The 100 is known for being one of the most morally complex shows on television right now. The show pushes its characters to their limits and shows us the difference between who we are and who we need to be to survive.

One of the best things about The 100 is that while the viewer often takes sides, each point of view is understandable from where that character stands and from where the audience sits.

I recently spoke with Tasya Teles who plays Echo, arguably one of the most controversial and fascinating characters on The 100.

After The 100‘s massive six-year time jump, we’re meeting new versions of the characters we’ve been watching for the past several years. I got an inside look from Teles about how Echo has changed in that time and what it means to her to have finally found a family.

“I think the most significant [change] is that she’s found friends for the first time that don’t have any ulterior motives. [This is the first time she isn’t] being used the same way the Queen used her, as a tool or a thing that went out and [followed orders].”

“She was in service before, now she’s been able to have space and time — no pun intended — to get to know who she is when she’s not wearing her Azgeda armor,” Teles continued.

“So my favorite thing [about the time jump] is that she’s getting to learn about herself for the first time without the socialization and culture of the Azgeda tribe. We’re seeing a truer version of Echo.”

Out of the three spheres The 100 left its characters in at the end of Season 4, those on the ring arguably had the easiest time. For some of them, going back to the ground isn’t exactly ideal.

“I think if she had to choose, [she] would probably stay up in space. Going back to Earth presents a whole bunch of issues for her. There’s not only Octavia but also her former Azgeda clan members, and a lot of threats that don’t exist in space,” she said.

“She’s happy finally being able to commit to friends. Earth was a really traumatic experience for her, so going [back] to Earth and having to be there instead of space is going to require a lot of courage from her.”

Much like the fear Monty expressed about going back to Earth on The 100 Season 5 Episode 1, “Eden,” Echo has some justified concerns about returning to the place she came from.

“I think she worries about a bunch of things, like — will her new friends abandon her? She’s been abandoned by her king and banished — a few times — so there’s a lot of risks with going back to Earth, but she knows she doesn’t really have a choice.”

Having formerly been an extremely loyal Azgeda spy, Echo seems to have given all of that loyalty to Spacekru over the past six years. I asked Teles how she believes Echo identifies herself and how she’s reconciled those different parts of who she is.

“I think that’s a great question, and I think she doesn’t even know herself. I think she will always retain her warrior self because it’s so much a part of who she is and how she has spent most of her life,” Teles explained. “I think she identifies with Spacekru more now after everything that has happened. She’s really definitely bonded with her friends in space.”

Echo was the only member of Spacekru who went to the ring without a friend or companion, and we’ve all been really interested in how she developed relationships with the former Skaikru delinquents and a grounder who had a very different experience than she had on Earth.

Teles discussed those connections, particularly with Emori and Bellamy.

“Echo, I think, was very weary of Emori in the beginning because she was the only one that knew who and what Azgeda represented. She didn’t know what Emori’s position was going to be — if she was going to be welcoming to Echo or not or make things harder for her. But time heals everything, and I think they all really changed in six years. They became really close pals.”

There’s been a lot of controversy over Echo’s relationship with Bellamy on The 100 Season 5. Whether you’re for it or against it, what Bellamy and Echo have was built on as solid a foundation as most of the relationships on The 100.

Teles shared some lovely insight into the bond between Bellamy and Echo and how they’ve changed together over the six-year time jump.

“With Bellamy and Echo, one thing that I feel that is interesting to me is that they can both reach each other even in times of war, there was always this awareness [of each other].”

“Despite themselves and despite this war and the tribes feuding they were always able to listen to each other and reach out and connect with each other,” she continued.

As anyone in a good relationship will tell you, communication is key!

“That, for me, was already an interesting place to start a relationship because it made it kind of fertile for a relationship to be born.”

“What happened in space and how they grew together is a part of Echo’s learning how to love, how to be vulnerable, and learning that she didn’t have to be such a tough person — that she could let people in. Bellamy is somebody who can reach people that way.”

Teles further explained why their relationship works as well as it does and spoke about the different things that Echo and Bellamy give to each other as a unit within their partnership.

“Bellamy conversely, he’s loaded by a lot of guilt. There’s a lot of guilt with what happened with Clarke, and what happened with Octavia. Echo has an objective quality about her, she’s very pragmatic. I think she soothes his guilt by being like ‘it’s okay, I’m not sure there was any other way that this could’ve happened, don’t beat yourself up.’ And so they relax each other, and they trust each other immensely,” Teles noted.

“They [each] have something that the other person needs. She’s his strength and he allows her to become vulnerable and open up her heart.”

Bellamy isn’t the only one to have helped bring out this truer version of Echo. Along with love and vulnerability, Echo’s new found family have taught her some other valuable life lessons. And she’s returned the favor.

We saw on the Season 5 premiere that Echo has been training Raven in hand to hand combat. Teles revealed what her new friends have taught Echo about life.

