WARNING: Major spoilers for Season 1 of “The 100” ahead
I know people who dislike romance, especially when it distracts from more important plot elements.
In my view, there’s no such thing as too much romance.
Okay, that’s not true. I get how frustrating it can be when a subpar romance takes over a great story.
The show started EARLY, setting up couples that both drew my ire and inspired my sympathy.
THE ROMANCE
Good:
So they didn’t go the direction I was hoping and make Clarke and Wells a thing.
Nothing else interesting romance-wise happened for the first few episodes. Finn was around, but you know how I feel about him. Octavia kept hooking up with random dudes (boring), and the writers sexed up Bellamy so you knew he was the villain.
I started to like Bellamy in “Day Trip” when he was plagued by visions of the people he killed. He acknowledged that he deserved whatever punishment was coming, which was a step toward humility. Then he and Clarke had a nice conversation about guilt and redemption, which was a positive change in their relationship and…wait a minute…
This is a ship. The writers are shipping these two! I’m…I’m not even mad!
What I love about Clarke and Bellamy: it’s not love at first sight (I HATE YOU, FINN). It’s gradual. It feels natural. No one is talking about intense feelings or true love or soulmates. This is a relationship I can get behind.
The other relationship I really liked was Octavia and Lincoln’s.
There was the forbidden love element, the ethical dilemma of torturing for information, multiple rescues, Olivia as Lincoln’s caretaker–basically everything I’m ashamed to admit I love when it comes to romance played out between these two.
When Lincoln kissed Octavia out of nowhere, I thought it was a little fast–not to mention kind of gross, since he was still bloody from the torture–but otherwise fine. Surely their relationship would continue to develop as the season went on.
Bad:
The very next episode I asked myself why Octavia and Lincoln were having sex when they barely knew each other. Silly me.
I realize Ricky Whittle and Marie Avgeropoulos are beautiful people. That’s no excuse to skip relationship development in favor of fanservice. Hope you liked the two episodes of sexual tension; the rest of the season is the two of them “in love” because that’s how love works.
BORING, BORING, BORING.
My other romance pet peeve, of course, involved Finn.
I hate Finn. I HATE Finn.
My problem, as I’ve said before, is that the writers want me to buy into this Finn-Clarke pairing. They’re asking me to ignore
- the fact that Finn has a girlfriend
- the fact that Finn cheated on said girlfriend
- the fact that Finn won’t dump said girlfriend
I have no reason support this relationship. Finn is not a tortured, confused, all-in-all good guy. His relationship with Clarke is boring and cliché, based on a “chemistry” that the writers haven’t show me. Finn is the writers going, “Look, a bad boy! Everyone swoon!” after they’ve already shown they can do better.
This is the last of my rants until Netflix puts out season 2. I’ve heard a few things about the second season (“Look, girls kissing! Everyone swoon!”) but am otherwise in the dark. Can’t wait to see what other twists the writers have prepared. All hail Bellamy and Clarke!
Narrative Paradise 
I love your reviews! Did you do more for the following season? Also, I really love Bellamy and Clarke and NEED THEM TO BE A THING ALREADY! I believe in the slow burn, but do they even have the gas turned on??? I can tell that they’re leading to getting them together, but the wait is almost insulting.
PS, I love your writing. I LOL’d when you said–“This is a ship. The writers are shipping these two! I’m…I’m not even mad!”
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