The Top 5 most screwed over characters of The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead video game has been renowned for its great character-driven story. However, sometimes characters need to be backgrounded, forgotten, and killed to make room for ‘better’ characters. And by better, I mean not being chosen to be important by the writers.
Below this I have a list of the most screwed over and pushed aside characters spanning from Atlanta to Wellington (season 1 and 2). These are the characters who could have been more and didn’t get the attention the others received. As such, I’ve only chosen NAMED characters who have appeared in MULTIPLE EPISODES (apologies to all you Save-Lots-Bandit-3 fans 
). Like always, this is my own opinions. However, I would love to hear yours in the comments.
QUICK NOTE: Nick and Sarah.
Both of these characters are famous for being taken out back and shot by Telltale. And while I agree with how poorly these two were treated in the long run, neither of them will be featured on this list. Yes, we all hate S2 E4; but the reason we’re all so upset about their deaths is because of how important they were in episodes 1 and 2. Originally Nick got more screen time than every other Cabin Survivor, and Sarah had her segment in every episode she was in. This list is about the people who didn’t get a following. Who weren’t lucky enough to be a Kenny, Lilly, Jane, or god forbid a Clem. So without further ado:
5. Carlos (Dammit Clementine, stop being my daughters friend and be her friend!)
Carlos, one of the few doctors left in the world and stern father to Sarah. From the moment we’re introduced to him, he seems to already have some grievance with us (i.e. the eleven year old girl). Leading the charge to lock Clem in a shed to die, he later tells us to leave Sarah alone. The next episode he leaves us alone with Sarah (huh?), and then does nothing else for the rest of the journey. Arguably, he gets his most screen time in ep 3. But thanks to the assortment of new characters and Kenny/Luke, it’s still one scene and his death.
He was more or less the leader of the Cabin Survivors, but even with Pete’s E1/2 death he’s still the one we get to know the least. The writers couldn’t decide if he was pro-Clem or hates her, and we don’t even get a moment between him and his daughter besides that horrific slap. No one expected him to survive long into the season; a lot of people pegging him to die the moment we met Sarah. But thanks to Sarah’s quick death/backgrounding-then-death in ep 4, Carlos’s one purpose in the game (being Sarah’s father) isn’t even reflected upon. If she had survived, or we even got one scene reflecting his life with Sarah, then his existence would have had meaning. But sadly, he’s with his daughter now.
4. Sarita (Who are you again?)
So in season 2 episode 2, we find out that Kenny has begun dating a potted plant. He takes his plant with him wherever he goes and … What’s that? ... Oh … I am being informed that the plant is actually person. But hey, honest mistake. Like most trees, Sarita has no personality. She loves Kenny; maybe?... and that’s everything we know about her. The game even has the balls to make it look like she matters by making her the ‘cliffhanger’ at the end of Ep3. Solely to give her no lines and kill her immediately in Ep4 (Man, Ep4 made a lot of good decisions, didn’t it?)
A lot of people argue that Katjaa wasn’t exactly the most well developed character either. Which only makes Sarita worse! They could have given Kenny any other method of screen time, but they decide to clone Katjaa just to repeat her death on him. Sarita isn’t even a character anymore, just a bookmark in the Season 1 plotlines book. She’s such a blank slate that they could have done anything with her and it would have been an improvement. A poor display of flatness in what is otherwise a character central adventure.
3. Chuck, or Charles if you’re fancy (Alas, poor Badass, we hardly knew ye)
After one of Season 1’s most memorable and emotion-provoking moments, we are taken to an inactive train. And after some hijinks, we are introduced to the coolest hobo in video game history. After Larry died in Ep2, I was left without a favourite non-protagonist character. But after just one scene with Chuck, the vacancy had been filled. We steal his home, so he enthusiastically joins us. Then he gives Lee the wisest set words he ever heard about survival. “Ask not who the bell tolls, for the bell tolls for thee.” What awesomely delivered wor- hey, where did he go?!
Ep 3 goes all out in introducing an overwhelming great character, only for Ep 4 to kill him off before the opening title! We don’t even get to see his death! We just randomly come across his body in the sewer, as if the game is shouting “ YES HE IS DEAD! AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN!!! BWHAHAHA!!!” The game kills him for nothing other than to increase in the death toll. They could have just as easily not shown us his dead body and it would have had the same disappointing impact. Actually no, that would have been better. Than he would have been given the opportunity to come back at some point like Molly or Lilly. F#ck you Telltale, for giving us a great supporting character only to take him away.
2. Omid (Aka Christa’s boyfriend and nothing else)
Like Chuck and his girlfriend, Omid was one of three of the awesome new character in Ep 3. Except for Omid, it all went downhill from there. Ep 4 makes sure to assure you that Omid can die at any moment from his strained ankle (Wow, the episode 4s in both seasons hate us), and gives him less screen time than the dead dog. Ep 5 is no better, giving him two good lines while we struggle to remember who he is. Omid is actually one of the 4 people of season 1 to appear alive in season 2. So how does the game reward him? Dead before opening title!
