We Are Grounders (Part 2)

"'Bellamy, I love you.'"~Rayleigh's declaration before she closes the drop ship door,

Summary
The surviving 100 attempt to escape from the incoming attack. However, when one of their own is killed by Grounder scouts, they're forced to retreat and stand tall in their fortified camp.

While preparing for the battle; Rayleigh and Clarke try to save a dying Raven, Finn makes a bold and dangerous move, Bellamy is forced to make a difficult decision, and Jasper races against time to save them all.

Declarations are made and lives are lost as the Princess Commander makes a heartbreaking choice in order to save her people.

Recap Monologue
I, Rayleigh Griffin, daughter of Jake and Abigail Griffin and older twin sister of Clarke, was born in space. I've never felt the sun on my face, breathed real air, or floated in the water. None of us have. For three generations, the Ark has kept what's left of the human race alive. Only now our home is dying, and we that remain are the last hope of mankind.

A hundred prisoners, me and my sister included, were sent on a desperate mission to the ground. Each of us was sent here because we broke the law. However, on the ground, there is no law. All we had to do was survive. We were tested by the Earth, by the secrets she hid, but most of all by each other.

We've survived suprise attacks, acid fog, killer viruses, and a near mutiny. All those incidents have made us stronger. All those incidents made me stronger, and a completly different person. Back on the Ark, I was just a nice girl who worked in Medical alongside her mother, devoting her life to saving people. Never would I have stood by and watched a man be tortured, nor would I fathom that the lives of 101 people would rest in my hands. Also, I would never, ever have expected to step up in a leadership role, alongside a man I walked away from when I was sixteen years old. On top of that, I didn't know I would fall in love down here on Earth either.

Now, all that we've faced pales in comparison to what's coming. The war with the Grounders has finally reached it's climax and we have two choices; make our way to the sea in hopes we all survive, or stand our ground and fight for what we've acomplished, and pray we're not all massacered. Being a group of delinquents, you'd think we'd choose the latter, but knowing how outmatched we are, we're taking the hike to the sea option, in hopes to survive another day.

However, fate had other plans for us...

Story
In the drop ship at the camp, Rayleigh cauterizes Raven's gunshot wound (caused by Murphy). Bellamy flips through Lincoln's journal and comes to a drawing of a Reaper and asks if the Reapers might help them fight the incoming Grounders. Finn tells him it is not an option. Rayleigh then tells Raven that she cannot walk with the bullet still inside her and Finn goes to get a gurney. Bellamy calls Finn a coward for wanting to leave and Rayleigh interrupts, telling them it is time to go. Finn leaves and Rayleigh tells Bellamy she needs him with them because the Delinquents are willing to fight and die for Bellamy. Outside, on their way out of the camp, Bellamy mentions there are eighteen dead and Rayleigh tells him there are eighty-two people who are still alive and they did good.

Later, after the delinquents have begun their march to the sea, Octavia brings everyone to a halt, sensing something. A blade comes flying out through the trees and embeds in Drew's head. Jasper screams out, "Grounders!" and all of the delinquents flee back behind the walls of the camp. Rayleigh realizes that they are doing exactly what the Grounders want them to do: returning to the camp so that they are back in place for the assault. With the Grounder scouts already outside, Rayleigh realizes it is not safe for them to try and leave camp again and they need to stay and fight. Bellamy tells the gunners to get to their posts and to close the gates. Octavia takes off with the gunners and Bellamy stops her, telling her she's not a gunner. She tells him she's a Grounder, like he said.

Inside the drop ship, Bellamy, Rayleigh, and Raven tell Clarke and Finn that the main entrance road has been booby-trapped with landmines and that Raven has built a couple of grenades. Bellamy plans to keep the Grounders at bay using guns, grenades, and the landmines to hold the gate. Raven notes that if the Grounders get through the gate, they will have to hide inside the drop ship and close the door and pray. Rayleigh suggests using the remaining rocket fuel from the drop ship to fire the rockets once the Grounders have surround the drop ship, which would burn the Grounders alive. Raven says she can do it. Rayleigh orders Clarke and Finn under the drop ship and Bellamy says he'll buy them as much time as he can. Clarke and Finn leave the drop ship and when Bellamy goes to follow, Rayleigh halts him. They kiss and share a moment.

