The 100... Things That Make No Sense

[CletusMusashi]

First of all, these kids are in amazing shape for having lived on a space station all their lives. Even if we assume that the gravity is kept at earth-normal for bone-health reasons, they seem like they've been getting improbable amounts of exercise. And not just standing there pulling weights, either. Cardio, sports, the whole schpiel. They seem way too at ease adventuring around in the great outdoors. Even the nerds can swing as well as Tarzan.

Secondly, if there's such an oxygen shortage, why the hell do they keep blasting so much of it into space? You're a totalitarian dystopia, I get it. You want to execute someone. I get that, too. But there a million ways of killing someone that do not waste a roomful of air. Dumbasses. Honestly, I find it hard to even believe that they waste the bodies as cavalierly as they do. If they don't want to go all Soylent Green, that's fine, but every body they space wastes over a hundred pounds of extremely useful chemicals. These people should be used to recycling their urine for water and their feces for fertilizer; it's just moronic that they insist on wasting so much of their bodies. Not to mention the roomful of air. Not to mention the clothing that could be repurposed. Oh, and did I mention the air? Because they do. Constantly. I'm not sure the problem is really with the recycling machines. I think the people in charge are just idiots.

Okay, I feel a little bit better. Somebody else complain for a while.

[Ariah]

^ adding to your list "how to use-up a human body"

- drain the blood for future transfusion,
- take the teeth for implants,
- generally "waste-not-want-not" politics. (see: Frank Herbert's Dune for details)

 

[CletusMusashi]

Yes, excellent point! Cougarmom being sentenced to death for using too many medical supplies makes no sense whatsoever when their way to punish her for wasting useful medical resources is to... do exactly that.

I'm still struggling with how Spacewalk Dude wasted a month's supply of oxygen. Did he leave out of, like, one huge room and leave the window open, and then open up a window to yet another huge room when he came back in? I am of the opinion that if this show makes any sense (and that's a pretty big if, 'cause I'm leaning more toward CW show with SF trappings than SF show that happens to be on the CW,) then blaming criminals for wasting resources and exaggerating how much they wasted is a handy way of distracting people from how colossally stupid that whole "execution by airlock" nonsense is.

[Mamabug]

Things that make no sense to me:

1. How did the population go from 400 to 4000 in about 100 years?  That is rather intense rate of growth - population would have to double roughly every 30 years.  I suppose it is theoretically possible in unrestrained conditions but there are a number of things that make it seem unlikely.  1st - female to male astronaut ratio is going to be at best 1:3 and probably 1:5.  Maybe if every woman in the first generation had at least 5 kids and subsequent generations had 3-4 but still, given that there appears to be birth control and you would think a group of astronauts would have carefully calculated what population could be sustained for 200 years it seems a bit infeasible

2. So you have this mission that is critical to the survival of the human race - I know, let's give the job to teenagers!  Wait, let's make sure to weed out any possible responsible teenagers first and give it to those who are most likely to disobey authority, give in to short-term thinking and instant gratification, and who generally don't have enough sense to come out of the (radioactive) rain.

[tricksterson]

From what we've seen the surface is not only habitable but positively lush with greenery.  All they should need to tell if life is possible down there is a damned telescope!

Also, it's already been said but cannot be repeated enough: Airlocks don't work that way!  Likewise, why float them when a lethal injection followed by breaking them up for organs makes so much more sense.

[CletusMusashi]

The hair is starting to bother me. All of the females and some of the males have long, beautiful, perfectly shampooed hair. Even though many of them are convicts from a society in which water, various chemicals, and even room for a lot of showers is supposedly at a premium. Nobody seems to be growing a beard, despite that fact that all of these "children" are physically identical to 29 year old underwear models, so apparently they know how to prevent unwanted growth. But when it comes to head hair, anything goes. You want it perfectly coifed on the sides and back, but with a bunch of extra length in the front to show everyone that you're a bad boy? Sure, no problem. We'll send a Hollywood stylist right into your death row cell for you. Of course, we might be thinking about sending you on a dangerous mission that's critical to the survival of mankind... but seeing what's going on in front of you is over-rated anyway.

[Joystickenvy]

The girls all seem to have packed a lifetime supply of makeup as well. Clarke's post coitus perfectly made up face and hair made me giggle a bit. Can't have our eye candy running around with ratty hair, no lip gloss and a mustache right?

