The 100’s episode titles always have at least two meanings, using proverbs and

famous quotations (sometimes its own) to very literally describe something that happens
in the episode while also expressing a more general theme or sentiment.
“I Am Become Death” is part of famous quotation from Robert Oppenheimer (who
in turn bastardized it from Hindu scripture), the “father” of the atomic bomb and the indirect
reason this story exists; Clarke cited Oppenheimer within the episode with reference to
the bomb that the delinquents had created to fight the Grounders. Fog of War is a military
term used to express uncertainties about one’s own abilities and the enemy’s intent,
which was exactly the problem the characters faced in this season 2 episode; it was also
a direct reference to the acid fog used by Mount Weather. Stealing Fire is a common
mythological theme, the “fire” usually representing hope or agency (Bellamy later
references the story of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods to Octavia), a perfect title
for an episode in which all hope seemed lost; actual fire was also stolen, what with Clarke
sneaking the Flame out of Polis.
With this in mind, we might be able to use The 100 season 5 episode titles to gain
more insight into the story’s developments and major themes — with the massive caveat
that we don’t actually know what the episodes are about or who would be performing the
actions the titles might describe. The thing about The 100 titles is that they are often
deceptively straightforward, and historical/mythological references cannot be applied on
a 1:1 basis. Ahead of season 4, for example, we would never have guessed that God
Complex referred to Clarke’s intention to take the Flame herself, nor did we know who
The Chosen were going to be. So take all this speculation with a few buckets of salt!
But no matter how much we can or cannot derive from these titles, it’s fun to take
a deep dive into these deceptively clever titles and explore what historical/mythological
events they might be calling back to while we wait for that ever-elusive trailer!
5×01 – Eden
The premiere episode is the only episode of the season whose name is neither an
idiom nor a historical/mythological phenomenon, but denotes a tangible (if also symbolic)
place. [The Garden of] Eden is of course a Biblical reference: it is the name of the paradise
on Earth in which the first humans, Adam and Eve, lived happily and peacefully before
they were tempted, corrupted, and cast out.
It is also the name given to the green oasis we glimpsed in the season 4 finale, for
obvious reasons: being one of the only inhabitable pockets of land on an otherwise barren
surface, Clarke’s Eden is a literal paradise on Earth. Like the Biblical Eden, The 100’s
version is also currently inhabited by two people, Clarke and Madi, who have as far as
we know enjoyed relative peace and happiness for six-ish years before the ‘devils’ arrive
on the Eligius prisoner transport ship.
 The name, which also serves as a tribute to Jason Rothenberg’s daughter Eden,
has been used on the show before: the little tree which Kane’s mother Vera used in
religious ceremonies was called the Eden Tree, here symbolizing the Eden which the
people born in space imagined the entire planet below them to be. In season 2, we
learned that Kane had brought the tree down with him, and he planted it in the forest on
his way to meet the then-mysterious Commander of the Grounders. Is it possible that the
Eden Tree was planted within the area that Clarke now inhabits?
This would be a great callback, but seems unlikely based on the assumed geography of
post-apocalyptic North America. Clarke’s Eden is located in the former Shallow Valley
territory near Virginia, which is south of most known The 100 locations — which, as far
as I can tell, also rules out the Eden’s Pass located somewhere north of Niylah’s trading
post.
5×02 – Red Queen
The 100 does like its fairy tale and mythology references, and this one is
particularly rich with potential meanings. The fairy tale imagery may or may not be
thematically linked to the story Clarke told Madi in the sizzle reel, which romanticized and
mythologized the events of the series so far and showed the ways in which memory and
storytelling can manipulate our feelings about and understanding of the past.
The Red Queen alludes to several relevant figures and phenomena that might
indicate to whom/what it is referring. The most obvious is the Red Queen from Through
the Looking Glass (not to be confused with the Queen of Hearts from Alice in
Wonderland), a humanoid chess piece whose status grants her the freedom to move all
over the ‘board’ that comprises her world. Significantly, she and the White Queen are the
only two players who can move about freely.
In the Lewis Carroll tale, the Red Queen initially presents herself as a friend and
mentor to Alice, explaining the rules of their chess game and telling her that she is able
to progress from pawn to queen herself if she plays her cards right. Alice joins the game
as the White Queen’s pawn and, after progressing to the other side and winning the title
of queen, determines that the Red Queen is in fact the “source of all the mischief” and
“captures” her, checkmating the Red King in the process. Relevant to The 100, Through
the Looking Glass is a story about women on different “sides” of the board battling for
control and trying to influence each other, without there being a clear good and bad side.
