The 100
(the HUNDRED, not the one hundred, mmkay?)
This show is... amazing. It's better than amazing. There aren't enough words to describe how much I now love this TV series. I'll come clean, until a day ago, I had only seen gif sets about The 100 on Tumblr - I had no idea what it was actually about or anything. So, like every fandom loving teenage girl, I went on a binge and watched the entire series in a day. Given there are only 18 episodes so far, I guess that isn't that big of a deal, but it was so worth it! If you haven't already watched it, do it now!
Okay, enough fangirling. The 100 is a post-apocalyptic drama, thriller, SciFi... thing based on the book (The 100) by Kass Morgan, developed by Jason Rothenberg.
The story line is set 97 years in the future, almost a century after nuclear warfare wiped out almost all of the people living on Earth. The only people who were believed to have survived the nuclear warfare are the inhabitants of 12 space stations in Earth's orbit. At some point, the 12 stations came together to form one huge station that they dubbed "The Ark," where around 2,500 people lived. Since resources are limited, every crime, no matter how severe, is punishable by death - unless you're under the age of 18. Eventually, The Ark's life-support is found to be failing. In come 'the 100,' juvenile prisoners labelled "expendable" in a desperate attempt to determine whether or not Earth is inhabitable once again.
Once on Earth, the 100 have to learn how to survive on the beautiful, but very, very dangerous planet they now live on. From struggling to form a well functioning community to, fighting for their lives to, relationship drama - these teens have to deal with it all. Of course, it's not just the animals or the environment itself that is trying to kill them, once they learn that not all of humanity was wiped out by the war. Grounders, their most common enemy, as well as much worse monsters; Reapers and Mountain Men (Fine, fine. Maybe not all of them, but I really don't like them).
As the series continues, you also watch life on The Ark and how the future humans' society works (one huge drama, if you ask me), which leads on to the next season.
The main cast are;
Clarke Griffin
played by Eliza Taylor
Clarke is totally badass, though sometimes a little contradictory of herself, but when you get past that she's awesome. She's the co-leader and medic of the 100 and is the main character... well, pretty much. Anyway, she's smart, kind-hearted and very strong willed. You'll get it when you see the show, but she's all about saving people, well her people (the 100), mostly. Although she has a lot of her own problems, she puts everyone else first, which seems to be something that the 100 really needed when they started out on the ground. Clarke's character is a little more complex than I thought in the beginning, which makes it all the more interesting to watch, as her character is developed more deeply. In my opinion, she's like the mom of the group and Bellamy is the dad, they even bicker like an old married couple.
Bellamy Blake
played by Bob Morley
Now, Bellamy is interesting... he's an ass, but he's also a little lost puppy. He'll do anything to save his little sister, especially considering he snuck on to the dropship just to protect her, but he'd also like it if he could save his own ass, very much so. In the beginning, I think everyone watching wants to hit him over the head a few times, but later on he's just too awesome. He is the other co-leader and the head of security for the 100. Although he makes quite a few bad decisions, he is a good leader and does everything he can to keep the 100 alive. He also has lots of his own problems though, especially when it comes to his sister, Octavia. Despite their problems, however, it's very obvious that they would do anything in the world to protect each other. I love his character and seriously hope everything works out for him.
Finn Collins
played by Thomas McDonell
Finn is funny, brave and kind-hearted, but goes down a much darker path in the second season. I still love his character, but he's a little scary now. Anyway, he is the tracker for the 100 and was Clarke's closest confidant. He was arrested for illegal spacewalking on The Ark, which led to many people nicknaming him "Spacewalker." He doesn't really say much about his past, so far, but he grew up with Raven. While at camp, in the first season, he was pretty much always peace seeking. He thought outside the box, in the sense that he didn't just follow the crowd blindly and stood up for what he believed was right. In season two, he becomes much less hesitant to do things he never would have done in the first season.
Octavia Blake
played by Marie Avgeropoulos
Octavia is a very stubborn and independent girl, which is both good and bad throughout the series. She's a very strong character, who is continuously rebelling against practically everything (especially her brother) and gets a lot of attention from guys, most importantly Lincoln. While on The Ark, she lived in secret under the floor of her family's quarters for almost 16 years, since The Ark has a strict one-child-only rule. Because of her inability to explore as a child, she is very free spirited and adventurous when they finally reach Earth. After being found out, she was arrested, becoming one of the 100. She helps Clarke a lot with being a medic and gathers information on the grounders through Lincoln. Although she's impulsive and flirtatious, Octavia cares deeply for the 100 and later on some of the Grounders.
Jasper Jordan
played by Devon Bostick
I love him! He's outgoing, adventurous and is always trying to cheer people up (like Raven). He usually isn't afraid to speak his mind, he is very headstrong and usually goes into battle rashly. He is traumatized by grounders very early in the series, but bravely continues to protect his friends despite it. He is in Bellamy's militia and is the main chemist for the 100. Throughout a lot of the series, Jasper is infatuated by Octavia, often trying to be brave or risking his life for her. Jasper and his best friend, Monty, were arrested on The Ark for stealing herbs and making drugs from them, but on the ground they very quickly become friends with the 100's two leaders (and, of course, their help). Jasper is another character that would do anything to protect the people he cares about, though this sometimes puts him in a lot of danger. He and Monty can never not be friends. Seriously, it would suck and I would probably cry.
