Thelonious Jaha

Thelonious Jaha is the Chancellor of the Council that governs the Ark in the show The 100. He is portrayed by Isaiah Washington.

Throughout the Series
Season One Chancellor is first seen on a TV Screen on the Spaceship. He is talking to the Delinquents and telling them about their safety and their first mission. After the Delinquents arrive on Earth the Chancellor gets shot. Abby saves his life. While the Chancellor is out Kane is plotting to take Jaha's spot. It is known that Abby was about to get executed but was stopped by Jaha knowing that he is still alive. When Abby leaves angrily with Callie Cartwig Jaha asks Kane about the Delinquents on Earth.
 * -|Ark Life =
 * Pilot

Jaha is introduced when he walks into the Earth Monitoring Station, still wearing his nightclothes/robes and clutching his stomach, presumably to hold his bandage in place. He looks at the screens and sees that Wells Jaha's transmissions have stopped. He then realizes that they sent the delinquents down to Earth to die. Abby tries to convince him that it was the right thing, but Kane interrupts Abby and tells Jaha that the wristbands are telling the Ark that Earth is not survivable. Abby protests and tells Jaha that there is still hope.
 * Earth Skills

Later, Abby is in Jaha's room, tending to his injury. He asks her why she came instead of an apprentice and she asks him about his opinion about whether or not they should cull 100 citizens. He says that it seems hopeless and the children die first. He then states that if he doesn't act, everyone will die. When Abby tells him that they have acted by sending 100 delinquents to earth, he corrects her and says that 76 kids are on earth and that 24 kids are dead, including Wells. He tells Abby that she has no proof of earth's survivability, and that when the end of the human race is at stake, hope is not enough. Abby protests, then leaves quickly, as Kane enters Jaha's Chambers. Jaha asks who was his shooter. After hearing it was Bellamy, Jaha changes topics fast, and accuses Kane of taking a part in his assassination attempt. Kaha denies the accusations, and calls Jaha weak. He leaves and Jaha is left alone.

Next, we see Jaha in the council meeting. After hearing that Abby thinks that the kids are taking off their wristbands, Jaha protests, saying his son would never do that. When the vote in the council is a tie, Jaha is required to break the tie. He decides to abstain, meaning that 100 more people will have to be killed when he votes again in 10 days. He tells Abby that he needs proof by then.

Jaha is first seen at Abby's Hearing. He's given up on the fate of the 100, and is the one who strips Abby of her seat in the council. When Clarke and Raven connect with them on the radio, he asks Clarke about the fate of his son. There, he discovers that his son is dead. Later we see him in his room, mourning the death of his son. He begins to talk to the former chancellor, Diana Sydney. She mentions that he's started Project Exodus, a program to bring The Ark back to Earth. Later, Kane feeling the guilt of "killing" the section 17 volunteers when he is facing an angry mob, which Jaha saves him from. Jaha reassures him that the choice was not only his. Jaha then holds a meeting with the station representatives. He apologizes for keeping secrets and lets them know that Earth is survivable. When accused of keeping further secrets, he tells them that he is suffering too. Pressed further, he shouts about the loss of his son. The group quiets down, and he eventually appoints Diana Sydney as a new council member. At the end of the episode he swears Sydney in and speaks about Project Exodus to the Council. At this time, he explains that there are a lack of dropships on the Ark for all the citizens. The episode ends on this cliffhanger. Jaha is introduced talking to Clarke on the video camera, set up between Earth and The Ark. He inquires about the grounder, then asks if they'll be able to survive winter. Jaha mentions that citizens from The Ark will be coming soon. He argues the importance of looking for supplies, then goes to talk with Clarke alone. He tries to convince Clarke to talk to her mother, but she refuses. Jaha is seen later, as a hallucination of Bellamy, blaming Bellamy for the deaths he's caused. Seeing this hallucinogen and fighting it gives Bellamy the strength to face the real Jaha, which he does later, via webcam. Jaha forgives Bellamy for shooting him, then discovers that Commander Shumway had been behind his assassination attempt. On Earth, Jaha's Unity Day speech is being broadcasted. Jaha says that in under 60 hours, the first ship will be launched, carrying reinforcements for the 100. He tells the 100 to stay strong, and that help is on the way. Diana notes that he cut his speech short. After the bomb explodes, Jaha looks at one of the hurt children with a stunned expression, before expressing his sympathies towards Kane and the loss of his mother. Kane realizes the bomb was meant to kill him, and notes that Diana Sydney is missing. Jaha announces that he is putting the Ark on lockdown and the dropship on hold. After the power begins to go out, Jaha is seen, talking to one of the electricians. Jaha says that he is lifting the lockdown in order to evacuate citizens before a complete power failure. Realizing that Kane is missing, he goes to find him and sees him freezing to death. Jaha realizes that Diana is taking the Exodus Ship for herself. When we return to the Ark Jaha is seen locked out of the ship and decides to try to keep the ship from opening. It doesn't work due to one of the workers betraying the Ark in order to go to the ground and Jaha is left on the other side, inside of the Ark that has now lost power. Jaha was not featured in this episode, although it was mentioned that contact had been lost with the Ark. In this episode, Chancellor Jaha is first seen after he lowered the temperature to protect the ark. It is seen that he is locked in a room that cannot be opened, along with several other people. Jaha commands that Kane leaves him to go protect any other citizens that are still alive. Kane refuses and opens the door to the room with the help of several other oxygen starved citizens. Jaha criticizes Kane for not following his orders, but Kane states that it was necessary. He wonders aloud what he should do now, concerning the Ark. Jaha then remains as a background character the rest of the episode.
 * Contents Under Pressure
 * Day Trip
 * Unity Day
 * I Am Become Death
 * The Calm

