Post Episode Discussion: S7E16 "The Last War"

[u/aplaceatthedq]

No.	Title	Writer/s	Director	Original Airdate
7.16	“The Last War”	Jason Rothenberg	Jason Rothenberg	9/30/2020

Synopsis: After all the fighting and loss, Clarke and her friends have reached the final battle. But is humanity worthy of something greater?

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Quote of the Week: “Our fight is over.” — Octavia Blake

[u/Existing-Quit-]

Clarke arriving on Sanctum: well shi if I can’t transcend Murphy probably can’t either, let’s go find him

[u/Bloodreina1993]

Things I liked:

- Murphy and Emori's mindspace scene

- Picasso surviving

- Octavia with the same war paint she used during the conclave (when she saved all humanity)

- Fake Lexa

- Hope and Jordan

- Octavia finally getting to live in peace with Levitt

What I did not like:

- The whole idea of transcendence being real

[u/Existing-Quit-]

Transcendence is just A.L.I.E’s mind drives with a spiritual twist and not science

[u/Bloodreina1993]

Did anyone notice that the first person Clarke considered that might not have transcended was Murphy? lol

[u/ThePinkTeenager]

Are we gonna talk about the fact that the "higher beings" have figured out how to live outside of bodies, bend the normal laws of physics(apparently... or there was just a crapton of LSD involved), and use a crystallizing WMD against other species, but haven't figured out a basic statistical concept like sampling error?

[u/jlynn00]

Somewhere Eligius 3 are transcending and wondering wtf.

[u/SueNYC1966]

I think Den of Geek summed up the weakest part of the finale. “On the other hand, some humans do survive. They seemingly get a pristine Earth to live on, and they don’t have anyone left to fight besides one another. Still, for an episode that has a surface-level message of anti-tribalism, the final scene seems to hammer a different message home: a peaceful existence is possible when everyone but your family is dead.” Lol

[u/ihopeurflowersbloom]

So judge-Lexa told Clarke she didn’t transcend because she’s the only one ever who killed someone during the test — But it still seems absolutely bullshit/absurd that that one action was somehow so much categorically worse just because it was during the test by accident — like if she had done that exact thing 40 minutes earlier before he was in there, and then the tests happened soon after with someone else (her or raven) starting them, Clarke would have still transcended with everyone else. Like the simple act of killing Cadigan wouldn’t have mattered, but the accidental timing of doing it while he was in the test did?

[u/Nayytive]

Locked-in Madi refusing to transcend fucked me up more than it should have, tbh. I bawled.

[u/Elairah_]

This ending did not make me feel excited about a prequel. This whole transcendence thing just feels like a cop out for story telling. Everyone became balls of light. Cool.

Am I the only one who is like: what’s the fucking point?

I thought this show was about free will, sacrifice, humanity and survival... but I felt like it was taken away in the name of religion and “a higher power”

To me, the story was beautiful because of the hard choices and then tonight’s episode felt like it just spat at all that.

For better or worse, I related with Clarke’s sacrifices. The difficult decisions she faced helped me when I also faced tough choices. You make the call that is best for your people. She was a flawed character and that was her beauty. She wasn’t indecisive— she knew what she needed to do to protect her own. But the ending of this show basically backtracked on all that. Her sacrifices sort of felt meaningless. That a high power looked down on them/couldn’t understand them — made me feel like it wasn’t a higher power at all.

[u/[deleted]]

I dont get it. the aliens make no sense. why are they testing people? what is their consciousness? is this still a sci fi bc i have no scientific explanation for this

[u/StrongAndStable]

In hindsight The City of Light was the best option all along now that everything is said and done.

[u/BioLex25]

I’m sorry but I simply can’t come to terms with the fact that my favorite show ended with aliens turning the human race in glowing orbs of light and dancing light trees. But not you Clarke! You’re not worthy of being eternal light! Nope. Clarke is the worst person in the history of humanity and is the only person in the universe who can’t tRanScEnD.

Bellamy literally died for NOTHING. I’m not a bellarke shipper. Not even a big Bellamy fan (until the later seasons) but what happened to him made no sense. Especially considering that he was technically right. He should’ve been there at the end. Same with my baby diyoza.

Moral of the story? Only aliens have the right to commit genocide based on their own faulty morals. Not Clarke Griffin. Roll credits.

Edit: my first reddit award!!! Thank you redditkru!!

[u/BullyHunt3rs]

Ok hot take here but this ending is basically the same thing as if A.L.I.E. had succeeded in Season 3.

They literally all are in the same place where they can spend time with one another forever. this is the exact same thing ALIE promised humanity with the difference being that ALIEs ascension was mechanically driven and the Ascended Beings ascension was biologically and spiritually driven.

IDK dude, I'm from Bardo and I say kill'em all!

[u/poplie]

I liked this episode until the they transcended.

I appreciated Raven defending Clarke, finally understanding her actions.

Murphy and Emori was heartbreaking but perfect.

Jordan's plan making his dad proud and then "for my first trick I'm going to make an army appear"

And O hesitating as she picked up the sword and then leading Wonkru to peace is everything I wanted for her character arc.

I even like Sheidheida's suddenly quick demise, mainly because it made me laugh.

But it would've been better if Raven asked for more time and you see them trying to rebuild the human race on Earth.

[u/wakopunk]

They shouldn’t have gone with higher beings route. Human aliens or descendants and planet hopping, believable. But ending a show with this random thing...cmon

[u/mrfahrenheit0]

So what was the point of everything?

Edit: also what was that little flash of Clarke back in her cell?

[u/Sunwomen14]

The test wasn’t even a test...it was a 5 minute therapy session with someone getting defensive after one question

[u/lebenohnegrenzen]

Part of me wonders if the reason Clarke didn't transcend is because they are afraid of her. If they all become part of one collective conscious you know Clarke is gonna f**k some shit up (only living people ascending? I mean come on). Also her friends are the first people to reject transcendence simply to be with her. That's some loyalty.

The whole "you have to pay for your crimes" is a total cop out.

[u/Stormajestr]

I know it's not really crazy when compared to the other shit in the show but are we just rolling with the fact that there's these fifth-dimension, super-advanced light-tree shit that have been judging (and wiping out) civilizations across the universe for some time and have been waiting for some random human to find their magic ascension ball and judge humanity so that they can join them and become happy primordial soup? As well as the fact that it all happened in the literal last episode as some hella cheap deus ex machina to solve all their problems? And that Bellamy drinking the kool-aid was actually the right move (making his death even more meaningless)?

[u/Thisisalsomypass]

I would have liked this 1 million times better if they didn’t add the “you can’t have offspring”

The concept of Murphy/Emori, Octavia/Levitt, and then maybe some others we didn’t see (extras) who chose to stay on earth having kids

Then those kids grow up and realize transcendence is a f***ing prison and free everyone stuck in there

I mean that future wouldn’t occur anyway but at least I could pretend it would but they had to throw in that no offspring line.

[u/pran_it]

Love how ALL this happened and Gaia out there hunting for food to survive :)

[u/DahliaDahliaDahlia]

Okay I know this isn't even close to important but I love that Clarke shouted for Murphy when she went to Sanctum. I mean at that point she's clearly hoping there's at least one person who wasn't worthy of transcending besides her, and without any hesitation she put her money on Murphy.

I'm going to miss these guys...

[u/Locke108]

That shot of Clark from the pilot gave me Lost flashbacks. Now everyone is going to think the entire series is just something Clarke dreamed of in her cell.

[u/StopRightMeoww]

The trust between Indra and Octavia gives me life. What a great team

[u/ihopeurflowersbloom]

Indra pulverizing Sheidheda was a definite bright spot

[u/mayaa-papayaa]

"pencils down"

that was some badass shit right there

[u/arterialrainbow]

I get it was probably partially due to actor availability but I’m upset Raven got Abby instead of Sinclair

[u/Sunwomen14]

Y'all think all those embryos in a test tube on Bardo transcended too? lol

[u/drewsyogurt]

So you mean to tell me that the only one that doesn’t get to live out his days on Earth with his friends and family is Bellamy!!!!! The only one who believed in transcendence???? What a joke!!!

