Clementine’s story continues! The Walking Dead: The Final Season was in a state of limbo when Telltale Games closed last year. Things were saved though when Skybound Games stepped in and brought on some of the original developers to save the season and finish Clementine’s story. There was some worry that this change would cause the final episodes to suffer in comparison to the first two, but those worries have proven to be unfounded.
The episode picks up mere hours after the end of episode two. Clementine and the kids are reeling from the losses they suffered at the hands of Lilly and her group’s attack on the school. Some members of the group are blaming others for how things went down, and others are driven to fight back. Clem interrogates their captive for information and from there the group formulates their plan to get their friends back.
Episode three continues the trend of focusing in on the characters for the majority of the episode and culminating in a large, high stakes set piece. Your conversations with the other characters give them some more depth, giving you more insight into why they are the person they are today. There are a couple conversations you have with James, the former Whisperer, that give a glimpse into the group that he was once a part of and why he has the beliefs that he does. It turns a character that was initially cool from a fan service perspective into someone that’s interesting for reasons beyond “Oh he’s from this awesome group from the comics!”
My favorite part of the episode was when the group plays a game where they read their school files and have to guess who the file is talking about. It’s yet another instance where we get to see that the other members of Clementine’s group are still kids at heart in this harsh world, and they still like to try and have fun in silly little ways. It’s a great scene that’s heartfelt yet also really funny. One of the revelations that came from the game actually made me laugh out loud because of how ridiculous it was and the reactions that everyone had to it.
This episode also continues to dive deeper into the development of AJ and I’m liking the way that things are going. You have to make some tough choices in this episode with him right by your side and it forced me to really think about what would be the best thing to do, considering the things that AJ has done and what he believes is right and wrong in the world. Do I torture a guy and show him no remorse in an attempt to get information out of him, or do I play ball with him some while still showing that I’m not taking any crap from him? It’s a tough thing to decide when AJ is watching the whole time, especially when you want to go berserk on the person for the things they’ve done to you and the group. Clementine also gets some time to reflect on what she’s done and what she has to do in order to save the people that she cares about, and it’s an amazing scene. It almost brought me to tears because of all the emotion that was brought to the table.
I didn’t really talk about Lilly in my review for the previous episode because it was a surprise back then and I try to keep these reviews as spoiler free as possible, but since it’s not a surprise anymore I’m going to talk about her here. Damn do I hate Lilly! I wasn’t that big a fan of her in season one because she was a jerk like her father and was always trying to discredit and bring down Lee. She still had some redeemable qualities though, like how she tried to be a leader for the group when no one else was and keep everyone together when the food situation was dire. It takes strength to try and take charge in those situations. That all went out the window though when she killed Carley and then stole our RV.
Seeing that she’s the leader of the raiders that have harassed the kids for so long was a shock, but what was really surprising was how ruthless she ended up being. She doesn’t have any hint of redemption now, and instead has become a villain who’s mantra is “Do what I say, or I’ll kill you.” I really like her as the villain of the season though. She serves as a great foil to Clementine because of the history that they share with one another and how much they’ve changed over the year. Clem has taken Lee’s lessons and the ones she’s learned on her own to become a better person and a caring leader, whereas Lilly has taken her loss and her own experience and become a brutal dictator. Every interaction with her poses the question of whether we should kill her because of everything she’s done to these kids, or save her because of the history that you all have and serve her true justice. For the record, I want to kill her.
My biggest gripe with this episode is the fact that we didn’t really get a chance to explore and chat with everyone freely. We had been given that option in the past two episodes, but it’s absent here. Things moreso play out like a movie where you’re funneled from one scene to the next with a moment or two where you can move around freely. This could be a result of the game’s development troubles and the move to Skybound Games, or it could be something that was always going to be the case. It’s not a big issue, but it’s something that I did feel the episode was lacking in.
There’s only one episode left in Clementine’s story. Things have been going really well this season, with an interesting cast of characters, tough decisions, and some great development for everyone. This episode also shows that the behind the scenes shakeup didn’t really detract from the game any. Episode three ends on a cliffhanger with the fate of many characters up in the air, so I’m eager to jump into the final episode to see what happens to everyone. The final episode releases in March so we won’t have to wait too long for the conclusion of this story.
TheComfySpot 