Bellamy Blake quickly became a fan favorite in the very first season of The 100. He goes from a selfish individual who really only cares about his own and his sister's survival to someone who wants what's best for the entire human race. He becomes a real hero.
Bellamy also, however, becomes one of the most tragic figures in the series. Everything that he works for - peace and unity - are things he doesn't get to see come to fruition. Instead, when his time in the series comes to an end, it's when the people he's been closest to in the world are on the opposite side.
Updated on April 30th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: The final season of The 100 remains one that splits fans of the series right down the middle. While some think it provides a fitting conclusion to the series as the journeys of the characters come to an end, others dislike where some of those characters end up. Bellamy's time on the show coming to an end, however, isn't one of the points that divides fans. While fans can agree that his journey is compelling, and that aspects of his ending are fitting, his time on the show is tragically cut short.
Fitting: Bellamy Ends Up In Bardo Because Of Clarke
So much of Bellamy's story is framed around his relationship with the women in his life. He spends most of his life taking care of his sister Octavia, and then he spends most of his days making life or death decisions alongside Clarke. It's only right that his relationship to one of them causes the Disciples in Bardo to take him.
Cadogan thinks that Clarke is necessary to win the last war. While it's never outright stated, the implication seems to be that Bellamy is originally taken as leverage to convince Clarke to be on the side of the Disciples. It's interesting then how things turn out for him.
Nonsense: He Turns Off His Emotions With Regards To Octavia And Echo
Clarke might be his best friend through much of the series, but Bellamy's strongest emotional connections are to his sister and his girlfriend. That's why his reunion with them after being missing falls so flat for fans.
Bellamy doesn't react to seeing Octavia after having left things on not great terms with her since arriving in Sanctum. Echo, the woman he's spent years with, barely registers for him. Even if he's fully converted to the Disciples way of life, it's not exactly easy for a person to completely shut down their emotions, so it's an odd scene.
Fitting: Bellamy Has A Plan Before Clarke And Octavia Realize
When Bellamy does reunite with his old friends, they're quick to tell him their secrets, expecting him to be on their side. While Clarke and Octavia can tell something is off with him, they think nothing of it.
Bellamy surprises them by revealing their secret, but it shouldn't surprise them that Bellamy's mind is still working faster than theirs after all their time apart. He's always been a superior strategist to his friends, thinking ahead and playing longer games. They might not understand his change, but he's still Bellamy.
Nonsense: Bellamy Betrays Clarke Immediately
While it's not surprising that Bellamy outmaneuvers Clarke, Octavia, and Echo when they reunite, his immediate betrayal of Clarke is. They might disagree with one another a lot after they become leaders of their people, but they typically present a united front to others.
For Bellamy to immediately betray Clarke, and not even consider the implications of that, is out of character for him. Even on the side of the Disciples, Bellamy would have considered his options carefully and found another way to manipulate his friends into helping.
Fitting: He Finds Peace
The audience might not agree with all of Bellamy's actions in the final season, but they can't deny that he finds something he's been fighting for: peace.
Though Bellamy is a strong fighter throughout the series, he does it to survive. He and his friends all tire of the fight. Bellamy just happens by the one who finds faith in the Disciples and believes he's found a way to peace for humanity that doesn't have to involve bloodshed.
Nonsense: Bellamy's Beliefs Change Immediately
While it's nice that Bellamy finds peace, his faith in Cadogan's ideals is very sudden. All it takes is a single trip to an ice planet with someone who does have faith for Bellamy to suddenly be a believer.
This is a little strange considering how skeptical Bellamy tends to be about pretty much anything he encounters. Even when it comes to the Grounders and the leaders at Sanctum, Bellamy is ready to dissect their belief systems to see what bits of their history their religion is cobbled together from. He doesn't do the same with Cadogan's Disciples, which is out of character for him. The fan theory that a simulation actually brainwashed him makes more sense.
Fitting: He Argues For Madi's Safety
When he and Clarke find themselves on opposite sides of an argument concerning Madi, Bellamy doesn't hesitate to promise to protect Madi. He knows what he's asking is dangerous for her, but he makes a promise to Clarke to protect her.
It's a sign that the old Bellamy is still in there. He's always had a soft spot for children, protecting the younger kids at Arkadia even when advocating for a party lifestyle. Bellamy the hero still exists.
Nonsense: He Doesn't Get To Choose Transcendence
Bellamy is the one main character who actually believes in transcendence by the time the audience sees that it's real. He's also someone who doesn't get a choice to actually transcend, which seems incredibly unfair for someone who changed their entire way of life.
Instead, it's revealed that for humans who die an ordinary death, there is no transcendence. Bellamy never gets to see the thing he believes in so hard come to pass.
Fitting: He No Longer Feels Responsible For Octavia
One of Bellamy's biggest struggles in the series is actually letting Octavia go to become her own person. He wants her to be who he believes she is at the start of the series. He says she's "playing Grounder" when she decides to train with Indra. After seeing who she becomes as Blodreina, however, Bellamy effectively lets Octavia go.
That might be hard for the audience to see, but it's a freedom Bellamy has never had before. His entire life has been bogged down with the idea that Octavia is his responsibility - not their mother's, and not her own, but his. Bellamy taking a step back from Octavia is a necessary moment of growth for him in the end.
Nonsense: Bellamy Pushes Despite Knowing Madi Is Clarke's Weak Spot
While Bellamy offering to protect Madi is perfectly in character, there is one thing that's not. Bellamy knows that Madi is both Clarke's weakness and strength now. He knows that Clarke will stop at nothing to protect her daughter.
Continuing to push Clarke to allow Cadogan to get inside Madi's head, therefore, makes no sense. When Clarke holds a gun on him for Madi, he has to know his life is over. Bellamy continuing to drive the point home that he's on Cadogan's side and not Clarke's just doesn't make sense if he genuinely wants to find a way to help.
Fitting: Bellamy Demonstrates Real Growth From The Pilot
The 100 is a great television series to show how much people change, but also how much people can grow when placed in a high-pressure situation. People like Clarke, Bellamy, and Murphy hold on to some of the characteristics they have in the pilot episode, but they still grow so much over the course of the show.
His ending - his desire for peace, his firm faith, and his willingness to step aside from a leadership role - all show how much Bellamy has grown. The audience might not agree with his choices, but he's no longer the selfish young man out for himself. He no longer fears death or retribution. Bellamy is someone who embraces whatever is coming as long as it's best for everyone.
Nonsense: Clarke Kills Bellamy
This might be one of the biggest sticking points for fans about the final season. Clarke and Bellamy have found themselves on opposite sides of conflicts throughout the season, but they always find a way to understand one another. When Clarke and Bellamy differed on the subject of the Disciples and giving Madi to them, there was hope that the two would meet in the middle.
Clarke described Bellamy as her best friend multiple times, so her killing him is a sharp blow for the audience. Many members of the audience even held out hope the two would pair up romantically as a result of their interactions in the middle of the series, leaving Bellamy's death at Clarke's hands less of a climax to a storyline, and more of a disappointment.