Javi's family was holding back Javi from being interesting.
Kate's romance, Gabe's teenage angst, and David's anger were all annoying to deal with.
But that's what Javi pushed himself into, and had to care about. His family. And they were all boring and one note.
Kate was flaky as hell, going from smoking pot and regretting having kids, to telling Gabe he was the best thing that ever happened to her. Wishy-washy bullshit like loving Javi while married to David before the apocalypse, and so on. We never really got a glimpse of why Kate and David were together in the first place than just 'because'. Kate's his second-wife, David had children, and he was abusive to her. Seriously, give me one reason she fucking liked him to begin with?
Up until the last episode, Gabe had really become superbly dependent on his father, who he hadn't seen in four years. Despite living with his Uncle and Step-Mom for four goddamn years of utter turmoil and hell. Add to that Mariana's death was due to his father's men, and how he constantly angsts at Javi and company feels so unwarranted. Shit like revealing Javi killed Conrad...you know, saving Gabe's fucking life? I get he longs for his dad, but seriously we don't get a feel for that. Gabe calms down though, after seeing his Dad isn't the man he remembered, but still. I could've used more of that during Episodes 3-4, and less 'angst' in general during Episode 1-2. Just because it's reasonable to be distraught, doesn't make the constant headstrong bullshit enjoyable.
(Also wtf, seriously David thought about leaving his family to re-enlist. You like that type of Dad, Gabe? The one who'd willingly abandon you pre-apocalypse? )
David? Controlling dickwad. His whole presence is like. Dickwad. I get it, he's sympathetic to a degree. Lived in the shadow of his brother, and his father overlooked him, his army years are over, lost his first wife to whatever, and his second wife isn't faithful/he's abusive to. But oh my god the shit he pulled with AJ, the situation with Joan, his anger with Javi and so on. Breaks a woman's arm, shoots a guy in the head, kills Clint, practically insisting on a family again and driving back to the old house like a madman. Being utterly silent if he's left alone and saved.
These are the characters that matter most to Javi. And I can't really like any of them. Kate's trying to get you in trouble, Gabe causes trouble, and David is trouble.
I don't have these characters that look out for me. They're all wanting something. You help out Kenny by giving his family food? Gasp; join my RV! Help out Lilly with CPR? She trusts you.
Oh, Luke wants you to kill a smaller crippled Zombie, or Jane teaches you how to kill/sweep the leg, or Kenny tells you to go so you don't have to watch him bash Carver's brains out.
Legit, can't recall them helping based on your choices. I mean crap, if I've been validating Gabe the whole game and killed Conrad, wouldn't it be cool to not have him blurt that crap out? Lol nope, Gabe fucks you over.
And that's the fundamental failure of Javier Garcia. His family is a bunch of fucking assholes, and he's the nice guy. His entire emotional wellbeing is invested in people I don't care about, and he's got nothing storywise to drive him forward.
Why couldn't Mariana have survived instead, srsly. At least she and Javi got along and had some good laughs.
TLDR; When your casual decision-making process becomes 'What should I do, so [Insert Garcia] isn't mad at me.' instead of 'What can I do that'll make them happiest?/What can I do to help them?'' you feel less emotional investment in the characters 'close' to your MC. And as a result, your MC suffers personality-wise for it.
Comments
True, but wouldn't have hurt to spend the night atleast too.
Javi's family was holding back Javi from being interesting.
Kate's romance, Gabe's teenage angst, and David's anger were all annoying to deal with.
But that's what Javi pushed himself into, and had to care about. His family. And they were all boring and one note.
Kate was flaky as hell, going from smoking pot and regretting having kids, to telling Gabe he was the best thing that ever happened to her. Wishy-washy bullshit like loving Javi while married to David before the apocalypse, and so on. We never really got a glimpse of why Kate and David were together in the first place than just 'because'. Kate's his second-wife, David had children, and he was abusive to her. Seriously, give me one reason she fucking liked him to begin with?
Up until the last episode, Gabe had really become superbly dependent on his father, who he hadn't seen in four years. Despite living with his Uncle and Step-Mom for four goddamn years of utter turmoil and hell. Add to that Mariana's death was due to his father's men, and how he constantly angsts at Javi and company feels so unwarranted. Shit like revealing Javi killed Conrad...you know, saving Gabe's fucking life? I get he longs for his dad, but seriously we don't get a feel for that. Gabe calms down though, after seeing his Dad isn't the man he remembered, but still. I could've used more of that during Episodes 3-4, and less 'angst' in general during Episode 1-2. Just because it's reasonable to be distraught, doesn't make the constant headstrong bullshit enjoyable.
(Also wtf, seriously David thought about leaving his family to re-enlist. You like that type of Dad, Gabe? The one who'd willingly abandon you pre-apocalypse? )
David? Controlling dickwad. His whole presence is like. Dickwad. I get it, he's sympathetic to a degree. Lived in the shadow of his brother, and his father overlooked him, his army years are over, lost his first wife to whatever, and his second wife isn't faithful/he's abusive to. But oh my god the shit he pulled with AJ, the situation with Joan, his anger with Javi and so on. Breaks a woman's arm, shoots a guy in the head, kills Clint, practically insisting on a family again and driving back to the old house like a madman. Being utterly silent if he's left alone and saved.
These are the characters that matter most to Javi. And I can't really like any of them. Kate's trying to get you in trouble, Gabe causes trouble, and David is trouble.
I don't have these characters that look out for me. They're all wanting something. You help out Kenny by giving his family food? Gasp; join my RV! Help out Lilly with CPR? She trusts you.
Oh, Luke wants you to kill a smaller crippled Zombie, or Jane teaches you how to kill/sweep the leg, or Kenny tells you to go so you don't have to watch him bash Carver's brains out.
Legit, can't recall them helping based on your choices. I mean crap, if I've been validating Gabe the whole game and killed Conrad, wouldn't it be cool to not have him blurt that crap out? Lol nope, Gabe fucks you over.
And that's the fundamental failure of Javier Garcia. His family is a bunch of fucking assholes, and he's the nice guy. His entire emotional wellbeing is invested in people I don't care about, and he's got nothing storywise to drive him forward.
Why couldn't Mariana have survived instead, srsly. At least she and Javi got along and had some good laughs.
TLDR; When your casual decision-making process becomes 'What should I do, so [Insert Garcia] isn't mad at me.' instead of 'What can I do that'll make them happiest?/What can I do to help them?'' you feel less emotional investment in the characters 'close' to your MC. And as a result, your MC suffers personality-wise for it.
He is as interesting as you make him to be. He does not have to be just a nice guy.