Bellarke: slow burn should still burn
I feel like I should preface this by saying I completely believe Bellarke is endgame and my faith has literally never wavered. This is not a post complaining about how worried I am that Bellarke doesn't seem like it's happening. Mostly, I just really need to complain about HOW it is happening.
I love a good slow burn, the longer drawn out the better...IF the writers can keep the tension. And that's exactly the problem I see happening with Bellarke. Starting from the end of season 2, the burn has slowly started to peter out. I love the developments in seasons 3 and 4, and the way Clarke and Bellamy have grown as a team and as friends, but the burn literally only survived on a few crumbs dealt out here and there. At the end of season 4, the burn was starting to come back. Separated by space and assumed death?? That's what the best burns are made of. Season 5 even started out with the most perfect of reunions. And then.....all the potential was wasted episode by episode.
Again, don't get me wrong, I have actually enjoyed season 5 quite a bit. It's the evolution of Bellarke I find disappointing. The angst has been good, but it leaves them in a place where there is no room for the good kind of tension, the kind that feeds a slow burn. Instead, there has been plenty to drive them apart and make them realize they are not the same after six years. Their friendship and camaraderie are falling apart as I watch, and everything the show could have been doing to build the fire of Bellarke is falling by the wayside.
I fully believe they will find their way back to each other but I am just so disappointed in the way the writers have done things. I feel like with the constant separation since season 1 it's been hard enough to build a burn. At this rate, I would almost be upset if Bellarke happens before rebuilding the flame.