Back to the Beginning – Rewatching Season 1 of ‘The 100’ During the Show’s Hiatus
CW’s cult hit The 100 is on a short hiatus. The episode airing July 15 was the last new episode for three weeks. The sci-fi drama returns on Wednesday, August 5. In the meantime, I thought I’d refresh my memory from how we got from The Ark to the ground to Planet Bardo.
It’s a journey that spans thousands of years in just 7 seasons. The twists and turns of The 100 can be confusing, yet enthralling enough to keep fans watching. Even through the Mount Weather and City of Light storyline duds.
The 100 Debuted in 2014
The CW channel gears toward the teen audience with shows rich in drama and/or sci-fi. In 2013, the network announced an upcoming show that centered around a group of teenage outcasts forced to learn how to survive on their own.
The pilot aired in March of 2014.
The premise of The 100 sends the adolescents to a post-apocalyptic Earth from their home in space. Their mission is to see if it’s survivable. Prior to coming to Earth, they lived in space on The Ark, a collection of 12 space stations connected together. However, time and oxygen are running out in the station and Earth is the only alternative. Watch the original pilot trailer below.
Despite the rather low ratings, The 100 has not only survived for 7 seasons, it’s become something of a cult hit among fans.
Season 7 Will Be The 100‘s Final Season
The showrunner announced that the show’s current Season 7 will be its last. However, a possible prequel is on the table. In fact, the backdoor pilot for the sequel, Anaconda, aired on July 8. CW has yet to announce if it will order it to series or not. But during the recent Comic-Con at Home, showrunner Jason Rothenburg said the prequel “answered a lot of questions” fans have about the show.
I’ll be honest. I’m not into sci-fi much. In fact, the only reason I gave The 100 a shot is because former soap actress Paige Turco was in a lead role. It is a testament to how entertaining the show is that I’ve been watching since Season 1. I may not know what is even happening in any given episode, but I’m along for the ride.
Thinking about the final season made me try to remember how the characters got to Planet Bardo in the first place. So, I went back to the beginning and binge-watched Season 1. But I couldn’t stop there.
While it’s doubtful I’ll get through all 6 ½ seasons before next week’s new episode, I’m currently on Episode 3 of Season 3.
Rewatching Season 1 of The 100 is a great reminder of why I fell in love in the show in the first place. And why I kept watching despite the pretty terrible story arcs of Seasons 2 and 3. If you have yet to watch The 100 and plan to do so, stop reading now. Spoilers abound.
Things I Forgot Happened in the Early Seasons of The 100.
One of the first things that kept me watching after the pilot is the show doesn’t shy away from killing main characters. One of my huge TV pet peeves is the “will-our-main-character-live-or-die” anticlimactic cliffhanger. Not only do deaths happen on The 100, they are often completely out of nowhere and extremely gory. The gorier, the better!
During the cast’s Comic-Con at Home panel, several of the stars admitted that they worried about their character’s fate every episode. In fact, many of the main characters killed off during the show’s run came back to say their final goodbye. Or in The 100 speak, “May we meet again.”
While binge-watching the first three seasons of the CW show, I was surprised all over again by some of the minor and major plot twists. These forgotten twists include:
- Jasper’s crush on Octavia
- Finn’s entire existence
- The Raven/Finn/Clarke love triangle
- Raven sleeping with Bellamy after Finn’s death
- Johnny Whitworth from Empire Records guest-starring as the bad guy in Season 2.
- Clarke’s bisexuality
- Emori and Murphy’s Season 2 meet-not-so-cute
- Echo appearing in Season 2
- …and more I’ve forgotten again.
I still don’t recall how The 100 (or what’s left of them) got from The Ark in Season 1 to Planet Bardo in Season 7. But rewatching Season 1 is a great reminder how great the show was at the beginning. And hopefully will be at the end. Jason Rothenburg teases that fans will “look at the entire series differently” with the series finale airing later this summer.
If you’re looking for a new show to binge during the lack of new television, check out The 100. It’s wild and wildly entertaining. The 100 returns to CW on Wednesday, August 5. It will be episode 10 in a 16 episode final season.
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