Why I’m Still Upset About Lexa’s Death: The Immortality of SOME of the Characters of The 100
Yesterday concluded my rewatch of The 100, and I have to say, I’m having a tough time understanding the double standards of death on the show. Yes, death is always a possibility in this fictitious world, and yes, a few characters have died on the show before Lexa, but I’m confused as to why some characters seem to cheat death numerous times, even in impossible situations.
Here are just a few instances where some characters conquered death on the show:
- In the pilot episode, Jasper got impaled by a massive spear, was then dragged through the forest by Grounders, and hung up on a tree by his arms, but somehow managed to survive.
- Finn was stabbed in the chest with a poisoned knife, was operated on by Clarke during a hurricane with help from Abby, who used a radio to talk her through the procedure while still in space, and yet, he survived without a long, inconvenient healing process.
- Jaha wore a broken, shattered astronaut’s helmet in space, rode a rocket to get to Earth, and survived crashing in a desert.
- Kane survived with only minor injuries regardless of being crushed by heavy debris after the missile attack on TonDC.
- As announced during the Comic-Con panel, despite being shot at close range, Roan survived and will be in season four.
These five characters cheated death in unrealistic situations where, in some cases, help was not easily accessible. But Lexa was shot by a stray bullet in front of Clarke, in a tower with constant guards and (I assume) plenty of healers living in Polis, yet, there were no guards nor help given.
So, Clarke could save Finn in the middle of a powerful hurricane but nothing could be done to save Lexa?
I’m not just upset that my favorite character died, but I’m also disappointed in the writing of the death itself because it doesn’t seem to make sense given what we know about the Grounder culture. It seems to me that if a Commander is seriously injured, even though it is believed that his or her spirit will move on, Titus and others would do whatever they could in order to save the Commander, not just let him or her die. But after Lexa was shot, Titus immediately accepted her fate and carried out the ritual without trying to help her or assist Clarke.
Not only was nothing done to at least try to save her, but the lighting of the scene seems to suggest that a considerable amount of time passed between when she got shot and when she died, which would have given Clarke, Titus, and even Murphy ample time to find a healer or the necessary equipment to save her. But instead, Lexa bled out without receiving the proper, available treatment.
After the fan backlash, Lexa’s death was pretty much explained as just another casualty in a world plagued by death and violence. The problem I have with that explanation is that to be “just another” casualty means that this is something that regularly happens on this show. Maybe I’m just a bitter Lexa fan and Clexa shipper, but if that’s the go-to explanation, then I think all of the characters should have an equal chance of death instead of giving certain characters nine lives, sometimes escaping ridiculous situations, while others aren’t given a single chance to escape it.
Using that explanation to try to silence upset fans isn’t comforting or satisfying at all. Lexa, a minority character who meant so much to and inspired so many people, was given a cheap, shock-value death. Apparently, she was one of the few exceptions to this “nine-lives rule,” which makes her death even more controversial and harmful to the fans.
Two other excuses and justifications for Lexa’s death as a response to the backlash was that none of the characters are safe or invincible in this world and that her death was supposed to show how fragile and temporary life is. But again, for that to be an actual justification, it should be applicable to all characters.
I can’t help but think that if death had affected more characters throughout the first two seasons, maybe I wouldn’t be as upset about Lexa’s death. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would definitely still be incredibly upset and hurt about how she died and how we were baited into believing she would survive until the finale. However, if we had experienced more character deaths throughout the seasons instead of characters somehow surviving the impossible, I think I would have been more understanding: the overused excuse about death being a constant threat would have been true for everyone, not just when it’s a convenient excuse used to silence the fans’ outcries.
If none of the characters are safe in the world of The 100, why do some characters appear to be invincible and immortal? If life is so fragile, why have we seen so many characters escape impossible situations time and time again? Why was Lexa considered a casualty in this world when others have survived giant spears, poisoned blades, and a rocket crashing into the desert?
Why was Lexa the exception?
10 comments
Seriously?
1) She wasn’t a main character. Recurring characters are ALWAYS more vulnerable to death. The entire core of the show (THE 100) was NOT about her. Hence, she is more expendable. These are tv writing rules 101.
2) The actress is a regular on another show.
3) Finn, Wells, and Lincoln were ACTUAL main characters who died. Monty’s mom, Sinclair, Pike, Monroe, Anya, Gina, all recurring character deaths that you’re apparently fine with.