[ottoDbusdriver]

About that whole Mt. Weather with the shelves packed with 100 year old foodstuffs, are they ever going to circle back to that ?  Because mutated panther happy meal aside, we haven't seem them eating anything else -- yet none of them are hungry.

[Joystickenvy]

Maybe they are all Kung Fu masters and they're surviving on dew and universe juice.

[CletusMusashi]

They might have eaten a few red shirts

I mean, so many characters are physically identical anyway, who would even notice?

[CPTSockPuppet]

About that whole Mt. Weather with the shelves packed with 100 year old foodstuffs, are they ever going to circle back to that ?  Because mutated panther happy meal aside, we haven't seem them eating anything else -- yet none of them are hungry.

Especially after Finn declared the bunker food inedible since it was like 90 years old. How old did they expect those Mt. Weather supplies to be?? 

[kj4ever]

All of these things you guys have listed don't make sense for sure, but the biggest thing that doesn't make sense to me is why is the show packed with fugly people??

I mean I know they are not fugly, but compared to CW standards these kids are the equivalent to headgear wearing awkward nerds.  If I'm going to watch a CW show that doesn't make sense most of the time I at least expect CW standard eye candy.

[maraleia]

The lack of diversity on this show is alarming especially when demographers say that in 2050 whites will no longer be the majority population in North America at least. Most of these people should be combinations of two racial groups. Also, where are the LGBT people if this is supposed to be set in the future?

[bluebonnet]

These kids shouldn't be able to use fire so well.  I highly doubt they had fire-making exercises while on the Ark.  Even if they had some sort of boy scout badges earned in a simulator, they should still be struggling with it a bit.  Definitely shouldn't be such experts that they can create long lasting torches and such.  Finn the tracker is already sort of stupid, but there's a hint of believability because one would assume there were farms on the Ark that could be used to teach these skills.  But ugh, I just want one of these kids to do something believable like burn themselves or go through a freak out because they've run out of accelerant and/or an ignition source.  

[Jack Kerouac]

The lack of diversity on this show is alarming especially when demographers say that in 2050 whites will no longer be the majority population in North America at least. Most of these people should be combinations of two racial groups. Also, where are the LGBT people if this is supposed to be set in the future?

 

At the absolute MOST, we're talking anywhere from 1% to 10% is LGBT. And that's really pushing it. It's not that unbelievable that in the group of 100 teenagers, none of them are gay. Then again, we already saw chief dude sleeping with two ladies, so maybe they were gay?

[CPTSockPuppet]

The lack of diversity on this show is alarming especially when demographers say that in 2050 whites will no longer be the majority population in North America at least. Most of these people should be combinations of two racial groups. Also, where are the LGBT people if this is supposed to be set in the future?

 

Well, to be fair, the entire population of the Ark is the offspring of astronauts. I have no idea about the current diversity of the international space station and astronauts, but I'd imagine it is very heavily white and asian, considering the few countries with an actual space program. So while lack of diversity is bothersome in modern TV and film, I suppose this show actually has an excuse for it. Although I'm sure that this never was part of their decision-making in casting such a non-diverse group of actors.

 

ETA: Ok, I was curious so I looked it up. 94% of all space travelers were citizens of the US, China, Russia, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, and Italy, with the US and Russia making up over 80%. The US has had 14 African-American astronauts who participated in space flight. Considering this, maybe the cast of the show is too diverse (as far as plausibility goes anyway).

Edited April 27, 2014 by CPTSockPuppet

[Stinger97]

The lack of diversity on this show is alarming especially when demographers say that in 2050 whites will no longer be the majority population in North America at least. Most of these people should be combinations of two racial groups. Also, where are the LGBT people if this is supposed to be set in the future?

 

I don't have an issue with the apparent lack of LGBT people, at least at this point. I expect that if the show lasts long enough, we'll get at least one gay character. As of right now, aside from the main group having their occasional trysts, we've not seen too much in the way of romance.

[Joystickenvy]

We've only seen a handful of the formerly 100 kids and a small fraction of the ark, so I guess you could complain that the main cast is too or not enough whatever if you were so inclined, but there's plenty of room to introduce more "diverse" characters if they want.

