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as-inevitable-as-morning · 7 years

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Final Thoughts (Pt. 1): “The Other Side”

The Bellarke fandom almost broke the internet last night, but it wasn’t in the context all of us expected to. Episode 4x11, entitled “The Other Side,” seemed to be advertised as an incredibly Bellarke-centric episode, and many of us were... disappointed (to say the least) when it wasn’t. I was one of those people. I found myself underwhelmed by a mediocre episode that had the potential for so much more, and logged off because of the way I was feeling. I took some of the time I spent offline further analyzing the episode and trying to piece everything together contextually. I think I’ve done a somewhat decent job of it with this post, and if you’re interested to hear my final thoughts and potentially gain a bit of hope after last night’s episode, please continue reading!

I’m going to start with the Bellarke and N.iylarke of it all, considering that seems to be what made people most upset.

The opening scene of the episode features Bellamy arguing with Clarke and Jaha. Bellamy is, quite frankly, pissed. He’s pissed not only about Skaikru’s betrayal, but their lack of faith. Faith in the survival of the human race, in the grounders, in Octavia. On the other side of the argument is logic. “Luna was in the final four as well,” Clarke explains, and that meant that there was a slim chance of anyone surviving at all. Bellamy understands where she’s coming from, can see why she did what she did, but he’s still not happy about it.

After this, Abby comes into the office and joins Bellamy’s side of things after realizing that Marcus is nowhere to be found. Clarke turns on the computer and gives them both a chance to say goodbye, but it doesn’t get that far. Bellamy spends a few moments talking to Octavia and it’s revealed that she won the conclave, but ultimately decided to share the bunker with the other clans. Now we have a new problem: if the grounders discover the fact that Skaikru betrayed them, everyone in the bunker could die.

Bellamy explains that he had no part in taking the bunker, but promises that he’ll fix things by opening the door. Seconds later, Jaha reenters the room with several guards. Bellamy fights them off to the best of his ability, but falters when he is shocked with an electric baton. He slowly loses consciousness while looking at a worried Clarke, a stark contrast to 3x13.

The next Bellarke-related scene we get is my absolute favorite, and I have seen so few people talking about it that it’s starting to drive me a bit crazy. Jaha suggests that they find someone else to guard Bellamy, “someone who cares more about survival than being liked,” and Clarke enlists Murphy’s help. There is a brief passing and exchange of keys before Miller and another guard leave the hallway. “You’ll talk to him?” John asks Clarke after the two are left alone, and she nods her head. “Yeah,” she says, stepping closer to the door that leads to the room where Bellamy is being kept. For a moment, it seems like she might actually walk in there and try and talk things out with him, but then tears start to form in her eyes and she steps away. “I’ll relieve you in six hours,” she tells Murphy before scurrying off.

I find it very interesting that the thing that seems to hurt Clarke most is knowing that Bellamy is hurting, and this hurt is only amplified by the fact that she is the one responsible for his suffering and grief.

Next we have the N.iylarke cuddle scene, which at the time I thought was very out of place and unnecessary. I still think it was a mistake for the show’s narrative and that it made things a bit confusing, but I understand the thoughts behind it now. They needed to show how torn up Clarke was about the dilemma she was facing. The poor girl’s only eighteen, and she’s got the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. Say what you will, but she’s trying her best. She’s young, she’s human- she’s going to make mistakes. In order to convey Clarke’s genuine concern, they needed to have her be vulnerable with someone. The person that she’s most vulnerable with is Bellamy, but he’s locked up in chains and disagrees with her. Next in line is her mother, but Abby doesn’t seem to agree with her either and has a storyline of her own this episode. The next choice is N.iylah, a kind person that is very keen to offer Clarke the physical comfort she desires in order to make her feel a bit better. The writers choose the most logical choice of character for Clarke to open up to, but they seem to forget the heavy Bellarke undertones that run through this episode. So, when you and I watch it first glance, we say, “Woah! Wait a minute! Hold up! This doesn’t make sense! What about this? What about that?” We don’t like it much, but after a few re-watches you can see what the writers were trying to do. They were trying to show how beat up Clarke is about everything and the genuine concern she has for the survival of the human race.

The scene helps to further develop the next choice Clarke will have to make: Bellamy or survival?

I will never approve of threatening loved ones with physical violence, ever. I will never approve of manipulating the ones you love in order to get what you want. I will never try to romanticize these things, either. I honestly would’ve preferred it if the gun scene never happened, but this is a show that asks some pretty dark questions. It asks, “If you believe that doing so will save people from dying, will you let someone you love die? Will you kill them?”

The two show down as Bellamy attempts to open the door, and Clarke fires a warning shot. “What are you doing?” he asks. “What I have to,” Clarke replies, repeating his words back to him. “Like always.”

I would like to take a moment and point out the significance of Clarke’s choice of words, here. She thinks she’s alone in all of this. She thinks that everything is her burden to bear. What she doesn’t seem to understand is that Bellamy takes everything just as literally, and he shoulders it all with her.

“This isn’t like shutting the dropship door, or pulling the lever in Mount Weather or the City of Light. We knew what we were stopping then,” he explains in a desperate attempt to reason with her. “Now we know nothing.” We. Not singular, plural. An inclusive pronoun. His choice of words perfectly demonstrates the Bellarke mantra that has been carried through the course of the show since season two at the very latest: We. Together. These are the terms that define the dynamic between these two characters.

Bellamy only changes to a singular pronoun when Clarke still refuses to drop the gun. “You’re gonna have to make it a kill shot,” he tells her with a surprising amount of calm in his voice. He’s calling her bluff. “That’s the only way to stop me.”

Clarke breaks all over again at his words. Because of course she can’t do it. Of course she can’t kill him. She’d rather see the entire human race die off than see Bellamy Blake dead. That’s established canon now. I don’t like the way that it was done (i.e. confrontation with a gun), but there’s no arguing against it. She still believes in that moment that everyone will die if they open that door, but she drops her hand and lets him do it anyway. She chooses to trust him. She chooses to have faith in him. She chooses to believe that they will find a way to get through this, like always: together.

#bellarke #the 100 #the 100 meta #bellarke meta #my writing #my meta #my thoughts

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