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The 100 Reapers and Lincoln: Top Theories About Lincoln’s Experiment

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The 100

So, here we are… Theories about The 100 Reapers and Lincoln. If you recall from my previous post about Lincoln, my theories about the Reapers’ potential origin was spot on. Let’s review the most important points and theories, as revealed in this latest episode. Season 2 Episode 5 “Human Trials.” (And by the way, you can watch Human Trials on Amazon Instant if you missed it or want to watch it again!)

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NOTE: SPOILERS up to this latest episode! Be warned!

Top theories about what's happening to Lincoln. #The100 Click To Tweet

Leading Theory about The 100 Reapers and Lincoln: Lincoln is Turning Into a Reaper

My money is on this one. I think it’s obvious, as we see him slowly become more and more animalistic, killing one of his own people for that precious “red drug.” The reapers are crazy cannibals who kill people mercilessly and seem to lack all humanity. Yet, they also respond to that one particular tone and cower in fear.

They’re obviously training Lincoln, via a Pavlov’s Dog type conditioning, to cower in fear when he hears the same tone. And they’re tearing away at his humanity by making him kill another grounder to get to the drug. The drug itself, in fact, might be a weapon in his own destruction. It’s possible that the more they take this red drug, the crazier and less human they become, eventually devolving into cannibals aka Reapers.

Secondary Theory: Cannibalism Was the Experiment Gone Wrong

Maybe the Mountain Men have been trying this for awhile and with people who had less mental stability than Lincoln, they went totally crazy. Or maybe they used a different type of drug back then that also degraded the Grounders into cannibals. But really, I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s the theory above.

Third Theory: Cannibalism is Completely Different

A third theory is that the cannibalism side of things is completely different and wholly unrelated to the drug experiment. Maybe it’s a side effect of the radiation on a small percentage of people. Maybe something in the atmosphere makes a small percentage of folks go completely crazy (and maybe Finn is on his way to turning into a Reaper himself!)

I’m not really going for that theory. My money is still on theory #1.

Where have we seen this before? 

TV doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I’ve seen story lines similar to this one on two different sci-fi shows. Maybe, must maybe, the 100 writers are taking ideas from Stargate and Firefly.

Firefly Reavers

(SPOILERS if you haven’t seen Serenity!)

Read this description of the Reavers, from Wikipedia, and tell me this doesn’t sound exactly like the Reapers:

This description of The Reavers from #Firefly fits The Reapers perfectly. #The100 Click To Tweet

“Reavers are savage, brutal and primal, though they engage in some form of social behavior and cooperation within their own group. Their contact with normal humans appears limited to combat, rape, torture, murder, and cannibalism. These contacts are brief and survivors few.”

YEP, this could be the Reavers too – EXACTLY the same. So the idea of a drug experiment creating the Reapers (as it did with the Reavers) doesn’t seem that far-fetched, now does it?

But we’ve seen this on one other show too:

Stargate Atlantis

We've seen something like Lincoln's experiment on Stargate Atlantis. #The100 Click To Tweet

Yep. On Stargate Atlantis, people got super-human strength from a Wraith enzyme (an enzyme the Wraith used to feed off people.) This strength made them formidable opponents, but people also became seriously addicted to the enzyme. SO addicted that they would do anything to get more of it. They also lose rational thought and become paranoid as they take more and more of the addictive enzyme.

Sound familiar?

I have a feeling that the show will find a way to write Lincoln out of this terrible mess and he won’t be a lost cause forever. But it’ll probably be a long, torturous road.

As for Finn though… I’m not so sure.

What do you think? Leave a comment about your theories below!

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    Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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