The 100 season 6 trailer is here at last, just over a month away from the premiere episode! We have a massive breakdown of the trailer to celebrate
The 100 season 6 introduces a whole new world as our heroes descend onto the mysterious two-sun planet discovered by Monty (RIP) in the season 5 finale.
Update: Read our The 100 season 6 review (spoiler-free)
The production crew has kept almost completely quiet about the new season during the hiatus, wanting to preserve as much mystery as possible and allow fans to go into “Book 2” of the series with fresh eyes. We did receive the beautiful poster yesterday however, so make sure you check that out if you haven’t yet!
But with the premiere episode airing April 30 (after already being screened for lucky WonderCon attendees on March 31), it’s finally time to learn something about The 100 season 6.
Check out the first official trailer for the new season below, which includes so much new content:
There is so much happening in this trailer. So much to dive into and discuss and over-analyze. Ahhh. It truly is my favorite time of year.
So let’s settle in and break down the packed trailer, deducing whatever we can about the new season and — let’s be honest — probably posing more questions than we answer.
Monty’s legacy
The trailer opens with the voice-over that ended season 5: Monty telling Clarke and Bellamy about the new world he found for them, and how he hopes they can do better there.
We hear mention of Jasper, too, which is a great way to connect The 100 ‘Book 2’ to the show we know and love.
The trailer then goes on to heavily question whether our heroes will actually be able to break free of their planet-busting pattern, of course, and it looks like the planet itself is going to do its best to bring out the worst in them! What were the chances?
Calling out Clarke
We’ve been told this season will be about our heroes trying to be better, and Bob Morley recently revealed that Bellamy will spend some of the season building bridges with Octavia and Clarke.
In the trailer, Bellamy tells Clarke, “You called me every day for six years and you left me to die in the fighting pit,” indicating that they’re going to pick up their conversation from the finale and, hopefully, begin to work out their issues and start working together again.
We hear Clarke apologizing to Bellamy, and we see Raven call her out on always apologizing (who does she think she is, Stephen King?).
This trailer is very Clarke-heavy in general — no complaints from me! — and it seems like season 6 will largely focus on her healing her own wounds and her relationships with others.
The trailer does sort of make the amends-making seem very one-sided — Clarke certainly isn’t the only one who should be making apologies — but let’s wait and see before we judge.
O habits die hard
Marie Avgeropoulos has alluded to the fact that things get more grim for Octavia before they get better, and that definitely appears to be the case in this trailer, as she seems to be getting herself into fights on the Eligius ship.
Based on the promotional images revealed at NYCC last year, we know Octavia doesn’t go down to the planet with the advance team, and she likely has a Very Bad Time™ up in space surrounded by people who hate her.
She even appears to be fighting Niylah, though I will delusionally pretend that they are just sparring. #Niytavia forever!
It’s very possible that Octavia isn’t starting these fights, but knowing her, she could very well be provoking people into attacking her because she feels like she deserves to get beaten up. (Just look at that sad little smile right before she gets turned around again. Oh, Octavia.)
Octavia also continues to fight once she gets down to the ground. It could be a hallucination, of course, but the people she’s fighting appear to be the same Reaper-esque strangers that (I assume?) are real.
Perhaps these are members of a ‘shadow’ culture, not permitted inside of Russell’s elite city? Let’s get back to that later.
’Say I’m your sister’
Octavia and Bellamy’s sibling bond is frayed to the point of snapping, and based on this trailer, Bellamy seems ready to abandon her completely.
In the season 5 finale, he said that only a part of him wished a part of her was dead. Here, he flat-out states, “My sister died a long time ago,” presumably right before he heads down to the new planet without her.
We don’t get any more Blake family moments in this trailer, which makes sense, as they’ll likely be separated for a few episodes at least. But let’s hope circumstances can draw them back together eventually and that they won’t end up on opposite sides… again.
Meet Russell
Another person who calls Clarke out for her actions — but also seemingly invites her into his fairytale kingdom — is ‘peaceful leader’ Russell, played by J.R. Bourne.
This appears to be the most significant new character this season, and Bourne will even be joining the cast at WonderCon this weekend to promote season 6.
We first see Russell overlooking a city of what seems to consist of a medieval bouncy castle and shipping containers (what is this, Floukru 2.0?) and lots of happy, laughing children. Not at all terrifying.
Based on the snippets we get of him in this trailer, Russell seems like a blend of Dante Wallace and The Hunger Games’ President Snow, and his apparent niceness obviously makes him instantly suspicious. People who are nice to Clarke rarely have pure intentions.
Later in the trailer, he says “these people are dangerous. They’ll burn this world down, just like their last one.” It appears he’s saying the last part to Clarke, which makes his use of ‘their’ interesting.
When Clarke says “we can change,” his response is, “I believe you want to, Clarke. I just don’t believe you can.”
Perhaps the reason Clarke is alone in most of the city/party scenes is that Russell has somehow separated her from her friends, and is trying to convince her to join his side. (Is this a Nightblood thing?)
