Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are all kinds of epic.

Their relationship is beyond just friends, just partners, or just a future romantic couple. There is substance within all of their scenes together, and it all goes back to the very beginning.

But while The 100 is all about parallels, it truly goes deeper than that. It isn't just Bellamy and Clarke's scenes building into future scenes of progression. There is a pattern where Bellarke content mirrors that of already canon romantic couples from the show. 

That wouldn't be much of a shock if the show didn't try to deny the exact writing that is plastered on the wall. To be clear, the writing and direction are phenomenal. The way that the storylines are written together and displayed in its entirety are examples of The 100 approaching it correctly.

It isn't about the journey but about following through with what was started. 

Or maybe none of it matters and all of the parallels are just loose threads, never to be fully explored or given a satisfying conclusion. 

The Mysterious Case of the Married Couple Goodbye

If there is any other explanation for this besides an intentional framing, it is a bald-faced lie. 

The 100 Season 6 Episode 3 starts with Bellamy and Clarke working as a team before having to go off in two different directions to keep their people safe. They are a unit and a team, seamlessly slipping back to their partner dynamic. It isn't an explicit romance, but it is a clear example of how Bellamy and Clarke's relationship is different.

Then that same episode ends with newcomers Russell and Simone Lightbourne, a confirmed romantic couple, standing their ground against these intruders and separating to continue their plan.

It goes beyond two pairs of people working together as there is identical framing and a parallel being crafted.

Bellamy and Clarke's connection is meant to match that connection of a couple that has been together for generations.

Is this where we get told this is a misinterpreted?

The Mysterious Case of Sleeping Partners and Their Significant Other

Bellamy and Clarke's relationship finding common points with Kane and Abby's relationship isn't a new concept. Not everyone may want to accept it, but Kane and Abby both inspire and get inspired by Bellamy and Clarke's connection.

When you also consider the heavy-handed imagery that The 100 creates of Bellamy and Clarke being the next generation, figuratively taking the baton from the adults, it couldn't be more obvious.

And while there is a multitude of scenes where Bellamy and Clarke parallel Kane and Abby, this is the one that comes to mind.

The 100 Season 3 Episode 1 opens with Abby resting while Kane creates a strategy in the same room, sound familiar?

Well, The 100 Season 4 Episode 3 follows up with the new and improved version, where Clarke watches Bellamy sleep as she puts his name on the list. He wakes up, and they have an emotional conversation before they basically sign vows for one another. But that's a story for another day.

Still, it is hard to deny the way Bellamy and Clarke are positioned, picking up from the same place that an established couple began.

The Mysterious Case of Russell Connecting Two Starcrossed Couples

Who else is still trying to figure out if The 100 was being subtle when they made a season-long arc of Bellamy and Clarke being a healthier version of Josephine and Gabriel? Anyone?

Well, Russell had his time to shine, pointing out that the sheer trauma that Bellamy was going through during The 100 Season 6 Episode 6 was what Josephine went through when she lost Gabriel. 

Coincidence? I think not.

It was one of many situations where Bellamy and Clarke's love got compared to that of Sanctum's most epic romantic couple. All the signs are there, and obviously, they are pointing to absolutely nothing.

The Mysterious Case of Bellabriel 

Speaking of Bellamy and Gabriel, these two have quite a lot in common. But before we go on a cardigan infused tangent, most of their connections stem from their soulmates.

Bellamy and Gabriel are forced to spend their first few moments together with one having to say goodbye to his soulmate so that the other could bring his soulmate back to life.

There is nothing else that could hold the significance that this scene does, putting the comparison on full display.

Bellamy and Clarke's love for one another is meant to rival, if not stand above the level, Gabriel and Josephine's love that spanned decades. There is a narrative example of how much Bellamy and Clarke are growing within one another, but this is the part where we pretend not to have seen it. 

Except there is no way that someone could forget a scene like this, let alone forget the delivery between all three of the people in that room during The 100 Season 6 Episode 10. 

It may have been a conclusion to Josephine and Gabriel's love story, yet it was also the beginning of Bellamy and Clarke's story. They may have come a long way, but they also have plenty more ahead of them, and their love for one another being explored is still very much a direction they are about to head towards. 

Or they should. Or we misinterpreted again, we do that a lot.

The Mysterious Case of Protective Choices For Your Loved Ones

The lengths that you would go for someone you love aren't always "right", but The 100 is all about having its characters risk everything in the process. Even if it might create an obstacle for a couple, it is worth exploring when it showcases the level of emotion that drove that decision.

And once again, Kane and Clarke found themselves in eerily similar situations, with them choosing to go against their significant others' wishes. But all of this was done to keep their partner alive and with them, so we can't exactly judge that too harshly. 