I assume they are also following the books somewhat, though I have no intention of reading them so I could be wrong. For all we know the 70-80 off screen characters could be having a big gay radioactive orgy every episode.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Joystickenvy

[tricksterson]

So far we have had Wells and one other Black guy, Asian tech guy, and Bellamy, Octavia and Finn who are white but you could say for story purposes that they have mixed blood somewhere in there.  And Raven but she wasn't in the original group.  Upstairs you have Raha,, a handful of extras and Kelly Hu who was apparently eaten by space gremlins after the pilot.

 

Keep in mind that they were cut off from Earth somewhere in the early 22nd century or very late 21st (They salvaged Mir 3 in 2103) so "space station", of which there were a dozen probably meant more than just a handful of astronauts.  They currently have a population of over 2000 which I'm guessing, due to population constraints, has been fairly stable over the years so they probably had about that many to start with, give or take a hundred or two.  And now I think IU've lost my thread of though and am totally rambling so I'll stop.

[millahnna]

 

big gay radioactive orgy

 

I call dibs on the band name.

[technorebel]

I can't believe they have Paige Turco on this show, and they haven't even shown any mutated turtles. Come on---just a couple! And if they could be wearing different colored masks...

[Stinger97]

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've only recently realized that Paige played April O'Neil in TMNT II and III. Those were my favorite movies as a kid (well, maybe not III but II was my jam), so it's very cool to see her here. Also, as an aside, Judith Hoag (who played April in the first TMNT), is also on broadcast TV nowadays playing Tandy Hampton on ABC's Nashville. Who knew the April O'Neil actresses were having something of a renaissance! 

[millahnna]

My google images is so full of 80s hair now.  Awesome.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Shouldn't the people living on the ground have more effects from the radiation?  Instead of male model Lincoln and Grounder Queen Anya, shouldn't the people stuck on Earth have more deformities?  Plus, how did the human population even survive?  You would think that the radiation would have caused a whole host of problems like sterility and genetic mutations that cause cancer and other diseases.  I would think that the human life expectancy wouldn't be very long.

 

Also, with the lack of Ark medical care, you would think that the female members of The 100 would be worried about pregnancy.  Do you really want to be 9 months pregnant and trying to outrun a Grounder attack or survive the freaking hemorrhagic fever?  Do you want a teenager to be your midwife?  Do you want to give birth without any sort of epidural?  I hope you don't need a C-section! 

[bluebonnet]

The Ark had pretty strict family family guidelines.  It's very likely that some form of birth control was strictly enforced.  I imagine it's a futuristic sort of birth control, some sort of implant.  Though a run-of-the-mill IUD would work just as well.  The one to be truly concerned about is Octavia since she was living as a secret and I doubt they gave her birth control while she was locked up in jail. 

[tricksterson]

sonofabiscuit:  Hard to tell because they are filmed in short, fast clips but a couple of the grounders in the attack sequences look like they might have facial deformities.

[SonofaBiscuit]

These people have no toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, or laundry detergent.  A reasonable assumption would be that they smell completely awful, so here's what doesn't make sense to me:  why in the world would they want to have sexy times with each other?  I mean, I know why, but how could you even get close to someone without wanting to puke?  Yeah, the Grounders probably don't even notice the smell, but I assume that The 100 had some sort of personal hygiene standards on the Ark, so this just has to be absolutely revolting.  The 100 are always wearing layers and they always look super sweaty so basically everyone probably smells of B.O.  Gross.

[bluebonnet]

If everyone smells the same, no one really smells unusual.  In our everyday lives, we would notice the scent of poor personal hygiene because it's unusual.  And this might gross you out a bit, but the Arkkites should be less repulsed by body fluids like sweat and such because they've been drinking it all their lives.  Well, that's if the space station is anything like the ISS where it's all recycled fluids. 

[CPTSockPuppet]

Shouldn't the people living on the ground have more effects from the radiation?  Instead of male model Lincoln and Grounder Queen Anya, shouldn't the people stuck on Earth have more deformities?  Plus, how did the human population even survive?  You would think that the radiation would have caused a whole host of problems like sterility and genetic mutations that cause cancer and other diseases.  I would think that the human life expectancy wouldn't be very long.

