One of my many guilty pleasures has been watching The 100 since it debuted in 2014. The 100 is a post-apocalyptic science fiction drama television series developed by Jason Rothenberg, loosely based on the book series by Kass Morgan. At first it seemed like a typical CW show: good looking young actors portraying teens who will hook up with one another and experience angst. But the series found its footing over the next few episodes, and focused more on the post-apocalyptic world, with a dystopian society thrown in for flavor.

I’m going to assume anyone reading this has an interest in the show, knows the story and has seen the series finale by now.  Also, there are a lot of writers out there who make a living off reviewing The 100, so this post won’t be so much a review of what was, but what went wrong and what could have been.  I actually liked the series ending for what it was — a riff off the Battlestar Galactica ending — but only because it put an end to a season that became harder and harder to justify as each episode aired.

THEY CHOSE CLARKE GRIFFIN. This is the ending she deserved. After all the sacrifices and people she has lost, she deserved this. #The100 pic.twitter.com/GcSI9FbWEJ

— we.will.rise (@skyripa_blake77) October 1, 2020

The 100 was always about survival in a world that would rather kill you than simply let you exist.   First it was The 100 versus the Grounders.  Then Mountain Men.  Then Artificial intelligence, etc.  This formula worked well in the early seasons.  Eventually, the earth ran out of enemies so the writers brought some from outer space in the form of prisoners from the Eligius IV mining expedition returning to earth.  This would be a bit of a stretch except for two important elements.

First, if you had space stations, you presumably had space ships.  Second, and more beneficial to the storyline, the writers planted an Easter Egg midway through Season Four that most fans noticed before that season’s finale.  By alluding to the Eligius missions beforehand, the introduction of a ship returning to earth to set up the conflict for Season Five doesn’t look too much like anyone pulled something out of their asses at the last minute.

It became a different show in Season Six when it morphed into The Muppets 100 go to Outer Space.  Using the same idea as Season Five, but without any build up or bread crumps, it felt a little forced that there was this planet of humans that conveniently left earth before the bombs went off — but not too much before so they were familiar with Season Five villain turned hero Diyoza.  Once again the 100 become the invading foreigners bringing death and destruction and no interstellar immigration authority in sight.

Season Seven doubled down on credibility and completely retconned an element from the past: Bill Cadogan and the Second Dawn disciples.  Personally, I would have preferred more Becca Franko.  The storyline that Cadogan had Becca burned at the stake, a storyline that always seemed to me to lack foresight.  Becca was the Tony Stark of The 100 universe (sans iron suit) and there were more opportunities for her character other than being the answer to who invented this piece of technology that allows us to advance the plot.

 The whole storyline with the Dark Commander seemed unnecessary other than what else do we do with Madi?  Except the whole she’s a nightblood and that made her valuable to the Primes would have been enough to fill episodes.  

Season Seven had some issues outside of The 100 universe.  Not only was filming rushed because of COVID-19, but two of the actors — Eliza Taylor and Bob Marley, married in real life — experienced a miscarriage that obviously devastated them.  Marley, who publicly admits to suffering from depression, requested time off from the show.  It is wonderful that they allowed it, but as the second lead cast member, it is hard to write a story around it.

What I would have done was keep Season Six focused on the Primes and the Children of Gabriel.  Once you moved what was left of the Grounders to outer space, there was no longer much use for them and their barbaric, primitive ways…keep them in cryo storage.  

Instead of having Sheidheda try to take Madi over so fast, they should have introduced the Dark Commander arc more slowly while the Primes were busy trying to body snatch the young night blood.  You could still have the transfer to Russell Lightbourne’s minddrive plot twist.  He kills Bellamy in the first episode of Season 7, sparking unsuppressable desires of revenge from Echo, Octavia and of course Clarke.  Revenge for Bellamy!

It wouldn’t be the first time the show killed a major character.  The 100 has made it clear time and time again that no one on the show is safe. And given that they killed him off in episode 13 anyway, it would have been better to kill him in the first episode and make it the storyline of the last season.

Instead of Cadogan killing Becca, it could be shown it was more of a History became legend, Legend became myth thing where Becca faked her death using the anomaly stone.  We could lose the higher beings and ascension and focus on the humans finally doing better and have no more wars among themselves.  A society made up of Skykru, Grounders, believers, Children of Gabriel, Elgiusians (instead of prisoners) that live in a real City of Light designed by Becca.  

ah what could have been.  Oh well…

May we Meet Again

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