Character Profile: Bellamy Blake
"Whatever the hell we want!"
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Title/Alias/Nickname: The King
Bell (by Octavia)
Age: 23
Family: Aurora Blake (mother †)
Octavia Blake (younger sister)
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Physical Description:
Bellamy has an olive skin tone, thick dark brown hair and brown eyes. He has a lean, muscular build, appears to be physically strong and is considered physically attractive. He has a strong resemblance to both his mother and sister.
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Occupation: Guardsman cadet (on the Ark – formerly)
Janitor (on the Ark)
Co-Leader of The 100 (on the ground)
Weapon of Choice: Spear/Ax/Knife
Rifle
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Personality:
Bellamy is a charismatic individual who interacts well with others, showing natural charm and people skills. He was always smart, resourceful and hardworking growing up, doing whatever he could to make things easier for his mom. Bellamy has a strong protective instinct that can be all-consuming for him when someone he loves is threatened. Bellamy's fierce protectiveness of his sister comes from the fact that since her birth, his entire life has been about protecting Octavia and keeping her hidden in order to keep both her and their mother safe. As a result, while he is very social, he can also be very secretive and cagey; his family's secret has always kept him somewhat closed off from others.
On the ground, Bellamy shows leadership skills in his ability to inspire people (though not always for a good cause). However he acts purely out of selfish reasons in making himself a leader. He makes a lot of his decisions out of fear for his own safety, lying to his people about his reasons for what he does, regardless of the cost to them. His fears override his consideration for others. As far as leadership goes, Bellamy is lacking in other areas as well: He doesn't have the patience for politics and is a bit too impulsive, which takes away from his leadership ability. He is impetuous, prone to acting on emotion and making sudden rash decisions without thinking through the full consequences of his actions, or thinking ahead to how others may react. He shows himself to be incapable of looking at the situation from someone else's perspective; he only sees what wrong has been done to him, not what wrong he has done to others. He has a way of seeing himself as the innocent party in any circumstance; when something goes wrong, he tries to act like nothing is his fault and to pass the blame onto someone else. This is most drastically shown when he blames Octavia for being the cause of their mother's execution, though truthfully it is himself that he blames. He also feels deep anger towards the people who enforce the laws that killed his mother, as well as resentment towards those who were more 'privileged'. Bellamy's personal feelings about someone can often cloud his judgement, such as when he refused to listen to Wells Jaha about the need to follow the Chancellor's instructions on getting food. He also shows cowardice as a leader when he won't stand up to the mob mentality of the group, afraid that they will not follow him if he doesn't give them what they want.
The more time spent on the ground, the more Bellamy begins to learn what being a leader really means, that it is not simply about getting your way. With the increased threats that The 100 have to face, Bellamy begins to take on a wartime mentality with confrontation (shoot first) being his first instinct. Bellamy grows to care for the rest of The 100 more than he is at first willing to show. He grows very protective of his people and fights fiercely trying to keep them safe.
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History:
On The Ark: Bellamy is from Factory Station and was raised by his mother after his father died when he was six years old (before his sister was born). Because it was illegal to have a second child, his mother's second pregnancy had to be hidden. Bellamy helped her when the baby was born and he named his baby sister Octavia. Most of his life since then has been about protecting Octavia and keeping her hidden. His mother resorted to prostitution to gain favours from guards, such as advance warning of 'surprise' inspections, as well as a recommendation for Bellamy to be admitted to Guardsman training.
When Bellamy was 22, as a Guardsman cadet he was assigned to work security at the Unity Day Masquerade Ball on Factory Station. He persuaded Octavia to attend (leaving their home for the first time in her life, without their mother's knowledge) as everyone would be wearing masks and he would be able to watch over her the entire time. Unfortunately, a lockdown was initiated in the middle of the party requiring everyone to remove their masks and show their IDs. Bellamy was unable to get Octavia away undetected and she was arrested by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Shumway. Aurora Blake was executed for breaking the population laws, Bellamy lost his position in the guard, and Octavia was sent to the Skybox.
A year later (the day The 100 are sent to the ground) Bellamy is working as a janitor when Shumway, who has been promoted to Commander of the Guard, approaches him and tells him that Octavia is being sent to Earth. He tells Bellamy to kill Chancellor Jaha and in return he will get Bellamy on the dropship so that he can be with Octavia. Bellamy accepts; he shoots Jaha with the gun that Shumway gave him and then, disguised as a guard, he stows away on the dropship.
On The Ground: Bellamy is desperate to stop the Ark from coming to the ground so that he will not have to face the consequences for shooting Chancellor Jaha, which would most likely be his execution. He begins convincing the delinquents to take off the wristbands that monitor their vital signs so that the Ark will think that they're dying and that it is not safe to come down. He promises them a world without rules so long as he is in charge. Even when it is discovered that there are people on Earth who are hostile towards them, he still insists that The 100 do not need the Ark, all in an effort to save himself regardless of the ramifications. He even goes so far as to have his enforcers attack Wells Jaha, the Chancellor's son, and remove his wristband by force, and to force people to trade their wristbands for food.
