We learned a lot about the Grounders in season 3 of THE 100, including the fact that Becca (the scientist who created ALIE) was actually the first Grounder Commander. The Grounders are now without a Commander due to Lexa and Ontari’s deaths and the world is coming to an end…..again. How will the Earth’s original inhabitant’s deal with the new threats in season 4?
During a visit to the set of THE 100 in Vancouver, the cast teased what’s to come for the Grounders in season 4.
Where Does the Season Pick Up? Not with a time jump from the events of season 3. According to Zach McGowan (Roan) “It really just kind of picks up where it left off with the whole fall of the City of Light and all that. And the power struggle as to what’s going to happen in Polis and what not. So we meet right there. When the season, you know, picks up, Roan’s just been shot. So I think I’m like unconscious on the ground.”
The First Big Challenge. Obviously, the impending nuclear meltdown is going to be a big challenge for season 4, but before anyone can deal with that, they need to deal with the immediate aftermath of the season 3 premiere. Bob Morley (Bellamy) teased that “There’s a whole bunch of people who turned up to Polis under the guidance of ALIE so already, once everyone’s out of it, there’s a whole bunch of clans and people brought together by this one idea being ALIE that then come out of that and have to deal with what they’ve gone through and the fall-out from that. Also, not all clans get along so there’s that immediate place of waking up and being like, ‘There’s a whole bunch of people I don’t know or get along with.’ How do you confront that situation? That’s something that comes about. But obviously the impending doom is one of those things that you have to get into pretty quickly otherwise it will just get out of hand. That’s the pressing factor.”
What’s Next for Indra? “What happens to Indra, and all of us, [is] we’ve got a new enemy coming,” Adina Porter (Indra) said. “This one, we did not expect. It’s faceless, it’s unbeatable, and we’re all going to try to figure out how to win this one. You’ve always seen Indra being the brave warrior, but sometimes you can fight your way to survival, and sometimes you’ve got to figure out new skills to survive. You’ll see in season four some new skills.”
Roan, King of the Ice Nation. McGowan was right about Roan — when we first see him in season 4 he is in critical condition after being shot. McGowan has been named a regular for the new season, so clearly Roan doesn’t die. But his survival is a big part of the season premiere, as is who next takes control over the Grounders: “After the fall of ALIE and Lexa’s gone and there’s no Commander and Ontari’s gone and all of that, there’s a power vacuum,” McGowan explained. “So it’s a big question as to what’s the right thing for everyone and who is going to take power over [the others in season 4]. And I think that’s a big question for Roan — whether he even wants to do that kind of [power grab]. I’ve always kind of envisioned him, like, reluctantly involved in all of this. In Polis and whatnot. He’s not necessarily wholeheartedly into that. It’ll be a big question as to both who takes power and whether or not he’ll want it and whether or not he can control the Ice Nation, which is an unruly group (and he hasn’t obviously spent much time with them anyway since he’s been banished for so long). That’s something that’s explored quite a bit, without giving anything away.”
Related: Watch an extended preview for season 4 of THE 100
New Ice Nation Voices. “I realized that last year….there were only two people from the Ice Nation who we’ve actually heard speak and [heard] their positions,” McGowan recounted. “And obviously one of them got a spear through her chest so she was not around anymore. So there are some new characters from [Ice Nation] that are brought around [in season 4].” In fact, without giving too much away, there is a very powerful voice from the Ice Nation we haven’t really heard from that will dominate the action and the political situation in Polis in the season 4 premiere.
The Absence of a Commander. Roan isn’t the only person who has to deal with the fact that the Grounders no longer have a Commander. Porter explained that “When you’re allowed to stick with your traditions, you can kind of relax in it, in a way. It’s like, this is the hierarchy, this is who we follow, and as a career warrior, this is what I do. Then, everything gets thrown in our faces because of our Commander not being there anymore, and how we traditionally find and believe a new Commander will come is being thrown into question. There are folks who want to stick with what we know, and then there are folks who want to trust having to deal with the new circumstances that are coming. We’re breaking up into new camps now. It used to be, I could trust you or not trust you by the costume that you wore. You were on that clan. Now, because everything’s kind of being thrown up into the air, I’ve got to trust you because of the deeds you are doing, not just who you happen to be. It’s kind of like new clans are being created within the clans. It’s kind of freaking scary, because I like tradition.”
Where is the Flame? Eliza Taylor (Clarke) explained that “It’s interesting because the flame….I mean, now that the City of Light has been shut down and the flame has kind of become a little bit obsolete, in the way that it’s not going to work the way that it would [have] given that there is no virtual world anymore. So I think for Clarke the flame is still so important to her because she still believes that it’s Lexa. She’s holding on to it as a keepsake and it’s still a very important….it plays a very important role in Grounder spirituality. So her having it certainly….it still holds power, but it don’t do the same stuff as it used to.” However, it *does* serve as a crucial symbol for the Grounders and its existence will come into play in the premiere.
Can the Differences Be Bridged? A big thing for the Grounders this season has to do with the different tribes and how they’ll all deal with the impending disaster. McGowan said that “[this season] you’ll see more and more of the differences between the different groups and how the different belief systems will kind of either work with…that’ll make people work together or force people further apart. And as is the case with the impending second apocalypse on its way, I think you find a lot of the struggle of ‘do we work together to face this challenge’ or is it ‘everyone for themselves’ and scatter and whatnot? That really becomes such a huge thing in the show this season — do we work together or do we not work together?”
New Clans. In addition to a bigger focus on Ice Nation (a.k.a. Azgeda), season 4 will introduce us to two new clans: Trishanakru and Shallow Valley. A photo of the clan’s costumes can be found below.
THE 100 returns for its fourth season on Wednesday, February 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