[u/kerivak]

They all “bear it” together so she doesn’t have to alone. I’m happy with the ending. It’s been a long time. I’m so glad they finally get to have peace.

I love how transcendence occurred through both Octavia and Raven working together in a way. It kind of makes sense.

I know I missed things because it was so intense. I want to rewatch the episode right now!

[u/kgal1298]

I was thinking about this and now I'm madder for Bellamy. 1. because his character development got shot 2. the ep where he was on Etherea felt derived and too much like a simulation 3. he got killed by a girl who literally messaged him every day for 5 years when he was in space getting it on with Echo.

Overall I'm just not pleased with how it ended. I think if anything they should have used him in the finale for some closure, but I guess whatever Bob and Jason's beef was was enough to ruin an otherwise good character.

[u/[deleted]]

Echo and Levitt are literally shot and dying, Emori transcends w/o a body, they all come back good and healthy, but Raven still has her limping leg? Ahahahahhahah

[u/CatNat11]

Am I crazy for thinking this felt completely different than The 100? We started in space & going back to earth & now we are like completely Sci-fi golden glowing life & aliens???

I understand shows evolve but I kept shaking my head asking myself “what in the world is happening, this is the end?”

Does anyone else feel this!??

[u/deathcabforkatie_]

Alycia Debnam Carey having the last line of the series was not exactly on my bingo sheet, but I'm not mad about it.

[u/MillenniumFalc0n]

My beef with this is that it's really pessimistic about the nature of the universe because this judgement system is terrible by their own admission - if they gave in and were like oh I guess Humanity needed more time - what about every other fucking species they didn't wait a little longer for? Sweet ending though - they went through too much to lose another.

RIP Bellamy - the heart of the show and (mostly) right in the end

[u/brklynzoe]

The whole trancending storyline was a mistake. It felt really out of place and silly to me. Sure, it was nice her friends came back, but the whole alien species decides the fate of mankind was off.

[u/jasr0se]

This whole season felt extremely rushed. I'm not even necessarily mad at the ending. I'm mad that it felt like a very different show and nothing really built up to this. Yes, the show has debated the idea of war and good guys vs. bad guys and the grayness and morality of it all. It's made a lot of commentary on humanity. But never did it hint at there being God-like beings who will judge us as a species. I mean, watch seasons 2 or 3 and tell me you thought that this was where the show would go.

And even then, I'm not mad about that. Shows can go in different directions as they develop. But nothing really tied this all together, in my opinion. For example, like how Becca and ALIE and the end of the world and the commanders were all tied together. The ALIE storyline was kind of out of left field. But it was all tied together and didn't feel too crazy. Becca invented ALIE, ended the world, and then invented the flame to repent. The grounders evolved and their traditions were based on that, except they believed in lore and whatnot instead of science. Two sides of the same coin. But it was all tied together and based in science. Same with night blood. Even the last few seasons with the mind drives and Eligius and the primes were tied to Becca and Earth and science. So it didn't feel too crazy.

But now we have these mystical beings. Who? We don't know. What are their origins? We don't know. What's the sum of their abilities? We don't know. They were only introduced this season. Nothing ties them to the previous seasons. Nothing has built up to this.

Idk, I just felt super disappointed. I've been invested in this show since the first trailer came out. Been watching since the beginning. I'm glad the characters got a happy ending, but it felt so rushed. And almost like a cop-out. Everyone transcends and lives happily ever after. Not the kind of ending I expected on a complex show like this.

[u/[deleted]]

They were all sterilized by aliens... this show is weird

[u/Music913]

My theory is that in the original script (before they rewrote it to accommodate Bob’s absence) Bellamy had the role of Levitt in the final episodes.

During Madi’s interrogation, Bellamy would realize Cadogan was wrong about it being a war instead of a test and then he would be the inside man that pulls Clarke and Octavia through the bridge. Then Bellamy being shot on the battlefield would inspire Octavia to make her big speech. At the end, he would be the one on the beach with all of his friends instead of Levitt.

I have nothing against Levitt, but I feel like Bellamy being in his place would have all of the same outcomes and would make a lot more sense to me than Levitt who was only introduced in this last season.

[u/camp17]

The transcendence idea never felt beyond skin deep. Bill felt more a cult leader than a religious leader, so the transcendence payoff never felt like it paid off. Becca said they weren't ready (to transcend or go extinct...but why did both feel like the same thing??). The idea of transcending felt like it should be a peaceful transition, but you're literally ending the human race after a "test" whether you pass or fail. As ugly as humans are with war and genocide, ending humanity felt pretty hypocritical and ugly to me, too. Basically it was ALIE's solution.

Humans are more than their ugly parts, but if judged only on ugly parts - do the good parts of ourselves even matter? Clarke and Lincoln's sketches/artwork, Monty's genius and kindness, Raven's genius and determination, Jasper's humor and loyalty, Octavia's love and friendship, Bellamy's responsibility and trust, Murphy's growth, Echo's growth, Levitt choosing people over his faith, Hope and Jordan's early childhood innocence, barely having a chance to really live...everyone over the life of the show had something to offer beyond what they did to survive. Only to be banished as the last humans on earth forever.

Oh, everyone now disappears into a light bulb? At this point, I should be sobbing. Humanity was gone. Our heroes were gone. I was not sobbing, and I cry at the drop of a hat. I laughed when Clarke walked through the field of light beings who were once her friends. I chuckled when she was the last human in the universe. This felt way too cheap and surface level to hit the emotional core I needed the show to hit.

But it has 5 good emotionally fulfilling seasons for me. After some time maybe I'll try watching S6-7 in a rewatch again. But I feel kind of ripped off now. Their final choice to be together was sweet, but still. It felt off. Didn't land right. It was like the LOST finale if the LOST finale was bad. It is what it is.

[u/JustJoshinMagic]

Pros:

-Clarke just murking everyone in the hallway to get to Cadogan -Clark shooting Cadogan right as he finally was about to get what he wanted, preventing that from ever happening

• Raven being the MVP of telling someone to just hold on and wait, and helping save the day

• Indra not just killing Sheidheida, but full on erasing his very essence

• Octavia, in full on Bloodreina garb, saving the day by telling people not to fight

• Murphy getting a happy ending

• Me being in tears at the end at the thought of how they couldn’t leave Clarke behind

• The dog surviving

• The cameos, though it would’ve been cool if we got more, but cant be greedy

• Octavia finally getting a happy ending

• Jordan being just like his dad with his bad ass emp idea “and for my next trick” chefs kiss

Cons

• Bellamy was robbed BIG TIME

• Sheidheda was a waste

• Gaia also kinda got screwed this season

• this felt too much like the city of light, and also just felt a bit like a magic cop out. I would have preferred that no one transcended BUT they found out that it was true after all, and they continue to work on being better so one day they can join them. Leaves it a bit more open ended

• the no offspring line was dumb and didn’t need to be added imo

[u/badboybilly42582]

Some thoughts on the season finale.

• I totally forgot about Picasso!!! Glad he survived and will live out a peaceful life on earth with the 100 crew.

• So essentially the physical human race will go extinct after the remaining 100 crew dies on earth. Will suck to be the last person to go since you will be alone for X amount of time.

• I'm assuming the earth is finally "safe" at this point since there are no other physical humans left on the planet (From death wave and now from transcendence).

• Kind of shocked that we got Lexa instead of Bellemy.

Alright now we wait for the prequel.........If it ever actually does happen.

[u/happycharm]

Low key wish that shiedheda took the test and shot the higher being lol

[u/LilyNaowNaow]

I guess I liked this episode, but the transcendence plot line felt totally out place in this series. I would have preferred that they fail the test but were allowed to live because Octavia stopped the war. How great would it have been if they all went back to Earth together and rebuilt, as one people?

