Did you ever watch a show that kept you on the edge of your seat 24/7 and had you questioning if your favorite character was safe? Well, The 100 has all of it’s viewers feeling exactly like this.
The 100 is a post-apocalyptic drama television series which is developed by Jason Rothenberg and is loosely based on the first book in a trilogy written by Kass Morgan. It airs on Thursdays at 9:00 pm on The CW and first aired on March 19, 2014. It is currently on it’s third season and has been renewed for a fourth. The series is recommend for 16+ and the US rating for the show ranges from TV-PG to TV-14 episode-to-episode.
The series follows a group of teens which includes Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor), Bellamy Blake (Bob Morley), Octavia Blake (Marie Avgeropoulos), Jasper Jordan (Devon Bostick), Monty Green (Christopher Larkin), Raven Reyes (Lindsey Morgan), Finn Collins (Thomas McDonell) and Wells Jaha (Eli Goree). The series also focuses on Clarke’s mother and Chief Medical Officer, Abby Griffin (Paige Turco), Marcus Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), a council member on “The Ark” and Wells’ father, and Thelonious Jaha (Isaiah Washington), who is also the Chancellor.
97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth, the only known survivors lived on 12 space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark”, where about 2,400 people live under the leadership of Chancellor Jaha. Resources are limited, so all crimes – regardless of their nature or severity – are punishable by ejection into space (floating) unless the offender is under 18 years of age in which then they are locked up until their 18th birthday and then have a trial to see if they should get “floated” or not. After the Ark’s life-support systems are found to be failing, 100 juvenile prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to Earth in a last attempt to determine if it is survivable again. The teens arrive on a seemingly pristine planet and attempt to find refuge and supplies at an old military installation, Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center. However, they land some distance from the intended target and soon face other problems. Confronting both the wonders and the dangers of the new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. They soon discover that not all humanity was wiped out – some survived the war, and are now called Grounders, along with other lurking dangers: Reapers, Acid Fog and Mountain Men.
According to IMDb, many people have been saying that The 100 is just another teen drama show made by The CW but when they say that, it makes no sense. The series has strong female leads and the characters in the show are often at odds with each other on what they think the best course of action is. But then they all pull together and typically most come out okay.
Some characters like Octavia Blake and Marcus Kane have had great character development and they learned what their purpose in life was over the three seasons. Octavia went from the girl who wished she was never born to the girl who knew what she was born to do. Same with Kane, he went from the character you hated most of the time because if someone broke a tiny rule, he would have them “floated” but now he became many of the viewers’ favorite character, one who breaks the rules to keep everyone safe. On the other hand, Bellamy Blake, Octavia’s brother had great character development through the first and second season but during the current season, his character seemed to go back to the same place that he was when they had first landed on the ground.
The series started off with an interesting concept but slightly boring. In defense, most pilot episodes are because the writers have to explain who the characters are and what the show is all about. But with each episode, it gets better and better to a point where you can’t wait for the next one. Some people believe that the series is addicting because you never know if your favorite character is safe.
Recently, The series has been getting some backlash about what happened in episode 7 titled “Thirteen” on March 3, 2016. Ever since that episode aired, the viewers have been dropping like flies. According to TV by Numbers, episode 8 had a total of 1.20 million viewers that being the show’s lowest point ever since the series premiered in 2014. I agree with why it’s getting all this backlash because the way that they played out the death of a beloved character seemed rushed and poorly written.
Overall, The 100 is an enjoyable action-packed show with an interesting storyline and great characters.