Pretty lights
Does this planet have its own Spring Lantern Festival? Did they watch too much Tangled? Did they play Horizon Zero Dawn? Whatever inspired them to include this pretty lantern lighting scene, I’m all about it.
But what is the weird web that extends in the sky? A force-field? We also see a similar effect at the edges of the fields, and things seem to break apart when they connect with it.
And what is that flare in the distance? Fireworks? Or something more ominous?
They grow up so fast
It feels like only yesterday that Jordan was decades away from being born… and yet here he is, all ready to get fresh with an alien. Or is he the alien?
Interestingly, Jordan is one of the only other characters we see interacting with Russell’s people, and this scene might be happening at the same party we saw Clarke at. (Later in the trailer, when Madi runs to hug Clarke, the only other person in the room with Clarke is Jordan.)
Depending on the timeline, Jordan and Clarke could be going to the city before anyone else, or they could be staying behind after Bellamy and the others leave.
We don’t yet know who the girl is, and whether or not she’s a recurring character. I can’t help but wonder if Russell is conducting some large-scale seduction plan, in some cases literal, to make our heroes want to join his side.
Or, if we’re going with the Floukru callback, this girl could be to Jordan what Shae was to Jasper.
Mount Weather revisited
There are a lot of season 2 parallels in this trailer, some more obvious than others. Not only does Russell remind us of Dante Wallace, but he appears to try to win Clarke over with the exact same tactics: nice clothes, parties, and painting supplies.
Russell’s society, while not underground, also seems to share the Mountain Men’s obsession with art and fine dining. There is some kind of barrier at the edges of the fields, which perhaps marks a separation between these people and whoever lives in the woods (something like the Grounders or Reapers, maybe.)
And, perhaps, Russell and his people will end up posing a threat to Clarke and her friends, if they refuse to join forces with them.
No but seriously, Mount Weather revisited
“If I could, I’d go back and do things differently,” Clarke says — and then we see her with long hair, running through Mount Weather.
Is this a flashback? A hallucination? A dream? It has the same energy as the scene we see later, of Octavia back in the arena fighting herself.
The tagline of the season is ‘Face your demons,’ and we are set up for a lot of reflection about past mistakes and regrets, so perhaps there is a way (aside from the psychosis) to make the characters re-experience key past moments of their lives.
A red sun rises…
We’ve been speculating for a while about how the two suns might impact our heroes, and now we have the answer: when the suns eclipse, the sky turns red, and PSYCHOSIS! happens. Makes sense.
Apparently there’s a handy picture book to explain it, written by a Josephine Ada Lightbourne (or Lighthouse). Important? Who knows. But there is a character named Josephine VII listed on IMDb, played by Gwynyth Walsh, so…
Whatever is happening, it’s ingrained enough in their culture that books have been written about it. It’s interesting in itself that this society has the capacity to print books!
Anyway, what IS important is how it clearly turns Jackson into a MONSTER who slides a damn knife into Miller’s arm! This is not the kind of Mackson intimacy I was hoping for.
(Clarke appears to be trying to stop Jackson, here. Does her Nightblood protect her from the suns’ effect?)
We see a lot of characters turn against their loved ones under the influence of the eclipse, including Emori, Echo and Bellamy. (Echo and Emori really throw down, huh!)
It seems to all be happening around the house Murphy kicks the door into, so perhaps this is the house they find when they first arrive on the planet?
Under the same light, Bellamy tells Clarke, “It’s time to run away.” A dig at her having left him behind, which she’s actually done several times? Or a legitimate warning because what’s about to happen?
Because we also see him attack Murphy, while Clarke yells at them to stop.
The people in the woods
A voice we don’t know says “there are things and people in these woods that want us dead.”
These people would probably be the Reaper-like humans who wear masks and goggles, potentially to protect themselves from the elements (do they not have Nightblood? Is that why they need to shield themselves?), or potentially just to conceal their identities.
For some reason, they aren’t inside of the city, which suggests a potential separation from the Sanctum people. Again, could have something to do with Nightblood. Clarke appears to be fighting them underground in a different shot.
One of the mask-clad people reveals his face and points a gun at someone (Octavia?), saying, “The harder you fight, the faster you die.” The question is why they’re fighting at all.
If I were to take a wild guess, I’d say this group isn’t as bad as it seems, and might even lure some of our heroes (…Octavia?) to their side.
Octavia faces her demon
Last year it was symbolic, this year it’s very literal: Octavia is in the arena, fighting herself as Blodreina. Interestingly, Octavia looks very much like her season 2 self here, with long straggly hair and wide eyes and holding her sword much more defensively than we’ve seen her do for a long time.
As with Clarke in Mount Weather, this looks like a hallucination-type flashback, though of course it could be a psychosis condition brought on by the eclipse.
We also see Octavia chained up in a dark room, which could be part of whatever is happening here, or it could be real. There is clearly something bigger happening up on Eligius, with Diyoza and Abby also part of a fight of some kind, and perhaps Octavia got chained up in the process.
