Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 2 Review
Long post! Scroll down for a TL;DR and Aleta Rewrites Version!
I had a lot of thoughts after watching a LP of this season, but I decided to go back to the first season to see how it holds up against this one. I always felt this season was a little off, but I wasn't sure. While the first one isn't amazing, it was still a lot better than whatever this season was. But even without playing the first one, this season Is still badly written in general so I'm not going to compare the two much.
To start with the positives, there are some good ideas in here. Seeing how Clementine has grown since the first season and the themes of figuring out who to trust and side with are good themes to explore. However, the execution of these things are horrible. The game doesn't actually explore the trust theme much, your choices do not have much impact on the theme of your story or the characters, the trust theme gets thrown out the window by the time Carver is introduced and you are forced to stick with this group of shady people, and Clementine is treated like an adult and forced to babysit all the pathetic adults around her.
First of all, the intro tells you all you need to know. A random b!tch comes in to bully and threaten our 10-year-old protagonist (who has never even met her in the first place), Omid and Christa are both written out of the story, and a dog dies, all happened 30 minutes in. Jeez, relax, story. Spoiler alert, yes, Christa does not come back. And Clementine just decides to forget about her. The beginning of the game does a good job of showing you how pointless and melodramatic the rest of the story will be.
The next episode has Clementine seeking help for her dog bite. No one believes her and decides to lock her in the shed. God, this season is mean-spirited. Even I think Lee was treated better in season 1 than Clementine A FUCKING CHILD. I get being worried about it being a walker bite, but why lock a literal child in a shed, like have some mercy, man.
I will explain more about the story in the character section. But what I will say is that overall, there are a lot of quick deaths and characters getting written off, so don't get too attached to these characters, because you won't get to bond with them too much. None of the characters really get much time to grow or shine due to the story writing them off 1-2 episodes in. There was potential for Nick and Luke to grow, but they both die before that can happen.
After Carver dies, the story seems to struggle with figuring out where to go. As terrible of a villain Carver is, at least he has some point to the story unlike a certain Russian guy who comes out of nowhere and the story wants you to sympathize with despite trying to kill you TWICE. Oh, and Kenny comes back... somehow.... and the story makes him out to be a bad guy all because he was trying to whip all the manbabies up into shape and protect everyone from the russian b!tch who ambushed them. In no way am I saying Kenny is a saint or that the way he approaches situations are always healthy, but the game makes him out to be a madman and everyone else is morally correct or sympathetic when everyone in the group are fucking manbabies except for Clem.
The ending is a mixed bag. I would say the choice between leaving Kenny for Wellington (due to overpopulation) or staying with him is one of the few times where I think the game makes actual sense. But the fight with him and Jane before that just feels so forced. It's just again, the game trying to prove to you through this annoyingly cynical woman that Kenny is a bad man and shouldn't be around Clem. So she does something completely heartless to try to prove that to Clem, when I'm sure many (especially a hothead like Kenny) who found out their baby was left to die would probably react that way or close to it. Why couldn't this b!tch have stayed gone? Why am I supposed to like these characters?
Nearly every character here is just unlikeable, forgettable and dumb. They are so dumb that they literally make Clementine do all the dirty work while they sit there with a thumb up their asses. I even forgot to write a couple characters into this section because they were just that unmemorable. Even the characters that I liked have their own problems.
For example, Pete is probably one of the characters that I liked more, he's one of the more rational adults and has one of the few deaths that made sense. I also like Alvin too, his love and commitment to raising the baby that may or may not be his is admirable and his death at least serves a purpose. Luke is perhaps the most rational adult in the group, but he can make some dirty coward decisions (like for example, running away from the group twice (yeah another way the story tries to keep you from bonding with these characters) and refusing to shoot Carver) and he acts out of character in episode 4. Thankfully, he mellows out in episode 5 and we get to see more of his personality as he pities himself for not doing more for the group. But then he dies, so goodbye character development.
