Within The 100, there are quite a few different concepts present in the show. It is filled with multiple forms of representation and there are many themes present throughout the series. An underlying theme for the entirety of the show that interests me the most is the idea of good vs bad and what ultimately determines these notions.

When watching season 1, this theme is there but it is not voiced. However, in season 2, it is. In episode 13, “Resurrection,” Abby tells Clarke in the end “Don’t forget that we’re the good guys.” Then in the season finale, Clarke tells her mother, “I tried. I tried to be the good guy.” Her mother’s response to her now is that, “Maybe there are no good guys.”

Article Continues Below

This was a great line for me. I loved the meaning there and what it meant for the show. There are moments from all shows and films that stand out to us in one way or another. This was mine. I had only been watching the show for just over two days at that point but this theme became clear and I loved it.

Naturally, I hoped to hear this particular line again and, I have. Episode 11 of season 3, “Nevermore,” brings it back into play.

Bellamy, having confronted Niylah, then asks Clarke, “What do you do when you realize…you might not be the good guy?” Clarke’s response is exactly what her mother told her in last season’s finale: “Maybe there are no good guys.”

What “Nevermore” did was bring a bit more to this concept. It was fleshed out in a more grounded way. We saw Clarke be confronted by Jasper about Maya and Mount Weather. We saw Bellamy have to face Niylah after the reveal that her father was among the 300 that Bellamy helped Pike to slaughter. What is important to note with these moments is that Clarke and Bellamy thought what they were doing was “good” in the sense that it was helping their people. They knew that it was not morally good but they did it because they felt they needed to. With Jasper and Niylah, we are able to see the other side. We see how, for them, this was not for the good of everyone. They suffered. Others suffered. For them, it was wrong.

I have had more than one class this semester that brought up the concept of what constitutes “good” and where that power comes from. Who determines what is good and where does that power come from? Generally it is those who are in the position to influence others that determine what becomes the norm. After time passes, the masses can fall into simply accepting these norms. When looking at what is good or bad there is a general idea of what these things are and when a person or group goes against what the majority sees as good, and there is a common ground for them to be upset. However, just because the majority has their idea of good it does not necessarily mean that it is the only way to be good. For others, the majority’s good is actually wrong.

These ideas have been present before this episode and before the lines were first said in season 2. They just were not said to us. They were shown.

Take the Grounders and the hundred for example in season 1. Each side is fighting for their people. They are killing each other because they need to survive. For both, killing the other is what is best for the survival of their people. Each sees their actions as the right way. There may be hesitation on some fronts but it is ultimately about protecting their own.

Mount Weather’s people in season 2 are no different. Morally, they are wrong; as viewers we know this. They even understand it. But, what they also understand is that this may not be moral, but it is what is good for their people. It is what they need to do in order to survive and go to the ground. When Clarke, Bellamy, and Monty kill those at Mount Weather, they see this as what is good for their people. As viewers we tend to agree because the heinous acts those at Mount Weather committed were too much to leave them alive. For Jasper, his friends were not doing what was good for their people. They killed innocent lives and the girl he loved.

In season 3, we have had Chancellor Pike. This is a man that spent months dealing with different hurdles from what those at Arkadia did with the Grounders. Because of this, he sees them differently and eventually gains a position of power. Pike ultimately wants to protect his people and he feels that killing those who were there to protect him was the way to do that. He did not trust the Grounders and felt they were a threat. As an audience, we may not agree with his actions but those actions can be understood.

The point here is that “good” is a relative term. What each person or group determines to be “good” is done so based on their needs and view of the world. Each of the groups mentioned above did not see themselves as bad guys. Even if they do, they see what they are doing as beneficial to those they care about. Does that make them bad? Does it make them good? There really is not an answer to that. Each action any person takes, whether in stories or the reality, is one that they feel they need to take. What one person sees as bad, another person can equally see as good. It does not excuse the horrible actions some of these characters partake in, but it does show that maybe there are no good guys.

Maybe there are just people trying to do what seems best in the moment.