Major ‘The 100’ Character Killed off in Wednesday’s Episode

The casualties are starting to grow on The 100‘s seventh and final season. After suffering the loss of Charmain Diyoza only a handful of weeks ago and several other minor characters, The CW‘s post-apocalyptic teen drama marked perhaps its biggest death to date. Warning: This post contains major spoilers for The 100 Season 7, Episode 7×13, “Blood Giant.”

As the series draws to a close, blood was spilled on Wednesday night’s all-new episode. After being presumed dead earlier in the season only to return alive, fan-favorite character Bellamy Blake, portrayed by Bob Morley, met his end in “Blood Giant.” His death came by none other than Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor) herself.

Bellamy’s death came amid the urgent hunt for the Flame. Having returned to Sanctum from Bardo, in the final moments of the episode, Bellamy was mere seconds away from handing over the valuable information in Madi’s (Lola Flanery) notebook to the Disciples. Although Clarke pleaded with him not to, fearing for Madi’s safety, Bellamy chose his side. In a major twist that fans did not see coming, Clarke, considered the “head” in what has often been dubbed Clarke and Bellamy’s “the heart and the head” relationship, shot Bellamy in the chest, killing him, before escaping through the bridge that the anomaly had opened.

Just minutes after the episode aired, showrunner Jason Rothenberg joined viewers on Twitter to confirm the death. In a tweet, he explained that “For 7 seasons, The 100 has been a show about the dark things that humanity will do to survive and the toll those deeds take on our heroes’ souls” and said that Bellamy’s loss is “devastating, but his life and his endless love for his people will loom large and affect everything that comes after, to the very end of the series finale, itself.”

Bellamy had been mostly absent from this season aside from the last several episodes. Speaking to TV Guide in late May, Rothenberg revealed that Morley “chose to take some time off this season.” He said that those working behind the scenes were able to create “a storyline in a way that enabled him to do that…to sort of craft a story that was still filled with surprises.” Fans, however, have reacted to the end of this storyline with outcry, many condemning the way in which Bellamy was killed, believing it to not only be out of character for Clarke, but also a death that made little sense.

Bellamy’s death leaves only two characters alive from the pilot episode – Clarke and Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) – which aired back in 2014. A handful of other characters from Season 1 have also managed to survive, though with Cadogan working towards starting the “Last War,” it’s almost guaranteed that more characters will fall before the series is over.

New episodes of The 100 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. The series finale is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest information.