This disappointing death is honestly not too surprising given the history of the show. In season 3 of The 100, fan-favorite character Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), one half of the beloved "Clexa" — Clarke and Lexa — relationship, is killed by a stray bullet. The showrunner, Jason Rothenberg, was accused of perpetuating the "Bury Your Gays" trope, in which "a disproportionate number of LGBT characters [are] killed off, often in the name of propping up and/or advancing a heterosexual leading character's storyline." The Hollywood Reporter wrote about this trend in the aftermath of Lexa's death, stating that at the time of publication, March 21, 2016, "In the past 30 days, four lesbian or bisexual female characters have been killed off on their respective TV shows" that include Jane the Virgin, The Walking Dead, The Magicians, and of course, The 100.
This started a worldwide movement of #LexaDeservedBetter, which spawned a fundraiser for The Trevor Project that raised over $155,000. Rothenberg wrote a letter to fans apologizing, but it definitely tainted the show. Debnam-Carey has appeared in a few episodes since her character's death, and she returns one last time in the series finale. Unfortunately, it's Clarke's interpretation of the transcendence judge, not the real Lexa. Soon after, another fan-favorite character appears when Raven tries for transcendence, as the alien judge takes the form of Abby (Paige Turco), Clarke's mom and Raven's mother figure. The two have a very close relationship throughout the series until Abby's death in season 6.
