The 100 was probably my favorite new show when I reviewed the 2013 pilots last summer. Nothing could have prepared me, however, for what was to come when the series got to Episode 3 (Or Episode 4 … or Episode 5; at some point I had to stop counting). Jason Rothenberg and his team are right up there with Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal in terms of telling a fast-paced, dark story that is less like a television show and more like — if you’ll forgive the cliche — a roller coaster ride (and a damn fine coaster, too. Not one of those kiddy-coasters, but one you lose your lunch just looking at from the bottom).

We sat down with the cast and crew at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this summer. They told us what they could about the upcoming season, which was unsurprisingly very little. Isaiah Washington was particularly obtuse (tongue-in-cheek … to an extent). If you had asked me this summer, I would have said that just by his appearance at the Con one could figure out his fate … but then I’m reminded of our conversation with Mark Guggenheim about how many episodes Caity Loitz was going to be in, and I start to hedge those bets.

Here is what we learned from our conversations:

Jason Rothenberg

• Rothenberg isn’t sure the show really earned the “Is Anyone Safe” reputation it received in the first season. “We didn’t really kill that many important characters … we killed Wells.” But the writers try to treat violence in a real way. Wounds are impactful, and characters don’t heal by the time the next episode comes around. “That said, this year? No one is safe. We got too much credit last year, so this year I need to earn it.”
• Managing what the writers and actors can say before an episode airs is tough. There’s a balance between needing to answer questions to media to help build hype and revealing too much. Rothenberg, “I know if I was a fan of the show and I read online, ‘Oh this guy’s going to live’ … I’d be like ‘eh, OK.’ I want to be surprised when I watch it.
• Murphy is a character whose backstory is going to be revealed a little this season. “We’re going to start to peel back the layers.” Rothenberg compares episode six that explained where Bellamy was coming from as something they are going to try to do with the most hated of The 100. “I feel like [Murphy] on some level was underserved as a character last year … There’s a reason why he is the way he is.”
• Rothenberg loves all of the characters, but particularly likes writing for Clarke, “Eliza is just so good, anything I write she shows me what it really means.”
• All of the characters are scattered. The survivors from the Ark have landed in different places; the original 100 – or what’s left of them – are separated. “One of the things that this season is about is figuring out ways to get the people back together. Reunions are a key storyline.” The adults from the Ark finding their children – and finding them changed – will be an important arc. Rothenberg stopped short of saying whether or not Clarke and Abbey will be reunited, but at least they’re on the same planet now.
• Rothenberg doesn’t think that they will ever show the story of the apocalypse on the planet, but is interested in showing how the people of the Ark came together. “It’s a big episode, where big = expensive, so I’m not really sure when it’s going to happen, but it’s something I’d like to do.”

 Eliza Taylor / Clarke Griffin

• Taylor “kinda knows where Clarke’s going,” but they’re only given scripts a couple of days in advance of shooting. Plus? The story is always changing.
• “Being able to play someone who is smart and strong and soulful is just fantastic.”
• Taylor has been focusing on her physicality this season, especially after watching last. “I’m a girly-girl really,” and that’s something that Clarke isn’t. There were scenes last year where she felt she put a little too much of that into play, and she doesn’t want to repeat it.
• She’s looking forward to the hypothetical reunion with her mother (she thinks it will happen, but again, she hasn’t read ahead). “There’s a lot of tension there, but also they’ve both changed so much individually, it will be interesting to see if they recognize one another.”
• When asked about whether Clarke will continue to evolve in the same direction we saw in Season One, Taylor was confident she would. “She’s on that path, there’s no turning back. She’s definitely blurring the lines,” doing those morally questionable things that being a leader forces her to take on.