He is challenged by Thalia Grace, a longtime prisoner in the Skybox who has already cultivated her own following among The 100. Within days, the camp is split in two, divided between the two leaders which leads to fights over the conflicting orders given by Bellamy and Thalia. After a mutual friend of theirs, Atom Ward, is killed, Thalia convinces Bellamy that for everyone's sake they have to try to work together and Bellamy, shocked by his friend's death, agrees. While cooperating to build up The 100's camp, they find that they actually do work well together.
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Skills & Strengths:
· Bellamy learned hand to hand combat in guardsman training. He is athletic and physically fit. He also learned to effectively use firearms (handguns and rifles) while he was training to be a guard, before he was kicked out.
· He also would have learned other skills taught in the Guard, such as tactical and strategic thinking skills.
· Bellamy picks up on hunting pretty quickly, usually using a spear or an ax. He learns how to throw a spear or an ax fairly accurately.
· Bellamy has knowledge of Earth history and mythology from being taught by his mother.
· Bellamy knows how to sew and mend clothes; his mother was a seamstress and he sometimes had to help her with her work before he joined the Guard. (That's not something he tells people about).
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Trivia:
§ Bellamy is six years older than Octavia. He was there at her birth and named Octavia after the sister of a Roman Emperor Augustus that he read about with his mother.
§ Emily Kane is the one who first (sarcastically) referred to Bellamy and Thalia as 'The King and Queen' of camp.
§ Bellamy is indirectly responsible for the deaths of several members of The 100:
o Wells, who was killed by Charlotte because Bellamy told her to 'slay her demons' to stop her nightmares about Wells' father executing her parents;
o Charlotte, who's attempted suicide was the final result of Bellamy letting an angry mob run wild;
o John Mbege, Roma Bragg and Andy Diggs, who Bellamy led into hostile grounder territory, and who were killed by grounders in retaliation for the flares that burned down a grounder village – flares that The 100 had to build because Bellamy destroyed Raven's radio.
§ Bellamy often repeats the phrase, "my sister, my responsibility," to strengthen his resolve, stemming from the day Octavia was born and his mother Aurora told him his sister was his responsibility.
§ Bellamy is one of the few members of The 100 who knew they were being sent to Earth before Arrival Day. The others are: Wells Jaha, Antonia Sinclair, Luke Castellan, Annabeth Chase, Isabeau Adams, and Christina Pike.
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Relationships:
Aurora Blake
"My mother…she raised me to be better, to be good."
Aurora Blake's children were everything to her. She loved her son and was proud of him. Bellamy had a loving relationship with his mother, though she was harsh with him about their constant need for secrecy and caution to keep Octavia hidden. Bellamy feels a deep sense of guilt that his actions caused her death, though, typically for him, he tries to deny this by blaming the laws and the people who enforce them. He is also deeply conflicted thinking that his mother would be ashamed of the choices he's made that have hurt people.
Octavia Blake
"Your sister, your responsibility"
Bellamy's whole life since he was six years old has been about taking care of and protecting his sister. The day she was born, he promised that he would never let anything bad happen to her. He was patient, loving and kind to his little sister as she was growing up, always playing games and telling her stories to keep her entertained and to distract her from the fact that she could never go outside their home. As Octavia grows more independent on the ground, Bellamy has a hard time letting go and admitting to himself that Octavia isn't the scared little girl he had to keep hidden away on the Ark, as this would mean that she doesn't need him anymore.
- Relationship Theme Song: Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go by Billy Ray Cyrus
Commander Chen Shumway
"You've got some nerve coming in here after pushing the button that floated my mother."
Shumway was Bellamy's commanding officer in guardsman training. He looked up to him and respected him. That went down the drain when Shumway arrested Octavia and floated Bellamy's mother on the Chancellor's orders.
Kayla Shumway
Bellamy once had a short-lived relationship with Kayla that they kept under wraps because her father was his commanding officer in guardsman training and would not have approved. After Kayla's father blackmails him into shooting the Chancellor, Bellamy suspects that whatever Kayla did to get arrested hadn't been her choice. On the ground, they have very little interaction as Kayla is disgusted by Bellamy's self-serving approach to leadership. Kayla instead backs up Thalia as leader of The 100.
Luke Castellan
"You gonna tell me to stay away from your girl?"
Bellamy and Luke are both from Factory Station and were acquainted with each other during guardsman training. They were friends, but not close. He is surprised to learn that Luke and Thalia know each other and feels jealous of the closeness he sees between them when Luke arrives on Earth. However, the boys form an uneasy alliance due to their need to cooperate in their efforts to reinforce and defend the camp against the coming grounder attacks.
Thalia Grace
"What makes you think you can give orders here?"
