TVC: The 100 S1 Review
After hearing so much buzz about this show in hushed corners, and seeing an amazing amazon deal for the complete first season, I decided to do a blind buy of The 100 Season 1, and I have to admit that I was surprised with what I got.
For those who don't know, The 100 takes place roughly ninety years after nuclear war destroyed Earth. All of humanity was shuttled off into these space stations that came together to form one habitable station for the human race to wait out the nuclear fallout. Of course there are rules, very strict ones at that, and teenagers who like to break rules. Apparently there were one hundred teens hold up in juvie, and thus the adults think it's a good idea to send the bad seeds of humanity down to Earth to see if it's safe to live on. Havoc ensues, it turns into lord of the flies, and chaos is brought upon the human race.
At first glance this can easily be seen as just another YA adaptation, except it's on television and thus has more time to make you cringe, however, The 100 was able to keep this premise just above corny level for me. There are some really dumb scenes, and decisions made in this show, but the most surprising for me was that my problem had nothing to do with the plot.
Playing the first few minutes of episode one I only had one thought buzzing around my head and that was "Man, this show looks expensive," and to my surprise the quality of CG they use throughout the season is well done. It's consistent, and used in ways that help enhance the story. It's mostly used for world building, and some of the early scenes they show of Earth are just breathtaking. I'm always shocked at how many times we get to see the Space Station that humanity lives on, and at how many different angels they show us.
For a pilot, I thought it did it's job in introducing the characters I wanted to follow, gave me the taste of what this show can bring, while also giving me the essentials of where their world is right now. Unfortunately, the show discards that pretty quickly. In the pilot you meet two characters that are best buddies, but you can tell they're more of the outcasts and the geeks of this world. I thought they'd be in this season more, but other than the pilot and the last few episodes they didn't play an important role for most of the season.
The characters themselves were the biggest problem I had with this show. The main character, Clarke, is a conundrum to me in the sense that I don't know if I like her. At times she shows us that she can not only be a strong character, but also a worthy leader, but her logic can sometimes be very preachy, and forced upon others. If she doesn't like something, she almost always gets her way through force, which I don't particularly like. Another female character, Octavia, also has these strange decisions with her character. In the pilot she rejoices that her brother, Bellamy, has found her, but throughout the season she's been trying to stay away from him and pretend they're not siblings, even though their flashback shows that her character would most likely try and repair their relationship than outright ignore and go against him. Not only that, but her sole purpose on the show seemed to be going from boy to boy, not really landing on anyone specific until a good way through.
The biggest problem with the characters are that they're all extreme in their beliefs. Clarke will go to unimaginable extremes to get her way, little girls will think and do things that girls her age wouldn't do, Bellamy takes charge and acts completely different than he did in his flashback. Every character seems to be motivated by extremes, and it bothered me a lot throughout this season. If there ever were a deciding factor on whether or not you'd watch this show, it'd be based on this. At times they're so extreme it's annoying, while a few times it actually made for something interesting.
The plot for the whole season overall was nice. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming, and the brutality in this show seemed to escalate as the season went on. There are some characters I was rooting for, and the mystery of the first half of this season was one of the biggest reasons I kept watching it. I thought it was shot well, and for being set half in the woods and half in space I have to admit the sets were well done. There is a lot to like about this series.
Overall, I'd say the biggest hurdle you'd have to get over to like this show are the characters. They can annoy you so much, and yet sometimes you'll get a great scene with certain characters that makes you think this show is good. Other than that, I loved the world building, the creative twists they put in, and the emotional scenes. The season ends on a good cliffhanger, making me interested for season two, and so far I'd say that this YA property is just slightly better than the majority of what's out. If anything at all, I think The 100 is a guilty pleasure for most people.
C+
