It all comes to an end this Wednesday, September 30.

This may be a relief for some The 100 fans who have been less-than impressed with the show’s direction in the final season. 

Showrunner Jason Rothenberg spoke to TVLine about what he hopes that final hour-long episode accomplishes especially after the penultimate episode left many questions that needed to be addressed and much to be desired. 

“We’re going to try and wrap up as many things as we can,” he said. “It’s a finale — and it’s a series finale on top of that — so there will be some surprise guests. Fans can have expectations of a certain scope and scale that I feel we’ve always been able to achieve in these finales.”

The final episode also marks his directional debut. 

“This was a difficult season, because we also made a pilot within the season in the middle of everything,” he explained. “And because we shot the pilot so late in the season, I went right from being on the set of the prequel to prepping the finale. … It was definitely a challenge, but I’m glad I did it. I kind of wish I’d done it earlier, so I could have four or five [episodes] under my belt now, but it would have been a regret had I not.”

He even explained that the final scene from the penultimate episode, which saw Clarke deciding to relieve Madi of her pain and suffering, was intended to kickoff the series finale. 

 “I actually wrote and directed that scene,” he said, adding, “But the finale was too long, so I had to put it at the end of the previous episode. That episode originally ended prior to Clarke making the decision to euthanize her child, so there was going to be a little more time — at least in the audience’s mind — before she got to that decision.”

Rothenberg seems to believe that he’s achieved what he intended for the finale and even promises some “surprise guests.”

“If the finale gets a little trippy, as seems pretty likely if Clarke and Co. are in for a test on top of the war, then all bets could be off and we could see the returns of some dearly (or not-so-dearly) departed characters,” he said. 

Here’s the official synopsis for the series finale: “After all the fighting and loss, Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and her friends have reached the final battle. But is humanity worthy of something greater?”

The penultimate episode of a series will tell you everything you need to know about the finale. Will there be enough time to wrap everything up? Are characters headed towards endings that make sense for them? Is the message the show is trying to leave us clear? Based on this week’s episode of The 100, next week’s series finale will likely not meet any of those criteria.

An hour that should’ve been spent on wrapping up relationships arcs and setting up the last big obstacle our characters have to face included a lot of filler moments. Over the years The 100 has introduced way too many new characters that they don’t know what to do with. Any effective character development ended after season four, and we’re now left with a plot that’s too ambitious that we have no emotional connection to.

This Could’ve Been Avoided

And unfortunately, these final episodes are tainted by the loss of male lead Bellamy Blake. It’s not lost on the audience that every other character is getting a death scene surrounded by the people they love and a traveler’s blessing. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It’s hard not to imagine how Bellamy would’ve been able to save Madi from her fate. The only reason he wasn’t in that room with Cadogan and Levitt is because Clarke wasn’t able to trust him. It would’ve been nice if she could’ve at least tried to understand where he was coming from. She wouldn’t be completely alone if she did.

It’s incredibly frustrating to see Clarke continuously push the blame for Bellamy’s death on anyone but herself. His faith didn’t kill him, she did. His death is not comparable to anyone else she’s lost. This wasn’t a Finn or an Abby situation. He was still himself and she had many other choices. It doesn’t make narrative sense to show us Bellamy crying and begging Clarke to trust him and telling her that all he wants to do is protect everyone only for all of his friends to agree that he was too far gone to be saved. If they wanted to write a brainwashed Bellamy, they should’ve done it. But instead, Clarke seems heartless and out of character. It’s a shame that Bellamy was only worth anything to the people he loved when he agreed with them.

Octavia only wants to honor the memory of the brother that would give up anything for her. She won’t acknowledge the man who developed a sense of agency and found something that brought him comfort and peace. Even in death, he’s still mistreated.

Under The Rubble

The only good parts of the episode were involving Emori. I’m really hoping she pulls through. She’s the hidden gem of The 100, and it would be a shame for her to not get a happy ending.

Murphy and Emori are easy to root for. They’re a great match. It’s been nice seeing Murphy care for someone other than himself. His desperation to find her underneath the rubble was the most in-character thing we’ve seen this season. The conversation they shared while Jackson was cauterizing her wound was adorable.

I especially liked the part where Emori was describing how happy she was in Sanctum and how she finally felt like she mattered, only for Murphy to intercept saying that she always mattered to him. Who would’ve thought John Murphy would end up being apart of the only good couple left?

Raven and Emori’s friendship was a bit more developed than the rest of the relationships built on Skyring, so their moments together also felt meaningful. Everyone’s become so self-sacrificial lately but hopefully Raven continues to be stubborn and Emori & co. travel to Sanctum instead of Bardo.

What’s The Point?

The entire final sequence was sickening to watch. It’s disturbingly written, and the way it’s shot makes your skin crawl. The 100 brands itself as a series that pushes boundaries and isn’t afraid to face the dark sides of humanity. But there comes a point where enough is enough. The show’s become another egregious example of what happens when you become addicted to making your characters suffer and just end up creating torture porn. What’s the message you’re trying to give your audience? That no matter what you do, you can never be happy? That there will always be worse things ahead?

Isolating your protagonist from everyone she’s ever loved isn’t bold storytelling, it’s just bad. It’s exhausting to watch. And to show a child left behind in that kind of state? There’s no shock value or benefit to going to such a dark place. It just upsets your audience without adding anything to the narrative.

There’s not much else to say about it.

