Saturday, January 17, 2015

In Defense of Bellamy Blake: Part 3


(I swear my goal in life is to write a Bellamy-worthy character)
 
We’ve seen a good shift in character development for Bellamy during the first season. At the finale, Clarke is forced to get everyone she can into the drop ship and start the rocket boosters, which incinerate everything within a 100-foot (ish) radius of the drop ship. The horrible part? They ran out of time, and she had to leave Bellamy and Finn outside. When they open up the dropship, everyone inside is taken by the Mountain Men (who prove to be the evil scientists I’ve been recapping about), and that’s the last Bellamy sees of Clarke for quite a while.
 

But of COURSE Bellamy isn’t dead, and neither is Finn. They and a couple others managed to escape the blast, and now Bellamy is looking for the others (read: Clarke). This is when we see that his self-serving intentions have pretty much vanished. He’s no longer out for power or control – he really cares about the rest of the 100, and he even chases Grounders through the forest (and gets captured because the others were NO help) to try and find them.
The adults have landed the Exodus ships on the ground, and they get a hold of Bellamy, Finn, and the other two kids (Monroe and Red Shirt Boy).  Raven and Murphy both survived and the adults find them, and when Bellamy first sees Murphy, he tackles him to the ground (I’d be mad, too, if someone had tried to kill the love of my life and then hang me by the neck) – and consequently is knocked out by Chancellor Kane. (Yeah, he’s Chancellor now – Jaha is back on board the Ark because naturally, someone had to stay behind and do everything manually.) Bellamy is arrested (go, Bell) but he tells Abby that the rest of the 100 are out there, and he needs to go find them.
 
Well, this is apparently not happening with the ‘adult’s’ consent (come on, guys, Bellamy is 23 years old. HE’S AN ADULT, NOT A BABY) – and so Bellamy goes and does it anyway. Abby sends out Bellamy, Murphy, Finn, Monroe and Red Shirt Boy to go scout out Mount Weather and find where everyone was taken…but they’re distracted along the way...

They find one survivor from a crashed Exodus ship – but she’s clinging to a cliff face. We see Bellamy have another dilemma – where, a month ago he would have said leave her, there’s no point; now he’s determined to find a way to save her, even though they’re pressed for time and the situation is dangerous. He’s the one who goes over the side, in the end; and rescues the girl from her precarious position (they lose Red Shirt Boy along the way, which is another blow for Bellamy, who feels it’s his duty to protect the 100). Here he’s reunited with Octavia (who thinks Lincoln is dead – another long story) – and I love it when we get Blake Sibling hugs. They’re much needed.
I love that Bellamy’s love is no longer just for Octavia – he now cares about so many people that frequently, he’s not sure what to do with himself, or how to protect all of them. Bellamy sends Finn and Murphy onward while he takes Octavia, Monroe and the wounded girl back to camp, where he finds the ‘adults’ in a state of serious ticked-off-ness. But Bellamy isn’t about to be deterred – he refers to the 100 as ‘his people,’ and he’s going to go get them. (Help. I’m getting teary just thinking about it.)  
 
What Bellamy didn’t know was that Clarke had escaped Mount Weather and made it back to the Camp Jaha – and when he arrives, we get the most beautiful moment in the show so far. Clarke sees him walk through the gates, and then she gets to her feet and runs across the camp into his arms. Bellamy’s reaction is both adorable and emotional – see for yourself.
They’re back together, and they’re going to get their people out of Mount Weather. Bellamy is no longer a single, autonomous entity - he's a leader. What's more, he's a leader who cares for his people, and is willing to sacrifice his life to keep them safe.
 
 

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