Haven’t read The 100 by Kass Morgan? Prepare for season 2 of the CW show with this roundup of book-to-show changes.
The 100 season 2 premieres later this month, on October 22. We’re beyond ready. If you want an overview of how the show differs from the Kass Morgan book, read on… and find out why Day 21 can tell us very little about what season 2 will bring.
Related: Introducing The 100: The best show you’re not watching
The book
The 100 is a dystopian YA novel by Kass Morgan, released in 2013. Earlier this month, the sequel Day 21 was released. It follows a group of teenage prisoners born and raised in a space colony, who are sent back to Earth to see if it is safe to return following the nuclear wipe-out from which their ancestors escaped.
The show
The 100 is a dystopian teen drama series on The CW, created by Jason Rothenberg and based on the book by the same name. While the basic premise and (most of) the main characters are the same, not much else is. Find out how the characters have changed, and how that impacts the plot!
Main book characters and their TV show counterparts
Let’s begin by looking at the original book characters that also appear in the TV series.
Clarke Griffin
The show: Main character Clarke (Eliza Taylor) is immediately presented as tough, resourceful, and with a clear sense of justice – characteristics that make her an ideal candidate for leadership when the delinquents get to the ground. She has the incredible ability of being able to put her personal feelings aside, shown most clearly when her best friend Wells (Eli Goree) is killed, and when her love interest Finn (Thomas McDonell) is reunited with his girlfriend.
Through flashbacks we learn that Clarke’s father was executed after discovering the truth about the Ark’s failing life support system. Clarke spends the first few episodes upset with Wells because she believes he told his father, Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington), but later finds out that her mother Abby (Paige Turco) was the one to turn in her father.
By the end of the season, Clarke has taken on a joint leadership role with Bellamy (Bob Morley), the two having found a good way to compromise their very different temperaments and leadership styles. But she is captured by the Mountain Men, believing that her two closest allies Finn and Bellamy are dead.
The book: TV show-Clarke is the character who most resembles their book counterpart. She is the first POV character we meet, and is immediately shown to be intelligent and compassionate, though deeply scarred by her past.
Two main differences set book- and TV show-Clarke apart: her parents’ fates, and her romantic relationships. In the book, Clarke’s parents were both scientists, who were forced by Vice Chancellor Rhodes to carry out radiation trials on children. When Clarke discovers this, she tells her boyfriend Wells, who immediately goes to Jaha because he believes that justice will be served.
Instead, both of Clarke’s parents are killed, and Clarke herself is arrested. She naturally detests Wells for this betrayal, but by the end of the book she has begun to forgive him. After all, as Bellamy tells her, Wells must really love her to follow her to earth.
…Ah, yes, Bellamy. Finn doesn’t exist in the book, and Clarke is instead torn between Wells and Bellamy. Clarke and Bellamy share a heated kiss in the jungle on, like, day three, but after Wells saves her life, she temporarily gets back together with him (until her friend Thalia dies and she blames Wells for it). Clarke shows no interest in leadership, but her medical training makes her valuable to the other survivors.
Bellamy Blake
The show: Bellamy is one of the most interesting characters in the series, going from a quasi-villain to a quasi-hero and never quite fitting into either category. He forces his way onto the dropship by shooting Chancellor Jaha, a decision he was pushed into by one of the guards, who was part of a larger conspiracy.
Bellamy’s main concern is and will always be his little sister Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos). On the ground, he quickly forces himself into a leadership role, intimidating the rest and imposing harsh laws. His aim is to remove all the arm bands linking them to the Ark, because he doesn’t want the government coming down and arresting him.
Through the show, Bellamy goes through a remarkable transformation. He realises, when a little girl is sentenced to death by an angry mob, that violence is not the answer. While he may always have a violent streak, he never acts without a good reason, and he always stops to listen to the advice of people he respects.
The book: Bellamy is a POV character, and is instantly likeable. While his motives are selfish – get to the ground and escape camp with Octavia – his methods are peaceful. He has a natural talent with a bow and arrow, and finds himself most content when he’s in the forest alone, hunting animals.
In some ways, Bellamy is a much more docile version of his TV show counterpart. He tries to avoid getting involved with conflicts, though when Octavia is being bullied by the mob, he begins to fight back. He is instantly attracted to the strong-willed Clarke, and at the end of the book the pair leaves the camp together to search for the kidnapped Octavia.