Unlike Sarita and to a lesser extent Carlos, Omid wasn’t a bland character. He was comedy relief-ish, but still ripe for the same level of developing they were giving Christa. Like Christa, he was a character I wanted to see return in season 2. But the game treats him as an opening shock instead of a credible character. With him dead, the only thing we can really say about him is that he was Christa’s boyfriend. Next to that, the first mistake in a list of mistakes season 2 made.
Dishonourable mentions (And why they didn’t make it):
- Larry: Had important moments in S1 E1 and E2, and had his death reflected on with Lilly. And that’s how you should have had it Carlos!
- Mark: Really feel like this guy should have been in Ep1. Would have made his appearance look less like an obvious Redshirt.
- Katjaa: Like Sarita; except pulled off ten times better. Her death was one Season 1’s best.
- Mike: S2E5 redeemed his character exceptionally (in terms of blandness, not dickness). Hope to see him again in the future.
- All the 400 days protagonists (except one): “ Your decisions in 400 days will matter,” Telltale promised. Only not included to keep the list a Top 5. But speaking of them, this seems like the perfect way to introduce …
1. Bonnie (The most screwed over character in The Walking Dead universe not named Axle)
Yep. Bonnie. The character The Walking Dead had no idea what to do with. Let’s start from the beginning. Bonnie was one of six characters you play as in 400 Days in one of the five solo stories. And in terms of development, hers was the indisputable best. Unlike Shel or Russel, her character had a clear cut personality; and unlike Vince or Wyatt, you actually get to know what she is actually like when not being controlled by us. Also, she was gifted with being destined to be in season 2; saving her from the same crappy fate as her co-stars. Her character was more interesting than most of the season 1 characters, and her plotline gave way to what should have been The Walking Dead’s best female character to date.
Now that I’ve run down her time in 400 days, lets look into how she was used in season 2. Ep 2 makes her an ambiguous outsider from Craver’s group. Her role in this episode could have been any other character and it would have made no difference. Ep 3 turns her into a plot device after they written themselves into a corner with the ‘must escape Howls’ plotline. She bonds with Clem, and it feels a hell of a lot more authentic than it does with Jane. Believe it or not, but she is actually in Ep 4! You can barely see her considering how far they pushed her into the background, but she’s there!
Then, we have Ep 5. This is actually the one complaint I have regarding Ep 5, but it’s a biggy. So in one of two possibilities, she dies with Luke (who we’re just learning she loves, because that came out of nowhere). After which, no one gives a f#ck because Luke died and she is never referenced again. Or alternatively, she survives. At which, she blames you (the eleven year old kid, who shouldn’t have been put in that situation in the first place!) for his death, and opts to leave you (the elven year old kid she was going to abandon to starve to death!) to die in the snow.
And that was what they decided to use her potential on! Bonnie should have been the star of this season; being a far more developed character in just her 20 minute 400 days appearance than Jane and Luke combined. There was no direction in her actions in S2, and she acted as escape goat and random bitch for the writers. They had no clue how to use her and by Ep 5, she is the biggest mess of a character that she is better off dead with Luke. And if you think she’ll some back in the future, I’ll refer you to the fates of every other determined character in the series (spoiler; they die). So goes Bonnie, no one’s favourite character and drowned in her own misused potential.
Did you agree with the list? (Sorry for the dozens of mistakes I probably missed) Any characters you feel were misused or underutilised? Let me know in the comments and if you’re bored and craving more Walking Dead talk, check out my review of season 2.
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/comment/1748166#Comment_1748166
Thanks for reading 
and keep on Walking.
Comments
You forgot Nate. He was the most interesting character and built up reasonably only to fall into a plot hole and never be seen or mentioned again such a shame
Yes, Nate is an amazingly awesome character
I assumed after his grand debut in Russel's story we would see him in Season 2 (SEASON 3!!!)
Only not included on my list due to his one appearance.
Nick.
Matthew, Walter, Reggie.
If I'm not using the more obvious characters (Sarah and Nick), then I feel that these two characters were under utilised.
Christa:
Two years of watching out for Clementine, fulfilling a promise of a dying man who wanted to see Clementine safe above all else, and spends the majority of it alone and dealing with the loss of her own child.
And then she's abruptly kicked out of the story and all of her contribution to caring for Clementine goes unmentioned in favour for glorifying a man who had known Clementine for much less in comparison. This man barely interacted with her in the first season, and can determinately choose not to save her from her kidnapper just to spite his guardian, and he's suddenly the candidate for Clementine's new guardian.
