Season 7 episode 11 of The 100, “Etherea,” revealed what actually happened to Bellamy Blake (Bob Morley) while everyone thought he was dead - but things may not be as they seem. After being abducted by the people of Bardo in the season premiere, Bellamy disappeared while the actor took some time off from working on the show.
Bellamy’s escape and then disappearance on the planet Bardo led the other characters to think that he was dead, even if the fans were convinced he had survived. He was blasted through the portal created by the Anomaly Stone when he disappeared, finding himself stranded on Etherea with Doucette, one of the Disciples of Bardo. They eventually escape and return to Bardo, where Bellamy devastates Clarke by betraying her to Cadogan.
Bellamy’s journey and betrayal seem a little convenient for the people of Bardo. While The 100 is no stranger to gut-wrenching betrayals, it’s all a little too convenient to have been just happenstance. His journey may actually have been a simulation, set up specifically to trap Bellamy and get him to turn on his friends.
Bellamy’s Journey on Etherea Explained
Mirroring Clarke and company’s time on Nakara, Bellamy and Doucette’s goal on Etherea is to get through the Anomaly, which can take them back to civilization on Bardo. Here, the portal is near the top of a mountain. This not only presents Bellamy with physical challenges, but spiritual challenges as well. Etherea in general, and the mountain in particular, is rough to get through. From the start of the journey to the very end, where going through the Anomaly requires jumping off the mountain, success isn’t guaranteed, making it as much a test of faith as a test of endurance.
This is where Doucette plays a role in the journey. While he’s mostly a physical burden on Bellamy, Doucette ends up helping him spiritually. This journey through Etherea is the same one that Cadogan went on. According to the Disciples, the Shepherd (as they always call him) faced the same struggles getting up the mountain.
Especially important in this journey was the time in the Cave of Ascent. When Cadogan went through the cave some time after he and the Disciples left Earth, he saw lights that he claimed were beings that transcended physical form, that much of the Disciples’ beliefs are built around. This is also where Bellamy prays and sees visions of people, including his mother, that leads to his conversion. At this point, the storm that had them pinned in the cave lets up, allowing them to reach the mountain top and get into the Anomaly and back to Bardo. Once there Bellamy, now a true believer, tells Cadogan that Clarke doesn’t have “the key” that they’ve been looking for, completely destroying their leverage over the people of Bardo.
Evidence Bellamy’s Experience Was All A Simulation
If this all seems a little too convenient for the Disciples on Bardo, that might not be an accident. There’s some evidence in the episode that Bellamy’s journey on Etherea might not only be intentional, but in fact happened in a simulation, similar to the simulations used earlier in the season to test Octavia, Echo, Hope, and Diyoza’s (faked) dedication to the cause.
The first piece of evidence is that this journey is just too similar to Cadogan’s. Almost everything that Doucette says happened in Cadogan’s time on Etherea also happens to Bellamy. While any two trips up the same mountain will have a lot in common, having so many elements in common - including the spiritual revelations - seems a bit too much to be coincidence. Another piece of evidence for Bellamy’s journey not being real is that he keeps his memory when he returns to Bardo. The Disciples wear their protective suits when traveling through the Anomaly in order not to lose their memory, but Bellamy doesn’t. Even without the suit, however, he remembers everything as soon as he comes through the Anomaly, quickly turning Clarke over as a fraud.
The biggest pieces of evidence that this is more than it appears are Bellamy’s visions and prayers on the journey. Bellamy seeing his mother is expected, but Cadogan is another one of his visions, which Doucette also seems to see. Bellamy’s mind wouldn’t pull up a mental image of a man he saw in a few videos years ago without some outside intervention, but that’s the least of the appearances of the seemingly supernatural in his journey. The bigger “supernatural” moment in the episode is Bellamy’s prayer. This comes along with the visions he had in the Cave of Ascent. When he prays, the storm that kept him and Doucette in the cave lets up, allowing them to make it to the summit. This appears to cement Bellamy’s belief in the Shepherd, as it appears to be a miracle from a higher power.
The 100 has kept its basis in science fiction rather than magic or any other higher power, revealing anything that seems like magic (such as the Anomaly) to actually be advanced science. This is usually referred to as “Clarke’s Third Law,” named after the author Arthur C. Clarke, whom The 100’s protagonist, Clarke Griffin, is named after. Unless the show is adding in actual supernatural elements to the story so close to the end, using advanced technology to brainwash Bellamy seems much more likely than something actually supernatural happening.
What This Means For The Rest Of The 100 Season 7
While the Disciples have clearly been the antagonists in season 7, they’ve still had seemingly good intentions. They believe there is a war coming that humanity needs to be ready to face, so even if their actions are wrong, they at least have a reason to go that far. Setting up such an elaborate trap for Bellamy, the secondary protagonist in the series before his absence from early season 7, would take away all of that benefit of the doubt for both the characters and the audience. The Disciples seemed like they were bargaining in good faith, but setting up Bellamy to be brainwashed like this is anything but.
While this looks bad for the Disciples, this could also provide a path to redemption for Bellamy by the end of the season. Being put through a simulation specifically designed to brainwash him makes his betrayal of Clarke something that can much more easily be forgiven. It still requires breaking the brainwashing to return to his normal self, but it’d be harder to forgive if he did it more of his own volition.
Though it’s not confirmed yet, Bellamy’s journey on Etherea in The 100 may have just been a simulation designed to brainwash him into betraying Clarke. This would cement the people of Bardo’s status as outright villainous, taking away the veneer of honor and “the ends justify the means” that they had through most of the season.