 Devon Bostick / Jasper Jordon

• Bostick is really excited to explore “the new world that is Mount Weather.” It sounds like the mystery that is this new locale – which Rothenberg assures us we will understand in the first moments of the season – will change the fabric of the world these characters live in.
• Bostick loves playing Jasper. He took to the character immediately when he read the pilot script, though he was shocked to see him die in the end. “He was the only guy having fun, just enjoying Earth for the first time … he’s goofy, but there’s a lot of heart to him.” But playing the transition is interesting. Jasper has PTSD from being speared, and has become a very different person. He’s running into battle, when he should probably just stay in camp.
• Jacktavia: Octavia slipped out of Jasper’s hands, which did challenge how Bostick approached the character. “She was a motivation to be doing the crazy things, because ‘she’s gonna dig it.’” It was a good beat to play, that despite Jasper’s affection, she was taking advantage of him. But now, “She’s a Grounder-pounder as they say around camp.” You can tell that Jasper’s sense of humor is very much born in Bostick’s.
• No one will say if Bellamy is alive or if Jaha is dead. Usually, you get a pretty good indication of such things by the show’s marketing in advance of the season; for example Isaiah Washington attended the Convention where Bob Morley did not. In this case, I’m not sure that’s a definitive clue.
• The interactions of the various factions on the ground will be a big part of the season. “The politics of the different societies; we’re going to explore how they all relate and who stands where,” teases Bostick, who was walking a tight line on what he could say and what he should not.
• That Mount Weather was a big part of the premiere and the finale was done intentionally. It was their goal originally, as the adults on the Ark told them that is where they could find safety. In the season finale, they learned just how wrong they really were. Bostick tells us, “We were wrong about the Grounders; now we’re wrong about the Mountain Men.”

 Lindsey Morgan / Raven Reyes

• “If you think Season One was nuts, Season Two is definitely … ‘Get Ready.’” The intensity jumps off from the first minute back.
• Morgan appreciates how well the writers are in tune with what the actors are doing and what they bring to their characters: “They can see what we shine in, and what’s our strengths as actors. They’re also very curious … they always try to stretch us and surprise us.” They pushed Raven a great deal last year, exploring her character beyond just a normal guest star (the character and Reyes’ work was rewarded with a promotion to the regular cast this season).
• While talking about the writing surprising her, someone asked if there was a moment in a first season script that surprised her. “Bellamy … I mean, where did that come from?!?” Where the producers will give warnings about major plot points – most specifically to an actor if their character is going to die in a script, they let her find out this particular character beat on her own. “I was just reading the script going, ‘Oh, this is good! This is … WHAT?’” Raven was always intended to die, but the writers kept pushing that death back. When Morgan read scene where Raven and Bellamy hook up, she figured that such a shocking, raw moment would be an interesting final beat before the character was supposed to die in the next episode.

 Marie Avgeropoulos / Octavia Blake

• Avgeropoulos was able to enjoy Comic-Con this year much more than last year for several reasons. She explained that it is easier to talk about a show people have seen – and become a fan of – than last year, where she felt like they were promising that the show was amazing. Plus, managing the Convention while on crutches, as she was forced to do last year, is much harder than you’d think.
• While social media has been a part of the show’s early success, she hadn’t really participated much before. “It’s the only place you can get a marriage proposal and a death threat in the same day.”
• “Season Two? It’s much darker and will push the envelope and show viewers even more than Season One.” She tells us that what we think is happening is the exact opposite from what is actually going on. We will obviously be meeting new characters, who “survived – or not – the effects of the radiation.”
• Avgeropoulos is comfortable with the character at this point, “It’s like when you turn the key in a car and put it into drive and it’ll just do its thing.”
• “I think Jasper is desperately trying to get out of the friend-zone.” But the Lincoln/Octavia story is more dynamic. She identifies with Lincoln for several reasons, and that the 100 had wrongly accused him was one of them, as she has familiarity with that. “Her only crime was that she was born.”
• Octavia is separated from the 100, both physically and emotionally. Her time with Lincoln will be difficult once they encounter other Grounders who won’t welcome her with open arms, and how the 100 react if and when they reunite will surprise her as well.

 Ricky Whittle / Lincoln

• “Season One was really like Disneyland [compared to this season.]” His hashtag for the season is apparently, #justgotdarker.
• In preparing for this season, Rothenberg and Whittle’s discussions have lead him to doing a great deal of reading and research on “something,” which he obviously couldn’t share. “The material I’ve been given, I feel very honored to be trusted with … I’m going to have to go there, I’m going to have to ‘go there.’”
• Whittle has put a great deal of time and energy into crafting his performance. You can tell he has embraced not just the assignments the producers gave him, but everything that role entails. He obviously (yeah, ladies … it’s obvious) spent time in the gym, but it goes beyond that. He works with a vocal coach to get his accent right. His work with an acting coach lead him to lobby the writers to give him less dialogue, as he thinks that’s how Lincoln would be. “I don’t want dialogue. Keep that mystique, keep him silent. He doesn’t need to answer you.”
• The one assignment he would share with us? Horse training. He’d ridden before, but wants to take it to a new level. The stunt coordinator owns his own ranch where he worked with Joseph Gatt and Dichen Lachman last season.