Wells Jaha
The show: Seeing as Wells was killed off in episode 3, we don’t know a whole lot about him. We know he loved Clarke, enough to follow her to Earth, but they appeared to have been best friends rather than lovers (echoing the relationship book-Wells has with Glass).
Wells was a true hero in the show: he was fair, brave and compassionate, and though Bellamy did his best to prevent it, Wells was rising up as a natural leader. On the Ark, he let Clarke believe that he was the one who sold out her father to Jaha, to spare her the pain of knowing the truth: that it was in fact her own mother.
He was killed by the creepiest child in the world, Charlotte (Izabela Vidovic), after Bellamy told her to “slay her demons.” Poor Wells died just as he’d set everything right with Clarke, and who knows how their relationship might have developed.
The book: Wells is a POV character in the book, and one of Clarke’s main love interests. Like in the show, Wells voluntarily followed Clarke to Earth – but his methods were a little more grim. He did, in fact, tell his dad about Clarke’s parents; a badly thought through decision, showing a naive belief in a faulty justice system.
When Clarke’s parents were killed and Clarke was detained, Wells went a step further: he sabotaged the Ark’s air supply to push the dropship launch forward, so Clarke would be sent to Earth rather than executed. The ultimate selfish act, Wells potentially sacrificed most of the human race to save one girl.
Although Clarke initially forgives him for betraying her trust, he physically holds her back when the medical tent is burning and her friend Thalia is dying. This is the last straw for Clarke, who follows Bellamy into the jungle to find Octavia. We wonder if Wells still has a chance with Clarke… and if he deserves one.
Octavia Blake
The show: Octavia has spent her entire life locked up, but instead of being left broken and afraid, she emerges from her cocoon full of life and desires. If The 100 was a high school show, Octavia would be the head cheerleader, but luckily high school is a long-lost concept, and Octavia isn’t confined by any character stereotypes.
She’s independent, strong-willed and stubborn; as layered and interesting as any other character on the show. And though she has a very strong self-preservation instinct, her desire for justice often leads her to do the right thing.
Octavia’s Romeo & Juliet-style romance with Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) is an original storyline. It starts when he kidnaps her and she beats him up and escapes, and later learns that he’s in love with her. While this is super creepy, it also intrigues the adventurous Octavia, and she learns that Lincoln is actually a pretty nice guy. Her willingness to accept and understand him perhaps speaks to her own underlying psychological issues, but we love how these two flawed, damaged people have found solace in each other.
The book: The show hasn’t changed Octavia too much; the main difference is that in the book, Octavia was only kept hidden for the first few years of her life, and was then placed in a care center with other orphans. She’s clearly got major PTSD and lots of unresolved issues, but because she’s not a POV character, we only see her through other people’s eyes.
Octavia’s mother tried to strangle her before taking her own life, which left Octavia unable to sleep at night. Medics began giving her sleeping pills, leading to an addiction which later causes her to steal Clarke’s medicine. At Bellamy’s urging she confesses to the camp – only to have the villainous Graham call for her execution. Wells suggests that Octavia and Bellamy are banished instead, but then she’s kidnapped by the Grounders – could a Lincoln love story be coming her way after all?!
Chancellor Jaha
The show: The Chancellor is a fantastic character. He is depicted as a fundamentally sympathetic man, who has spent a lifetime having to make hard choices. Having to execute one of his oldest friends tore him apart, but it was an indisputable necessity. He is a man who truly believes in the greater good.
After learning that Wells is dead, Jaha tries to sacrifice himself several times – but as people keep reminding him, he’s more use alive than dead. But he finally gets his wish, choosing to stay behind on the dying Ark to help the remaining survivors to get to Earth.
The book: Jaha is not a POV character, and we don’t know much about him despite the fact that he is very cold towards his son, and seems to believe in justice above all else. When Clarke’s parents are convicted and Vice-Chancellor Rhodes wants Clarke tried as well, Jaha agrees, despite (or maybe because of) Wells’ feelings for her.
He is shot by Bellamy when the dropship launches, and is left in a coma for the rest of the book. It is unclear whether he had a hand in sealing off Arcadia and Walden, to preserve Phoenix’s oxygen supply.
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