The 100 - ★ Bellamy & Clarke ★ #151 ~ “Soul magnets. We all can have several undeniable draws. I think Clarke can too.” - Chelsey Reist - Page 4

destroyer of worlds · 05-04-2017, 05:10 PM

I saw that on Tumblr too recently, Kenni.

I haven't watched the extended promo yet but just based on those GIFs, oh boy. We are in for a world of pain. Just hope that it's some good angst though.

And her hands really were shaking when she pointed her gun at him. This is Bellamy we are talking about ... I seriously don't think she will ever be able to shoot him (no matter what it came to).

I'm just focusing on the sentiment of Clarke's decision to send Jaha to get Bellamy since I think it would be hypocritical of me to see this kidnapping thing in any way but negative (though well intentioned) considering how much I criticized a certain someone's decision to kidnap Clarke last season (though that was more for her self preservation so slightly different scenario) and also Bellamy handcuffing Clarke then too.

She was dead serious on ensuring that Bellamy is in that **** bunker.

April7739 · 05-04-2017, 06:07 PM

Posted my novel-length 4x10 thoughts in the episode thread, if anyone cares.

Quote:

I'm just focusing on the sentiment of Clarke's decision to send Jaha to get Bellamy since I think it would be hypocritical of me to see this kidnapping thing in any way but negative (though well intentioned) considering how much I criticized a certain someone's decision to kidnap Clarke last season (though that was more for her self preservation so slightly different scenario) and also Bellamy handcuffing Clarke then too.

I was critical of that, too, though I understood the intention, and I have no problem being critical of this but understanding the intention, too.

I haven't seen the extended promo, nor do I intend to watch it before the episode. Do we put any discussions or gifs of that under spoiler tags? Or do I just need to dodge it? I probably just need to dodge it, I'm assuming.

loppabelle · 05-04-2017, 06:52 PM

I'm wondering how big of an argument this is going to be for them? I'm a glutton for punishment so the more angst the better. I think it's when pairings are at their best. Romance and lovey dovey stuff is cute and all but I like seeing them interact when things aren't all rosy and sunshine. That probably makes me weird.

I don't know how this will turn out but I'm hoping the gun situation will be early on in the episode. That way we can see Bellamy reason with Clarke and get to see her coming around to opening up the bunker. I know Clarke is semi freaking but ultimately she couldn't hurt him physically or emotionally, if anyone knows what Octavia means to him, it's her. Clarke had been pushing him to be patient with Octavia's forgiveness and telling him not to give up. Somewhere deep down she knows he could never stay down there without knowing if his sister was safe. I'm being positive. I think it'll be ok.

But bring on the angst!

April7739 · 05-04-2017, 07:13 PM

You're not alone, Sharon. I love angst, too. I think all of us do, hence the reason why the 3x05 argument is probably one of the most discussed scenes here.

Reminds me of a thread title we used at one point: True intimacy happens when nothing is perfect.

With all that being said, I do think this episode has the potential to be, like, on another level of angst for us.

Steph26 · 05-04-2017, 09:00 PM

Well....at least Clarke wanted to save Bellamy

It's hard for me to believe Abby wouldn't want to save Kane.

Stars Fade · 05-04-2017, 09:49 PM

I have hopes that Clarke won't be shooting Bellamy. There's three episodes left and I'm leaving this under tags. I believed one of the promos for the rest of season made me believe that. I see bellamy in the background behind Clarke. Can' I say that? I believed in one of the promos. The way that gun was shaking, Clarke is going to have that breaking point and he'd be there to centered her. i'm too lazy to read back the thread. I was going to postlast night but I was so caught up with tumblr.

**Alexa** · 05-04-2017, 11:41 PM

woo great title.

still haven't seen the episode yet.

Ellfoy · 05-05-2017, 03:34 AM

I like meta (sorry analysis)

WARNING : contains promo spoilers !

Quote:

It’s honestly hard for me to even know where to begin with this cause it seems like the writers are touching so many plots at the same time with 4x11 that I’m a bit overwhelmed.

But we can start with this: what Clarke did (betraying the grounders) is not shocking, and it’s not character retrogression OR stagnation.

And it’s not the end of Bellarke either,if the plot from the entire show is anything to go by.

(this is not the “me romanticizing the gun scene, meta.” So stick with me as I try to go through Clarke’s and Bellarke’s plots and explain what I’m thinking )

Clarke has been that character that ever since season 1 stopped at nothing to make sure her people survived – whatever wide or narrow her spectrum of “her people” were at the time. She tortured Lincoln to save Finn, she let a bomb drop in TonDc, she killed innocents in Mt Weather, she tried to freaking force-chip Luna on season 3….

Bellamy: “What are you doing”

Clarke: “What I have to, like always”

(4x11 let’s see what always means…)

Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things.

