The 100 is yet another series that was adapted from YA fiction. With the craze for watching some of the many ways we can expect a future dystopian society, the show fit right in with viewers who wanted to see their favorite characters come to life. Plus, there are so many strong characters to pay attention to. The show has also scored points for doing its best to have a diverse cast during a time when people are demanding more of this on TV and film. To top it off, the show treats men and women as equals in ways we haven't seen in many TV shows. There are no damsels in distress here, and in many cases, women are the ones who hurt and rescue many characters. Everyone who wasn't a fighter when they fell from the sky totally had to become one, even the level-headed and pacifist Clark Griffin.
We could easily dissect many of the characters on the show and it would take us forever. For now, we focus on Clarke, the show's star. We've seen her grow and change during the course of the show. You could say that leadership just kind of felt onto her in the chaos right after the drop-ship from the Ark landed back onto Earth. We could see why no one else wanted to step up to the task (except Bellamy who is a co-leader and not exactly a right-hand man). Here are 20 things about Clarke we often ignore, both good and bad. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Clarke Makes Extremely Tough Calls
Most teenage or young adult girls are filling out college applications or deciding which emoji they'll use on their next text. But Clarke lives in a world where these things no longer exist because humanity made sure they wouldn't.
She instead deals with deciding who to make alliances with, who should carry weapons, or drive a solar-powered car. She even has to make decisions involving fancy stuff, such as fighting a program that takes over people's minds. Eventually, Clarke even decides to make the ultimate sacrifice just so her friends can go back up to the Ark. She's not your ordinary decision-maker.
Her Love Life Is Pretty Interesting
Despite having to do a lot to ensure the Arkadians survived everything from Grounders to harmful plants, and even mutated wild animals, Clarke made time for love. Or at the very least, she let it come to her.
First, Clarke was involved with Finn in an unintentional love triangle of sorts. Then she had a serious relationship with Lexa and Niylah. Let's not forget her relationship with Bellamy. In the show, they're co-leaders who love each other in a non-romantic way.
This is different than the books, where they're a couple. Maybe the show will give fans what they want and bring them together?
She's Pretty Good At Learning Languages
The Grounders have their own language as a result of their many years having to survive while unintentionally meshing cultures. There's still a lot we haven't learned about tits development, but it doesn't seem like an easy language to learn considering that everyone at the Ark only speaks English (as far as we know).
We know Clarke spends a considerable amount of time with the different groups of Grounders, but so far she seems to be self-taught. After all, everyone seems too busy adding fire to their current beefs to actually want to tutor anyone from Arkadia in their ways. Kudos, bilingual Clarke!
Becoming A Natblida Was Kind Of A Stroke Of Genius
After everyone was eventually removed from A.L.I.E.'s control, Clarke, Bellamy, and others discover that the nuclear plants will fire and basically melt the planet again. This means everyone has to get to safety. None of this sounds simple, but it's made worse by the hatred everyone has for each other and their constant backstabbing.
Clarke goes to extreme measures and decides to make Nightblood. When the team successfully makes this, Clarke is technically a Natblida— a person with black blood that is qualified to lead. But this still didn't have the effect she wanted, and in short, Clarke wound up with no nuclear shelter from the fallout.
She Can Be Blind To Others' Point Of View
A lot of fans have pointed out that Clarke can be blind to other people's ideas and suggestions. This costs a lot of lives, but it's something common to people who came to Earth from the Ark.
There's a debate about how many lost their lives because of how Clarke handled certain circumstances. What we do know is that even more people had a chance to live thanks to her resourcefulness.
That doesn't mean she was on her own. Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, and nearly every one of the 100 did something to help. Their efforts sometimes dwarfed that of the adults that should've been leading instead.
She's Stuck Making Alliances With No Experience
Growing up and living in the Ark sounds like a totalitarian nightmare. But it's understandable that everyone went to extremes in order to survive, often listening to dictators for the greater good.
This means that everyone, including Clarke, has no experience making negotiations. To top it off, everyone they meet on Earth is not only better equipped to deal with its hazardous conditions, but they're also experienced at hand to hand combat.
Regardless, Clarke finds a way to make alliances with people. She even briefly befriends Roan and of course, falls in love with Lexa. That's a step above diplomacy.
She's A Slytherin
We love it when someone makes a connection between one great fantasy show to something even more awesome, like Harry Potter. One fan said Clarke is a good leader because she's a Slytherin.
Some examples of this type of leadership include preparing for her mother die for the greater good, doing whatever she can to save everyone, and her use of logic.
Fans occasionally take issue with the titles she's given so she could seem like a better leader. But if you're going to get sorted into Slytherin, Wanheda is a pretty good nickname for you. Occasional arrogance is fitting too.
She Still Admits When She's Wrong
Though Clarke makes her mistakes from time to time, we see her grow. Despite her Slytherin-like tendencies, she does admit when she goes too far, or not far enough. We can see that when she winds up in situations where she has to fight hand to hand combat.
She feels bad about what happened during the bombing at Mount Weather, and some of the things that happened before and after the Praimfaya.
Being stuck on Earth without her friends for years gives her a lot of time for introspection. It takes a tough person to ask for forgiveness when needed.
She Follows Lexa's Advice About Not Leading With Emotions
...but she discards it when needed. Clarke was always a bit of a softie when she arrived down to Earth. Sure, life inside the Ark wasn't much of a reason to have a ton of hope, but it was what she and the 100 knew.
We could see why being down on Earth and breathing fresh air could have a softening effect on everyone's hearts. Well, at least until they realized that it was full of natural and man-made disasters.
Lexa's advice about being objective and leaving emotions out of leadership came in handy. But this advice couldn't always apply to Arkadia.