Once the season is done, there will likely be parallels to be drawn between The 100
characters and not only the Red Queen but also the White Queen and Alice herself, with
various characters inhabiting these roles in different ways throughout the season. But
who is the specific character acting Red Queen-y in this particular episode? Is it Octavia,
Clarke, or perhaps newcomer Charmaine (which would make McCreary the Red King)?
And who’s the Alice?
There are, of course, other Red Queens that the title could be referring to — if it
isn’t simply a tongue-in-cheek description of Octavia covered in blood! (I wouldn’t put it
past them.) A real-life Red Queen once existed in the form of Lady Margaret Beaufort, a
key player in the War of the Roses (also analogous to Game of Thrones). An influential
matriarch of the House of Tudor, Margaret was the mother of King Henry VII.
Could there be layered in a specific reference to motherhood (Clarke/Abby), or
perhaps a more general exploration of which family has the right to inherit the kingdom
(Eden)? In so many ways, the war for Eden is like any other war for control of a country
in human history, and much like in season 1, there will likely be talks of who has the best
claim to it: those who never left, or those who returned from exile. Eden is, for all intents
and purposes, The 100’s Iron Throne.
Finally, we might consider the evolutionary Red Queen hypothesis which proposes
that organisms must constantly adapt, evolve and proliferate to survive against competing
organisms fighting for the same habitat and resources (h/t once again to The 100
Hypnoweb for this reference).
We know that the people aboard Eligius have some form of Nightblood, which
might be considered a form of ‘evolution’ that will make them better suited for surviving
on post-apocalyptic Earth, much like the people from the Ark have higher radiation
resistance than the Grounders. But the Grounders have evolved and adapted to their
environment in different ways, which might give them an advantage in turn.
5×03 – Sleeping Giants
In various mythologies, giants are representations of chaos and wild nature. A
giant waking from sleep would thus cause much chaos and upheaval to the world around
them, causing literal or proverbial earthquakes and making life more dangerous for the
existing surface-dwellers.
In Norse mythology, there are several giants, including Skrymir, whose snores
make the earth quake. In Celtic mythology, there is a particular tale of a “sleeping giant”
who will awaken if a specific instrument is played near his hill. There have been theories
that the Eligius prisoners are called back to Earth/awoken from cryo sleep by a signal
sent out into space either by remnants of ALIE tech or Clarke’s radio broadcasts.
Whether or not these theories pan out, the fact that the Eligius prisoners have lain
dormant in cry sleep for close to 100 years can’t be a coincidence. We know that their
awakening and return to Earth will have massive repercussions and “shake up” existing
dynamics and power structures.
However, the Eligius prisoners are not the only sleeping giants: while they haven’t
actually been asleep, Wonkru has been completely “silent,” from an aboveground
perspective, while buried underground in the bunker. They are lying in wait, as it were,
and their ‘awakening’ upon escape (which might come with a literal earth-shaking
explosion to clear the rubble) will also be a giant upheaval and game-changer.
5×04 – Pandora’s Box
This artefact from Greek mythology contains death, destruction, and all the evils
of the world, and once Pandora (made from clay — a Grounder?) opens the jar, all the
evils are unleashed. She hurries to close it, but it’s too late: the only thing remaining inside
is hope. In popular culture, a “pandora’s box” is usually a metaphor for a seemingly
innocuous action or statement with unforeseen negative, wide-spread repercussions.
On The 100, however, it’s not unlikely that we’re talking about a literal opening of
a box containing chaos and evil — the bunker, with 1,200 warriors suffering from a severe
case of cabin fever unleashed upon the world? Or the Eligius ship, full of prisoners from
our time, spilling all manner of ‘original sin’ from pre-apocalyptic times into the garden of
Eden? But whatever bad things happen, let’s not forget about that remaining hope, a
theme which recurs throughout The 100. The hope that remains even after Pandora’s
Box is opened could be an idea, an action, or a person — a small glimmer of light in an
otherwise chaotic darkness.
