When it comes to characters on The 100, Octavia Blake is one of the most complex personalities fans meet. She's been forced to endure trauma after trauma from an early age, and she's become a warrior in spite of it all -- but sometimes her warrior instincts cause her to make decisions that wind up being harmful to those around her.
Octavia's time as Blodreina, or the Red Queen, during season five is the best example of this. But even if Octavia's done some terrible things over the course of the series, she's also done some serious good -- particularly when it comes to helping her people survive. Here are the five best things Octavia Blake has ever done (and the five worst Blodreina's done).
Best: Helped Lincoln Escape
When the Grounders and the delinquents first encountered one another during season one, things weren't pretty. There were attacks from both sides, and Bellamy and his friends eventually captured one of the Grounders with plans of torturing information out of him.
Luckily, Octavia had too much empathy for Lincoln to allow him to remain a prisoner in their camp. She helped him escape, showing fans what kind of person she was and gaining a valuable ally down the line.
Worst: Forced Her People To Become Cannibals
Octavia's reign in the underground bunker was full of difficult decisions, and the choice to resort to cannibalism in order to keep the human race alive was one of the hardest she had to make. When she did accept this as the only way to survive, Octavia had to convince the rest of her people it was the right thing to do -- which, naturally, didn't go over well.
At the urging of her council, Octavia ended up killing those who defied her orders to eat their former comrades. It was a terrible thing to have to do, even if it did keep the human race alive, and it's something that's continued to haunt her.
Best: Joined The Grounders
Because Octavia was able to form a bond with Lincoln, she ended up joining the ranks of the Grounders, however reluctant some of them were to accept her as their own. And Octavia's actions wound up being the first steps toward peace between the Grounders and Skaikru. She became a bridge between the two groups, proving to both sides that they didn't need to hate one another.
By setting an example for what unity between the Grounders and Skaikru could look like, Octavia did a lot of good -- and it's not completely out of line to suggest that she's partially responsible for the more stable relationship the two groups share now.
Worst: Turned The Bunker Into Ancient Rome
Octavia grew up on stories about the gladiators of Ancient Rome, and she eventually began recreating those stories in the underground bunker. True, she was a leader who desperately needed to find a way to control the population underground and maintain the human race -- but the fighting pits quickly evolved into something much more sinister than that.
And the fact that Octavia was willing to keep the fighting pits around, even after Wonkru had escaped the bunker, was telling of how tyrannical she'd become after all those years living underground.
Best: Shared The Bunker
Saying Octavia saved the human race isn't an exaggeration when you consider her part in unifying the Grounder clans leading up to the Death Wave. While every group fought for their people's rights to the underground bunker, Octavia emerged victorious from the Conclave with a different plan: Allow a select number of people from each clan to live through the end of the world.
Rather than selfishly preserve the lives of her own friends and family, Octavia understood the value of conserving all of the cultures existing on Earth at the time. She showed more wisdom and empathy than some of the leaders much older than her, and it proved fruitful in the long run.
Worst: Sentenced The People She Loved To Death
It's hard to believe there was a time that Octavia cared so little about Clarke, Indra, or her brother that she would watch them die on her command, but season five was a strange time for her. It's true that Bellamy and Clarke sought to undermine her rule, but sending an assassin to kill Clarke and Madi was a heartless move that was difficult to comprehend at the time. (And that was after she'd sentenced Clarke to death.)
Likewise, throwing her brother and her mentor into the fighting pits for betraying her was a bit much. And even if Octavia didn't go through with the punishment she laid out for them, it's telling that she took things so far.
Best: Relinquished Her Place As Commander
During The 100's fifth season, Octavia became a tyrant, opposing any threat to her power -- even if the criticism against her was completely valid. Luckily, by the season finale, she was able to see the error of her ways. And after Octavia realized how much she'd failed Wonkru, she bent the knee to Madi, who was able to motivate Wonkru long enough to get them to the valley alive.
Had Octavia refused to relinquish her power, things could have ended much worse for her people. She did the right thing passing the buck to Madi, even if it's caused problems for the Grounders since.
Worst: Burned The Farm
It was bad enough that Octavia declared war on Diyoza and her people and wouldn't listen to those railing against it, but burning the Hydrofarm was truly the act of a tyrant.
If Octavia had left Monty's Hydrofarm in one piece, those who didn't agree with her war could have remained behind and lived off of algae in the underground bunker. Instead, Octavia forced those people to march with her and risk their lives -- all so she could escape her demons and defeat Diyoza.
Best: Raised And Protected Hope
During the final season of The 100, fans discover what happened when Octavia stepped into the Anomaly back in season six -- and it seems she experienced what it was like to have a healthy, loving family.
Through the flashbacks of Octavia, Diyoza and Hope, it becomes clear that Octavia found her way back from Blodreina -- and realized there was more to life than power.
Worst: Went To War With The Eligius Prisoners
To say Octavia and Diyoza got off to a rocky start would be an understatement, and the result of their first interactions with one another was Octavia declaring war on the Eligius prisoners. Rather than sharing the last survivable land on Earth, these two decided to fight over it -- and in turn, they wound up destroying it.
Just as Octavia was responsible for the preservation of the human race, she was also responsible for the world ending a third time -- and really, there's nothing that can justify it.