Going into the second episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season after the news broke that Telltale Games was closing down, throwing the future of the season into question was bittersweet. There’s the potential that things won’t get resolved, and even if the final two episodes do come out, who knows if they’ll be as good since the original team won’t be making them. If things are going to end here though after two episodes, things are ending on a strong note, albeit one that ends with a cliffhanger.

The episode picks up just after the shocking conclusion of episode one. AJ killed Marlon, the leader of the kids that live in this abandoned school, and everyone is afraid of him. They don’t know what to make of him and simply want AJ and Clementine to leave because to the kids, AJ is a threat and he could kill any of them just as easily as he killed Marlon. What follows throughout the course of the episode is mostly Clem and AJ trying to fix their relationship with the kids at the school, while also coming to terms with what happened and preparing for the danger that’s on the horizon.

While that may sound like all the ingredients for a pretty boring episode, it’s far from it. Things are still paced slowly, but just as before it’s to the betterment of the characters and the episode as a whole. The episodes takes its time in allowing you to help AJ process what did and understand just how serious his action was is. He feels like it was the right thing to do, but is conflicted due to the reactions of everyone at the school and how they’re treating him. Even if he doesn’t like the things you tell him and gets upset with you, it’s all in service of trying to keep him from becoming a psycho child who kills freely and thinks it’s all just a game.

In my conversations with him, I was battling with what was the right thing to say to him, and what I felt was the thing that would keep me in his favor. I like that things aren’t so easy with AJ, and I’m happy that Telltale isn’t trying to make it such a simple thing to deal with. It wouldn’t be simple trying to help a young child understand the ramifications of murder and that they were wrong for doing it, even if they think it’s the right thing to do, all while trying to keep them from hating you for being upset with them.

Aside from AJ, we do get to spend more time with the kids at the school, specifically those that didn’t get much attention in the first episode. Going on a scavenging mission with Mitch and Ruby, two characters that were both affected profoundly by Marlon’s death offers up some great character interactions and chances to really learn more about who they are. We also get to see a very different side of Louis than we did before. Here, he’s not as much of a wise cracker, instead struggling with the loss of his best friend and the revelation of what Marlon did in the past. In fact, he’s one of the people that wants you to leave the most, which causes there to be some awkward interactions with him since he likes Clementine and AJ, but hates what they caused to happen. It’s good to see that he’s a more layered and complex character than initially painted.

One thing that stood out the most to me in this episode were the little moments that you have with the kids at the school that help you learn more about them and make you more endeared to them. A game of truth or dare provides laughs and peeks at the true feelings of these kids, reminding you that although the world has gone to hell, they are still kids at the end of the day. Kids who have crushes on one another and are embarrassed to admit it. Kids who have dreams of a future where the world is better. Kids who have never even seen the world as it was before the walkers took over. Perhaps my favorite moment is one where you’re stargazing. It provided one of the most satisfying moments of character development so far from this season and had me cheering for the characters involved, with a big, goofy smile on my face.

Although things are paced slowly, the episode does pick up near the end and raise the stakes significantly as the antagonists for this season make their move. Abel and his merry band of child stealers make a big play in this episode, and although we don’t know too much about them, we do learn why they’re trying to take the kids, and it doesn’t bode well for anyone at all. Among their ranks is also a returning character from season one, someone that I completely forgot about and never expected to see again. Their appearance throws a wrench in things and makes the fight against these guys a personal one for Clementine now. I’m really looking forward to finding out just what they’ve been up to all this time, and why they’re on the side that they’re on.

We’re halfway through the season and I’m enjoying it so far. The pace is picking up and things are getting even more interesting and exciting than they already were. It just sucks though that the season may not continue as soon as we thought, if it continues at all. And if it does, who’s to say it will be as good as what we’ve gotten so far? I’m going to hope for the best, but if this truly is the end, then at least the series went out with one last good episode.

Final Score

8/10