The 100 is airing the penultimate episode of the season this week and it appears we have come full circle.
The series appears to be resetting the amount of Skaikru on the ground back to 100, the same as it was with the original 100 at the beginning of the series.
After Octavia won the conclave and chose to share the bunker with all of the clans, that left only 100 spots for members of Skaikru to survive Praimfaya.
Earlier in the season, Skaikru was preparing to ride out the radiation inside Arkadia, another solution that only had 100 spots.
Clarke made a list of 100 names and some of our favorite characters were not chosen to survive.
Now here we are again with the characters of The 100 having to make impossible choices and decide who lives and who dies.
Granted, the audience certainly doesn’t know the majority of Skaikru, most are just background characters.
It would be easy to assume all of the name characters would be safe, but being The 100 and as the earlier list showed us, no character is ever truly safe. It is very possible someone we know and love doesn’t make the cut.
Who lives, who dies and the consequences of these choices, will weigh heavily going forward.
Lets take a look at who’s safe and who might have to face Praimfaya in this week’s episode, The Chosen:
Probably Safe
Bellamy
Bellamy is the one who helped open the door and stopped the Skaikru coup of the bunker. This alone should give him some degree of clout.
Not to mention Octavia has specifically decreed that Bellamy has a spot in the bunker. As winner of the conclave and savior of the other clans, her authority on this matter is unlikely to be questioned.
Octavia
Octavia won the conclave so if anyone should have a seat reserved it is Octavia. She is a free spirit and doesn’t like to be caged after growing up under the floor on the ark, so she will not be thrilled with life in the bunker.
Still, I think Octavia is a fighter and she will tough it out and likely be safe.
Clarke
Clarke is as close to a main protagonist as this show has. As the heroine of the show I think she is safe for the time being.
The flame of the commander is still out there and as far as we know Clarke is the last nightblood. I find it hard to believe that Clarke will never take that flame and become the commander as her dearly departed Lexa before her.
Death in some ways is peaceful and a relief, the world and all its cruelties can no longer hurt you. Clarke will always be denied this.
She is the character who has to live with the weight of all the deaths around her, her friends, loved ones and enemies. They all stay with Wanheda and though heavy, she bears this burden of leadership.
Miller
Although he is definitely part of the B-team, Miller has been part of the group from the start.
He has come into his own periodically but hasn’t been elevated this season quite as much as other B-team member, Harper.
It is for this structural reason I don’t think he will die. We haven’t spent a lot of time with Miller recently therefore his death wouldn’t have as profound an impact as someone elses might.
Monty
Despite the fact that Monty isn’t even at the bunker yet, I do think he will be safe.
It just seems unlikely that both Jasper and Monty would die this season. It creates far more drama for Monty to have to live with the death of a friend he could not save.
Monty is also highly skilled so he will be a desirable member of the bunker community.
Toss-up
Jaha
Jaha is already in the bunker and despite his long history of horrendous decision making, he is one of the leaders of Skaikru.
The only reason I put him in the toss-up category is because he was partially responsible for the attempted coup of salvation.
He was adamantly against sharing the bunker with the grounders and was willing to sacrifice Kane and Octavia to this end.
Something tells me he will continue down this path in this episode and that may have dire consequences.
Kane
If the trailer for this episode is any indication, Kane and Jaha will be going up against each other in this fight for the bunker.
It is quite possible only one of them will survive. Kane may find that his diplomatic and egalitarian approach will get him killed at the hands of an angry populace willing to do anything for a chance to live.
Abby
Abby is an interesting case. Last time we checked Abby had a stroke in her brain thanks to the remnants of ALIE.
Raven has figured out how to reboot her brain and allow it to heal, but will she be able to do the same for Abby?
Will she even get to Abby in time? If the spots in the bunker do come down to a lottery it could set up the type of emotional agony this show does so well.
Should Clarke or Kane not get a spot, Abby might give up hers, knowing she is unhealthy, in order to save someone she loves.
Murphy
Murphy is a character that is at times loathsome and at others quite sympathetic. I tend to think that the show needs him around as a bit of a contrast.
He is pretty self-serving while everyone around him is trying to save their people and the human race.
I could see Murphy, in a rare act of true selflessness, giving up a potential spot to save Emori.
In Danger
Emori
Although she is a grounder, as far as I know, Emori is no longer part of any clan.
Therefore her spot in the bunker would likely have to come from one of Skaikru’s number. Emori herself is pretty useless.
She has been deceitful in the past so the powers that be might not be very inclined to give up a Skaikru spot for her.
Her best hope is that Murphy can weasel his way into keeping her safe somehow. Still, her lack of a clan may spell the end for her.
Harper
Harper wasn’t on Clarke’s original list of 100 survivors for Arkadia. If there is some sort of evaluation of worth, will she make the cut this time?
She is still back at Arkadia and has to make it to the bunker. This journey is likely to be perilous with the death wave fast approaching.
If and when she reaches Polis only uncertainty awaits her. Although she just made the choice to live and declared her love for Monty, I do not think she is safe.
If anything the fact that she made a choice to live, only to have that choice ripped from her would be the height of tragedy. And well, this is The 100 after all.
Raven
Raven is arguably the most irreplaceable character from an in-show reality standpoint.
She is an electronic and engineering genius and those skills will be needed to survive five years in the shelter.
Based on the episode description it appears that Clarke and co. will be heading out from Polis to rescue Raven.
They will undoubtedly face various obstacles if they are to bring Raven back alive. It would be easy to think that Raven is safe because she was resigned to death and almost died.
TV logic would dictate that because she had a brush with death she won’t be killed next. I’m not so sure.
This is The 100 and it doesn’t always play by those rules. In real life you can survive a war only to get hit by a car crossing the street.
Reality doesn’t bend to tropes and expectations and neither does The 100.
This is all just speculation.
The 100 can always throw a curveball our way. It is entirely possible that those who I have deemed safe are doomed to die. Time will tell, but we are in for an exciting prologue to the season finale.
Here is a trailer for the episode:
The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW