‘The 100’ Star Tasya Teles Previews Season 5, Talks Echo, Bellamy’s Relationship

The CW’s post-apocalyptic drama “The 100” was just renewed for a sixth season, but there’s still plenty of Season 5 craziness for fans to see. Tasya Teles’ character, Echo, is right there in the thick of it when she and her fellow friends in space discover another spaceship nearby. Friend or foe, they don’t know, but they’re about to find out during Tuesday’s episode.

International Business Times caught up with Teles, who’s been bumped up to series regular this season, to find out more about this week’s storyline, her character’s new relationship with Bellamy (Bob Morley) and what to look forward to during the rest of Season 5.

International Business Times: Can you preview for us a little bit about what’s to come in episode 3?

Tasya Teles: They go to the other spaceship — so, the thing I find really cool about this whole other spaceship idea is it connects back to our time. It connects “The 100” back to what’s happening now, in our time. So, it’s like they’re our people. They’re a little bit more technologically advanced...because right now we don’t have spaceships that can travel light years...but it connects to the earlier part of the story when “The 100” first started, which is that there are people living out in space and they’re doing things. So, we get more of the back, back, backstory that connects the entire “The 100” [universe] which is cool.

IBT: In the Season 5 premiere, we see that Echo and Bellamy are together. When you first found out about that, what did you think? Were you worried about fan reactions?

Teles: In the storyline, it makes sense, so I just have to not be affected by what goes on around me, and I was definitely a little apprehensive going into [the premiere]. I was actually shooting something at the time, so I was on set working...but there was a lot of reaction going on online, but I didn’t even have an opportunity to get swept by it.

IBT: Will there be more flashbacks to see how Bellamy and Echo’s relationship transformed, as well as Echo’s relationship with others on the ship?

Teles: I don’t know what ended up making it to the final edit of every episode. I know that we filmed a lot and we lose a lot because there’s just a whole other story-building process that happens after we shoot, so I’m not sure exactly...but we did shoot some [more] flashbacks and the writers are definitely trying to catch everybody up to what’s going on and how we start this new world after six years, but there’s so much to be told with new characters, the new prisoners, that we don’t spend too much time in the flashbacks.

IBT: At the end of “The 100” Season 4, Echo’s ready to commit suicide before going to space. Does that affect her at all, six years later?

Teles: I think with the [almost] suicide, I don’t think it was just Echo giving up. I think it was actually [Seppuku], which is a samurai tradition of killing yourself so you can maintain honor in your family name. So, she was doing it kind of for honor than giving up entirely. I think she was just in a total state of being overwhelmed after everything that had transpired, and she didn’t know what was going on or what space was. And she didn’t have any friends there, and she was like, “Okay, I’m going to go back to my roots, and this is what we do in Azgeda.”

But I think that moment is very special because when Bellamy interrupts her, she for the first time has a chance to look up at him and take his hand and step away from all the ways she was [developed] by Azgeda. And once she’s in space, she’s still freaked out, but we see her take all the layers of her warrior self off over the six years and she becomes a completely different person, which is pretty awesome.

IBT: Will that play into this season? Will we see Echo fight between her two different sides?

Teles: Definitely. I think part of her worry or concern is that she’s going to get triggered when she goes back to Earth, and if her new pals are really going to have her back because they hadn’t been under pressure the way they’re about to be…there's a lot at stake for her.

IBT: Who would you love to see Echo have more scenes with in the future?

Teles: I would love to see her interact more with Indra (Adina Porter) because Indra kind of has the role of Octavia’s (Marie Avgeropoulos) mom, and there’s so much history between Azgeda and Trikru that it would be really interesting to see how those two get off together.

IBT: Are there certain episodes this season for Echo that you’re really excited for fans to see?

Teles: Definitely. I like episode 6, I like episode 12 and 13. Episode 8, I believe, is pretty cool. I mean, this season’s awesome.

“The 100” Season 5 airs on The CW on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EDT.