“The 100” explores all sorts of interesting themes – war, the cost of survival, the burdens of leadership – that are made more interesting by the fact that teenagers are at the forefront of the show.

The story takes place in the future, humans have been living in space for 97 years after nuclear war left the Earth uninhabitable.This space station that houses humanity, the Ark, is running out of oxygen, so they send 100 juvenile delinquents to Earth to see if it’s survivable. The show follows these teenagers as they try to survive on the ground. Clarke Griffith is the reasonable, if somewhat uptight, advocate for peace and thinking logically. Bellamy Blake is preaching anarchy. They’re pushed together as co-leaders  as threats to the 100 arise, namely lack of resources and grounders, or people already living on the earth. They must take responsibilities of the rest of their group as they’re forced to make some tough decisions about survival.

Each character faces new struggles regularly so there’s a lot of spectacular character development. The lives of the 100 are always in danger, so never a dull moment. It explores the “how far is too far in order to survive” question in a really interesting and thought-provoking way.

This is the first major project for many of the actors, and for the most part, they shine. Eliza Taylor is especially impressive as Clarke who, no matter how she likes to pretend, is still a kid who has been forced to grow up way too fast. Clarke who, no matter how hard she tries, can’t save everyone. Taylor does a spectacular job portraying Clarke trying to be optimistic and realistic.

Another standout is Marie Avgeropoulos who plays Octavia Blake, who has been locked up one way or another her entire life. Blake is full of wonder, she believes in the best of people, but she’s tough and can do what needs to be done. It’s an interesting delicate balance that Avgeropoulos has mastered.  One area this show does spectacularly in is female characters. The females on this show are capable leaders who are smart and strong and interesting characters whose narratives don’t revolve around men.

Overall it’s a really strong compelling show that receives 5/5 stars. New episodes every wednesday at 7 p.m. on the CW.

By Sienna Mata