Symbolism and Recurring Themes in Season 2
As some of you may know, Season 1 had a decent amount of symbolism that may or may not have been intentionally put there by Telltale, such as the "Purgatory Theory". Now, looking at what we have so far for Season 2, what kinds of symbolism can you see?
One thing that's really been on my mind is what Christa represents, using Clementine as a starting point. All throughout Season 1, Clementine wanted to find her parents, asking around. The only clue she has to their location is Savannah, and when she gets there, she finds them dead. Now, thinking about Christa, she is gone but not known to be dead, with Wellington being our only clue as to where she might be. I can't say for certain it will turn out the same, but that's what I fear.
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There has to be some kind of moral or symbolism behind Carver's camp beyond "oooo Carver's mean". For one thing, there are way to many parallels between Carver's community and Cambodia under Pol Pot for it to be mere coincidence. They use the same terminology (ex: new people) and the same M.O. of working/starving/beating "traitors" to death while feeding them a lie that Carver/Angkor will absolve them of their wrongdoings if they work hard.
Both societies are run by a megalomaniac who's trying to build a rugged new society from the ashes of the old and both reward the loyal are rewarded with comfortable lives and "weak" exist only to toil and die at the leader's fancy.
The storm could be related to the Vietnamese invasion, which toppled the regime, but resulted in the deaths of many innocent people.
The list goes on and on. I think a recurring theme will be "Is he right? Are they weak? Is this what is necessary for a society to survive? If so, is it even worth it?"
Rebecca's baby could be symbolism for rebirth and hope.
The baby will probably make it because Christa's baby has already passed and it would be repetitive to kill off all the children. TT have also been building this birth up the whole season - we'll get to find out who's baby it is and it could serve as potential storylines for characters when they have to protect it. Development too! As the baby grows and goes on different journeys, so do the characters.
I guess the innocent people would be the 400 Days people and any other guards that didn't agree with Carver.
I think "Nature is a bitch" is probably a recurring theme. You have Christa talking about how cold it's gonna get, Clem getting carried away by a river and almost drowning, Clem being bitten by a hungry dog, and Carver justifying his cruelty with social Darwinism.
I've got a feel that this baby is destined to be taken care by Christa
I've thought about that too! Christa's lost her own child and Rebecca might not make it afterwards so..
Yeah. The escape brought down Carver, but it brought down a whole community with it. Just because people are blind to the abuses committed by their leaders doesn't mean they deserve to get killed like that.
You forgot one major part of "Nature's a bitch" :random virus infects everyone and reanimates the dead. That's a pretty bitchy move in my book.
Just thought of another over-arching theme. Letting go.
Clementine can't let go of her guilt.
Kenny can't let go of Katjaa and Duck
Nick can't let go of his guilt over having to kill his mom.
Carver couldn't let go of Rebecca or her unborn child
I think mostly Survivalism vs Humanity is the theme in this Season. I mean it was kind of addressed in Season 1 in Around Every Corner, but not much anywhere else.
Then this will make the perfect end credits song for Episode 4:
And the dogs...the fucking dogs.
You bastard.
Ha. Jokes on you, I like that song.
Urgh... I get embarrassed when people talk about that
I thought it was Let It Go, I can't believes just got rickrolled
"Heh, fucker"
haha I remember that shit being all over youtube, good song but overplayed and mofos just trolling
I've been thinking about this too. The cycle repeating itself just like S1, proving the futility of hoping for the best in this ruthless world. The precedent only makes it more likely. C'mon, Telltale! At least make her determinant!
I thought the idea of family was pretty big this season. Within the first five minutes of this season we see Christa lose her family, reinforcing how harsh and unforgivable the world has become. Kenny coming back brought back Clem's last link to her makeshift family that was the S1 group and Lee. We see the potential of the cabin group becoming Clem's new group, only for the family units within it to become destroyed (Rebecca lost Alvin, Nick lost Pete, Sarah lost Carlos, etc. Etc.). Luke develops a brotherly bond to Clem.
