If you had to take a moment, or several, to decompress after the season two finale tonight – you’re in good company. It’s not that other CW network series don’t have high body counts, but those all seem to be of the supernatural or superhero variety these days. The 100 represents a clear shift in the network’s content, and frankly, Jason Rothenberg and the writing team behind this show put just about every other teen drama to shame tonight with the concluding part of “Blood Must Have Blood,” showcasing that happily ever after sometimes comes at the expense of quite a few innocent lives.
The 100 didn’t venture too far creatively from the general concept of the season one finale, if you think about it. The freshman season ended with a battle, notably on a smaller scale, and Clarke (Eliza Taylor) doing what was necessary to save her people – even if it meant losing some of them along the way.
Tonight, Clarke once again took a stand against an enemy, but the results were far more devastating. Given what fans had already seen her endure since escaping Mount Whether, the final scene didn’t come as big as a shock as it may have otherwise. Even so, watching her walk away from Bellamy (Bob Morley), a pair who the writers dangle in front of viewers just enough to tease what might be before putting them back into a holding pattern, was fairly devastating for the story.
It’s really been an incredible journey over the last two seasons watching the character development that has occurred. The main players have went from living in space, enveloped by a somewhat false sense of reality, to facing the dramatic transition to Earth, which has not been kind to any of them. Octavia (Maria Avgeropoulos) has managed to make the transition in her own unique way, fueled by desperation to finally be accepted, while the rest of the 100 have forged their own paths – Clarke especially.
This entire season has more or less revolved around Clarke discovering what she’s ultimately made of, and that led her to a dark place. Her natural instinct to protect the people she loves came out in full force tonight as she made another questionable decision to sacrifice an entire collective of people in order to save her own – which let’s be honest, by that point, couldn’t have been more than 40 (and that’s probably a high estimate). More surprising though, is that the writers didn’t come up with a creative solution for Maya (Ever Harlow) to survive this ordeal. Her last words only slightly lessening the tragedy: “None of us are innocent.”