When it comes to storytelling, The 100 has had its ups and downs like any series. But which season was the strongest? Here’s our ultimate ranking of each one.
Like any television series that’s been given a decent run, The 100 has had its ups and downs over the past seven years. The fandom has railed against the show’s decisions on more than one occasion, but longtime viewers have also continued to tune in to see what this science-fiction series would do next — and whether humanity was, in fact, worthy of survival.
That question was finally answered (sort of) during the show’s series finale, bringing the story of the 100 delinquents sent to Earth to a close once and for all. And with season seven officially over and done with, we can officially decide where it falls among the rest of the show’s installments.
If there’s one thing that can be said about The 100, it’s that its earlier seasons had a certain heart that became harder to find as the show continued. Still, there are bright and dark spots in every season of The CW’s science-fiction series. So, what’s our definitive ranking from worst to best?
Season 7
With the series finale over and done with, it’s officially safe to say that the seventh and final season of The 100 is its most polarizing. And that’s not without reason. Although the show’s ending hammered home some interesting and relevant messages, the endgame ultimately went back on many of the themes the series had previously emphasized. (For example, “You don’t ease pain you overcome it.”)
While the seventh season also brought fans some long-awaited resolutions and character moments, it made questionable decisions regarding The 100’s two biggest players: Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake. These two have been at the center of the series from the very beginning, and having them not just turn on each other — but do so fatally — was a blow to the fans who had come to adore their relationship, platonic or otherwise. (It also, again, went back on Clarke’s promise to never forget that Bellamy’s her family, too.)
Of course, the seventh season isn’t without its redeeming moments. Though the pacing at the beginning — and the somewhat convoluted time-travel plotline — could have been improved, the final episodes took fans on a suspenseful and emotion ride, whether the conclusion was something they personally enjoyed or not. Watching Raven Reyes and Octavia Blake save humanity was also a redeeming moment — as was getting to know some of the show’s side characters a little better after all these years.
Season 6
Had The 100‘s seventh season not undone some of the critical character development that took place over the years, there’s no denying season six would be the worst of the bunch. Although the sixth season opened with a promising premise — the Grounders and Skaikru discovering an all-new planet, one where they’d try to do better — it wound up recycling old storylines, and not in a way that was particularly groundbreaking or interesting.
One plot point it didn’t recycle from its previous seasons was the body-snatching — but unfortunately, the show never really took enough time to flesh this storyline out, and so the Primes felt like underwhelming villains who popped in for a season before we moved on to bigger things, like time travel and transcendence. This leaves season six in a weird place, standing out against the rest of seasons in an awkward way.
Of course, the addition of JR Bourne is one of the highlights of this season. And no matter how fans feel about Russell Lightbourne or Sheidheda, there’s little doubt that Bourne’s performances throughout The 100’s last season are applaud-worthy.
Fans of Bellarke will also find some happy moments in season six, despite the two characters not actually interacting very much. Bellamy’s determination to get Clarke back into her own body is both heartbreaking and compelling to watch, and it’s one of the few arcs that truly stands out from this time period.
Season 5
Octavia Blake and Charmaine Diyoza carry The 100‘s fifth season on their backs — and had their storylines been the only ones the show chose to focus on after its five-year time skip, this season might find itself much higher on this list. There’s no denying that fighting a war over the last survivable land on Earth — and destroying it in the process — is very on brand for The 100. And despite the plot playing off themes we’ve seen before, it never felt stale.
Much of that has to do with the underground bunker storyline, which is portrayed brilliantly by Marie Avgeropoulos. Octavia’s descent into madness and tyranny is a villain origin story done right — and it never fully paints the character we know and love as unredeemable, even as she inches closer and closer to becoming so.
Seeing the characters who have spent the past six years in space change into more mature, responsible adults is another one of the small joys of season five. The relationships formed up there became some of the highlights of the later seasons — when they weren’t completely dismantled — and they certainly made Monty and Harper’s losses more painful during the fifth season finale (which is arguably where the writers should have wrapped up and called it a day).
That said, season five definitely marks the downfall of Clarke’s character. Countless critics have commented on how Clarke is minimized to a motherly figure and nothing more during the later season of The 100 — and a toxic one at that. This is where fans first see just how far Clarke is willing to go to protect Madi (and how irrational she’s willing to become). Perhaps we should have known season seven was coming after watching season five.
Season 1
As with any series, The 100 had its ups and downs with its first season. It’s to be expected that a show will need to find its footing when first starting out, and to The 100′s credit, it managed to do so fairly quickly. What started as a typical YA dystopian romp quickly evolved into a series tackling much deeper subjects. And as the plot progressed, fans came to love even the most controversial characters.
