REVIEWED: SEASON 6 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: ALL 4, APPLE, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, MICROSOFT
After the Earth’s final destruction, the end of Season 5 saw our heroes fleeing their home planet aboard the Eligius transport ship. The survivors enter cryosleep, leaving only Harper (Chelsey Reist) and Monty (Christopher Larkin) awake to monitor the Earth’s condition. 125 years pass. Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Bellamy (Bob Morley) are awoken by Jordan (Shannon Cook), who reveals himself to be Monty and Harper’s son, and he explains that Earth never recovered and as such, his parents had to go searching for a new planet. In time, they discovered the coordinates to an old Eligius colony, though not before succumbing to illness and old age.
Faced with a new world and a dying plea for them to “do better”, the refugees head down to this strange planet with the intention to start anew. Predictably, however, it’s not in the cards for our show favourites to find peace; as they are welcomed into a seemingly idyllic society, things begin to unravel when a dark secret is exposed, and it becomes clear that doing better won’t be so easy.
The brand new setting is a chance for the show to rediscover the hopeful, adventurous spirit of the first season, as Wonkru learn what set of rules govern this world. It also refreshes and revitalises the storyline of ‘we found a home then destroyed it’, which had threatened to stagnate in the last season.
These thirteen episodes pack a lot in – questions of right and wrong, of the loss of self, of religious indoctrination, fake news, the meaning of deity, forgiveness and loss, of consciousness and memory, of humanity itself, are all put to the viewer. The show provides few answers, but something which The 100 has always done well is to leave the viewer with much to contemplate, long after the screen goes dark.
Clarke, Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) and Murphy (Richard Harmon, on top form) take centre-stage, each character following their own, engrossing journeys towards a hope for redemption. The characters all bring along their emotional baggage from previous seasons, which not only prevents this new world from feeling isolated from what came before, but also allows for more emotional development and eventual catharsis.
Perhaps this latest chapter’s only real issue is the subplot around Madi (Lola Flanery) and Sheidheda, as her consciousness grapples with the evil commander’s corruptive memory. It seems to work only as a way to remove a major player from the developing conflict between Wonkru and the ruling class on Sanctum, the Primes.
However, while this may be a mark against Season 6, it may not prove to be a weakness to The 100 as a whole. This season is best understood as part one of a two-season storyline, as the finale poses more questions than it answers and leaves many narrative threads suspended. We are heading straight for the endgame, and the show isn’t here to coddle the audience with a cosy conclusion.
