10 Questions After The 100's Time Jump

The CW's best show ended its fourth season with a time jump and a cliffhanger that raises a lot of questions about what comes next.

The CW / Via cwtv.com

Spoilers for The 100 through the season finale "Praimfaya" to follow

With The 100 thankfully renewed for a fifth season, last week's season finale involved some setup for next season. This included the predicted time jump. Time jumps can reinvigorate a series and open up new storytelling possibilities. That looks to be the case here on a show that loves putting its characters through hell. The glimpse into the future was exciting and raised a lot of questions about what took place during the time we skipped over and where things are headed moving forward. Here are the questions we have after the season finale of The 100.

1. Whoa, this time jump is longer than we thought, what gives?

The CW

Once we knew that The 100 had been renewed for season five it was assumed there would be some sort of time jump. The story established that there would be five years of radiation before the Earth was habitable again. It was unlikely that the show would confine the stories next season to a bunker and a space station. I was expecting a four and a half to five year jump so we could see the characters on the space station attempt to make their way back to the ground. This title card stating that the jump was six years and seven days caught me off guard. I think it is safe to say that we will get flashbacks throughout next season to fill in the gaps of what happened to our characters during these six years.

2. How did Clarke survive Praimfaya and the past six years?

The CW

Clarke is arguably the main character on the show so it seemed unlikely that she would truly die in the season finale. Even though it seemed dire, she found a way to survive. The question is how. We now know that her nightblood treatment worked and made her immune to the radiation. But how did she survive the death wave, was it merely the protection of Becca's lab on the island? After that, how did she survive six years in the wilderness? With most of the Earth irradiated, what was she doing for food? Most animals must be dead so was she simply surviving on the plants in her oasis of unscorched Earth?

3. Why hasn't Bellamy and Co. heard Clarke's calls, or if they have, why aren't they responding?

The CW

This is where things start to get really interesting. Clarke radios to Bellamy and remarks that it has been safe for the crew on the ring to come down for over a year, so why haven't they. It isn't entirely clear how long Clarke has been out of contact with Bellamy and those aboard the ring. Did she make contact with them at all after the death wave? Do they even know she is alive? It may be that she had contact with them and lost it. This could be due to a simple equipment issue aboard the ring. But I suspect something far more dire and sinister as the reason that those aboard the ring haven't made contact or returned to the ground.

4. Why hasn't anyone emerged from the bunker or made contact?

The CW / Via cwtv.com

Just like Bellamy and Co. aboard the ring, there are a lot of questions about what happened inside the bunker in the past six years and why no one has come out. Did Abby forgive Kane? Is Octavia still the de facto commander? It is possible that they haven't emerged simply because they can't. Clarke said that they tried to move the rubble from the entrance but were unable to do so. They could just be stuck, but that doesn't explain the lack of communication. Could the reason the bunker hasn't made contact be the same reason the ring hasn't or is it something different? With 1100 grounders and 100 Skaikru in the bunker together for six years, any number of conflicts could have arose.

5. Are Clarke and Maddie the only remaining nightbloods, or are there more?

The CW

It looks like Clarke has been caring for and teaching (teaching what?) a young nightblood named Maddie. Luna was thought to be the last true born nightblood but it seems that there were others. The question is, how many survived Praimfaya and how many has Clarke made contact with. She said that 'we' tried to move the rubble off the bunker, but who is the 'we' in that statement. Is it just her and Maddie, or has she formed a group of survivors? Also how long have Clarke and Maddie known each other?

6. Is Clarke's area the only unscorched part of the Earth and how was it spared?

The CW

Clarke says that Raven should aim for the one spot of green to find her and that the rest of the planet "basically sucks". Is Earth now essentially a barren wasteland other than Clarke's oasis? How was this area spared from Praimfaya and how large is it? Are there other green areas besides this? If this is the only remaining livable land, this area will be extremely valuable, important and desirable. It could even be the source of potential conflict.

7. What is the Eligius Corporation?

The CW

I wasn't sure if this company had been mentioned before but as far as I can tell it hasn't. I went back to check and Becca's company was called Polaris, so this is a new player on the show. We see that this is a prisoner transport but what is a corporate prisoner ship doing in this post-apocalyptic world? The name 'Eligius' may refer to Saint Eligius who is the patron saint of goldsmiths, metal workers, coin collectors and miners. Perhaps the Eligius Corporation is a mining company...

8. Where did this ship come from and why is it here now?

The CW

The tricky part about the existence of this ship and corporation is that it runs counter to everything we know about the world of The 100. Over 100 years ago in the show, a nuclear holocaust wiped out the majority of life and civilization. How has a corporation with a large, advanced ship survived? The Eligius Corporation ship is also marked 'Gagarin Prisoner Transport'. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space and there is a crater on the far side of the moon named after him.

Was there some sort of penal and mining colony based on the moon that existed prior to the first Praimfaya? If so why did no one on the Ark know about or mention it? Did this organization know that the reactors would melt down causing a second Praimfaya and decided to wait to return? Maybe this prisoner transport is being sent down to test habitability in the same way the 100 themselves were originally sent to Earth and they landed near Clarke because it is the only green area left.

9. How does Clarke know about Eligius and how long has she been contending with them?

The CW

When Maddie says to Clarke "I thought you said the ship was small", the look on Clarke's face gave me a feeling reminiscent to the 'Not Penny's Boat' moment on Lost. There is a sense of knowing and dread in Clarke. Maddie's reaction seems to indicate that she is unaware but I think it is safe to say that Clarke knows this company and knows that they do not come in peace. The six years since Praimfaya is longer than the story time of the first four seasons of the show. A lot can happen in that time. The question is how long has Clarke known of them and has she had direct interactions with them, or just seen them from afar? And what does she know about them that causes such a defensive and fearful reaction?

Any prisoners sent to the moon are likely to have been the worst of the worst. But if this ship and company existed prior to the first Praimfaya, all of the original prisoners would be dead. So are these their children? Is a descendent generation of prisoners in control of this ship or is it someone else who is just using it? Whoever is aboard that ship is likely to be the antagonist next season, but for now, who they are and what they want is a mystery.

10. Is Eligius responsible for the silence from Bellamy, Raven and those aboard the ring?

The CW

This is major speculation territory but with the emergence of this new enemy, it seems entirely plausible that they might be responsible for the silence from those aboard the ring. If this ship really did come from the moon they may have been aware of those aboard the ring. Perhaps Bellamy, Raven and the others on the remains of the ark came into contact with these people first. If so, maybe Bellamy, Raven, Monty, Echo, Harper, Emori and Murphy are all now prisoners of Eligius and are aboard the transport.