I also thought it was ridiculous that Clarke wasn't allowed to transcend with every one else.

[u/TheInternetIsScary44]

If you're telling me Jason couldn't work his way into getting an extra 2-3 minutes of airtime to show more at the ending... Seriously after 7 seasons we get 30 seconds of happiness for them? Bullshit. We're arguing about who was on the beach for fuck sakes.

[u/toptoptop125]

Soooo let me get this straight

Bellamy died for no reason and Sheidheda was kept around when he served absolutely no purpose in the finale

[u/roastedmarshmellows]

Despite not a single on-screen kiss all season, Murphy and Emori are still so sublimely romantic... I'm happy with their deus ex happy ending, but honestly, I would've been happy with Murphy dying while in the mindspace with Emori. They are perfect.

[u/charredzest29]

4/100 left of the convicts. What a great survival rate lol

[u/anonKTY]

I’m glad that there are people happy with this ending. However, I feel like the spiritual/transcendence direction went too far away from how grounded the show used to be. I figured that would happen, but it was so weird.

[u/eminerald]

Moral of the story: war bad.

Thanks Jason, hadn't thought of it that way. Very cool.

[u/Sleep_Addiction]

So in all honesty, it felt like the finale was a script for a completely different tv show that happened to have characters with the same names being played by the same actors. It just... was weird. And not in a good way. I didn’t hate it, but I’m not really sure I liked it either. It was better than I expected, but my expectations were pretty much that an episode would air so couldn’t have gotten any lower.

Things I liked:

• Murphy and Emori sharing one body, to hell with the consequences. I would have been immensely satisfied with this ending for them for real.

• Sheidheda’s plot armor finally getting disintegrated by Indra.

• Miller surviving the writer’s room slaughter.

• Picasso being the ultimate survivor.

• Clarke realizing she is the only one left (again) and simply getting down to business and going home to live her life all alone.

• Adventure Crew reunited on the beach. That final image of them together warms my heart.

Things I didn’t like:

• The pacing. It was off this whole episode. Hell, the whole season.

• How all of a sudden it became pro-Transcendence. That we saw exactly what transcending was.

• The hypocrisy of Clarke failing the test for killing/acts of genocide while the penalty for a species failing the test is genocide.

• Nikki to the rescue? Raven patting her on the arm like everything was a-ok definitely seemed out of place. Felt forced.

• Not transcending suddenly being an option? I’m glad Clarke has company in all, but um, huh?

• Aliens. This show has never been about aliens. Felt like a lazy way to tie up the plot.

In all, I don’t think we stuck the landing, but we also didn’t die in a heap of fire, so at least there’s that?

[u/[deleted]]

Overall I liked it. I think the few things I disliked were:

• no Kane or Bellamy cameo

• the line about “never have offspring and won’t ascend” kind of ruins the “happy ending”

• the plot was a little too on the nose. Exactly what we expected. There was a test, there were higher power aliens, everyone ascended due to the usual “love triumphs over hate” cliche.

But that being said, it mostly wrapped everything up, Cadigan got what he deserved, Madi and Amori both survive, and Clarke got to see her true love again (sort of). A better ending than a lot of my favorite shows recently.

[u/ShrimpLair]

i really like levitt and octavia :) lincoln pushed octavia to be a warrior, whereas levitt kind of pushes her to be gentle. both of them were necessary for the part of her life she had/has them and i think they were done really well

[u/Existing-Quit-]

Never got the explanation of where tf the anomalies came from and why those beings were put there

[u/JelloStaplerr]

I’m really glad that they all finally know peace, but I don’t think I agree with the way the show gave them that peace, if that makes sense.

[u/Sleep_Addiction]

I’m sitting here crying, alone in the dark, as the episode ends. Not because of the content of the episode, which I honestly can’t even begin to process yet, but because of the loss I feel at the prospect of a future without RedditKru. The 100 ending means no more watching new episodes and snarking together in live threads each week. No more dissertation level discussions about Eclipse Induced Psychosis or why they were never going to do better this time. Sure, we may get a prequel, but it won’t be the same. I’ve been here since the beginning and this is literally the only place I experience this fandom. I may not have always agreed with all of you, but I’m going to miss the hell out of this.

[u/celestyne9]

Time travel, transcendence, alien thing.. It seems to me that season 7 is a totally different show except for main characters. To me, the last season of the 100 was season 5 or 6.

[u/Jokekiller1292]

Could you imagine if there was a group of people surviving in another country similar to the Grounders, and after Raven passes the test people just start turning to light. They would be freaking the hell out.

[u/PlayBey0nd87]

I don’t know. It felt rushed and underwhelming. It needed more time. I think there should of been some connection to Becca and the CoL and why the AI opted to go that route because it was aware of the higher beings.

The higher beings needed some type of exposition or back story. Especially with the other aliens/Gem9.

The ending was hurried and the reunion scene missed some other characters to have there.

Bellamy died for nothing. Shock value but nothing. I’m assuming the Clarke scene was from the opening of her on the ark?

Sorry y’all. I’m not trying to complain. It got a happy ending but it didn’t feel...earned? It didn’t stick the landing.

[u/FlamesNero]

Hahah!! Bellamy, the only person who believed in this whole transcendence thing, didn’t get an invite to the 100 reunion party?!? Wow!

[u/goatcheese4eva]

Now that I've had some time to think about it my opinion of this ending went from "it could have been worse" to "OK, this was terrible". My major gripes with a couple of unnecessary deaths/bad writing aside, what a weird, shitty ending. Was this supposed to be happy? All of humanity gets merged into interstellar light blobs while a tiny handful of people get stuck on a creepy empty planet to dwindle and die out without building anything, forging new connections, or really doing anything to make their struggles worthwhile at all? It was lame. For all the shouting and crying about how people need to do better I wanted to see people actually, you know, doing better, not turning into lights and flying away. Disappointing on every level. The only character that had a happy ending was the dog.

[u/anonKTY]

My husband is in here ranting about how he could live with that ending if only they figured out a way to work Bellamy into it. 😂

[u/FlamesNero]

Honestly, Clarke & co just escaped yet another cult. Good for them.

[u/shadow_spinner0]

This episode proved one thing. Clarke is the main character of the show, but Octavia is the true leader.

[u/adragonisnoslave]

LITERALLY just snorted

whoever posted this in my survey, I love you and you're amazing

"at least Game of Thrones ruined their series with a great soundtrack as Jon Snow went beyond the Wall. The 100 ended with some of the delinquents partying out to my dad's classic rock station."

[u/arrownyc]

Wait so let me get this straight, Cadogan ended up being almost completely corrrect besides training to fight a war he didn't really need to.

And we still don't know why he didn't go back for the flame to take the test hundreds of years earlier. Also seems like he couldve passed pretty easily, it wasn't exactly hard.

If Clarke hadn't murdered him, and or Bellamy, and just given him access to the flame when he wanted it in the first place, they all would've transcended. Even Gabriel, if he hadn't smashed the flame he wouldve transcended.

So literally the entire cast was wrong for not trusting a maniacal dictator? That's the moral???

[u/mayaa-papayaa]

also why is no one talking about clarke telling raven "they should have picked you first". What a call back.

[u/Rikusaber]

Wait so Raven was just asking for more time to change why did they just go automatically to transcending? Wouldn't it have made more sense if they just got more time? Like they didn't even have to prove that humanity could actually work together.

[u/LoveLaughGFY]

I kinda wish Lexa-god had just wiped out humanity. Let that be the moral.

It was hokey but the very end was almost perfect. The idea that humans are the most stubborn assholes in the universe isn’t far fetched.

So it’s apparently a species thing. Picasso didn’t go. Forget a prequel. I’d rather just watch the dog roam the human-free earth getting into adventures. And after 600,000 years of evolution, when they’re paws tap the symbols for the final war, I guarantee they’ll have no problem at all transcending.

