Fuzzy Dunlop

I just don't even think The 100 is the type of story that has the two main leads of opposite genders that inevitably get together. That's the kind paradigm you would use for a sitcom. When I think about what Jason is trying to do with this show, I remind myself that when it started in 2014, he was being inspired by stuff like Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead. Both of those shows have big casts where it's debatable who (if anyone) counts as a "lead" and there is no central romance with an obvious endgame. It's just not necessary to do things that way anymore. But the CW audience is trained to expect it, apparently.

It's interesting to me that Bellamy is considered "The Lead" at this point. He was definitely not the lead when the show started. For the first three episodes, I was expecting Clarke's love triangle to be with Finn and Wells. But then I guess they changed their minds about killing off Jasper and changed the plot and... sigh. I want Wells back.

kenni727

I'm not opposed to two leads of a show getting together. Problem is that writers often lose the tension once the couple gets together. I see that as poor writing. If the show relied on that in the first place something else was missing. But I also think shows and writers have learned over the years from the mistakes of previous shows. Some shows have done it better. That said, it's always going to be problematic to write a compelling romance story that endures in a drama setting. Because the show relies on the drama. A sitcom is going to have way more success with something like that.

But that's why I also used to think Jason could have put Bellarke together somewhat early on and it wouldn't have tanked the show. Because the drama isn't derived from their relationship. It's from all these outside sources. And the story is watching these two and others figuring out survival in this post apocalyptic world. No tension would have been lost with Bellamy and Clarke together cause the tension existing between them had nothing to do with a will they or won't they scenario. The tension was all about "how the hell are we going to survive this?" With some debate, some argument, some agreement.

This, however, is also why I eventually came to no longer see that romantic potential for Bellarke. I just don't think it could even work anymore in a believable way.

Also, I do agree with Fuzzy that I think a lot of this stems from the network the show is on and the type of show those who watch this network tend to expect. Jason should probably stay away from the CW in the future.

Fuzzy Dunlop

I think it just really depends on what kind of story you're telling. If the story is a romance, you either have wait til the end to put them together or you can put them together early and then put conflict into their relationship. On The 100, which is obviously not a romance, I feel like it only matters to the extent that it affects the plot.

The issue with Bellarke was initially that there wasn't a good time to put them together. Clarke was in a love triangle with Raven and Finn, then she got involved with Lexa. It wouldn't have made sense to do it until at least the second half of S3. So there was a gap of time up until 5x01 when they could have put them together, but they didn't. In my opinion, I think they probably didn't do it because it wouldn't have added much to the story, but it would have limited their ability to do things like have Clarke randomly hook up with a guy who then kills her. In the balance, it just allows them more flexibility to not take away those options. Plus, they got to put Bellamy with Echo, which shows how much they changed in space and also added conflict between Bellamy and Octavia. And then after S4, it kinda stops making sense for them to get together because he's been with Echo for all of these years and it created zero drama in Bellarke's relationship. There might have been other opportunities to make them a couple if the plot had been significantly different early on.

Basically, I think it was just a better decision on the show's part to make Bellarke's relationship about "how the hell are we going to survive this?" instead of the old will-they-or-won't-they trope. They milk a lot of drama out of having Bellarke on opposite sides of an issue.

kenni727

I agree. I mean there were some other reasons I had for season 5 killing any potential romantic vibe for me. But there was also just this feeling as season 4 ended that if they hadn't put them together by then and with the time jump it just felt way less plausible. Just really felt like if they were going to do it season 4 would have been the time.

Fuzzy Dunlop

Yeah, I'd say season 5 was the low point of their relationship. Like since then, I've been questioning whether or not it's realistic for Bellamy and Clarke to be friends at all, let alone best friends given the timeline of the bigger picture. They knew each other for less than a year and we pretty much saw their entire relationship on screen. Sometimes they're friends, sometimes they're enemies. Then they get separated and build these "families" over 6 years in extremely different circumstances. And when they meet again, the show just sort of picks up as if that gap didn't happen. And Clarke was supposed to have sent him radio calls every single day for the entire time? I just don't buy this unbelievable closeness the show tries to sell us in some scenes because they'll turn right around and stab each other in the back in the next episode. It doesn't actually make sense for them to trust each other.

kenni727

I get why they were each so relieved to see other for the first time in season 5. He had thought her dead for 6 years and her radio calls to him were a tether to her sanity during that time. But then they let themselves get sucked back into their cycle. Supporting very poor decisions or completely ignoring the other to do what they wanted anyway.

This then made their behavior in season 6 seem so bizarre to me. Like Bellamy finds out she'd been radioing him all those years and all is forgiven? Okay. I can perhaps buy that. Bellamy has learned a lot about forgiveness and given their history I can see him just wanting to get back to what was. Though I find what was troubling.

All this leads to Clarke's calling Bellamy her best friend kind of laughable to me.

Ugh. I miss season one.

SongIceFire

Season 1 was the best and also the one Season I really shipped them together and found they had chemistry. Season 4 and 5 was a low in their relationship. And this "best friend" thing...I really find it weird too. I feel it's more like something coming from JR to finally make that clear to the audience and prevent anyone from saying they are "baited"? I feel that's his intention. That's why I also wanted to put in the thread title "co leaders". For me this is the basis of their relationship and the factor I find the most interesting about them. How they work together for their people.

Fuzzy Dunlop

And now for the exciting second chapter in my epic Bellarke analysis

Bellarke Season Two

Season recap behind the cut:



Overall, Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship was more of a B or C plot in season 2, compared to how crucial it was in season 1. There weren’t any major changes in their dynamic.

