The 100 creator teases a 'desperate,' 'breathless' finale 

“It’s hard to top our finales because we put so much importance on them,” creator Jason Rothenberg tells EW. “We’re telling one story every season and it ends with the whole point of the thing. So every season we’re obviously facing, ‘How do we top ourselves?’”

For Wednesday’s finale, they’ve found the way to up the ante even more. All this season, the characters have been trying to find a way to survive an oncoming nuclear radiation death wave. Last week’s episode saw Grounders and Skaikru alike finding shelter in a recently found bunker. But a few people — including Clarke, Raven, Bellamy, Monty, Harper, Echo, Murphy, and Emore — were left on the outside when the doors were sealed shut.

But like always, Clarke has a crazy plan for survival: going back to space. And that’s where much of the finale focuses. “The whole idea was to start the clock ticking in the premiere and count down to zero in the finale,” Rothenberg says. “We wanted it to feel more and more desperate, more and more breathless.”

In an episode that’s reminiscent of season 1, the original 100 members will have to work together to find a way to survive. And just like Rothenberg teases, it will leave you and the characters breathless.

He adds: “Just when you think it’s over — holy s—! Now they can’t breathe.”

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