The 100 is on its way back to our screens after a hiatus that puts one in the mind of a BBC show. It’s been a long, torturous wait but finally, we see a sliver of what we can expect from The 100 ‘s fifth season. It looks downright cinematic.
The trailer starts off by establishing this as Clarke’s story and affirming that the nucleus of The 100 is Clarke and Bellamy’s relationship. In fact, the first word in the trailer is “Bellamy,” said by Clarke in one of her thousands of messages to him during her stay on the ground. Last year’s season 5 teaser scene is augmented with a bit more context. And as it goes on, we see that Clarke hasn’t given up hope in seeing her friends again.
Each year, The 100 finds a way to make sure the sci-fi elements of the show don’t get lost to the post-apocalyptic action-adventure elements. This year they have several touchstones, from spacekru to the invading Eligius miners who come marching out of their blocky spaceship like squaddies from a third-person shooter coming to consoles soon.
Speaking of video games, Octavia is Bayonetta now.
Another nice touch is seeing Madi go through Clarke’s art book which reminds us of the SDCC sizzle reel in which she recites stories Clarke has been telling her so often that its second nature for her to recite them back. It’s funny that the edgy tragedy we’ve been watching for four years is a storybook of bedtime stories for this adorable young character.
Spacekru hasn’t come down because they don’t seem to have figured out how. Seeing the Eligius craft in the distance has Bellamy advocating for caution, and Murphy ready to jump ship. Raven sees it as her personal duty to get everyone back to the ground. Echo is back in warrior mode, assessing the threat that the newcomers pose.
The trailer is very well constructed, moving from story to story and set piece to set piece in a way that flows satisfyingly. And I don’t feel like I’ve been spoiled all to hell. I’m curious as to how many miners in cryostasis there are but I think the more pressing concern is what’s riding aboard them! That one shot of …something moving around in an abdomen is possibly the most intriguing shot of the whole trailer.
On a shallow note, everyone looks really good too.
The 100 returns to The CW on April 24th at 9 pm.