Clarke choosing to have Bellamy kidnapped into the bunker was a way to prove how they were a set deal. There was no Clarke without Bellamy, and no platonic boundaries were built when it came to showing this fact to the audience. 

The Mysterious Case of Romantic Betrayal 

An episode like The 100 Season 5 Episode 12 is a tough one, but at its core, it delivered a surprising amount of revelations.

Clarke was called out by three people about her feelings for Bellamy, one of those people though stood out the most in this scenario.

Lexa, Clarke's ex-girlfriend, brought up how much she regretted leaving Clarke alone in Mount Weather. This was something that she didn't want Clarke to deal with, encouraging her not to turn away from the way that Bellamy exists for her.

Lexa compared her feelings for Clarke to Clarke's feelings for Bellamy. It can't get any more clear than that, so this can't be the moment where we pretend none of that happened.

And yet that entire self-contained sequence wasn't brought up the way it deserved. The weight of how important Bellamy is to Clarke, even how it parallels romantic love on this show, somehow that didn't make the cut when The 100 decides to dedicate a scene to discuss feelings.

The Mysterious Case of What Ifs 

It was chilling to experience a broken-hearted Bellamy, which is what both the audience and the rest of the group going to space went through during The 100 Season 4 Episode 13.

Bellamy waited until the very last second, and yet he still had to leave Clarke alone on Earth. While they were in space, Bellamy saw all the couples on the ship and all he could do was look towards Earth where Clarke was.

In fact, after he said that he left Clarke behind, there was a camera focus between the two couples, Murphy and Emori and Monty and Harper. There was a symbolic connection being built between how Bellamy felt losing Clarke and how it relates to the couples imagining themselves in the same situation. 

But what does all of this mean? What is the point of making Bellamy's feelings the same as the romantic ones all around him?

There was absolutely no point. 

The Mysterious Case of Mirrored Romance

For every parallel that is spoken out loud, there is one that needs to be experienced visually.

Bellamy and Clarke looking over at Luna and Derrick ... there is something there. 

There was significance placed on Luna and Derrick's couple unit, they stood by one another's side. The same seemed to be mimicked with Bellamy and Clarke, as they observed Luna in her natural environment.

So Luna having to lose someone important to her at a time when Bellamy and Clarke were trying to get back to a place of trust? A message of misinterpretation if I've ever heard one. 

The Mysterious Case of A Happy Ending

Reunions are a highlight for The 100, with Bellamy and Clarke consistently coming out on top.

With a chaotic fight for survival, it is sort of a miracle that they managed to find a way to throw a romantic Bellarke parallel into the mix. 

Josephine is the first one to come back to her soulmate, reuniting with Gabriel in front of Octavia in a very emotionally-heavy scene. But with a countdown for Clarke's body continuing, Josephine doesn't have much time before Bellamy steals her spotlight.

Bellamy and Clarke manage to work together to bring Clarke back, only to reunite in almost a frame for frame way. There was no need to do all of this, yet the show did, and maybe they should answer for it? Because there is absolutely no platonic explanation for any of this. 

The Mysterious Case of Blake Unity 

Certain finales for The 100, specifically the ones that can serve as the series finale, are always positioned with a specific concept in mind. The way that it ends, even if all the details aren't worked out represents what the vision is for the show.

The 100 Season 2 Episode 16 ended with everyone coming back from Mount Weather, and there was a focus on the couples that were paired up. You had Lincoln and Octavia strolling back together, then you had Kane holding Abby's hand as they were escorted in, and even Wick was holding Raven in his arms.

Everyone who could be paired up was, and then there was Bellamy. He watches all these couples walk in, only to look back to seek out Clarke. His partner. His soulmate. 

There are no lines that the audience needs to read between; the season ends with every character leaning on their person, and Bellamy and Clarke end up right where they need to be. Together.

It isn't even a parallel, this is a signal and a sign and a solidified confirmation of what the narrative is meant to express to all of us.

The Mysterious Case of Sibling Shade

Octavia isn't always kind in her delivery, but sometimes that is for the better.

In a core-shaking revelation, Bellamy came to ask Octavia to spare Clarke and instead got called out for his blatant feelings. Octavia wasn't going to back down easily when she brought up that Bellamy's dedication to protecting Clarke was a clear example of his love, which she saw before with his actual girlfriend.

Oh yeah, remember Echo?

Bellamy clearly didn't, not until Octavia connected the dots for him about how his priorities lined up when it came to his "platonic" soulmate. Now, this could be the time to talk about how there's no possible way for Bellamy to have a fully functioning relationship with someone else when the closest person to him is his soulmate, who he isn't with romantically.

