The most recent episode of The 100 left fans on quite the cliffhanger, with the people of Sanctum asking if Clarke is there to take them home. What home are the people of Sanctum waiting to return to?
This week’s episode of The 100 really amped up the action on the New World, with Clarke and her friends suffering the effects of eclipse-induced psychosis while those in space have a near-fatal run-in with invaders from Planet Alpha. Even though we’re two episodes into season 6, fans are learning plenty about Sanctum through the events unfolding in each episode—though “Red Sun Rising” does leave fans on a major cliffhanger at the end, especially in regards to what’s waiting for our heroes on this new planet.
From the sixth season trailers, which highlight the fact that the people on the new planet appear to be happy, it always seemed that Sanctum would be exactly what the name implies: a sanctuary. Even if viewers expected that Sanctum would pose a threat to the settlers from Earth—especially with all that baggage they’re bringing with them—most of us didn’t anticipate that the people already living there would also be suffering. If anything, it appeared that the conflict for Clarke and her friends would come from their own demons, along with their not-so-great habit of always being the ones to shoot first.
But “Red Sun Rising” concludes with a bunch of children returning to their homes after the eclipse has ended—implying that the psychosis does infect those residing on the New World—and asking Clarke if she’s come here to “take them home.” It’s a startling moment for the fans and the characters, since most of us expected that the people of Sanctum were more than content with their home and their way of life.
Given the girl’s question, however, it seems like the people of Sanctum may have been waiting to return to Earth. We know Eligius III was sent on a mission that likely led them to Planet Alpha prior to the first apocalypse. Much like those on the Ark all those years ago, their descendants might have been waiting out the radiation, biding their time until their old home was livable again. That means they are not going to be pleased to hear what occurred as a result of the war between Eligius IV and Wonkru.
And this admission that Clarke and the others destroyed the only survivable space on Earth might actually be the impetus for the conflict between the settlers from Earth and the residents of Sanctum going forward. It’s too soon to know for sure, but it certainly seems that we’ll be finding out what sort of start these groups get off to during the upcoming episode.
The 100 airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.