Welcome to ‘Sanctum’
It seems we have the name of the new planet, when Russell welcomes us to “Sanctum” at the end of the trailer. Of course Sanctum could also refer to a city, a territory, or even a country.
It’s unusual for a planet to only have one leader, after all (based on our limited experience with inhabited planets, I guess), and unless only a small patch of it is inhabitable, we can’t assume Russell rules the whole thing.
Either way, I’m curious how it got its name. Was the planet named by the Eligius III crew members who first landed there, or does ‘sanctum’ refer to a place that keeps people safe from the planet’s own dangers?
Madi’s mind palace
The Madi timeline in this trailer is confusing. We see her and Clarke hugging (reuniting?) on the ground, in the house that appears to recur a few times throughout the trailer.
Clarke and Gaia are also standing protectively with Madi in that big group shot, all looking towards the camera at someone. But then, Madi is also handcuffed in what appears to be the same space, and Gaia is there for that, too.
Clarke claims that she needs to get “out there” to save Madi, implying that either Madi goes down with the first group or follows soon after, and somehow gets captured.
Madi claims to have dreams of a Commander that scares her, and we see her play chess with him (the Commander seems to have both white and black pieces and they’re all pointing at Madi). At one point she knocks the board over, screaming, “What do you want from me?”
These dreams could be a result of whatever is being done to her while she’s strapped up to a machine.
Oh yeah, someone STRAPPED MADI UP TO A MACHINE!!! Uh-oh!
Again, major Mount Weather vibes. We of course don’t know who is doing this to her — it could be Russell’s people, it could be the Reapers or it could be someone else — but it clearly must have something to do with the chip in her head. Perhaps whoever is doing this is attempting to get information out of it?
We know at least some of the planet’s inhabitants have Nightblood, being the descendants (?) of the Eligius III missionaries, and are thus at least tangentially connected to Becca and perhaps even Bill Cadogan and the Second Dawn cult.
They might not believe in the Commander lore as the Grounders do, but the AI designed to interface with and save humanity could very well be of great interest to them, for whatever reason. And as long as the chip is in Madi’s head, it makes her a target (and gives her a very different storyline than perhaps most people were expecting).
Madi’s creepy ‘Commander’ dreams probably ties into the lore of the new world and helps connect the mythologies of Earth and the new planet, so it’ll be interesting to see what is revealed, and who is doing this to her. (And then Clarke can kick their asses, because how dare they!)
For your consideration
- How many planets are there anyway? Is it just a reflection or are there two? And what is the little one, just a sun shadow?
- Kane is alive!!! …For now, anyway, but I’ll take it.
- “Salvation comes from faith and good works. We haven’t done anything yet.” – Shaw by the campfire. Very good line! Also,
- Bye two-headed deer, I’m stanning the 13-eyed snake now.
- What are they growing in those red fields? Is that what they use to make the very red drink we see next to Clarke in the painting shot, or… is this an example of me over-analyzing things?
- Oh hey a bunch of skeletons in the background. Cool cool cool.
- There are green storms or flares that appear to swallow people whole… no big deal, right?
- Clarke RIDES A MOTORCYCLE! Major upgrade from the space suit, gotta say.
- Aww. Just look at this.
- Bellamy and Murphy attack Russell while Clarke watches. This is probably when they first arrive, before Clarke becomes a Sanctum socialite.
- Who are the black-robed monk farmers? Why are they seemingly escorting Bellamy away from the city? (There is also a shot of Clarke watching them walk away.)
- And why is there a ‘radiation area’? Is this how they keep the people from the forest away, or how they protect the city from the planet’s dangers?
- Is that Murphy, Jackson and Miller? Why are they dressed like burglars and scaring off bats?
- Raven wakes up Diyoza, and she appears to be alone when she does it. Why?
- Clarke seems to be kissing or killing (or both) some girl who wears the same color dress as her.
- The color red is clearly very significant for these people. The exact same shade as the sun recurs in the color of the fields, the drink, the snake, one of Clarke’s dresses and of course the Sanctum flag.
- Whether it’s part of a dream or real, Clarke appears to be involved with the drama aboard Eligius.
- I’m not sure these are Clarke’s paintings, but whoever painted them included the new character (the one without a shirt on making out with a guy early on in the trailer) played by Sara Thompson.
And…that’s all for now. We might need to do an over-over analysis once we’ve had time to digest it all and look for even more clues.
More than anything, I think this new planet looks beautiful — both the good and terrifying parts of it — and am super intrigued by the potential for hallucinations and dreams.
Russell and Sanctum seem too good to be true, which means they probably are, and I’m very curious about the people in the woods, and what kind of threat they pose (and why!).
Whether or not our heroes can figure out to be good guys is one thing. If the planet and its inhabitants will allow them to try is another. Because it looks like they will all be sorely tempted to reveal their inner (or outer) ‘bad guys’, and resisting the urge to fight back with destruction and violence might be harder than they thought.
But this is a new chance for them, to make peace within themselves and with each other. I can’t wait to see them try.