The cool and compelling sci-fi series The 100 returns this week with some big changes in store. [And let me interject - if you haven’t seen the show yet, then grab Season 1 on DVD or Blu-ray or wait for it all to debut on Netflix this Wednesday and get binging!]

Separation Anxiety

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Henry Ian Cusick and Paige Turco in The 100.

Ricky Whittle as Lincoln in The 100.

Mount Weather

Raymond J. Barry ("President Dante Wallace") and Eliza Clarke ("Clarke Griffin") in The 100.

Griffin Family Values

Paige Turco as Abby Griffin in The 100.

Who's in Charge Here?

Clarke (Eliza Taylor) in The 100: Season 2 premiere.

Bob Morley as Bellamy in The 100.

Lindsey Morgan as Raven in The 100.

Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia in The 100.

There's a ton to deal with as Season 2 begins, with most of the characters separated into smaller groups -- if they’re with anyone at all -- and many in precarious places as far as their health and safety are concerned. And on top of that, you have a whole other contingent of folks coming down from the Ark.During a visit to the Vancouver set of The 100 this past week, I was among a group of journalists who spoke to several cast members from the series about what to expect this season.“This season everybody is in their own personal hell,” says Lindsey Morgan (“Raven”). We’re all going through a lot. It just got amped up to the next level. Everyone’s separated, as you saw from the finale. What you kind of don’t take in account for his how much scarier it is and how much more danger you are in when you’re alone. It’s true there’s strength in numbers and I think a big reason why the 100 had such a great ability to survive last season is because we had each other.”The characters will continue to encounter others inhabiting the planet, with Marie Avgeropoulos (“Octavia”) noting, “We’re still kind of dealing with the 100 realizing and experiencing this radiation soaked planet, where things aren’t as we as humans now recognize them and see them. So that’s something you’re going to see this season is a lot of different changes of creatures and environments.”Of course, a huge change this year are the “adult” characters, most notably Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) and Abby (Paige Turco), arriving on Earth and thrust into the middle of an already chaotic situation.Cusick said this is a notable scenario for Kane, explaining, “I think he was of the mind that he was the generation that wasn’t going to make it to Earth. In his mind, he thought he was transitional. It was the generation after him that was going to make it. Now, he’s on Earth, people are alive, it’s habitable. He’s a bit mixed up about where his role is. The short term is that he has to make sure that the Arkers -- I guess as they’re now known -- survive, that they make it through this. So he’s trying to find a way for them to survive and the way to survive he thinks is through peace with the Grounders."Turco said that when it came to the adjustments those from the Ark have to make, “I think just on a broader scope that just the rules and choices that we’re making in order to survive are very different than the Ark. In the third episode, my character says we don’t have to [follow those rules] down here. I think we’re in the process of figuring out how to [adapt] and what rules and where we go from here.”In the premiere, the injured Raven ends up encountering the person who shot her – Murphy (Richard Harmon). Said Morgan, “I loved getting the first script because it surprised me completely. I had my own kind of what I think is going to happen or my own fantasies and when I got the script and I saw who I was paired with in my first scene I was floored just because it was the last person I ever thought Raven would be interacting with, especially right off the bat. I love it because it’s such an interesting dynamic and such an uncomfortable one, extremely because Raven is completely vulnerable and she’s paired up with someone who is very dangerous but also extremely vulnerable. I think those scenes were really interesting and fascinating.”Among the many factions off on their own are Octavia and Lincoln (Ricky Whittle). Said Whittle, “I’m out with Octavia in the wilderness, trying to keep her safe. Again, it’s creating that tension, that urge to get back together. It’d be nice and great if everyone was together, but that’s what everyone wants."Whittle added, "We are going to try to build that tension by keeping everyone apart and creating that kind of urgency to try and find everyone again. Because that’s when everyone’s safe - when everyone’s together. There’s strength in numbers.”When it comes to the mysterious Mount Weather, Eliza Taylor (“Clarke Griffin”) told us, “I can safely say it’s kind of the exact opposite of what you’d immediately assume. [Clarke's] challenge to begin with is just getting the hell out of there because as you know, she’s in a very tiny little white room and the door is firmly locked. She does, as I’m sure people have seen in the teaser . She smashes her way out and bleeds everywhere. I don’t want to say too much about Mount Weather itself but I can’t wait for people to see exactly what’s going on in there.”As for who’s in charge in Mount Weather, Clarke will quickly encounter President Dante Wallace, played by Raymond Barry(Justified). As Taylor explained, “President Wallace is a seemingly creepy dude but also really friendly in the beginning. He’s sort of one of those characters where you go, ‘Is he a nice guy or is there something more to it?’ Their interaction at the beginning is very informative. He tells her how things are run and the lay of the land in Mount Weather and she’s trying to figure this guy out.”But as far as Clarke is concerned, Taylor said, “It seems too good to be true. She’s heard so many things from the Grounders and their main fear is these Mountain Men. Now that she’s inside, nothing adds up. So there must be more to the story and she’s just desperately trying to figure that out by screwing things up all the time. She’s constantly trying to escape and sneak into secret rooms.”Abby is now on the Earth, and as Turco noted, that means, “She’s closer to finding her daughter, which is huge, but I think it makes it even more intense. I think there’s a little more tension in terms of that, but [also the] excitement of finding her.”As for how far Abby would go to find Clarke, Turco told us, “I think she’ll do pretty much anything, which I think she proves in the third episode. I really think that’s it, that’s all-important to her. Again, I think it goes back to last year, all of us are changing. All of the characters that are now on the ground are changing just like the kids. The adults are as well but I think the one thing that’s precious to me is that her heart and her moral center are getting stronger. You may see it in different ways but it’s getting stronger."Regarding how Clarke would react to seeing her mom again, Taylor said, “I think that there’s a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to when or if there’s a reunion with her mom. Because obviously they need to deal with the fact that her mom is responsible for her dad’s death. It’s kind of a heavy subject. But also, having that comfort on the ground would be very overwhelming, so I think it’s going to be interesting.”In Season 1, there was a power struggle between Clarke and Bellamy (Bob Morley) that began to give away to increasing cooperation between the two. But the arrival of those from the Ark now will cause all sorts of new questions about who’s calling the shots now and who’s in the right condition to lead.Taylor said Clarke may be perceived as more questionable right now as a leader, explaining, “I think the arc of this new season is going to be really difficult for her. Last season, I spoke about how I thought that was going to be difficult in terms of being a leader. This season I think it’s just all the lines have blurred between whether or not she’s making the right decision for the good of mankind or if she’s just screwing everything up. She certainly raises some questions amongst the kids who sort of used to look up to her as to whether or not she’s kind of lost her mind. “With Jaha left behind on the remnants of the Ark, Kane is seen as the de facto Chancellor, but Cusick noted that Kane may not want that responsibility. The actor asked, “Should there be elections? Are we still a democracy? Who deserves it? Who will be the best leader? All these questions will come up.”As for Kane and the others' perception of the 100, Cusick revealed that perhaps those from the Ark will have a more positive outlook on Clarke than her peers currently do. “There is the slow realization that actually these kids, they’ve probably survived better than we may have done and there is that and a gradual acceptance and understanding that they’re pretty good. Especially Clarke. We sort of see that she is developing as the leader and she has more than her years would suggest.”For Bellamy, “Kane is the epitome of the adult,” said Morley. “He represents all those people. The Ark and the adults just kind of are, for lack of a better term, the castration of Bellamy. He’s just disempowered. He doesn’t have the mob anymore. I think the 100 were a big part of Bellamy’s power and now he’s without them, so he’s kind of lost out there.”“He’s kind of taking a back seat from that leadership role,” Morley noted. “I think he’s finding it very hard. There’s a lot of restraint he has to show. But it’s a huge change from the way it was in the first season when he would act before thinking, whereas now he just does a lot of thinking.”Things are a bit different for Raven, with Morgan observing, “Raven’s cool with the adults, I feel. She doesn’t have such a huge frustration with them as Bellamy or Clarke feels with them. I think because Raven really trusts Abby. At first she didn’t trust her, obviously, from the last season. But then they really grew into a bond with each other. It’s almost like Raven sees Abby as a mother figure, especially a mother figure she never had, so to Raven it’s a reunion and it’s a happy reunion. She respects Abby. She thinks Abby’s a bad ass so she’s stoked that they’re here and they can help. It’s just more assets."However, Avgeropoulos said the adults could be in for a rude awakening, remarking, “When they come down and they start trying to order us around and maintain that same order that was up on the Ark on the ground, they don’t even know what they’re in for. They don’t know the danger that lies within the Grounders or what lies in Mount Weather. So, I think it’s time for the adult generation to really let our voice be heard and take us more seriously because we actually have a lot of good information that can help with the good of survival of our people and just maybe tell them to refuse their instincts on what they think is right."Avgeropoulos added, "We got here first. We know how this has been going and what dangers lie on the other sides of our gates. They’ll get what’s coming and they’ll learn the hard way too. You’ll see a lot of that in Season 2.”

The 100: Season 2 premieres Wednesday, October 22nd at 9pm ET/PT on the CW.Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN , IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman