The CW officially wrapped up its post-apocalyptic sci-fi series The 100 after 100 episodes. The show was never one to hold back in terms of delivering emotional moments and it certainly wasn’t shy when it came to killing off pivotal characters. In fact, many of the deaths totally changed things about the show as a whole.
The characters in this series were a complex bunch, with many doing seemingly unforgivable things. Still, fans found reasons to love them. That made it so some of the deaths crushed viewers. They were heartbreaking losses whether it was because of who they happened to, who they affected, or how they perished.
Updated on April 22nd, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: When a series features as much death as The 100, losing characters can become an expected part of the story. That doesn’t make those losses any less impactful on the viewers. While there are a lot of deaths in the series that can make for satisfying conclusions to arcs, just as many were incredibly sad for the audience. As satisfying as it might have been to see one character pay for their actions, seeing a beloved character be the one to end their life, for example, pulled at the heartstrings of those watching. With increasingly creative ways for the writers to end the lives of characters, the audience was certainly left with many emotional losses.
Updated on May 29th, 2022 by Kevin Pantoja: Death truly did lurk around every corner in The 100, which was evident as early as the third episode when a character who would seemingly be around for a long time was killed off. That became par for the course with the show as your favorites were never safe. New viewers who find the series on Netflix are probably asking themselves something like, “Does Raven die in The 100?” as soon as season 1 ends. Regardless of who it was, most of the deaths on this show were pretty tragic and left everyone in tears.
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Jasper Jordan
Jasper’s death in the series comes just as the main characters discover that the world is about to end – again. Following the death of the inhabitants of Mount Weather in season 2, Jasper struggles to deal with his grief at losing Maya, and the part he played in all of those lives lost.
When Jasper finds out that the world is about to end, he doesn’t see the point of struggling against another apocalyptic event, especially when he also discovers that his skills aren’t considered “worthy” of being one of the last of humanity. He chooses how he wants to spend his final days, partying with friends, and finally, using poison to end his life. Jasper isn’t the only member of the original 100 to choose that path, but he’s the most prominent and it’s a heartbreaking conclusion to the character’s story.
Madi Griffin
Madi’s death itself isn’t tragic. After all, she does choose to transcend in the series finale. The events leading up to her death, however, are incredibly difficult for the audience to swallow, which is why her ending ranks as so sad.
Madi decides to go with Cadogan’s people when they want the information in her brain at the expense of her friends’ lives. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. Unfortunately, the information is so deep in her mind that when Cadogan pushes his technology to find it, Madi’s brain is so damaged that she can’t communicate or move by the time Clarke finds her. It’s eventually revealed that Madi chooses to transcend because she knows Clarke wouldn’t want her to live out her life without any other children around her. Even in the final moments of her traditional life, Madi makes the choice that puts Clarke’s feelings first.
Luna kom Flokru
A Nightblood introduced after all of the others are murdered, Luna is a surprising candidate for Heda. She’s an incredibly well-trained fighter and leader, but she wants nothing to do with the violence of Grounder culture anymore. That all changes when her entire clan suffers from radiation poisoning while she survives.
Luna takes it upon herself to enter the Conclave to fight for the bunker that could save the last of humanity. The difference is, she doesn’t want anyone to have it because she doesn’t think they deserve to survive anymore. Luna goes all out in the Conclave, defeating several enemies before she’s ultimately killed as well. Her death is largely so sad because of how far her character turns from her peaceful nature.
Miles Shaw
Miles Shaw doesn’t initially make a big impression on the audience as he’s the pilot of the prison ship that was in cryosleep before the world ended again. The primary reason the audience grows to care so much for him is because of how much Raven cares for him. Raven becomes the moral center of the show as it goes on, so when she cares for someone, it’s impossible not to sympathize with the character.
Shaw survives the end of the world to help what’s left of humanity enter cryosleep themselves and makes it all the way to the other side of the galaxy to a new planet. He does thanks to an unfortunate mistake as a radiation-fueled barrier kills him before it can be disabled. It was sad because Raven finally seemed like she might have something good in her life, which she deserved, but it was taken from her.
The Culling Volunteers
Long before numerous tragedies befell characters in the final season, The 100’s writers made it clear that death would be a huge part of the show. That’s due in large part to the culling that occurs on the Ark in the very first season.
When it’s clear that the Ark doesn’t have a good enough working oxygen system to sustain life, the governing body toys with the idea of simply sealing off one section of the space station and sacrificing people for the greater good. It’s Abby Griffin who finds the idea barbaric and floats the idea of explaining the reality to the people, asking for volunteers to sacrifice themselves so that the rest of the population can live. Her idea works, and it buys them time, but the story follows one man in particular who sacrifices himself so his sick daughter can live on. It’s the perfect snapshot of the struggle to survive in the series and the tragedy that comes with it.
Finn Collins
It seems like forever ago that Finn Collins was around. He died during season 2 and by that point, the loss of the character wasn’t exactly the heartbreaking part. After all, in his desire to find Clarke, he massacred over a dozen unarmed Grounders.