Monty Green
played by Christopher Larkin
Monty is very smart and is always trying to use that to help the people around him. He is also tech-savvy and a loyal friend. His intellect is a very valuable asset for the 100 as well as his knowledge of pharmaceuticals, due to his family being in charge of them on The Ark. He tried to regain communication with The Ark, but couldn't manage with the very little equipment he had. Once Raven arrived with the radio, he helped her communicate with The Ark. He is exceptionally devoted to the people closest to him and is always trying his best to keep them safe. He is an amazing character and I would really like to see much more of him in the second season.
Lincoln
played by Ricky Whittle
Lincoln is the first Grounder the 100 properly come in contact with. He seems to be a very caring person, but definitely doesn't trust the 100. He is loyal to his people, but when Octavia is involved he is willing to do anything to protect her. He doesn't think what his people are doing, pretty much trying to slaughter the 100, is right. He saves Octavia's life repeatedly, trains her to be a warrior and teaches her some of the Grounder's language so that she can protect herself. He forms a type of alliance with Finn, which is why he is willing to listen to him about creating a truce. I like Lincoln a lot and I really hope he'll be around for a while. I think he's the first step in peace with the Grounders and stopping the Reapers and Mountain Men.
Raven Reyes
played by Lindsey Morgan
Raven is incredibly intelligent, as well as brave and selfless. She does not back away from a challenge and is repeatedly willing to sacrifice herself for her friends. Raven is also very independent, strong willed and ready to break the rules if it mean it would help her friends. She doesn't seem to like admitting weakness and she seems to always want to be doing everything she can think of to help her friends herself. I really like her because she's always trying really hard and staying positive for as long as she can. She looks out for everyone as well as she can and seems to be very calm in situations where others would panic. She also seems to be a little short tempered, when it comes to the people she cares about being in danger. She is very helpful to both The Ark and the 100, since she was on The Ark first, but then landed on Earth in a pod she built herself. On The Ark she was one of the top three engineers and the youngest Zero-G mechanic in 52 years, but on the ground she is the top engineer.
Abby Griffin
played by Paige Turco
Abby is the chief medical officer on The Ark, which helped to keep her from punishment when she broke the rules to do the things she thought was right. She isn't afraid to face the consequences of her actions, just as she isn't afraid to stand for what she believes. She is a fierce woman and seems to know what she's doing. Right from the beginning, she was the most hopeful about Earth being habitable again, not only because her daughter was on Earth, but also because she knew from the beginning that The Ark wasn't going to be able to sustain them much longer. She is always worried about Clarke, but she seems to see Clarke as a child, even after she had risked her life and almost died many times to keep the 100 alive. Abby is willing to do everything in her power to keep her daughter safe, but doesn't seem to realize that Clarke doesn't need her protection as much anymore.
Marcus Kane
played by Henry Ian Cusick
Kane is a bit of an ass. Like, seriously, he is such a selfish douche in the start. It just really annoyed me when he was just following the rules, not thinking about what could be better for them, but he redeems himself later on. I like Kane later on in the series, but when they reach Earth I got annoyed again because he was pretty much telling Bellamy and the others that they were just a bunch of kids who didn't know what they were talking about and they should learn to follow the rules and all that. The 100 were sent to Earth to die. No one really thought Earth was habitable again, but since the 100 were "expendable" they tried it anyway. The 100 weren't really expected to survive, but they did and now that they managed to save the entire human race, Kane tells them they should just sit back and let the professionals handle it. I understand that Kane is a very motivated and determined person, doing everything he can to save the human race as a whole, but he should let the 100 carry on as they have more or less. He should give them a chance. In any case, he's an alright character, determined to save everyone, but he's also very cold and unyielding.
Thelonious Jaha
played by Isaiah Washington
Jaha is the Chancellor on The Ark, meaning he's in charge of everything and is the one with all the power. He seems to be a very caring and trustworthy man, though has sometimes made terrible decisions that he thought was going to save everyone, but ended up making things worse. In the end though, he is one of the only people who were willing to really give the 100 the chance they needed and to help them any way he could. He does everything he can to protect the human race, but is also open minded and tries to think of the individual people's needs as well. He is organized and willing to put himself in danger in order to protect his people. I really like Jaha, he's usually the balance between what the human race needs and what the people need. He's kind and selfless and he's just an amazing character.
There is a very long list of recurring characters, but I'll just leave that for if you ever decide to watch the show.
Anyway, back to fangirling. I think this show is brilliant and if you haven't already watched it you should! It's a very complex and interesting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat every step of the way. I cannot wait until the next episode, it's just too good. I'll probably be watching it again tonight. Seriously, even if it doesn't sound like something you would like, just give it a shot. Trust me, it might end up being exactly what you were looking for.
This post is already very long compared to most of the ones I do and it's taken me a few hours to write this all up, so I'm going to end it here.
Any other Bellarke shippers out there?
May we meet again.
~The Elf