 

I think it would really depend on where everyone is at in relation to where these bombs dropped a hundred years ago. Radiation/Fallout is most lethal for about two weeks after a nuclear bomb goes off, so a hundred years later there has been some decay for sure. Human populations that were outside the hot zones could easily have survived and continued to do so for decades. There might definitely be an increase in cancer rates and sterility, but considering we haven't seen any huge human populations I think the Grounders' presence and numbers make sense. Life expectancy is probably short because of a number of reasons, like an apparently very violent life-style and limited nutrition, as well as health effects from radiation.

 

What I don't get is how the people on the Ark were complete surprised at the Grounders' existence. They had to have known survival was possible for some and planned for the contingency. I do wish they'd explain more about this nuclear war; that could shed some light on problems with radiation, health, etc.

Edited May 30, 2014 by CPTSockPuppet

[spritz]

Also, with the lack of Ark medical care, you would think that the female members of The 100 would be worried about pregnancy.  Do you really want to be 9 months pregnant and trying to outrun a Grounder attack or survive the freaking hemorrhagic fever?  Do you want a teenager to be your midwife?  Do you want to give birth without any sort of epidural?  I hope you don't need a C-section!

 

No worries. They got Clarke. She's a miracle worker. After performing surgery on Jaspar and Finn, I'm sure delivering a baby would be a piece of cake for Clarke.

 

So far we have had Wells and one other Black guy, Asian tech guy, and Bellamy, Octavia and Finn who are white but you could say for story purposes that they have mixed blood somewhere in there.

 

There may not be any black survivors left by season 2. The mortality rate for blacks on this show appears to be very high. Wells was murdered. And the other black guy was snuffed out by Murphy. And the chancellor is constantly finding himself in dire straits. It doesn't look good.

[spritz]

The Clarke/Finn/Raven triangle can't be the only romantic drama going on among the 100. With so much hookup possibilities, you would expect jealousies and fights around camp. Plus, this is a CW show. Shouldn't this be expected?

 

Anyway, where are the cliques, fights and assaults among the 100? After all, these are impulsive and criminal teens without any adult supervision. Remember, they were so impulsive that they jumped at the chance to hang Murphy after being incited by Clarke's false accusation against him.

 

The 100 are clearly a bunch of violence prone teens. And now they have guns and other weapons, and they are led by two gang-like leaders, the thug Bellamy and the quiet killer Clarke. Shouldn't there be a lot more 100 on 100 violence going on?

 

So far, there have been two murders, i.e. of a 100 murdering another 100. Strangely enough, both victims have been black. Speaking of diversity, or lack of, It’s makes you wonder if the killing of what appears to be the only two blacks among the 100 is a subtle message by The 100 writers?

Edited May 31, 2014 by spritz

[maraleia]

I go back to my earlier statement regarding the lack of diversity and the now apparent killing of people of color as the show has progressed. I have to stop watching this show so my brain won't turn to jello.

[patchwork]

I was thinking that the Mountain Men would be deformed zombie-like bogeymen, the threat that forces the 100 and the Grounders into some sort of peace but the signal Monty heard makes me wonder if the Mountain Men and not the Grounders are the survivors of Mount Weather.

[In2You]

So far, there have been two murders, i.e. of a 100 murdering another 100. Strangely enough, both victims have been black. Speaking of diversity, or lack of, It’s makes you wonder if the killing of what appears to be the only two blacks among the 100 is a subtle message by The 100 writers?

I would hope not especially when there are two black writers on the writing team.

[shrewd.buddha]

When the Ark residents crash landed on Earth and Abby emerged from the wreckage to marvel at the beautiful scenery, it reminded me of one of my biggest gripes with this show:

How the hell could the Ark, even with 2014-ish levels of technology, not know the conditions of the Earth?? How could they not see the Grounders moving around? We have satellites today that can see people's faces from obit. The Ark should have been able to monitor the fauna and flora with relative ease. It's like everything on Earth is a total surprise to the Spacers. 

 

Major gripe # 2: 

It still galls me that they see two-headed deer and glowing butterflies, but don't seem to think twice about the water they drink, the food they eat, or what the possible radiation levels may be. They don't even bother to talk about possibly measuring the radiation levels.

Edited June 13, 2014 by shrewd.buddha

[shapeshifter]

The Van Gogh in the room with a wild kid.

[Izeinwinter]

I think that is a reproduction, and was there to indicate that this isn't a prison cell, but a medical facility. A medical facility with a lock on the door, yes, but not the dungeons. 