Or maybe more than family itself, TWDG this season explores what happens to someone when they lose their family. Clem's guilt stems from Lee's death, Kenny still hasn't (and maybe never will) gotten over Katjaa and Duck's death, Christa becomes a shell of herself, Sarah will 'cease to function' etc. Etc. We have people like Carver who searched tirelessly to get Rebecca back after she left; and Luke who having lost his family, feels an urge to be wanted/needed by those around him and have that same level of intimacy that family members do. Essentially that family is what grounds us to ourselves, and without them an irreplaceable void is created.
There's also that question that will perhaps be brought up in the next epi whether its wiser to go make your own way in the ZA (Jane's don't let them bring you down speech), which might make Clem question on whether its best for her to leave her new 'family' behind (and in the future, to turn away from people/relationships who have the potential to become that to her) for the sake of her own safety (and to provide less heartache).
I always felt that Luke's talk with Clem on how family is the most important thing in life was significant for this season. There is the struggle with constantly losing 'family' members to the harsh world they all life in and in turn losing a part of themselves, juxtaposed with the very human desire to connect/belong.
well put man that's pretty spot on. also I think all of the carver speeches are going to be very important in someway
Moral ambiguity and the lack of center when it comes to the line between good and evil. In Carver's office, when he's talking with Clementine, he doesn't sound like a madman. Rather, he makes some horrifying points regarding Clementine's role in the group. The only calm and collective voice of reason comes from the sick, malicious antagonist.
On the flip side, the entire rest of the group - good-natured as they are - frequently breaks down and has to ask an eleven-year-old girl for help. There is no best way of life: You have to compromise. In Clementine's case, the compromise occurs between:
Very well said, didn't think of it that way.
NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN NEVER GONNA GO AROUND AND DESERT YOU NEVER GONNA MAKE YOU CRY NEVER GONNA SAY GOODBYE
About what?
Also, I'm the only person I know of who argues this.
SHUT UP! (Fires wild burst of gunfire)
'Loss of innocence' is a huge theme I have noticed.
I wrote a bit about it here.
I'm sowwy
It's ok, you're forgiven; just don't make any more mistakes.
You know, I can definitely see them expanding upon that idea in 204. It's funny, because the choice regarding Carver might help identify to the group what side Clem is leaning towards. Wasn't there a "They will remember that." for that moment? Not like those have proven to be very accurate, but it's a thought.
Heheh, yeah... Tell Tale does enjoy trolling us with that "They will remember that" tidbit. But I do think the Carver/Clementine interaction will sow some very interesting seeds when it comes to her role in the new group.
I know Luke definitely wasn't very fond of what Kenny, Rebecca, and determinantly Clem wanted to do with Carver. I know this has probably been discussed before, but that decision to stay or not could fuel the Luke/Kenny dynamic being built.
Here's one: "first impressions do not tell all."
Examples:
Michelle- First impression: jerkass survival kid, Ends up being: scared little girl trying to act tough
Sam- First impression: cue friendly dog, Ends up being: Vicious, feral animal
Cabin Group (specifically Nick, Rebecca, and Carlos)- First impression: assholes willing to shoot at, intimidate, abandon a little girl, Ends up being: complex but overall decent people struggling with trust issues
Carver- First impression: calm, smart, fearsome leader, Ends up being: complete asshole
Mike and Jane- First impression: grumpy assholes, Ends up being: pretty reasonable guy/cutthroat survivalist, respectively
To be fair, Clementine is the only playable character so we kind of have to be put in a position where we're the ones doing everything.
Wait, wait, wait, what moment was this? Was this just before Kenny shooed everyone out so he can kill Carver?
After Michelle's reaction to her shooting Omid, I was actually kind of saddened by her death. It felt weird, because seconds ago I was shouting at my screen for Omid to pounce on her and snap her neck.
It could be worse. No one has asked Clementine to kill anyone... Yet.