Let’s be honest–The CW is the television equivalent of YA literature. Unless you’re amongst friends, you might be embarrassed to admit that you watch a CW show for fear that the people around you will roll their eyes, as if their taste is FAR too refined to enjoy such trivial trash. This network, like the young adult genre, is a mix of good and bad, but it carries a stigma that screams, “Shallow! Melodramatic! Commercial!”
Now, if you’re a card-carrying member of FYA, you know that shame can go cuss itself, but the rest of the world might not be so enlightened. And that’s exactly why I felt called to write a post about my favorite show, The 100.
Mandy C. and I have been recapping this series since it began last year, and I’ll be the first to admit that it didn’t win me over right away. But after a few episodes, I suddenly realized that I was watching something special. Something unique. Something g-d fantastic.
Something that, unfortunately, most people are ignoring. So I’m here today to do my patriotic duty: shake this country by its shoulders and convince it to COME CORRECT.
While there are certainly 100 reasons why our entire human civilization should be tuning in to The 100, I’m going to focus on five things, because I’m confident in my powers of persuasion. And also because I may or may not have already wasted a ton of time looking at Bellamy and Clarke gifs.
Before we get into my incredibly convincing argument, here’s the gist of the show:
It’s the future, and a small population of humans have been living on a space station, known as the Ark, ever since the Earth was rendered toxic by nuclear warfare. The Ark is running out of supplies like, oh, you know, OXYGEN, so they send a group of 100 teenage delinquents down to the Earth to determine whether or not conditions are still hazardous. Because I guess in the future, no one reads The Lord of the Flies.
No major spoilers ahead, I promise!
1. Girl Power
Sure, The Hunger Games has Katniss, and Divergent has Tris, but The 100 has Clarke, Octavia, Raven, Abby, Anya, and Lexa. The women on this show are fierce, they’re smart, and most importantly, they’re LARGE AND IN CHARGE.
Beyonce would be pleased to know that on The 100, the answer to this question is GIRLS. I can’t think of another show that highlights such a powerhouse ensemble of women who are kicking ass* and taking names.
*And I mean that figuratively and literally. Season 2 just featured a fight scene between two girls that was FEROSH.
2. Acting!
It’s true that sometimes, The CW picks actors because they look good, not because they look convincing. Fortunately for all of us, the cast of The 100 does both. It’s also a wonderfully varied group of seasoned actors (Isaiah Washington!), familiar faces (Adina Porter from True Blood! Dichen Lachman from Dollhouse! Johnny Witworth from Empire Records!), and rising stars (Australians Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley).
While the script is generally solid, if not stellar, the cast is strong enough to juggle lines of varying emotion and depth, and they make even the craziest of scenarios seem convincing.
3. Sci-Fi
In addition to being a YA reader, I’m also a big sci-fi fan, so this show is basically my ultimate Venn Diagram. I love the slightly cheesy futuristic elements; I love the space technology; I love the ethical dilemmas of genetic testing and population control. Thanks to the premise, this show blasts far beyond the usual high school scenarios and into an imaginative world of dystopian governments, apocalyptic tribes and bizarre mutations.
4. Hot Dudes
It wouldn’t be a CW show without sexy guys, right? And this show has them in SPADES. They’re usually covered in grime and/or blood, but that’s a hardship I’m willing to tackle. And I mean tackle.
(And, for those of you who prefer girls, see Reason #1.)
5. Down & Dirty
The 100 really goes above and beyond to be as gross as possible, and I think that’s AWESOME. Not an episode goes by without someone (or multiple someones) dying a gruesome death or incurring a nasty wound. You know the practical effects people on set adore their jobs.
But the show also plays dirty, and it never pulls punches. You think you love a character? Well, guess what, THEY JUST DIED. No one is safe on The 100, and I’ve become a junkie for the adrenaline rush of this series. Packed with twists and turns, it’s an unpredictable, heart-stopping thrill ride which often leaves me like this:
So, to sum up, WATCH THIS SHOW YOU GUYS. Mostly because I know you’ll love it, but also because I could talk about it for DAYS and that requires more than a few conversation partners.
And, for those of you who don’t need any convincing, hit me up in the comments with other reasons why The 100 is the shizz.
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