What Happens to Murphy in The 100
The Character No One Can Ignore
John Murphy enters The 100 as a classic villain. He’s cruel. He’s manipulative. He’s the guy who kills three people in the pilot episode and then gets hung from a tree by his own people. Most characters would have stayed dead there. Murphy is not most characters. His survival instincts are almost supernatural. From that moment forward, the writers refuse to let him go quietly. You hate him at first. Then you start to understand him. Then, against your better judgment, you almost root for him. That’s the genius of his arc. Guys, explore more in Guides And Explainers and what happens to murphy in the 100.
The Hangman and the First Death
Murphy’s first death happens in Season 1. The Delinquents capture him after he poisons a well and kills three innocent people. They hang him from a tree outside Camp Jaha. Clarke watches. Raven struggles with the decision. Murphy hangs there, left to die as punishment for his crimes. It should have been the end. His body was meant to decompose, a warning to others. But that’s not what happened at all. His body vanishes. He returns later with an edge and a chip on his shoulder that no other character possesses.
Resurrection and Revenge in Season 2
Murphy resurfaces in Season 2. He has joined forces with a group called the Mountain Men. He becomes their reluctant pawn inside Mount Weather. The character plays a dangerous double game here. He feeds information to Clarke’s group while also trying to survive the twisted medical experiments happening inside the facility. His return is not a redemption arc. It’s a power play. Murphy wants influence. He wants control. He survives the Season 2 finale because of his connections and his willingness to betray anyone who crosses him. The Mountain Men’s containment breach gives him just enough of an opening to escape and crawl back into the story.
The A.L.I.E. Connection and the City of Light
Season 3 brings a major shift. A.L.I.E., the rogue AI, seizes control of much of the population. Murphy gets caught in the City of Light’s grip. This is where the character starts to twist in unexpected ways. Inside the simulation, he experiences a version of reality tailored to his deepest desires. He gets a world where he feels accepted. He gets a world free from the constant judgment he carries everywhere he goes. The experience leaves scars, but it also hardens his resolve. When Clarke destroys A.L.I.E., Murphy walks out of the light changed. He’s more dangerous now. He’s also more pragmatic. He understands power dynamics better than anyone on the ground.
The Nightblood Experiments and Wonkru’s Rise
Season 4 and 5 push Murphy into a strange leadership role. He joins Wonkru, the united clan of warriors living on the ring. He fights in the Conclave. He survives the nuclear apocalypse aftermath. His willingness to adapt to desperate situations earns him a strange kind of respect. He aligns himself with Octavia, even when her leadership turns brutal and authoritarian. Murphy becomes a schemer again, but this time he’s working within a society that rewards those who can bend the rules without breaking them entirely.
The Final Season: A Return to His Roots
In Season 7, the endgame arrives. Murphy’s journey circles back to his core identity. The show wraps up his relationship with Emori and places him in positions of extreme moral pressure. He has to make choices that echo back to his earliest sins. The character faces consequences. He doesn’t get a clean ending, and that feels exactly right. Murphy in the final season is a haunted figure who refuses to be passive. He acts. He sacrifices. He fights. The character exits the story not as a hero, and not as a pure villain, but as something far more interesting than either label suggests.
Why Murphy’s Arc Works So Well
Most TV villains stay in their lanes. Murphy refuses to stay in his lane. The writers treat him like a force of chaos that keeps evolving. He gets resurrected, manipulated, corrupted, and empowered over and over again. Each resurrection adds layers instead of erasing them. The character’s arc works because it never offers easy forgiveness. He doesn’t suddenly become good just because the plot demands a hero moment. He stays complicated. He stays dangerous. And that’s exactly what makes him one of the most memorable characters in the sci-fi genre.