I recently revisited The 100 and was curious how other science fiction fans view it today. What began as a survival story gradually evolved into a series that explored leadership, morality, artificial intelligence, tribalism, and the consequences of difficult choices. While some seasons were stronger than others, I thought the show consistently raised interesting ethical questions and gave several characters meaningful development throughout its run. For those who have watched it, which season was your favorite, which character had the best arc, and how do you think the series compares to other modern sci-fi television shows?
I watched the whole series and did enjoy most of it, so keep that in mind because this is going to sound really, really critical.
Liked the premise but I feel like it just jumped the shark multiple times, kept going, and jumped the shark again every following season.
That said, yes, you’re right that it does explore some interesting topics, but the way they did and kept raising the stakes every season just kind of ruined it. So much of it was just completely implausible even by TV science standards. And they basically rebooted the show in the last few seasons except with Space criminals replacing the grounders as the antagonists.
Conceptually, my favorite season was the first because of the survival theme, though the teenage drama kind of annoyed me (granted, it was a YA show and I wasn’t exactly the target demographic). In practice, my favorite season was the one with ALLIE. It explored ethics in AI while being a bit of a mix of The Matrix and Invasion of the Body Snatchers with a touch of zombie movie. For better or worse, it also provided the backstory of much of the series.
Best character arc? Probably the authority guy from the beginning. Forget his name, but he looked like a young, store-brand Dustin Hoffman. (Edit: Kane?) Started out as the bureaucratic jerk, went through hell and stuck to his principles when refusing to take the ALLIE chip (and they even crucified him), and became one of the few level headed characters toward the end of the show.
Worst character arc? Probably a toss up between Clark and Octavia. It’s like their worst attributes got turned up to 11.
Favorite character overall? Raven. She was basically a live-action Gadget from “Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers”.