The 100 Season 6: Bellarke or Bust
Rachel Foertsch
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The explosive ending of The 100 Season 5 left fans both heartbroken over this season's losses and anxious over the fate of Bellamy, Clarke, and the rest of their friends.
All of the characters with the exception of Monty and Harper, ended up in cryo-sleep for over a century while they unknowingly traveled to a new planet and left Earth behind for good.
With an ending like that, it appears as if Earth is the acceptable loss of the season. But was it really the biggest sacrifice of the show?
The 100's time on Earth was coming to a close. Over the course of five compelling seasons, every storyline that could possibly be explored ran it's course and ran it well. It was time for something new so as not to exhaust the story to a point where the show just starts becoming predictable and repetitive.
With the series now taking place in a new setting, everything feels fresh, shiny, and new. Like Jason Rothenberg himself stated, the show is a reboot in many ways.
However, with the flame still in play, it seems like the show is dragging the same baggage along and plopping it onto a new planet. I know it may be hard The 100 writers, but sometimes you need to let things go to make way for bigger and better things.
The relationship between Bellamy and Clarke is a prime example of this. Ever since the pilot, The 100 has been toying with Bellarke as a "will they/won't they" relationship both onscreen and offscreen in interviews.
In fact, they've been toying with it so much that ignoring the seeds they willingly planted, is bringing the writing consistency of the entire show down along with the fans' interest.
Now before you raise your pitchforks, fans aren't frustrated because they want this relationship to happen and it's just not a part of the story being told. That would be an entirely different situation.
Sometimes fans want shows to go a certain way but it's just not the way the show is going. And of course, creators have the power to make that decision even if it's an unpopular one.
However, when it comes to Bellamy and Clarke fans are frustrated because a romance between them very clear is a part of the story they're telling. Especially during the most recent events of this season.
The 100 Season 5 was alluding to a romance between the two, and if it wasn't, then The 100 needs a new camera crew because they didn't get the memo. Not only was Clarke portrayed as a bit jealous of the relationship between Bellamy and Echo, but Bellamy's sister even accused him of loving Clarke in the same way that he loved his girlfriend.
And who could forget the moment when Diyoza mistook Bellamy and Clarke for a couple after seeing how far they would go for each other? Or how Clarke radioed just Bellamy every day for six years?
In most well-written shows, all of these moments would be categorized as foreshadowing. However, on The 100 it appears as if it was just a ploy to confuse the audience and keep them watching.
In a show that depends largely on character and relationship development, how can anything be well thought out and structured when their literary devices have no meaning?
At this point, it feels like the characters are just puppets who are being controlled by a group of people with an agenda of which we just can't make sense.
In order to have natural progression in a story, you have to allow the characters to tell it. It is the creator's job to bring these characters into existence, but there comes a point where you have to set them free. You shouldn't be telling them what to do; the characters should be telling you.
Bending characters to fill the role you want them to does one thing and one thing only. It breaks them.
Take Bellamy's relationship with Echo for example. The romance between them is so out of character that the only way to put them together was to skip over their development entirely. The two started their relationship over the course of a six-year time jump about which we still, after an entire season, know nothing.
It's almost like the show knew there was no believable way to put them together, so they used time as an excuse and kept the audience completely in the dark. In other words, they have no way to explain how these two characters could have made their differences work.
In a way, it feels like cheating.
It also feels odd that such a hollow relationship with no audience investment made it through the whole season with no conflicts. The majority of viewers don't feel anything but confusion for the pairing, but that's partially due to the fact that the show didn't even try to make us love them.
The only plausible reason for this random romance was to use it as a stepping stone for Clarke's feelings for Bellamy, but as of the finale, it seems as though that was not the case.
You can't predict the ending of The 100, but unfortunately, it's not a good thing. While it should be unpredictable by its ability to shock and surprise, it's unpredictable because it doesn't follow through.
If you can't trust the hints that the show gives you, then on what can you base your theories?
A relationship between a boy and a girl that is not romantic could be special for sure. But there is something that could be even more special. A healthy romance based off of years of friendship, trust, support, and love.
Even if Bellamy and Clarke were originally just supposed to be "non-romantic soulmates" (which is unlikely), that ship sailed seasons ago with the romantic aspects that were interwoven in their relationship.
The romance in their relationship gets more prominent every season, and the show is in far too deep to back out now. In Season 6, The 100 will either sink or swim.
If Bellarke just wasn't part of the story, I would be sad but accepting of the writers' creative decision. However, the reason why everyone loves it so much is that the show is continually pushing us to love it in that way.
The more significant issue at play isn't solely just about a relationship. The real issue is the show's indecisiveness and inability to follow through.
Although I may be a Bellarke shipper myself, the thought of them not being together isn't even the most frustrating part. It's the inconsistent writing and teasing of something that could be groundbreaking if they would only set the characters free.
So it's up to you The 100 Fanatics. Throughout the ups and downs of the show, there's one direction that the characters have always been heading in. Will you finally let them take the wheel?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and watch The 100 online to get a better perspective.
