The 100 - Season 1

The 100 (2014)

Broadcasting Station: The CW

Number of Episodes: 13

Official Synopsis: Ninety-seven years after nuclear Armageddon destroyed our planet, humanity’s sole survivors live on the Ark, an aging space station experiencing overpopulation and inadequate resources. When faced with difficult choices, the Ark leaders [...] decide to send 100 juvenile prisoners back to Earth to test its living conditions.

With the survival of all in their inexperienced hands, The 100 young people must learn to rise above their differences and forge a new path on a wild and dangerous landscape that teems with radioactive waste, turbulent weather and unimaginable predators…or face the ultimate extinction of the human race!

Official Page

Official Trailer

STEPH SAID

Rating:

Review:

I did not expect that! At all. This is a CW series, so I thought this will be a Hunger Games/ Pretty Little Liars mash-up. And while it still has some of the CW's traits like forced love triangles and such, it isn't a soap opera catering to teenagers. This series is actually really dark, gruesome, and gory. In fact, some scenes were so brutally graphic, they made me feel uncomfortable. However, that didn't dampen my enjoyment of the series.

One of the things that I first liked about this series is the raw humanity of it and in it. Even though the story takes place more than a hundred years into our future, and people are living on space, the thematic of this series cannot be further from our reality. Many philosophical and psychological topics were undertaken: questions of right or wrong, life or death, anarchy or order. When The 100 reach the ground, a state of anarchy, where they thought they did “whatever the hell [they] want”, was instated. But, things started to get complicated when they found themselves under attack from a unknown group. A makeshift government was created and decisions about who lives or dies, or whether to torture a prisoner or not emerged. This series presents human with only the most basic instinct in their mind: survival. They'll do whatever it takes. They don't take time to moralize or think about the repercussions; they only wanted to survive. That, I believe, is why this series is so alluring.

Another interesting fact about this series is the lack of a proper, main antagonist. Most characters are a shade of gray. Some are darker, some are lighter. We see “good guys” doing questionable things, and “bad guys” saving people. Most characters are just moving in this pool of gray throughout the series. Some of them even surprise you with their decisions. In the end, you care about the characters you hated in the first episode and vice versa. But, I'd say only one character is completely good, and one completely bad. One sacrifices himself for the greater good, the other stabs everyone on the back. So, the series has a pretty good balance there.

Unfortunately, not every character is good, or interesting, or even likable. The men are really good, and they get better with every episode. The women, on the other hand, leave much to be desired. Not one of them was consistent. Octavia seems like a badass chick. The “I'll do whatever the hell I want” type. Until her big brother tells her to stay put, and she does. Raven, even though a little too egotistic for my taste, could've taken any guy in a fight or in an intelligence match. Yet, she pines for one guy for most of her onscreen time. And, the main character, Clarke, is insufferable. She is way too uptight. She is the type of person who makes decisions against everyone's counsel, and then complains because it went wrong. In all fairness, she started showing signs of improvement near the end of the season.

But, none of this matters, because two-thirds into the story, each remaining episode greatly conveyed the drama and the thrills concerning the impending war. That was all I cared about in the end.

So, give it a chance. If you let it, this series will surprise you as well.