I want to rewrite it for her so badly. I had to reread that bitch like three times because I couldn't understand where the fuck the berries had come from. 

But, seriously, good on Clarke for not budging, here. I've said it before and I probably will again, but hey, guess what?! She doesn't owe him her forgiveness just because his intentions were good! Her parents are dead and it's a direct result of Wells' betrayal! Just because he didn't actually do the killing himself doesn't mean he isn't culpable! She's got every right to not ever want to speak or see him ever again! 

People aren't machines, you don't put love in the coin slot and get a relationship! Your feelings are your own business! Just because you love them doesn't mean they're obligated to reciprocate! This is very basic shit!

So yeah. Their conversation gets interrupted by a bunch of birds, which is pretty again or whatever, and then Clarke gets a flashback, God I'm so hungover.

Clarke couldn't suppress a smile as she watched Wells shift from side to side outside her front door. He always got nervous about kissing her in public, but it had gotten worse since he'd started officer training. The idea of making out with his girlfriend while in uniform seemed to make him uncomfortable, which was unfortunate because the sight of him in his uniform made her want to kiss him more than usual. 

So, this multiple-POV thing works sometimes, and other times it doesn't, and this is one of the latter times, because we only ever hear certain things from certain people. Wells' flashbacks and inner monologue give us his perspective of his relationship with Clarke when it was happy, which makes sense because he's grieving its end so of course he's going to be heavily focused on the times when it was good. But we never hear much of the same from Clarke, which...I guess makes sense? Because she's so angry she doesn't want to remember? But from a narrative perspective it blows, because no matter who we're hearing it from, we're getting a highly biased, skewed version of the truth, and as a result I've got no understanding of who they are as a couple, or whether I should even be rooting for these two crazy kids to work it out or not. It's kind of maddening. 

It is very clever, to set the book up this way, and from a certain angle it works. They're all unreliable narrators, and Morgan does a decent job of reminding us of that. But you also have to be clever enough to make sure your reader comes away with an understanding of what the reality is, at the same time that they understand what the characters think is reality. I mean, I just finished Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride, so maybe my expectations are a bit high, but come on, we don't even know what Clarke liked about this dude in the first place, other than the fact she thought he was hot. Which, you know. Duh.

i don't mean to be shallow or anything but damn

Like literally, this is the first flashback of Clarke's that involves Wells in any major way, and the only real squishy thoughts about him we get are physical ones - the "warmth" of his body, kissing, making out, etc. The impression I get is that she thought he was kinda cute, and liked banging him, but not much else. Also her characterization of how telling him the secret was a "moment of weakness" is pretty telling. This relationship just keeps getting sadder and sadder, basically.

The other thing about this flashback that strikes me is this:

"Wait," Wells said, glancing over his shoulder before grabbing hold of her arm.

Clarke sighed. "Wells," she started as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "I need to go."

That is the second time in this chapter that Wells has grabbed her arm, and Clarke has recoiled:

As she strode past him, Wells grabbed her arm. "Hold on a second, I just wanted to--"

Clarke spun around and wrenched herself free. "Don't touch me," she hissed.

That happens at the very beginning of their conversation. I mean, I'm not sure if it's intentional on Morgan's part (it has to be, right? She can't have done this accidentally? It's too obvious. But then again, she did use "quietly" a billion times in a row, sooo...) but it's a pretty clear statement, and a good characterization of Wells and Clarke's relationship: Wells holding on, and Clarke angrily telling him to stop fucking touching her. Kinda leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn't it. 

So then there's some (arguably) cute banter, and basically this flashback is really about how Clarke confronts her parents about the radiation death camp, and Wells is actually only there for the beginning. And there's this whopper of a sentence:

She stepped to the side and tilted her head so her eyes wouldn't betray her by sending distress signals from behind the lies.

I'm just gonna start quoting these little literary gems and just...leaving them here, in their raw, unprocessed form. Like evidence, for future generations. Yes, that sentence just happened. That sentence exists, in a published, popular book with its own television spin-off. Written by a professional editor. 

So Clarke goes in and tells her parents she knows what's up, and this chapter finally gets interesting, thank God.

"You're experimenting on people. On children." Saying it aloud made her stomach churn. Bile crept up her throat.

Her mother closed her eyes. "We didn't have a choice," she said softly. "We've spent years trying to test radiation levels in other ways--you know that. When we reported back to the Vice Chancellor there was no way to gather conclusive evidence without human studies, we thought he understood it was a dead end. But then he insisted that we..." Her voice cracked. Clarke didn't need her to finish the sentence. "We had no choice," she repeated desperately.

