When "The 100" first premiered in March of 2014, it was controversial right out of the gate. One of the supposedly main characters was killed off in the first three episodes, and from then on the death toll kept rapidly climbing. But how much is too much? When does killing off characters become less about shock value and more about lazy writing? The answer: pretty quickly.

Set 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse that made Earth supposedly inhabitable, the last humans alive are living in space. When it is revealed that the oxygen supply on the Ark, the space station they live on, is not enough to continue to support life in space, they send a group of 100 juvenile offenders down to Earth to test its survivability. Spoiler alert: it’s survivable, and they aren’t the last humans alive. Life on Earth becomes an everyday fight for survival, a fight that the 100 prove is easily lost.

The character of Lincoln was introduced in early season one, and this stoic, but gentle warrior soon stole the hearts of many viewers, along with the heart of one of the main characters, Octavia Blake.

The couple, known as Linctavia, quickly became a fan favorite pairing that grew a massive following. Their dedicated fans produce thousands of works of fanfiction and fanart, each more exceptional than the next.

Lincoln became the link between the “Grounders” and the “Sky People.” His desire for peace, and his love for Octavia, helped to bind the two factions together, and he had hope that they would one day be able to coexist. His importance as a character grew throughout the first season, and even a bit in the second season as well, but then things started to get fishy.

We started seeing less and less of this character since Ricky Whittle was promoted to a series regular in season two -- and when we did see him, he was either in the background of a scene, or only had a handful of lines. Now, "The 100" is an ensemble show, and depending on the topic of an episode some characters get more focus than others, but Lincoln was supposed to be a main character. He was supposed to be this complex, dynamic individual who was living proof that peace between two feuding civilizations can work. There was still a bit of that in season two, but once season three started, it was like he was barely on the show.

The change wasn’t subtle. Fans of Lincoln and Linctavia, and even people who were just casual fans of the show, all noticed his absence. Ricky was known for tweeting a plethora of behind-the-scenes pictures and videos with the cast, always filming on Periscope so he can chat with fans, and being very expressive about how much he loved his work on the show. But then he started spending less and less time on set. There was a period when he was in California for weeks at a time when the show was filming up in Vancouver. When season three premiered and the first few episodes barely featured any Lincoln or Linctavia, it solidified what we all knew but refused to accept. Lincoln was going to die.

As the weeks wore on, Ricky began to speak out more on Twitter, alluding to issues with the show’s executive producer, Jason Rothenberg, and his abuse of power. He promised that he would clear the air soon, and we knew that he was just waiting until Lincoln’s death finally aired and he was “free” to tell the truth. Finally, on April 5, he did.

The death of Lincoln came just two episodes after Commander Lexa was killed by a stray bullet meant for the lead character, Clarke Griffin. That incident alone sparked an outrage, given that Lexa was a lesbian and the writers had promoted the relationship between the two women for months, effectively queer-baiting the entire fandom by giving them false hope for an actual relationship. In response to this, there have been dozens of trends on Twitter calling out the writers for perpetuating the “Bury Your Gays” trope that is all too prevalent in film and television, and there has been over $100,000 raised in honor for The Trevor Project in honor of Lexa’s death.

Jason Rothenberg has been radio silent since then, aside from a half-hearted explanation or apology he tweeted that did more to validate his actions than recognize how hurtful they were. Lincoln’s death has only fueled the fire. He was killed by a bullet to the head, executed by Pike, the fascist new leader of the Sky People in Arkadia. This is problematic for so many reasons.

The first being that it is the (unnecessary) death of another person of color on the show. Lincoln surrendered himself willingly, yet was still executed on his knees in chains and left to bleed out in the rain. Pike’s choice to kill Lincoln stripped away the complexity of his character and turned him into a man who was just trying to protect his people into a true Bad Guy who would kill an innocent man just to make a point. By killing off one person of color and villainizing another, "The 100" has fed into another trope of mistreating people of color. (Let’s not forget that Lincoln spent a decent amount of time the first two seasons being tortured, too.) Lincoln’s death also put an end to Linctavia, which along with being a positive, non-sexualized interracial relationship, was also one of the most stable and loving relationships on the show.

In an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Ricky addressed a lot of the rumors surrounding Lincoln’s death and his departure from the show.

He first discusses his upcoming role as Shadow in Starz’s "American Gods," an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel. He is playing the lead role and is ecstatic about the opportunity, as are many fans of both the book and "The 100." Ricky is such an amazing talent and this role is well-deserved. It’s comforting to know that although we have lost Lincoln on the show, Ricky has moved on to bigger and better things and has finally escaped a toxic environment. A toxic environment that was all due to Jason Rothenberg’s childish narcissism and abuse.

In the interview, Ricky stated that Jason, “professionally abused me to the point where I couldn’t stand to be on the show anymore,” and that he even tried to leave the show during season two, when his scenes first began to appear less and less. He noted that he began to dislike reading scripts as they came out, and he had to struggle to find his parts, making it clear that it was not about the screen time, it was about the craft. He was not able to act and do what he loves on the show that he loves, all because Jason chose to sideline him.

“Jason Rothenberg abused his position to make my job untenable." He described emails that went unanswered, questions about the show and his character that were ignored. There was an entire story line planned out for Lincoln in season three which was entirely cut. Even his death scene was cut.

One of the hardest things to hear from the interview was that Lincoln didn’t have to die in the first place. Ricky just wanted to leave the show, he didn’t want Lincoln to die. The CW and Warner Brothers, who were incredibly supportive of Ricky during his whole ordeal, allowed him to audition for "American Gods" in a way that would allow him to return to the show in the future. Lincoln was supposed to escape Arkadia, but Jason issued an amendment to the script that killed him.

Though he didn’t mince words or sugarcoat things throughout the interview, Ricky’s most powerful statement was his briefest: “I’ll never forgive him for making me walk away form something I love.”

A lot of people wish he had further elaborated on what exactly Jason said to Ricky during his time on the show, but Ricky kept things professional and refused to turn his interview into a "witch hunt.” Besides, that is his own business and he does not need to share it with the world if it will only cause him pain.

It is a true shame that because of one man’s childish and abusive actions we, the fans, lost a beloved character. In regards to Jason, Ricky made it clear that he wants to show to have the showrunner it deserves. After the death of Lexa, a petition was started to remove Jason Rothenberg from his position as showrunner, and after Lincoln’s death the signatures kept rising, nearing four thousand.

As for the show itself? Ricky only wishes love to the rest of the cast and crew, as they are truly his family. He urges us to keep watching and keep supporting them, especially since the show was recently renewed for a fourth season. Hopefully the writers will learn from their mistakes and start to write stories that aren’t harmful and upsetting to their viewers.

"The 100" airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW. "American Gods" starts filming this month, and will be premiere on Starz in 2017.