(1x07 – lol you never thought I’d use this quote against you)

Abby: You knew, and you let this happen?

Clarke: We had no choice.

Abby: So many people. Our people.

(2x12)

Luna: You believe that to defeat an enemy who will stop at nothing, you must stop at nothing. How is that different than blood must have blood?

(3x14)

Octavia: “What do you expect us to do, Clarke, walk into random villages asking for their Nightbloods?”

Clarke “If that’s what it takes.” (3x13)

Monty: You’re the one going too far and using the same old justification “it’s all for my people.”

(4x04)

Those are few examples, forgive me for not remembering everything. But this is to say, this is a pattern happening along the seasons, something that is not getting better- something that is growing, and not something that came out of nowhere on season 4.

Everyone knows Clarke has the “I bear it so they don’t have to” complex, which goes further than Clarke sacrificing herself for others…. It’s about Clarke doing “ugly“things to make sure others can live (2x16). And this was never solved, because she was never faced with a plot where this was officially “a problem”.

That is: until now.

(Funny how they echoed this line this season …)

The only way to make characters face their flaws head on is when they become a problem, it’s simple like that.

They won’t just “figure it out on their own” and suddenly show up better people on our screens, that throws away the need of a story in the first place. And this is no news either, we’ve seen this happen with nearly every character on this show: Abby, Kane, (even Jaha), Murphy and Bellamy.

All of them did terrible things, caused by their terrible flaws, and they had to face them. All of them lost themselves. Well, Clarke has been losing herself because of her flaw ever since the beginning in case no one noticed:

1x07 quote again:

Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things. [echoing: Abby 4x08 “First, we survive. Then we find our humanity again.” ]

Abby: Please, Clarke. Please tell me this wasn’t you.

(2x12) [echoing Clarke to Bellamy: “This is not who you are” 3x05]

Jaha: Heavy lies the crown. I know the burden of keeping a secret you think is going to destroy your people.

Clarke: (..)You floated my father.

Jaha: And now you understand why. No leader starts out wanting to lie or imprison or execute their people. The decisions you face just whittle you down piece by piece. (4x02)

Monty: Who are you? When did you become this person?

Clarke: I haven’t become anyone.

Monty: The Clarke I know wouldn’t be arresting her friends. (4x04)

Clarke: I tried to be the good guy.

Abby :Maybe there are no good guys. (2x16)

[ echoing: Bellamy:” What do you do when you realize you might not be the good guy?”

Clarke:” Maybe there are no good guys”. 3x11]

Again, just a few examples. But the point is, Clarke’s rationality – her “head”- gets a lot in the way of who she is, because ever since the beginning she’s been learning over and over that to survive, to get people alive, she can and should sacrifice everything. She put herself in the place of a leader, of the savior, at the cost of herself (and, many times, others too).

And, problem is, when Clarke’s mind is set in something, there’s little that can change it. Which turned this into the trainwreck we’re living now. Clarke is on mode “we do what we have to do, what ~I~ have to do to survive” upped up by a ton because this girl is facing the freaking apocalypse now – and others are just as crazy worried as her. And she’s under the influence – and support- of a character that has been sneakily (but clearly) paralleling her all season, Jaha.

Jaha: Heavy lies the crown. I know the burden of keeping a secret you think is going to destroy your people. (…)

(…)

Clarke: So what do I do

Jaha: We make the best decisions that we can with the information that we have

However, there’s a difference between Clarke and Jaha. (and many other leaders on the show).

(You so knew this was coming)

Something that may help her out of the true craziness that is deciding who lives and dies (1x04/4x03), that may give her a different opinion when she needs one, that may show her she’s not alone in those decisions, that may balance out her “I need to this ~thing~ at all costs for the greater good” thoughts.

Jaha (to Bellamy on Clarke): She’s lucky to have you. Leadership is a lonely pursuit, but you keep her centered. (4x03)

This was said this season, so please pay attention to it closer. And by the one character paralleling Clarke, by the guy that made so many leadership mistakes. By the guy that said THIS just on the previous episode

(again

Jaha: “And now you understand why. No leader starts out wanting to lie or imprison or execute their people. The decisions you face just whittle you down piece by piece.” (4x02)

Bellamy is the crack in Jaha’s own theory (and Clarke is the same for Bellamy – You got it backwards and all that shiz but we’re not here for that).

Throughout the entire show, Bellamy is Clarke’s cold hard thinking weakness. In more ways than one.

Not just because he disagrees and balances her out in leadership decisions- as Jaha pointed out, but because very often her feelings for him force her to open exceptions that would make no sense for her rational (”greater good”) self:

*ALIE needs Clarke to break and tell her where the chip is. But Clarke isn’t breaking because of “The greater good” and sacrificing herself over it-*

ALIE!Abby: Her friends are her weakness. Start with Bellamy Blake.