Isaiah Washington / Counselor Jaha

• Talking with Washington was an interesting experience, much different from how he was last year. The whole conversation was, I hope, just tongue-in-cheek … cheekiness. Just a couple of quotes (which were repeated often) will sum up the experience (and I’ve left most of the beginning of the conversation in the highlight clip above):
• “I’m a walking cliffhanger, and I can’t tell you a thing.”
• “No, I can’t talk about it.”
• “Can’t talk about that.”
• “It’s so disappointing, I feel like I’m letting everyone down. I ran my mouth non-stop last [year].”
• “Yeah … it’s gonna be intense.”
• “You will be in alignment with Jason Rothenberg’s decisions on Counselor Jaha’s fate.”

Combined, the first three days of San Diego Comic-Con – including preview night – rarely add up to the crammed schedule that is Saturday. If you’re a movie lover – and willing to camp out at least 15 hours in advance (according to my Twitter research on the last person I could find who got in and was sharing) – then Hall H is usually filled with awesomeness from Marvel, Warner Bros. and some of the other studio heavyweights. For those of us covering TV, Saturday is generally as easily congested as many of the shows that have just started production wait until the weekend to make the trip.

For Team CliqueClack, that meant a fun 12 hours hopping from Press Room to Press Room, chatting about the upcoming seasons and new projects with actors and creators. As late as a night as Saturday generally becomes, we’ve held off until Sunday evening to include the half-day or so we spent at the Convention in one post. Here are the highlights:

• While I spent a lot of time at NerdHQ this weekend (more on that to come) Michael attended his first Conversations for a Cause panel featuring the cast of The Walking Dead.
• I spent the first part of day with what we could call Team Berlanti at SDCC: The casts and crew of The CW’s The Flash and Arrow. One thing that particularly stood out was how much Stephen Amell was excited for The Flash in general and Grant Gustin experiencing his first SDCC as the fastest man alive (see that hat?).
• My schedule did a bit of a backflip, but it allowed for an opportunity I didn’t think I was going to get at this Con, talking to the cast and crew of the show I’m probably most looking forward to this calendar year, Starz’ Outlander. This was great because I’m a big fan of the show and am really looking forward to the series, but also because it was the first time I’d ever sat down with Ronald D. Moore … and I even found a way to ask a (relevant to Outlander) question about Battlestar Galatica, which is the series that was in the impetus that lead to me writing about television in the first place.

• First a NerdHQ panel, then a press room with The Walking Dead … it was a zombie kind of day for Michael. The cast was pretty secretive – sadly, though understandably, a theme this year with everyone we spoke too – up to and including running across the room to check in with a producer with what they could and could not say.
• My last press room of the day was for SyFy’s upcoming event mini-series Ascension. This was one of those odd experience where we knew very little about the series, set for six episodes in November. Fortuately the cast didn’t have to be entirely obtuse … they had just finished filming the first episode the day before!
• One of the highlights of the trip historically has been the NBC New Media party, and while the party isn’t what it once was – though considering NBC’s decreasing presence at the Con it is understandable – Michael and I did get to spend a couple of minutes with Grimm’s Reggie Lee, who has been an incredible friend to this website for several years now (Though it seems that our editor Keith McDuffee has been much more generous with the homemade honey his household produces with Mr. Lee than he’s been with the rest of us).

• We finished the night by attending the premiere screening of Prelude to Axanar, a Kickstarer-funded teaser/prequel to an upcoming Star Trek based fan film. The short had a surprising solid cast including Richard Hatch (Starbuck plays a Klingon!), the always lovely Kate Vernon and Gary Graham, though it was Tony Todd who stole the show. The first of two campaigns to fund the main film is underway and is at 84% as of this writing.
• Sunday is always a little melancholy as the week comes to an end. Michael and I had a quick breakfast at our new favorite spot The Broken Yolk with our good buddy Tom Gardiner from Three if By Space.
• At that point, Team CliqueClack went our separate ways. Michael headed to the Convention Center with his two daughters in tow. I spent most of my Sunday at NerdHQ, catching panels for Wil Wheaton & Felicia Day and Stephen Amell. I also experienced my first Nathan Fillion (with Alan Tudyk joining in) “Auction my crap” Panel. If you want to see just how much money those two can raise by signing things they brought with them, you have to check out this video (Especially watch the first two items auctioned … when the final bid came in – out of nowhere – it set a tone for just how generous people would have to be).
• The final press room I had on my docket didn’t work out particularly well due to a variety of scheduling snafus; sadly we’re at the mercy of the insane timeline the talent has to follow while they are in town (and the unfortunate chaos that those press rooms can be).

