The 100 season 3 approaches, and all eyes are on Clarke (you know, the redhead) as she fights for her life… and explores some romantic possibilities.
It’d be stupid to pretend like shipping isn’t a huge part of TV fandom, so why should we?
If you’re a The 100 fan, you know that main character Clarke (Eliza Taylor) is the center of a fan-made love triangle of sorts, stuck in the middle between fellow Ark survivor Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Grounder commander Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey).
Related: The 100 season 3 trailer pits Octavia against Bellamy, Clarke against everyone
In the show, there’s not really such a thing as “ending up with” anyone — unless by “ending up” you mean they die some horrible, fiery death together — and yet. We’re fans. We care about these characters’ happiness. And we’ve all got a preferred pairing for our beloved Clarke.
So we decided it’d be fun to get three The 100 fans with differing viewpoints to duke it out. Read our reasonings, and vote in the poll!
Option 1: Clarke and Lexa – Karen Rought
The introduction of Lexa as a love interest for Clarke was one of the boldest and most interesting moves The 100 has made over the course of its two seasons. The treatment of its female characters is a strong selling point for the show, and the fact that both Lexa and Clarke are interested in women and yet no one has questioned this or made it a big deal is a testament to the show’s ability to remain groundbreaking.
Lexa is a complicated person, but she remains an excellent leader. She has made tough choices, perhaps ones that wouldn’t sit well with people like you and me, but she has successfully led the Grounders in battle despite the overwhelming circumstances. She is an easy person to respect and a hard person to love, and yet she does care deeply for the people she lets into her life.
Clarke has gone from being a righteous hero to someone who has struggled with the responsibility of being a leader. She has made difficult decisions, some of which are hard to sympathize with. Where season 1 Clarke would do everything in her power to find a solution to save everyone, season 2 Clarke has learned that sacrifices must be made. The lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few.
I am not so naive to think Clarke and Lexa are on good terms right now. Lexa betrayed Clarke in her greatest moment of need, and as a result, Clarke had to make a decision she will regret for the rest of her life. The blood on Clarke’s hands is still fresh, and those who survived her choice to kill the Mount Weather residents are not going to make it easy to forget what she did.
I am also not so deluded to think Clarke and Lexa are endgame for the show. I think they’re setting up a story for Clarke and Bellamy to grow closer as friends and eventually as romantic interests, but that doesn’t mean season 3 can’t explore a relationship between Clarke and Lexa.
Clarke and Lexa complement each other, much in the same way Clarke and Bellamy do. Where Lexa is often too harsh and violent, Clarke provides compassion and heart. Where Clarke doubts her resolve and ability to lead her people, Lexa shows her how powerful she can be. Though the pair have plenty to work through at the moment, if they can learn to trust each other, their relationship has the potential to form a strong alliance between the Grounders and the Sky People, as well as be a beautiful convergence of two strong, independent, complicated women.
Few others know what Lexa and Clarke have been through and the types of decisions they have had to make for the safety of their people. Even if Clexa does not last, I hope we can see them learn to forgive each other and, as a result, learn to love each other — even if only for a time.
Option 2: Clarke and Bellamy – Kristen Kranz
When The 100 began, Bellamy was the unlikeable character. He was the foil to Clarke’s hopeful, righteous leader, and was designed to be a character to root against. He had his own agenda, and worked hard for his own survival, no matter who or what it cost. Then, the Grounders attacked. Bellamy and Clarke found common ground and learned to work together. The evolution of their friendship has been the highlight of this show in its first two seasons. In that time, they’ve progressed from enemies to allies, from allies to friends, and from friends to most trusted confidants.
You would be hard-pressed to find a character on this show that Clarke trusts more than Bellamy. He has shown her that no matter what life on the ground may throw at them, he will be by her side. Together they made the choice to irradiate the entire population of Mount Weather. In the wake of that decision, Bellamy also saw the pain that act caused for Clarke, and understood why she needed to leave. He has proven his loyalty to Clarke in every way, shape, and form. Their friendship is the foundation of what could become one of the greatest love stories on television.
The 100 is first and foremost a show about survival, but in the midst of trying to stay alive, true bonds are formed. Bonds that cannot be severed or broken by distance or time. Bellamy and Clarke are a testament to that type of bond.
The events of season 3 will surely test them in every way. There will be obstacle upon obstacle in their path, but we must believe that Clarke and Bellamy will find their way back to each other. Some day, when each and every sunrise doesn’t bring new battles to fight, these two will have a chance to explore exactly what they mean to each other. In the meantime, we’ll survive on the intense connection that radiates from them every time they share the same space.
When Clarke returns to camp in the beginning of season 3, we will see how her absence has affected Bellamy. There will surely be harsh words and emotional wreckage due to their time apart. We will also undoubtedly see how much stronger these two are as a pair. Separately, both can move mountains, but together they can bring them down.
Option 3: Solo Clarke – Selina Wilken
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say The 100 is not a show about romance. It’s a show about relationships, certainly — familial and friendly as well as romantic — but more than anything else it’s a show about survival, and about negotiating your own humanity in a time where no one’s really sure what it even means to be human.
Enter Clarke, the audience’s moral compass (except when she’s not), independent and headstrong and a born leader. She’s got no time for true love, and she’s much too pragmatic to pine. We saw this back in season 1 when she flat-out refused to enter into a love triangle with Finn and Raven, and we saw it again in season 2 when she decided to explore her connection to Lexa, despite their already complicated relationship.
In the season 3 trailer, it would appear that Clarke gets carnal with someone who is neither Lexa nor Bellamy (although the camera angles are tricky, because of course they are), and I say good for her. The Lexa-Clarke-Bellamy thing is great, and I’m super into it, but the “triangle” is ultimately a fan construct. Within the show’s reality, right now it’s a non-issue.
I’m absolutely sure Clarke’s friendship with Bellamy has the potential to turn romantic, just as I’m sure Lexa and Clarke are a Grounder power couple just waiting to happen (if Lexa makes it… gulp). And I hope it all happens, but not right now. Right now I want to see Clarke on her own, unattached, figuring out how she fits into the Grounder society and coming to terms with her guilt about what happened in the season 2 finale.
Hopefully there will be many, many more seasons of The 100 in which Clarke and Lexa can find some peace, and Clarke and Bellamy can continue their slow journey towards… whatever the hell they want.
Now it’s your turn!
Vote in the poll, and tell us who you’d like to see Clarke with in The 100 season 3.
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