Diving a little deeper, we might also note that Pandora was presented to
Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus by Zeus as a punishment for Prometheus stealing fire
from the gods — and Bellamy, of course, proclaimed Octavia the Prometheus of their
story at the end of season 4. If we take the allegory at face value for a second,
Prometheus being Octavia would make Epimetheus Bellamy. And Pandora — who was
not evil, but nonetheless used as a tool to punish humanity — would be someone who
appears to him/them as a friend but ends up accidentally sparking massive chaos and/or
involuntarily betraying them. If the reference is going to be this literal, could Pandora be
Echo? Zeke? Madi? Clarke? Does this title actually give us a clue as to who opens the
“box” of the bunker and/or unleashes the Eligius prisoners upon the world?
While the term “Pandora’s Box” certainly indicates the onslaught of some chaotic
upheaval, it is also possible that the Pandora’s Box here is actually the secrets of what
really happened inside the bunker, and the opening of the box doesn’t mean that actual
people will spill out of it, but rather represents the revelation of Octavia’s actions to her
friends and allies. These truths might have dire consequences for Octavia, and threaten
her plans/position.
In any case, when paired with the previous titles, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume
that this is the episode in which all hell breaks loose.
5×05 – Shifting Sands
The term “shifting sands” is used to describe a situation which is constantly and
confusingly changing, like sand dunes in a desert. (“Sand. It blows.”) The title could be a
reference to the shifting allegiances of the various factions and individuals, or it could
denote the physical conditions of the world around them. Most likely, it’s a combination of
both.
 Thanks to the sizzle reel and promotional pictures released by showrunner Jason
Rothenberg, we know that parts of Earth are now covered in literal sand, and that the
characters will be in some kind of yellowish sand-covered environment, though we don’t
yet know why and for how long. The 100 titles do tend to be both figurative and painfully
literal (“Bodyguard of Lies,” anyone?), so I bet there will be actual shifting sand in this
episode.
It might also be worth noting some of the existing works of media that bear this
title, most significantly a strategic board game based on the World War II African
campaigns of 1940-1943. In this game, according to Board Game Geek, you have to “try
and achieve your goals while events in other theaters influence your ability to maintain
any semblance of a plan.” This sounds totally on brand for The 100, referring here to
both/all sides of the battle for Eden attempting to predict the others’ moves.
Other potentially relevant references include the fantasy novel by Emily Roda, in
which the Shifting Sands is a place the protagonists are trying to get to, moving through
enemy territory and encountering treacherous strangers along the way, and the 1918
silent film in which a female protagonist is sent unfairly to prison, and upon release joins
the Salvation Army and marries a philanthropist. Over the course of the movie, they each
discover that the other is a Secret Service agent, and even though they are captured,
they refuse to betray their country.
5×06 – Exit Wounds
An “exit wound” is a medical term, used in reference to penetrative wounds caused
spears or guns (or similar) to denote the place where the object leaves the body.
When someone gets shot in a medical drama, you’ll likely see doctors check for
an exit wound, and if there is none, this is a bad sign. Indeed, on The 100 itself, the lack
of an exit wound for Raven meant that the bullet had lodged itself in her spine, leading to
permanent nerve damage.
The episode title is thus instantly foreboding. Whether or not anyone literally gets
shot, it hints that we are saying goodbye to something — whether in the form of a
character death or the end of a relationship or alliance — and that this event will have
significant repercussions moving forward. The most famous use of the Exit Wounds title
in pop culture is a 2001 thriller, which incidentally starred Isaiah Washington, whose
character Jaha won’t be a series regular this year. And if this wasn’t worrisome enough,
“Exit Wounds” shares its name with the devastating Torchwood episode where two main
characters were killed off in one go. But no cause for alarm, I’m sure…
5×07 – Acceptable Losses
This military term refers to the unsentimental, strategic decision that a certain level
of casualties or damages are tolerable in the name of that pesky “greater good” The 100‘s
characters are so fond of.
 Cutting one’s losses and moving on, or accepting a partial victory, is something
we’ve seen many of the lead characters struggle with throughout the series, most notably
when Kane, Jaha and Abby fought about the culling in season 1 and when Lexa
convinced Clarke to let Mount Weather’s bomb fall on Ton DC to maintain their strategic
advantage in season 2. Even giving up Finn to secure peace with the Grounders was an
unacceptable sacrifice to many of the main characters.
