The 100 Season 5’s 10 Most Shocking Moments

Season 5 of The 100 did more than just reunite our favourite characters as they struggle for the existence of the human race on their apocalyptic Earth, but it also brought us even more shocking and memorable moments.

With the season following Clarke and the rest of the gang’s attempts at reaching the last habitable valley on Earth, we see a violent war breakout between Octavia’s WonKru people and new group on the block, the prisoners from the Eligius Corporation, as they fight over the land.

With the characters pitted against each other, it was difficult to keep up with every twist and betrayal throughout the season, and there seemed to be more enemies than there were heroes at some points.

So here are our 10 biggest plot twists and shocking moments from Season 5:

 

1. The Red Queen

Episode 1 of Season 5 saw the reveal of a number of things we needed catching up on, considering there was a 6 year time jump between Season 4 and 5. This included the position of our characters stuck on the Ark space station, and the circumstances of Clarke and Madi meeting.

By far the biggest of these was Octavia as the red queen of WonKru, the remaining people of Earth who were trapped in the bunker.

The 6 years underground really took its toll on humanity – the closing scene of episode 1 showed Octavia watching from a throne over a small arena of men fighting. We later find out the fighting pits are used by Octavia as a crime deterrent, forcing criminals to fight for their freedom in order to reduce disagreements and to control population.

After the revelation that there would be no way of getting the bunker reopened once the radiation had broken down, trapped in by heavy rubble and debris, chaos ensues as the clans turn against each other in fear.

With Octavia as an influential figure for the group, having secured their survival in the bunker in Season 4, she utilises the thing she knows best to ensure the human race remains alive: fighting.

Although it is a logical solution to the problem at hand, that first scene of men violently killing each other is a real shock and the dark lighting and cramped setting creates a dooming atmosphere.

We now see Octavia as a leader and a ruler for the first time and it’s a very ominous feeling as we have seen her development into a blood-thirsty killer and warrior. This scene left us begging to know more and we are shown the events which led to Octavia’s brutal dictatorship and it’s pretty sinister.

We may have suspected life would be bleak in the bunker, as the group were trapped for longer than expected, but did you expect such a gruesome environment or for Octavia to be a blood-drenched emperor?

 

2. The Death of Jaha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiinVF6bwIQ

This one upset me because I have always found Jaha’s character very interesting and I felt like his death was unnecessary considering he left the fate of the human race in the hands of Octavia, which clearly didn’t pay off.

Following an uprising early in the days of the bunker, the former chancellor and leader of the human race, Jaha, is badly stabbed and makes the decision to resign to death, believing his journey has ended, and hinting at wanting to be with his departed family.

Octavia still manages to create a violent and twisted environment in the bunker, despite Jaha’s sacrifice, and his death was slightly underwhelming. The is because the prime aspect of Jaha’s character is strength and resilience as he has survived the most dangerous and risky of situations over the years and became one of those independent characters who just kept coming back.

The highlights of some of these moments were crashing down to Earth in an empty nuclear missile, and being brainwashed and possessed by artificial intelligence, A.L.I.E., Season 4 followed Jaha as he attempted to save his people once again and find a hidden bunker, which the rest of the characters were sceptical of.

He succeeds and is the reason our characters are still alive in Season 5. In some ways, I can see the artistic reasoning behind killing Jaha off because he had succeeded in what he set out to do in Season 4 and felt his people were safe and no longer needed him.

Needing to be there for his people and guiding them was one of the major factors in what made Jaha who he was, and fuel his ability to carry on through traumatic and impossible situations which is why he never gave up.

It is definitely a pity to lose him, however Jaha’s story had come to an end and he went out on his own terms and at peace which is the best we could have hoped for.

 

3. War

We may have seen this one coming, as it was clear from the first episode of Season 5 that the Eligius ship held rebelled prisoners who had overthrown and killed the guards and staff. It wouldn’t have been likely that they would be peaceful in their associations with the rest of the world, especially considering Octavia’s dictatorship was so specific and controlled in comparison to the prisoners’ chaotic way of life.

Although Diyoza eventually made it clear that she wanted peace and order, Octavia’s character in Season 5 definitely held a grudge following the murder of one of her people by a chaotic prisoner. Once McCreary took charge of Eligius, neither side were willing to offer or accept a truce.

Both sides fought for the decimation of the other and wanted the valley, the last habitable land on Earth, for themselves. Did we expect it would go as far as it did?

With Diyoza’s motives torn between leading her people and wanting to create a peaceful community, the small civil war within the Eligius camp was definitely unexpected and, with McCreary coming out on top, it meant both sides of the war had brutal leaders who were willing to do anything to get what they wanted.

This created an on-edge atmosphere as both groups held distorted believes and had violent practices, which led to some shocking decisions, including Octavia shooting at her own people and McCreary slaughtering those who surrendered.

It was difficult to keep up with whose side the characters were on and where their motivation lay, which made Season 5 all the more tense and exciting.

