The 100 Boss Apologizes for How Lexa Died

"The thinking behind having the ultimate tragedy follow the ultimate joy was to heighten the drama and underscore the universal fragility of life. But the end result became something else entirely — the perpetuation of the disturbing "Bury Your Gays" trope. Our aggressive promotion of the episode, and of this relationship, only fueled a feeling of betrayal." 

"While I now understand why this criticism came our way, it leaves me heartbroken. I promise you burying, baiting or hurting anyone was never our intention. It's not who I am." 

Rothenberg explains, as he has before, that on The 100, "no on is safe, and anyone, even a beloved character, can die at any time." 

In this particular case, the death was not just a case of killing off a beloved character for the thrilling drama of it all, since Debnam-Carey is a series regular on AMC's Fear the Walking Dead, and would not be available to The 100 for very much longer. 

"There are several reasons why this particular episode played out the way it did: practical (an actress was leaving the show), creative (it's a story about reincarnation) and thematic (it's a show about survival). Despite my reasons, I still write and produce television for the real world where negative and hurtful tropes exist. And I am very sorry for not recognizing this as fully as I should have. Knowing everything I know now, Lexa's death would have played out differently."