EXCLUSIVE | 'The 100' actor Marie Avgeropoulos on 'growing up' with Octavia and what lies ahead for the warrior
Spoilers for 'The 100' Season 7
If anything, the seventh and final season of 'The 100' on The CW has been Octavia Blake's season. Octavia, played by Canadian-Greek actress Marie Avgeropoulos was one of the original 100 delinquents from the first season, of whom only a handful remain alive in the current season, including Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor), Nathan Miller (Jarod Joseph), and John Murphy (Richard Murphy). While Bellamy Blake (Bob Morley) and Raven Reyes (Lindsey Morgan) were some of the earliest members of Skaikru on Earth, they were not delinquents.
Over the seven seasons, viewers have watched Octavia don many caps as she went from being Bellamy's overprotected younger sister to the terrifying Bloodreina. This season has been a long redemption arc for Octavia, who has long been one of the viewers' favorite characters. We finally got to see where Octavia went when she disappeared into the anomaly and what happened to her as she became a surrogate parent to Charmaine Diyoza's (Ivana Milicevic) daughter, Hope (Shelby Flannery). In fact, we got to see just how much Octavia had grown when she reacted much differently to how she may have in earlier seasons on seeing Bellamy die (or thinking that she saw it).
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) spoke to Avgeropoulos about her run on the post-apocalyptic science fiction show and her experience over the years. She had a few interesting things to tell us, including on what's in store for Octavia by the end of the final season. Avgeropoulos tells us that "it's been a pleasure" to play Octavia for the past seven years and that she really enjoyed it. She says, "I feel really blessed to have played such a challenging character over the years."
Indeed, it may be daunting to play such a fierce character, but Avgeropoulos took every day on set "one day at a time." She tells us, "Playing so many different versions of Octavia has been so sweet because it has always kept me on my heels. I feel like as I've grown up over the last seven years into a woman in [her] thirties, Octavia grew up over the years as well. We saw her metamorphosized from the girl under the floor to Skairipa to Bloodreina." Avgeropoulos continues that now Octavia is a stepmom and in isolation, something she believes fans will relate to given the current pandemic.
Avgeropoulos is also excited for viewers to watch the final season unfold and have them "shocked every time with something to look forward to." She tells us that Octavia -- as we have seen -- is more rational and does not "fly off the handle so much." She continues, "Everybody is on different planets this year and they have the challenge of trying to figure out how to get to the different planets with this new technology. All the time jumps that are happening [make] this season such a unique one because time is its own character as [the show] jumps back and forth, making it very exciting to watch."
Avgeropoulos was also excited for the prequel backdoor pilot which aired last week because "it's an opportunity for [fans] to see the journey that happened before Octavia, Bellamy, Clarke, Raven and all the other wonderful ensemble cast members before they even existed." Avgeropoulos believes that the prequel episode made "everything come full circle."
In last weel's episode, we saw that Octavia, along with Echo (Tasya Teles) and Diyoza were now Disciple soldiers themselves, much to the viewers' surprise. We all had the same question -- was it a ruse? Without giving anything away, Avgeropoulos tells us that "the most interesting thing about these characters is the idea of redemption," while bringing up one of our favorite quotes from the show, "we've got to be the good guys." She tells us that redemption and forgiveness are important and that fans will see the characters practice that. We think that perhaps this may be Octavia's way of bringing peace without resorting to violence as she had in previous seasons.
This season has also given us many new wonderful interactions between characters who have not spent much time together before. Octavia's and Bellamy's girlfriend, Echo's interaction is one such special one that confounded fans after it seemed like Octavia had forgiven Echo for almost killing her in a previous season. Avgeropoulos tells us that "it was a wonderful experience to work with Tasya Teles for so many reasons." She continued, "We make each other laugh in real life constantly, but it was a very interesting opportunity for fans to see Octavia become a more mature woman who is more rational."
She tells us that Octavia has "been there and done that and got the postcard playing Bloodreina," so she was able to understand Echo's grief and behavior this season and therefore comfort Echo in the aftermath of them learning that Bellamy is (presumably) dead. She says, "Octavia has turned into such a maternal figure thanks to Hope and she also got to be friends with the women who kicked her off a cliff many seasons ago. We all got to learn the lesson that forgiveness is important and possible."
So, who of the ensemble characters would have had the most impact on Octavia? Avgeropoulos tells us that since Octavia started as "the girl under the floor," she learned a lot from "absolutely everybody she has encountered and ultimately, learned more about herself." She watched other people making mistakes and learned from them as well as her own to become who she is presently. Avgeropoulos continues, "Now we all know [that] she's capable of being a mother, or a step-mom and it's another opportunity to see a different side of Octavia." The actor tells us that this is what loves most about the character, that Octavia "always changes."
Though the show makes it seem like Bellamy is dead -- though we doubt it --, we wondered how a reunion between the brother and sister would have gone given all that Octavia has been through on Skyring and Bardo. Curiously, Avgeropoulos tells us that Octavia is "still trying to find her brother," -- perhaps a redemption of their relationship might still be in the cards, however, fans will have to keep watching the show to see how that goes.
Another interaction that Octavia has had this season excited fans for a potential romance in her future. We met a Disciple scientist, Levitt (Jason Diaz) a few episodes ago, and just like us, he is a huge fan of Octavia as well. He even tried helping them escape and seems to be on Octavia's side. Avgeropoulos tells us that Diaz is a "very likable person" on and off set and hopes that he is safe during isolation. She also tells us that it is interesting that he is the one who uses the M-Cap device on Octavia and then fell in love with her because he fell in love with her memories. She continues that Levitt discovered that Octavia's a "warrior with a big heart" who has been through a lot," which he finds fascinating since "he's been in isolation himself for so long." She says, "We see these two people come together that are just desiring human connection and it's a beautiful friendship."
Avgeropoulous has quite a few scenes that she holds dear and will continue to do so long after 'The 100' has ended. She recalls the 10th episode of Season 4, 'Die All, Die Merrily' where Octavia, as Skairipa, fought in the Conclave and "proved to everyone that she knows how to be a leader. She is ultimately a warrior and was the captain of the team that saved the people." She continues, "That episode was directed by Dean White who was one of my mentors and it was just super fun to whip that sword around which is one of my favorite things to do."
Another episode Avgeropoulos would pick is the Season 5 episode, 'Red Queen' directed by PJ Pesce, when we saw Octavia become Bloodreina. She says, "That was definitely the hardest thing I think I've ever done in my life. It had over 50-something moves [that] I had to learn in four hours." She thanked the stunt team for the opportunity, telling us that it was the teamwork that made it worth it. She also enjoyed the Season 6 episode, 'What You Take With You' directed by Marshall Virtue, where Octavia fought Bloodreina in a hallucination because "she's trying to settle her demons." Avgeropoulos says, "That was interesting to learn both sides of the fight and then fight myself. It taught me a new skill set while I'm playing make-believe on a TV show."
After everything that Octavia has been through, will she have a happy ending? Avgeropoulos had this to say to fans in a special message for them, "Everybody deserves a happy ending to whatever the story of their life is, so be brave and don't forget to laugh a little." While this does not give us much of a clue as to how Octavia's story ends, we cannot wait to watch the second half of the season. Like other viewers, we are huge fans of Octavia and we hope that she gets an end that is deserving of her.
'The 100' airs on The CW on Wednesday nights at 8/7c.