Christa deserved better. She takes interest in Clementine the moment they meet, has a stern yet maternal relationship with her (which is lacking in the series), and still sticks by her and protects her even after losing Omid and her own unborn child.
Why Telltale wants nothing to do with her after her disappearance remains a mystery to me, and ends up wasting a character that still has a lot to offer to the story. Big mistake.
Luke:
For all the screen time he had, he has this unique ability to remain a blank slate with no consistency and only finally shares his half-backed backstory just in time to die in one of the most contrived way possible, and to finally cut out all ties with the Cabin Group.
His writing changes from episode to episode, almost as if he suffers from a personality disorder, and remains inconsistent with his actions. One episode he choose loyalty over survival and spends an entire day or two chasing down his captured friend for miles without stopping and easily breaks inside the compound to save his friends (which, much like Christa, goes unrecognised), and within the next episode he disregards his duty to have sex with a stranger, nearly getting the same group he spent trying to save in the previous episode killed.
It's clear that the writers just didn't know what to do with him since his introduction. What purpose did he serve to the plot? He may as well have been written out and the story would have remained largely unchanged, especially since the Kenny vs Luke, as predictable as it was, never comes around in the finale and gave us the ridiculous Kenny vs Jane finale that was filled with drama for the sake of drama.
In the end, he's eye candy and nothing else. Which is rather disturbing when you think about it, since you're playing as an eleven year old girl and not as a young adult.
Thank you so much for your in-depth comment
If you don't mind, this is my reasoning behind their absence on my list:
Christa:
I hate how Season 2 started. With all my gripes with everything that came from the season, it all stems from its awful beginning. Both Omid and Christa deserved better send-offs and the 16 month time slip is f#ucking ridiculous.
That being said, Christa still got a way better deal than nearly everyone from season 2. From the moment she's introduced in season 1, she rightfully accepts the new top billing spot from Lilly. Next to Kenny and Lilly, she's the most consistently followed non-protagonist character of the whole season and even gets a whole sub-plot to herself (rare in this series).
Season 2 removed her, yes. But it didn't throw her away like Omid. It left her with a likely possibility of returning; something a lot of characters aren't lucky enough to get. Along with that, she and Lee are the only characters Clem seems to be remember existed. She'll return in Season 3 because she's a great character with a great amount of focus. So to say she's 'screwed over,' isn't quite fair.
Luke:
If you read my review of season 2 (which you should if you have the time. It's a hooty of a rant), then you'll deduce that I don't like Luke. He's an uninteresting version of character right next to him (Nick), a Mary Sue who can do no wrong (just as bad as Jane), and a poor replacement to a beloved father figure (Lee). But I realise from what you've written that my displeasure for him does come a lot from the bad writing. Perhaps if he had been better portrayed, I wouldn't have minded he stole so much screen time and ultimately killed off Nick by existing.
To say he was screwed over though makes me laugh. He's practically set up as second billing and makes it to all five episodes without being backgrounded! To me, his death isn't wasting his character; but fixing a problem long beyond repair. I didn't want him to steal any more screen time from the finale, so the game kills him off in a way that was more respectful than any other of the deaths of season 2 (i.e. his death actually making Clem distress and causing the group to shatter). Luke got the best stake in the whole restaurant, even if this restaurant seems to only serve scraps and bones.
All only had one episode. Although Walter was a character I would have loved to have more of.
As I said in my note, I chose not to include him or Sarah because in fairness, both of them were given a better deal than a lot of the others. In S2E1 alone, Nick is involved in two of the major decisions of episode. Next to Carver and Kenny's return, he is the most focal thing in all of Ep 2. Yes, Telltale burned him good by making him determined. But even then, he is still widely regarded as one of season 2's best characters. Something these guys didn't get.
5.Omid-he should of lasted a bit longer and give him more an emotional death. His death was just too quick and tasteless, I mean, he dies and then 16 months later and cue to Clem and Christa who look miserable.
4.Christa-It's really disappointing that we don't even get a conclusion about her fate or even see her again. Yeah, I get it, she might be in season 3 but atleast leave a cliffhanger or something after the credits of episode 5, showing Christa or something to show us that Telltale haven't forgotten about her.
3.Carver-I feel like they killed him off way to early. I feel like he should of lasted until episode 4 or atleast 5 to make him more of a big threat.
2.Nick-Do I even need to explain this one? He was a big character in episodes 1 and 2, he doesn't do jack shit in episode 3 if you save him and in episode 4, he gets shot, off screen death and we find him as a walker and put him down. That was probably the most stupidiest character arc end IMO and I've seen plenty.
1.Sarah-Sarah had so much potential and when I save her, she dies again just so then Telltale can prove Carver, Jane and Crawford right, that liabilities can't be saved or helped at all. If anything, I feel like Sarah should of been the deuteragonist instead of Luke since she reminds of Clem back in season 1, like when she was still innocent and all. And the worst part is that the characters din't give a shit about her after AJ was born which left a bad taste in my mouth.
