#Russel Lightborne

[yemyvhir]

Josephine Ada Lightbourne: The 100

[bellamynochillblake]

‘YOU NEVER HAD THE STOMACH TO BE A GOD’

SHIT THAT’S A GOOD LINE

[poppykru]

So I'm rewatching the 100 with @jemleofan and I just keep thinking how despite many of its shortcomings, this show does one thing right. Its villains.

I can't even call them villains tbh. Antagonist? Just humans?

They are so well written, fleshed out and that's why they are believable. We never get an antagonist that are doing that they're doing just because they are evil. There are always good reasons, good motivations. The moment I think 'okay, that is a valid argument' when an antagonist expresses their POV is the moment I know the writers have done a good job with the characters.

I mean look at lexa - she was an antagonist beginning of season 2 (even season 1 cause she sends the army to kill the delinquents). But by the end, she is so ambiguous. The 100 landed in her territory, they killed her army; her culture, her mentality is an eye for an eye (blood must have blood), its how they've survived 100 years in a radiation soaked planet. She doesn't know any better. Also, her people have been kidnapped and killed for years by the mountain men (who resemble skaikru) and turned into monsters. Shouldn't she be wary of skaikru? At the end of the day her duty is to her people. That's why she leaves clarke at Mount weather. Is it a horrible choice? Yes. But isn't it the smartest when it comes to her people's well being? Yes.

Now unlike Lexa who was ambiguous from the beginning, Dante, as well as Cage is an antagonist. His motivation is the same: save my people. The ends justify the means for him. He is ready to commit these horrible acts for his people and he is ready to bear it so they don't have to. Its horrible what he's doing. But is it completely not understandable? They've been stuck underground for 100 years and they will be stuck for a lot more if they don't do something about it. Is it really living what they're doing? Isn't it just surviving forever? No end date to their suffering? It's understandable, but not excusable.

Same with Octavia. God, it would've been so easy to make her evil for the sake of evil. "She just broke and now she wants everyone to suffer with her" - so many shows, films, books, comics, etc have done this. It would have been so easy to write her off like that. But the writers didn't. They made her complex. Octavia isn't just an evil tyrant. She is a traumatised girl that took on a huge responsibility at a tender age while she was repressing her grieve, operating on anger. Octavia makes so much sense when you get the full picture. She was influenced by Jaha, by drug addict calculating Abby, by warrior Indra. She had to make an impossible choice and then was left to carry the weight of it by herself. Of course, she broke more. Of course, she repressed everything until there was only cold, ruthless bloodreina who just wanted to keep her people alive. This is how she coped. She has done horrendous acts, yes. But is it not a little bit understandable considering all she's been through? Is it not logical that she'll end up as bloodreina after everything? (I loved how in s6 we get her explanation on why she did some things - it all boils down to duty to her people).

And Russel. Russel is a little different from all the previous ones because unlike them he doesn't do it for his people, but for his family. It's love (and guilt), not duty that guides him (and unlike the rest, he takes it very far, way past the justification). Wouldn't you do everything for your family? Wouldn't the means be justified when the end is your family alive and well? And what I love is that we see him trying to do the right thing a couple of times, albeit, it's after he's done a thousand terrible acts. He is not all evil, he does have (a semblance of ) a conscience. And I'd love to see what happens with him in s7.

I got carried away with this. 😂

What I'm trying to say is that the reason this show works is because their antagonists are as good as their protagonist /heroes.

[griffin-blakeee]

Man, Lindsay is so pretty! Would have chosen her too. Alright, the guy that plays Roan or the guy that plays Russell?

Lindsay is definitely gorgeous! Ummm... I would have to pick Zach (roan)! Thank you for the question anon!

[shimmershae]

Uh, Russell.  This will not end the way you think it will.

[bitching-barista]

Oh my god just tell them what weird shit you’re into and move on

[incorrectlythe100]

Russell: It’s time for you to die

Clarke: Let me ask Bellamy

Russell: It’s not a choi-

Clarke: He said no

[choose-wonkru]

Russell: how do you continue on after you lose everything?

Clarke *calmly*: you take a breath and then you take another

5 minutes later

*burns down the palace, beats the shit out of Russell and announces to all of Sanctum, inspirational-yelling-speech-style, that he is going to die tomorrow*

[katkomskaikru]

I thought this was a great edit.

[what-is-infinite]

Indra better take Russell out when he start on his bullshit 😒

[abstractmindscape]

I still don’t care about Russell or sheidheda

[poppykru]

Look, do I think Clarke exploding like that was healthy? No

Did I enjoy watching her beat up Russell tho? Immensely.

[griffin-blakeee]

I’m not gonna lie I don’t give a flying fuck about Russell. If we could just stick to the anomaly story line that would be great thanks

[torturedswiftie]

“You’re a slippery one, John” is the most accurate description of Murphy we’ve ever gotten

[rivertalesien]

How are you finding JR's acting so far? Do you prefer him as sheidheda or Russel ?

I really haven’t thought about it. Sheidheda is an OTT character with Hannibal Lecteresque pretensions and it must be hard to find some nuance in that. 

Between the two characters though, Russell was a less cartoonish kind of evil, but they both believe in their “divinity” and right to do as they please.  

I think JR has done what he can to distinguish between the two, even if it isn’t terribly subtle or complex. Sometimes you’re at the mercy of the script, the director and the editor for how your performance comes out. 

[incorrectlythe100]

Russell: Tell me one thing about you that no one knows 

Clarke: I get jealous of my phone when it dies