I’m glad Bill got killed and fast. Clarke looked god in the face and shrugged after. Pretty badass. Bill was Moses. Led them there but didn’t make it himself. Of course the real difference is that no one gives a fuck anymore because they transcended.

Sheidheda evolved from a evil mastermind into fucking Sloth at the end of the Goonies ripping open his shirt.

[u/AlexakomSkaikru]

I didn't like the transcendence part. If it's really a choice I would've liked it better if they gave humanity a second chance to prove themselves. Like okay, we see you can change, you're not ready to transcende just yet but we're not gonna wipe you out either. This is how they could've done better. But that would mean we'd need following seasons on how humans could evolve and repopulate not just Earth but those other planets too and I guess they wanted to put an end to it. This show was about human survival and how a few individuals could save the human race, and that's completely irrelevant now that they've transcended.

Also, I didn't like how fast Cadogan went out. They could've used his judgement part to explain a bit more about the first nuclear apocalypse, because as we saw in the episode called "Anaconda" he surely knew what was going on. I mean he didn't set the missiles to launch but we didn't get to see how much he was involved. He surely used that situation to his advantage in becoming the Shepherd, so he was no better than Clarke.

I feel like they should've just give themselves some more time to work the story out a bit better.

Alternatively, when Clarke was running after Picasso on Earth I kinda thought that she would find some new kind of human tribe or group to... like start over I guess? Idk, I disliked that transcendence part so much that I hoped something dramatic would happen. This lukewarm happy end was not fit for the show imo.

[u/[deleted]]

I wish we actually knew anything about these test givers because it literally makes no sense. This whole season built them up to just have lexa and Abby being a bitch for a few minutes and calling it good

[u/hart37]

Honestly there was a small twisted part of me wishing we failed the test and that literally was it. We all die, no happy ending, roll credits.

That episode though went mostly how I expected it to. Bit of a shame they didn't bring back some more of the OG crew though like Monty, Piper, Jaha, Jasper and Bellamy but there's only so much you can do with writing, scheduling and everything else that comes with making a finale.

Sure it wasn't perfect but rarely a show gets a perfect end. It wrapped everything up mostly and did what it was meant to, even if people are going to be disappointed.

[u/MegalomaniacHack]

So a dozen of them choose to just live together on Earth, and the rest of humanity just become part of some painless, infinite single being (except for Bellamy).

Why can't they join the transcended beings when they die? And any and all other crimes and evil acts by the living people are ignored but killing one guy during the test means Clarke isn't wanted forever.

Like someone else said, seems like transcendence was just the City of Light. Some real Deus Ex Machina stuff. So Bellamy and the other crazy cultists were right, but the dead ones are shit out of luck. Unsatisfying.

Sidenote: Disappointment aside, I think they needed to have a more open-ended ending, something like, "We're trying to be better." Because the way they ended it makes a prequel even less appealing.

[u/Adavis546]

Wait did clarke not pull a lever?????????????????????????? im confused where is clever i thought clever was endgame

[u/wakopunk]

I love SciFi...but this season what the fuck. The finale what the fuck. This made no sense whatsoever.

[u/Cysolus]

So in the end, she saved everyone except her people.

Huh.

[u/mayaa-papayaa]

"she will never feel pain, she will never die"

that's literally the City of Light

[u/SueNYC1966]

Picasso didn’t transcend? That was messed up. She was the only one who should have.

[u/Warrppaint]

It felt like a completely different show. Sure, Clarke got her happy ending, but the happy music playing while not-Lexa was explaining the others can't reproduce and they'll all die together was really unerving lol.

[u/FlamesNero]

Wow, the showrunner (who wrote and directed this episode) REALLY hated Bellamy, huh?

[u/thegalkel]

"may we meet again" - this ending was literally them meeting again. dang.

[u/KayPeeJay]

So out of the OG 100 only 4 lived. Clarke, Octavia, Murphy, and Miller.

[u/TomyDingo]

Man I'm just in a complete funk after watching that finale. I'm just empty and numb.

This ending may have been well written and made sure it had no loose ends but it still defies what was the main premise of the show in the beginning. It's basically taking season 3's City of Light story line and calling it good. It may work out with what's left of the human race living in eternal peace in a heaven like dimension. But that's my problem here because after Clarke and her friends die on Earth, that will be the end of the human race with the rest having transcended into a heaven like dimension. Human civilization will disappear forever to never ever be seen again and the Earth will forever be nothing more than a ball of vegetation, water and deserts.

The premise of this show is about not just survival of the human race but human civilization and what I really wanted to see was how human civilization would rebuild itself back to where they were before the nuclear apocalypse. Humanity the past few seasons was no more than 1 to 3 thousand people tops and that is the lowest it could get down to repopulate.

Instead they just gave it all up to "transcend" into a heaven like dimension and a dozen of them live a very short life on Earth.

Just mind boggling.

[u/amnehzm]

Bellamy was right. No one believed him. They teamed up with Sheidheda and Nikki but didn’t even both trying to understand their brother/“best friend”/leader. & HE WAS RIGHT. And now he’s the only one who didn’t get a happy ending. What the fuck.

[u/JessySnowdrop]

I don't know... This somehow doesn't feel like justice. Maybe it's because it was so rushed and the opposite of what I hoped for. I hoped for a more grounded, realistic ending... And those aliens were not even sympathetic... Rather arrogant and I mean... Come on.. they commit genocide as well by wiping out species. Bullshit. I loved the season, but not this ending 😔

[u/cookierecovers]

First off, as a first time poster who had dedicated herself to this show for the past few months and now watched the finale, and wished I had you guys along the ride! these are my thoughts.

1. As many have already shared- season 6 and 7 was difficult to stomach and the show seemed to be on a steady decline. Honestly once they left the ground and got into tech I started to have many questions/doubts.

2. I liked the ending, in the fact that now I know it’s all over. I still can’t believe they wrapped up that many story lines in one hour. Just 20 minutes left and that’s when it started coming together.

3. I wish I’d seen Bellamy in the final episode. My hopes were high but I understand there’s a story behind why that made it so.

4. Do I want a prequel? I’m not sure. If the next thing is just as hard to deal with as How season 7 was, I’m not sure.

5. Also, why did Becca seem so shook when she came back in regards to the test? She looked like she had seen the devil. The test didn’t look that bad.

6. For all of Murphy’s fears of death, where did that go as they transcended?

[u/[deleted]]

The moral is that humanity not fighting one time gives them a part in a weird hive mind?

[u/Katherine_Leigh]

Two things I don’t quite understand:

1. So what happens when Clarke, etc. eventually die? Where do they go, do they just cease to exist since they can’t transcend? And what happened to all the people who died before transcending, like Bellamy, Abby, etc? Apparently they can’t transcend, so where did they go? Do they all still get some sort of an afterlife?

2. Why was Becca so horrified by what she saw when she saw the ‘test’ they were supposed to take? I mean transcending really doesn’t seem that horrifying, her reaction made it seem like something really bad was going to happen? Even Madi had the same reaction when she saw what Becca had seen when Cadogan, etc. were looking through her mind?

[u/[deleted]]

so why was Octavia “called into the anomaly” if the anomaly is just a wormhole and is not sentient?

[u/seanosaurusrex4]

It was a complete departure from what I was expecting, but if you asked me 5 years ago what I wanted, itd be maincastkru setting up shelter on a beach - with Indra looking happy for once, and with a pet pupper!

Satisfying ended, but very weird 40 minutes to get there. They finally chose to stop fighting, and be better. But not a big fan of the whole transendence anyway but pretty decent considering.

Have to have a rewatch for sure though.

[u/SchwarzerRegen123]

The dog should have been allowed to take the test.

[u/mimi0108]

I really have a hard time making sense of that ending, as well as recognize the series that I loved so much.

Transcendence is such a mystical subject that I find it a shame to have made it concrete.

