The 100 made its return on February 1 for a season 4 that promises to be almost like a season-testament. At least the first episode gives a taste of it.
And it must be said that season 4 begins on a high note. These forty minutes of episode have a new taste, which marks a passage to maturity as much for the characters as on the narrative level. The 100 has always been, in my opinion, a certain advance over a number of teen-dramas broadcast over the same period: its stakes, as well as its post-apocalyptic context are subject to more experimentation from the point of view of the moral characterization of its characters stuck between an aborted adolescence and an early sense of responsibility.
The series has, among other things, avoided the redundant pitfall of impossible loves and last minute rescue by maintaining the balance between the humanity of endearing characters and the cruelty of the world in which they evolve. The season premiere is a success, especially since I was personally skeptical about its ability to overcome the events (internal and external) of the previous season which had seen the botched ousting of one of the most progressive characters of the series (and the genre in general), namely Lexa.
But this first episode revives the dynamism of the series by putting the characters face to face with the implacability of things, opening up new and stimulating fields of possibilities: nuclear power plants are melting, leading to an increase in radioactivity undermining the sustainability of the human species. This event, in that it grants all the innocuous and futile concerns that the characters may encounter compared to their mortal situation, should allow the series to bounce back beyond the "clan war" that occupied them during the first three seasons.
Apart from these considerations, we must take note of the brief mentions of Lexa, which it seems that the writers have understood the (unexpected) significance of her disappearance for many fans who had spoken of boycotting season 4 as revenge. To this day, his character seems far from forgotten (and still happy!) since his political legacy is divisive throughout the episode, when the Ice Nation forcibly seizes power by planning to massacre the members of the skaikru led by Clarke. But it is above all the mention of the love that the latter had for Lexa that relieves and moves, since the manifestations of Clarke's mourning had so far been minimal and we hope, as such, that there will be others during the season.
Finally, it is also Octavia who captures the attention here since she seems on her way to a thorny Way of the Cross, as well as Bellamy, complex and interesting: having fully adopted the vengeful spirit ("blood must answer with blood") of the grounders, she had killed Pike at the end of last season. How will she evolve now, and will she be able to continue to work with her friends even if they do not share their diplomatic conception of things? It is hoped that this idea, which has already been outlined several times, will continue to be exploited in depth. After all, Octavia has always been on the margins. The rest in the next episode…