Bellamy and Thalia clash from Day 1, each of them endeavoring to take control of the camp for their own reasons. Bellamy's way of thinking is very oppositional to Thalia's. He has the tendency to act rashly, responding to an immediate threat without considering what happens after, whereas she plans things out ahead of time and anticipates how other people will react to her actions. Bellamy starts to have feelings for Thalia that he tries to deny as he still sees her as a rival for leadership (and because he's pretty sure she wouldn't return those feelings). He is often struck by the vivid blue colour of her eyes, and is usually left watching her walk away as she has the last word.
- Relationship Theme Song: Bloodsport by Raleigh Ritchie
Wells Jaha
"I'm not gonna shoot you Wells. Hell, I like you. But I do need them to think you're dead."
Bellamy is against Wells as he sees him, and Emily and Clarke, as the privileged people who look down on workers like Bellamy. However, he does respect that Wells is smart and skilled and probably one of the most capable members of The 100. If they'd met in different circumstances, they might have been friends. Instead, Bellamy had his thugs attack Wells to get his wristband off so that the Ark thinks that their Prince is dead.
Clarke Griffin
"The Brave Princess"
Bellamy and Clarke have an antagonistic relationship from the start as he resents her 'privileged' status on the Ark and she never fails to push back against his leadership on the ground. After Clarke kills Atom out of mercy when he is badly burned by acid fog, Bellamy begins to respect the kind of strength that Clarke has, as well as her valuable skills as a doctor. He starts listening to her advice a bit more, though they have drastically different views on…almost everything. She is the one that he opens up to when his conflicted feelings finally catch up to him.
- Relationship Theme Song: No Way Out by Phil Collins
Emily Kane
"How 'bout I shove my sword down his throat and we can see how he feels about that for 'whatever the hell I want'."
Bellamy and Emily have very little interaction with each other. He is actually wary of Emily as he knows that there is nothing he can do to control her – she will never see him as a leader and is not afraid of any of his thugs. He also knows that she is the best fighter in camp and that she can and would kill him if she had an excuse to. He suspects that it is only Clarke's influence that holds her back as Emily never fails to show how little regard she has for him.
John Murphy
Murphy serves as Bellamy's second in command; Bellamy often leaves Murphy in charge when he is not around. Despite Murphy being his top lieutenant, that relationship doesn't run deep as Bellamy allows an angry mob to hang him when he is accused of murdering Wells. When Murphy's neck is in a noose, Bellamy kicks the crate that Murphy is standing on out from under him, fearing that if he does not give the mob what they want, then they will not follow him. Murphy hates Bellamy for this and also thinks that he's a coward. Bellamy hates Murphy for his attack on Charlotte which leads to her apparent suicide.
Daniel "Danny" Desai
Bellamy sees Danny as a friend; he appreciates his good humour and easygoing nature that helps to keep people relaxed when things get tense. Unknown to Bellamy, Danny is a spy planted by Thalia to keep an eye on him and report back to her. Danny is the one who warned Thalia of Bellamy's plan to make the Ark think that Earth isn't safe, that Bellamy set an ambush for Wells, and that Bellamy punished Atom for disobeying him by stringing him up in a tree.
Atom Ward
"Disobey me, you pay the price"
Atom was Bellamy's friend and one of his top enforcers. Bellamy trusted him to keep watch on Octavia while he is out of camp. However, after Bellamy punishes Atom by stringing him up in a tree for kissing Octavia when he ordered that no one was allowed to touch her, Thalia freed Atom and recruited him as a spy, turning him against Bellamy. Bellamy is unaware that Atom's allegiance had shifted from him to Thalia and is saddened by his death.
Charlotte Vidovic
"Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep."
Bellamy feels naturally protective towards Charlotte, perhaps seeing her as a scared little girl who needs to be protected, much like Octavia was when she was younger. Despite letting an angry mob hang Murphy for killing Wells, Bellamy shows deep reluctance to punish Charlotte when she confesses to the murder, and he tries to protect her from Murphy. He is deeply affected by her apparent suicide.
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Quotes:
Ø "I won't let anything bad happen to you Octavia. I promise." – six-year-old Bellamy when Octavia was born
Ø "If the air's toxic we're all dead anyway." – Bellamy to Clarke on Arrival Day
Ø "Someone's got to keep an eye on you." – Bellamy to Octavia
Ø "The 100 have an assassin in their midst." – Councilor Kane about Bellamy
Ø "Bellamy doesn't need any help looking like a fool." – Thalia about Bellamy
Ø "Every word out of that guy's mouth is total crap." – Thalia about Bellamy
Ø "Atom, my sister doesn't leave this camp. Anyone touches her, they answer to me." – Bellamy putting Atom in charge of Octavia
Ø "Down here weakness is death. Fear is death." – Bellamy to Charlotte
Ø "If our self-appointed King and Queen go to war with each other, these people could all end up killing each other." – Emily Kane about the rivalry between Bellamy and Thalia
Ø "However much you and I may dislike each other, for everyone's sake, we have to at least try to work together. Otherwise these people are going to keep choosing sides and dreaming up reasons to kill each other." – Thalia making a truce with Bellamy
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Character Theme Song: Stronger Than Ever by Raleigh Ritchie