Will ‘The 100’ whittle its survivors down to just 100 again?

The secret of the next nuclear apocalypse sure didn’t last long on “The 100” — but that’s probably for the best, given that keeping secrets never helps anyone on this show.

Season 4 is paralleling quite nicely with Season 1 this year, as Clarke struggles with the secret of certain death and how to handle that information. Does she tell everyone, and crowdsource the problem like Raven (Lindsey Morgan) suggests? Or does she keep the fact that they’re all going to die in six months secret, so as to avoid panic? Both arguments have merit, but it’s Jaha (Isaiah Washington) who really points Clarke in the right direction… Or at least, we hope it’s the right direction.

RELATED: Morley teases ‘The 100’s’ apocalypse secret: A ‘throwback to Season 1’

Now, this huge secret is out in the open in more ways than one.

Not only did Roan (Zach McGowan) tell Echo (Tasya Teles) about the return of radiation, known to the Grounders as “primefire,” Clarke (Eliza Taylor) let the surviving 500 members of Arkadia in on the secret, with one notable omission: The fact that as they stand now, only 100 of them will be allowed to survive in the Ark.

Talk about getting back to the basics! With only 100 survivors ensured to weather the nuclear storm, the show could return to its roots with only a small group of 100 chosen for survival. The inevitable return of deadly radiation (and the lack of a viable alternative to using the Ark as a refuge) means pretty bad news for everyone else. Clarke won’t only be sentencing 400 of her own people to slow, painful deaths, she’ll also be dooming the Grounders she swore to Roan to protect.

The Ark will hold 100 Skaikru members — no one said anything about letting Grounders in.

We hope you didn’t miss the second huge hint about what’s in store for the future of “The 100.” According to Raven, they need to figure out a way to survive for five years — not another isolated century. If the storm cannot be stopped, and if they do manage to find a way to shield themselves from it, they’re still looking at five years trapped inside the patched up Ark.

RELATED: Clarke & Bellamy keep ‘The 100’s’ biggest threat yet a secret

Assuming “The 100” gets the Season 5 it rightly deserves, that means we’re either going to be spending a lot of time on the Ark in future seasons, or we’ll be gearing up for a five year time jump. Either situation presents boundless opportunities for new story.

First, we’ve got to hope Clarke, Raven, and Bellamy (Bob Morley) figure out a way to get the Ark ready — and hopefully for more than just 100 people.

“The 100” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m ET/PT on The CW.

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