30One thing The 100 has never shied away from is having their heroes do bad things. Whether it’s justified or not, the characters we are meant to cheer for have often done some truly awful things. and some are just unforgivable. No character embodies that more than Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor). Clarke is the show’s young protagonist and is widely viewed as the leader of her people.
As a leader, Clarke has been looked at to save everyone on multiple occasions. That often offers up the chance to play the role of hero. Yet, she has also been faced with seemingly impossible decisions. To save someone, another person may have to suffer. That kind of choice brings us here, where we look at Clarke’s most heroic and villainous moments.
Villain: The List
During season four, the threat of a nuclear wave that would kill everyone was imminent. The group needed to find a way to protect themselves, and the temporary solution they came up could only save a total of one hundred people. That would have left thousands to be wiped out with no protection.
While searching for better options, Clarke was the one to write down a list of the hundred designated survivors. That’s a tall task, but what made it villainous was that Clarke handpicked those who would live and kept the list a secret from everyone. When word got out, the decision was made to turn it into a lottery. Selecting who gets to live is just the kind of thing that has made people hate Clarke.
Hero: She’s A Doctor
Clarke was always something of a savior. As soon as The 100 began, she took on the leadership role and acted as the group’s doctor. Learning bits and pieces from her mother and from her time as a med student, Clarke did the best she could to keep people alive right from the start of the series.
During her time on the show, Clarke has been a doctor to Finn Collins, Raven Reyes, Lincoln, and was even brought in by the Grounders to help when their healer died. She has taken some lives in the past, but Clarke’s work as a doctor is definitely heroic.
Villain: The Missile
A lot of season two focused on the budding relationship between Clarke and the Commander of the Grounders, Lexa. They trust each other and Clarke learns a lot about being a leader from her. That includes making hard choices based on logic rather than emotion. Her first real lesson came in the episode “Rubicon.”
Clarke received intel that the folks at Mount Weather were launching a missile at the Grounder camp Tondc, targeting herself and Lexa. She informed Lexa, who responded by saying they should sneak out so Mount Weather would think they were dead. That meant not letting people know that a missile was coming. Clarke declined at first but ultimately went with Lexa. That decision led to an estimated 250 deaths and injuries to her own mother.
Hero: Mercy Killing Finn
The first person Clarke truly connected with on the ground was Finn. At the end of season one, they were separated during the war, and Clarke was taken to Mount Weather. When Finn couldn’t find her, he began to lose bits of himself. He murdered a Grounder in cold blood, but he later truly went over the edge when he snapped and gunned down 18 residents of a Grounder village, including children.
Clarke’s attempts to make peace with Lexa led to a decision from the Commander; she would accept a truce if Finn paid for what he did. The Grounders planned to tie him up and make him suffer for each of the 18 deaths he dished out. When Clarke was allowed to say goodbye, she killed him with a knife, saving him from getting tortured.
Villain: Radiation Test
The threat of Praimfaya, a second nuclear apocalypse, loomed large in season four. With Praimfaya came acidic black rain that was fatal to anyone who felt it except for Luna. The nightblood in her veins helped to metabolize the radiation, so Abby and her team developed a synthetic version to try and save everyone.
To test it, Clarke had a Grounder scavenger injected and placed into a radiation chamber. The blood failed after a time, and the scavenger died. Despite the danger, Clarke was prepared to throw Emori, someone who had a connection with her and her friends, in as the next test subject. It almost certainly would have resulted in Emori’s demise.
Hero: Becoming A Nightblood
The A.I. known as A.L.I.E. nearly took over the world during the show’s third season. Considering she caused the event that made Earth uninhabitable in the first place, and that would’ve been a terrible thing. The only person standing in the way of that was Clarke Griffin.
A.L.I.E. was bringing her followers into the “City of Light.” To enter without falling under her spell, Clarke had Ontari’s nightblood pumped into her veins so she could take the Flame. Once she had it, she joined the “City of Light” and found the killswitch to stop A.L.I.E. She risked a dangerous procedure and her life to save everyone on Earth.
Villain: Wonkru Betrayal
Everything evil that Clarke has done has always been for her people. She will make sacrifices, whether it be of herself or others, but the motivation remained the same. That was until season five in which Clarke finally did something that went against the likes of Bellamy Blake.
Being alone for six years with her “adopted” daughter Madi changed Clarke. She began to make decisions with her heart and not with her head. That included betraying Wonkru and leaving Bellamy to die in the fighting pits, all to ensure the safety of Madi. While saving Madi is commendable, the betrayal was probably the most hurtful thing Clarke has done to her people.
Hero: Praimfaya Sacrifice
When Praimfaya arrived, the group planned on taking the Ark up to space to survive. Problems arose and the Ark needed power to travel. With time winding down, something had to be done. Someone had to access a satellite dish far away that would work as the power source to save Bellamy, Raven, and others.
Clarke was supposed to go to space with them. Instead, she chose to head to the satellite dish. When she discovered that the satellite had to be manually adjusted, it meant the process would take longer. The wave of fire hit and Clarke had to stay behind, accepting death if it meant her friends would live. Ultimately, the nightblood in her system allowed her to survive. but she didn’t know that going in, which made her sacrifice was truly powerful.
Villain: Mount Weather
If there’s one unforgivable blemish on Clarke’s record, it is the massacre at Mount Weather. With Clarke’s people being tortured by new President Cage Wallace, she had to come up with a plan to free them. With the help of Bellamy and Monty, she held Cage’s father at gunpoint and threatened to pull a switch that would let harmful air into Mount Weather.
When Cage showed no signs of stopping, Clarke and Bellamy pulled the switch. Had it just taken out the bad guys, it would’ve been heroic. However, the switch irradiated all of Level 5, including hundreds of innocent men, women, and children. It is all made even sadder when you realize that Jasper was seconds away from taking out Cage without all the other casualties. A mass murder, even to save people, is an evil act. It’s why she became known as Wanheda, the “Commander of Death.”
Hero: Madi
Clarke survived Praimfaya because of the nightblood she had running through her veins. She makes it back to safety in Becca’s lab, but her face was covered in radiation burns. The show jumped six years to reveal that Clarke’s wounds healed and that she was still radioing messages to those on the Ark every day.
An even bigger surprise was the young girl she had with her. During those six years, Clarke ventured out into the world and came upon Madi, a fellow nightblood who also survived Praimfaya. Clarke took the girl under her wing and has since acted as a mother figure to her.
