Problematic because: "He secretly makes a deal with the bandits attacking the motel, giving them supplies because he thinks it’ll keep the group safe. It does not. The deal helps set off the raid, Lilly’s breakdown, Carley or Doug getting shot, Duck getting bitten, Katjaa dying, and Kenny’s entire life collapsing in one afternoon. Ben is remorseful, but he also keeps it secret until the group is already falling apart. And then in Savannah he keeps making fear-driven choices at the worst possible times. When walkers attack, he runs instead of helping Clementine, which forces Chuck to save her and gets Chuck separated from the group and killed. In Crawford, he removes the hatchet keeping a door shut because he doesn’t realise it was holding the walkers back, and that causes another attack during the escape. If he survives Crawford, he can finally snap back at Kenny and point out that he never even got to know what happened to his own family, which is one of the reasons Ben is hard to just write off as “the useless one.” He screws up badly, but he’s also a scared teenager in an apocalypse full of adults who barely have it together either."
Propaganda: "He's one of those characters I will defend more than I probably should, because yes, he messes up constantly, but people act like he’s some evil mastermind when he is literally a terrified high schooler. His biggest mistake with the bandits is awful, and it gets people killed, but he doesn’t do it because he wants anyone hurt, he does it because he thinks he’s buying safety and then doesn’t have the nerve to admit it once it all goes wrong. He’s not brave in the cool apocalypse-survivor way, he’s not secretly badass, he’s scared, guilty, awkward, and completely out of his depth, which honestly makes him one of the more realistic people in the group. Not everyone would become Lee or Kenny or Molly. A lot of people would become Ben - trying to help, making it worse, hating themselves for it, and still not knowing how to fix anything."
Problematic because: "She's exactly the kind of character people write off as “just a bitch,” which is lazy, but also like… she is definitely being a bitch for a good chunk of the game. She’s part of the prank on Hannah at the start, where the group humiliates her over her crush on Mike - Hannah runs out into the snow afterward, Beth follows her, and the whole tragedy starts there. Emily wasn’t the only person involved, and Jessica is the one usually credited with planning it, but Emily is absolutely in that room. A year later, she’s still messy with pretty much everyone around her. She’s awful to Jessica, treats Matt like he’s there to carry bags and back her up in arguments, she might be cheating with Mike, and can like it when Matt threatens Mike or sides against Jess, which says a lot about how she uses him in that relationship. She’s also harsh, demanding, spiteful, and very willing to make her insecurity everyone else’s problem. The basement bite scene is more complicated because Mike is the one who can pull the gun on her, but Emily can still slap Ashley afterward when she finds out the bite was never infectious, so even her very understandable terror comes out as “I’m going to make this someone’s fault immediately.”"
Propaganda: 1. "She’s rude, jealous, controlling with Matt, and absolutely part of the Hannah prank, so I’m not trying to pretend she’s secretly innocent. But once the horror actually starts, she’s also one of the most capable people in the group. The mines sequence does so much for her because suddenly all the “mean girl” stuff falls away and you’re watching someone think fast, keep moving, and survive through sheer panic and competence. She’s not written to be pleasant, she’s written to be abrasive, smart, angry, scared, and very hard to kill if you don’t mess up her QTEs. I love a horror character who can be socially terrible and still earn respect because when the monster shows up, she does not simply stand there screaming. She runs, climbs, hides, improvises, and makes it out. Emily isn’t “nice,” but nice was never the assignment!!"
2. "yes, she is mean. yes, she is exhausting. yes, matt should probably have gone home single. but she is also SO entertaining and honestly one of the most competent people on that mountain. like people reduce her to “bitchy girlfriend” and then forget she survives the mines basically alone while everyone else is still in the lodge. she’s snappy, she’s selfish, she’s jealous, she has a horrible tone 90% of the time, but she also has survival instincts and a brain. i don’t need her to be sweet i need her to be exactly the kind of girl who would call me an idiot and then somehow get us both out alive"
