By the time the credits roll on The 100's Season 5 finale, we're pretty sure that fans will be losing their minds. But while previous finales for The CW's post-apocalyptic drama always explode the status quo with a brutal and shocking twist, this one in particular does it in such a way that viewers will be left wondering how – and where – the show can go from here.

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That makes for an incredibly compelling season ender, but what if The 100 hadn't been renewed for Season 6? It's not hard to imagine viewers rioting if this had been the last episode they ever got, not because it would've been an unsatisfying series ending, but because of all the intriguing questions it raises about the future. (Sorry, no clues here - but we do have an exclusive sneak peek at part two of the finale below.)In fact, creator and executive producer Jason Rothenberg needed to do the impossible when it came time to write and develop the Season 5 finale, because he didn't know if The 100 would return for Season 6 at the time. "When we sat down to break this story, at some point in the middle of the season, we didn't know whether we were going to have a Season 6 yet," he tells IGN. "Usually I kind of have a sense. I had a pretty good feeling of it but I just didn't know, and so I needed to craft an ending that could have served as an emotionally satisfying series finale and the beginning of a really intense new journey."The finale twist, when it comes, completely "reinvents" the series, according to Rothenberg. "I wanted to start a new adventure," he adds. "That's what I was going for, something that could really be emotionally satisfying as an end and key up a new thing at the same time. And also I needed it to be something that wouldn't be emotionally devastating to the audience left hanging, which I think I think we've accomplished."Luckily, Season 6 is guaranteed. There's at least one more season of story to be told on The 100, and CW president Mark Pedowitz told reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that he doubts next year will be The 100's last, since "Jason’s doing a remarkable job of revitalizing the show and I hope it’ll go on for a long time."But Rothenberg didn't know that until after the Season 5 finale had been filmed. "If that was the end of the show, we've left them in a place where they've had catharsis, and that could have been a cool ending, and that was the goal," he adds.Luckily, we'll get to see what happens next when the show returns next year.The 100 Season 5 finale airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on The CW. Come back to IGN following the finale's airing for more from Rothenberg on what's next.