The world of “The 100” is a pretty grim place, but showrunner Jason Rothenberg found “a breath of fresh air” in actress Lola Flanery. The 12-year-old plays Madi, a daughter figure to Clarke. He gave a little of Madi’s background to reporters at Wondercon 2018.
“Madi’s from Shallow Valley. Clarke meets her when she finds her way miraculously to that last valley,” he said. “She’s a Nightblood, a natural born Nightblood, so that’s why she survived. I don’t think that’s a spoiler. I think in the end of season 4 she (Clarke) calls her my little Nightblood. And that would be the only way she could survive. We’ll definitely get to know all about her.”
Rothenberg also shared this behind-the-scenes story: “I was on set for the finale and it was a really dark bloody scene and there were body parts everywhere, and it was really, really disturbing on the sound stage. And I sensed movement and I looked and it’s Madi – it’s Lola, on a scooter, just sort of riding around the set like a kid would.”
There may have been just one disadvantage to having the young actress on the set. “You had to watch your language more than normally,” Rothenberg observed.
Season 5 of The 100 premieres Tuesday, April 24th at 9 p.m/8 p.m Central on The CW.