Three new Canadian actors are joining Season 4 of The 100!
Jana Mitsoula (Elektra) will be playing a character named Willa, in the Season 4 premiere. Joseph John Coleman (Supernatural) and Alex Pangburn (Midnight Sun) will be playing Taggart and Hayes, respectively, and are billed for episode 4×04.
Mitsoula, Coleman, and Pangburn join Chai Romruen (Mako Mermaids), who was announced to have landed a recurring role in season 4 in early August. Romruen will be playing a grounder named Ilan, a grounder haunted by the horrors he committed while under ALIE’s control.
In July, The 100 announced that two new grounders, named Hugo and Kenza, would be joining the cast. It seems that the names were just placeholders, as Hugo’s description sounds a lot like Ilan’s description. However, Kenza’s description says she’s younger than “Hugo,” whereas Jana Mitsoula is older than Romruen. So “Kenza” likely wasn’t the placeholder for “Willa,” and we’ll have to wait for the casting announcement for her.
While we don’t know anything yet about the characters Mitsoula, Coleman, and Pangburn will be playing, we can speculate based on their names! Are they grounders or sky people?
I would say that Willa could go either way, and Hayes sounds like a sky person’s name.
Taggart sounds more like a grounder name to me. As you may have noticed, grounder names often come from road signs and other signs around them. For example, Emori’s name, and her brother, Otan’s, come from a Memorial Botanical Garden. I searched the name “Taggart,” and found a railway point named Taggart, Ontario! My guess is that Taggart is a grounder from the Ice Nation, whose territory extends into Canada.
A little more speculation: the meanings of names often hold significance in The 100. For example, “Clarke” means both “cleric”(healer) and “clerk” (keeper of numbers), and Clarke Griffin is both a healer, and a keeper of numbers—specifically the number of deaths she is responsible for. “Charles” (as in Charles Pike) may be derived from a Germanic element meaning “army, warrior,” and “Alie” translates into “monarch.”
So, what does “Willa” mean? It is taken from “William,” which means “determined protector” (think William Wallace). Jana Mitsoula’s character will then likely be a major butt-kicker.
“Taggart” means “son of the priest.” Are you thinking what I’m thinking?! Is Joseph John Coleman’s character Titus’ secret Ice Nation son?? I mean, that had to be deliberate.
If we follow the Old English root of “Hayes,” it means “hedged area.” Okay, that’s not as cool as Titus’ secret son. But if we follow the Gaelic root instead, we find that it means “descendant of fire.” So, in other words, Alex Pangburn’s character could be pretty quiet and shy, a plant lover perhaps, or he could be kicking booty right along with Willa. Or maybe both? Only time will tell, I suppose. Another thing to note: he shares a name with Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the USA. Rutherford B. Hayes oversaw the reunification of the United States after the Civil War. Sound familiar? The people living on the ground, whether grounders or sky people, could sure use some unity.
And lastly, we come to Chai Romruen’s character, Ilan. “Ilan” comes from the Hebrew word for “tree.” This immediately brings to mind the Eden tree, brought down to the ground from the Ark. Trees represent strength, protection, and life. And of course, there’s Tree Adams, the composer of the incredible score for The 100! (Psst, check out our interview with him here!) Ilan is probably from the Glowing Forest clan. His name means “tree,” and the powers that be have confirmed that we’ll see the Glowing Forest clan in season 4. The fact that many of the most significant characters to Clarke have 4-letter names,or nicknames (Abby, Lexa, Bell, ALIE, Finn, etc) makes me think that Ilan will play a big part in Clarke’s story in season 4.
So, dear readers, what do you think? Who are these new folks and what are they doing in our show? Do you agree with my thoughts on the new characters, or do you have a different theory? Please share them below—I love to hear everyone’s theories and speculations!