Echo’s childhood backstory led to nothing on the 100

The 100 first introduced Echo as one of the captured Grounders in Mount Weather. She spent some time alongside Bellamy in cages until her escape, which brought Echo back to her clan, Azgeda. Afterward, she is an opponent to Skaikru.

As a spy, Echo holds many skills, and before she goes into space in “Praimfaya,” she is already an intriguing character. However, in season 5, Echo’s loyalties have shifted from King Roan and Azgeda to Bellamy and the other members of Spacekru.

While Echo being a spy and her skills as a warrior were shown, The 100 never divulged Echo’s history until season 6 with the episode “Ashes to Ashes.”

“Ashes to Ashes” has Echo reveal the truth about her origin story, including that her given birth name was Ash and that she had taken her friend’s identity. Echo tells the story as a way to convince Ryker against killing her. The story itself is exciting, and while it should add another layer to Echo’s character, it sadly falls flat.

For one thing, Echo was already a compelling character. She was a highly-trained warrior, had exciting friendships after the time jump, and had noticeable character development. However, Echo’s backstory doesn’t do much in the grand scheme of things, except acknowledging she was not the original Echo.

Although this reveal explained Echo’s childhood, it does not change her personality or current relationships. Niylah is the only person Echo directly tells later on. Echo explains that she never even told Bellamy the truth before his death. Unfortunately, none of the show’s main characters learn about Echo’s backstory, so they never get the chance to discuss it with her.

While interesting to learn, Echo’s backstory does not change anything for her character or the series as a whole. However, given how significant it was to Echo’s life personally, it probably should have held more weight.

But, The 100 waited so long to show the plot twist about Echo that it did nothing for the series. Echo remained just as much a well-developed character as she had before “Ashes to Ashes.”