Ok so first off, if you watching The 100 or Supergirl finale or caught up on The Originals I suggest you not read ahead. There are SPOILERS, SPOILERS, AND MORE SPOILERS AHEAD.
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There are several shows that go through time jumps. A season will end and the next season will pick up 1, 2, 3, even 5 or 6 years in the future. Last year The Originals went through a time jump and that was honestly really great. First of all because the characters of the Originals don't age and to be honest they don't really change. Not like a normal aging person would in five or six years. By this season they're still more or less the same people. But why they did that time jump was really so Hope, Klaus' daughter could become more of a prominent character in the show. After five years she's like nine or ten now I think, giving the writers a new little character to play with. I think the writers transitioned between five years pretty well, it was smooth and well-done and didn't leave me feeling shocked.
The Vampire Diaries also went through a time jump of three years. That one was a little rocky and I was pretty iffy about that whole season but by the end it turned out Ok and worked out well. And then there are shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow where almost the entire plot revolves around time. Barry is either going forward or backward or messing up the timeline (he is never going to be able to live that down after this season) and Legends is all wibbly wobbly, timey, whimey (especially after the season 2 finale). But as far as I can remember they didn't go through any significant, permanent time jumps. Just a lot of time mix ups and timeline issues which are problems all in themselves. I'm pretty sure the longest time jump for Arrow was maybe a whole summer? And Supergirl hasn't been on long enough for there to be any significant time jumps -- yet.
But here's the thing. The 100 is all post-apocalyptic and now pre-apocalyptic (yep that's not confusing at all). It's all about survival and war and death and a little drama here and there. Lots of character deaths that just kill me on the inside
and a lot of heart pounding, go, go, go action. This past season has been no exception. The world is literally ending and we knew for the beginning of the season that next season would have a considerable time jump. Five years since everyone has to survive either underground or up in space for five years. But... the writers are just horrible people who like to torture us. 1500 people are stowed away safely in an underground bunker with Octavia pretty much filling in as the new Commander. Abby and Kane and all of them are safe. But the main crew are on the island and have to get up to space and to the remaining piece of the Ark that's left. I was like yes, yes, yes. Bellarke for a whole five years!! I was even happier than my favorite survivor and sometimes jerk Murphy has survived this whole season! For a little while there I really thought he was an expendable character but I guess the writers like him as much as I do. Him and Emori are right up there with Bellarke.
Heck even Harper and Echo survived! I honestly thought they were expendable too but the writers seem to have some plans for them in the next season.
Anyways, I'm sorry to say that I was wrong. I was all geared up and ready for everyone, including Clarke, being up there in space with Bellamy for five years... that would have been awesome. But instead Clarke stayed behind to do some technical thing with a cell tower to open the door of the Ark (yeah I got the gist of it when watching the episode but don't expect me to explain how that all worked). In other words Bellamy is up in space without Clarke for five years!!! Not cool... just not cool. Thank goodness Clarke is a nighblood though. She survived... but... Bellamy and the others don't know that *crying*.
They all think they left her down there to die. And I actually thought the writers wouldn't even give us a look ahead at the next five years but turns out they did us one better. They gave us a sneak peek six years in the future instead of just five. Clarke seems to get a new haircut every season. She cut her hair short and has red in it which makes her look older but still pretty which I think is what the writers wanted.
At first you think she's been all alone for six years. She's talking in a radio that doesn't work to a Bellamy that can't hear her *more crying* as she stares out at the lush green of her small corner of the world. And then a spaceship shoots out of the sky and you find out Clarke has more or less raised a little nightblood girl for the past six or so years. The writers say its a very mother/daughter relationship. I'm still not sure how I feel about that... The space ship that lands pretty much right next to them isn't the ship Clarke is expecting. It's a prisoner transport ship. And then the episode ends with her asking her little nightblood daughter to get her rifle.
My own theory is that Raven and Bellamy and them had to find a different way to get down to Earth and a prisoner transport ship seems bigger and safer than the dinky little ship they went up in. Or at least that's my hope...
But time jumps are tricky and who knows how our favorite members of The 100 have changed. What happened those six years and why haven't the people in the bunker left even though the world has been safe for over a year now? These characters aren't immortal like the vampires on The Originals and TVD. They also aren't timey whimey like the Flash or Legends. They've have aged and changed for six years and something about that makes me uneasy and nervous about how season five will go. Clarke's a mother now. She's now... I want to say twenty-two? In her early twenties I would guess. As a mother her priorities have shifted. She loves her daughter and if she's anything like her mother she will protect her daughter with her life and make hard choices to ensure that she's safe and Ok. Unless something changes over the six years Octavia would have been the Commander this whole time and would have changed from an unsure girl who just wanted to fight and war to a strong leader.
