100 Thoughts On The 100: Bob Morley’s Fan Expo 2017 Panel

Although our Editor In Chief Stephanie Cooke was at Fan Expo 2017 last weekend, yours truly was not able to go. Luckily, the Internet always keeps receipts, so I was still able to see Bob Morley’s half-hour panel. In addition to talking about his childhood loves (X-Men, DragonBall Z) and his current obsession with tabletop game Dominion, he also answered a ton of fan questions about Bellamy, The 100, and what to expect in season five.

Well, he was hedgy about season five, but that’s fine. You can see the full panel below:

The 100 season five is filming currently, so Bellamy has obviously grown a sadness beard in space. Right? That’s the only explanation for Morley’s current facial hair. Bellamy left Clarke behind, then grew a sadness beard. Morley actually answered a question about his current look during the panel and made no mention of it being a character choice — but head canons, as always, abound.

Anyway. Aside from the beard, some of Morley’s answers indicate that season five is going to be wild. He didn’t give many straight answers, but he did say, “I think the head and the heart stuff is more pertinent right now than it was previously.” He also said that, regarding Bellamy and Madi, “It’s going to be epic.”

 Bob, PLEASE. Last time we saw Bellamy, he was utterly devastated over leaving behind Clarke — whom he assumed was dead — and his little sister Octavia when he went into space. For a brief moment in S04E13, “Praimfaya,” it seemed like Bellamy and the others would die in space. Then Clarke’s sacrifice would have been in vain. That didn’t happen — thank goodness — but Bellamy was still clearly upset by how things went down.

Morley said a six-year time jump will have a significant impact on all of the characters and their relationships. Obviously. But how? A fan asked about Bellamy and Octavia and Bob said: “the personality shift is quite drastic for both of them.” While Bellamy has been in space with just five other people, Octavia has been commanding a bunker packed with hundreds. The Blake siblings have grown apart significantly since The 100 pilot, especially in season three, and a six-year separation can only add to that. Their reunion will be heartbreaking, violent, or — more likely — some combination of both. When the joy kicks in, it will be a relief.

If it kicks in. This series loves to kill people (especially women) Bellamy loves, which Morley also reflected on at Fan Expo. Aside from admitting to shipping Jasper and Monty, he said he and the other actors are careful not to ship their characters with anyone. Too many people die too frequently to make that kind of thought worth it.

Regarding how The 100 would be different if any of those characters had survived, Morley said he believed Wells Jaha would have had the biggest impact on the story. He also admitted that if he could play any other character, it would be Wells’ father, Thelonious.

However, Morley’s love for Bellamy, as always, was the focal point of the panel:

“I love Bellamy and his losses aren’t any greater than anyone else’s on the show. I guess he tends to really feel it a lot, so whenever I’m playing him, it’s kind of like a very heavy feeling to have. You’re putting on his clothes and his jacket. So he’s always kind of guilt-ridden. I try to make light of it when I’m on set and when I’m at home and stuff like that. But I enjoy that. As an actor, I think you like going to those dark depths and really kind of exploring you, yourself as a person, and also the character. So I guess in a masochistic way it is quite enjoyable.”

“He’s the character I’ve played the longest in my life and I really love him. I cherish the moments they give him. They give him some pretty devastating moments and some beautiful things for him to do and some horrible things.” 

“I love him dearly and I hope that he’s around for a while.”

Me too, Bob. So here’s hoping season five — which Morley said covers a ton of plot at a rapid-fire pace — is good to this man. Bellamy deserves a break. All of The 100 characters do.

Featured image credit.