The 100 Season 5: Everything From Unity Days 2018!

Last month, The 100 fandom came together in Vancouver for Unity Days 2018 and to celebrate the upcoming season of the show. Unity Days is a con created by fellow fans of the show and its goal for the second year is to make their events for the fans.

That is exactly what happened from January 19th - 21st, with fans and the cast alike spending the weekend together talking about their love for the show and their excitement for Season 5.

This couldn't have happened with an amazing team led by Leana Santos and Miah Bannerman. Linda Suurhoff, Shayne Bannerman, Melissa Christensen, Colin Christensen, and all the volunteers at the event made Unity Days not only possible but functional as well. 

Now the cast members that came to Unity Days included characters from the past and even some that we haven't been properly introduced to yet. 

Eliza Taylor (Clarke Griffin), Bob Morley (Bellamy Blake), Lindsey Morgan (Raven Reyes), Nadia Hilker (Luna), Christopher Larkin (Monty Green), Chelsey Reist (Harper), Jessica Harmon (Niylah), Luisa d’Oliveira (Emori), Marie Avgeropoulos (Octavia Blake),Tasya Teles (Echo), Zach McGowan (Roan), Sachin Sahel (Eric Jackson), and Jarod Joseph (Nathan Miller) were all in attendence.

There were also some surprise visits from Richard Harmon (John Murphy) and Tati Gabrielle (Gaia) who the fans are familiar with.

But the real secret surprise was when William Miller (McCreary) and Jordan Bolger (Zeke) arrived at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel to visit Unity Days. 

These are new characters that are going to be introduced from the Eligius prison ship transport and it is great that the actors are already getting in on the fandom fun.

There wasn't anything we actually learned about the duo at Unity Days but their appearance is a great reminder to keep an eye out for them.

Unity Days truly created an experience unlike any other, creating a feeling of unity in one weekend through true connections being formed with fans of all different kinds of characters from the show. 

The convention also offered some insight into the upcoming season, with details divided by the different ways that groups were formed last season.

The Bunker

There is obviously a pretty big theory that was possibly confirmed by Marie Avgeropoulos regarding cannibalism happening in the bunker.

It was mentioned in The 100 Season 4 Episode 13 by Clarke that she couldn't dig out the people in the bunker, which means they have been locked in there a year longer than planned.

This lines up with the idea that Octavia will be a much darker version of herself as the new Commander when Season 5 returns. 

It sounds like Octavia will not be one to forgive so easily and in that confined space maybe people's punishments will take a different turn. Now it hasn't been confirmed that Octavia is the one involved in cannibalism but it could be a theory that she decides on that as form of punishment.

It also would explain what Sachin meant when he said that the bunker is the most frightening and claustrophobic set and that he couldn't wait to get off it. 

This doesn't have to match up to Octavia but something telling me she is somehow behind the idea because it wouldn't be happening if the Commander didn't allow it to.

This new Octavia is so different though that even Bellamy won't recognize the person that she becomes when they reunite on the ground.

It has been six years since the siblings have seen each other but Bellamy's completely blind support of his sister reaching a turning point sounds like a huge shift in their relationship and the way that the interact with one another once reunited.

This potential cannibal plot will also allow for some intense interactions between characters like Octavia/Kane or Octavia/Abby and the other characters that are close to the Commander.

The 100 is known for the characters that it presents with a varied moral codes, and something tells me that eating people will cause a bit of a divide between people and will change the way they see things.

The real question though is who will Octavia eat first? 

Another character that might return with a darker personality is Niylah. This wasn't elaborated on much but personally I saw Niylah as the light that could keep Octavia from straying too far down the wrong path again.

If Niylah has also hardened herself a little, probably due to the grounder population not liking that she is down there with them, it will be fascinating to see how these two characters reappear back into our world and how they connect with one another. 

Although there wasn't much talk of Indra and Gaia, Tati was in attendance at Unity Days and she shared her take on what the theme of the upcoming season is.

"What truly is unity?" is a question that we should expect to ask ourselves over the course of Season Five, especially with all the groups joining each other again and a new group of people being introduced into the mix.

Space

Don't expect everything to stay the same.

Last we saw our favorite Scooby Doo gang, they survived their trip to space and had to begin setting up a live for themselves for the next five years. 

They obviously don't make it back to the ground on time and there is no contact from their side, with Clarke struggling to figure out what exactly happened.