While Rayleigh sits with Raven, Clarke and Finn are underneath the drop ship, looking for it's ignition system, when Raven reveals that she cannot feel her legs anymore. Rayleigh discovers that the bullet is in Raven’s spine and that she is bleeding internally. Finn suggests going to Lincoln's cave to get some of the coagulant stuff the Grounders use and leaves to go get it. While Clarke talks to Finn about his plan, Raven tries to come clean to Rayleigh but she tells her she already knows.

Rayleigh injects Morphine into Raven's back to try and ease her pain when she suddenly hears drums from outside the camp. She runs out of the drop ship and stands beside Bellamy, who's armed and ready to fight. Bellamy orders Rayleigh back into the drop ship. Rayleigh turns Bellamy to face her and kisses him, telling him not to die. Bellamy kisses her forehead and promises her he won't. Bellamy joins Miller and Monroe in a foxhole as other gunners start reporting Grounders moving across their lines of vision.

Meanwhile, Clarke searches for an orange wire that is the drop ship's ignition. When Clarke finds the wire she discovers it to be broken. Raven asks both Rayleigh and Clarke if they knows how to splice a wire. Over the walkie-talkie Jasper informs them hat the landmines are. Raven realizes Jasper can splice a wire. Rayleigh calls for Jasper to get to the drop ship.

Clarke and Jasper are underneath the drop ship and Rayleigh asks Raven to repeat the direction but receives no response. Suddenly Raven looses consciousness. Rayleigh calls Clarke up to help her. One of the gunners announces through the walkie-talkie that the Grounders have broken through, Clarke runs out of the drop ship and Rayleigh tells Jasper to finish the wiring of the ignition system, following her sister outside. She tells the gunners they need more time and to stay at their posts and hold off the Grounders while the others get inside the drop ship. A bright light suddenly lights up the night sky, distracting everyone on the ground. Both Rayleigh and Clarke realize that it is the Ark, entering the atmosphere. One of the Ark stations explodes, killing everyone inside. Finn returns to camp with the coagulant he got from Lincoln.

Rayleigh tells all the injured to get inside the drop ship as she takes the coagulant and injects it into Raven's back. Miller comes in and informs them that the Grounders are taking down the gate. Jasper announces that he is ready with the ignition system. The Grounders breach the gate and Rayleigh yells at the people outside to get inside the drop ship. She takes the knives from her thigh holsters and throws them at a couple Grounders. Clarke pushes Rayleigh out of the way of an incoming sword, which strikes the side of the ship. Bellamy returns through the secret entrance but sees a Grounder slaughtering the delinquents. He picks up a gun but there are no bullets and the Grounder begins attacking him. Finn grabs a gun and runs to Bellamy's aid. Rayleigh stands up and fires an arrow at another Grounder and jumps onto a pile of sandbags, shooting at Grounders in all directions, ordering Clarke into the drop ship, who agrees. A knife is thrown in Rayleigh's direction and hits her left shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground. Miller helps Rayleigh to her feet, as her and Bellamy lock gazes from across the battlefield. Rayleigh declares her love for Bellamy and steps onto the drop ship bridge. Rayleigh fires a poisoned arrow at Tristan (the Grounder Army's leader) and hits his heart as a dagger he threw strikes her sternum. Miller pulls Rayleigh to her feet and helps her inside.

