Executive producer Jason Rothenberg discusses The CW show's new order following Wednesday's episode.
The 100 is setting up what is proving to be one hell of a second half!
From Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Lincoln’s (Ricky Whittle) foiled plan to infiltrate Mount Weather to Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Lexa (Alycia Debnam Carey) fending off a ferocious gorilla (more on where that came from), The CW’s post-apocalyptic drama has its hands full as it marches toward the rest of its sophomore season.
Executive producer Jason Rothenberg teased what’s to come following Wednesday’s “world-building” episode, including just how much trouble Bellamy and Lincoln are in!
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1. What is the City of Light?
Jaha (Isaiah Washington) recruited outcast Murphy (Richard Harmon) to join him and his group of men to begin their march toward the “Promised Land,” or the City of Light. What they’ll find when they do make it to their desired destination, however, won’t be what they may have dreamt of.
“What we saw in this episode is the beginning of a journey toward the City of Light that is going to unfold for the rest of the season and beyond,” Rothenberg told a small group of reporters. “It will take them a while [to get there] and it’s going to be hard.”
“What they’ll find won’t be what they expect, let’s just say that,” he added, further hinting that sacrifices may come during their harsh journey ahead. “All 12 won’t make it to the end of the light.”
2. What’s in store for Lincoln and Bellamy at Mount Weather?
Guess Lincoln and Bellamy’s plan really wasn’t foolproof. After Lincoln succumbed to his addiction to the red drug, Bellamy was forcibly held hostage to be placed for harvest. That hiccup will force them to put their rescue mission on the backburner - indefinitely.
“Lincoln’s dealing with some heavy stuff. He’s addicted to the red [drug] so much so that he just imperiled Bellamy,” Rothenberg said. “It’s something he’ll deal with for the foreseeable future.”
“For Bellamy, he’s a prisoner now. He’s going to find himself in a bad way moving forward,” he added.
Rothenberg admitted that their original blueprint wasn’t exactly the best-laid plan. “They were flying by the seat of their pants a little bit,” he said. “Their plan was to kill everybody and then go in. It didn’t materialize that way.”
As for Jasper (Devon Bostick) and the newly-captured Monty (Christopher Larkin), things aren’t any better for the duo. “Monty’s screwed in a bad way. Whether he makes it or not, you’ll have to tune in and see,” Rothenberg teased. “Jasper is going to be at his wit’s end, and that’s a story for the next episode.”
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3. Has Octavia found her place?
We’re huge fans of Octavia’s (Marie Avgeropoulos) growth since the start of the series, and she may have found her calling with the Grounders!
“I love that scene when Indra comes in and asks [Octavia] if she wants to be her second, which is a huge honor to bestow on a Sky Person,” Rothenberg said. “That last shot when we cut to the close-up of Octavia’s [face] when Indra is leaving, we see her smiling. In the script, it said something like ‘She finally has a place,’ because she was never accepted.”
Ironically a second-born on the Ark, which meant she was living as “persona non grata,” Octavia “never belonged anywhere,” he explained. “She felt a belonging a little bit with the group no the ground in season one and certainly with Lincoln, and now she’s definitely drawn to the world of the Grounders. Her arc is one of the most exciting on the show. She’ll find her place.”
4. What's the story behind the gorilla?
Funnily enough, the gorilla that attacked Clarke and Lexa wasn’t part of the original – shocking, right? The CG-animated creature, which seemed pretty darn ferocious if you ask us, was borne out of a conversation Rothenberg had with CW president Mark Pedowitz.
Created by special effects house Zoic, the challenge was creating a gorilla that was as realistic as possible on a TV budget on an expedited TV schedule (mere weeks). “[Mark] and I had lunch a couple months ago and he’s like, ‘You know what people really like Jason? Animals,’” Rothenberg said. “He wanted us to take us into more layers of this world – the two-headed deer, the monster in the pilot. I said, ‘Animals cost a lot of money, that’s why we don’t see them very often.’”
“But I went back to the writers’ room and I told the story and before I knew it, there was a story about a gorilla and then we did it,” he continued. “There was pushback along the way because none of us thought it was going to be good. We were worried that the effect wasn’t going to be as good as it was going to be because of time and money.”
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The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.