Bellamy will have taken over as main leader of the team in space and would have changed as well...
Writers have be careful with time jumps that are as drastic as six years. If the characters have changed too much then us fans will have a hard time reconnecting with them. But if they've changed too little then that's unrealistic. They also have to look the part as being older and that's where hair, wardrobe and even makeup changes come in handy. A haircut can make someone look a lot older, so even though I loved Clarke's long blond hair the shorter cut is a good look for her and a good choice for her. It makes her look older and more experienced.
The whole 100 time jump thing has also got me thinking about time jumps in books. Those are pretty rare. Between books in a series there may be a few weeks or months between the events of the first book and the second book but nothing like a whole five-six years. I wonder why that is. If readers have a hard time with drastic time shifts than those who watch shows. Or if it has something to do with readers being unable to connect and see a character's change over the years when reading a book. Really the only book I can think of that had a "jarring" time shift was Starflight by Marissa Meyer. The second chapter started a few weeks or even a few months after Solara and Doran entered space. Off the top of my head that's the only book I can think of with "major" time shift during the plot...
But when it comes to The 100 you kind of just have to be happy that your favorite characters survived (except for Roan... cuz he was pretty much my fave). Harper and Monty, Emori and Murphy, Bellamy and Raven and may I just say it again, Echo... Echo survived! How is that even possible??!! And she managed to get onto the ship... I mean really. Why do the writers want her up there so badly??
She was never my favorite characters so I hope they actually do something with her the next season (something that does not involve Bellamy and her hooking up in any way).
So, those are my thoughts on The 100 season finale, the time jump next season and time jumps in general. There's just one more thing I have to say. Yes all my characters survived but that was still heartbreaking and so sad. Even the whole Mon-El leaving Earth thing (which was stupid and they so could have found a way to save him and keep him there. Let me just say, if Cisco or one of those other geniuses from Star Labs were there Mon-El would have been Ok because they would have figured out a way to save him!!) has nothing on Clarke and Bellamy without each other for six years!! *Even more crying*
And now begin the summer, where the only shows I have to watch now are Teen Wolf, The Originals, and I started 12 Monkey's yesterday. Summers are for rewatching the last seasons of all the CW shows over and over again on Netflix until the Fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are several shows that go through time jumps. A season will end and the next season will pick up 1, 2, 3, even 5 or 6 years in the future. Last year The Originals went through a time jump and that was honestly really great. First of all because the characters of the Originals don't age and to be honest they don't really change. Not like a normal aging person would in five or six years. By this season they're still more or less the same people. But why they did that time jump was really so Hope, Klaus' daughter could become more of a prominent character in the show. After five years she's like nine or ten now I think, giving the writers a new little character to play with. I think the writers transitioned between five years pretty well, it was smooth and well-done and didn't leave me feeling shocked.
The Vampire Diaries also went through a time jump of three years. That one was a little rocky and I was pretty iffy about that whole season but by the end it turned out Ok and worked out well. And then there are shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow where almost the entire plot revolves around time. Barry is either going forward or backward or messing up the timeline (he is never going to be able to live that down after this season) and Legends is all wibbly wobbly, timey, whimey (especially after the season 2 finale). But as far as I can remember they didn't go through any significant, permanent time jumps. Just a lot of time mix ups and timeline issues which are problems all in themselves. I'm pretty sure the longest time jump for Arrow was maybe a whole summer? And Supergirl hasn't been on long enough for there to be any significant time jumps -- yet.
But here's the thing. The 100 is all post-apocalyptic and now pre-apocalyptic (yep that's not confusing at all). It's all about survival and war and death and a little drama here and there. Lots of character deaths that just kill me on the inside
 |
| (ROAN!!) |
 |
| AWWW they are perfect together!! |
Heck even Harper and Echo survived! I honestly thought they were expendable too but the writers seem to have some plans for them in the next season.
