With The 100 coming to a close in 2020 and a prequel being considered at The CW, it seems like the right time to show appreciation for a crucial character who is often overlooked by fans. Thelonious Jaha was the last Chancellor of the Ark before what was thought to be the remainder of humanity returned to the ground for good.
Jaha's strict rule made him appear cruel and unfeeling, but his son's death caused him to take a new approach to life. Despite making some questionable choices, Jaha became an unlikely hero whose loss deeply impacted the series. Whether he was in the middle of the action or offering much-needed advice, there were several instances in which Jaha came to the rescue.
Jaha Sends The 100 To The Ground
Jaha's decision to send 100 kids to the ground was brutal, especially since the teenagers on the dropship were only guilty of minor infractions. But if Jaha hadn't made the tough call, which included sending his own son along with the prisoners, all of the characters would have been dead within the first season. Since Clarke, Bellamy, and the rest of the delinquents were able to scout out the land ahead of time, the people on the Ark knew it was safe to come down.
He Allows Himself To Be Captured
After making it to Earth, Jaha finds shelter with a mother named Sienna, and her child, a young boy named Zoran. Sienna doesn't take kindly to the intrusion, but Jaha bonds with Zoran and they become close very quickly. However, there is a bounty on the Sky People, and it doesn't take long for Sienna to turn Jaha over in exchange for a horse. Knowing that the family will be hurt if he doesn't complete the deal, Jaha decides not to run and surrenders to his captors instead.
He Leads A Group Through A Minefield
Jaha's journey through the desert wasn't a pleasant one, and his impatient traveling companies didn't make things any easier. The City of Light wasn't the safe haven everyone had hoped for, but the trip there was the most treacherous part of all.
A handful of Sky People are blasted to bits causing the group to realize they're trudging through a minefield. Jaha zigzags across the dessert and leaves a path for everyone to follow. When an impatient traveler attempts to deviate from the route, Jaha tackles him seconds before he steps on a mine.
Jaha Saves Murphy From A Sea Monster
His actions may have been debatable, but Jaha did what he had to do to keep himself and Murphy alive. When their boat is attacked before they reach land, one of the passengers is too stunned to keep rowing. The boat begins to break, and Jaha throws the paralyzed man into the water. As a result, the sea monster leaves Jaha and Murphy alone, and the two of them make it to shore. It may not have been the right call, morally, but there's no doubt that all of them would be dead if it weren't for Jaha's actions.
He Helps Kane Gas Skaikru
In this instance, Jaha was part of the problem as well as the solution. When Skaikru rebels, believing that they should get the most space in the bunker, Jaha is faced with a moral dilemma. Ever since the pilot, Jaha has put his people above all else. It's what makes him a controversial leader. While others care about every life, Jaha would gladly sacrifice the few to save the many. Kane helps Jaha realize that the bunker must be divided equally, as they are all one people, and Jaha helps him gas Skaikru, which puts an end to the riot.
Jaha Teaches Octavia How To Lead
In his final episode of the series, Jaha offers Octavia the advice that keeps Wonkru alive for the next six years. He tells her that anyone who pushes them closer to death is the enemy and needs to be eliminated. While this might sound harsh, it's the notion that kept the majority of his people breathing.
This advice inspires Octavia's rule as Red Queen, which was revealed to be a necessary evil. Without Octavia's brutality and determination to keep her people in line, Wonkru would have starved to death during their last year in the bunker.
He Finds The Second Dawn Bunker
If it weren't for Jaha, the human race would have died off after The 100 season 4. When planning to send the delinquents to the ground, Jaha looked into several possible locations for them to live. He takes Bellamy and Clarke to search for a bunker that was used during the first nuclear apocalypse, but they quickly realize that it won't protect them from the radiation. Jaha doesn't give up the search and finds a second bunker underneath Polis equipped to keep their people alive when the Death Wave hits.
He Helps Wonkru Keep The Farm
Many people weren't fond of the decision to share the bunker during the death wave. This prompts Skaikru to lock the grounders out of the farm and their own people in it. Without access to the farm, the grounders will die off, and the Skaikru will no longer have to ration their supplies. Due to his experience as an engineer, Jaha finds a way to reroute the electricity to the farm doors and short out the locking mechanisms, allowing Wonkru to take the farm back.
Jaha Stays Behind To Launch The Shuttle
Jaha made the ultimate sacrifice in the first season finale of the series, and it became clear that he was a much more complex character than viewers originally thought. Getting the Ark to the ground was no easy task and required someone to stay behind and launch it manually from the control room.
Although Kane initially tries to make the sacrifice, Jaha beats him to it and launches the Ark himself. This was an action that was sure to result in his death, as he would run out of air in a matter of days.
Jaha Saves Himself
After losing his son and remaining in space to ensure his people's survival, Jaha doesn't appear to have much fight left in him. When his oxygen deprivation causes him to hallucinate a baby, Jaha realizes that he needs to find a way to Earth to get him to safety. The baby turns into Wells, who insists that his people still need him. Given that this was Jaha's own subconscious talking, he knew that the best way to make certain that the human race survived was if he was there to see it through. Jaha manages to hitch a ride on a missile and launch himself to Earth.