In addition, all those who transcend (except the youngest) have committed horrors. Do they all deserve to transcend? And is it really happiness?

The writers want me to believe that Madi, who dreamed of playing with her new friends, of being a normal child, is satisfied with her fate?

And that ALL humans have agreed to transcend except Clarke's friends because, to make a pretty fanfiction, they have to come back and live happy ever after?

What is the point ?

Why did they show us humans killing each other until the very end if it had no consequences?

Why did they kill Bellamy, while he was right, without consequence?

The morality is very dangerous and doesn't make sense.

Echo slaughtered lots of people, almost committed genocide out of pure revenge but transcends because... people love her?

The Cult of the Second Dawn are brainwashed supremacists but they can transcend?

Nothing makes sense, nothing is right and it spits on all the messages from previous seasons.

In short, I consider that this season does not exist.

[u/shyinwonderland]

So maybe transcending isn’t really Heaven. There is a real heaven where Bellamy went, along with everyone else pre Bardo BS. He is there with Monty, Harper, Abby, Kane, Wells, etc. And that is where Clarke will go when she eventually dies.

[u/starksoph]

It would have been so much more satisfying if everyone came back, dead or alive. This just felt so incomplete and rushed to me. I’m sad :(

[u/[deleted]]

So basically, they were tested by god and got to go to heaven? The moral is organized religion?

[u/marbar13]

Here are my thoughts. The ending was good at fave value, but very bad after analysis. Killing Bellamy was so redundant from the start. Clarke killed him to “save” Maddi, but left the book there. Then, turns out he was right and everybody transcended without him. The Sheidheda story line just never tied back in adequately, it had potential in the beginning but became worn out. If they’re going to have this big happy ending, it was unsatisfying to me that the whole gang wasn’t there

[u/ckwongau]

no more offspring , but is there are loophole .

Bill used Cloning machine to grew people , they re-used the same genetic material .

Is possible if Levitt used the cloning equipment to create some little kids .

And the "No more Offspring" rule doesn't apply to Clark ( i think)

Clark can clone herself

[u/Thisisalsomypass]

Man Raven was my favorite and sure she’s alive and with her best friends at the end but she’s alone again

On the ark in season 4 she was the only single one.

Now they’re spending the rest of their lives in a small group of 15 people and she’s one of the only single ones. I know they can’t have kids anyway but man just let Raven go out bangin

[u/stv7]

Am I the only one who thought that was terrible? Like, makes you feel good and all... but super stupid. The allknowing beings can be persuaded by Raven saying "but we don't always kill each other!" and Octavia running into a battlefield to tell armies to stop fighting? And then they transcend into beings of light?

This was the same show that brought us heavily-developed grounder culture and interesting politics between rival groups. When did it get so cheesy and stupid?

[u/SwiftCross]

I'm sad that the dead like Gabriel and Bellamy didn't transcend.

[u/[deleted]]

They can finally say "We are the last of the human race" and be right!

[u/ReineDeTaBite]

To re-hash what Ju Di said in A:TLA; There is no season 6-7 of The 100 in the garden of Eden.

[u/Starbuck107]

Ok so who was alive at the end ?

• Clarke

• Raven

• Niylah

• Echo

• Murphy and Emori

• Hope and Jordan

• Octavia and Levitt

• Indra and Gaia

• Miller and Jackson

[u/[deleted]]

I wouldn’t want to be assimilated into some weird collective consciousness. Not sure how more people didn’t reject it

[u/amv2926]

the music this episode was SO off. like just gave the weirdest, cheesiest vibes

[u/[deleted]]

It makes me sad that Clarke spent every season beating the burden of each war while everyone else let her do the hard parts and then she doesn’t get to transcend. The writers must’ve really enjoyed making her suffer because the only reason it was worth it was because her friends came back in the end. If she had kicked back and let someone else do all the work, she could’ve had a free pass to transcendence and that’s bs

[u/Sezzi626]

I didn’t mind the ending, but I was really looking forward- and wanted to badly- to see our fallen heroes (Finn, Wallis, Monty, Harper, Kane) again, and ofc see Bellamy again, and this time he gets a happy ending (because if Clarke gets one, he DESERVES one, the heart and head). Before watching the episode I thought for sure Clarke would die (somehow), and reunite with all her dead friends and family, and at the end of huggin and crying, see Bellamy again and they forgive each other.

[u/Psychological-Fee-53]

My opinion on the finale. I loved the idea of merged higher consciousness but the resolution to transcendence plotline - not so much. It felt unearned and rushed. I mean, one ceazefire is enough to transcend? I think it was only enough to be given a second chance, to actually prove with actions that they really can do better by building a better civilization and maybe several generations later their descendants could re-take the test. That was what Raven was asking. Or maybe part of humanity transcends (like disciplies who prepared their whole life for this) but the other part choses to live out their lives on Earth. I also think that a bunch of people living on Earth with no ability to meet new people, no purpose, no ability to reproduce is quiete sad, it's not ''peaceful'', it's stagantion, what would Raven with her inquisitive mind do all her life?) Or at least there should have been more people left on Earth like Humanity 2.0 or new civilization, or Humanity junior lol...)So to resume, I loved the ideas and themes explored (I dig transcendence as a concept, many sci-fi novels and series explore it actually), I loved the character moments (Raven and Octavia specifically, THAT'S how you do better, what a character development), I loved the test scenes - I just didn't like the resolution to it. But I don't ''hate'' it either, I can even see what Jason was trying to say with it, it's his story afterall) We can take what we get and/or create different outcomes in our heads)

[u/SwiftCross]

So why the hell was Becca scared shitless after she returned from the test? It seemed like a pretty peaceful place to me.

[u/CameRae_123]

She didn’t pull a lever

[u/CockDaddyKaren]

So a lot of that DID feel like a major ass-pull but I am.....strangely okay with it. It didn't end with a reset, nor did it end with some weird hurried explanation of exactly how the light-beings work and some horrid attempt to act out/depict the characters as light-beings. It wasn't terribly sad (I was certain it would be) and it wasn't overly cheesy. Somewhat cheesy. Not overly.

I am going to have to rewatch that last scene to figure out who made it and who didn't.

And honestly, if you'd told me at the start of this show (a bunch of punk-ass teenage fools screwing in the forest and engaging in the worst puke-worthy CW love triangles) that it would all end in alien planets, time warps, a huge war, and transcendence, I would've laughed my ass off.

[u/Jokekiller1292]

Soooo what did Murphy see when he died? Before the "magic" snake revived him.

[u/kamhtx]

After the show, I went straight to ABC to watch the NBA Finals to clear my mind. It's been an hour since the show and series ended. The only thing I would have changed is that instead of the crew coming back, all of the humans, homo sapiens come back to earth. And they make a deal with these alien beings that hey, leave us alone. We screw up, we make mistakes, we make errors. To err is human, right? That's what we are. They are allowed to repopulate the Earth. The end.

[u/giotodd1738]

I like how Clarke is the only individual of a species to ever murder another being taking the test. Makes sense but damn that punishment cold. Here’s to imagining there’s an afterlife in the show universe other than transcendence

[u/ckwongau]

The Alien judge said they appear as the subject's greatest teacher or greatest failure or greatest love .

Bill saw the judge as his daughter

Clark saw the judge as Lexi

Raven saw the judge as Abby

Becca probably saw her judge as A.L.I.E. ( which were in her own image)

[u/Smugjester]

War bad ty alien God species beam me up now

[u/Lakinther]

Did this feel incredibly rushed and unsatisfactory or am i alone

[u/Existing-Quit-]

All they had to do was not say that the dead cannot Transcend and Bellamy would’ve been able to come back

[u/100PlusRyan]

For me it never felt the same when they left earth. Especially when the alien portals came i to play.

I loved the show. I'm glad its over.

