Season four of CW’s The 100 began airing at the beginning of this month. As a fan of both the books and the show, I’d like to remind everyone that there is also a series of books with the same name written by Kass Morgan. If you don't know about The 100, it is set in the future after terrible wars have made the earth uninhabitable, so the last of the humans have escaped to space. However, because of a scarcity of resources, every crime, no matter how minor, is a death sentence, unless the criminal is under 18, then they're imprisoned. After a few generations in space, resources are running out, so the imprisoned minors are sent to earth to see if it is habitable again.
The book series and the television series were created around the same time, so they actually don’t share much in common other than the basic premise. While trying not to give spoilers beyond the first novel of the series of four books or the first of the four season show, here are some of the things about the books that are different from the show.
1. A delinquent gets left behind on the space station.
Show: No delinquents are left behind. All that are meant to be sent to the ground, make it to the ground. Some of the them don't make it alive, but no one is left behind in space.
Books: One of the delinquents manages to escape being sent to the ground. Her name is Glass and she's Wells' childhood best friend. The first book goes back and forth between the delinquents on the ground and Glass on the space station as she tries to avoid being caught by the authorities.
2. Both of Clarke’s parents are gone.
Show: In the very beginning when Clarke thinks she's being executed, it is her mother, Abby, that shows up to prepare her for the ground. Her father is long dead, but her mother is alive and well with a high position in the Ark's government.
Books: Clarke doesn’t have either of her parents. Rather than her mother, it is a man named Dr. Lahiri that prepares her in the beginning. He was one of her father's closest friends, "Atleast, he had been before her parents were executed."
3. Wells is Clarke’s ex-boyfriend.
Show: Clarke and Wells have known each other their whole lives because their parents are friends. They were best friends since childhood until an incident that lead to resentment on Clarke's part. However, Wells still loves her deeply, despite what she thinks of him.
Books: Rather than meeting through their parents at a young age and becoming best friends, they meet in the library as teenagers and become a couple. That is, until an incident happens that leads to a breakup with Clarke resenting Wells.
4. Bellamy did not raise Octavia.
Show: Due to the one-child policy, Bellamy's younger sister was raised under the floorboards with Bellamy doing most of the parenting until Octavia is discovered and imprisoned.
Books: 9 years before the series the two are put in orphan care and are separated. Octavia is imprisoned for stealing, not for being born.
5. Raven doesn’t exist. Neither do Finn, Jasper, or Monty.
Show: Raven, Finn, Jasper, and Monty are all major characters that impact the story. It's hard to imagine the show without any of these characters existing. The show created many original characters, some of which share characteristics with ones from the book.
Books: Despite Finn’s presence on the first book’s cover, he is not present in the book series and neither are a lot of the show's characters. Really the only characters they have in common are Jaha, Clarke, Wells, Bellamy, and Octavia.
6. The Ark is called the Colony and they have a much more prominent class system.
Show: The Ark has been in space for a century. The Ark is divided into 12 different stations, with each station having a focus, such as Government and Science Station, Farm Station, and Factory Station. There is a class system, with people in certain stations, like the Government and Science Station, being prioritized. This becomes an issue when the delinquents reach the ground and they don't want to listen to Clarke and Wells, the children of government officials.
Books: The Colony has been in space for three centuries. The Colony is divided into three ships, the main ship, Phoenix, and two outer ships, Arcadia and Walden. All of the most important facilities are located in Phoenix and the Phoenicians are the most privileged on the space station. Waldenites and Arcadians are the lower class and when resources become scarce, they are the first to feel the effect. Again, the class system becomes an issue when they get to the ground, as most of the prisoners are from the lower class ships.
Despite their differences, I quite enjoy both versions of The 100. If you haven't read the books, I recommend you give them a chance!
