Even after everything that has happened on The 100 over the past four seasons, Bellamy Blake is still somehow as hopeful as ever.
Season five's big threat—a ship full of dangerous prisoners—is unlike anything the survivors have faced before, and they've already proven themselves to be ruthless and armed with terrifying new weapons. But Bellamy (Bob Morley), who finally made it back to the ground in last week's episode, is still determined to negotiate.
In the clip above, exclusive to E! News, Bellamy faces off against Diyoza (Ivana Milicevic) and uses his control of all the Eligius prisoners still asleep up in space to get her to help him save his sister and a thousand other survivors stuck in the bunker.
It's a move that's classic Bellamy, but according to Morley, it also comes from the experience he's gained over the past six years of growing in space, and developing a new way of handling situations.
"I mean, Bellamy obviously believes that he can negotiate with them with his new approach of his head and the heart, so you know, hopefully he's feeling that it won't have to come to that and there's the ability to broker peace," Morley tells E! News. "Obviously other people might have different ideas."
While his optimism is admirable after everything he's been through, Morley says that Bellamy has learned from what has come before, and what really didn't work the firs ttime.
"The Eligius haven't proven themselves to be as friendly, but you know, the great thing about this show is that it's cyclical in the way that the 100 came down from the sky," he says. "They had technology that the Grounders didn't have, and I think that's a thing Bellamy is trying to prevent, is going through the same mistakes they had done previously. So he lives in hope, but it's a very kind of bleak, dog eat dog world that The 100 creates, so kudos to Bell for believing that."
This week's episode, "Pandora's Box," is a big one, since the last one ended with most of Spacekru arriving on Earth, just in time to save Clarke. Now we get to see what they actually do when they get there, and watch various characters slowly reunite while everyone desperately tries to get into the bunker, without yet knowing what hell is going on inside it.
We got on the phone with Morley to talk about it all, and about the fact that if you're anticipating a big Bellamy/Echo/Clarke love triangle, you might be a little disappointed.
E! News: Congratulations again on winning Alpha Male Madness for the second year in a row like two months ago! How did that feel?
Morley: It's obviously more of a testament to the fans of The 100, really. I don't really consider myself an alpha. But I mean, it's great. It kind of indicates to me the strength of the show and that people appreciate what I do on the show, and hopefully what I do outside in terms of bringing awareness to mental health and all that jazz. But yeah, it's good. It's still very surreal, it's weird to me.
Surreal?
Yeah, you know, I still feel like I'm not even an adult yet. My age would indicate that I am, but I don't feel like I am. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I feel a bit old.
That kind of goes along with my first show-related question, because with the time jump, everyone has had to grow up this season, but I especially notice it with Bellamy. How did you go about playing an older version of him?
I guess makeup just stopped putting makeup on me, so I look closer to my age. [Laughs} It took me a little bit to get used to Bellamy kind of approaching situations a bit more calculated and using his head and his heart. I think that maybe makes him a bit older. But I was talk to Sachin [Sahel] about it yesterday, like we were so fresh-faced in season one and now we all look a bit haggard. But I think the way he carries himself is a little bit different. Obviously over the first four seasons, the guilt has been building up on him, and I think the weight of the world is still on his shoulders, but it's something that he can control a little more as he's gotten older. It's not as present, or it doesn't affect him as hugely as it did for the first four seasons. But the six years off has given him time to think and breathe I guess, so he can really start to peak or rise again when he starts heading for the earth again—the apex of all his troubles, but also the things that he holds dearly, especially his sister.
Speaking of Octavia, what are things going to be like when they're finally reunited?
For Bellamy, there's the double whammy in episode three where he finds Madi and finds that Clarke's alive, but he finds that they haven't heard from the bunker in six years as well. So there's that immediate reaction. In that scene where he does encounter Madi, there's a lot going on there. There's not only this young girl that saved his life, but there's this young grounder girl that's alive on the earth, and Clarke's alive but also the bunker stuff's happening. So nobody really knows what to expect now of the bunker. The audience was obviously privy to what's going on down there but Bellamy has no idea, and neither does Clarke. So much like Bellamy and the Spacekru were up there detached from everyone else, the same thing's been happening in the bunker, but there's 20 times more people down there.
So I think he's hoping that she's become the leader he hoped she could be, and she's taken on the advice of he gave her at the end of season four that she is a leader and she's capable of taking care of these people. But it's The 100, so… But I think Bellamy is an optimist, especially finding out that Clarke is still alive.
Clarke has spent the past six years sending Bellamy messages over the radio, and Bellamy thought she was dead all this time and even started dating Echo. What will the relationship be like between Bellamy and Clarke when we get to see them actually talk to each other?
I don't think it's like a big plot point. Clarke is now in a way a surrogate mother and Bellamy has had to take on all this other responsibility keeping Spacekru alive with Raven. And I think six years, as you grow as a person, the understanding and the ability to kind of move beyond personal feelings…it's a tricky little minefield here. I don't necessarily think that's the first thing that's on either of their minds. I think Bellamy's more concerned about seeing what's happening with his sister, but yeah, it took three years for him to forgive Echo and now they're together, and there's definitely a new family unit and there's Octavia, but I guess Clarke being alive is somewhat of a huge surprise to him and also, you know, he's reunited with one of his other co-leaders that he found so much strength in so, he's obviously overwhelmed and happy about that.
How will Octavia and Clarke handle seeing Echo again, since they haven't had the chance to get to know her and forgive her yet?
I know. I think as the rest of the season goes on you'll find out how they interact with each other, but maybe some people's ideas—like Clarke or Octavia's ideas—of Echo is still at that stage of where she used to be, and they'll just need time you know. I think Bellamy says in episode one, like, they'll understand, Octavia will understand. Bellamy feels if he the ability to forgive in that sense or evolve in that sense, I think his sister will have that ability to forgive. I mean, she was able, in a sense, to forgive Bellamy for all his wrongdoings in the past. They had a moment of forgiveness at the end of season four, so I think he has feels that Octavia has the ability to forgive and empathize and understand moreso than he does. Or that's how he used to feel.
The 100 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on the CW.