[u/Letshavemorefun]

I wish they gave us more of a technical explanation of what Jordan did. It was like he said “this would make dad proud” and then magic happened. With Monty we always got to see at least some of the action behind the magic.

[u/ccharlie03]

I enjoyed the finale up until the last few minutes. I really think the whole episode really did a disservice to clarkes character and didn't really have a great ending for her arc.

[u/Luke_ZA]

I was tearing up near the end omg i love this show so much sad to see it end. The ending was good but could have been better i wish everyone transcended would have loved to see Bellamy, Monty, Jaspar ect. and see what happens once they transcend but i guess that's asking too much.

[u/AZombiesBreakfast]

Were the horribly jarring music cues in this episode (Vance Joy and U2 specifically) a callback to the pilot/Radioactive or was this episode just super cheesy?

[u/createmajic]

Alien species playing God: "Don't you want your soul to be trapped inside our consciousness forever?!"

[u/[deleted]]

I liked the ending, but Bellamy should have been there. I know his death happened episodes ago and I don’t expect him to just come back, but it’s just not fair. All the main characters killed and went through pain and redemption for seasons and finally got their happy ending through something he was killed for believing in. Also, Gabriel’s arc ended well I think with his death, but he died without fully understanding the stones and completing his life. Gabriel and Bellamy should’ve been there with them :(. Diyoza too, although her death I think was more satisfactory

[u/adragonisnoslave]

With different pacing and planting the seeds for transcendance ~2 seasons earlier- I still wouldn't have loved it, but it would've been okay.

That was just fucking weird, and rushed. There's always been new ideas introduced, sure, but for the most part they were natural extensions of previous technology or leaps that didn't seem too far. This was ridiculous and out of nowhere.

Ugh.

[u/hello_ambro]

Madi stone cold not coming back for Clark! Lmao 😂

[u/Sixchr]

Well that was... something.

[u/[deleted]]

what the fuck just happened

[u/teddygraham100]

I’m guessing since the stones are indestructible they’re free to planet hop now

[u/roastedmarshmellows]

So... if Becca went into the Test, what did she see and how was she allowed to go? Why was her experience different than Clarke or Raven's?

[u/Nostariel]

The best thing I can say about this ending is that I'm really glad there's a new episode of Raised By Wolves this week.

[u/noparkinghere]

There were some good moments but idk; I just didn't FEEL it like how Season 5's finale made me just feel it; ya know?

[u/[deleted]]

Wanted to tear up like at the end of season 5, but I couldn't. Wanted to ugly-cry like at the end of Lost, but I couldn't.

The whole transcendence thing doesn't resonate with me. The Good Place handled the idea of 'heaven' the best I've ever seen in a show, book, game, movie—everything. The stuff of 'a place of no pain, only happiness, and you'll never die' sounds like torture to me, even if it's a choice to un-transcend soon after(?). It's a cop-out way to end any piece of fiction. It's a literal 'and they all lived forever after'. If they were going to transcendence route, I wish they would've explained more about what it was and what it is while you're transcended—beyond "one consciousness."

But I did feel emotional at the call-back to Clarke in her cell at the very end. The show was a hell of a roller-coaster ride. I watched the first episode a few years ago on a whim, thinking it was going to be bad and generic CW shlock. I'm glad I was wrong. I think the greatest thing I'll remember about the show is the 'ride' experience and the huge ground it covered, narratively. Perhaps they should've ended with season 5, but I guess I'm glad they pushed it, even though I don't love where they pushed it to.

[u/[deleted]]

Something about the last scene rubbed me the wrong way. It just had that saccharine feel-good vibe that is so tonally different than anything the show has ever done. I honestly felt like I was watching the end of a family dramedy.

[u/[deleted]]

Some satisfying things, some absolutely nonsensical things, some infuriating things. Certainly there were things that did not feel earned.

My biggest question is what is the difference between transcendence and the City of Light. In both cases you are becoming one with a hivemind and have a place to live forever with no pain. Why is one good but the other bad? I feel the show failed in a big way if I need to ask that question.

Besides that Bellamy was done dirty. Holy shit. The ending felt hollow without him. Honestly the whole season did.

[u/Capeninja]

Bellamy was right, Clarke was wrong.

Moral of the story: The heart > the head.

[u/cjc323]

What was the offspring comment? They will produce no offspring?

Rawdawg onekru orgies here we go! Can we have the sequel instead of the prequel? :p

[u/SkyeboxFye]

They all turned into Groots

[u/ImperfectRegulator]

While the ending was still good, these last two seasons definitely suffered from the our show got renewed so we have to write more story and we have to get bigger and better and do more syndrome

[u/BubbleDncr]

I think it was as good of an ending as we could have gotten with the last 2 seasons being what they were.

I also would have been fine with Clarke being alone forever. Or with the show ending at the end of season 5.

No complaints here.

[u/Drafonist]

So... no lever?

[u/Ramarivera]

I'm more outraged by the lack of levers than I am by Bellamy not getting a happy ending tbh

[u/[deleted]]

Everything would Have been perfect If Bellamy didn’t die for literally nothing

[u/pinant]

If anything the ending gives closure to all characters, the original gang got back together to live their lives on earth with Clarke, every other human gets to transcend. Seems to be a way the writers wanted every character to have an ending and this leaves out the questions of what happens to so and so.

[u/ValveTurkey1138]

Eligius 3 just happened to travel to all these planets with the anomaly stones...

Some answers would have been nice. Had plenty of time this season.

[u/[deleted]]

I thought it was stated in an interview there would be no aliens. That was a fucking alien.

[u/flekie]

I can't believe the whole show was just one big vape commercial

[u/gwapojvs]

I have very mixed feelings about the ending. I loved the whole episode except the end. The end was okay, it was a good ending, I knew they would end up back on earth and the fact that everyone is reunited together. Emori is clearly there with them as we saw here when they said “Clarke’s here”. I’m not mad about Clarke getting a happy ending either, I’m happy Levitt got to come back to earth to be with Octavia. I did expect more from this episode, as I’ve said repeatedly, this should have been a 2 hour finale episode, I feel like that would have definitively given us closure. Bellamy isn’t even there, I loved Bellamy, Clarke and Octavia being all together so this is pretty sad. But as a lot of people are saying we do need an explanation as to what the light beings are, the anomaly, etc. There’s a lot of holes in the plots that should have been filled. Very happy to have seen Lexa even though it wasn’t really her. I understand that Madi didn’t have much to stay on Earth with the others but it would’ve been nice if she would have stayed. There’s just so much, I’m overwhelmed, I wasn’t ready for this ending, it came too quick as I first hated The 100 when I first watched it, my partner incited me to rewatch it and I loved it and now I’m a hardcore die hard fan of the show. All of our watch has come down to this and I’m extremely sad that the show is over as it was the only show that I ever put my feelings into and was able to share thoughts with everyone on Reddit. I’m definitely gonna rewatch the whole series since it’s over. & this is it, I’m so happy to have spent the time with all of you people on here, may we meet again!

[u/peenaboo]

Best show ever and a great ending. Say what you want, I’m happy. Blissful. Love so much.

[u/ImperfectRegulator]

Sooo uuuhhh, the transcendence to a new plane/world, isn’t it just a fancier version of the city of light

[u/Rikusaber]

Wait the explanation for why madi didn't come back with everyone else made no sense. Just because she'd be the only one her age? Like wtf? If every single person was given a choice to return to earth, I'm sure there would be more people who would have taken that choice. I think there would at least be a possibility that madi wouldn't be the only kid back.

[u/xlsublx]

Just my take... I havent seen this side brought up yet.

Although I don't think its realistic that they would all decide not to transcend and instead live out the rest of their lives alone as the last of their species, I like the symbolism of it.

Go back to the Children of Gabriel's motto "Death is life": When you have a limited lifespan in this universe, you tend to appreciate the precious moments and memories you do have with the people around you. Having a sense of immortality always leads to taking life for granted, as you see often in vampire movies and with the primes in the 100; I mean, what is the meaning of life without the notion of death?

