You've spent years watching them. You saw the head and the heart collide, the shared trauma of Mount Weather, and those six years of radio calls that Clarke Griffin sent into the void of space. If you’re a fan of The 100, the "Bellarke" ship wasn't just a fandom hobby; it was the gravitational pull of the entire show. But if you’re looking for the definitive clarke and bellamy kiss on screen, you’ve probably realized something frustrating.
It never happened. At least, not the way most TV romances do.
Honestly, it’s one of the most polarizing choices in modern sci-fi history. You have two leads with electric chemistry—played by Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, who actually got married in real life—yet the showrunners kept them in a state of "perpetual almost" for seven seasons.
The Kiss That Wasn't a Kiss
The internet is littered with YouTube thumbnails claiming to show the clarke and bellamy kiss. Most of these are clever edits or scenes from the actors’ other projects. If you're scanning the actual episodes of The 100, the closest you’ll get is a series of forehead touches, intense hugs, and one very controversial CPR scene.
In Season 6, Episode 10, "Matryoshka," Bellamy desperately tries to revive Clarke. He’s crying, he’s pleading, and he’s performing mouth-to-mouth. For a segment of the fandom, this was "the kiss." To others, it was a medical necessity that felt like a cruel tease from the writers.
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Why does this matter so much? Because the show spent years building a "transcendent" bond. Showrunner Jason Rothenberg often described their relationship as non-romantic soulmates. He argued that their love was "deeper" than romance. But fans weren't buying it. When you have a male and female lead who share every major life-and-death decision, the lack of a physical payoff feels less like high art and more like baiting.
The Book Version vs. The Show
If you’re desperate for a canon clarke and bellamy kiss, you have to leave the CW behind and pick up the original novels by Kass Morgan.
The books are a completely different animal. In the source material, Clarke and Bellamy aren't just a "maybe"—they are a "definitely." They get together relatively early. They are romantic. They are endgame. In the final book, Rebellion, their relationship is a cornerstone of the story's resolution.
Seeing the two versions side-by-side is jarring. The show chose a path of grit and "survival at all costs," which often meant sacrificing personal happiness for the sake of the plot. The books leaned into the YA romance roots.
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Why a Clarke and Bellamy Kiss Remained "Off Limits"
There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes drama regarding why Bellarke never became "canon" in the TV series. Bob Morley later revealed in interviews that the actors were often directed to play scenes with romantic subtext. They were told to look at each other with a specific intensity.
Then came Season 7.
The final season is where everything went sideways. Instead of a clarke and bellamy kiss, we got a tragedy that no one saw coming. Clarke killing Bellamy in the final few episodes didn't just kill the ship; it nuked it from orbit.
- The "Clexa" Factor: Some theorists believe the writers were hesitant to pair Clarke with a man again after the massive cultural impact (and controversy) of her relationship with Lexa.
- The Platonic Narrative: The writers seemed determined to prove that a man and a woman could lead a show as equals without "slipping into bed."
- Production Tension: Rumors of friction between the actors and the production staff during the final season have circulated for years, which might explain the bizarre direction of Bellamy’s final arc.
The Moments That Almost Counted
Even without a formal clarke and bellamy kiss, there were "moments." You know the ones.
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In the Season 2 finale, "Blood Must Have Blood, Part 2," Clarke leaves Camp Jaha. Bellamy’s "May we meet again" and the soft kiss she plants on his cheek felt like a beginning. It wasn't.
Fast forward to Season 4, "Praimfaya." When Clarke thinks she’s dying to save her friends, her last thoughts are about Bellamy getting them to safety. When they reunite in Season 5, the look on Bellamy’s face—while his girlfriend Echo is standing right there—said more than a five-minute make-out session ever could.
The chemistry was so undeniable that it literally spilled over into reality. When Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley announced they had married in 2019, the internet nearly broke. It was a strange meta-win for the fans. They didn't get the kiss on screen, but they got a wedding in the real world.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're still feeling the "Bellarke" void, here is how you can actually engage with the story as it stands today:
- Read the Kass Morgan Books: If you need the romantic closure the show denied you, the four novels (The 100, Day 21, Homecoming, and Rebellion) are the only place you'll find a romantic, committed Clarke and Bellamy.
- Watch for the Subtext in Season 6: Rewatch the "Mindspace" episodes. The way the show uses Bellamy as Clarke’s "anchor" is the closest the TV version ever gets to admitting they are in love.
- Explore the Fan Archives: The The 100 fandom produced some of the most high-quality fan fiction in the 2010s. For many, "AO3" (Archive of Our Own) provides the "true" Season 7 that the show failed to deliver.
The clarke and bellamy kiss remains the "Big Foot" of the TV world—many claim to have seen it, but the footage doesn't exist. Their relationship survived nuclear apocalypses, AI takeovers, and alien transcendences, only to remain one of the greatest "what ifs" in television history.