So, I think we all know what's coming next, but it doesn't make it any less horrifying, oh my God. Vice Chancellor Rhodes is a Bad Guy, and he threatened to kill Clarke unless her parents went evil scientist on some unregistered orphans. I don't even have words anymore for how fucked up this all is, plus I'm hungover, so the only thing in my head right now is just that gif of Joaquin Phoenix in Signs, when he sees the video of the alien on the news. 

I can understand why they wouldn't want to go there on the show, but oddly enough, this version of the story makes Clarke's parents come off better, which is weird since canon has such a hard on for Abby Griffin. Like, if they wanted us to root for her and all, wouldn't it make more sense to use something like this? Where it really wasn't her fault? And specifically where she didn't, you know, do what Wells did, only minus the good intentions?

*heavy sigh* Okay.

So then we cut to later, when Clarke's running around doing doctor stuff and oh my God! A scene with Thalia! Lady friendship! Previously, on Orange is the New Black: In Space!

"How are you feeling?"

The injured girl forced a smile that seemed to drain the energy from the rest of her body. "I'm just great," Thalia said, but then winced, the pain flashing in her eyes.

"You used to be a much better liar."

"I never lied." Her voice was hoarse but still full of mock indignation. "I just told the guard that I had a neck problem and needed an extra pillow."

"And then convinced him that black-market whiskey would keep you from singing in your 'sleep,'" Clarke added with a smile.

"Yeah...it's too bad Lise wasn't willing to play along."

"Or that you can't carry a tune to save your life."

"That's what made it so great!" Thalia protested. "The night guard would've done anything to shut me up at that point."

Oh my God, okay, so I would pay a billion imaginary dollars for a version of this book that's all about Thalia and Clarke's prison BFF shenanigans instead. This friendship is honestly such a breath of fresh air, right up to the point where Kass Morgan completely fucking ruins it by making it all about Wells "Bad Touch" Jaha again:

"Your lying skills are slipping as well. What's going on?" She managed to raise an eyebrow. "Is love making you soft?"

Clarke stiffened and snatched her hand back from Thalia's blanket. "Are your injuries making you delirious?" She glanced over her shoulder and was relieved to see Octavia absorbed in conversation with the Arcadian boy. "You know what he did to me." She paused as her stomach turned with revulsion. "What he did to my parents."

"Of course I know." Thalia looked at Clarke with a mixture of frustration and pity. "But I also know what he risked to come here." she smiled. "He loves you, Clarke. The kind of love most people spend their whole lives looking for."

Let's break this down. It's gross that the strongest, most positive relationship Clarke has is with her friend whose only purpose is to be sick and (spoiler alert, but honestly, you know you see this coming) die and pressure Clarke into forgiving her ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend who gravely injured her family and that she's stated multiple times she wants nothing to do with anymore, by the way. It's gross that every conversation they have ends up being about Wells. It's gross that I have to point this out at all because this is incredibly basic shit that we should be way past by now. It's 2014, for fuck's sake. Your book should pass the fucking Bechdel test.

And by the way? "Frustration and pity" is not the correct way to respond when your best friend talks about the dude who betrayed her and got her parents killed. Fuck love, if that's what love is.

Clarke sighed. "Well, I hope, for your sake, that you never find it."

I mean, THANK YOU. I'm really not into whatever weird thing is happening here, where all of Clarke's friends tell her what she should want and then completely ignore her when she's all like "fuck that, no." That's not on at all, and it's especially creepy because Thalia's advice to Clarke has the weight of authorial opinion behind it. This is Kass Morgan telling her readers what Clarke should be doing. And it's fucking gross.

Other stuff: there's a bit in the middle where Octavia mentions that she saw Wells come in looking for Clarke, and calls him a "supernova," which I'm assuming is space slang for hot and the kind of cool detail that's sorely missing from the show. Clarke also expresses disbelief that Octavia even knows who Wells is, implying that he's actually not some kind of Colony celebrity, which makes no sense since Graham and Bellamy knew who Wells was upon sight, so whatever, I give up. 

Also, Octavia flirts with a dude from Arcadia. She does this often, only in the book it's cute because she's fourteen years old and it's all just playful and innocent, and on the show it's creepy because they oversexualize the fuck out of her unnecessarily. And my head is pounding. Unrelated to the book, it's my hangover, but that's my excuse for ending this so gracelessly. Sorry, I guess, but time for aspirin and a nap.