The 100 Season Three Preview
Nine long months have passed since the groundbreaking season two finale of The 100. Who knew when this show started that 29 episodes later (and two months in the show’s universe) we would watch as the space delinquents committed mass murder to save their people? But here we are! Season three begins January 21st at 9 p.m. ET/PT, a mere three weeks away. The CW gifted us with a haunting promo and a crazy three-minute trailer packed to the gills with teasers. So what’s in store for our favorite characters in season three?
walkabout clarke
The show starts with a three-month time jump. Clarke decided to leave Camp Jaha after she, Bellamy, and Monty killed 300+ people in Mount Weather to save their people. Unable to bear what she’d done, and face the people she did it for, she walked away for the solace—and solitude—of the forest.
Instead of being alone, though, the teaser tells us that she’s with a woman. “Tell me about the mountain,” the woman’s voice says. Clarke answers, devoid of emotion, “I did what I had to do, that’s all.” The extended trailer opens with her voice again, soft and blank, “I’m no one.” Roan (Zach McGowan) replies, "There are lot of people out there looking for no one.”
So now we know that at the beginning of Season 3, Clarke’s walkabout is coming to an end. The Grounders, who now see her as a legend who annihilated the insidious Mountain Men, are looking for her. The Sky People need her. And what of her friends that she left behind?
Clarke, at the moment, sees herself as broken, probably irreparably so. Season one challenged her strength. Season two decimated her ideals and sense of self. But Clarke doesn’t quit—and those around her love her too much to let her. She will evolve.
What is Going on with bellamy?
Since the season three trailer debuted, one of the most intense fandom debates has been about Bellamy. Is Bellamy an undercover spy, in league with Kane? Is he on Pike’s side? Does he infiltrate the Ice Nation? Is he on the hunt for Clarke? And what happened between him and Octavia?!
Though he may be labeled a hero in Camp Jaha for rescuing the delinquents and Sky People from Mt. Weather, it won’t be a label that fits him easily. Bellamy suffered at the hands of the Ark hierarchy. They executed his mother and imprisoned Octavia for being born. Bellamy himself attempted to assassinate Jaha. In just 52 days he’s gone from assassin to hero. It’s a big leap, and one I think Bellamy will struggle with. Bellamy isn’t just a stereotypical hero or antihero with a heart-of-gold. Rage simmers under the surface from the moment he’s introduced in season one, and that anger has led him to make bad decisions, as well as provided fuel to keep him going despite insurmountable odds. Where does that rage go when you’re suddenly lionized by the people you despised?
In those struggles, I think he will (at first, perhaps) see Pike (Michael Beach, more on his character below) as someone who offers leadership, determination, and a clear view of the world. But who will he trust? Will he put his trust in Pike or Kane? Or himself, Clarke, and his friends?
raven, monty, jasper & the remaining 42...ish
“Maybe I’m just broken,” Raven says in the trailer. In the next clip, Monty says, “We survive together.” Taken together, this is the through-line of the delinquents. One hundred teenage criminals sent down to Earth, most likely to die, by their government. They survived acid fog, fighting with the Grounders, and Mount Weather to return to Camp Jaha traumatized. Where do they go from here?
One question that The 100 will tackle in season three is how both individuals and a society continue living and surviving in spite of intense trauma. It’s poised to explore those issues most thoroughly through the lives of the remaining delinquents. Sent to die, yet they lived; captured and tormented, yet they fought back and escaped. No one else understands them quite like they understand each other. But how do they move on? Can they?
Raven will struggle not only with her injured leg, but it seems to be with either an addiction or—possibly? —ALIE messing with her head. Maybe both? Monty and Jasper will have to come to terms—or not—with the fact that Monty, along with Clarke and Bellamy, killed Jasper’s girlfriend in Mount Weather. Miller, Harper, Monroe, and the other surviving delinquents will have to make a place for themselves in a society that rejected them. How do you do that?
Lincoln and Octavia will have the hardest time adjusting in a post-Mount Weather world. Every Grounder is seen as a threat to Camp Jaha. Lincoln is a Grounder, one who was essential to the survival of delinquents and the Sky People. Octavia bridges both societies, having been born into a society where her existence was illegal and finding acceptance—and then being rejected from—Grounders. Both Octavia and Lincoln are in limbo. They only have each other, but in the end, they might have to make a devastating choice. Which society will they choose?
The 100 chronicles not only how the individual reacts in desperate situations, but then traces the fallout on their relationships and community. The consequences of those first 52 days will play out in ways small and large, in Camp Jaha and throughout the ground.
Lexa and the grounders
Grounder society is where The 100 has an opportunity to deep-dive into complex world-building. Most of Grounder society remains a mystery to us. Lexa alluded to reincarnation in choosing Commanders, and Lincoln had drawings of mushroom clouds on the wall of his cave, but beyond that we know very little of their culture, society, or perceived history.
Season three will introduce us to Polis, the Grounder capital, as well as the twelve Grounder Clans (Ice Nation in particular, given that Brenda Strong has a recurring guest role as Queen Nia). Though capitol politics and high religion will definitely play a role this season—see the next paragraph—through Clarke’s walkabout we might get some glimpses into every day and perhaps fringe-society Grounder life.
Now, to my favorite scene in the whole trailer: Titus’ room. There are exalted drawings of a woman (ALIE?), stairs descending into a cave (Mount Weather?), a drop-pod from the Ark (remember when Lincoln mentioned finding a suicide-by-pod to Bellamy?). Candles flicker in burned-out computer consoles. An infinity symbol on the wall. And…
He’s beating the crap out of Murphy! Does that mean that ALIE and Titus—or at least Emori and Titus—are connected? Which leads me to…
jaha, murphy & alie
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Jaha whispers as the drone leads him up the hill and a brightly lit white mansion appears before his eyes. The quote is from Alice in Wonderland, and to be sure, ALIE, Jaha, and that mansion can take you on theory rabbit-hole for hours (yes, I went there).
There is a white room shown in the trailer where the woman-who-becomes-ALIE and several other scientists are standing. A man says to her, "[I'm doing] everything humanly possible to ride out the nightmare that you created." I think that room is the beginning of the Ark, Mount Weather, and ALIE—possibly even the Grounder culture as well. What were (are) ALIE’s goals? Who was the woman ALIE chose as an avatar? And most importantly—why?
While I have a lot of theories, what I can say that I’m pretty sure will happen is that the show will deep-dive into what happened in 2052, the year the bombs fell.
war
One thing is for certain: war is coming. From Camp Jaha where Pike declares war against the Grounders, to the new Grounder seemingly sitting on Lexa’s throne (Ontari, played by Rhiannon Fish), to Monty shooting a gun while screaming (!), the situation on the ground is more fraught than ever.
With the introduction of Grounder clans hunting for Clarke, the absence of a unifying threat like Mount Weather, and ALIE promising Jaha that “[they] have work to do,” we know that another—larger, more far-reaching—struggle for survival is about to begin.
While season one and two revolved mainly around the delinquents and the adults of the Ark, season three of The 100 promises to not only expand outward and through all aspects of life on Earth, but also back in time to explain how they arrived at this point. Who will survive? Who will die? And most importantly, is there life after survival?
Season Three of The 100 premieres Thursday, January 21st at 9 ET/PT.