(3x15)

*Clarke, spending the whole day trying to figure out the perfect people to be on her rational list, just can help anymore and writes Bellamy’s name for no rational reason she could easily shout out during 4x04*

(4x03)

And Bellamy Blake? Come on. (4x04)

(yeah son, bellamy blake.)

Clarke: We have more bullets than you have men. You’ll lose.

Roan: Maybe. We’ll both take losses, Kane and Bellamy among them

Clarke: You think you can shake my resolve? I was willing to sacrifice my own mother to stop A.L.I.E. (…) Wait. What if we share it?

(4x05)

L. exa: Once Bellamy shuts down the acid fog and the battle begins, everything will be clear.

Clarke: What if he can’t? What if it was too dangerous and I sent him in there anyway?

(2x14 – doubting their own “greater good” plan but okay…)

Clarke: I care about all of them.

L. exa: Yet you worry about him more.

(2x14.) [ Echoing 3x15, 4x03, 4x04 and 4x10 all at once, how pretty]

*Let’s not get started on the fact she chose to let skypeople chancellor (aka KANE) out of the bunker but she went out of her way to make sure Bellamy was in it, rationality says bye*

(4x10)

This is why it makes complete sense for the bellarke conflict to happen next week. That’s why it clicks they’d pick the gun scene to be on the promo.

Clarke’s sides are (finally) conflicting.

Clarke is on the peak of her leadership-entitled-unilateral-decisions now, and she can’t go there without a conflict; She can’t go there without facing the one (main but not only) thing that has kept her away from these lonely and impersonal decisions for so long.

It’s make it or break it. She can go full Jaha or she can go back.

And they can’t do that without Bellamy, I’m sorry. They CAN have Abby, they can have Murphy or Monty or anyone else, but it’s BELLAMY the character that had stood out all show long as the person that makes Clarke second guess decisions which seems so sure and “right”.

HE is the first weakness. It wasn’t Abby, Murphy, Monty, Jasper, Raven, Kane, Jaha, Roan, L/exa, Finn that ever made Clarke not choose the “greater good” at several times, it was Bellamy.

( more than once, more than twice…).

So that’s it, this is how we know THIS is Clarke’s rock bottom.

Because it seems like (by a probably carefully misleading promo) that Clarke is willing to sacrifice the one person she’s ever sacrificed others for in the name of the “greater good”.

She can either turn off completely and shoot the one person that keeps her centered or she can realize she’s off the rails.

(is she capable of hurting Bellamy… is she really…)

Now, being this season COMPLETELY centered on how Clarke’ s leadership/ “greater good” decisions are turning her into a bad person (rewatch 4x08 and 4x09 if needed) AND on how people should let others MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS (rewatch Bellamy’s arc ever since 4x07); being Clarke and Bellamy the main characters of this show;

x

April7739 · 05-05-2017, 05:20 AM

Didn't read anything there, in a surprise to no one. Thanks for the warning, Margaux.

CanIcallYouKate · 05-05-2017, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellfoy (View Post)

I like meta (sorry analysis)

WARNING : contains promo spoilers !

x

Margaux, thank you so much for this! What a great piece of analysis. And while I screamed "yes! THIS!" repeatedly in the parts pertaining to Bellamy and Clarke's relationship, I think the strongest is the Clarke solo analysis in the first part! Spot on imo.

Did you share this in the Clarke thread as well? I think it should be shared there, too

Ellfoy · 05-05-2017, 08:04 AM

I'm totally digging the Clarke discussion going around lately !

I'm going to post the first part (about Clarke) in the Clarke thread then. I'll try and edit it with spoilers tag about the promo for April.

In the meantime :

x

^ The soft eyes !

girl under the floor · 05-05-2017, 10:31 AM

Great gifset

destroyer of worlds · 05-05-2017, 10:43 AM

I'm too tired to comment tonight

but thanks so much for posting that, Margaux.

I read through most of it and I loved it.

Gave me a different perspective of this week's episode when I really was feeling troubled about this turn of events for BC. But it makes sense in terms of Clarke's perspective and it might be a good thing for their relationship IF they hash out the things that have been building for a while, because they know that they now have no choice but to face it head on. And I agree about hoping that the gun scene is right at the beginning of the episode and that we will see Bellamy talking to Clarke and being able to convince her to open the bunker.

CanIcallYouKate · 05-05-2017, 01:47 PM

See and I read that and just thought that's exactly how I saw it (and better worded than I did)

#smug #selfcentered

Damocles · 05-05-2017, 01:54 PM

I'm so dumb for not even thinking about Bellamy kidnapping(?) Clarke in season 3 vs Clarke kidnapping Bellamy in season 4. Crazy.


Fan Forum > Archived Television Shows > The 100 > ★ Bellamy & Clarke ★ #151 ~ “Soul magnets. We all can have several undeniable draws. I think Clarke can too.” - Chelsey Reist