Anyways, I'm sorry to say that I was wrong. I was all geared up and ready for everyone, including Clarke, being up there in space with Bellamy for five years... that would have been awesome. But instead Clarke stayed behind to do some technical thing with a cell tower to open the door of the Ark (yeah I got the gist of it when watching the episode but don't expect me to explain how that all worked). In other words Bellamy is up in space without Clarke for five years!!! Not cool... just not cool. Thank goodness Clarke is a nighblood though. She survived... but... Bellamy and the others don't know that *crying*.
 |
| I know how you feel Bellamy |
They all think they left her down there to die. And I actually thought the writers wouldn't even give us a look ahead at the next five years but turns out they did us one better. They gave us a sneak peek six years in the future instead of just five. Clarke seems to get a new haircut every season. She cut her hair short and has red in it which makes her look older but still pretty which I think is what the writers wanted.
 |
| That hair honestly looks so good! |
At first you think she's been all alone for six years. She's talking in a radio that doesn't work to a Bellamy that can't hear her *more crying* as she stares out at the lush green of her small corner of the world. And then a spaceship shoots out of the sky and you find out Clarke has more or less raised a little nightblood girl for the past six or so years. The writers say its a very mother/daughter relationship. I'm still not sure how I feel about that... The space ship that lands pretty much right next to them isn't the ship Clarke is expecting. It's a prisoner transport ship. And then the episode ends with her asking her little nightblood daughter to get her rifle.
My own theory is that Raven and Bellamy and them had to find a different way to get down to Earth and a prisoner transport ship seems bigger and safer than the dinky little ship they went up in. Or at least that's my hope...
But time jumps are tricky and who knows how our favorite members of The 100 have changed. What happened those six years and why haven't the people in the bunker left even though the world has been safe for over a year now? These characters aren't immortal like the vampires on The Originals and TVD. They also aren't timey whimey like the Flash or Legends. They've have aged and changed for six years and something about that makes me uneasy and nervous about how season five will go. Clarke's a mother now. She's now... I want to say twenty-two? In her early twenties I would guess. As a mother her priorities have shifted. She loves her daughter and if she's anything like her mother she will protect her daughter with her life and make hard choices to ensure that she's safe and Ok. Unless something changes over the six years Octavia would have been the Commander this whole time and would have changed from an unsure girl who just wanted to fight and war to a strong leader.
 |
| She was epic this whole season! |
Bellamy will have taken over as main leader of the team in space and would have changed as well...
Writers have be careful with time jumps that are as drastic as six years. If the characters have changed too much then us fans will have a hard time reconnecting with them. But if they've changed too little then that's unrealistic. They also have to look the part as being older and that's where hair, wardrobe and even makeup changes come in handy. A haircut can make someone look a lot older, so even though I loved Clarke's long blond hair the shorter cut is a good look for her and a good choice for her. It makes her look older and more experienced.
The whole 100 time jump thing has also got me thinking about time jumps in books. Those are pretty rare. Between books in a series there may be a few weeks or months between the events of the first book and the second book but nothing like a whole five-six years. I wonder why that is. If readers have a hard time with drastic time shifts than those who watch shows. Or if it has something to do with readers being unable to connect and see a character's change over the years when reading a book. Really the only book I can think of that had a "jarring" time shift was Starflight by Marissa Meyer. The second chapter started a few weeks or even a few months after Solara and Doran entered space. Off the top of my head that's the only book I can think of with "major" time shift during the plot...
But when it comes to The 100 you kind of just have to be happy that your favorite characters survived (except for Roan... cuz he was pretty much my fave). Harper and Monty, Emori and Murphy, Bellamy and Raven and may I just say it again, Echo... Echo survived! How is that even possible??!! And she managed to get onto the ship... I mean really. Why do the writers want her up there so badly??
She was never my favorite characters so I hope they actually do something with her the next season (something that does not involve Bellamy and her hooking up in any way).
So, those are my thoughts on The 100 season finale, the time jump next season and time jumps in general. There's just one more thing I have to say. Yes all my characters survived but that was still heartbreaking and so sad. Even the whole Mon-El leaving Earth thing (which was stupid and they so could have found a way to save him and keep him there. Let me just say, if Cisco or one of those other geniuses from Star Labs were there Mon-El would have been Ok because they would have figured out a way to save him!!) has nothing on Clarke and Bellamy without each other for six years!! *Even more crying*
And now begin the summer, where the only shows I have to watch now are Teen Wolf, The Originals, and I started 12 Monkey's yesterday. Summers are for rewatching the last seasons of all the CW shows over and over again on Netflix until the Fall.
What did you think of The 100 season finale? Are there any books you can think of that have significant time shifts in them?
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