Finally catching up, on this thread at least
:
Quote:
Title's kind of based on how I interpreted the gun scene, to be honest.  Should we update the Scene of the Moment to be that scene?
Okay, either Bob has read my testimonial, or he and I are kindred spirits or something, because he literally said this exact same thing at the Calgary Expo!  I mean, I'm thinking we're obviously kindred spirits. Obviously. |
Yes, please.
Which GIFset are we going with, though? I did reblog one with the gun scene the other day so I can bring that over?
I love it.
Kindred spirits indeed.
Quote:
|
I think one of the reasons why I haven't felt disappointed by the pace of the Bellarke stuff this season is that . . . at the end of season three, I just felt like Bellamy was still so lost. He really had forgotten who he was, who he could be, but not who he wanted to be. This season, we've seen him take so many steps towards becoming who he wants to be (and truly is deep down) again.
I think it's really, really important to know yourself and have a healthy amount of love for yourself before you can truly offer that to someone else. And while I don't think Bellamy will ever overcome some of the negative views he has of himself, I do think he's proving to himself and to others that he can be better than he was in the past. That's so important, and it's important that all this growth is rooted within him as an individual, not within Clarke or Octavia or anyone else. Now Clarke and Bellamy obviously have given so much love to each other as their relationship has grown, but the kind of love we're talking about is obviously a step they haven't taken (yet), probably due in part to their negative self-concepts.
Steph kind of mentioned this in the last thread, too, but in this journey of knowing yourself and loving yourself, I think Bellamy and Clarke have both struggled, but he's moved ahead of her this season. Given the events of the last two episodes, one can definitely argue that Clarke has even regressed, as many of us have even pointed out here and in the Clarke thread how lost she looks and how she doesn't even seem to recognize herself. So interestingly enough, I think that what Bob's saying here actually applies quite a bit to Clarke, too, probably even more so to her (right now) than to Bellamy. But it still applies to Bellamy, too, because it's an ongoing process. Always.
Clarke and Bellamy have both had some very intriguing storylines as individuals this season, storylines that exist both independently but also overlap with each other.
Anyway, what Bob said reminded me to bring that up, the idea that Bellamy has really moved ahead of Clarke this season, how it's important for him to have the moments of self-growth that he's having right now and important for her to have that someday, too.
|
That's a good point, they're both still lost/broken people and that will truly never really go away but this season, Bellamy seems more grounded/more mature and is becoming more and more like the person that we know that he can be (and as referenced by Kane in the premiere too). Clarke, as you guys have pointed out, has seemingly gone in the other direction in some ways. She has accepted that pain/heartbreak is part of life but in other areas, she seems so ... lost/helpless sometimes and it's sad to watch her be like that. She needs to heal with the help of Bellamy/rest of her friends but part of her journey will have to be on her own. As it is the same case for Bellamy too. They'll continue supporting each other on this journey, no doubt, but some things have to be done on her own as it is for him, and we can slowly start to see that with Bellamy but not quite for Clarke yet.
And that's also part of why I felt that Clarke's other relationships would not have worked out, regardless of whether they survived or not. She was never truly friends with either one of them, first and foremost, whereas that foundation has been there with Bellamy from the start. They've lived through many horrific/painful/heartbreaking moments together. And for self growth and development, I still feel strongly that you need that strong bond on a deeper level first before it becomes something of a romantic nature (if that makes sense).
Quote:
|
Bellamy's arguments in the scene were a summary of everything that they had to went through together. It was a reminder of what Bellamy and Clarke's relationship was built on : a partnership when they had to face impossible decisions together which les them to developp this bond of trust, faith and support. And above all understanding. This very same arguments told by anyone but Bellamy to Clarke would not have made the same impact. This part was a reference to their platonic love.
All of this leading us to the 4x11 scene. So far Clarke had got lucky (well not really but), she could pick Bellamy's life without too much overthinking it. At this point, unconsciously (or not) she always choose Bellamy's life over everyone but Bellamy against what she think is the preservation of humanity is another story. This was probably Clarke's worst nightmare coming to life because if there is two things that Clarke will do anything for, it's saving humanity and Bellamy Blake.
