maz89 wrote:So, I liked it. The ending got to me and hit me right in the feels, but I had made my peace with it until I realized it was a fake-out. My initial gut reaction was to celebrate her survival (at first I couldn't believe it and thought AJ was dreaming), but I'm wondering if it might have been more powerful to have actually let the same fate befall her as her adult savior, Lee. I don't know how AJ managed to keep the blood from spurting out of her leg, but the entire time she was dragging her bitten leg across the forest, all I could think of was why the two weren't more seriously contemplating cutting it off - because it has worked in the past, right? Or was that on the TV show? I can't remember. I'm glad AJ gave it a shot, and hell, Clem survived miraculously so I'm not going to nitpick.
Yeah I dunno if Clem should have died or not- I can see arguments both ways. I kind of like the middle ground of her living, but no longer being the ninja or whatever she's been since like season 2.
In a way it kind of undermines whatever decision you had Lee make back in season 1 at the end too, and perhaps works as a criticism of the Telltale model in general- that there is in fact other ways these problems could have been solved, that out understanding of situations might not be perfect etc.
Cutting limbs is something that has at the very been discussed in the Telltale games before at least- even back in season 1 you could have a Lee cut his arm off in an attempt to buy more time before his turn, though obv. it doesn't work. I think there's someone in season 2 you can cut off the hand off of but that fails too IIRC.
Tbh, it didn't bother me so much that my actions didn't completely change the final moments of the story. I mean, my beloved Viola died because I didn't want AJ to ever feel too comfortable about killing and told him to not take any chances (jeez, there's no point in trying to do the right thing in this world, is there? Poor James got mauled because I didn't let AJ pull the trigger),
Same thing happened to me.
It just seems odd to me that AJ would end up in the same place whether you raise him to be a pacifistic or not.
and that was enough of a consequence for me. I guess I'm indifferent, unlike you and some other critics. But to take a step back from the final episode in particular, I guess there was still plenty of room to have this whole story pan out in many different directions to improve replayability (this isn't true of just S4 though, and a more common problem with the entire series).
I think for me I only really want more variety in the endings.
I really, really, really think you should play Detroit Become Human now. You might hate it (in particular, one of the three stories), but at its best, it's really impressive and compelling. No, seriously, I played this to talk to you about it. You need to play that for me now.
![[razz]](./images/smilies/razz.gif "razz")
Tbh if you want me to play any David Cage game you're gonna have to give me a pretty good reason, because you're literally the only person I've ever known to say literally anything positive at all about anything he's done in the last 10~ years. I realize that sounds hyperbolic but I'm not exaggerating- most people I know consider him one of if not the biggest hacks in gaming.
Like its hard for me to be particularly interested in a game that upfront you think I'll still probably hate at least 33% of.
When we are led to believe that she has died, I loved the flashback to the intense scene in which Clem saves AJ from that burning, apocalyptic fort. When she kills AJ's caretaker and AJ sobs uncontrollably in the locker, the whole scene really hits home (moreso because you think that Clem is also dead). It really shows you just how fucked up this world has become that both women try to kill each other even though they both only want the protection of a child- amidst the fire and death and blood that surrounds them. It blurs the line between the dead woman and Clem, who has clearly done some not-so-wholesome things to protect AJ. The whole thing is a nightmare, but it ends with something pure and hopeful in Clem and AJ's interaction in the car.
Yeah that whole segment was really good.
I'm fine with the loose ends, tbh. I can't believe that the returning antagonist here (I forget her name... Susan?) slipped away at the end, shoulda killed her when I had the chance. I wouldn't have known that was Eddie until you pointed it out. I can barely remember 400 Days.
How could you forget Lilly?
![[sad]](./images/smilies/sad.gif "sad")
I gotta say I really liked her as the antagonist. I never realized it before but even in season 1 she was kind of a dark reflection of (Or perhaps, a possible future for) Clementine, what with the dead father angle and all.
Perhaps another way to look at it is that she's who
AJ could become should he continue with the violence.
"[Cinema] is a labyrinth with a treacherous resemblance to reality." - Andrew Sarris
