Is Octavia the New “Big Bad" on The 100?

The premiere episode of The 100 season five gave the audience a glimpse into the six last years on the ground with the adventures of Clarke and Madi, and follows through to the show’s current timeline where we also get see our beloved space group relatively happy.

Episode two is quite a contrast to the premiere and possibly foreshadows darker themes yet to come.

As noble as Octavia’s (Marie Avgeropoulos) intentions might have been to share the doomsday bunker after winning the conclave, a confined space with limited resources and thirteen warring groups of people was bound to get messy. And we’re so glad that this episode wasn’t afraid to show it!

Problems begin to arise in the early days after apocalypse 2.0; overpopulation causing strain on the bunker’s farming system, tensions rising between notoriously bloodthirsty peoples, and resentment amongst the survivors on the inside of the bunker that had to leave their loved ones to die due to Octavia’s decision.

The conflicts of this episode are reminiscent of those we saw on The Ark in season one. There were plenty of excellent callbacks and Jaha (Isaiah Washington) even compelled Octavia to make peace with similar leadership choices that she had resented her entire life.

This episode shines a harsh light on Octavia’s flaws. So often on this show where the constant theme is “there are no good guys,” Octavia has seemed to squeak by season after season without any sort of character growth outside of learning to wield a sword. I think we can all agree that flawed characters are the most interesting and it was refreshing to see Octavia actually war with herself and question her own judgment and finally come to terms with the fact that she isn’t always right.

A major theme for Octavia’s character over the seasons has been her lack of identity. She’s never felt that she belongs with the Sky People, but she isn’t a grounder either. The importance of unifying the grounder clans and the Sky People in the bunker isn’t just symbolic for Octavia as a character, but the survival of everyone hinges upon it.

While I have never been overly fond of her character and don’t particularly agree with her leadership methods, I can admit that her fighting pit is successful in taking care of the population issue while also uniting the people and in a language that the majority of the people within the bunker understand.

Although Octavia succeeds in uniting the people over the six year time jump, Octavia not being a Night Blood (and therefore not a “true” commander) was a heated of discussion amongst the characters throughout the episode. So it begs the question of what happens when everyone is finally out of that bunker?

Enter Madi, a true born Night Blood. In my last article, I mentioned Clarke’s subtle concern over Madi’s admiration for Octavia and how it seemed to foreshadow trouble.

While the obvious “big bad” of the season is the Eligius ship, can another villain come in the form of a character that’s been with us since the start?

There are two ways this situation can possibly play out:

• Octavia admits that she isn’t a leader, and tries to pass off the commander title to Madi, which Clarke might try to protect her from given the dangers and responsibilities for someone so young.
• Madi would be a threat to Octavia’s leadership position due to being born a true Night Blood. With the threat of the Eligius crew and after six years of working towards uniting the people and finally finding her place in the world, how far would Octavia go to keep Wonkru united?

Executive Producer Jason Rothenberg confessed that the two snakes spoken of in the serpent trailer represented Octavia and the bunker vs The Eligius crew. Octavia has been rumored to take a dark turn this season that will put her and Clarke at odds.

In Genesis, the serpent in Eden used deceit to cause Adam and Eve’s downfall. Could Octavia, a supposed serpent, possibly prey upon Madi’s idolization of her to remove the threat she poses? How dark is Octavia going to go, and how far will Clarke go to protect Madi.

This post was originally published on Post Apocalyptic Media Many thanks to author K.B. Orson for her amazing analysis of Octavia and what could be coming on the show. All photos courtesy of The CW.