Dystopias are the New Vampire: 7 Reasons to Watch The 100

If you’ve spent any time on the blogosphere lately, you might have stumbled across stories of a show called The 100. Here’s a quick premise: nearly a century after nuclear warfare has decimated the planet, the surviving members of the human race exist solely on a dying space station, prompting a desperate mission to the radiation soaked planet.

Interested yet? You’d be in good company since this show appears to be taking the internet by storm. Reviewers from Vanity Fair to MTV all agree that this post-apocalyptic drama is without a doubt the Little Sci-Fi Show That Could.

To pay homage to such a great series, here are 7 reasons to watch The 100.

1) Post-Apocalyptic Shenanigans

Let’s be honest, Dystopias are the new Vampire, and everyone is hopping on the same boat, fruitlessly trying to put an original spin on an otherwise played out fad. The Hunger Games, Divergent, Mazerunner… the list goes on. The net spreads even wider when you include post-apocalyptic TV shows like Revolution and The Walking Dead. So heading into a new series that combined both seemed to be setting us up for more of the same. But The 100 sidestepped that issue entirely by giving us a totally new take on the genre. The enemy here is not some hoard of zombies or an evil overlord, it’s the simple feat of staying alive in universe that seems determined to kill everyone. With the kids down on earth, the adults up in space, and the deadly Grounders running around the woods, their world is constructed so elegantly that you can’t help but get sucked in.

2) The Characters

I’m convinced these writers are working some kind of black magic behind the scenes because there is not one single character on the entire series whom I have not liked. Sure, there’s the psychotic bully, the do-gooder princess, the Machiavellian council member, etc., but none of these characters make me roll my eyes or hit the fast forward button. All of them are so richly developed that I’m just as excited to watch Clarke go toe-to-toe with Bellamy as I am to see Chancellor Jaha fight it out with Kane. It’s a testament to amazing writing and great acting that each character feels like a well-rounded individual after just a few short episodes.

3) So Much Action!

Probably due to their shortened first season, every episode of The 100 is jam packed with story, emotion, and action. There is not one minute wasted or one subplot that can be dubbed ‘boring’ or ‘filler’. Its fast pace is what makes it such an engaging show to watch, so much so that I’m guilty of binging on a re-watch of all 13 episodes of Season 1 over my Christmas holiday. Eating and sleeping become second priority when the fate of the human race hangs in the balance!

4) Feminism for Days

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this show is the way they treat their female characters. Too often on TV, it’s seems like women are simply around to serve the stories of their male counterparts. While the dudes get awesome story arcs, girls tend to get pigeonholed into one of two boxes: the damsel or the ass-kicker. The 100 blows that trend to smithereens, putting its female characters front and center and giving them plots that defy any attempts at boxing them in. They are the villains and the warriors, but also the doctors and the shoulders to cry on. You get your fair share of kissing and love stories, but those are interspersed with the latest death defying stunt of heroism. I’m telling you, Raven Reyes is the way, the light, and the truth for feminist writing.

5) The Fandom

You can’t discuss a show like this one and not spend a good deal of time talking about the amazing following its acquired. Like any good cult classic, the fans of this show would do just about anything to see it get another season (seriously, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a discussion about bribing the execs over at The CW flitting around on Twitter). These guys regularly dominate online polls, and their constant promotion of the show has landed it a spot in the Top Social TV Rankings for months. You’d be hard pressed to find a more dedicated or enthusiastic fan base.

6) Dark Themes

At its heart, this is a story about the survival of the human race, so the show is fraught with complex and troubling themes about survival. What would you do to stay alive, and how would that change you? One of my favorite quotes comes from the pilot when Abbey and Kane are discussing what lengths they will go to in order to keep the human race alive. Abbey (the acting moral compass) makes the powerful statement, “I choose to make sure that we deserve to stay alive.” Needless to say, this show is not for the faint of heart. The sometimes-graphic violence and ever-present threat of extinction don’t exactly make for the chipper ‘Teens in Space’ vibe you might be expecting.

7) They Kill Their Darlings

A constant issue with high stakes TV shows is that our favorite characters are constantly put in life or death situations, and they miraculously come out on the ‘Life’ side of things a little too often. So often in fact, that the stakes get less and less threatening because you just know everyone will make it out okay. Makes for kind of boring TV, huh? Don’t worry, The 100 practically makes a sport out of killing off beloved characters, to the point where literally NO ONE is safe. I won’t spoil anyone, but I’ll suggest that when you get to episode 1×05, “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”, you keep the tissues close by.