 

4. Pregnant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0TzIeRHw0w

In episode 7 of Season 5, it is revealed that Colonel Diyoza, the then-leader of the Eligius prisoners, is pregnant. This was a huge shift in the position of the character because, up until that moment, she was presented as a murderer and the initiator of the rebellion.

Having her painted in a new light, as a mother and carer for a new baby, ensured the character developed and gave her something to fight for and be inspired by. When Diyoza spills her secret to Kane, they bond over the idea of creating harmony in Shadow Valley and building a village with a school.

This is the turning point for McCreary to take over as the main villain, a surprising twist as it’s first implied Diyoza would be the big bad throughout the season. Her menacing neck scar and her hard facial expressions initially presented the character as dark and intimidating. Making her a mother changed our perspective of her completely.

Her character became kinder and more accepting in order for her baby to grow up in a safe environment. However, things are never that straight forward for The 100 and it turns out the father of Diyoza’s baby is McCreary.

Discovering that Diyoza and McCreary were intimate at one point was a surprise, as they have completely different morals and motivations, and spent the majority of Season 5 arguing and hating each other. It then begged the question as to whether the baby will follow after their dad’s violent attitude or not.

Ultimately, this plot twist definitely made Diyoza appear more vulnerable, which meant she was no longer your stereotypical villain and that the viewer could relate to her. This just made choosing which side to root for even more difficult.

 

5. Poison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avwfsDPn41c

After Octavia announces her plan to march on Shadow Valley and engage in all-out war with the Eligius prisoners over the last survivable land on Earth, something occurs which we have never seen before: Bellamy poisons Octavia.

Brother and sisters on the show, Bellamy and Octavia have had their fair share of disagreements and have been strongly against each other at times in the past. However, they always seem to be at least on speaking terms and have never harmed each other no matter what the situation.

Furthermore, as Bellamy struggles to find a way to prevent the war, he makes a tricky decision and reluctantly poisons his own sister in order to persuade her people to surrender and to receive safe passage into Shadow Valley.

Using some of Monty’s first batch of hydro farm algae which previously put Murphy into a coma, Bellamy prays that Octavia will recover in a few days and wake up like Murphy did. However, it’s clear that it’s still a risky move and he couldn’t be sure Octavia would respond to the poison in the same way; Bellamy could have lost her forever.

This was definitely a turning point in Bellamy and Octavia’s relationship. Bellamy has clearly known for the past couple of years that Octavia has become more violent and more brutal, however he has still always been there for her no matter what.

Poisoning Octavia was the moment of realisation for Bellamy that he had nowhere else to go and the only way to stop Octavia from making a huge mistake, was to put her in harm’s way. This was obviously very difficult for Bellamy as his character has always been protective over Octavia, even when they disagreed on things.

It was also a huge moment for Octavia as well as she not only got attacked by the person she trusted more than anyone, but this sparked the awareness that her brother no longer likes who she has become and can no longer be protective over someone he completely disagrees with.

 

6 . Abby’s Addiction

Suffering from chronic pain, and having to struggle with the events and the atmosphere in the bunker for 6 years, we see Abby become addicted to painkillers, which forced the character into confusion. This carried a particular impact considering Abby is almost always shown as cool-headed and logical, being a doctor, and we’ve never really seen the character at such a low and dark point.

This brought new challenges for Abby, including treating patients and making decisions, and affected the people around her who had to tackle with trust issues. Abby makes multiple promises to Kane in regards to giving up the pills but continues to take more, and Clarke must force her own mother to endure withdrawal in order to save her.

The most traumatic and devastating scene in this storyline was when Abby turns against Raven, a character she previously had been extremely close with, in order to help McCreary in exchange for more pills.

Completely hooked and blinded by her addiction, Abby lies to Raven by saying that McCreary threatened to harm her if she didn’t get a medical machine working to help McCreary’s people. Raven puts her trust in Abby and fixes the machine and, when she discovers the pills Abbie is being given as a reward, Abby electrocutes Raven to stop her damaging the equipment. This is so hard to watch and the betrayal really distresses Raven.

Similarly, Abby also screams and threatens Clarke whilst she is going through withdrawal. I think all of these occasions represent perfectly the affects of addiction and how it can warp and completely take control of people, attacking out of nowhere, practically moulding their personality.

 

7. Clarke’s Betrayal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8oA6nKtzzg

Clarke has always shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to save her people, to do the “right” thing no matter how many people are hurt or killed. This was shown in various season finales when Clarke’s choices led to many deaths and controversy, even leading to the Grounders nicknaming her “Wanheda”, which translates to “Commander of Death”.

Nevertheless, we have never seen Clarke cross the line and actually go against her friends and Bellamy, who she is closest with, but this season she does. This time it was very different as Clarke had an adopted daughter to protect in the form of Madi.