That the 4x11 scene was both about the "pure" platonic bond between Bellamy and Clarke and also the romantic side of their relationship (Clarke putting Bellamy's life over everyone) and that it is actually impossible to know what convinced Clarke to lower the gun, whether it was because Bellamy managed to reach her or just that she couldn't kill him, it's probably both, Clarke may not even know herself. And it doesn't even matter at the end of the day : the reason why Clarke lowered the gun was still love. To reuse April's words, she choose Bellamy. And ironically, by doing so, she actually choose her humanity.
|
So beautifully said, Margaux.
Those lines and that scene, for sure, would not have worked for ANYONE else ... if it wasn't Bellamy standing there, reminding her of all the things that they've had to do in the past in the name of survival and telling her that this is simply not the same situation. No one else truly gets what they've been through ... not Abby, not Octavia, not Raven etc. And that scene forced Clarke to face those truths as well as one of her deepest fears: having to kill Bellamy to save her people/humanity. It's a situation where she couldn't say that her decision was purely because of the overall good ... which is what she could do (to a certain extent) with the previous decisions that she made.
Again, not saying that she chose Bellamy over humanity because that is doing a disservice to Clarke and oversimplifies the scenario but there were various factors which impacted her decision not to shoot/kill him to stop him and I believe that one of those factors is her not being to hurt him, no matter what he was about to do (and even if it goes against her own decisions/way of thinking at that point in time).
Quote:
|
See, that scene perfectly exemplifies how integral Bellarke is to the story. It's a scene that, yes, is important for the exploration of their relationship and for the exploration of Clarke in particular as a character. Yet it doesn't distract from the plot, because . . . it is the plot. It's not an accessory to a larger storyline; it's a way of putting a storyline on full display.
|
Well said.
It is never thrown in there for the sake of pleasing the shippers and flows/weaves in beautifully with the rest of the story.
Quote:
|
They're separated for a few episodes and suddenly it feels like all that's been thrown out the window. There wasn't much meaningful interaction; we've been lead to believe Bellamy and Clarke are a team, and yet she completely shut him out of the plan to take the bunker. A plan that frankly came out of nowhere for Clarke and set her character development back massively imo. The fact that she didn't even talk to him after he was locked up and instead went to cuddle with Niylah irked me massively. It just didn't fit with the relationship they've been building or with her character, at all.
I still want romantic Bellarke to happen, but I also don't want them to sweep Clarke's behaviour under the rug. There's only two episodes left this season and at this point I'm not confident that we'll get any further development of 'romantic Bellarke', right now I just want them to get right with each other before the season ends. I'm growing tired of Clarke's martyr routine, I feel like her actions in the last two episodes prove that she still feels like she needs to make the big decisions on her own, and frankly I was hoping she was starting to move on a bit from that little diddy.
|
I get where you're coming from but my interpretation of it is that she knew that Bellamy would NEVER allow himself to be saved, if Octavia wasn't. And he'd already voiced his opposition against cheating at the start of the conclave. I wish that they had just discussed it at the start, get each other's POVs before making that decision but with Jaha whispering things in her ear and her already thinking desperately on how they could ensure their people's safety, I think that she had essentially already made up her mind about it and knew that he wouldn't agree with that decision. And that's why she did it, IMO. As for her not going to talk to him after he was locked up, that scene was interesting because we saw that she was about to talk to him (tears in her eyes and all, so it obviously distressed her to know that he was in there), she heard him screaming and just bailed. She couldn't face him and what she knew he was going to say and that, to me, is telling as well. Of course, there's guilt associated with knowing that her decision was wrong (by then) but also, I feel that she couldn't face him, knowing how disappointed he would be in her and being shut out of her plan.
Her going to Niylah, that is easier/safer than facing Bellamy in that moment ... so I can see why it happened.
Welcome back, BTW.
Quote:
Another thing, Bob said (at the Con) that the scene where Clarke was gonna shoot Bellamy was really different on set but they edited it.  |
Oh.
I really want to know what the alternate scene was, now. I also feel like they're cutting/editing some scenes because the show got renewed. So, are they just dragging it out now and making the shippers suffer longer?
