Implementing Christa in Season 3
So recently, there's been a sort of backlash against Kenny's inclusion in Season 2 of The Walking Dead, or at least how he was handled. Generally speaking, fans seem to be of the opinion that while they may or may not like his character, they did not appreciate that, following his inexplicable return, he overshadowed every new character in Season 2 and was driving force behind much of the plot.
I can imagine that a writer who sees this kind of reaction to Kenny's return after fans were so hyped up about his inclusion in Season 2 would think that this is just the fans being fickle by wanting something and then complaining about it once it arrives. To them, I want to emphasize that this is not what's happening here. What's happening here is a genuine criticism of what appears to be the game's over-reliance on old tricks that draw focus and effort away from new ones that were and could have been implemented.
Of course, Season 2 has already been completed so there's no real use crying over spilled milk here. BUT there's now another character whom fans want to return: Christa. Assuming that Telltale will in fact be bringing her back for a third season (which is completely baseless and of questionable likelihood, I know), I think it's a worthwhile discussion to maybe brainstorm how to bring Christa back for Season 3 in a way that avoids the pitfalls of Kenny's return in Season 2. I realize that this discussion may lead to the conclusion that we should see less of her in the season. And even though I'm a fan of Christa and I really do want to meet back up and interact with her again, if seeing less of her would make for a stronger Season 3 cast, then I think should see less of her.
So go on. Assuming that Season 3 still has Clem as a protagonist and will reintroduce Christa as a character, how would you go about doing it?
Comments
TellTale said they liked having Christa where she is being unknown. Because they said some times youll just never find out. So I dont think we will ever see Christa again
I don't want any returns, besides the 400 days characters. I'd want season three to focus on the new characters introduced rather than have another "Kenny" happen.
Ah yes, the 400 days character. Aside from Bonnie and maybe Tavia, they suffered from the exact opposite problem that Kenny did in Season 2, in that their presence in the story was entirely negligible and even seemingly out of character in some cases. If Christa were to be brought back, it would have to be done somewhere between those two extremes.
Maybe she meets the 400 days characters,
I love Christa but if it's for the best, leave her out of S3. However I do want it to be confirmed whether Christa's is dead or alive.
Well, that would suck does that mean we've gotta go through more of Clem asking in Season 3 "Hey, have you seen Christa?" and neeeever find her? Or what if she does find her and Christa just goes "I hate you go away, Omid and my baby are dead because of you roar roar!" T_T lady, we just had to endure 20 variations of Clem asking random people where you've been for the last two seasons since you vanished, don't be a dick about this!
Although to be straight up honest, I'd rather have a dicky Christa than no Christa at all. Not bringing her back and leaving her fate a silly mystery would just be...silly, and realism purposes don't cut it when so many things in this game already push realism out the window, like how you can get shot in the gut without needing to seek immediate medical attention?
But seriously T_T I miss Christa...
There's still a few characters I think it'd be interesting to see again; Christa, Lilly, the 400 days crew, etc. Of course, we're already relying on a lot of coincidences after Kenny's happenstance return, so there'd probably have to be some suspension of disbelief for another reunion, but that aside...
If we're worried about the same issues that season 2 had, it's more of a matter of allotting enough time for each character and their respective story arcs. A lot of people would like to see Christa again, but she shouldn't be the sole focus of the group dynamic. Telltale's decided to reboot the cast again, so everyone's going to be back to square one on character development.
I'd rather not see Christa anymore.
In which episode do you think it would be better for her to return? Should they bring her back early on in the Season and then fade out her role or bring her back later after the other characters have had time to develop? The former would probably take a little more writing finesse, but the later might be more derailing for the plot.
She was looking for Wellington. Finally released from her baggage I can imagine she finds her way there, eventually. Perhaps she meets Clem in Wellington later on. To be completely honest reintroducing her would have had much more affect during S2. With the addition of the infant it would have made for an intense scenario. That being said I still wouldn't mind seeing her in S3. She should not take front stage very much. In fact, it may be interesting to see her try to avoid Clementine, though I would need to put more thought into that situation. In any case as long as she flies below the radar so to say and allows for proper interaction and character development of the new, new cast (unlike the in-the-spotlight-Kenny) then I wouldn't mind seeing her again. But at this point it wouldn't truly indulge me either way. Meh.
it could be something they deal with in the first episode to get the shock out of the way. Have Christa show up at Clem's new community and explore what happened to the two of them since the end of season 2 as they try to catch up with each other. Make her more conducive to the group early on, and progress the story from there.