What’s so great about The 100‘s first season is how easy it is to return years later and fall right back into the delinquents’ initial journey on the ground. From the back and forth between Bellamy and Clarke, to the war between the Grounders and the delinquents, to the drama of the Ark dying in space, there’s so much to love about the show’s early episodes. And despite only being in this world for a short amount of time, it’s easy for fans to become invested in each and every one of these storylines.
Of course, there are aspects of season one that feel a little cliché, especially after watching the show evolve. Clarke’s relationship with Finn — and their uncomfortable love triangle with Raven — could easily have been dropped, for example. There are also some moments left open, which happens when a show is just starting out. (Those giant worms returned later, sure, but did they ever serve a purpose? And what ever happened to the two-headed deer?)
Season 3
The third season of The 100 is one of the show’s darkest and most political outings, and it made for a solid follow-up to the beloved second season of the show. One of the strongest elements of season three is that it shows the series’ women in their element. Clarke, Lexa, Octavia, Indra, Echo — they all shine throughout these episodes, and that’s always been enough to hold our interest. In particular, the scenes where women are making decisions that impact the fate of humanity stand out.
Of course, season three also deals with the fallout of Mount Weather and the tenuous relationship between Skaikru and the Grounder clans. Getting to see Polis and witness how the Grounder clans interact with and govern one another was an entertaining ride for anyone who enjoys political storylines. And even the City of Light, for all its flaws, managed to bring the third season to an action-packed, suspenseful conclusion.
Sadly, The 100′s season is tainted by a few things. One, the show’s killing of Lexa was enough to convince half the fanbase to stop watching. Engaging with the “bury your gays” trope is something that, sadly, will go down in the show’s history no matter how hard the writers tried to make up for it later on. And Lexa’s death wasn’t the only controversial one to come out of season three.
In fact, just one episode after killing the commander, The 100 killed off Lincoln, a decision that wouldn’t necessarily be good or bad on its own. But when you consider the reports of actor Ricky Whittle facing bullying on the set — and The 100‘s consistently poor treatment of characters of color — this death becomes as problematic as Lexa’s.
Season 4
The 100′s fourth season shows the series getting back to its roots, and one of its strengths is that we finally see Clarke and Bellamy interacting as much as they did in season one. These two have always been the heart of the series, and their separation during most of the seasons is something fans have lamented time and time again.
Season four also stands out — in a good way — because it shows humanity contending with a new enemy. While the majority of The 100‘s storylines focus on the tribalism of “your people” vs. “my people,” the fourth season’s primary obstacle is the human race surviving the second apocalypse. And although there’s still plenty of tribalism to be found, it’s a refreshing change of pace to have a new “villain” to contend with — one that’s not human and can’t be bargained with.
Even the political aspects of this season, though, which do show humans fighting with one another over who gets to survive the apocalypse, raise some fascinating questions about what humanity should do when the end of the world is approaching. (Octavia’s triumph and choice to share the bunker following the conclave also makes a hopeful statement about humanity, one that definitely hits harder than season seven’s transcendence.)
And speaking of, the ending of season four is heart-wrenching and could easily have topped off the series had the show went through with killing Clarke. The final episode sees Bellamy, Raven, Murphy, Emori, Harper, Monty, and Echo fleeing to space to avoid Praimfaya — and Clarke staying behind to get them there. Both Clarke’s choice to sacrifice herself and Bellamy’s decision to let her are among the most powerful moments of the series. And even if we’re glad Clarke survived, we can’t necessarily say it was for the better after everything else we’ve seen.
Season 2
If there’s one thing most fans of The 100 agree on, it’s that the show’s second season is a standout in terms of everything from plot to performance. Watching the delinquents fight to get their friends out of Mount Weather while attempting — with little success — to ease tensions between themselves and the Grounders made for episodes wrought with emotion and suspense.
The second season is the first time fans truly come to understand how far The 100 is willing to go, and Clarke’s mercy killing of Finn remains one of the most iconic moments of the series. Likewise, Bellamy and Clarke’s “together” moment before committing genocide to save their own people proved that The 100 wasn’t interested in black and white storylines, or painting its characters as heroes. For anyone who enjoys shows where “there are no good guys,” this was the moment they knew they’d be watching The 100 for some time.
Clarke’s relationship with Lexa is also one of the highlights of season two, even if it does end in a shocking betrayal one episode before the finale. The 100‘s second season made history by pronouncing its main character the first bisexual lead on one of the “Big Five” networks in the U.S., and there’s no doubt that Lexa rapidly became an iconic and beloved character even outside of her relationship with Clarke. Both of them got to shine individually during season two and ask questions about power that were all too relevant to the real world.
Season two captures the heart of The 100 without all the problematic moments and plot holes that many of the other seasons have, and that’s why it’s often lauded as the number one installment of the series. That’s definitely why it finds itself in our number one spot.
Which season of The 100 did you think was the strongest? The weakest? Let us know in the comments below!