Stray Thoughts:

• Clarke and Gaia’s scenes felt hollow. Their relationship isn’t developed enough for any of their moments to have meaning. Same can be said for Octavia and Levitt.
• On the other hand, Gaia’s moments with Indra felt well-earned. They’ve fought over faith for a long time, and they’ve come a long way.
• Should we be expecting Clarke to go full Daenerys in the finale? Without Madi, she apparently has nothing left to fight for.
• Jordan always feels out of place. They never really figured out what to do with him.
• I pray I never hear the words “go float yourself” again.
• Clarke humming the same song she hummed to Atom in 1×03 when she mercy killed him would’ve been really powerful in any other instance.

What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below!

After the disaster that was last week’s episode of The 100, I didn’t think it could get much worse. But it did.

Another pointless episode revolving around side characters with half-assed backstories and a graphic death of another man of color at the end. Every character felt off, relationships were erased, and we had to watch Gabriel “die” not once, not twice, but three times.

Chuku Modu’s performance has been the only bright spot of these past two seasons, and he will be greatly missed. He would’ve been a great candidate to take the test to save mankind. I’m glad he was given the traveler’s blessing, and I know he said he was ready to go, but you would think Clarke would at least attempt to patch him up in some way. She’s been the show’s resident medic since the first season.

However, we’re not dealing with Clarke anymore. Our lead character has been replaced with a shell of what she once was. Any fan of the show knows that Clarke would have never killed Bellamy, let alone defended her decision. When Clarke killed Finn all the way back in season two, it was under very different circumstances. She was saving him by killing him. Even then, she beat herself up about it for quite some time and hallucinated him in the next episode out of guilt. Everyone around her, Raven, in particular, were harsh on her afterward. But this time around, Clarke is coddled.

Clarke doesn’t show any remorse. She cried for a minute, but it felt artificial. She defends her choice, and actively lies that she did everything she could when we all know there were a million other ways she could’ve gone about it. She killed Finn when she was surrounded by an entire Grounder army with no other option, but she killed Bellamy when they were alone. There was one, maybe two other people in that room with them, and the only person who was a danger to him was her. Her hands were not tied. She could’ve shot his arm, shot the book, shot everyone else in the room before even considering killing Bellamy.

I love Clarke Griffin, and this isn’t her. It feels wrong to criticize her actions when it’s clear that the character we once knew doesn’t exist anymore. She’s become a plot device. It’s hard to care about a story when you no longer feel connected to anyone in it. Clarke Griffin died when she shot Bellamy last episode, but unfortunately, this week the rest of the cast went along with her.

We didn’t even see Octavia mourn her brother. She didn’t hesitate for a second before hugging Clarke and telling her it was okay that she killed her brother in cold blood. How is this the reaction of his only blood relative? She had just started to finally understand Bellamy and everything he did for her after her time on Skyring, and then she immediately forgives his murderer? That’s just bad writing.

The Blake sibling relationship has been rocky for a while, but to be comforting the other’s murderer? Yikes. Especially considering Octavia was there when Bellamy was begging Clarke to trust him on this whole transcendence thing. He was so emotional and passionate in that moment and spent the entire time emphasizing how all he wanted to do was save them. How is he a different person now? Just because he doesn’t agree with you? He still fought for you and did his best to ensure you would get the salvation he knows is possible.

None of them ever deserved him.

Miller and Madi’s reactions to his death were the only ones that worked narratively. Miller hasn’t been close with him for a while, but he still expresses remorse over not patching things up with him while they could. It was a nice tribute to one of the original friendships of the show.

Miller’s small moment of mourning felt earned. He really hasn’t spent that much time with Bellamy. But what about his so-called family of Spacekru? Just a few tears and a hug for Clarke? Come on. They spent over half a decade with the man, you would think they’d be more upset about his sudden death. Echo went off the deep end on Skyring and Bardo in pursuit of him but now accepts his death immediately. Bellamy, and what he meant to everyone, has been erased completely.

Madi was completely valid with her anger at Clarke for making such a terrible decision in her name. She should be mad at her for constantly using her as an excuse each time she betrayed her closest friend. Clarke doesn’t let Madi be her own person, just like the series hasn’t let her be her own character.

Madi’s speech after Gabriel died was exactly the same as Charlotte’s speech all the way back in season one. She doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt over her, so she’ll put herself in danger to save the rest of them.

She sends herself to M-CAP, making Bellamy’s death meaningless. It was already a poor narrative choice, but it feels like a kick in the gut that they ended up in the same situation anyway. Two men of color died to keep Madi safe, and she ended up on Bardo regardless. Neither death was necessary, and neither one needed to be so graphic.

Brutally killing off characters of color for shock value (Lincoln, Shaw, Pike, Anya for example) will be the lasting legacy of The 100. It’s shameful.

Stray Thoughts:

• Echo and Niylah’s backstories served no purpose whatsoever. It was forced and pointless.
• What was the point of Bellamy and Echo’s relationship? She never even told him her name and then hugged his murderer. They should’ve never been a thing.
• Hope and Jordan are sweet, but it feels horribly out of place with such little time left.
• Clarke’s lack of reaction to killing Bellamy is so wildly out of character I need to mention it again because it bothered me so much.
• If they’re going back to Bardo, what was the point of stopping on Earth? What was the point of Gaia being there alone? Who took her there? Why does this season not make any sense?

What did you think of the episode?

How many characters are you mad at this week? All of them?

Do they even deserve to win the last war?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!