The 100: Understanding the challenges of leadership

On The 100, leadership tended to be a burden, and no one understood that better than Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake. Rising to leadership in season 1, Bellamy and Clarke spent the first four seasons actively working to make the best decisions to save their people.

But, not everyone always approved of their choices, and two of their closest friends that often showed their annoyance toward Clarke and Bellamy’s judgments were Octavia Blake and Raven Reyes. Octavia spent most of her time as a warrior while Raven worked as a mechanic. Although they both would end up participating in Bellamy and Clarke’s plans, they still showed their dislike for how Clarke and Bellamy lead Skaikru.

When Praimfaya hit, things on The 100 changed. As the winner of the Conclave, Octavia would naturally rise to a position of power. Octavia never planned on being a leader, but with Bellamy in space and Clarke stuck on the Earth’s surface, Octavia needed to step up without the two people who had the most experience in leadership.

Although Octavia had Indra, Kane, and Abby to help her, Octavia’s circle became smaller as things got progressively worse. Suddenly, she was Blodreina leading Wonkru through the problematic years where they were uncertain if Wonkru would ever leave the Bunker.

Abby’s idea is for Wonkru to become cannibals to consume protein when the hydrofarm stops working. However, it becomes Octavia’s responsibility to enforce the rule, which includes forcing Kane to agree as others follow his example. However, things continue to worsen for Octavia as Abby abandons Octavia afterward, even though it had been her suggestion.

During the six years spent in the Bunker and the rest of season 5 once Wonkru is released, Octavia stays in a strong position, understanding the hard choices Clarke and Bellamy constantly had to make. The options were not always what Octavia wanted to do, but for the survival of the human race, Octavia was forced to act in ways she never anticipated.

Octavia’s time as Blodreina changes her. By the time she reunites with Clarke and Bellamy, Octavia is a drastically different person, desperate to deliver Wonkru to the valley and ensure the best future for them.

However, Octavia’s time on Skyring in season 7 allows her to see a different side of leadership and see-through to her redemption. Octavia receives a similar treatment to Clarke’s season 5 isolation with Madi. Octavia, stuck with Diyoza and baby Hope on Skyring, has nothing to do other than make attempts to get back to Sanctum and try to make the best of her situation.

These experiences help Octavia understand Clarke’s season 5 decisions, as Hope is to Octavia what Madi is to Clarke. However, her time away, in addition to her years as Blodreina, gives Octavia an advantage as the war on Bardo begins. Octavia has been a warrior and has understood peace, which allows her to save the human race from extinction in “The Last War.”

Raven Reyes, however, finally gets a glimpse of what it means to make the hard choice in season 7’s “False Gods.” After several seasons of calling out Clarke’s choices, even the ones Raven had asked her to make and helped achieve, “False Gods” finally puts Raven in the hot seat, asking her to make the impossible decision.

A nuclear reactor is a source of the problem that could kill everyone on Sanctum, but the only way to fix it is to send people with welding experience into a radiation-filled room. Raven sends the Eligius prisoners to do the job, effectively putting their lives at risk.

Raven’s decision to lie to the prisoners if it gets them to do the work she needs is only the beginning, as one of her following choices to ensure everyone’s survival is to send Murphy into the room and lock the door. Although Murphy and Hatch, the last prisoner to die, achieve their jobs, “False Gods” leaves Raven Reyes with one huge lesson.

The 100 uses this as an opportunity to teach Raven about the burdens of the gray area. Raven has never been in this position before and is distraught by the deaths she has caused. Although Raven’s actions, such as her inventions or engineering knowledge, have resulted in casualties before, it has never felt so personal. Raven made the decisions and was entirely responsible for the occurrence in this case.

This is the first time Raven has understood the emotional ramifications of the hard decisions. She struggles afterward, even questioning how Clarke can handle the aftermath and not break down, even though that is not true.

Raven has always played an integral role, but leadership had never been her function in the group dynamic. The 100 finally corrects that in season 7, making a bold move of showing Raven precisely what it means to make decisions that she never thought she would. Leadership and making hard choices are a burden, but they allow the characters to understand each other better.

The 100 has never backed away from showing the harsh realities of what it means to make the impossible choices. Lives are constantly at stake, and after so long of struggling to understand how Bellamy and Clarke could make such controversial decisions, Octavia and Raven are finally given a chance to comprehend what it means to be in a position to make that choice or how it feels afterward.