So yes, there IS a double standard…and it’s acting as if the death of a recurring character that was heavily foreshadowed and was the only logical end to the character’s story, was somehow “bad” writing, just because you personally liked the pretty white girl. Lexa as a character had a limited story presence, and taking any kind of objective look at the series shows that. She had zero connection to any character but Clarke and the title of the show should be the first thing that tells you that that is NOT enough to ensure a character has story longevity. She was a plot device that had her role temporarily expanded because of online fan worship. Of all the deaths on the show, hers is the one that is given undue story attention. Wells, Finn, Lincoln…all allowed to die with minimal outcry. Lexa? A character that tried to kill all of them and that Clarke was “in love” with for a week? She’s been “mourned” for 8 eps and will probably continue to be elevated beyond all story logic next season.
Yeah, you’re wrong. I don’t care if you like her or not, if you think her death wasn’t bad writing you have no idea what good writing is, and you’re ignorant about the Bury Your Gays trope.
Good job of invalidating a canon relationship between two girls! Clarke was in love with Lexa, Lexa was in love with Clarke. That’s all canon. Deal with it.
It’s funny how you’re talking about people caring about Lexa only because she was a white girl, and then mentioned Finn, a white guy, as a character that was “allowed to die with minimal outcry”. So I guess you’re trying to say that a straight white guy matters more than a white lesbian? Newsflash: it’s possible to care about Lexa AND the other minorities (and Finn isn’t included in that) who have died. Stop using race issues as an excuse to justify a harmful, lesbophobic death.
lol. We still got Bellarke fans on here like Sarah living in denial and swallowing Jason’s garbage excuses.
ADC was ALREADY ON FTWD the entire time she was on The100. She managed to do SIXTEEN EPISODES of The100 while doing TWO SEASONS of FTWD at the same time. Yet, somehow, NOW, ADC is unable to film on the 100???? lmao.
FTWD is DONE FILMING, and has been done for 2 months now – The100 is JUST STARTING to film. ADC has ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD to film a few episodes of the 100 as a guest star.
Not only that, Lexa didn’t need to die to tell Jason’s stupid COL/ALIE storyline. Clarke got the damn Flame implanted and removed while still conscious and nothing happened to her. How hard is it to create a storyline where grounders angry at Lexa’s new “blood must not have blood” policy and Azgeda supporters of Queen Nia threaten Lexa’s life. Titus cuts a deal to spare Lexa’s life in exchange for forcibly removing the FLame from Lexa and giving the Flame to Ontari or some other nightblood who wants to be Heda??? That’s about 190000x more interesting than a freaking stray bullet. Lexa is then forced to flee for her life, she and Clarke share a tearful goodbye, and BOOM she’s gone. Or look at how Jason wrote off Lexa at the end of season 2 – that was BRILLIANT, SHOCKING, and HEARTWRENCHING but it was an EARNED plot development.
We all know why Jason killed Lexa off. It was his huge fukking EGO and nothing else that is to blame here.
Thanks for commenting. When I wrote this, I didn’t mean to suggest that I ignore the other deaths by prioritizing Lexa’s death over others’, because honestly, the deaths of Wells, Anya, and Lincoln affected me too. I loved all three of those characters and I was heartbroken when Lincoln was killed. (The common factor among Wells, Anya, Lincoln, and Lexa is that they are all minority characters and three of them weren’t given another chance to survive unlike Jasper, Finn, or Roan.) My main point was that the excuse they used to defend and justify Lexa’s death isn’t a good one. If death really is so prevalent and powerful in this world, why are some able to survive ridiculous injuries while others aren’t even given one chance? We’ve heard the showrunner say over and over that no one is safe in this world, but if that is the case, if that’s one of the most important lessons of the show itself, then death shouldn’t just affect the “recurring” character: it should affect all of them, and if it doesn’t, then it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to only justify Lexa’s death. Main characters have died in many television shows before, but apparently on The 100, death is a major threat and acceptable if only they’re recurring characters? I focused on Lexa’s death in this article because 1) I didn’t want this review/article to be 5 pages long if I included other deaths that upset me; 2) Like many other fans, I’m still hurt by how the writers and showrunner baited, used, and lied to us about Lexa surviving; and 3) Why was Lexa the poster child for “the fragility of life” when other characters are given chance after chance to recover and survive? To me, it’s kind of ridiculous for them to use that excuse for her, because they really never addressed the impossible survivals other than the fact that they changed the writing in the pilot so Jasper would survive. I guess only certain lives are fragile and temporary in this world. And “pretty white girl” or not, reducing Lexa to a temporary plot device erases the importance of her character to me and the other fans. She was a complex, beautiful, minority character who meant a great deal to so many people and she also sparked a revolution calling for equal representation all over the world.
