– Let me ease their pain, Clarke. We can save the human race together.
– You don't ease pain. You overcome it. And we will.
– What do you do when you realize… you might not be the good guy?
– Maybe there are no good guys.
– There may be blood on your hands, but it's not Lincoln's.
– Some of it is.
– Maybe. But you didn't want that to happen. You tried to stop it.
– Define "perverse instantiation".
– Perverse instantiation... the implementation of a benign final goal through deleterious methods unforeseen by a human programmer.
– Like killing 6.5 billion people to solve overpopulation. The goal isn't everything, A. L. I. E. How you reach the goal matters, too. I'm sorry that I didn't teach you that.
– Give them a real choice, and I won't pull this lever. Give them back their pain, their memories. Let them decide for themselves.
– She can't. Her core command is to make life better for mankind. She still thinks she's doing that.
I used to think that life was about more than just surviving. But I'm not sure anymore. Animals don't feel guilty when they kill. They just do it. They kill, or they get killed. I tell myself that every life I took was for a reason. But the truth is, the other side had reasons, too. The Grounders, the Mountain Men, even A. L. I. E. Their reasons to want us dead were the same as ours. It was us or them. Kill or be killed – simple as that.
— We're doing the right thing.
— If you say it enough. Maybe I'll believe you.
Careful, Doc. He took a thorn out of a lion's foot. But he's still a lion.
Your mistake was liking it. Power. It's the kiss of death.
We'll figure something out. We always do.
Last two people on Earth, and one of them happens to be the child from Hell.
Some fights aren't worth fighting, Madi. Not when there's another way.
Be careful of the dark, Octavia. Too easy to lose your way.
I know it sucks. But sometimes there are no good choices.
Only a fool fights a war they can't win.
So, you see, Diyoza's not as bad as you think. And I'm not as good as you hoped.