His death was justice but it’s kind of sad to look back on it. Clarke stepped in and mercy killed Finn, taking him out before he would be tortured by Grounders. It wasn’t the first time Clarke had to kill one of The 100 in an act of mercy but it did mark the first time that Clarke had to end an ally’s life who wasn’t yet even injured, seemingly ending her innocence and putting her on the path to become Wanheda.
Bellamy Blake
A death can be both heartbreaking and frustrating at the same time. It is pretty clear that fans were displeased with the way Bellamy Blake’s storyline in the final season went. He turned his back on his friends to believe in something he had only just learned about.
It came down to Bellamy threatening Madi’s safety. Clarke couldn’t let that happen and she pleaded with Bellamy not to do it. When he refused, she gunned him down. It was crushing to see that Clarke had to end the life of her best friend to protect her daughter.
Marcus Kane
The tale of Marcus Kane is actually a pretty sad one. He started the show as someone who was all about the “greater good” and was behind The Culling that sacrificed hundreds. He grows into someone the audience trusted and loved, so his passing hurt.
On his death bed, Abby had him reborn using the Mind Drive in the body of a younger man named Gavin. Of course, Kane never wanted this and chose to die rather than live that way. He opted to be floated by Indra and Abby’s reaction made it much harder to deal with.
Maya Vie
To be fair, Maya Vie didn’t matter to fans on the level of the other entries. In fact, a lot of them believed that she was faking some of her feelings for Jasper and agreed with the folks at Mount Weather for most of her tenure.
However, her death marked a huge turning point for the show. She was killed along with the rest of Mount Weather when Clarke and Bellamy flushed radiation through the facility. It was sad to see her die but also crushing to know what it did to Jasper. He became depressed which eventually sent him down a path of taking his own life.
Abby Griffin
Abigail Griffin was the protagonist of the Ark section of the show in season 1. Not only was she Clarke’s mother but she also played a maternal role for Raven Reyes and acted as a leader in many different situations. She was a caring figure, through and through.
Even though Madi wasn’t her blood granddaughter, she treated her as such and became a Nightblood in season 6 to protect her. That led to Russell Lightbourne using her body as a host for his wife Simone. Abby dying is tough enough on its own but the fact that her own daughter had to be the one to float her was devastating.
Charmaine Diyoza
When Charmaine Diyoza first appeared on The 100, nobody would’ve believed they’d be sad about her death. She was a terrorist and the antagonist for a lot of season 6. Ultimately, she went on to form a bond with Octavia Blake that turned her around as a character.
Fans really started to like her in season 7 when she got to meet her grown-up daughter Hope. So, it hurt badly to see Diyoza sacrifice herself to save Hope and her friends. She was crystallized by Gen-9 and Hope could do nothing to save her, watching in complete sadness.
Emori
Similar to Diyoza, Emori is someone you didn’t expect to love at first. The Nomadic Grounder met John Murphy and felt more like a passing flirt than anything else. She ended up playing a big role from season four onwards.
Emori and Murphy had one of the show’s best relationships. They always survived together and looked out for each other. So, when she died in the series finale, it was truly disheartening, especially to see Murphy’s reaction. He resurrected her using his own body as a host and they had the choice of whether or not to transcend, which lessened the blow. Ultimately, they both chose not to transcend, Emori was given a second chance to live her life out on Earth with her friends, a surprisingly merciful move by the race of being responsible for transcendence in the first place.
Lexa kom Trikru
If you had to list the most beloved characters in The 100, Lexa would rank right near the top. The Commander of the Grounders, she was tough as nails and eventually formed a romantic bond with Clarke that fans still ‘ship’ to this day. Her death upset many viewers, especially due to how it happened.
Lexa wasn’t given a major sendoff. After sharing her bed with Clarke for the first time, she was accidentally shot and killed off, which the show was heavily criticized for. This was sad but it probably made people angry more than anything else.
Lincoln
In the eyes of many, Octavia Blake was the most complex character with the most growth in the series. A major part of that was her relationship with Lincoln, a Trikru Grounder who helped her become who she is by the end of the story. Their love was strong enough to help him recover from being a Reaper.
Charles Pike took control and viewed all Grounders as enemies. To save the other locked up Grounders, Lincoln stayed in captivity and was brutally executed by Pike as a helpless Octavia watched from afar. Everything about the scene was designed to break your heart.
Monty Green & Harper McIntyre
Technically this is two entries, but the characters died together and count as one. Monty Green was arguably the show’s only true good guy, always trying to do what was right and be better. His romance with Harper McIntyre was one that fans adored.
At the end of season five, everyone went into cryosleep and these two were meant to stay up a bit longer so Monty could figure out the next move. Clarke and Bellamy were awoken over a century later and shown a video detailing how the couple never went to sleep. They lived out their lives until old age together and had a son, before ultimately coming up with the plan to save them all. It was a beautiful ending but also a sad one for two of the show’s best people.