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.
Next page: New characters created for the show
Original TV show characters
You might be surprised that some of these characters don’t exist in the book – it’s hard to imagine The 100 without them!
Finn Collins
The most significant original character in the show, Finn combines elements of book-Bellamy and Wells, while still being a unique new character in his own right.
Since Wells was killed off so early on, the show (and Clarke) needed a counterpoint to the more ruthless Bellamy. While Finn started off as a wannabe bad boy, he quickly transformed into the a moral compass of sorts, always ready to offer a peaceful alternative to Bellamy, Clarke and Raven’s violent solutions. He is not altogether heroic, however, as his motivations are at least partly driven by romantic interest in Clarke, and a desire to ‘win’ over Bellamy (Bellamy, meanwhile, has much bigger problems than Finn’s ego).
Once you’ve watched the show, it’s hard to imagine a version of The 100 without Finn, because he is so vital to the storylines of both Clarke and Raven. He also serves the function of providing some common sense, without actively vying for power, unlike most of the other central characters in the story.
Finn’s relationship with Clarke is also very important to both of their character evolutions, and adds a lot of tension to the story. The show is much more sparing with romance than the book, and the low-simmering love triangle between Finn, Clarke and Raven is much less in-your-face than the Wells/Clarke/Bellamy triangle in the book.
Abby Griffin
In an interesting twist, Abigail Griffin not only has a name and personality in the show, but also a dark secret: she was the one who told Chancellor Jaha about her husband’s discovery, thereby causing his execution.
As she explains to Clarke, she was hoping that Jaha would talk Jake out of making his discoveries public, but instead Jaha chose to execute him. This left Abby very bitter, but she stayed on as Councilwoman, and did her best to stay rational in order to best protect her daughter and her people.
She was against Kane’s decision to cut off life support for some citizens, to improve the chances for the rest of the Ark. But by the end of the season, she and Kane have made peace, and are among the very few Ark survivors who make it to Earth. Abby is a strong, independent person, who will undoubtedly rise up as a natural leader like her daughter.
Marcus Kane
Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) is initially presented like the TV show version of Vice Chancellor Rhodes. He’s ruthless, cold-hearted, and hates Abby enough to try and have her executed. However, by the end of the season, circumstances have forced him to confront the choices he’s made, and the lives he’s inadvertently destroyed.
Kane’s plan to suffocate a small number of people to better the chances for the rest might have made sense on paper, but once the Chancellor went ahead and followed Kane’s plan, and once they saw how many people volunteered to give their lives for their loved ones, Kane struggled with the fact that he had essentially caused the death of hundreds of innocent people.
He has been ready to sacrifice himself many times since then, but ultimately he makes it to Earth side by side with Abby – now his friend and ally.
Raven Reyes
Finn’s girlfriend Raven (Lindsey Morgan) starts her story on the Ark, where Abby employs her to build a vessel that can transport them both to Earth. Raven ends up going to Earth alone, only to find that her boyfriend (believing her to be dead/lost to him forever) has begun to fall in love with someone else.
Still, Raven plugs on, and becomes one of the most valued members of the 100: not only is she a skilled mechanic, but she can make bombs and bullets!
She was gravely injured towards the end of season 1, and we don’t know if the Mountain Men took her, or whether they left her for dead. We hope she’ll recover, because she’s awesome.
Lincoln and the Grounders
Since the Grounders aren’t introduced until the final chapter of the book, we don’t know (unless we’ve read Day 21, but let’s pretend we haven’t) if there’s a Lincoln in the original story.
In the show, he’s introduced as the “good” Grounder – because of his obsession with Octavia, he is more open to actually talking with the delinquents, as opposed to just killing them. He and Octavia escape the battle in the season finale, and are allegedly on their way to Lincoln’s people.
While there are Grounders in the book series as well, the Grounders that appear in the show are original characters. Their tribal, primitive lifestyle and conflict with the Reapers adds a depth to the Earth mystery we’re very glad the writers added to the story.
Jasper and Monty
No characters like Jasper (Devon Bostick) and Monty (Christopher Larkin) exist in the first book, although Day 21‘s Eric comes close. In the show, the pair is a classic sidekick-BFF combination, which adds some much-needed levity to the grim plot.
Jasper in particular becomes helpful to the main characters, both because he can shoot a gun and because he is an electrician. Not as skilled as Raven, but when she succumbs to her injuries in the season finale, Jasper steps up and saves the day.
Jasper and Monty are a great addition to the ensemble, because they bridge the gap between the nameless extras (redshirts, as Lost and Star Trek fans would call them) and the main characters.
Next page: Book characters that don’t exist in the show
Book characters that were not adapted
Finally, a few characters that played major roles in the book, but were completely removed from the show’s DNA.
Glass
(Pictured: Candice Accola in The Vampire Diaries)
Glass is a main POV character in the book, and the only present-day perspective on the Ark. Her worldview is very limited – she pretty much only cares about her ex-boyfriend Luke, who she broke up with (for his own good) when she became pregnant with his child. But when she was arrested, she had an accident, causing her to lose the baby.
Glass is a prisoner scheduled for Earth, but escapes the dropship just before it departs. Her mother manages to convince Vice-Chancellor Rhodes to pardon her, but all Glass cares about is getting Luke back.
Through Glass, we learn that the Ark’s life support is failing. When she finds out that Luke’s part of the ship is losing oxygen, she leaves her mother to be with him. The first book closes on the cliffhanger that Luke’s new girlfriend (now ex) might tell him the truth about how Glass had his roommate executed, by telling the Chancellor that he was the father rather than Luke.
Thalia
(Pictured: Jessica Szohr in Gossip Girl)
Thalia is Clarke’s best friend, one of the girls she was confined with before being moved to solitary. They are reunited on the dropship, but sadly Thalia is one of the people who gets injured in the crash, and because Clarke lacks medicine, her wound is infected.
After a close call when the recovered medicine is stolen by Octavia, Clarke manages to save Thalia. But tragically, the Grounders set fire to the camp, and Thalia is too weak to escape the burning tent. She appears to have been killed, and Clarke blames Wells for not being able to save her.
To sum up: Why we love the changes
The 100 book has opened a fantastic, rich world, full of possibility. But while the book begins to unlock this world, the show takes it to the next level. The first season is fast-paced and goes a lot further than the first book (we only discover the Grounders in the final chapter!), and there’s a lot less time for reflecting on the past.
The main purpose of the book is to slowly reveal what led each main character to confinement, and how they’re beginning to make peace with their personal tragedies. Ever character’s story is (to a certain extent) a love story, and romance seems the main concern for everyone but Bellamy.
The show is about survival, and figuring out what the hell is happening on Earth. There’s romance, but it’s much less prevalent, and the characters (especially Clarke) hardly ever make it a priority.
We think the show did a wonderful job of upping the stakes and taking the story’s potential to the next level. The survival stories both on the ground and the Ark are riveting and emotionally investing, and leave us desperate to find out what happens next.
The 100 season 2 premieres October 22 on The CW with the episode “The 48.”