“I mean, she’s never been one to really embrace technology; her experience with technology was first in Mount Weather and so she had a really traumatic kind of relationship with [it]. She’s not the one to go fuddle with computer coding, she’ll leave that to you know — aces in their places, that’s for Raven, Emori loves that, and Monty — but she’s learned from them, over the six years in space she’s learned how to use it,” Teles said.

“She’s definitely learned from them about friendships and relationships which is massive, probably the most important for her.”

With all of these new connections for Echo, I asked Teles if there were any relationships that surprised her on The 100 Season 5.

“I’ve worked with everybody over the course of the seasons lightly, I would love to see Indra and Echo. I [like] those two characters because they’re so strong, they’re leaders with their own tribes. How would they deal with each other, or what would a face-off look like between those two?”

Teles continued, “One thing I was wrestling with at the beginning of the season was what was [Echo’s] relationship with like Murphy. In some ways, Echo reminds [me] of Murphy, you know, this jaded person with a bad past and not many friends who is just angry, and with time evolved into this sardonic kind of person and they can joke [with each other].”

“The one place that they differ is [that] I don’t think Echo is good with people who pout, [so] with Murphy on the other side of the ship, that’s something that she would roll her eyes at, like ‘come on now.'”

“I do think those two understand each other a lot as well. It’s a fun dynamic.”

With “Sleeping Giants” focusing on Spacekru finding a way home, we’re likely to see more of this relationship soon!

I also spoke with Teles about what she believes Echo’s greatest strengths and weaknesses to be.

“I was just having a conversation with Sachin the other day, we were [talking about] philosophy, ‘what if your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness?’ and so we were kind of arguing about that for a bit,” Teles laughed.

“I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but with that in mind, it can be said that [Echo’s] greatest strength is her capacity to be objective. One thing with Echo that I really enjoy is that she really does not care about splitting hairs or getting into politics or arguments. She is very focused on what needs to be done and so she doesn’t really sway very much.”

“Which is great when you’re in a war situation, in which we find ourselves often on The 100. But that objectivity comes with a lack of sensitivity. So in Season 5, that’s kind of what she’s wrestling with.”

Teles elaborated, “She’s just spent 6 years learning about friendships and becoming vulnerable and stuff like that. Then she goes back to Earth and there’s all these problems, [so] she’s trying to negotiate the space between being objective and being sensitive to other people and what’s going on.”

“So I think her greatest strength is that she can be two steps ahead of everybody else because she’s so even-minded, and her greatest weakness is that she lacks sensitivity sometimes.”

Echo has really learned a lot over the seasons of The 100 and especially over the time jump, so I asked Teles what playing the character has taught her in her own life. She shared some valuable words of wisdom and showed me what we could all learn from Echo.

“[She’s] definitely [taught me] about not giving up and fighting for yourself a bit more. Avoid pity parties, she’s not someone who really laments on things in the past, she’s someone who pushes forward and moves past them,” Teles continued. “She’s very active in going after what she wants, which is very helpful to adopt or bring into your own life.”

“In portraying Echo I’m taking on someone who’s really strong and really capable so if there’s anything I’m taking from her, [it’s that] I feel very empowered. Not being afraid to take on obstacles and push through them is definitely something I use.”

Teles also provided some brilliant insight and perspective to Echo’s story on The 100 Season 5 and shared what she’d like fans to keep in mind as they watch.

“Echo’s a very contentious character, people [either] love or hate her and I’m definitely hearing why that is, [but] one thing that I constantly think about with Echo’s story is how people aren’t born bad, and I think opening up to [the fact] that people can change, that people can grow,” Teles explained.

“I think that it’s good to treat each other with hope and love instead of just being like, ‘I don’t like you and I don’t see you becoming anything more than [what] you already are’ because that’s just terrible. So keep an open heart and an open mind when it comes to Echo and you’ll see that she’s alright.”

“She did lots of therapy in space,” Teles laughed.

Lots of fans have been curious about what’s on Teles’ playlist for Echo and what kind of music she listens to to get into character. So for fun, she shared a few recommendations.

“It’s often not about the lyrics, but the attitude of the song — or about feeling the energy the song gives. For her more brassy version of herself, I would use girl anthems like Beyoncé or Rihanna songs that really charge me up,” she said.

“Then some softer songs for when she feels sad, ‘To Build a Home’ or ‘Between the Bars’ by Elliot Smith.”

With The 100 currently knocking our socks off week after week, Teles shared a moment later in the season that she’s excited for fans to see.

“I can’t remember which episode it is, but I always love it when — and it sounds so sadistic — but I love it when your character goes through a really hard time, [and they] hit rock bottom or something close. And there’s an episode where [Echo’s] sitting in the forest and she’s going through a really hard time,” Teles hinted.

“[There’s] a private moment where she’s sitting in the snow and she’s playing with the snow and digesting everything that’s happened. It’s a really sweet moment that she’s looking at the snow and thinking about Azgeda and where she’s been, what she’s gone through, and that whole episode is just beautiful.”

“I can’t remember which number it is though, but keep your eyeballs peeled,” Teles laughed.

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Be sure to catch Tasya Teles as Echo on The 100, airing Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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