After all they have been through, they have seen the quest for immortality firsthand and how it affects our morality; mountain men draining blood so they may continue to survive, consciousness immortality in the AI city of light, cryosleep, the mind-drive body-snatching primes of sanctum, Cadigan and the disciples wanting to transcend... As flawed as it seemed to the aliens (and any AI), they chose to live their lives rather than exist in some immortal higher dimension... That's what makes them human.

[u/crtis]

So they went to the city of light 2.0?

[u/wipeout202]

When Octavia was the last one to transcend in that scene I really thought the “test” person would show up in the form of Bellamy. I’m shocked they didn’t work him into the episode SOMEHOW, but I’m honestly happy he wasn’t included in the last scene with them all together. It wouldn’t have made sense...

[u/helicopterdik]

u know, i kinda wish Jordan and Hope had stayed transcended. they were never "their parents friends" and i feel like they couldve loved each other happily in transcendance as well. though i guess O is Hopes fam and Jordan likely had to follow.

[u/matt1nb7]

Last 5 minutes saved the show from total failure. Just wish Bellamy would’ve been able to be back somehow, but losses during a show are part of getting to the destination.

[u/[deleted]]

One thing I don’t get is why was Becca so scared of the beings? She was just like “naw I’m not taking this test” and then left.

[u/cswann13]

How was Emori in the final group shot by the lake? It doesn’t make sense. She died before they transcended!? How is she there but Bellamy is not?

[u/RoamingKid]

I liked it man... feels like a solid ending for me. Sure this strayed from the original show that was 100 kids on planet earth after a nuclear apocalypse but it said more about life and the human condition. Co-operation is the key to transcendence. Even now in the real world we kill and pillage each other. Maybe thats why aliens wont visit us if theyre real, we arent ready.

I think the show says more about life than anything

[u/ImperfectRegulator]

Also still confused about how life on earth returned so fast

[u/tomanonimos]

That felt rushed. Kudos to tying up all the loose ends except for the time dilation but I accepted it as a necessary plot hole.

[u/RepresentativePeach3]

Oof... a lot of mixed feelings on this one.

The best thing about the finale were the satisfying, logical closures to most main characters' arcs. Octavia being the one to argue against war was fantastic.

But the transcendence thing was terrible. It really was just one huge deus ex machina that results EITHER WAY in the extermination of the human species. A few humans' consciousness becomes part of some larger consciousness, and if you choose not to transcend you're not allowed to actually perpetuate your species by reproducing? That's extinction. Absolutely horrifying! I was really hoping they had misunderstood transcendence, but nope, it's exactly what Bill said it would be.

Also this whole thing rendered Bellamy's death completely pointless and I am enraged. I was fine with his death because I thought it would have some huge significance for the end. It did not! He was right about transcendence. And if Bill had taken the test, like presumably Bellamy staying alive would have facilitated, the results would have been exactly the same. Clarke failed the test - the worst Bill could have done was fail the test. So why did Bellamy have to die? I really don't understand and it seems really unfair.

This also doesn't conclude the themes of the show in any satisfying way. One of the constant conflicts was that people who wanted peace were likely greater in number than those who kept fighting and instigating violence. I.e. peace could never be achieved because of a few bad (and frequently empowered) individuals. Like Ontari, Pike, Cage Wallace, Josephine, and in this case Sheidheda. At the end there, Sheidheda was the only person keeping them from transcendence. Ok, kill him, now they can have peace. But that was always the issue - how do you achieve peace when you will always have a few individuals who don't want peace?

And they achieve transcendence because of one lull in the fighting? That happens all the time in this show so why is it significant now?

Also one of the biggest conflicts is saving one's own people at the expense of others' people. By making transcendence about ALL humans, they can just sidestep that biggest conflict in being able to avoid violence.

Oh, and great that it never explained how earth can support life again...

Idk, it's nice to see everyone's arc mostly satisfyingly concluded but this is actually an extremely depressing end to the show and doesn't conclude the themes of the show in any satisfying way. Like we just saw the extermination of the human species after 7 seasons of watching them struggle to survive. Just because two people (Bill and Clarke) went in to take a test.

[u/joshjoshjoshj]

Okay look, I love love LOVE Lexa, but the fact that they didn’t use Bellamy in that scene is just piss-poor writing. Like, Clarke just killed someone in front of the judge. The fact that she wouldn’t have to face her biggest failure (who was also the shows co-lead for 7 years) is BAD storytelling

[u/yahowii]

I know people will hate this ending, but it gives the main group a peaceful ending choosing to live with who they love(that are alive)

[u/ravenreyess]

Okay so for my thoughts: I wish we saw real Lexa, but I still loved seeing Lexa come back in some capacity.

Other that that I can confidently say that I hated it. Pacing was like the entire writing room took cocaine and fit 5 episodes worth of content into 40 minutes. Jordan and Hope kinda freak me out. Weird scenes like Jackson and Miller dancing next to a corpse and a dying man, too. They took a dump on Bellamy and everything relating to his character was such a disservice. Madi not transcending was literally that Pokemon episode where the bulbasaurs (?) are trying not to evolve. Shiedheda was ridiculous and should have died by now. ORBS????

Yeah. I'm pretty bummed out.

[u/ZegetaX1]

Weak ending way too happy and yet Bellamy is still dead and we never saw him completely unacceptable

[u/[deleted]]

Immediate reaction?

...

Welp.

These higher-beings are douchebags. Bellamy? Never heard of him, I guess. Hey, Lamp-Sheid died!

I am whelmed, leaning toward underwhelmed. Glad we got some glimpse of what Becca saw. But I guess my expectations were some too high.

EDIT: Major shoutout to Clarke for schooling ~The Almighty~. Loved how raw she went in on these hypocritical question marks of deities.

[u/LegoLesion]

One question, WHY RUIN CLEVER

[u/fleecemastershero]

what😃the😃fawk😃was😃that😃

[u/welcome2mycandystore]

This doesn't even make sense. So there's no heaven/hell yet they can magically become part of the universe? Wtf was that

[u/djexplosive]

Did anyone also get some weird glitch in the matrix where during the last scene it looked like it was fading into another scene of Clarke writing/drawing something but immediately faded back into the final scene before you could make out her face?

[u/simon_ritchie2000]

Was that ending supposed to be happy? Everyone in humanity dies and goes to some kind of heaven, which sounds nice maybe but is still genocide! Then the main characters come back to live out the rest of their lives just hanging out but also not reproducing and not transcending when they die. This is also genocide but ultimately less pleasant, aside from some laughs around the river.

And the whole setup is painfully forced. An alien we don’t meet until the very end just gets to decide humanity’s fate, and of course it’s Clarke who represents the entire species in this decision. But wait! A stirring speech just when the omnipotent alien happens to be watching makes humanity finally stop fighting for the first time ever. Convenient timing to avoid the third, least pleasant kind of genocide.

At this point I’m just glad the whole show has been raptured. A disappointing end to a disappointing season.

[u/sher42]

For a second, when Clarke was chasing after Picasso, I thought, I wanted to see that she was not alone, because the alien lady returned Bellamy...

[u/CorporalMonkey]

I probably said “bruh” 30 times the last 30 mins

[u/supergeekd]

I am fucking bawling right now, and I did not expect to. That was such a roller coaster and for the most part a great conclusion. The only problem I have with it is that all of Clarke's friends came back to have a happy ending. This show just doesn't have happy endings, so it felt very out of character- that is, if a show can be out of character. I was expecting Clarke to be the only human left, i. e. "I bear it so they don't have to." I would have been happier with that honestly.

I'm gonna go wipe my tears now. Who knew when we started watching this little show seven years ago we would end up here?