Clarke Almost Used Emori As A Test Subject
Emori was tough and beautiful. She also turned John into a much better man and encouraged him to stay independent. Given the choice they had between A.L.I.E., Arkadia, and the many factions of Grounders, this seemed smart.
But Emori was rightfully afraid of being used as an experiment. Sure, Clarke turned her into a nightblood, and since Clarke survived it's wise to assume Emori would've been okay, but it's still not okay for Clarke to suddenly make Emori feel that she'd be a test subject.
In the end, Clarke would up experimenting on herself. We're glad she had a spine when it was needed.
Her Relationship With Her Mother Isn't Great
Abby and Clarke try to get along as best as possible. Of course, their relationship was tainted when Clarke found out that it was Abby's fault her father was floated.
That would make it tough for any kid to get along with their mom. Then there's the fact that The 100 were making great headway in figuring out how to get along with the Grounders.
When everyone else from the Ark arrived, they treated the 100 as if they were children. To be fair, they were teenagers, but no adult bothered to ask them for some of the expertise they gathered. This put Abby and Clarke at odds sometimes.
Clarke Knows How To Fight
Everyone at the Ark arrived with weapons that were more advanced than anything on Earth. Guns hadn't existed for a while once the Skaikru arrived again, and this gave everyone advantages. Their weapons were a good substitute when they didn't want to get close to a person that was attacking them.
We did see Clarke hold her own in several fights though. There was that time when she was able to hold her own against Anya, but Clarke is also able to get by because she's just not a quitter. This makes up for some of her lack of skills during a fight.
It Took A Lot For Her And Bellamy To Become BFFs
Clarke and Bellamy seriously butt heads when they arrive at Earth. Their leadership style is quite different, but they become friends when they realize the 100 need them both.
Bellamy's occasional ruthlessness and military know-how are necessary to ward off attacks. Clarke was able to do a lot to save lives and delegate tasks. The thing is, there were later times when Bellamy had to help Clarke take a more compassionate approach. Clarke eventually saw that Bellamy changed, and they both became best friends.
Later on, they became co-leaders and each other's most trusted confidantes. They both helped each other grow.
She Doesn't Take Things Personally
Life on Earth during Clarke's time is not pretty. Everyone who is your friend could turn their back on you at one point, and you need to know when it's time to make allies with your enemy. Nothing personal.
There are times when Clarke gets angry over this. Lexa betrays her, and Roan doesn't always see her as an equal. She's also very mature about Finn when Raven comes back.
Not taking things personally helps her work with people she doesn't always like. This is a strength when you live in a time and place where apocalyptic things happen almost every week.
She Has To Earn The Right To Be A Leader
Many of the 100 didn't like Clarke at first, and neither did many viewers. One Reddit commenter blamed her for a number of things that went wrong during the show's first season.
Still, some fans liked Clarke a lot more starting with season 2. It was obvious that Clarke was one of the privileged children in the Ark, and being on Earth forced her to become more like everyone else.
Clarke consistently had to prove herself a leader. What was refreshing was that she did this because she truly wanted to do good. It was never about being popular or well-liked, and it shows.
Clarke Chooses To Be Optimistic About People
Isn't the show a dystopian fantasy about the future? Despite this, Clarke often makes decisions based on hope for a better future. This explains why she fell in love with Lexa, and how she became best friends with Bellamy. She eventually became allies with both Octavia and Indra.
Clarke knew it was better to hang on to hope no matter the situation. It helped her get through personal struggles and find solutions to the impossible. There were times when her optimism blinded her to better alternatives, but at least we know every decision she made came from a good heart.
She Accuses People Quite Quickly
Clarke shows a lot of conviction when she feels she's right about something. This sometimes influences the wrong choices she makes.
She didn't believe in Eve Harlow, who was trying to help Jasper out of love even though it came at great cost to her. She also didn't believe in Lincoln. Though there were many who had a hand in his demise, a good word from Clarke could've helped him.
She also doesn't always trust Kane's intentions at first. Thankfully there were moments when she was able to wake up and see past her own wrong intuitions about some people.
She's Made Decisions For The Entire Race
Clarke took on the burden of making decisions for the entire human race. No one asked her to do this, but she was the only person willing to do this when no one else was.
Whether we agree with her or not, many of Clarke's decisions were made to keep humanity going. Even her decisions about releasing radiation into the Mount Weather were about ensuring the 47 would be able to survive.
Her motivation to keep humanity alive led her to create nightblood. This worldview even helped her find a way to get some people back up to the Ark when there was no room for them at the shelter.
But She Also Goes Back On Her Word Sometimes
Eventually, Clarke had to learn how to back stab too. She betrayed the Grounders during season 4, but we could choose to look at it as retribution for Lexa's betrayal in season 2, which was personal.
She also betrays everyone during season 5 doing whatever it took to save Madi, putting her friends in danger. If you live in Polis or Arkadia, you're bound to betray your friends, get in trouble, and need their help.
Either Clarke is being smart by showing she's adaptable, or everyone on the show could seriously improve their communication skills. Still, these betrayals are what we live for.
She's A Teen Doctor!
That's right. Every one of the 100 is around 18 years of age when they land on Earth. Yet they have military, engineering, IT, and medical skills.
The educational system in the Ark was vastly superior to that of Earth. Abby Griffin was the Ark's doctor, and it follows that Clarke learned a thing or two about medicine at a very young age.
Despite how much the Grounders hated the 100, Clarke did gain a reputation as a healer. That's also why some even called her Wanheda. They believed that rather than being a healer, she commanded death. Really, she was just a dystopian Dougie Howser.