Wellington was a stupid idea...(Poll)
I've been thinking about what I would have decided to do if given the choice between heading back to Howe's and continuing towards Wellington. Forgetting all of the Kenny/Jane nonsense and just looking at the facts as the characters knew them, it seems to clear to me that going back to Howe's was the best thing to do for AJ.
All of Jane's points about the situation that she brought up in the car were completely valid. They had no idea what Wellington was, where it was located, how long it would take them to get there, or even if it actually exists. They did know where Howe's was and they knew from Bonnie that there was baby formula back there. Seems pretty simple to me.
Yes, there were risks to both plans but at least they knew that there was food for the baby back there at Howe's. It wasn't a complete shot in the dark the way Wellington was. So if I were given the choice of where to go, I would have chosen Howe's. I don't see why someone would choose otherwise. Anybody have any pro-Wellington arguments?
I made a poll. When answering, forget how each location turned out to be and try to put yourself into the mindset you were in when playing the game for the first time.
Comments
You're asking us to take on the perspective of something we're not: a member of the group following Clem instead of a gamer playing as Clem. I don't think this is a fair call to make. As an audience invested into the story, we'd be too curious about Wellington to pass it up. If we never saw it, I'm sure we'd complain about it not existing in the plot at all.
Um, you are given the choice of where you want to go...
Higher risk, higher reward. It is a better long term plan. Shooting for Wellington made the most sense during the Winter, in terms of having to deal with walkers.
What I personally would have advocated for is going back to Howe's first in order to stock up really well for the journey. After that I would go try and find Wellington. The reward is worth taking a shot. Rooting around for supplies in the nearby city wouldn't be totally out of the question either I suppose.
Wellington was definitely a shot in the dark, but going to Howe's wasn't exactly a foolproof plan either. The place was totally overrun with walkers a few days prior. But I would have chosen Howe's, because at least I knew where it was and that it actually existed.
Isn't that...the entire point of the game? Or gaming in general? Or fiction in general? I get the curiosity with Wellington as a player but thinking about myself as a survivor who's making a life-or-death decision about an infant child's life, I would like to think that my own curiosity wouldn't factor into the decision-making process very much.
Not if you're alone.
Oh ok, thanks for specifying
Jane's idea was also pretty stupid.
Oh, sure. Let's go back to the compound that is either full of Walkers or hostile people who know you killed their leader. Nothing at all stupid about that.
I think the reason most people just choice Wellington because in theory it is an better place for AJ no walkers to deal with, there's food,water,protection etc. Now granted this is the walking dead nothing lasts forever and can turn to shit. Plus not every place is as good as it seem.
Why couldn't Clementine ever bring up in Episode 5 the fact that her caretaker, Christa, was the one who first told her about getting to Wellington?
Jane was sensible, but part of her motivation was to selfishly take Clementine away from a man she didn't trust. To do so, she used AJ as a tool to provoke Kenny into going berserk and somehow convince Clem that he was 'dangerous.'
^This
Sure, fine. Looking for Wellington might be something to do eventually. But like Kenny said, they had maybe a day's worth of food left for the kid. That's it. And it just seems foolish to me to head out on a wild goose-chase when there's an urgent need for something and when you're flat-out told that the something you're looking for is in the opposite of where you're looking.
It doesn't matter that Christa wanted to go to Wellington.Christa didn't have a baby to take care of (anymore...). We did. And it's simply reckless to gamble away that kid's life on a rumor. If it were just the group. Sure. Fine. Look for Wellington. In the mean time, you can hunt, scavenge, fish, do what you need to survive. But the baby needs formula or it will die. And that's the most important consideration.
That's a major plot-hole in all the endings. Why is it that every ending takes place "nine days later" when there's no indication of how the baby (or Clem) lasted that long without supplies?
Methinks Telltale forgot logic in their misguided attempt to make multiple endings.
i based my decision from the walking dead tv show and how places like wellington there turned out
In the car with Clem, Kenny does say Christa knew of it twice I think but true, Clem should've brought up Christa to the group if she picks Wellington in the debate
Apparently they found formula on the way to Wellington or back to Howe's or back in Savannah (in the lonely Clem ending). Baby formula everywhere!
It was making the best of a shitty situation. When you need something, you should go to where you know that thing is, even if it's dangerous. Not wander off in the opposite direction, hoping that the thing you're looking for also exists there and that it also won't be dangerous.
We don't really know what they did in the 9 day gap though. Could have rooted around some small city for supplies or something. Who knows. Appears to have worked out pretty well at least.
Which reminds me - what happened to the small town that was foreshadowed at the end of Amid The Ruins? The final achievement showed a church spire, which leads me to believe that the last two episodes would have actually spent some time in that town. Instead, Arvo leads the group to a half-built and abandoned cabin.
