#That I could've been a kid just supporting art of her favorite kids show?

[kleiner-detektiv]

Me: send me the link to your art and I'll reblog/support!

This one person: *sends something containing spoiler*

Me: -_- Thanks. Spoiler won't be reblogged till 2 weeks left after the English premiere.

This same person: *sends link to his comic sketches*

Me: Sorry, I won't reblog anything containing slurs, guns, war, open wounds. Please stay FSK12.

(I should just have said, I won't support military. Shit.)

Goddammit! That's a fucking kids show about cute Teenagers going kissy kissy while saving the world from the purple mothman in the name of love and friendship!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

1/2 Can I share a really unpopular opinion real quick? Episode 4 was my least favorite out of the four episodes. I didn't like almost ever character was pushed to the side for Clem and AJ. Also I feel like Clem getting bit wasn't necessary for the story. We still could've played AJ to maybe shifting the focus half way through the episode. I wanted to interact more with a betrayed/blind Violet and a mute Louis. I wanted to see what Assam and Omar said about the delta.

2/2 I wanted to see how Willy was coping with Mitch's death. I wanted to see how Ruby and Assam got together. I wanted Tenn to learn the truth about Sophie. I wanted Violet/Tenn to tell us more about Minnie. I wanted more cute Clementine X Violet or Clementine X Louis moments. Maybe I was just expecting something different and my own expectations got me let down. I just wanted to share my idea's with someone and hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading all of this :)

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Episode 4 is............. a complicated episode for me. 

Like, I love parts of it. I love all the clouis moments, I love playing as AJ, the James cave scene is flippin’ wild, and as much as I scream and whine about the trust AJ choice, I like how it was different than the previous choices we made in which we didn’t think it’d lead to what it did. I like how batshit Minerva got after getting bit to hell, even though I fucking hate her for what happens on the bridge. 

But I do think it is the one episode I have the most problems with, and the big one is what you said: Suddenly, everything was pushed aside to make room for Clementine getting bit. 

I love the Clementine and AJ moments, and I love how many there are, but I wish we didn’t have to sacrifice moments with Louis/Violet and the other we didn’t save, as well as the other kids. I get WHY the did it because really, Clementine and AJ are the core of the story but.... still. 

Y’know, I go back and forth on if they should’ve given us 5 episodes instead of 4, because then they could’ve given us all the things you mention here. BUT then what if it ended up being too drawn out and made the game less impactful?

 I doubt this because if they were given the proper time and budget and assets, I firmly believe they could’ve given us 5 excellent episodes where we could’ve interacted more with blind Violet and mute Louis. We could’ve talked with Tenn more and give him the truth of what happened to Sophie. We could’ve had more interactions with the other Ericson kids. We could’ve had more sweet moments with Louis/Violet. 

I’ve said this before, but I wish Clementine and AJ could’ve stayed with them for at least a week before they ran into Abel and everything Marlon did was revealed. If done right, we could’ve been presented with the first community we’ve seen that has good, solid structure and support... only to realize that it’s slowly crumbling and no one realizes it. This happened fairly quickly in what we got: We run into Abel, Brody freaks out, Marlon freaks out, truth is revealed, Marlon kills Brody, and we get the confrontation scene. 

This all happens in one night.  

Not only would spending a week at the school give us more time with Louis and Violet, letting the player get even more of a feel for the characters in deciding who they want Clementine to bond with, but we’d also get to see Marlon breaking more and more through time. 

Hell, if they were afraid of pacing and drawing it out, they could’ve come up with a way around that. Like doing a little montage of Clementine and AJ getting closer with everyone, showing little bits of her getting close with Louis and Violet in different ways as well as throwing in moments of Marlon getting more and more stressed out and snappy. I don’t know! I just don’t feel we were with them as long as we should’ve before the confrontation scene. It also would’ve added more weight to turning to Louis or Violet for help. I know it still has weight because they still help her even though they don’t know her, but you can totally argue that they’re not doing it entirely for her. Louis doesn’t want his best friend to murder Clem in front of everyone and Violet’s no doubt pissed about what happened to the twins. They both like Clementine, but..... it’s not entirely HER that motivates them to step up, y’know?

Also, like you said, I wanted to talk to Aasim and Omar about the delta. We couldn’t do that because of Clementine getting bit and the big reveal of her surviving. A lot was sacrificed for that and I don’t think that’s a good thing. 

Back before ep4 came out, my big theory was that James/Lilly was going to kidnap AJ and THAT was going to be our parallel to s1. I was KIND OF right since James tries to kidnap AJ so I WASN’T CRAZY Y’ALL. Haha the shit I got for suggesting AJ potentially getting kidnapped was nuts, but I WASN’T ENTIRELY WRONG OKAY

But, we could’ve made it back to the school with everyone, maybe still get separated, have the cave scene [except James doesn’t try anything at this time] and have the bridge scene, but Clementine, AJ, and Louis/Violet/Tenn make it back [James, too, if he’s there] and we think we’re finally okay until Clementine wakes up and realizes that AJ’s gone. 

Not only would this give us the despair of James being driven to betray us, but IT WOULD GIVE LILLY PURPOSE

Not some stupid “Love never lasts bleh!” two-second speech we get from her. 

This could also make Clementine reminisce about when the Stranger took her and what happened to Lee when he came to get her. We’d have everyone try and help us get AJ back, which would lead to us having a moment with the one we let get taken since they’re too hurt to go so they stay with Omar to watch the school or something. 

If this happened, I would’ve stopped AJ from shooting Lilly. I would’ve sacrificed James to get a final confrontation with Lilly after tracking her down. Hell, have it at the barn! Lilly’s still hurt and she’s got to rest, but she’s got AJ tied up or something! I don’t know, something! And THEN maybe we can switch to playing as AJ to escape!

I’m just throwing out ideas here! Maybe not everyone would be into it, but hell, I’m interested. In the very least, it’s fun to think about and discuss. 

While I’m glad Clementine ends up in a home and everything’s fine and dandy, I wish there was more, like you said. 

And while on this subject: What would you add to the game if given a 5th episode? Would you go with a kidnapping plot like I suggested, or would you go with something different? Like spending more time with the delta? Or maybe having James be our overall final antagonist? Or Minerva not getting bit and coming back to kidnap Tenn, and THAT’S our kidnapping plot? Or maybe the ending we got is perfect and you wouldn’t change anything? 

I’m interested in what you would want for an ending if you would essentially rewrite it. 

And anon, thanks for sharing! I completely understand your issues and dislike of the final episode, totally valid! At least we can take comfort in fanfics and art and other’s theories and “what-if”’s to help with any disappointment we felt during the game. It’s a beautiful game [the best of the 4 imo] and I love it, but it’s not perfect.