To say that fans of The 100 didn't like Bellamy Blake's death in Season 7 would be a bit of an understatement. The death was an anti-climax: a random end to one of the show's beloved lead characters before its series finale that felt confusing at best and disingenuous at worst. Even when one excludes Bellarke shipping disappointment, not only did this creative choice feel like a drastic regression of Bellamy's growth across the past six seasons of television, but it undermined the possibility of concluding his arc in a manner that felt true to what fans loved about the character.
It's clear that much of Season 7 was written around actor Bob Morley's absence during production, otherwise Bellamy would have played a larger role in the story. The season literally opens with some invisible figure knocking Bellamy out and dragging him into an Anomaly portal, creating an in-universe rationale for his lack of screen time. At first, fans went along with this because the show appeared to be building some greater mystery about the worlds surrounding Sanctum, the Anomaly Stones and a prophesied "Last War." Also, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own season finale mystery surrounding the whereabouts of Leopold Fitz showed that you can make this story work.
However, while The 100 committed to its world building, the story Bellamy received felt weirdly out of character. He appeared briefly on Bardo but seemingly died, then was revealed to have survived but went on a pilgrimage with a Disciple that led him to experience light-based visions that somehow wholly converted him to Bill Cadogan's cause. So much so that Bellamy willingly gave up his friends' leverage seconds after reuniting with them. Very little explanation is given for this sudden shift in personality, minus the nature of time dilution across worlds. So viewers assumed that the writers were setting up a major revelation about what Bellamy saw that would tie into the series finale.
We did not get that. Instead Season 7's 13th episode "Blood Giants" ended with Clarke shooting Bellamy after he discovered Madi's journal sketches, which contained memories crucial to breaking the Anomaly Stone's code. The show's rationale was that Bellamy wouldn't be able to keep this secret due to his newfound loyalties, and, rather than simply force him into the portal to Earth, Clarke just straight up killed him. However, when one takes into account the core attributes of Bellamy Blake's character, this behavior just doesn’t add up.
Like every character in The 100, Bellamy had grown immensely since his "Whatever the hell we want" days in the pilot. Over the course of multiple storylines (plus atoning for his bad Season 3 decisions), he ultimately became a strong moral leader who embodied Skaikru's conscience and regularly went out of his way to protect everyone whenever possible. Similarly, his relationship with Clarke evolved from adversaries to allies and co-leaders by Season 6, to the point that she sent him a couple hundred one-way radio messages post-Praimfaya and he risked everything to save her body from remaining a Prime host. That Bellamy couldn't articulate his reasoning for becoming a Disciple, let alone Clarke shooting him without thinking Bellamy could be saved, undermines this bond.
That's not to say a shocking death for Bellamy Blake couldn't work. If anything, fans accepting heartbreaking deaths of beloved characters has long been a staple of The 100, a reminder that no one on this show is ever safe. But usually these deaths came with some emotional build up with long-term ramifications on the show's storylines and people close to them. Even the deaths of Lexa and Lincoln in Season 3, controversial as they were, genuinely drove The 100's story forward.
Bellamy's death, by comparison, just happens with little fanfare or consequences, let alone a chance to make peace with his friends and family. When Clarke confesses what she did in "A Sort of Homecoming," Octavia and Echo hug her and offer forgiveness almost immediately when just episodes ago Octavia was trying to reunite with Bellamy after a decade on Skyring, while Echo nearly committed genocide against Bardo to avenge his supposed death. The same can be said about Clarke' rationale for killing him, since Cadogan still learns about the journal's purpose from Sheidheda and Madi ultimately gives herself up via tracker knife to ensure that no one else will die for her. Compared to the emotional deaths of Diyoza earlier in Season 7 and Gabriel that very episode, Bellamy received what feels like a Redshirt end.
Even if The 100 fans didn't know whether Bellamy would survive Season 7 early on, we at least expected a satisfying death. Stiffing him like this, however, seems to have cast a dark shadow over whether the show's series finale can satisfy the entire fandom, especially with two episodes remaining and details of "The Last War" still vague. It's probable, but would likely require the Anomaly Stone creators to adopt a Bellamy form so Clarke can have one last conversation with him about forgiveness before saving humanity. Then, maybe Season 7 can go out on a positive note -- The 100's characters deserve that much.