The Grounders, more accustomed to war, generally have an easier time sacrificing
individuals/groups for the sake of the big picture, while Sky People seek justification or
absolution for such actions (“maybe there are no good guys,” “who we are and who we
need to be to survive are very different things,” “I had no choice”).
Come season 5, none of these characters are strangers to war and suffering, and
it isn’t hard to imagine any of our lead characters making hard choices in the name of
whatever they have come to believe is right. In fact, we’ve already seen them do it: in
season 4, Clarke cut her losses when she closed the bunker doors; Bellamy and the
space gang cut their losses when they left Earth without Clarke; Kane and Jaha cut their
losses when they allowed over half their people to be killed to save the rest.
Paired with the previous episode title, this might further indicate a big “exit” in the
series, or some big loss/sacrifice that will severely impact the story and characters.
Alternatively, it could be referring to a ruthless deal struck by one or more leaders that
betrays a certain segment of their people(s).
5×08 – Secret Weapon
When this title was revealed, I immediately began to wonder who, not what, this
weapon could be. Perhaps this is just a reflection of what we’ve come to expect from the
show, as a last-minute plan or reprieve usually comes in the form of a person or alliance.
There are, however, a couple of objects or newly introduced technologies that could fit
the description as well.
Eight episodes into the season, traditionally this is when our heroes are beginning
to run out of options. But there’s still a whole third act left, so whatever or whomever the
secret weapon is, it likely won’t be the final/complete solution.
Potentially unrelated, but Secret Weapon is also the title of a 1990 movie which
told the story of a nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli pacifist and
government employee, who committed an act of treason in 1986 by informing the British
press that his country was working on a nuclear bomb.Is there an allusion here that the
secret weapon is information presented to our heroes by an unlikely source? Perhaps
someone defecting to another faction, and warning them of their imminent destruction
and/or giving them insight into the other side’s weakness?
 Whatever acceptable losses have just been dealt with, this title is one of the few
that potentially spark hope that our heroes — whoever we feel are most heroic come this
point of the season — might have one last triumph card up their sleeve, or that someone
will think of a solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem. (Unless the secret weapon
belongs to the other side, of course!)
5×09 – Sic Semper Tyrannis
One of the most intriguing titles, this Latin phrase means “thus always to tyrants,”
and is generally used as a rallying cry against tyrannic leaders. It dates back to the
assassination of Julius Caesar and is (most likely falsely) attributed to Brutus, and was
later adopted by John Wilkes Booth, who claimed that this is what he shouted when
shooting President Abraham Lincoln. It seems fair to assume that this title indicates an
imminent assassination/betrayal of a leader or perceived tyrant, perhaps by someone the
‘tyrant’ considers a friend or ally.
But who is the tyrant? And who is the betrayer? Nine episodes in, we really have
no basis for predicting the answer. As far as I can tell, fandom seems convinced that
Octavia is the tyrant betrayed, but then again, Octavia seems to be the go-to guess for
almost everything.
As much as our minds might attach to the word ‘tyrant’ though, the uttered phrase might
say more about the person doing the assassinating than it does about the leader in
question. Abraham Lincoln, certainly, was not widely considered a tyrant. Caesar is
harder to defend. But in both cases, the culprit believed they were acting in their
people/mission’s best interest.
On a more abstract level, the title might suggest that a major shift in whatever power
balance has been established takes place in this episode. We can only guess as to who
betrays who and why — but we can probably be pretty certain that whatever happens
here will be hugely significant.
Incidentally, “Sic semper tyrannis” is also the official motto of the state of Virginia, which
as we know is where Eden is located…
5×10 – The Last
Not the last episode of the season, but the last… what? Stand? Word? Supper?
Hope? Chance? Jedi? Much like “Secret Weapon,” general fandom sentiment seems to
be that “The Last” refers to a person. The last survivor of some faction, the last holdout
of some old idea or belief, or someone representing the final chance or hope our heroes
have of victory. It could, of course, also be a place, or a thing, or a last problem that needs
to be solved. It is hard to draw mythological parallels when we don’t know what/who ‘the
last’ is the last of, but I did want to note (more because it’s interesting than because it’s
necessarily relevant) that the apocalypse is sometimes referred to “the last myth” in
contemporary society.