Physical Appearance
He had black fuzzy hair and brown eyes with a dark skin tone, similar to his late son, Wells Jaha.

Personality
Jaha was portrayed as a strict, trustworthy, organized, and understanding person. He was tough to those that had a problem with him. However, he cared deeply for citizens of the Ark and was willing to put himself in danger for their safety. He tried to avoid giving himself special treatment, he even allowed his son to be part of the 100, and almost became part of the Section 17 volunteers.

Wells Jaha
Wells is Chancellor Jaha's only son. When it appears that Wells has died, due to Bellamy and his friends forcing him to take of his wristband, the Chancellor appears to be very distressed. In Contents Under Pressure, he learns his son has actually been killed and he hides his anguish, later however, he snaps at one of the family members of the Section 17 volunteers when they tell him that he doesn't understand what they're going through.

Abby Griffin
Chancellor Jaha cares about Abby. They generally tend to agree, but there are times where they disagree. For example, Abby is more optimistic about the 100's chances than he is. She saved his life after he was shot by Bellamy, risking her own in the process. In return, he stopped Kane from executing her. They both care deeply for their children who are on the ground.

Marcus Kane
Councilman Marcus Kane is Chancellor Jaha's second-in-command. Despite this, the two often disagree. Jaha has expressed that he thinks that Kane may have been involved somehow in the plot to kill him. But, Kane has appeared to care about Jaha, advising him not to take his own life with the 320 whose lives will be taken.

Quotes
"I will deal with you later." - Pilot

Notes and Trivia

 * He was shot in "Pilot" and was given extra medicine by Dr. Abigail Griffin so he wouldn't die.
 * It was revealed that Bellamy Blake had shot him on orders from Commander Shumway who, in turn, was being commanded by Councilwoman Diana Sydney.
 * In an interview, executive producer Jason Rothenberg responded to whether or not Jaha would come to Earth: "It's definitely a season-two issue and one we're exploring now. It will be incredibly difficult, if it happens at all. He's a man who's made his peace and brought his people to the ground. He's going to need some serious motivation if he's going to make it. It's going to be hard, that's all I'll say about it.", meaning that Jaha's fate may not be as final as it appears.
 * In an interview, executive producer Jason Rothenberg responded to whether or not Jaha would come to Earth: "It's definitely a season-two issue and one we're exploring now. It will be incredibly difficult, if it happens at all. He's a man who's made his peace and brought his people to the ground. He's going to need some serious motivation if he's going to make it. It's going to be hard, that's all I'll say about it.", meaning that Jaha's fate may not be as final as it appears.