WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The 100 Season 6, Episode 9,"What You Take With You," which premiered this week on The CW.
One of the most troubled, complex characters on The 100 is Octavia Blake, who has progressed from a quiet teenager fiercely protected by her older brother Bellamy, to the brutal Red Queen, who justified her bloody reign by subjecting her people to various extremes in order to survive. While the alien world of Sanctum has provided the last survivors of Earth with a new home and a chance at a fresh start, Octavia hasn't been so lucky. She is reminded by the other characters at every turn about her violent past, and was disowned by Bellamy after she forced him to fight in a gladiatorial arena.
And just as Season 6 has provided many of the returning characters an opportunity to revisit their actions, a recent foray into a temporal anomaly has had lingering effects on Octavia, literally transporting her to her history as the Red Queen and bringing her face to face with her own bloody legacy. And, true to Octavia's past, the resulting confrontation forces her to pick up the sword once more.
In the previous episode, Gabriel, Octavia and Diyoza encountered the temporal anomaly. Gabriel realized Octavia had an unexplained connection to it after she was nearly killed by a temporal flare that withered her arm. Within the anomaly, Diyoza saw a vision of her future unborn daughter, and entered the anomaly with Octavia following her, despite Gabriel's warnings. Diyoza disappeared, and remains missing, but Octavia emerged fully healed, with Gabriel observing she's actually in even better physical condition, with her hair noticeably longer and healthier, and her previous scar tissue now gone. However, as Octavia regained her bearing, she found herself in the old bunker in which she ruled as the Red Queen for five years.
In the gladiatorial pits where she made her own brother to fight for his life, Octavia is wracked with memories from her violent past as she forced her people to cannibalism in order to survive, and executed anyone who refused as a way to cement her authority and reinforce loyalty. As Octavia begins to feel the full weight of her actions, she is confronted by Pike, an iron-fisted military commander she fought against years earlier, and ultimately stabbed to death. The vision of Pike forces the vulnerable and broken Octavia to admit that the only thing she lives for now is the hope for redemption. Upon her confession, Pike submits just as Octavia is confronted by a doppelgänger from her time as the bloodthirsty warrior-ruler.
The Red Queen prepares to execute Pike only to be stopped by the remorseful Octavia, leading the two figures to duel to the death within the arena, cheered on by the inhabitants of the bunker. While the vision of her past self retains her savage fighting style, Octavia slays the doppelgänger and emerge from the imagined bunker to hear a call for help over the radio from Clarke. Now having a better grasp over her guilt, Octavia sets out to assist her old friends.
Much of Season 6 has dealt with The 100's returning main characters directly addressing their guilt and regret. Octavia Blake proves no different thanks to her brief encounter with the temporal anomaly. Reinvigorated by a direct confrontation with her inner demons, Octavia's redemption may come as she aids Clarke and her brother when the two need it the most as the season nears its climax.
The 100 airs on The CW Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The series stars Eliza Taylor, Paige Turco, Marie Avgeropoulos, Bob Morley, Henry Ian Cusick, Lindsey Morgan, Richard Harmon and Tasya Teles.