It’s hard not to look back at SDCC 2014 as a success. While it was the first year I’ve attended without our Editor Keith McDuffee, Mr. Noble and I still managed to have a productive – and fun – couple of days. The highs were high (Ron Moore, a picture on the Iron Throne, Reggie Lee) and the lows were low (San Diego isn’t supposed to be that humid, and it actually rained. Twice!). Team CliqueClack acquired a great deal of content that we’ll be sharing with you over the coming months. And it’s already time to start thinking about what SDCC 2015 might look like.

Look … I admit:

Year in and year out no matter how many times I venture to San Diego (“America’s Finest City”) for Comic-Con, it’s always a thrill. Always. I’ve equated the weeks leading up to it with a child’s anticipation of a trip to Disneyland.

Truly, it’s that exciting.

The planning. The scheduling. The approach of the event does nothing but ramp everything up to a frothy, effervescent headiness. And then? The head-spinning, giddy feeling of being right smack dab in the middle of it all with thousands of others (tens of thousands, truth be told), all vying for that collectible or that panel or that photo opportunity with “Holy crap! Did you see who that was?!? It’s (insert any popular personality here) from (insert any popular or cult television program or film here) … !!!”

Here’s a little taste of what’s in store this year:

• I get to sit face to face with Mohandas Gandhi! (Well … Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi in the titular film and who is featured in the upcoming The Boxtrolls.)
• Fellow Clacker Ivey West and I will be taking in a brand new Star Trek film. (Details to follow.)
• I get to angle for position in a press room announcing the highly-anticipated release of television’s 1960s Batman series. Adam West and Burt Ward will be there in the flesh.
• I’ll be grilling the cast of Falling Skies about their thoughts on the current season as well as their just-announced 5th and final season.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg where The Con is concerned. (Yes, I’m bragging. Wouldn’t you be if you were on the receiving end of all that? Yeah … that’s what I thought.)

Add partying, hobnobbing, joking with and sharing cocktails with cast members from lots of television shows and films, picking up exclusive collectibles available only at Comic-Con (which will inevitably show up on eBay, etc. at obscenely inflated rates), bumping into old friends and acquaintances (and making new ones) and my personal Con tradition of smoking a cigar in public in a luchador mask. (I know. “What a freak.”) Add it all up and that will fill anyone’s Con experience quickly. *whew*

Cryptic stuff from last year’s Godzilla Experience

But! You have to dig deep, take a breath and dive right back in because, as stated, that’s only the beginning. Unexpected stuff comes up. Four days of Comic-Con simply isn’t enough to take everything in. But you hunker down and you do your darnedest.

Some of you out there might be wondering: “Michael … is it all worth it? The crowds and the lines and the long-assed days and the rude people and the $9.00 pizza slices and, holy guacamole, all those NERDS. Is it really worth it?!?”

First of all, I don’t like pizza, let alone pay nine bucks for a slice of the stuff. So no problem there. As to the question at hand:

