Television Review: The 100, Season 5

Programme: The 100, season 5

Company: Bonanza Productions

Year: 2018

Synopsis: In the aftermath of Praimfaya, the 100 must begin again. With Season Five, our heroes have to examine their responsibility to the new place they call home, and the future generations who will inhabit it. Can they begin again and celebrate what remains, or will the frailties of human nature cost them their one chance to rise from the ashes?

When you reach a fifth series, it can be dubious as to where the plot will go. Characters can stagnate and the story arcs reach a far-fetched level just to come up with something new. After not being convinced by the last series of The 100, I had my doubts going into series 5.

It’s fair to say the show left the books behind long ago. But I enjoyed this series more than I thought I would.

Characters

Series 4 was about character development. Lines were being drawn in regards to who were the heroes and who were the villains. The core group of survivors had to band together if they were going to survive the destruction of the Earth – again.

Now, six years later and Earth is inhabitable again. Clarke has survived at ground level with an adopted Night-blood, Madi. Octavia has set herself up as a firm ruler underground, where violence and bloodshed has become the norm. Bellamy and Co. have survived six years in space, although while some relationships are strong (Monty and Harper), others have become fractured (Murphy and Emori).

Our heroes aren’t the only ones to realise Earth is inhabitable though, and it was de-ja-vu when they yet again find themselves at war just to try and survive. Only this time, they’re the Grounders.

There were some interesting twists though. By this point, our characters have done some unspeakable things to survive and it’s starting to show. Octavia is a far cry from the innocent girl who first landed on Earth and anyone who crosses her will meet a violent end. Kane is tired of all the fighting, and he isn’t alone. Bellamy wants to keep his family safe and Clarke will do anything to protect Madi – even from herself.

Plot/Themes

Despite Octavia’s fighting pits and lust for war, the series didn’t feel as dark as previous ones had. There was no clear line between who was on the right side of the war, which led to some interesting character development. Clarke and Bellamy aren’t always united, while Bellamy has finally taken off his blinkers when it comes to Octavia. These changes alone stopped the plot from feeling slow – there was no guarantee as to who was going to betray who.

I admit, though, that not every episode held my attention. The group ends up split, meaning there are multiple plots going on at once. It felt disjointed and there were times when I had completely forgotten that certain people were still running around the woods two episodes later waiting for their story arc to come back around. While there was a steady building of tension, this changing location/character stopped it from climaxing until the final episode.

I’ll also admit, however, that the final ten minutes on the final episode were quite emotional. It felt like the next series could either be a repeat of series 1, or send the show in a new direction. I hope there is a sixth series – I’d like to find out!

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