The one thing I would have to say to that is that Kenny may have been thinking that the baby needed a more stable, long term situation to survive and be nurtured in. Maybe he didn't like the odds of making do out in the wilderness. Telltale never really elaborated though, so who knows.
I really wish Clem could bring up what happened with Christa's baby, as obviously that would be very relevant and helpful.
I'm pretty sure she does.. doesn't she? You're talking about when the group was arguing outside the truck, right?
Exactly. Going there was the original plan before taking off for Wellington. Not sure why no one disputed the idea at the time if they had a problem with it, but whatever.
I'm assuming that sort of plan wouldn't change entirely. I don't see how else Clem, Kenny, and the baby managed for 9 days.
Wellington was the best option, but getting there was a different matter. Howe's was closer, but also less secure.
Taking a chance on Wellington was a bad idea, which is why I (unfortunately) viewed Kenny's endings as contrived and forced. Good at eliciting feel-good emotions - bad at general story telling.
Part of the allure in this game for me was that your choices were often morally ambiguous. Sometimes, at the end of scenes, you had to sit back and ask yourself, 'Did I make the right choice? Was that the right thing to do? Pragmatic? Would Lee have approved?' And although certain choices certainly had their positives (i.e., saving Carley), they also came with negatives (i.e., Doug's death). The game made it clear that AJ only had a day of food left, and that Wellington may or may not exist. If AJ's survival was the group's priority, going back to Howe's was worth the effort. If the group only cared about their own safety, then going up North was the better option. Although you undoubtedly got the supplies you needed, the drawback of leaving with Jane was that you were starting anew in a place that held memories of tyranny. The downside of going to Wellington with Kenny was....nothing.
That was shocking, given that I expected the pre established plot point to have popped up eventually. I gave TWG a pass on Wellington existing. Sometimes you have to take a risk, and even if they aren't necessarily rational, they pay off in the ZA. But why does AJ, who only has one day's worth of food, make it to Wellington looking perfectly fine? The heartfelt moments with Kenny deserved to be in his ending, as picking him could be seen as valuing family/loyalty/love over cold rationality. But - I would have included an ominous element to it, such as the baby beginning to cough and shiver. The screen begins turning black. The last thing you hear is someone shouting. Much more realistic.
Anyway, I agree with you. Just curious if anyone else felt a little patronized by the Kenny endings.
I added a poll. Be honest.
New DLC, The Walking Dead: 9 Days.
I would've gone to Howe's first. THEN Wellington.
I'd still count that as going to Howe's.
l Howes has ramon noodles.... i love ramon noodles.. but if Clementine or her group dont enjoy ramon noodles she should go to Wellington... so idk. Depends of Wellington has ramon noodles i guess, if it doesnt im staying at Howes
Who is Ramon Noodles?
Lol
She mentions Christa? I told them to stop arguing so unsure
Ramon Noodles are kinda deep fried noodles in North America theyre usually called instant noodles, in Howes you can see some of them. I was kind of kidding, but i do actually like them.
Those are called ramen noodles. I was poking fun because Ramon is a common hispanic name.
Eh, idk maybe it was a bad idea because lot's of other people were going there, but as the player I would say Wellington is not going to last, seems overpopulated, eventually they're gonna have trouble getting resources and when has there been a community in the Walking Dead that lasted...
Why aren't "Texas" or "Mexico" options? They almost seemed like reasonable destinations.
More seriously, looking for Wellington wasn't really a smart idea. They only had a very vague idea about where it was (somewhere near Michigan) and no idea whether it was actually safe or if whoever managed it was going to let them in. And if they didn't reach it or they can't get in, what happens? They stay there in the north to freeze their asses? It was a shot in the dark, and Kenny was pretty lucky. (I think the writing is biased to favor him, but it's not the point of the debate. Story wise, I think it would have been better for them to stumble upon another walled community, to show that Kenny was kind of right but not infallible, and to keep the fabled Wellington has a mystery for the moment).
Don't get me wrong, Howe's was also a bit far-fetched, since they didn't know if the Carver's group's remnants had survived or if the zombies left, but at least they knew where it was and that they could get some food and baby formula if they were lucky. The ideal would have been to go back to Howe's, stay there for a bit if it's clear, take all the supplies they could and head north in early Spring to avoid travelling in the winter, which is a not a good idea in general.
dammit. just opened pretty much the same thread, not noticing this one.
jane surly knows more then us about walker behavior.
do you think, they would just stay there? did you not hear what Tavia said? they have even problems with a normal horde ... and this one ... and you inviting them all in? killing there leader is your smallest problem. some would properly even be thankful if you had not also raised hell.
likely as long as there are people there will be walkers they don't wander around without a reason.
A kenny v Jane thread in camo?