What Unity Days did fill us in on is that we have to expect some major changes to happen between everyone. Relationships are both growing and regressing up there, with no couple guaranteed to still be together at this point.

There are bonds that are forming between new groups of people, or so it sounds like based on Richard Harmon saying that Bellamy is Murphy's best friend up in space now.

And with Luisa mentioning that Emori is settling in well up there, it is a no brainer that she is branching out on the friendships that she had before. 

If you are looking for some quality female friendships happening up in space you might get exactly that.

Specifically it sounds like Harper and Emori might have really bonded up there together, which is really everything we could have hoped for. 

Aside from relationships though is the obvious reintroduction to the characters we were used to, both for the fans and the actors.

Bob Morley emphasized the way that Bellamy is now another new version of himself, something that took the actor a while to accept because he was having trouble understanding this new Bellamy.

He did admit that down the line he realized that this was the "best version of Bellamy" and this all probably has to do with Bellamy taking on a more pacifist type leader role.

Based off what was also mentioned at Comic Con last year, Bellamy is no longer the rash leader that would jump into action based on what his heart told him.

Bellamy must have taken Clarke's advice and has started to think things through more, and I am even creating a theory that he stays away from violence as a first option these days.

This could fit well with the new characters and the idea that the Space Group is with them willingly. Perhaps they crossed paths and Bellamy decided to join up with them instead of seeing them as a threat right off the bat.

This all could also be an influence of the leadership Bellamy and Raven were foreshadowing in the Season Four finale.

There wasn't much word on how that is going but Raven has always been more dependent on thinking things through so maybe Bellamy finally started to listen to what that might mean.

Another character shift will come from space newcomer Echo who according to actress Tasya Teles has more of an idea of what to do which stems from her constantly being a follower before.

Tasya has mentioned before that Echo might imprint on someone else seeing as she only knows how to follow orders and be in constant warrior mode, all of which is going to change with a six year move to space where the need to survive mostly comes from basic needs and not war. 

Echo will be more sassy when we meet her again and with the new dynamics happening up there, her relationships with everyone will have to be different. 

When she went up there before she was very much an outsider, but after that much time together she has to have formed bonds and created something for herself among the Sky People. 

The Ground

Not much was mentioned about life on the ground at all, the only thing that can be really deducted is that it has to be the best option out of all three.

The dilemma right off the bat will show why no one from space came down when they were meant to and the bunker life will not sit well with many of us.

This has to mean that Clarke and Madi at least got some rest themselves.

The sneak peek we got seemed calm and like the two had time to just draw and hunt.

Obviously though Madi and Clarke had sort of an advantage since they are the only two people on Earth right now.

The group in space must have run into the Eligius prison ship transport by now. As for the bunker, it sounds like their worst enemy might be a large population in one place with no way to escape and very different opinions. 

Highlights of Unity Days

• Cancer Gets LOST hosted a silent auction for a second time at Unity Days to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The total amount raised by Jo Garfein from different The 100 themed merch and fanart came out to be an incredible $11,330.

• The prop team (Paxton Downard, Anthony Vani, Emma Fay Morgan, Elliott Montello and Rob Warren)  behind all of the cool weapons, suits, and accessories made an appearance at Unity Days with two panels and their very own prop room. This was a chance for fans of The 100 to get to see some of their favorite pieces from the show up close and in person. There was a wide selection for fans of just about every character and it personally felt unreal being surrounded by such important items like Raven's spacesuit, Lincoln's sketchbook, Roan's crown, and Clarke's rifle. 

• There were a couple of other panels like the Meta Panel and The 100 Reviewers Panel that highlighted how some both covered the show and are a fan of it at the same time. The Meta Panel included Sam Casey, Brittany Rae, Robyn Jeffrey, Claire Willett, and Erin Drew, and it was a fun and emotional discussion about the adventure that comes with supporting The 100. Meanwhile, The 100 Reviewers Panel included Selina Wilken, Tiffany Vogt, and yours truly as we discussed how we approach writing about The 100.

Unity Days really helped ease us into the upcoming season even if there wasn't too much information that was shared about exactly what the conditions are when we return.

The next thing to really look forward to is the official trailer for Season 5, which should be released any day now and will give us actual footage of what it to come.

The 100 returns for its fifth season April 24th on The CW.

Stick around TV Fanatic if you want to hear more from me before and during the season, and watch The 100 online if you need to catch up on the adventure.

This post appear first on The 100 Season 5: Everything From Unity Days 2018! by Yana Grebenyuk