What was Her Connection to Mount Weather? How and Why Was She Written Out of the Show?
Lexa (from The 100) first appears in Season 2 Episode 6 “Fog of War,” Lexa was born a Nightblood of the Woods Clan and thereby was groomed to become the leader of all the Grounders. A Nightblood is a genetic trait that makes someone immune to nuclear and solar radiation. She began warrior training at age 2 under Anya and went on to take part in the Grounders’ Conclave at age 12. Conclave is essentially a fight to the death among potential commanders; the last person standing at the end of the battles will be named the Commander. During the Conclave where Lexa ended up victorious, one of the Nightbloods–named Luna—fled the scene. Every new Commander is implanted with a mysterious chip called the Flame. Later, it is revealed that the chip is a form of artificial intelligence known as A.L.I.E. 2.0.
Lexa plays a major role in the Mount Weather massacre, saving her people from captivity and ending the terrors by the Mountain Men for good. In Season 3, she develops an intimate romance with Clarke of the Sky People although the relationship ends abruptly when Lexa is accidentally killed by Titus.
Connection to Mount Weather
For Lexa, Mount Weather is the archenemy—as the Mountain Men capture the Grounders for their radiation-immune blood. Every Grounder held captive in the facility is tortured so some Mountain Men can wander outside without getting killed by the otherwise invigorating sun and fresh air. As the commander of the alliance between twelve Grounder clans, Lexa’s purpose is to ensure the survival of her people. To do that, all the Mountain Men must be killed. Of course, engaging in a full-out invasion is highly unlikely due to the well-fortified nature of the facility. It is safe to say that the Grounders, on their own, will not be able to even scratch the surface.
Everything changes with the arrival of the Sky People, with their technologies and engineering skills. For the Mountain Men, however, the Sky People only provide a fresh supply of victims. Playing “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” to a full extent, a joint effort between Clarke and Lexa (and by extension the Sky People and the Grounders) promises a chance of victory. However, during an infiltration mission into Mount Weather and unbeknownst to Clarke, a truce has been made between Lexa and the Mountain Men. As part of the deal, Lexa is allowed to bring the captured Grounders home without a fight from the facility’s guards, but she will not help Clarke as the battle continues.
Back on Good Terms
In Season 3, Lexa and Clarke rebuild the coalition in the face of a new enemy: A.L.I.E. They are back on good terms, and then some. The teamwork has brought them closer, not only as respective leaders of their people but as individuals as well. Lexa and Clarke are romantically involved, albeit briefly.
Viewers show appreciation for the development, but it doesn’t last. In Season 3 Episode 7, Lexa and Clarke are about to part ways due to an issue regarding an army of Grounders forming a blockade around Arkadia. Once again, the alliance between the Grounders and Sky People is in an unstable state. Clarke, who has decided to return to Arkadia after having been alone for months in the woods, says goodbye to Lexa. And then they have sex. Just as Clarke is about to leave, Titus the Flamekeeper catches her off guard and pulls out a gun. Titus fires off several shots, and the last one accidentally hits Lexa in the torso, killing her.
(Offscreen) Aftermath
The Lexa-Clarke romance is much praised by the LGBTQ community, which considers the development a positive depiction of a lesbian character (Lexa is lesbian, whereas Clarke is bisexual). Between them, there have been exciting dynamics of decision-making, friendship, survival, and love. But after only a brief joyous victory lap following the demise of Mountain Men and an intimate relationship, Lexa’s time is up. It appears that Lexa simply is no longer necessary for plot progression as far as the story is concerned. Mind you that Lexa’s untimely death also gives Clarke a weapon to defeat A.L.I.E.
We think Lexa is the poster girl for LGBTQ fans of the series everywhere. She is the leader of the coalition, a complex individual, and an all-around respectable member of society. Although it is true the series has been observed to compress the timeline and speed up progress since the very first episode, for Lexa The 100 comes very close to a punishing degree. Not only is her death a little bit messy, but somewhat inconveniently forced as well. She dies in the same episode in which she has sex with Clarke. The death of Lexa inevitably leads to a nationwide discussion about the “Bury Your Gays’ trope, to define the phenomena in which LBGTQ characters in TV series and movies are unfavourably written off or destined to unhappy fates.
Do you also think Lexa deserves a better fate in The 100? Would the series be better if the relationship never happened at all? We’d love to hear from you.
Other things you might want to know.
Who portrays Lexa in The 100?
Lexa is portrayed by an Australian actress, Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey. She will play the role of Alice Heart in an upcoming Amazon original series “The Lost Flower of Alice Heart,” alongside Sigourney Weaver.
Apart from Lexa, are there other TV/movie characters regarded to be victims of the “Bury Your Gays” trope?
Some of the most notable examples include:
Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones, although the character is alive in “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series
Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain
Castiel and Charlie Bradbury in Supernatural
Reid in As the World Turns
Has there been an explanation from the showrunner regarding Lexa’s death?
Series creator Jason Rothenberg gave a sensible explanation for writing off Lexa. According to Rothenberg, Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey had become a regular on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead when her character on The 100 died.