Not only having to protect, care for and teach Madi, but also having Madi to comfort Clarke for 6 years, really implemented a change in Clarke and her driving force which clouded many of her decisions throughout Season 5.

The worst of these moments was definitely abandoning Bellamy in the fighting pits to be slaughtered, and revealing secrets to McCreary about Octavia’s plans, despite having previously been captured and tortured by McCreary.

It was such a shocking moment when you realise Clarke no longer has a logical mind and is now acting with her heart, which is what she always discouraged. Even when the Eligius prisoners infiltrated Shadow Valley, which was her and Madi’s only home, she was still happy to team up with them as long as it meant her and Madi were safe.

Clarke did redeem herself in the last minute, realizing that Madi was unhappy and dropping her protection over her, helping to win the war. Although it was still a very close shave!

 

8. The Dark Year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ZHjdXVjO4

You may or may not have seen this coming, but I think the details and the scenes were much worse than any of us could imagine.

In flashbacks, it is revealed that after two years in the bunker, Octavia is told that an infection had destroyed all of the protein crops and that it would take a year to replant. Abby is the one to announce that the only way around the situation was to resort to eating human flesh, and to use the bodies from the fighting pits.

Logically, this would have had to have happened at some point as they were trapped in the bunker much longer than was anticipated, but how it occurred and the actions Octavia and Abby took to ensure the survival of the human race are much more brutal and are traumatic to watch.

After Kane leads a rebellion against eating human meat, Abby bluntly advises Octavia that if it continued people would waste away and there would be no meat left for the people eating, meaning everyone would perish.

Abby convinces Octavia that her only solution is to make it a crime not to be a cannibal and Octavia reluctantly and distraughtly threatens and shoots her own people as they refuse to eat. This breaks Kane and the rest follow suit, subsequently saving the human race.
The flashbacks are shown through a grey tint and from many downwards shots on Abby, Kane and Octavia as they internally question and battle with their humanity, as if they are being judged from above. It is eerily tough to sit through.

These flashback revelations come late on in Season 5 and it gives us a better understanding of Abby’s mental state and Octavia’s corrupted mind, as well as Kane’s lack of hope and faith which he has always had a lot of. This has got to be the most intense and shocking moment from Season 5.

 

9. Commander Madi

Making Madi the new Commander, being the last surviving human with natural night blood and therefore being able to meld her mind with The Flame, the artificial intelligence which holds the consciousness of every commander before her, was a rollercoaster of heated emotions.

Even though The Flame has been a very big story arc on the show, you wouldn’t have been incorrect in believing that it would not been important in Season 5, considering that Octavia has evolved the Grounders into Wonkru, supposedly eradicating all faith in the commanders.

At first consideration, it didn’t seem a significant fact that Madi was the last Nightblood on Earth who could take The Flame, however many of WonKru still had a lot of belief in the commanders which came in very handy when Bellamy was attempting to overthrow Octavia’s rule and prevent the war on Shadow Valley.

Not only does Madi agree to take The Flame, but she holds on to it despite Clarke’s disputes, and gains respect and power over all of Wonkru, with Octavia eventually recognizing it as the only way to save her people, and allowing Madi to share her spotlight.

Octavia kneeling down to Madi at the end of the season was an incredible turning point for the war, as there was a real sense of hope and unity that felt more genuine and pure, compared to the atmosphere from WonKru previously.

It was uncertain as to whether Madi would agree to take on the role of the Commander or would be accepted by Octavia, but all of the pieces fit together in the end. With all of our characters united at last, Madi is able to grow in confidence and take on much more responsibility and leadership which is not how she is first symbolized at the beginning of Season 5.

10. New Planet

Probably the biggest shock of all was the Season 5 finale where, not only did we lose two much-loved characters in the form of Monty and Harper’s sacrifice, but we find our characters moved across space to a brand new version of Earth which could potentially support the continuation of the human race.

It was enough of a shocking twist when McCreary revealed he was crazy enough to destroy the last habitable land on Earth, by dropping a nuclear bomb from the Eligius ship, just because he didn’t want to lose the war and share the valley, but the show went that bit further by making this damage permanent, meaning humans can never return to their home.

Monty and Harper selflessly decide to keep everyone in cryosleep for 125 years whilst they search for a solution to the problem, slowly ageing and passing away in the process. Another surprise came in the form of Jordan, Monty and Harper’s grown up son who awoke Clarke and Bellamy from cryosleep to reveal the solution they had come up with.

The light from the two suns shine on their faces as this new planet takes Clarke and Bellamy’s breath away. It’s definitely an awe-inspiring moment for the characters and for the viewer. It’s hard to even comprehend the direction the show has decided to go in and there are so many different potential roads this could lead to and so many questions.

The ending scene is both beautiful and confusing as the struggle to comprehend the deaths of Monty and Harper and the realisation that the last of the human race are light-years away from home is something that takes a minute or two after the credits roll to digest.

Did you expect any of these Season 5 moments and what was your favourite? Let us know in the comments.