When whatever terrible things she had to in order to make sure the human race survived.
Clarke began her journey in the series as the "princess" of The 100, so called because of her high standing as the daughter of the space station's premiere doctor. Forced to grow up quickly, Clarke became the leader of her people and the first to try to defend them or broker peace for them. She's had a lot of compelling speeches and quotable lines over the years.
Updated by Amanda Bruce On November 5th, 2020: The name Clarke Griffin is synonymous with The 100. She's the voice that leads the audience's point of view when the series begins, and she's the one whose journey they watch come to an end in the finale. Clarke's journey has so many memorable lines that it's impossible to stop at just 10.
"I Bear It So They Don't Have To."
After Clarke, Bellamy, and Monty made the decision to irradiate Mount Weather, Clarke bore most of the responsibility. The Grounders dubbd her Wanheda, believing the action to be hers alone. She allowed everyone to hate her, fear her, or ire her as they saw fit.
When Clarke made the decision to leave camp because she's floundering under the guilt of it all, Bellamy tried to make her understand that she didn't act alone. Clarke told him, "I bear it so they don't have to," in response. It's a sentiment that stayed with her until the end of the series, one she repeated when she took humanity's final test, willing to be the bad go so no one else was punished.
"We Can Let the Bad Things That Happened To Us Define Who We Are. Or We Can Define Who We Are."
By the sixth season of the series, Clarke and her people had twice faced the destruction of their planet - and their humanity even more than that. They'd done horrible things in the name of survival. She didn't want that to stand in their way.
Clarke, to honor Monty and Harper, truly wanted humanity to "be better," even if her own emotions frequently got in the way. She didn't want everyone to think of themselves as horrible people who couldn't build a new society, and when they met the inhabitants of Sanctum in the sixth season, she truly made an effort to help her people be better than they were before.
"Let's Find out What the Three Most Dangerous Women On This Or Any Planet Are Up To."
If there's one thing the audience knows about Clarke (other than her tendency to make controversial choices), it's that she had immense respect for the women around her. When she found out that the odd team of Echo, Octavia, and Diyoza were on Bardo, she was not just relieved to find out what happened to them, but curious as to what they're planning.
Diyoza was considered a terrorist by Earth history standards because of the things she did for the causes she believed. Echo, a warrior and a spy, had always been able to do the dirty work of her people. Octavia, always caught between two worlds, was a vicious fighter, but a leader who wanted to do the right thing. Clarke likely saw herself in each of them, but also knew all three of them were more skilled than her, so this line was a reminder to the audience that she wasn't going to take over their operation at Bardo, but figure out what's going on.
"Pencils Down."
Clarke wasn't always someone who served up a pithy one-liner after performing a horrible act. That's more Murphy's, or even Octavia's, style. When Clarke did something she knew others would see as reprehensible, she took it seriously. By the end of the series, however, she's beyond the point of just doing what she feels like she has to. When Bill Cadogan destroyed Madi in the name of getting the final code for humanity's test, Clarke wanted justice for her daughter, though the audience knew it was really revenge.
Clarke burst into the final test, shooting Cadogan point-blank before he could answer the question posed to him. Her line of, "pencils down," was delivered cheekily, and though the audience knew this was probably going to go badly for her at that point, it's still gratifying.
"Don't Worry, Murphy. Hell Is Big Enough For Both Of Us."
One of the most interesting parts of Clarke's character was that she had no illusions about herself. Clarke was well aware that she did horrible things. She accepted that. Clarke also accepted that the consequences of her actions would eventually catch up with her.
The one person who really understood that about Clarke was John Murphy. Murphy and Clarke were both survivors. The difference, in the beginning, was that Murphy was more worried about saving himself and a select few friends while Clarke was concerned with saving everyone. Over time, Murphy and Clarke actually became closer and were most interested in saving the exact same people.
"I Don't Want To Face Any Of It. All I Think About Every Day Is How We're Going To Keep Everyone Alive..."
Clarke spent season one trying to get her fellow 100 to listen to her. They were more interested in listening to rebels like John Murphy and Bellamy Blake at the time, taking the chance to explore their freedom. Clarke was seen as someone from a higher social standing who just wanted to be in charge - even though that wasn't what she wanted at all.
As she started to realize the horrible choices they would have to make to stay alive, she turned to Bellamy again and again for help, and that's when she told him this line. Even as early as season one, Clarke was already primed to be the person making sure her people got to live on.
"You May Be The Chancellor, But I'm In Charge."
When the adults of the Ark finally made their way to Earth, they thought the teens they sent ahead of them would simply fall back in line and everything would be just like it was before. When Abby Griffin became acting Chancellor of her people, she found that wasn't the case.
Instead of looking to the adults for guidance, Abby discovered that the teens were already looking to Clarke. Clarke (as well as Bellamy) were most often the ones burdened with impossible decisions, and Clarke, despite her initial misgivings, was ready to carry the weight of those decisions, no matter what Abby wanted to do.
"You're Watching Us, But You Haven't Seen A Thing."
In the same season two episode that Clarke shows her mother who's really in charge, she also embraces that role with their enemies. "Coup de Grace" sees Clarke ready to go up against the Mountain Men thanks, in part, to a deal with the Grounder leader Lexa.
Clarke's deal with Lexa and commitment to her people remind her that the leaders of Mount Weather doubt how effective outsiders can really be. Clarke knows that her people can get the upper hand in this confrontation, and she tells Emerson just that.
"I'd Pick You First."
When Raven and Clarke begin their first interactions in the series, it's through the lens of a love triangle that the viewers weren't all that interested in. Clarke had developed feelings for Finn, who happened to be Raven's boyfriend before he took the fall for her doing an illegal space walk and ended up in prison.
The two don't get along when Raven finds out about Finn and Clarke's relationship, but Clarke didn't know anything about Raven before she showed up on Earth. Slowly, Clarke and Raven develop respect for one another's skills, and a genuine friendship forms. Clarke telling Raven that she'd pick her first is the moment Clarke decides that sticking together - surviving - is more important than any romance.
"You Say Having Feelings Makes Me Weak, But You're Weak For Hiding Them."
As Clarke and Lexa prepared to go to war against the inhabitants of Mount Weather, the two had several heated conversations abut what war would mean for their people. While Lexa maintained a strong and stoic appearance, Clarke called her out on it.
Lexa believed emotions didn't have a place in battle, but Clarke believed that their decisions were driven by their emotions. She didn't believe that Lexa was actually able to ignore her feelings for the people she'd lost, and she also believed those feelings were what motivated her.
