Isaiah Washington Interview – ‘The 100’ Season 3

Isaiah Washington Interview - The 100 Season 3
Isaiah Washington at Comic Con 2015 (Photo by Richard Chavez)

Isaiah Washington says when we catch up with his The 100 character Chancellor Thelonious Jaha in season three of The CW series, fans of the sci-fi action drama can expect to see he’s even more obsessed with saving his people than in previous seasons. During the 2015 San Diego Comic Con, Washington said that Jaha is totally committed to that goal.

“He’s not letting that go for anything in the world, not any artificial intelligence, not anyone is going to distract him from coming back to free his people,” explained Washington. “That’s in his mind; that’s what he believes. I’m not so sure it’s about being Chancellor again. It’s about that he witnessed the horrible conditions. If you remember, the fight broke out when Kane and he were having this conversation and they had Adina Porter’s character come in and it all fell apart. It was very disturbing and he broke off. He says, ‘I can do this. I can find something better.’ He’s still very much on that trajectory except that the lady in red, she’s in possession of a nuclear warhead. Now, I guess it’s about who has the most gold wins. But also it’s about who has the bigger gun wins. Right now Jaha’s in possession of the bigger gun.”


Should fans of The 100 expect to see warring factions arise again? “When you add us all up chemically, human beings we’re not worth much on the market. Gold, copper, it’s really worth more than if you put up what we’re made of in carbons. We’re not worth it. And when I say that I mean maybe we’re so human we’re destined to maybe never get it right. But, with forgiveness and remorse and those that have consciousness, there’s going to be always hope,” said Washington.

“In our culture today, what I love about our show is that you have so many people killing each other in the name of something. A greater good, some people say God. What? People are fighting for peace. These are oxymorons that we are just okay with. It looks like in the conversations with Jason [Rothenberg] that Jaha really gets to put a face on it. Even when someone is really working hard to do that right thing it doesn’t look right. What’s different? How did we get here? How do we get out of this, or do we ever? Because if you’re a fan of the show you clearly see where the character started. Even when he sacrificed after the loss of his son what he wanted to do, but now he’s in possession of a bigger gun.”

Washington not only stars in The 100 but is a huge fan of the series and the complex world Rothenberg has created. “I’ve always believed that it’s smart,” said Washington. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because of the legacy of The CW and all of that jazz, but I trusted Jason. I embarrass him all the time.”

“This show challenges me as an artist, as a global citizen. I get a chance to be paid to create something for you to think about, hopefully. That’s exciting to me and I’m grateful for it. And in my opinion I think it’s smart and it’s getting smarter. I really feel that it’s going to get smarter. What I like about Jason is that he takes those risks that I like to take in the films I’ve been producing myself. They don’t make Jurassic Park numbers, but they’re smart,” said Washington. “We’re operating off that through-line where the choices we’re going to make this season are 50/50. Either it’s going to really, really work well or it’s not. That’s how high the stakes are in terms of the storytelling that he’s choosing to tell.”

More on The 100 Season 3: Eliza Taylor Interview / Marie Avgeropoulos Interview / Ricky Whittle Interview

Watch the full interview with Isaiah Washington on The 100 season three: