The Scene From The 100 That People Think Went Too Far
The CW's "The 100" is a science fiction series set in a world where a nuclear event destroyed the Earth. About a century later, a group of delinquents from the space station where the survivors are living are sent down to Earth to see if the land is livable again. Throughout seven seasons, "The 100" takes fans on a wild ride, traveling to another planet and through time as the crew suffers through loss, war, and other trauma. The series, which ran from 2014 to 2020, stars Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin, Bob Morley as Bellamy Blake, Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia Blake, Lindsey Morgan as Raven Reyes, and Richard Harmon as John Murphy, the main group of survivors.
While the show was very well-received by critics and viewers, it was not without its controversies, both on and off the show. The biggest controversy has to do with the character Lexa, played by Alycia Debnam-Carey, a fan-favorite who has a romantic relationship with Clarke. After she is killed off in a weird accident in Season 3, many fans accused showrunner Jason Rothenberg of taking part in the "Bury Your Gays" trope, launching a worldwide movement called #LexaDeservedBetter (via The Trevor Project). Rothenberg apologized, but the whole issue definitely left a mark on fans (via Variety).
Overall, viewers like "The 100" and praise the characters' complex storylines and interesting moral journeys, especially Clarke, the leader of the group who is forced to make many tough decisions to insure her friends' survival. Despite that, there is one moment between Clarke and her adoptive daughter Madi (Lola Flanery) that fans think went too far.
Clarke put a shock collar on her daughter Madi
In Season 5 of "The 100," Clarke is put into some very difficult situations revolving around the survival of herself, her daughter, and her friends, who she has just been reunited with after a long time. But Clarke has one main priority, and that's Madi's survival. In "Damocles: Part One," the 12th episode of Season 5 and part one of the finale, Octavia, Bellamy, and the others are fighting off the evil McCreary (William Miller) as he goes to war against Wonkru. Meanwhile, Clarke's mother Abby (Paige Turco) is dealing with a drug addiction and hiding it from those she loves, leading her to make some messed up decisions, with Clarke following her example.
As the fighting and death gets worse, Clarke just wants to help save her mother and daughter. But Madi doesn't want to sit by and do nothing, and she runs off to join the battle. Looking for advice on what to do, Clarke asks Abby, who tells her to do whatever it takes to save Madi, just like Clarke's mother did when she sent her with the other delinquents to the ground at the beginning of "The 100." Clarke's solution? Put a shock collar on Madi to stop her from running off. At first, Madi doesn't think that her mother will use it, but she's wrong.
Many fans of "The 100" saw Clarke's actions here as unforgivable child abuse. The show is known for taking on intense questions of morals and decision-making under tense situations, but Clarke's wrongdoing in this scene is obvious. Clarke isn't thinking right, and her mother definitely isn't the person she should be listening to. Thankfully, Clarke gets her head on straight in the last two seasons and redeems herself to Madi, but fans still question whether she deserves to be forgiven.