The 100 had a solid seven-season run on The CW from 2014 to 2020, but its later seasons killed the show’s hopes of becoming a full franchise — and they really shouldn’t have. Set in a world where most of humanity fled to space after Earth became too radioactive to sustain life, The 100 sees a group of juvenile delinquents being sent down to Earth to see if it’s become habitable. This leads to some surprising revelations about the state of the planet, including the fact that humans called Grounders have been living there the whole time.
Over the course of The 100, the Grounders got their own backstory and lore. A spinoff centered on the group was even planned for after The 100 season 7. Unfortunately, the original series had dipped in quality by this point, and its final episodes became some of its most controversial. That’s not why The 100 prequel was canceled by itself, but with added delays and declining enthusiasm about another story in this world, Second Dawn never came to fruition. That’s a shame because The 100 had a lot more to offer, even if its ending didn’t stick the landing.
The 100’s Ending Didn’t Reflect The Series At Its Best
The 100‘s ending may have sparked controversy among longtime fans, but its final seasons didn’t reflect the science-fiction series when it was at its best. The early seasons of The 100 introduced a complex world full of complicated people trying their best to survive. And its politics reflected that, pushing the show to tackle themes far beyond what most would expect from a CW series centered on a bunch of teens.
The 100 hit its peak in seasons 2 and 3, but it continued to deliver compelling stories even into the later seasons. Although viewers themselves canned The 100 season 7 on Rotten Tomatoes, critics had positive things to say about the final outing, with many praising its set up. Even as the later seasons veered away from the original premise and weaved a sometimes convoluted story, there were things to love about The 100. It’s only after its last few episodes that people started to loudly criticize the show — but that didn’t mean there wasn’t more to explore.
The 100 Had More To Explore In Its Prequel And Other Spinoffs
Certain deaths and events at the end of The 100 season 7 may have been dubious choices, but this wasn’t enough to warrant canceling the prequel and destroying the show’s chances at a future. Even The 100‘s most-hated storylines contained positive developments for the franchise as a whole, like the Grounder backstory that explained the events of the final season. The Grounder lore, original apocalypse, and even earlier years at Mount Weather left the door open to explore more of The 100‘s subplots and history. It’s a shame those things won’t get their own spinoffs just because Second Dawn never went forward.