Kenny is still the same, sometimes an asshole but also loveable and kind. Clementine is still Clementine, with a bit more sass and edge which is to be expected. I personally would've liked more done with her, but I'll explain more in an Aleta Rewrites version.
I'm in the minority when I say that Sarah (Aka Futaba) is a good character. A lot of people call her useless, but I think she's a worthwhile example of what would happen if you shelter someone in an apocalypse and she can make for some good back and forth with Clementine. I would've liked to see how she grows, but she also becomes an annoying burden and then just dies. I understand she's coping with PTSD and her father dying, I have no problem with that. But girl, you are in a zombie apocalypse and you're just sitting there letting yourself die in a house. Come on, now.
Now, for the problematic characters. Nick is just Ben 2.0 but more hotheaded and less likeable. His whole deal with Matthew made no sense because he claims that he shot Matthew for allegedly pointing a gun at his friends, but HE was the one who drew the gun first before Matthew so why he shot him, I don't understand. I think there could've been a better way to keep this storyline intact without having him going insane thinking Matthew was going to kill Clementine and Luke.
Carlos and Rebecca are just straight up assholes to Clem in the beginning and Carlos treats Clementine like she's his own FUCKING ANXIETY RIDDEN DAUGHTER, WHAT?!?!?! Like I said, I think it's interesting to show the ramifications of sheltering someone in an apocalypse but I just can't get over these two being the ones to push the bright idea of letting a little girl suffer in a shed. I would say Rebecca's story with the baby is cute, though.
Sarita... doesn't really have much personality. She's a pretty likeable character, but I think there could've been more to do with her (see the Aleta Rewrites version).
Mike was ok until he started whiteknighting Arvo. Bonnie was a weird character. At first, she sides with Carver, but then she joins the group and is on their side while also making some dumb decisions like *coughs* Getting Luke killed on the lake *coughs* and also whiteknighting Arvo.
Jane just gave off so many red flags. She's cynical, always telling Clementine the worst that could happen like Sarah being dead after losing her glasses and Kenny being a bad person. She has a hidden evil side (willing to leave a baby in the car out in the cold). She gets involved with Luke for whatever reason. And she just seems like an extremely twisted character overall while trying to keep up the cool, nice girl act.
Carver and especially Arvo are both horrible villains. I felt like something interesting could've been done with Carver, he wants to raise the baby that may or may not be his, but he was such a confusing character. On one hand, his motivations seem clear, he wants to get rid of Alvin and help Rebecca raise the baby. But then he has another motivation is that he is a ruthless Karen who wants everyone to work with him and will hurt them if they make even the tiniest mistake. Arvo just feels completely out of the blue. Even if you didn't make the choice to steal the supplies, you still get ambushed by his group. He's clearly a villain yet the game wants you to sympathize with him at the same time. Also a confusing mess of a character.
Gameplay/Animation/Voice Acting
What about the gameplay? Well, besides me not liking the QTE events, the gameplay is still relatively the same and I don't have much to complain about it. Overall, the gameplay and the technical aspects such as the animation and voice acting are still competent. But I'm a writer first and foremost so I focus on the writing more and don't have much to say about anything else.
I give The Walking Dead Season 2 5.5 bells out of 10.
It was pretty hard to rate. I mean, I have so many mixed feelings about this season and I don't think it's an awful season, but it does so much wrong in terms of writing. I don't want to be too mean to it because I think it's playable at best, it didn't make me want to rip my hair out. The gameplay is competent and there are a few characters to like here (though, it really doesn't help that pretty much every likeable character is killed off and have issues of their own).
But overall, the story rarely makes sense and is just overall mean-spirited and melodramatic, filled with pointless deaths, dumb character decisions, and characters being assholes. One character from the first season gets treated like a villain despite being one of the more rational characters in the group. Characters die before they have much time to develop. Clementine is an 11 year old who's either treated like the only sane adult or treated like a clueless child. Story throws in a bunch of random conflict that throws off the pacing and consistency. Both Carver and Arvo yo-yo between being somewhat sympathetic characters (at least in how the story portrays them) to completely ruthless classic villains. Even the more likeable characters have their own problems, usually as a result of dying off too soon. Or even just other things like Luke being out of character in episode 4 and Sarah becoming an empty husk before her death. Sarita is an anomaly in that she's not an asshole, but pretty much a blank slate.