Let me fill the list for you:
Jaha: got shot by Bellamy and survived, had a cracked spacesuit helmet and survived, came down to Earth in a rocket and survived, survived going through the desert in search of ALIE.
Abby: was thought to be dead on the Exodus ship, survived hanging herself.
Bellamy survived being hanged, survived the dropship fire circle that killed 299 grounders.
Finn survived being stabbed and poisoned, survived the dropship fire circle that killed 299 grounders.
Murphy survived being hanged, tortured by grounders and infected with a potentially deadly virus.
Monty got stabbed in the stomach with a screwdriver, ran full speed like nothing happened, survived with no medical attention.
Lincoln was literally brought back from the dead.
Jasper survived a spear to his chest (poor Nia wasn’t so lucky) ans was supposed to kill himself in the finale.
I might have missed some, but here you go!
This. 90 bajillion times this. Questions I had when it happened, questions I still have, and why I, too, am still upset about her death.
“Why was Lexa the exception?” We all know why. Come on, now.
Sigh. I was doing so good with avoiding anything TheFlopdred-related for two weeks now and I came upon this on my feed and I’m still so fucking upset. I didn’t even like the show and only suffered through it because of her character but her death really traumatized and scarred the shit out of me (which is a feat considering the childhood trauma I’ve endured). So congrats to the TheFlopdred writers, I guess. You’ve done a really great job of alienating and emotionally scarring young LGBT fans that you baited.
This article makes some very good points, but I think you should have mentioned the deaths of Wells, Anya and Lincoln as well, three other minorities that were killed under the excuse that “no one in this show is safe”, even though white, straight characters constantly defy death. The only other main character that died was Finn, and even then, there was something that separated his death from the others: he was respected. Wells was brutally murdered by a white girl who saw him as a demon, and his body was left in the woods. Except for his father, no one cared that he died; Anya was killed off for the sole purpose of providing shock value, as one of the writers/directors himself confirmed that originally she wasn’t supposed to die, and killing her was his idea. Her muddy, bloody body was left in the dirt. Lexa was shown to be affected by her death in one scene, but Anya was quickly forgotten by the other characters; Lexa was killed by a stray bullet moments after having sex with the girl she loved for the first time, and, not even a full minute after she stopped breathing, the man who killed her turned over her body and cut open a hole in the neck, showing us, the audience, that Lexa was just a body, an object- she didn’t belong to herself. Her purpose was to further the storyline; Lincoln was executed by another black man, and his body was left in a puddle of dirt and water. Finn, on the other hand, died with dignity. Firstly, whereas the four characters aforementioned were killed by forces beyond their control, Finn has the choice of surrendering for the good of his people. He had an entire episode dedicated to his death, full of flashbacks that were supposed to make us sympathize with him (a guy who murdered 18 innocent people in cold blood), and we saw how each character felt about him. Furthermore, there was another entire episode dedicated to saying goodbye to him, and how each character was affected by his death. He had a funeral. Finn was sent off as a hero, and was deemed good enough to be honored and properly mourned, while the others were stuck with tragic deaths, by unforeseen circumstances, and had their bodies violated and/or left in the dirt. Jason Rothenberg’s “harsh world where anyone can die” only targets minorities, and it isn’t a coincidence.
It’s because of her role on FTWD but then they are done shooting last week of June so she is available for this season 4. All I think is because Jason got a bad reviews and the writers as well so the Actress had to be blame or what else coulee be the reason. But then I feel bad for the cast because now that Lexa is gone they have to work harder to get more fans to watch the show. Goodluck
I agree with lindsey.. but my love for Lexa is like this:
“The 100” was a stupid show in the s01 and I hated it but then the ending of s01 was promising .
S02 was better with the mountain men . From s02 we hv a lot to learn from human behavior and society’s stupidity , roman mob is an ass ,
Lexa became a lead focus on the s02 where her each behaviour and strong mind was praised by all
Her acting was amazing and
Most importantly With out saying a word we understood their love for each other .
Her strong decision to concede battle for her people by betraying her love shows a great leadership quality .
Even though the writers didnt give much importance to Lexa , her acting was extremely awesome where she could do much with her eyes and everyone loved it.
If u focus Lexa when ever she talks to Clarke , her face itself tells a lot.
It was her dedication to the character that made Lexa so popular .She deserved a better ending i strongly believe that!!