“Red Sun Rising” is episode two of season six of The 100.
In the previous episode, “Sanctum”, things seemed to be going well. This didn’t last. The insects on Planet Alpha suddenly decided to attack and, whilst fleeing them, Shaw ran into a radiation fence and died. Within the fence was a settlement, one that was oddly and creepily deserted. And recently deserted as well. Inside the school, there was a book waring about how creatures, and people, started attacking each other when the two suns eclipsed. And Emori tried to kill Murphy. Then the transport ship was stolen. Clarke realised there was something in the air.
This episode opens 236 years earlier and a man is observing the eclipse of the suns, when his view is obstructed by a young woman. He asks her about her work and she says she’s doing it. Phase 1 is survive. Phase 2 is populate. She’s ready for Phase 2 if he is. Then someone calls her away.
The woman, Josie, arrives at the Eligius III outpost for Mission Team Alpha. It’s Day 21. Her father wants to know how many species she has catalogued. It seems she’s actually done quite a lot of work and has created a new taxonomic group. Called ‘Freaks’ in Mandarin. And discovered a berry that tastes like cotton candy. No, of course she didn’t try it. She made the kids try it. If it was poisonous, they’d be dead by now. Her mother goes to check.
Her father wants his daughter to give Dr Santiago some space. They don’t need a broken-hearted geneticist. Josie has a name for the place; Sanctum, from the Latin root of sanctuary. Her father decides that’s a good name, and calls his daughter by her full name. The surname is Lightbourne, and in the future a shrine was found dedicated to three people with that name.
Later, Josie and Dr Santiago – Gabriel – are making out when the insects go quiet. Already known to be a bad sign. Josie believes that the eclipse is probably responsible; animals on Earth respond to them as well. Then there is a strange sound and they decide it’s time to head back to camp. No-one has ever heard anything like that before and Josie says it’s a sonic anomaly caused by molecular vibrations in the trees.
Then Josie’s mother starts screaming. She stumbles out, injured, and collapses, apparently dead. Josie’s father comes out as well and strikes his daughter hard across the face with a tool. She falls to the ground unblinking. Her father then takes out a gun and starts shooting people, screaming that Sanctum is his. On the ground, Josie blinks; probably badly injured rather than dead.
In the present, Clarke is reading the children’s book again. Now they know why the buildings had restraints in them. They can’t warn the Mothership that their ship has been hijacked, because they have no radios. The book says that for two days heaven is hell; it affects people too. It may be a children’s book but it’s coming true. Whilst fleeing the bugs, Emori fell down in the brush; it’s coming from the plants so she got a greater exposure. They will all be affected probably, at different rates, so they need to go inside and restrain themselves. This is done and Murphy is being his usual charming self.
Octavia and Niylah and sparring when the computer announces that the transport ship is approaching. Octavia hits the wall by accident. Then repeatedly on purpose, making her hand bleed. They go to the airlock where the transport ship is docking, not expecting anything, then four people in masks and suits appear and use gas grenades. One examines Octavia’s hand after she collapses, commenting on the blood being red. Presumably that means something.
When Octavia comes around, she and the others are locked in the mess hall. She wants them to get out and take the bridge. Jordan tells her they can’t; the mess hall is designed to lock down prisoners. Octavia thinks there is still a way out, and speaks to one of the others, James, and engineer. Who, rightly, blames her for his mother’s death thanks to Octavia burning the farm and leading everyone to their deaths when she started losing her grip on power. Abby says they don’t need an engineer inside, when they have one outside. Raven isn’t with them.
Raven is at the cryo pods, waking Diyoza. She tells Diyoza that the ship has been hijacked. The others are in the mess hall and the intruders have the bridge. Which means they know Diyoza has just been awoken. Raven thinks they should move; Diyoza has a better idea. When two of the intruders arrive, Diyoza takes the gun from one and shoots both. Now she’d like some more details.
On Sanctum, Miller and Jackson start screaming. Bellamy and Octavia go to help and discover the two are suffering from a shared delusion. Murphy has escaped his restraints and has the guns. Bellamy is losing it as well now, and so is Echo. She tranqs herself. Murphy starts shooting at Bellamy and Clarke. They seem to be all losing their grip on reality.
Raven wants a plan to take the bridge, preferably a different one to the ‘kill everyone’ plan Diyoza used the first time. Octavia is still justifying her actions, in an ends justify the means way. If they’d succeeded, everything would have made sense. Of course, what didn’t make sense didn’t need to be done. Octavia does suffer a breakdown at one point, but is she truly remorseful and has she really owned up to what she did? Yet more new problems arise by the end of the episode.