• When you can walk down a vacant hallway off the main drag, realize someone in a white suit is pacing you at your left shoulder, glance over and realize it’s Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Army Of Darkness, Bubba Ho-Tep) and carry on a 3 minute conversation with him while he’s on his way to a panel despite body guards being in tow? (Bonus: He was amiable as all get out.) Damned straight it’s worth it.
• When, of a sudden, the opportunity arises to meet some of your heroes such as Marvel Comics and film storyboard artist Mike Ploog, animator / stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen (RIP), Forrest J. Ackerman (“Famous Monsters Of Filmland” magazine, RIP), voice over actor extraordinaire Chuck McCann (Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, Cool McCool, various Powerpuff Girls characters, voice of cartoon’s Oliver Hardy and hundreds more), actor/writer/director/voice over artist Stan Freberg? And one on one? Face to face? Damned straight it’s worth it.
• When you’re waiting in line for an autograph from the yummy Princess Leia/Carrie Fisher of Star Wars legend (hokay, this was years ago … but I still have a thing for her) and she keeps eying you the entire 45 minutes you’re inching along with the others to where she sits and you’re getting more and more uncomfortable as you reach your goal? Then, once there, she asks what you’re doing at Comic-Con because she thinks you’re an old boyfriend of hers she hasn’t seen in ages, the reason she’s been staring at you all this time? Well … you do what I did. You respond: “No, I’m not him. But, if you like, I can certainly fake it …” and you make her blush several shades of red? Yeah … damned straight it’s worth it.
• When you’re standing at a men’s urinal minding your own business and Jason Gann (Wilfred from Wilfred) unzips next to you and strikes up a conversation? Damned straight. And when critic Leonard Maltin does same at the Hard Rock Cafe the next evening? Ditto.
• When you get called on to meet, say, Reggie Lee of Grimm (as Keith and I did last year) in a casual restaurant/bar and chat about anything you want (television, family, favorite vacation spots) for a few hours while nursing beers and munching french fries? Yeah. Damned straight it’s worth it.
• When you’re as close to Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) as the picture featured above? Damned. Straight. It’s. Worth. It. Period. *swoon*

But let’s get grounded for a moment. I want to explain why my geekdorknerdness has become a little more respectable. (Kinda. Somewhat. A little bit. Oh, shut up.)

Relatively speaking, it wasn’t that long ago when Hollyweird shoved its big, fat, greedy paws into the Comic-Con pie with all its high-falutin’ media and “WowZah!” sneak peeks and premieres and events and spectacles, forcing The Con into what it is today: A “must-attend-at-all-costs” event for many. The “suits” … they know how to jump on a bandwagon when opportunity rears its head.

And what, pray tell, set all this hoo-hah in motion? Well … because of those little things called “comic books” and the creators who create them, of course. At its core, comics have always been the backbone of Comic-Con. And they always will be. Want proof? (Really? You need proof? *sigh*) Ever hear of a little film called The Avengers? How about Iron Man? Or Thor? Captain America? Batman? Superman? Each and every one had humble beginnings in the once-lowly comic book format. Hollywood caught on and realized they could promote the bejeebers out of new properties and programs and more. And maybe — just maybe — with some experimentation comics could be turned into celluloid gold. They could directly feed the “audience” they were shooting for in one fell swoop. An audience who had the power to “word of mouth” an up-and-coming something or other and propel it into the stratosphere.

That audience? Nerds, of course. And that’s a major reason you can’t walk up to The Con as previous, say 10 years ago, and plop down $50 and get in to all four days of the event effortlessly. Today? Because of Hollywood Comic-Con tickets sell out in a few hours of going on sale. (We’ll see what happens next year when The San Diego Convention Center puts the finishing touches on a major expansion. Stay tuned.)

CliqueClack’s big wheel Keith McDuffee (right, as “The Blue Demon”) won’t be attending this year.
So, sadly, this sort of monkey business won’t be taking place. *sniff*

Regardless of the changes that have taken place over the last decade, overall, is it still worth it? Absolutely. If you can get in.

And if you can’t, the cool thing is this: Over the last few years, tons of events have been added outside the confines of The Con itself. Exhibits and interactive experiences and programming and parties and concerts and more. Many things you don’t need a Comic-Con ticket for in order to attend. It’s become that massive and popular.

This year? As in year’s past, my friend and colleague Mr. Ivey West and I will be scouring the convention floors, planting our asses in seats at numerous panels, maneuvering through the crowds, jockeying for position in press rooms, venturing to parties, giving blood (I do it every year) and participating in clean, close shaves (Really! Details for follow) as well as other things sure to come as a surprise not only to our readers but to us, too. We’ll be reporting live from The Con via Twitter (CliqueClack: @CliqueClack / Ivey: @Dorv / Michael: @RuprechtReal) and posting highlights to CliqueClack.com as often as possible. (I’m swiping a page out of Ivey’s book and following his lead from last year.) In addition, Ivey and I will log in-depth interviews, video, wrap-ups and more during the week following Comic-Con.

In the event you can’t attend The Con? Well … you can. Through us.

And no one will call you a geekdorknerd. We’ll take the brunt of that for you. We’re giving that way.