The last week or so I've been watching The 100 which is a post apocalyptic action drama which has been running for 4 seasons now, I thought I'd get up to date before season 5 starts in April, I thought I'd do a review on the show as it seems to be a bit of an unknown, at least here in Australia. I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible.

Plot

The show is set 97 years after a nuclear war has obliterated civilisation. Humanity's last hope lies in the Ark, a purpose built space station that houses the last of the human race. Set to return to earth when it becomes habitable once again. But due to population overcrowding and an ailing life support system the Ark has made the decision to send 100 juvenile delinquents to earth to see whether the earth is habitable so that the people of the Ark can return to Earth and begin rebuilding the human race.

Story review

The 100 starts off pretty well, not the usual slow meandering pace of other shows of this type. It throws you into the turmoil of what's happening on the Ark from the get go. From there the backstory gets fleshed out as flashbacks or stories being told which is good, they don't spend to much time going on about the story or building anything up you're literally thrust in to the story which really engages you from the outset.

Actors and Characters

The actors are mostly unknowns or bit part actors but don't let that put you off, the acting in The 100 is really well done, I never looked at the actors as actors but as the characters they're playing and they have all had to put in some really hard yards. Most of the main actors have had to really stretch themselves to breaking point in some scenes, never does it feel forced or beyond them. The character development is also really good, they all start off as delinquents, no hopers, ne'er do wells. But as the things that happen to them along their journey their characters start to shift and change with the horrible things that have happened and with the choices that they've had to make. I never felt though that they lost the original characters thought processes, it all seems very organic and exactly how I think their thought processes would pan out.

Choices

The choices that the main characters have had to make throughout this series are some of the most harrowing and just absolutely crushing choices I think of any series I've ever seen before, including shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. I can't imagine having to make some of the choices that they have had to make throughout the series, how any of them live with themselves is anyone's guess. They could make a telltale game based on this series and it would be pretty fun I think, having to pick between the one and the many or who lives and who dies is part and parcel of those games and would work really well with this series.

Anger

While watching this series there have been so many emotions that I have had to deal with, but none more prevalent than anger. The things that happen, and keep happening to the people of the Ark and also the decisions of a few of the characters are absolutely angering, not because of bad story but in fact the opposite. It's so well written and makes you feel so much for the characters that the decisions they make directly influence hundreds of other people and that can make you hate someone with such a burning rage that you'll love the moment they get torn apart or killed in revenge it's great storytelling in that way, and as such I couldn't look away.

----------SPOILERS FROM HERE----------

(I'm trying to be as vague as possible from here on so as not to spoil such a great show for those that haven't seen it)

Season 1

Season 1 starts upon the Ark with "The 100" being rounded up and forced on to the drop ship that will take them from earth and from the moment they land on earth they are at odds with one another. Being the underage delinquents they are, alliances and gangs immediately start to form, and the leaders emerge to take up their mantle. The 100 are not only being forced to make do on a planet they know very little about, but they are being forced to live there with very little supplies, and very little survival training. The 100 have lost all communication with the Ark and they are trying to get word to them that Earth is survivable. The Ark life support has continued to die and with no word from The 100 and no idea who is alive and who isn't the survivors from the Ark are left with an impossible decision and the only possible recourse is to bring the Ark to ground and whoever survives, survives. But what they don't know is that they aren't the only ones who survived the Apocalypse, there are others and they are savage and hardy warriors.

Season 2

There are 3 factions that we know of from this point, The Ark survivors, the grounders and the Mountain Men this season deals with the uneasy alliance between the Ark survivors and the grounders as they tackle the Mountain Men who, like the Ark survivors have been cut off from the rest of the world, but have been holed up in a military bunker for the past 97 years rather than a space station, they are technologically advanced but have a serious weakness to the ambient radiation of earth due to living in a hermetically sealed bunker, they haven't been able to naturally adjust to the world around them. They however have been using the grounders and ark survivors as test subjects to increase their tolerance and even skip the symptoms all together. The grounder commander and the leaders from the Ark are working together to release the prisoners from the clutches of the evil mountain men.

Season 3

After all of the issues they have had with the Mountain Men the truce with the Grounders and the Arkadians has worn thin and a new threat arises in the from of "The City of Light" in which the original chancellor of the Ark and one of the original 100 go in search of, and what they find is not quite what they were looking for. Meanwhile the Arkadians and the grounders are in the midst of a political upheaval and have to deal with the repercussions from the previous skirmish against the Mountain Men, and the misguided actions of the new chancellor.

Season 4

After the City of Light and all of the political upheaval in Polis (the grounder capital city) there is news which is of dire consequence to everyone on earth. A nuclear fire has been foretold, everyone on earth would perish should they not find adequate shelter. They have seen so much heartache and have had to deal with impossible situations but would this finally be the end of humanity? A warrior from Arkadia takes the mantle of Commander by defeating the finest warriors from the 12 grounder clans but can she bring everyone together before they all die in the Praimfaya.

Final Thoughts

I've really enjoyed The 100 so far and am looking forward to season 5, no other series has had me this enthralled as this one has for quite a while. The characters are bold and memorable, the stories are imaginative, heartbreaking and uplifting. Everything about this show has me glued to the screen I honestly cannot fathom what is going to come next I'm quite excited if the ending of season 4 is any indication this season could be very interesting!