Instead, though, let's reflect on how the word love was thrown around and how outsiders were pointing out the parallels when it came to Bellamy and Clarke.

The Mysterious Case of End of The World Priorities 

Another example of a parallel in terms of a larger connection was wrapped up during The 100 Season 5 Episode 13. The two-part finale somehow ended in a place where multiple couples, mostly the women in them, stood by each other's side.

Emori refused to leave Murphy to die, Shaw refused to let Raven be tortured, Abby refused to leave Kane behind, and Clarke refused to leave Bellamy when he was waiting for every single other person to return.

It was a square of romantic commitment, and somehow, Bellamy and Clarke got trapped there as well. Not exactly somehow though, this is exactly where they are meant to exist.

Their commitment to one another exceeds just two partners looking out for each other; it is them against the end of the world.

The least surprising part of it though is how it is a shadow of all the romantic couples on the show because of course, it is. 

The Mysterious Case of Romantic Development 

Remember that time that Murphy compared his love for Emori to Bellamy's love for Clarke? No? Well here's visual proof to set you up for the next not so platonic parallel.

Both Bellamy and Murphy were looking to save those they loved, and the show made an intentional choice to compare them vocally. 

It wasn't a wake-up call to either Bellamy or the audience, yet it is still worth investing in when we have this conversation about progression. 

The Mysterious Case of Epic Relationships and New Chapters

This one still hurts, a lot more than expected.

The 100 Season 5 wrapped up by giving one (very well-deserving) couple a happy ending, but not before giving us a heartbreaking parallel. 

Monty and Harper gave their people everything, a possibility at a future, and a chance to do better. To do that, Monty and Harper were left with a glance at Earth before they chose to put everyone to sleep in cryo except themselves.

That shot was a magnificent preview at a goodbye that transitioned into an introduction to the next chapter in the story.

Monty and Harper's legacy, their love and their dedication to those they cared for, was mirrored in Bellamy and Clarke's weight of starting over yet again.

It was tragic, and it was beautiful, all of which was built on the love that these pairings had between one another. 

The Mysterious Case of Red Sun Reminders

Choices happen for a reason, especially on The 100 when realistically the writing is meant to come back to one point.

During The 100 Season 6 Episode 2, the red sun caused everyone to react in ways we didn't expect. But there were pair-offs too, with one person reacting internally and one reacting externally. 

Emori reacted externally to Murphy's internally, Miller reacted internally to Jackson's externally, and Clarke reacted internally to Bellamy's externally. What is the pattern here? Romantic couples ... and Bellamy and Clarke.

This was a narrative choice that didn't have to happen, but the fact that it did speaks volumes. Or maybe it doesn't.  

The Mysterious Case of Jealous Foreshadowing 

Sometimes it isn't about what happens between the couple themselves, but more about the way others observe them. In this case, Clarke had her new relationship with Bellamy brought to her attention by her love interest. One the same side of the conversation, Jake called out Abby when it came to her trust in Kane.

Jake was right when he pointed that out, with Kane and Abby becoming a relationship later. Then with Finn's death, the only constant since then has been the way that Bellamy and Clarke have grown closer and closer.

The best way to imagine it is them becoming each other's person, growing in the same garden constantly around one another. Bellamy and Clarke are each other's support system, sounding board, and other half. 

It can't get any more platonic than that, no matter the parallels. 

The Mysterious Case of Non-Platonic Nicknames

In Diyoza We Trust.

A character as insightful as Diyoza can't get it wrong, so obviously if she says it, then it must be true.

She first valued Bellamy's commitment to Clarke as an example of romance and then did the same when she called Abby Kane's wife. There is an obvious parallel here, one that didn't need to be made, so there has to be some deliberate decision making involved.

Or maybe Diyoza just got a line of dialogue where she called Clarke Bellamy's girlfriend for no other reason than to waste screentime for a minute. 

Which misinterpretation is the right choice?

Are there any other Bellamy and Clarke parallels that come to mind? What other couples paved the way for Bellamy and Clarke to mirror them? Which scene was your favorite? Which couple do you still want to inspire Bellamy and Clarke? On a scale from not at all to they never were, where do you think Bellarke land in terms of being platonic? 

Where do you see their story going from here? And what scene do you think proved their love for one another the most? What kind of ending are you hoping Bellamy and Clarke have with one another as the series starts to wrap up?

Let us know what you think below!

Stick around TV Fanatic for more interviews, features, slideshows, episode previews, and reviews of the upcoming season, and watch The 100 online right here on TV Fanatic.

Yana Grebenyuk was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2021.