Clementine has no character development whatsoever and is somehow a cold, blood-thirsty killer and wise way beyond her years after only two years. Instead of being this static Mary-Sue, why not give her a coming of age story? Show her as a still sensitive, naive little girl losing her innocence as she makes some big choices and sacrifices. Make her hesitate a bit and freak out over the stuff she is doing and going through. Show a major breakdown over everything she's going through. She doesn't need to be a Sarah, but she does still need to have some vulnerability. This could make her bond with the adults (especially Luke and Kenny) much more dynamic and emotional. And THEN by season 3, we can see a cold, cynical, blood-thirsty Clementine, hardened by everything she had to go through, especially in season 2.
Luke. He should've survived at least up until season 3. I could see him having a more heroic death where he sacrifices himself for Clem. If he was able to survive longer, I think he would've had some great character development. Either it's going to be him making less stupid choices, or having to make more morally grey choices in order to survive.
Sarah (aka Futaba). They at least should've kept her until season 3 as well. Maybe season 3 would be the development of Sarah struggling to become more of a badass.
Nick, like I said, the guilt about a huge mistake he made is a good concept to explore. It was just the way it was done didn't make sense. They could've done the simple thing of having Matthew pull out his gun on him first, being suspicious about the group, which then causes Nick to shoot him. Nick could've survived a little bit longer as he tries to make up for his misdeeds, and maybe he dies while doing so.
Sarita, how about having some drama come with being a replacement goldfish for Katjaa? Since Kenny is an emotionally unstable character, maybe he and Sarita don't really get along that much and he's only using her as a rebound. But Sarita doesn't want to break up because she kinda loves him and she wants to keep him happy, it's a codependent issue.
Jane, I think is one of the characters that possibly could've been written out in this season. She's a strong and smart character, so after teaching the group all her skills, having her die instead of Luke maybe during an all is lost moment for the characters would be emotional and would cause the group to go frantic, if only she was a more likeable and loyal character.
Carver. Focus more on his motivation of trying to raise the baby. Considering that the story tries to make him sympathetic at some points, maybe don't imply he r@ped Rebecca in his backstory? I just feel like having that kind of topic even for a villain makes a character instantly unsympathetic and irredeemable. Maybe he was an old fling or flame and she used Alvin as a rebound or another fling that became a relationship or something, idk. Maybe Carver is someone who constantly steals from the group or is an assassin working for someone to kill someone or two in Carlos's group in order to make enough dough to raise the baby.
I could see Arvo being a minor villain to the story if you choose to steal the supplies, but he overstays his welcome. Instead of Arvo, BONNIE should've been the secondary antagonist after Carver. Actually, have HER turn out to be the one who wanted Carver to work for her in assassinating someone. She was initially allied with Carver when the group first talked to her so it'd make sense she'd want revenge after his death. We don't have to have that whole lake bullshit. We don't have to have Bonnie blaming Clementine for someone's death and then turning her back on her while allowing someone to point a damn gun at Clem. JUST MAKE HER WANT VENGEANCE! Seriously, how hard is it to make her be the one to shoot Luke in the leg and Clementine causing her near-death experience? Or idk, that would conflict with Arvo. Maybe don't have him in the story at all. Unless maybe Arvo gets one of your allies killed (maybe Mike, who probably lets himself die in order to make up for stealing the supplies, But also, Mike doesn't do anything so maybe he should die at some point in the story anyway by either Bonnie or Arvo).
Kenny and Luke already had tension built up for episodes and with Kenny gradually losing more and more of his sanity, it would make sense for HIM to be the one to attack Luke because their tension reached a breaking point and Luke did something that he strongly disagreed with. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it got someone killed. Maybe it was Sarita? She was the closest to Kenny.
