SDCC 17: 'The 100' Star Marie Avgeropoulos Talks Octavia's Finest Moments in Season 4 & What's Ahead

Nora Dominick ’17/ Emertainment Monthly Executive Editor
If one character on The 100 has undergone the greatest transformation, it would be Octavia Blake. Starting the show as Bellamy’s little sister, Octavia has become the biggest badass the series has. Season 4 of The 100 presented Octavia with even more challenges as she fought to reunite all the clans with Praimfaya threatening to kill them all. At SDCC 2017, Marie Avgeropoulos sat down to chat about Octavia’s starring moments in season 4, including the Conclave and what fans can expect when the series returns in 2018.
Arguably one of the best episode in the four season of The 100 featured Octavia in a starring role. So, it’s no surprise when asked what Avgeropoulos’ favorite episode was she answered: “My favorite episode this last season is “Die All, Die Merrily” when Octavia fought in the conclave.”
“Die All, Die Merrily” featured Octavia battling some of the fiercest warriors in all the clans for a shot at survival in the bunker. Marie Avgeropoulos gave the episode her all as Octavia came out victorious and won control of the bunker. Avgeropoulos speaks to Octavia’s reasoning for fighting saying, “She [Octavia] originally wanted to do it because she was down this dark path of just, “take out everybody” the post traumatic of losing the love of her life. She’s not really fitting in with Ilian, she’s at odds with Skaikru.” She continues saying, “Then she realizes it’s who you fight for that matters. That’s when it really clicked for her that ‘Hey, if I win this, I can have everyone survive. One crew.’ That’s exactly what she does.”
By the end of season four, Octavia has stepped into a major leadership role, something she’s not used to. With Clarke on the ground, Bellamy in space and Octavia in the bunker, Octavia is forced to become a leader for all these clans that are at odds with each other. Avgeropoulos says that when season five returns we’ll see how Octavia is handling her new form of power. “She’s forced to be a leader and people are looking up to her for answers, and she doesn’t have them because that has not really been in her nature to lead. She doesn’t know how.”

Eliza Taylor, Marie Avgeropoulos and Lindsey Morgan in The 100 SDCC 2017 press room. Photo Credit: Nora Dominick
If you think everything in the bunker is going to run smoothly, Avgeropoulos assures us that tensions will continue to run high. “In the bunker with this mix bagged of clans, they aren’t letting go of old animosities, unfortunately. She has to come up with a way for them to deal with their consequences, while living in this small space.” Avgeropoulos continues joking, “You can’t float people in a bunker! So, you’ll see what her bright idea is to keep people in line.”
Someone Octavia has always butted heads with that is in the bunker with her is Jaha. Avgeropoulos talks about this strained relationship saying, “Octavia has never liked Jaha, so I hope she does something.” She speaks about the stand-off the duo had inside the bunker saying, “[It] was pretty amazing for me because I’ve never had a scene with Isaiah [Washington] before, in all four seasons with him.” She continues saying,  “It was nice to have one scene with him and she got to bring up old, painful memories and throw it back in his face. It was her own mini revenge. I think she settled a few demons there with that statement.”
With Octavia becoming a leader, there’s inevitably the question: how will Clarke handle Octavia being a leader? The two have always butted heads, especially in season 4 of The 100. Avgeropoulos previews the interesting dynamic fans can expect when Clarke and Octavia finally meet after the five year time jump. “There’s definitely a conversation that needs to be had between the two of them because now they’re both in a leadership position.” She continues saying, “Maybe Clarke will finally give Octavia the respect she deserves. Octavia is a doer, not a sayer. If people don’t believe in her, she’ll show you exactly why she deserves this place in the world and for people to listen and to own up to her decisions.”
Marie Avgeropoulos in The 100 episode “Die All, Die Merrily.” Photo Credit: The CW
Continuing to speak about Octavia’s new leadership role, Avgeropoulos is excited to see how Octavia handles it all. She thinks this is a good time for Octavia to become a leader saying, “Even though Octavia can be kind of emotionally over reactive, I think she has grown a little bit throughout the seasons as well. She stops and she thinks before she reacts with the sword for sure.”
Avgeropoulos thinks this could also lead to Octavia and Clarke understanding each other a little more. “She [Octavia] can relate to Clarke because Clarke has always been the one to make the hard decisions and now the roles are sort of reversed.” She continues saying, “Now Octavia is the leader and Clarke is the grounder. So, it’s interesting how those parallels are now flipped.”

The 100 returns with season five in 2018 on The CW

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