[shapeshifter]

@Izeinwinter, that's what I thought too until I read Alex's recap: http://previously.tv/the-100/the-100-finale-carries-our-sexy-teens-kicking-and-screaming-to-a-place-theyve-avoided-all-season/

And then I recalled it had a lot of texture and an ornate frame, right? Or not?

Edited June 13, 2014 by shapeshifter

[bluebonnet]

It seemed as though it was meant to be the real deal since it was framed just as it is at the MoMA.  It looked pretty snazzy, even had it's own art light.  

 

I didn't really need the white walls and the art to make it not the dungeons.  Like, I get they wanted to show a great contrast between the dirty drop site and the gray flares of the Ark.  But adding a bit of pigment to the room and maybe a plant or two would have achieved the same thing.  Probably would have been cheaper, too.  

[Hybridcookie]

Not sure if this is really the right thread, but I wasn't sure where else to put it.

 

Why is everything so dark and why do all the guys look the same? Why do they all have black hair and I can barely tell Finn and Bellamy apart in the daytime, but in the dark scenes everyone looks the same. Jasper's my favourite character and I can barely pick him out when it's dark.

[maraleia]

While I'm liking the show a lot more this season it's still too white as far as the cast is concerned. For a show that is supposed to be set in the future this is glaring to say the least.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Catching up with the series with Netflix (currently on 1.6 or so), and the thing that sticks out to me is this whole Octavia backstory. 

 

I get that there is a strict 1-child per person limit. 

 

I don't get:

1) How Mama Octavia became pregnant for the second time. Shouldn't they just employ foolproof birth control/sterilization after the one child?

2) How no one detected Mama Octavia's pregnancy during the presumed 9 months it took place. 

3) Why Mama Octavia would want to go ahead with Octavia's pregnancy, knowing that if she were ever caught, it could mean death for her and Bellamy, and even if it were not, it meant Octavia living underneath the floorboards.

4) How/why Bellamy latched on to Augustus/Octavia

5) Why Mama Octavia didn't work out some deal to have Octavia adopted by a childless couple

6) How in a tightly regulated society no one noticed that Mama Octavia was consuming for three instead of two for 16 years.

7) Why Bellamy was not subject to juvenile detention for his role in concealing Octavia

[kingshearte]

7) Why Bellamy was not subject to juvenile detention for his role in concealing Octavia

All your points are totally valid, but this one strikes me as especially so. To me, certainly, this would have actually made a lot more sense than punishing her. He actively and knowingly abetted a crime. She merely... existed? I suppose by concealing her own self, she was also abetting the crime, as soon as she was old enough to understand the situation, but still. 

[Bort]

7) Why Bellamy was not subject to juvenile detention for his role in concealing Octavia

Bellamy wasn't a juvenile. So the question really should be: Why was Bellamy not standing right next to his mother in the airlock when they jettisoned her?

[Chicago Redshirt]

In binging S1, I didn't see any firm indication what age Bellamy was supposed to be. Although, I suppose it stands to reason that if L'il Bellamy was old enough to be knowing about Augustus and Octavia at Octavia's birth, he has to be at least 5 years older than Octavia, and was probably more than a juvenile at the time she was discovered.

 

I don't mind spoilers -- I take it this subject hasn't been addressed? 

[Bort]

I don't mind spoilers -- I take it this subject hasn't been addressed?

Not that I know of.

[Carrie Ann]

Apparently it hasn't been addressed in-show, but Jason Rothenberg did answer a fan question by saying that Bellamy is 23.

 

And I agree that it doesn't make sense that his only punishment for hiding his sister was to be knocked down from Guard Cadet to janitor, while Octavia herself was sent to juvenile detention and their mother killed. Honestly, the whole family being punished makes the most sense, but if not, then both kids or only Octavia being free would be more logical than what the reverse.

[MostlyC]

I want to know where the Grounders get all their elaborate face-paint.  Is there a post-apocalyptic sephora?  

[MiseryIndex]

I want to know where the Grounders get all their elaborate face-paint. Is there a post-apocalyptic sephora?

I feel like there is an urban decay joke to be made in there..

[MiseryIndex]

I know I'm a nitpicker and this isn't the show to do it with. But my biggest overall complaint besides people making silly decisions is how injured everyone gets. I know it may be more realistic than no one getting hurt in battles. But with such little ability to care for wounds and injures they get hurt pretty bad to end up fine.