The 100 star Bob Morley previews this week’s episode “Heavy Lies the Crown” and shares his thoughts about Bellamy’s leadership journey, his guilt, his relationships, his devotion to Skaikru, and much more.

The 100 season 4 was off to a solid start with last week’s premiere episode, “Echoes,” but can it keep up the momentum in episode 2, titled “Heavy Lies the Crown?” Spoiler alert: Yes, yes it can.

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This Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW we’ll see many of our heroes wrestle with difficult decisions, but none of them are facing the same moment of truth as Bellamy Blake, whose choice between whether to (potentially) save a large group of people in six months, or save a small group of innocent people today, will define his character going forward.

In preparation for this important episode, I spoke to Bob Morley about Bellamy’s arc in The 100 season 4, the character’s key relationships, how “infuriating” it would be if the show didn’t get a season 5, and much more. Enjoy!

Hypable: A lot of fans really connect to Bellamy; I think his struggle to be a good man is very relatable. Why do you think Bellamy resonates so strongly with people watching the show?

Bob Morley: You know, everyone worries about having these flaws, and Bellamy wears them on his sleeve. It’s something that we can all relate to, because we all want to be the best versions of ourselves, and sometimes you just can’t be that.

And I think the other big thing that Bellamy has is his sibling relationship with Octavia. It’s the only one on the show, so it’s one that people can really grasp on to. And Bellamy is the kind of guy that would do anything for his family. That’s still true for him, but I think his family has extended to the 100 kids on the ground, and now to Skaikru, and I think people can really get behind that loyalty to family.

I mean, I’m the youngest of four kids and I would do anything for my brother and sisters, so I think that’s something that a lot of people can see within Bellamy.

I spoke to Jason Rothenberg recently, and he said we’ll see Bellamy come into his own as a leader this season. And like you said, Bellamy really cares about the delinquents, and he inspires a lot of conviction in them. Especially in this upcoming episode, he’s very much the person they turn to to make the decisions…

[Laughs] It’s funny with that scene. When we were filming it and I was chatting with the others, I was just like, ‘Can we just do a recount and Bellamy will go first? So it’s not up to him?’

Right, let Harper decide.

Yeah, someone else could decide. Like, ‘Damn it, I should have said my version first!’

How would you define Bellamy as a leader? What do you think he could become?

You know, on the battlefield Bellamy’s kind of proven himself to be a worthy leader. He’s not necessarily making the right decisions, but you usually end up living if you side with him [laughs]. He very much leads with his heart, and he’s a little bit too emotional to be a great, thoughtful leader, but his compassion for his people is something that people know they can lean on.

And that’s why I think… I mean, the Grounders dislike his style of leadership, absolutely, but if you’re a part of the 100 and Skaikru, then he usually has your best interests at heart. And this season, it will be interesting to see how his mindset will change toward the rest of the 12 clans.

I’m aware that the topic of Bellamy and Clarke is sort of the hot potato of every interview you do, and obviously there isn’t much you can say in terms of what may or may not come next for them. But I’m interested to hear, from your perspective, how Bellamy feels about their dynamic at this point in the show?

Well, Clarke and Bellamy really connected in episode 8 of season 1, where he wanted to run away from being a leader, and Clarke said, “No, you need to stay, you need to see this through till the end.” And he’d never had an ally like that, when he’d been so vulnerable with somebody. And that’s something they share, they have a huge capacity to be honest with each other.

In season 3, when Bellamy was trying to be honest with Clarke and Clarke wanted to stay with Lexa, that really hurt him. And then in episode 13 of season 3, he tells her that he wants to forgive her, because everyone needs somebody that they can lean on and have a sounding board with. He can be totally honest with her — or as honest as you possibly can be with a person — and I think that’s what she provides him and what he provides her, without a huge sense of judgement.

I think that’s a thing that they have — that when you share that confidence, people gravitate toward you — because they rarely lie to each other. They ask for forgiveness from each other, and they give that to each other. There is that honesty and vulnerability there.

For me, part of the beauty of The 100 is that — beneath the gore and the drama — it’s ultimately a bunch of love stories between all of these characters. Some are romantic and some are not, but the love is definitely there, and I think that’s true for Bellamy and Clarke as well. Would you say that’s fair?

Oh yeah, absolutely. And I think it’s true for Bellamy and Kane as well, and everyone else. Ultimately everybody wants to have a sense of security, and then to be able to build on that, but right now there is no security and there never has been for these guys. So the only security that they can find since the Earth isn’t providing it — and furthermore, they’re at war — is with each other. And that becomes your sanctuary, that’s the security, of being able to connect with everyone else because right now that’s all they have.

One of my favorite moments from the season 4 premiere was when Kane told Bellamy to turn the page, and do better until he felt like he deserved to survive. It was a beautiful moment between the two of them, and says a lot about their relationship. Can you speak a bit to that?

Yeah, the Kane and Bellamy dynamic is one that Ian [Henry Ian Cusick] and I love playing, and we’re — well, we’re not anything like our characters, but we’re very close like the two of them are. In season 3, Kane and Pike were kind of vying to be the mentor of Bellamy. They saw a young leader that was a little bit erratic, and they both wanted to take him under their wing and try to teach him from their mistakes, you know? And Bellamy also let his need for revenge get the better of him.

But Kane still sees that good man inside of Bellamy, and wants him to see that for himself as well. And I think that’s a really beautiful and kind of heartbreaking thing with those two. Bellamy has such potential, and Kane can see that, but Bellamy is so stuck in his own guilt and he can’t get beyond it. And I like seeing that go back and forth, because it’s just always fun and beautiful to play along with Ian, and to see that [relationship] develop as well.

A dynamic the show hasn’t really explored much yet is Bellamy and Abby. Can we expect any significant moments between the two of them this year?

Well you know, whenever someone gets hurt Abby is always there, so I’m pretty sure you’ll see us in the same room together at some point [laughs]. But, you know, Abby and Bellamy both have that sense of protectiveness over Clarke. They share that as well. That relationship is definitely there and understood between the two of them, and it’s pretty cool. So you will see that explored a little throughout the season. And working with Paige [Turco] is always a lot of fun as well.

Which character do you think has the best arc this season?

I mean, everyone has well-rounded ones, but I think Octavia. And Echo’s arc is really, really cool, and Raven’s story… it’s really quite a big, expansive thing. But yeah, I quite enjoyed Octavia’s story this season.

If this were to be the last season of The 100, do you think viewers will be satisfied with the story and where Bellamy’s journey ends?

[Laughs] Ummm, will they be satisfied with the ending of this season… You know, I hope that it’s not the end of the series. It definitely feels like they have so much more story left to tell by the end of the season. I think [the fans] might be infuriated because — well, I think we would be infuriated as well, because we didn’t get to finish the story, or where we wanted it to go, you know?

The writers and Jason just keep going back to the wall, and I always think at the end of a season that they’ve penned themselves into a corner, and instead they end up kicking down the wall and making a bigger room [laughs]. I think there’s plenty more story to come, and I hope that this isn’t the end of the show.

Well, we’re certainly hoping for a season 5 as well! For now, you can look forward to watching “Heavy Lies the Crown,” and speculate about all the enticing clues Bob Morley could share about Bellamy’s season 4 journey.

The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW/h3>