Rayleigh, with the help of Clarke, closes the door as the Grounders breach the camp. Rayleigh removes the blades from her body and Clarke helps her sister. Anya, however, quickly jumps over the door and is locked inside with the delinquents. Anya stands, ready to fight the delinquents with two blades. Rayleigh tells Jasper to push the button but it doesn't work. Outside, the Grounders are making their way up the sides of the drop ship while Anya begins to attack. She is easily overpowered by the numerous delinquents as Rayleigh stops Miller from killing Anya by reminding them they are not Grounders. Jasper realizes he forgot the magnet and reroutes the connection through a magnet, blasting the drop ship's rockets, incinerating the Grounders outside.

The delinquents and a bound Anya leave the drop ship to find the ashes and skeletons that were a result of the rockets’ ignition. All of a sudden, several red smoke grenades are thrown over the camp’s walls, and Anya says fearfully, "Mountain Men," as the red smoke begins to knock out the Delinquents and Anya. Rayleigh's last image is of several men in gas masks and military outfits with laser-sighted rifles enter the camp and a Mountain Man pointing his gun and laser at her.

Epilogue
Rayleigh is shown on an operating table in a state of the art medical facility. An EKG registers minimal vital signs as two females work on her. The EKG suddenly flat lines and the red haired nurse begins shocking Rayleigh with a defibrillator. After three shocks there's no change and the Doctor calls time of death. The EKG suddenly goes off and it appears that Rayleigh's heart has restarted.

Main

 * Claire Holt as Rayleigh Griffin
 * Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin
 * Thomas McDonell as Finn Collins
 * Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia Blake
 * Bob Morley as Bellamy Blake
 * Christopher Larkin as Monty Green
 * Devon Bostick as Jasper Jordan
 * Lindsey Morgan as Raven Reyes
 * Richard Harmon as John Murphy

Guest Starring

 * Jarod Joseph as Nathan Miller
 * Dichen Lachman as Anya
 * Joseph Gatt as Tristan

Quotes
~Rayleigh to Bellamy before they leave camp. ~Bellamy to Rayleigh about a course of action. ~Belleigh moment before preparing for war ~Rayleigh and Bellamy before the war begins. ~Jasper to Rayleigh as he makes his way to the drop ship to assist them, ~Rayleigh's declaration of love
 * Rayleigh: "You did good here, Bellamy."
 * Bellamy: "Eighteen dead."
 * Rayleigh: "Eighty-two alive. You did good. You should be proud. I know I am."
 * Bellamy: "Looking to you, Princess Commander. What's it gonna be? Run and get picked off out in the open, or stand and fight back?"
 * Rayleigh: "Bell, wait! Be careful out there. If anything happens, and you get hurt, you get your ass in this ship, got it?"
 * Bellamy: "Yeah."
 * Rayleigh: "I can't loose you Bellamy."
 * Bellamy: "You won't. You'll never loose me. We have another reason to live besides our younger sisters."
 * Rayleigh: "We have each other. Bellamy."
 * Bellamy: "Everything's gonna be okay."
 * Rayleigh: "Don't die on me Bellamy Blake."
 * Bellamy: "Wouldn't dream of it. My Princess."
 * Jasper: "Hang tight Princess Commander, I'm on my way."
 * Rayleigh: "Bellamy, I love you."

Body Count

 * Two Delinquents prior to them leaving the camp (mentioned in death total by Bellamy).
 * Drew is killed by a Grounder scout
 * Unknown number of Reapers were killed fighting against the Grounders (heard)
 * 27 delinquents were killed during the battle.
 * Tristan is shot by a poisoned arrow by Rayleigh Griffin
 * At least 300 Grounders were killed during the battle.
 * Unknown number of Sky People died when their stations exploded or crashed trying to reach Earth.

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode marks the end of The Princess Commander story.
 * The Ark comes down to Earth
 * Rayleigh declares her love for Bellamy
 * At the end of the episode, Rayleigh is on an operating table and flat lines. She comes back to life after Time of Death was called. It's often said that coming back from death changes a person, this foreshadows the title for the next season "Embracing Darkness".