Tonight’s mid-season finale of The 100 is going to be a spectacular affair. Finn fans are shaking in their socks as they wait to find out his fate, but what about the Mountain Men’s prisoners?
The 100 season 2, episode 8 is the last episode of 2014, as we head into what will surely be an excruciating hiatus.
The stakes are higher than ever, and we’re potentially looking at the biggest character death since Wells back in season 1, episode 3.
At the end of last week’s episode, Lexa made an offer to Clarke: they can have a truce with the Grounders, and move against Mount Weather together – if they hand over Finn to be executed for his crimes.
The promotional images show everyone, especially Raven, struggling to deal with this impossible choice.
A sneak peek for the episode shows a flashback to Raven and Finn on the Ark, as Raven prepares for her mechanic exam:
We’ve also got showrunner Jason Rothenberg preparing us for the worst:
At this point, Finn seems likely to walk into the arms of the Grounders of his own free will. He is feeling the weight of what he’s done, and knows that Clarke (whom he went on the murdering spree to save in the first place) will never look at him the same way.
But will Clarke and the others allow him to sacrifice himself? The episode will probably be dealing with this, and if Finn is indeed dying this week, he’ll likely end up sneaking out without anyone realising. It seems unlikely that Abby would change her mind and give the order for him to be handed over (though if her daughter’s life is in jeopardy, you never know).
And not only would Finn have to die – he’d have to “suffer the pain of 18 deaths,” as Lincoln explains in the sneak peek. That would be very hard to watch indeed.
Related: The Finn-ish line: Why The 100 can’t save the Spacewalker
At this point it’s not a question of whether The 100 writers would kill off Finn – it’s a question of whether it’s the right thing for the story at this particular point.
Finn is a very interesting character at the moment, because of the dark path he has taken. His relationship with Clarke is complex and layered, and if he does not die, we could see a lot of potential for his storyline.
However, if Finn is killed off, Clarke is left more broken and alone than ever – and it would open her up for perhaps becoming more like the Grounders (following Octavia’s example), or even grow closer to Bellamy (as many fans are hoping she will).
Whatever happens, we trust the writers. Even though Finn may or may not be our favourite character. Deep breaths. We got this, team.