Then again, waiting before bringing familiar faces back gives new characters more room to develop on their own merits and forces Clem to interact with someone different. Having Christa show up halfway through the season raises potential issues of an abrupt change of focus, but it really depends on the circumstances. Like you say, it could be awkward either way.
Might be easier to speculate if we knew anything about Clem's status in season 3. I don't imagine that Wellington or Howe's panned out if she's still the protagonist.
Going to be honest with you, if she's alive, she's most likely with a group. Just as Clementine was.
But I have a great thing for Season 3 that'll branch out to Season 4.
Somehow, in someway, we see Christa at the end of Episode 5 S3. Cliffhanger. S4 starts with Clementine running towards Christa.
I dunno, everyone seems to act like everyone has to come back one way or another. I'd honestly say out of everyone Arvo would be best, a sort of antagonist is good to have, We're never had that internal drama since Larry
Yeah, maybe we don't need to see Christa again. Kenny/Jane are determinant so I would want season 3 to feature new characters that will actually survive the entire season rather than end up dead (or missing) in finale. In season 1 and 2 almost everyone are dead (or missing) so it would be cool if at least one or two characters survive with Clem (if she's going to be protagonist again).
Im sure we will get a dlc and find ourselves a dead Christa, or maybe some sign of her and still never know
Was the drama between Kenny and Carlos, Kenny and Luke, Kenny and Nick and Kenny and Jane not enough internal drama?
I mean with ourselves and someone else long term. Clem is just sort of the happy person who gets to choose her friends, they fight with each other not her
I think it's more like she's a child being stuck in the middle of a nasty custody case. But yeah, giving Clem an adversary would be interesting, but I'm not sure Arvo is really fit for the job. Another kid would be nice, which is why I wanted Becca for the job but that seems pretty unlikely to happen now.
Nah, Christa wouldn't appreciate such an impulsive jump to conclusions about her like Kenny would. She'd much prefer this (slightly adapted) gif from Blind Sniper:
I was much more emotionally attached to Kenny... even moreso than Lee oddly enough. He reminded me of the guys where I grew up. Down-home family men. Family first tough guys that think they can fix anything.
Christa, I never really got on board with... she seemed very self-absorbed and her story wasn't all that hatched out to me. I'd be happy if they didn't re-introduce her, or if they did... as some hardened survivor that could give a crap about Clem, deepening Clem's reliance on herself and not other people.
I remember that gif, it originally had episode 5 instead if Season 3.
I know many fans like Christa and hope to see more of her, but I never could get into her character, from her introduction in Season 1 until now. She always came off as a little one note to me, and was brought into the story because Lilly was no longer around to balance out Kenny's rants. Not even Lee stood up to Kenny as much as Christa.
If TTG chooses to leave Christa's story at the point we did, I'd be fine with that. But if they do, I would have preferred Omid being the one to survive Michelle, while Christa (and by extension her unborn child) die. Call it heartless if you want, but it would at least give a plausible reason why Christa's baby was never even hinted at in episode 4. Plus, Omid could have come to the same fatalistic, dead inside attitude (completely understandable I should point out), and that could be nicely contrasted with his optimistic, humorous attitude up until the tragedy in the bathroom.
Maybe TTG intended Christa's "transformation" from expectant mother into cold survivor to be a shock, but it wasn't for me. This always seemed like who Christa was. Yes, she had Omid to balance her out, but I still think it would have been a better intro narrative for Omid to survive past the first few minutes, and Christa dying in his place.
Frankly, I dont get all this Christa topics. Who will remeber her anyway in season 3? She was insignificant part of season 1 and figured even less in season 2, lets say she was reduced to cameo but nothing more then that. They even skipped telling us about her misscariage, obiously not thinking it was important enough for general story.
I think it would be bad decision from point of storytelling to re-introduce her in following seasons.
This
Screw Christa, I need to see Nate and Eddie.
Well...Clem would remember her. It just seems strange to me that Clem is given numerous opportunities to ask other people about her, but never an opportunity to even speculate that Christa might have died. To me, this implies an authorial intent that she's still out there somewhere and is, presumably, still heading north and looking for Clem.
My interest in Christa from a story-telling stems from her ability to provide insight into Clem's transition over the 16 months they were together. That's a long-ass time, four times the duration that she spent with Lee, in fact. I want to know more of what they've been through, what they've seen together, how they interacted. Right now, it feels like we skipped a whole season of events and characterization for Clem.
Nate I could imagine running into again, but Eddie seems like too much of a one-off character to me.