They continued to be on the same side and it was emphasized that she tried to protect him out of love. But what kind of love are they talking about? I think it’s important to look at the context here. All of this has happened within days or weeks. Clarke starts out claiming to love Finn, is forced to kill him, and then ends the season involved with the same person who forced her to kill him? It doesn’t make sense to me that the writers would also be trying to hint at a THIRD potential romance for Clarke in the middle of all of that. Rather, I think they’re just trying to use Bellarke’s close friendship to illustrate the dangerous lessons Lexa is trying to teach Clarke about love being a weakness and withholding her emotions.

Speaking of Lexa, I want to mention that their relationship seems to me like a continuation of The Miseducation of Clarke Griffin that started with Bellamy’s influence in season 1. And I don’t think either of them could really be considered a good influence. If Bellamy taught her to use violence, Lexa told her to ignore her emotions, and it led her to genocide. None of this is positive character development, in my opinion. These experiences prove to be extremely damaging to Clarke’s soul over time. Like this is the beginning of Clarke kind of hating herself. So I can’t say that I think either relationship is portrayed in a good light throughout the series.

It’s interesting that Bellamy and Clarke never had a conversation about how she had been willing to sacrifice Octavia in Tondc. We’re told that they talked about it while they were walking back to Arkadia from Mount Weather. But I think that was a big enough betrayal of trust that it deserved to be directly discussed on screen. Instead, they had a scene where Bellamy offers her forgiveness for committing genocide. I think that’s the first really major mistake in the writing of the Bellamy/Clarke relationship. After this, I started to feel like they had a lot of baggage between them that wasn’t being addressed.

Rating: B-

sonny1

Bellamy mentioned it in 3x05


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ac/21...65e6110e9d.jpg

Fuzzy Dunlop

He mentioned it, but not in a way that makes me feel like they ever talked it out and she apologized or anything. I feel like knowing how Bellamy's whole character revolved around protecting Octavia, it seems totally weird to me that his "best friend" would let a bomb drop on Octavia and this was the only time it was addressed.

I must say, though, Bellamy is making some great faces in this scene. He looks legitimately pissed off at her. And look at what he's saying! That's some traumatic **** he's blaming on Clarke. And yet... later in the season, they just smooth it over and go back to being friends. Did Bellamy just like... get tired of being mad at her since he had so much else on his hands with Octavia hating him and ALIE taking over the world?

kenni727

I’m suddenly liking season 2 less.

So first of all, I agree that that brief mention in that fight in 3x05 was not enough. Clarke letting a bomb drop on Octavia was a HUGE betrayal and got swept under the rug too quickly and easily. Honestly, Bellamy brought up a lot of good points in that fight. I think that was the beginning of the decline of me liking Clarke. But a lot of that is season 3. Let’s get back to season 2.

It seems season 2 is when Clarke just takes over and decides SHE’S the leader and Bellamy is her henchman. In season one they were co-leaders. Season 2 changed that dynamic. And I think I used to make certain excuses for it due to my shipper goggles. Though it always annoyed me that she left at the end of season 2 because of her guilt. Like she didn’t acknowledge that Bellamy was a part of that. At least until their fight the following season. She was selfish.

Not to say she hadn’t been through an incredibly tough time. But she wasn’t alone in that. Bellamy and Monty played equal parts in that. But she acted like it was just her. She made a habit throughout season 2 of making life or death decisions for others. Now she did that in season one as well. But that’s when she was balanced by Bellamy. That got derailed in season two as Clarke took some exceptionally bad advice from Lexa.

girl under the floor

Gotta love that TonDC is mentioned, it's the thing I've never quite forgiven Clarke for

I agree that it was never properly addressed between the two of them and I so wish it would have been.

Barstool Prophet

Everyone needs closure.

Fuzzy Dunlop

Lol, things get so much worse in season 3! I'll save that for next week or something.

You're right, there is a subtle dynamic change between them. I think it actually starts towards the end of season 1 when it feels like Bellamy is subservient to Clarke and she needs him to deliver her orders to the delinquents (because he's more inspirational than her?) In season 2, I think it feels worse to me because it's compounded by Clarke taking over her own mom's leadership role as well. Like Clarke really starts power-tripping at some point in the middle of S2 and the whole concept of the last survivors of the human race being led by teenage girls was getting to me big time. It makes sense when the only characters are teenagers. But once the Ark comes down and adults in Mount Weather and the grounder community are in the picture, why the hell is Clarke Griffin calling the shots??

But I digress... back to Bellarke in season 2. They're not really co-leaders, are they? We always just take that for granted, but Clarke is definitely the boss in season 2. He floats his idea for infiltrating Mount Weather and she disallows it? And then she changes her mind and gives him permission? Like if Bellamy was truly her equal, he could have been like "I'm gonna do this" and then had Raven help him if Clarke didn't like it. Instead, he just does what she tells him. This is why I think Bellarke can be compared to Bellamy's relationship with other strong leaders like Kane, Pike, and Cadogan. Like, if we're talking about characters who need someone to follow, forget Echo! Bellamy is the poster child for being jerked around by the different leaders he follows.

So yeah, Bellamy spent the whole 2nd season devoting himself to the cause of rescuing their people under Clarke's instructions. And she repayed him by letting a bomb drop on his sister, lying about it, and then abandoning him after they commit genocide together. And a lot of that happened because of Lexa. Either through her direct influence on Clarke, or through her betrayal. So it makes a ton of sense that Bellamy would be pissed to find Clarke bowing to Lexa in Polis rather than going back to Arkadia to help him. But again, that's season three stuff to talk about later...

Karma Police

Yeah, it was weird that they never addressed it. It made no sense that Bellamy didn't bring it up before (or after) the above mentioned scene. I wonder why they never included a proper scene, they also had him gloss over Echo almost killing Octavia, so i guess they are consistent?