The 100 has found a fan in author Stephen King, whose comments on Twitter sparked a short exchange with William Shatner about morality in season 3.
The darkest season of The 100 has left audiences divided. Some are loving the twisted BSG meets Game of Thrones vibe the show has adopted, while others feel the show has evolved beyond what they felt comfortable with.
One person who’s loving the darker feel of the series? Small-time author and Twitter personality Stephen King (you probably haven’t heard of him).
Related: The 100 season 3, episode 11 review: We’re back, bitches
After last week’s episode, titled “Nevermore,” in which Clarke and Bellamy shared a poignant exchange about what it means to find out you’re not one of the good guys (and Clarke tellingly echoed her mother’s words, “Maybe there are no good guys”), Stephen King was inspired to tweet about the show:
The sad (but true) mantra that's repeated over and over in THE 100: "There are no good guys."
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 17, 2016
This is certainly a theme in King’s own writing, and it probably says a lot that the author’s favorite characters are Lexa and Murphy!
But William Shatner, a long-time fan of The 100 (among other shows), has a slightly different take on it:
Depends upon ones perspective and sometimes you gotta be bad to be good! #the100 https://t.co/BaqQNwhz0Y
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) April 17, 2016
It’s very clear that, although everyone on The 100 (with the possible exception of Raven) have done some shady and/or mass-murderous things over the course of the show’s three seasons, our main protagonists ultimately want to do the right thing.
But the further we get into the brutal world of the show, the less the characters are concerned with doing the right thing, as opposed to doing the right thing for their own people. In that sense, Shatner is right — after all, even villains usually see themselves as the heroes of their own stories.
On the other hand, Stephen King knows better than most that you don’t write compelling characters without giving them a dark side. And in The 100 season 3, both protagonists Bellamy and Clarke have been confronted with theirs.
And speaking of Clarke! (When are we not?!) One thing Stephen King loves about the show (and we’re inclined to agree) is its effortless, relentless feminism. What makes it so powerful, as King points out, is that it’s never made explicit in the narrative:
What I like best about THE 100 is the strong feminist slant. No preaching, just story.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 16, 2016
Simply put: In the world of The 100, no one needs to fight against sexism, because there’s no such thing as sexism.
One small problem for the writers to address in season 4, however?
Challenge for the writers of THE 100: Get through Season 4 without Clarke saying "I'm sorry" more than, say, 10 times.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 16, 2016
We guess if Stephen King gives you writing advice, you gotta follow it, right?