The 100 shocked audiences everywhere in Season 3 when Lexa was suddenly killed off shortly after consummating her relationship with Clarke. It was a move that generated a lot of buzz - negative and positive - when it brought an end to one of the most prominent relationships on the series. Now, showrunner Jason Rothenberg has addressed that Clarke will move forward in the wake of Lexa's death, saying this:
The truth is that Lexa was the love of her life, but [Clarke] is only 18 years old. We move on, we figure out a way to compartmentalize, and you try and you don't forget. The person should never forget.
Despite not having all that much time to spend together, Clarke and Lexa seemed to fall pretty hard for each other. Lexa's reappearance in the City of Light in the Season 3 finale was proof that Clarke hadn't just shaken off her death in the span of a few days. Jason Rothenberg's reveal that Clarke will consider Lexa the love of her life fits with everything we saw in the series so far, and it adds an extra layer of tragedy to Lexa's death. Rothenberg did have his reasons for why he felt he needed to kill Lexa off - ranging from Alycia Debnam-Carey's filming schedule for Fear the Walking Dead to the reincarnation cycle of Grounder Commanders - so Lexa fans can at least take solace in the fact that she'll be remembered.
Jason Rothenberg went on in his talk with EW to tease this about the ways Lexa will continue to affect Clarke after noting that her youth will help her to move on:
The fact that Clarke is trying to transcend her tribalism is really a direct result of her relationship with Lexa. Lexa helped her see the world differently, and vice versa. And yet we do need to sort of move on. And so, she will eventually do that, but I'm not gonna say whether or not it'll happen this season.
The Clarke/Lexa relationship had political ramifications as well as romantic as both young women realized that the old ways of Grounder culture needed to change if everybody on the planet was going to survive in some semblance of peace. Clarke began to see Grounders and her people from the Ark as part of one big group rather than many separate tribes thanks to her time with Lexa, and that state of mind will likely be instrumental to her actions in Season 4. The survivors will be dealing with a planet that is striking back with natural disasters as the nuclear reactors left over from the first nuclear apocalypse begin to melt down. Clarke and Co. have only six months to literally save the world, and she may need all the diplomacy she can get.
Of course, Jason Rothenberg's comments do indicate that we'll see another romance for Clarke eventually. Going by the reaffirmation of their partnership by the end of Season 3, however, it looks like Clarke and Bellamy both might be too busy for any relationships. The two young leads may need to leave the lovin' to other characters for the time being.
The 100 returns to The CW on Wednesday, February 1 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see when your other favorite shows are hitting the airwaves in the coming weeks.
