Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me

the "i'll do it later" squad

What is interesting is Bellamy and Clarke’s different reactions upon reaching Camp Jaha. While a burden seems lifted from Bellamy’s shoulders, even lightly commiserating that they need a drink, Clarke refuses to even look at the people she sacrificed so much to save. This moment speaks to the fundamental differences in their character. While Clarke has always been the better leader, Bellamy was initially swayed to her side by mutual interest in protecting the 100. Clarke thinks big picture while Bellamy is loyal to a fault to the people he feels he is responsible for. It is an interesting shift in their dynamic as, despite their current support of one another. I’m sure this difference will be raised along with the ghost of TonDC in season three. It is easy to think of Bellamy and Clarke as the leadership unit of the 100, but this season has really propelled Clarke to the forefront of that duo, proving that she has the natural strength and fortitude to be the true leader of the collective Sky People. Yet, though she is the leader everyone at Camp Jaha may deserve, she is not the one they need right now, and so she leaves them in Bellamy’s more primitive style of guidance. What makes Clarke such an interesting lead is the juxtaposition of her fierce capability and her inexperience and self-doubt. Eliza Taylor has an ability to play this nuance beautifully, and her range has never been more on display than in this episode. She fluctuates between the ruthless war leader she has become, unflinchingly killing Dante Wallace to prove a point, and the child justifying herself to her mother. Even as she stiffens her voice and hardens her heart, it is Taylor’s deft handling of Clarke’s innate vulnerable heart that brings so much gravity to the exploration of child soldiers and morality of war The 100 plays with. The battles and sacrifice on The 100 are not gratuitous but stark survival. If Clarke was the Ark Princess come to ground in the first season, this season she has become a queen and heavy is the head that wears the crown.