 And of course, recalling Pandora’s Box, we might keep in mind that the last thing
left inside once all the death and chaos had been unleashed was hope. Maybe this is the
episode in which they remember or discover this hope, whatever form it takes?
In pop culture, “The Last” is also the title of the fifth (!) and final studio album by
the Bachata group Aventura; it is the name of a 1970s pop band; it is the name of a song
by The Replacements, and finally, “The Last” is the name of a Doctor Who radio drama
for which the description reads: “Trapped on a dying world, the Eighth Doctor, Charley
and C’rizz come face-to-face with the people responsible for the war to end wars. Will
anybody, however, survive to get off the planet before the war comes to an end at last?”
Coincidence?! (I mean, probably.)
5×12 & 5×13 – Damocles, Parts 1 & 2
Not only is this a super intriguing and multi-layered title, but it also reveals that the
finale will be a two-part episode. This has been the case for every finale thus far, except
last year’s “Praimfaya.”
In Greek mythology, Damocles is a courtier who envies the seemingly luxurious
lifestyle of King Dionysius (not to be confused with the god Dionysus). Recognizing this,
Dionysius invites Damocles to swap places with him: Damocles gets the power, riches
and all the luxuries that come with the position, but above the throne on which he has to
sit, Damocles finds a giant sword dangling above his head by a single horse hair.
(Alternate title for this episode: “Helios’ Revenge.”)
Why? Because ‘with great power comes great responsibility,’ as well as great
personal risk and sacrifice. To take on the responsibilities of a leader is to forfeit your own
life and individual freedom; the benefits that come with the job are a small consolation
prize for that proverbial sword hanging above your head, which might fall at any time (as
indeed it did for Caesar and Abraham Lincoln). In the story, Damocles learns that to be a
leader is to acknowledge the sacrifice that comes with it, and he ends up turning it down
and going back to his own life, with new understanding and respect for the king’s position
and the unseen burden on his shoulders.
Understanding the burden of leadership is a prevalent theme in The 100, and
Octavia is a particularly interesting case study since she, unlike all leaders before her,
never actually desired power or the perks of leadership. (Maybe this fact alone means
she can’t be the Damocles of this story — or maybe I shouldn’t be so pedantic in my
analogies.)
Tentatively, we might read the title as Octavia — who spent the past four seasons
judging other leaders’ choices, only to end up in their shoes and likely making similar
choices herself — finally understanding what it means to be a leader and, with this new
insight, willingly giving up the position for the good of her people (much like Jaha did in
season 1).
However, since this is The 100 we’re talking about, it might be a hair too optimistic
to assume that the finale title refers to the bracing moral lesson Damocles learned in the
original story; more likely, the Damocles of this tale — be it Octavia or a similar incumbent
— will find the sword actually falling on them, either dying as a result or simply being
forcibly removed from power. In whatever way, this episode spells ‘judgement day’ for our
heroes.
Conclusions
Now that we’ve meticulously broken down almost all the the titles of The 100
season 5’s 13 episodes, are we any closer to knowing what happens in the season?
Yes and no. It seems to me like we have a pretty good idea, from these titles as
well as teasers shared by the cast and crew, which major themes season 5 will explore,
and what major historical and mythological references it will draw on to do so. The
increasing use of terminology from Greek mythology and fairy tales in particular speaks
to the power of storytelling — how much you can influence others by framing and naming
the people around you as heroes and villains. The evocative episode titles suggest that
this season, like previous seasons, will tie post-apocalyptic events into our own history
and literary canon, The 100 cementing its commitment to cyclical storytelling and constant
re-shuffling of character motivations and perspectives.
And yet for all that, we know very little about the choices the characters will make
under these new (yet familiar) circumstances; the general framework of opposing factions
battling for a space in paradise, discovering what unity means to them in the process,
don’t reveal what factors might influence Harper’s, Miller’s or Abby’s choices; we don’t
know what strategies each side will employ, or even exactly who is on which side and
why.
The more we discover about The 100 season 5, the clearer it becomes how little
we actually know. We see pictures, but can only guess as to the circumstances. We hear
snippets of characters’ stories, but have no idea about how they got there or why. I can’t
wait to dive into this season and find out how these episode titles actually match up to
what happens!
For now, we can use the titles as reference points for which historical and fictional
events it might be worth reading up on to better understand the choices and motivations
of the characters. (Yes, there’s homework now. Welcome to paradise.)