Cate Cameron/The CWThe 100 writers know exactly how to smash our fragile hearts into a million tiny pieces, put it back together for a brief moment, and then do it all over again...in the best possible way, of course.
Even when the showrunners make us mad or sad, we love every moment of it because they've made us so invested in these characters over the course of two short seasons. That's the sign of great writing.
But one group within The 100 fandom in particular has had a rough time during season two: "Bellarke" fans. People who want to see Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Clarke (Eliza Taylor) get together—ahem, in every sense of the word—have had to suffer through a full season in which they were actually separated for pretty much the entire time.
Of course, there were moments, like the hug GIF-ed round the world and the bittersweet goodbye kiss in the finale, that definitely made up for the episodes in which the two former co-leaders didn't even see or speak to each other. And even though Clarke has now left the Sky People (Bellamy included) to get some distance from anything that would remind her of the mass murder she committed to save their lives, Bellarke fans shouldn't be worried about season three...or for the show in general.
"We will have to stay tuned to see where we'll see them next season, but it's pretty clear at the end of this episode that Bellamy is stunned by her choice," executive producer Jason Rothenberg tells E! News. "He was hoping that they'd finally be able to now come home and have some sort of normalcy. They've made it! They're back! 'Let's go have a drink,' he says, before he realizes she's not coming in."
Rothenberg explains that even though Clarke has left Bellamy, and Bellamy let her go with a kiss on the cheek and a "May we meet again," that doesn't mean their connection is gone too.
"It's clear to me that these two people have come to need each other and respect each other and love each other on some pretty deep level," Rothenberg says. "Obviously it's not romantic, certainly for Clarke anyway, and it's never been vocalized that it is for Bellamy either. You could read as much as you want in their body language and their eyes, but that's something that is being put off again as a result of Clarke's walkabout."
Now put down your pitchforks, The 100 fans, Rothenberg isn't done!
"But you know what, the truth is that I'm not deliberately toying with [Bellarke]! It's just the story that we're telling now," he promises. "If it makes sense at some point, it will happen. If people really want it right now, the Bellamy/Clarke thing, I highly, highly recommend that they read the books. It's in the books! It's a very tense part of the books. If you want that right now, you can get it. At some point, the show will give it to you too, but for now, it's not there."
Even though it may be difficult to wait for an inevitable, real Bellarke relationship, even the most hardcore Bellarke shipper must admit that if it happens too fast, it won't be as satisfying.
"Absolutely!" Rothenberg agrees. "Because then once people get it, they'll be like, 'Okay, next!' But it doesn't enter our minds as storytellers as, 'How are we going to deepen and play with the Bellamy/Clarke love story?' It's just not a part of the show right now. We played with the Lexa/Clarke storyline this season and that is still ongoing because both characters are still breathing. The journey is long, and eventually we'll be able to tell that story in all its glory, but right now, there are other things in the way of that."
Among those other things? The fallout from Clarke (and Bellamy's, kind of) mass murder of Mount Weather.
"The fallout from what Clarke did, just think about it," Rothenberg says. "Clarke was abandoned by Lexa, left to die, and essentially all of her people were left to die and yet, she singlehandedly killed every man, woman and child in Mount Weather. You can bet that the legend of Clarke of the Sky People will spread as a result of that."
He continues, "What is Lexa going to do? She thought she was making a truce with her greatest enemy, who was still someone who was going to be out there, not trustworthy and in a cold war situation, but now that enemy is gone. She probably thought that strategically, having that great enemy there was advantageous for her to keep this alliance of 12 clans together. Now, there's no common enemy so what happens to that alliance? There are so many things we can play with as we build this world out further, which we definitely want to do, so that's very exciting to me."
Still lamenting the fact that season two is over already? Rothenberg promises "we're already working on season three so we'll be back on the air before you know it."
May we meet again, The 100 fans.