Just one month ago, I read a fairly poor review of The CW’s latest show, The 100. I’d been ready to give it a shot: it sounded like a cool new take on Lost and Lord of the Flies but with the usual CW melodrama, and I was completely down for that.

But seeing Hypable’s C- grade for the pilot and already finding the network’s other newcomer, Star-Crossed, to be disappointingly lackluster, I decided to give it a miss.

I guess we all make mistakes and dismissing The 100 is definitely one of them.

After a bombardment of GIF sets and screams of “Watch this show!” on Tumblr, I decided to lay aside my previous misconceptions and give the show another try.

I’m hooked.

While The CW is known for producing a steady supply of teen drama, riddled with clichés and predictable plot-lines, The 100 has managed to subvert this trap, and forge its way into the hearts of its viewers as a fresh and exciting alternative to the usual formulaic offerings.

The 100 takes place 97 years after a worldwide nuclear disaster. The Earth is inhabitable, and the remainder of humanity have taken to the skies to survive. But the Ark is crumbling, their oxygen supply is malfunctioning, and life is pretty damn hard. They need to get back to Earth, fast, but they have no idea if it’s habitable yet.

Cue 100 underage delinquents who are sent to Earth to discover whether or not it’s sustainable for human life.

But why on Earth would the Chancellor and his councilors place their trust in teenage criminals to save humanity? Well, it’s not such a huge plothole. On the Ark, any crime, no matter how minuscule, is punishable by death a.k.a ‘floating.’ Basically, you’re sent out into space. Unless you’re under eighteen. The 100 are expendable — the only expendable they have.

On the surface, and from a shallow viewing of the pilot, you might find the silliness outweighs the interesting, darker aspects of the show. But once you get past the incredibly good-looking cast (who all seem to have a steady supply of Maybelline Volume Express mascara), and the pseudo-science that even makes this scientist roll her eyes, you’ll realize that there is a lot more to this show than you originally thought. Push through the absurdities of the pilot and you’re sure to find a gem.

The Characters Are Pretty Awesome

In the original review on Hypable, they were accused of being unlikeable idiots. Well, yes, some of them are. That’s the reality. When you put a bunch of teenage prisoners together in a new environment with no supervision and a hell of a lot of grudges against the people who sent them there, you’re going to get rebellion. However, most of them aren’t idiots. Most of them are complex, rounded characters whose individual journeys and backstories are as fascinating to watch as their cumulative story as a group. Yeah, some of them ARE misguided and unlikeable. That’s what makes it exciting.

In the past seven episodes we’ve seen the main antagonist go from despised power-hungry dictator in the pilot, to someone with whom we have to concede a certain grudging respect.

And then we have the main character, Clarke Griffin, a strong young woman with such certainty in her personal beliefs. The way her world crumbles with new revelations about her parents and her past, and the way she discovers the lengths she is willing to go, the parts of her she’s willing to sacrifice in order to save herself and others, is riveting viewing. It’s exciting to see a character who is so truly good, who has everyone’s best interests at heart, and her struggle to continue that conviction, to keep hold of herself through all the conflict.

“Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two very different things.”

-Bellamy Blake

And before you’re turned off by the obligatory teen love-triangle, let me set you straight. When the possibility of a love-triangle started to take shape, I cringed. I cried. I screamed to the heavens, “No! Spare me from this TV hell!” And yet, this show managed to subvert even the most hated cliché known to every fandom. What’s great about this plot point, is that the viewer is conflicted so much so that it’s hard to take sides. It’s impossible, because the way in which the characters react to the awkward situation is not the reaction we’re accustomed to. Instead, we’re shown two young women, not fighting and bitching over a guy, but coming to the realization that it is the guy’s actions, and not theirs, that lead them to this point. And the fact that the love story is no where near the focal point of the show, makes this cliché not only bearable but surprisingly compelling.

The Story Is Pretty Awesome Too

The 100 mixes drama, action, violence and character development with such force that every episode seems to get better and better.

But what makes it stand above your average CW show is the grittiness and the cold reality that their story is never going to end well. The characters can’t always save the day — most of the time they don’t. There is an emotional truth to this show that I find lacking in others. We have children killing children in the name of dystopian justice, we have the unhappy realization that personal ideology cannot overcome survival, we have characters striving to save their friends, to save humanity, and failing. It’s a brutal honesty that leaves me feeling helpless for the characters yet hopeful for the show. It keeps me coming back each week.

The 100 has taken me by surprise and more people should definitely tune in. A mix of Lost and Lord of the Flies? Sure. But it’s lacking The CW melodrama I originally expected, and deserves far more than a C- grade.