[u/[deleted]]

wait... its over? but... there's still so much. i want to see. all my favorie characters talk about.

no bellamy funeral?

wait... its just... done? but, i ... ;)

*actually cries*

it was fun while it lasted, may we meet again

[u/youngdiab]

Clearly a TV series, Clarke go guns blazing, never been shooter in any season

Then gets a somewhat happy ending after killing Cardogan and Bellamy even though they were somewhat right

Also the only reason the majority of humans got transcendence is cause of Cadogan's teachings, and his flock bought into one humanity even if his final war was wrong

If they tables were turned Wonkru/Sanctum would of slaughtered the disciples....., end of humanity....

[u/jlynn00]

If I was Clarke, I'd ask if my friends can rejoin transcendence. Then I'd live long enough to care for Picasso. Then I'd off myself.

[u/koloniavenus]

Wait what did the extra minute add? The whole part with everyone choosing to not transcend? Are you telling me that they decided to add that later and the original ending was just Clarke and Picasso? Or do you think the minute was added somewhere else randomly? (Like the Hope/Jordan scene that was oddly placed. Not complaining but I mean it's hard to develop a relationship in less than two episodes)

[u/BashingKeyboard]

Murphy and Emori actually transcended twice. Mindspace orgasm and then the actual transcendence.

[u/Existing-Quit-]

The pilot glimpse really thought they were going to pull a it was all in Clarke’s mind ending

[u/brimbro]

Okay I just rewatched Bellamy's "spiritual" moment in the cave with his mother. And in hindsight, that wasn't his mother it was one of the transcendence beings. Why did they pose as his mother?? Aren't they only supposed to make contact with humans at the time of the test? And why/how was Bill there? Was that also not Bill?

[u/[deleted]]

Was there not a lever in this episode?

[u/Starbuck107]

If Clarke got to transcend do you think all those guys would have wanted to be human again?

[u/armokrunner]

Summary of Clarke pulling levers in season finales:

1. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever to close the original drop ship hatch to keep out the grounders

2. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever to irradiate Mount Weather

3. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever in the City of Light and kills A.L.I.E.

4. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever (?) to align the satellite for spacekru and possibly closing the door to the lab to escape primefiya [not sure on this one]

5. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever to close the drop ship to take off before McCreary’s protocol bomb lands

6. ⁠Clarke pulls the lever to float Simone/Abby and friends

7. ⁠Clarke pulls the gun trigger lever and kills Cadogan, even says “I pulled the lever to commit genocide”

[u/armokrunner]

Thinking back to Bellamy in the cave when he saw the remnant of what looked like a human who transcended and now we know from the battlefield that that’s what it was, makes you wonder who was in the cave who transcended and how? Unless it was all a vision...

[u/armokrunner]

So humankind is extinct in about 70 years max if they’re lucky enough to last even that long

[u/ckwongau]

no more offspring = sex without any consequence

Hope , Jordon and Levitt (and Octavia )

[u/lunasxdecay]

Just a tv show yet I feel so upset :/

[u/Ghanaguy404error]

I think it was a good ending, but I feel like for the type of show this is, they should’ve highlighted what and who they lost in the process to get here. I would’ve loved to see/ hear mentions of other people and what they believed in too. Other than that, it was a pretty solid ending ig.

[u/absent_minding]

Fun show. Thanks for the content.

RIP Bellamy, just barely missed immortal bliss :C

..but maybe he got up there some how.. :)

[u/siri8902]

Hold on. Did anyone see Emori is the last scene. I think she wasn't there.

[u/shardell]

Better than GoT ending for 100%, plus this thing didn't ruin that feeling to rewatch series.

[u/invincibility6]

Essentially You are on the council, but we do not grant you the rank of master

[u/srtgt]

Well, it had to have an end. May we meet again watchers of The 100!

[u/Killbethy]

I’m pretty flabbergasted with the fact that they went with transcendence is real even though that was what I was expecting (let’s be real... with the remaining plot choices available, that was the only one that could end the show). Sparing the ridiculousness of a higher species thinking that you can judge (and commit genocide) based on the actions of one person, it completely contradicts and undermines SO many thematic elements the 100 has tried to deal with it, like what self-sacrifice entails, tribalism, or even suicide (hell, given the finale, it looks like Jasper made the right call since transcendence is damn close to what their concept of death is.)

Essentially we get a boiler plate, cop-out “answer:” There really is no doing better. Humanity needs divine intervention to prevent itself from self-extinction.

(Or I guess you could say alien, if alien somehow manages share human morality in spite of being a collective of vastly different species lol, but since they most likely intend for us to draw “real world” analogies, divine is the most logical.)

Oh! And for a show about fighting for the people you love, somehow giving up the capability to love is also the best answer. I guess we can assume if transcendence adds to a collective consciousness, adding humanity might add some emotional aspect, but that would be far outweighed by other species’ green morality.

So what about doing better? Oh, that. Man, I’m just so disappointed again that I wish I stopped watching at the S5 finale. Honestly, if they thought time was running short, they should have either spent the time on Sanctum (without finding any Sanctumites!) trying to rebuild society, coming to terms with what they did for survival, and just develop the characters in a scenario where the only “us vs. them” is an arbitrary line they would have to draw for themselves in the sand (and trying to resist drawing at all). Lord knows they’ve all gone through enough trauma and had zero downtime to deal with most of it, or even getting to know each other again after 6 years of separation, and relationship dynamics can change quite a lot during the calm after a storm! I mean, my goodness, the main function of the anomaly for the show wound up being a way to shortcut and compact character development into single episodes any way. They should have just spent the time to do it properly, and if they couldn’t manage it, end the show with a glimmer of hope and what if. Sometimes leaving things up to the viewers’ imagination and interpretation is better than trying to give concrete endings, or worse, definitive answers to life’s “big questions.”

I think I would have ended the show this way:

S6: They land on Sanctum and find the remnants of human civilization with no surviving people, but since they are getting ready to survive on a new planet, the ruins of Sanctum take a backseat to building a new functioning society, slowly waking up the other Eligius passengers, character development!!!!, and redefining their relationships after so much time apart, a war that put them on opposite sides, the extinction of Earth, and the loss of several major characters. Leave some breadcrumbs here and there about what might have happened to Sanctum, but keep it more as on the back burner until the finale.

S7: With things starting to run more smoothly, the characters dig deeper into the mystery behind Sanctum. You could introduce the Anomaly here (probably even more effectively since you could reduce the amount of humans randomly chilling on other planets) or it could be another plot device, but the important part is that digging deeper into it might lead to trouble they don’t currently have: it needs to be a choice on the part of a character or characters and not forced on them.

S8: Now you could introduce some kind of external threat (or existential threat). I actually liked the mind uploading bit since it did expound on the characters’ inner turmoil. So you could actually combine the Anomaly with something like the Disciples, where the Disciples are copies of one another passed down through generation and expand their ranks by implanting others with pre-set personalities and beliefs. It would be an interesting combination, because you’d have a dilemma with the Anomaly and time dilation (before its fully understood), where some characters do come back naturally changed due to the time dilation in foreign environments and people they might not have chosen to be stuck with for extended periods, others coming back as brain jacked, etc. So instead of the “main” fight really being with the Disciples, even though they are instigators, the real fight is how well our characters know each other at this point and how much they are willing to fight for one another in the same way Bellamy fought for Clarke when she was Josephine-d. It would also leave them with another choice... they can either go to war with the Disciples for control of the Anomaly and all the benefits it can bring or they can destroy it, isolating themselves to one planet with limited resources knowing there are no do-overs this time. This time they choose not to fight and destroy the Anomaly because that’s what Monty wanted for them and (hopefully) they’ve come to find life and living more valuable than just surviving or going from one war to the next.

The End!

And STILL unresolved issue: How the hell did Earth regenerate?

[u/missemilyykayy]

So was the city of light was basically Alis version of transcending? The only difference being they had a choice this time? Collective conscious, no pain, no death, just peace.

[u/md2002002]

This was a weird blend of the city of light and the flash sideways in lost.

Also bardo soldiers are still useless