5 reasons The CW needs to green light The 100 prequel

The 100’s latest episode promised big things to come if its prequel series is picked up — and The CW absolutely should green light it.

Last week’s episode of The 100 took fans all the way back to the first time the world ended, with Bill Cadogan explaining his story — and how he came to be on Bardo — to Clarke and her friends. And while the episode gave some fascinating insight into the series as a whole, it also served a much bigger purpose: It was the backdoor pilot for the show’s potential prequel series.

There have been whispers about The 100‘s prequel, which will be called Second Dawn if greenlit by The CW, for quite some time now. And with the original series ending after this season, introducing a new story set in this world would certainly fill the void fans are bound to feel after Clarke and her friends take their final bows.

But sating viewers’ needs isn’t the only reason The CW should jump on the opportunity to bring this prequel to life. If “Anaconda” is anything to judge by, Second Dawn is bound to be a successful spin-off series that tells gripping new stories and ties them back into the original series we know and love. That’s not an easy balance to strike, but it’s one the latest episode has already proven it can handle.

If you’re still on the fence about whether The CW should give Second Dawn a chance, though, here are a few more reasons it should.

We’re Already Invested in Callie

A compelling story needs a compelling protagonist, and The 100’s prequel promises to deliver on that front, following the very first Flamekeeper, Callie Cadogan. Bill may not be a likable character, but Callie certainly is, and we’re already invested in her story after a single 40-minute episode.

Callie is different from Clarke in a lot of refreshing ways, meaning that Second Dawn isn’t likely to feel like The 100 is being rehashed with different faces. Her character wants to do what it takes to survive, but she’d also rather not sacrifice her own morals to do so — and that sets her apart from the rest of her family.

And from the end of “Anaconda,” it seems like Callie will be running from her family — most notably, her father and brother — in Second Dawn. That already sets up an interesting dynamic, but knowing that her character is also responsible for making the Grounders what they are in The 100 also leaves the prequel with plenty of questions to answer. And it couldn’t have picked a better lead to fill in those gaps.

(Plus, let’s be real: We could use more science-fiction series with badass women at the helm.)

A New Perspective on Becca

Becca Pramheda served as a villain for The 100‘s third season, wishing to bring all of humanity into the City of Light. But even if she was an antagonist to Clarke and her friends, there’s no denying Becca’s had one heck of an interesting life. Her studies brought about much of what fans witness in the current timeline, and she’s repeatedly tried to help humanity and their chances of survival — even if her methods are, er, questionable.

Being one of the most complex and influential characters from the original series, it’s only fair that the prequel would dive further into Becca’s backstory. And although “Anaconda” seemingly showed the end of Becca’s life, it’s probable that Second Dawn will offer both flashbacks and references that will continue building on her character.

The History of the Grounders

The early seasons of The 100 introduced fans to the Grounder clans, each of which is fascinating in its own right. Unfortunately, with the world ending — and Lexa, and then Octavia, persuading the Grounders to come together — fans never really get an in-depth history of all the clans.

It feels like a missed worldbuilding opportunity if The 100 viewers never get to see where the 12 clans came from, and that alone is enough reason to give the series a spin-off. Could Second Dawn explain why the Ice Nation held so much hostility toward the other clans? Could it help us understand why the Grounders began worshipping the Flame in the first place? There are so many questions to answer, and we hope Second Dawn gets the chance to address them.

Forming the Ark

If The 100 prequel is greenlit, it’s not just the Grounders whose backstory will be illuminated. The backdoor pilot mostly focused on Cadogan and his followers, but showrunner Jason Rothenberg confirmed that the prequel could also delve into how the Ark came to be.

The 100 opens with all of our characters living on the Ark, residing in space until Earth is survivable again. But whose idea was it to build the space station, what was the transition from Earth to the Ark like, and how did the ring’s governing forces come to be?

It would be fascinating to watch all of this play out, and with any luck, the prequel series will allow us to do so.

There’s More to Explore

When it comes to spin-off series, one of the biggest questions creators and fans have to ask is this: Are there still stories to tell in this universe? In some cases, fans may question why anyone would want to visit a particular time period or place in this world (ahem, The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds), but in many cases, there are still major aspects of the source material left to explore.

That’s certainly the case with The 100, which was never able to venture too deeply into many of the worldbuilding aspects of its show. With Clarke and her friends constantly trying to survive the next threat, there was never time to explain how the Ark truly came to be or what the Grounders were like before we met them.

But those are all questions that fans would love to see answered, and the prequel series could offer real depth to this world. That’s probably the biggest reason The CW should move ahead with it.

What did you think of this week’s episode of The 100? Would you like to see Callie’s story continued in a prequel series? Tell us in the comments below.