Finally! The 100 season 2 premieres this week, and we can’t wait! Prepare yourself with this recap of where we left off…

The 100 season 2, episode 1 “The 48” picks up right after the season 1 finale: Clarke (Eliza Taylor) is trapped inside a white cell, disoriented and panicked, after being taken from her decimated camp site by soldiers wearing oxygen masks.

The first season was a whirlwind of intensity, as we witnessed the first humans (errr, not so much) set foot on the ground since a nuclear war wiped out all life (again, not so much) on the planet.

Based on the Kass Morgan book of the same name, The 100 tells the story of 100 teenage delinquents living aboard a space station known as The Ark, who are sent to the ground in a bid to control the population and preserve oxygen for the rest of the survivors.

The Grounders (old and new)

When the 100 get to the ground, they find it not only survivable, but already inhabited – natives known as “Grounders” and “Reapers” have already laid claim to the land, and see Clarke, Finn (Thomas McDonell), Bellamy (Bob Morley), Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) and the rest as invaders.

The teens have enough to worry about without this external threat: they desperately try to form some kind of orderly society, and end up looking mainly to Clarke and Bellamy for guidance.

But despite attempting to make peace with the Grounders, an effort led by Finn and Octavia (who has found love with Lincoln, played by Ricky Whittle), the season culminates in a terrible battle between the factions.

With the help of Raven (Lindsey Morgan), Clarke and Jasper (Devon Bostick) lock the surviving delinquents in the ship they came down in, and blow up the camp around them – killing both friends and foes.

Bellamy and Finn didn’t make it into the dropship, and are believed to have died with the rest. Just as Clarke and the others emerge from the ship, they are gassed and captured, and we see Clarke contained in the white cell she will attempt to escape from in season 2.

The Ark-ers

Back on the Ark, Clarke’s mother Abby (Paige Turco), Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington) and Councillor Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) are forced to make hard choices when oxygen levels get critically low.

In a last bid for survival, Jaha sacrifices himself to allow the last remaining humans to reach Earth, by breaking the Ark itself apart.

But when Abby and Kane reach the ground, it might already be too late. As far as we know, they arrive just as the remainder of the 100 are being taken captive by the Mountain Men – and of course the adults will have their own problems to deal with.

Kane went through an incredible character transformation in season 1. But just like Bellamy and Clarke, Kane and Abby will probably find they have very different ways of leading their fellow survivors.

Questions and predictions

First and foremost, fans are wondering about the fates of Finn, Bellamy, Raven and Jaha. All four characters’ lives hang in the balance, and the cast and crew are keeping tight-lipped about who lives and who dies. We’re in the privileged position of not yet having seen the season 2 premiere, so all the following theories are strictly spoiler-free:

Jaha is alive, for now, but unless he miraculously finds a way to the Ground before his oxygen runs out, we’re not seeing much hope for him. And considering how many times he tried to kill himself off in season 1, we almost think it’s time for his story to end.

Bellamy seems the most likely to survive, considering his popularity with fandom, and the complexity of his character. In the books he is the main love interest of Clarke, and we can’t see the writers wasting such an obvious opportunity.

Finn is probably the most likely to die, though we hate to say it. He lost a lot of points with viewers after his badass girlfriend Raven crafted herself a ride to the ground to save him, only to find out that he wasted no time falling in love with someone else. But we’re still holding out hope for him and Clarke, and we think the show needs a peace-seeking, morally solid guy like Finn.

Raven is a fan-favourite character, and Lindsey Morgan has been out promoting the show, but things aren’t looking good for her. She was shot by Murphy (Richard Harmon) and if she survives she will likely be paralysed. So unless she was taken by the Mt. Weather team and given some magical medicine, we’re not going to bet on her making it past the premiere.

As for Mount Weather, we’re not so much wondering who lives in it, but more why they are keeping their people locked up. The two-headed deer, glow-in-the-dark vegetation and poisonous mist are all excellent reasons for staying indoors, but the Grounders seem like they’re doing just fine out in the open.

We hope that Grounder leader Anya (Dichen Lachman) will play a bigger role in season 2, and that we’ll learn a lot more about the Grounder tribes – how their ancestors survived, why they live so primitively, and what their relationship is to the Mountain Men.

With everyone promising that this season will be darker and bloodier, we’re just hoping that most of our favourite characters make it through alive, and that they’ll eventually find their way back to one another. We’ve got many potential reunions to look forward to: Abby and Clarke, Octavia and Bellamy, Monty and Jasper… if they all survive long enough to find each other, that is!

What are you most excited to see in ‘The 100’ season 2?

The 100 season 2, episode 1 “The 48” airs Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW.