When “The 100” came to an end in season three, Clarke (Eliza Taylor) made the decision to save the world, even though it might be ending in the very near future. With the release of the first trailer for season four, the CW sci-fi series makes it clear that the audience will be seeing the consequences of her decision.

Clarke wants to save everyone

But can she?

This is Clarke’s cardinal dilemma in the series. She wants to do the most good for the most people, but it seems that nearly everyone finds fault with her decisions.

In season three, she had the chance to end the lives of everyone she knew because, according to the artificial intelligence being ALIE (Erica Cerra), humanity didn’t have much time left anyway.

The facilities built to contain nuclear weapons were breaking down, and soon, the radiation would poison the world and what was left of humanity. ALIE cited the suffering humanity would endure as reason enough to give them an out.

In true Clarke fashion, she opted to take her chances without ALIE, telling her, “You don’t ease pain. You overcome it.” Now, her work is cut out for her as she attempts to unify everyone amidst plenty of infighting and hostile Grounder forces.

Familiar faces

The gang is (almost) all together again. Last season saw the characters split up as ALIE took over their minds and removed their pain, but this time around, it looks like most of Skaicru is on the same page - trying to find a way to survive the coming radiation poisoning.

But they aren’t the only ones. We also get scenes with Luna (Nadia Hilker), Roan (Zach McGowan), Indra (Adina Porter), Echo (Tasya Teles), and more of the Grounders the group has met along the way.

Without a Commander, it looks like Roan is out to lead the Grounders with a little help from Echo, and though Luna could have been a contender for the job, she is in pretty bad shape when we see her.

Indra, as usual, seems to be right in the thick of a power struggle, whether she wants to be or not.

Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) might just be the most interesting person in a trailer that is otherwise focused on leadership and the possible end of days. Octavia appears to be leading her own Grounder army in some scenes - but she also appears to be killing everyone.

She’s even got a new nickname.

And some new faces

Each season has slowly introduced the audience to new characters, and many of those have already been lost. Keep your eyes peeled for some new characters in the upcoming season though - especially one in particular.

In the trailer, someone has their hands on the Commander chip that caused so much trouble last season. What could they do with it now?

Check out the trailer, and then get ready for a long wait. The series returns to the CW on February 1.

A few lingering questions to ponder while we wait

Why is Clarke taking on an army alone?

Just how divided are the Grounders? And for that matter, the former Ark inhabitants?

Are Abby and Kane finally an item and out in the open?

Has Jasper turned a corner? He wants to do more than “just survive” now.

How many characters will we lose to radiation instead of violence?

That last shot of Clarke is from a dream, right? Right?
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