'The 100' Season 3 News, Spoilers: Showrunner Apologizes For Death Of LGBT Character
Jason Rothenberg, the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of The CW's post-apocalyptic drama "The 100," has penned an open letter in which he apologizes for the death of a key character in the show.
In the March 3 episode of "The 100," fan favorite Commander Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) died after having been accidentally shot by Titus (Neil Sandilands). Her death occurred shortly after a steamy scene with the show's protagonist Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor), with whom she had had a long-simmering affair.
Following the airing of the episode, many criticized the show for falling back on the "bury your gays" trope and deemed the death of Lexa, who was seen as a beacon for LGBT fans, a betrayal of sorts. The issue was intensified when another lesbian character, Denise (Merritt Wever), was killed in a recent episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead."
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Having already talked about the outcry that followed the episode, Rothenberg once again assured fans that he has taken their critique to mind and admitted that he regrets the manner in which Lexa was removed from "The 100."
In the Medium post, Rothenberg offered the three reasons why the character had to be written off.
"There are several reasons why this particular episode played out the way it did: practical (an actress was leaving the show), creative (it's a story about reincarnation) and thematic (it's a show about survival)," he wrote.
Despite these reasons, Rothenberg said that he is very sorry for not realizing that he writes and produces "for the real world where negative and hurtful tropes exist."
"Knowing everything I know now, Lexa's death would have played out differently," he added.
The executive producer also shared that Lexa's death will have a lasting impact on Clarke.
"My sincerest hope is that any of our fans who saw a part of themselves in the relationship between Clarke and Lexa can take some small comfort in knowing that their love was beautiful and real," he concluded.
"The 100" airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
