The popular teen network, CW, is no newbie when it comes to its shows controversies. Ever since its former hit drama "Gossip Girl," which depicted the sinful lives of teenagers in the high society of Manhattan, aired an episode featuring a “threesome” back in 2009, the network has received numerous complaints for its mature content. These complaints continue to more recent matters as well, for just last year parents and fans alike hounded the sophomore show "Reign," when it broadcasted a scene depicting the rape of the main character.
I suppose it was time for a new controversy, however, now thousands of fans are hounding the science fiction show "The 100," and begging for its cancellation.
Just like all the many shows before it, "The 100" is raising great controversy for its mature content. However, unlike those shows, it is being hounded for more grave matters.
No pun intended.
You may wonder what it was that drove the show to rock bottom, and the answer is simple: the death of two main beloved characters. Those characters include Lexa, the high-in-power and relatable lesbian character and Lincoln, a well-developed character whose casting brought diversity to the show. There are many factors as well that contribute to the atrocity of the characters' sudden deaths, such as the stupid writing and terrifying goriness of the scenes. In addition, the death of Lincoln was treated by the fans with much more outrage, for the actor, Ricky Whittle, had chosen to be killed off due to mistreatment and abuse by the main show runner. As for the fans of Lexa, they were aggressively disappointed that another lesbian character was killed in a TV show, a trend which had been spreading for some time. With that in mind, it did not take long for chaos to arise.
In the past month, almost two-thirds of the fan population and an abundance of LGBT and POC organizations have petitioned for the show's cancellation, and have even trended their tags on twitter (#cancelthe100, #lexadeservedbetter, #lincolndeservedbetter). The main showrunner, Jason Rothenberg, had to publicly apologize to the fans, both on Twitter and on a multiple interviews and podcasts. In the end, a majority of the fans forgave him, yet they remained unfaithful to Jason on Twitter, who lost nearly 14,000 followers due to the controversy.
All seems well and good now, does it not? If you thought yes, then you are wrong.
No more than a couple of episodes after the tragic deaths, the show continued to depict scenes of graphic content, starting with self-harm and non-consensual sexual acts.
It was then when all hell broke loose, again.
Fans ranging in the thousands protested the network for depicting the mature content and failing to post a warning before the episode aired. They claimed the episode was triggering to their mental health, for it was different from the past consistent gore, violence, and war shown on the show. They believed this because the threats in the episode were real acts many of the fans have lived through. It was even rumored that a fan had taken their own life from the impact of the many graphic scenes the show aired. I hope this is not true.
However, no matter their constant protest, the show was picked up for a fourth season by the CW. I just hope there will be more warnings to the show’s fans next season, or maybe a shorter leash for the show's writers.