I was so close to adding Carver to this list. When I came up with it, he was originally my number 2. But I quickly realised how he is pretty much the central cause of all of season 2 and is given ample development in his Ep 2 debut alone. If I had been the head writer for season 2, Carver would have survived Ep 3. Killing him off in the middle of the season didn't screw him over; but the season as a whole.
And I already mentioned my reasoning behind leaving off Nick and Sarah
5 Larry 4 kenny 3 carver 2 alvo 1 mike
I was most disappointed with how Sarah, Arvo, Nick, Mike, and Bonnie turned out. I've already explained why numerous times (Especially about Arvo I won't put you people through the pain of one of my long winded rants on him again.) though so I'm not gonna do it again but I really wish those five got more time.
Christa and Luke also get special mentions. And the entire lodge group except Kenny.
...I'm gonna stop now.
edit; couldn't resist the urge to elaborate a little because I just can't let things go.
One of the biggest problems with Nick and Sarah to me was how their deaths had no noticeable effect on anything other than to enforce that shitty , "every character can die because realism, unless it is one of our favorites (Kenny for example.)" and because Telltale just pretty much outright admitted that they wanted to get rid of them. At least, they did for Sarah but since they gave Nick a similar unsatisfying fate I assume they didn't think too highly of him either. I would have felt a little better about their deaths had we the chance to actually commemorate them, for example not having the characters completely forget Sarah existed because the baby was cute, and then joke about the very thing that led to her death a few days later.
It felt like Mike and Bonnie weren't even real characters, they were just there to do whatever the plot deemed necessary to drag the story along. In episode four, they were totally chill and the very next episode they betray the group in a manner too extreme to be believable. Mike was a person who tries to save Kenny during the herd even though standing around waiting for him could have very well led to his own death, (But it didn't I guess, because Kenny's majyyk plot armor was extended to him at that point.) someone who kicks the door down in the museum to save Bonnie or Clem from the walker, and was just a generally a reasonable and helpful guy. Then come episode five, and he's willing to leave a child and newborn to die a slow death from hunger. I don't buy it. I never did.
Arvo was a plot device, plain and simple. Letting the player interact with him would have interfered with his only role in the story, which was to shoot her no matter what. Any time the player was allowed to sympathize with him was just a bait and switch to make players go, "OMG I WAS NICE TO THAT ASSHOLE FUCK ARVO HE'S LITERALLY HITLER!!!!!" when he shoots her. Clem was given the chance to defend him about 7-9 times. Compare that with the amount of times she can talk to him? Once, and it went absolutely nowhere.
Christa The way I feel about Christa is similar to my feelings about Nick and Sarah. I wouldn't have been quite as disappointed with her getting cut out if Clementine was actually able to open up about her time with Christa other than just occasionally asking people if they've seen her. Christa was with Clementine longer than anyone else has been, and Clem never got to expand on that at any point. They bring Kenny back, but bringing Christa back is too much of a stretch? Really, Telltale? Really? She's mentioned throughout the entire season and that amounts to nothing.
Luke "Hey, you know what'd be funny? If we threw away the guy who has been in the season since the start and has a much more believable conflict with Kenny and replace him with Jane lololol." And the lake scene death, that was practically unforgivable. I mean, Kenny had been hounding Arvo about how much he thinks the kid is a filthy liar the entire fucking time and if he says the lake is safe you're just gonna accept that with no question? Yeah...alright then.
The lodge group should have lived longer. Especially Sarita.
...This got even sloppier at the end but I don't even care anymore.
But I love Omid ;-;
Unfortunately, Telltale has apparently confirmed in one of their interviews that Christa will forever remain missing because of 'realism'. Yes, the same realism that brought the dead and Kenny back.
Altogether, I actually agree quite a lot with your list, particularly with the shoddy treatment of Bonnie and Sarita. I'd also add Carver to the list (he was the central antagonist, and since ghosts unfortunately don't exist in this setting the latter two episodes suffered from his absence) along with Arvo (whose fascinating potential and sympathetic nature is sabotaged by the writers deliberately preventing Clem from talking to him just so that they can contrive his crossing of the moral event horizon.)
Oh, and Alvin. Episode 2 brings up the mystery of him killing someone, only for THAT twist to go nowhere.
Luke. So many chances to side with him and make him look important just to not even allow him to have an ending? Thanks a lot.
I will never shut up about this.
What about Ben he was pretty much blamed for everything wrong in S1, he was always messing up, his screwups got so bad, they actually became funny towards the end. I remember laughing out loud, when i realized what he did with the axe.
Damn, I forgot about Alvin. Yet another wasted character among a crowd of unutilised characters.
What's the purpose of having Christa remain missing forever, especially when Kenny survives a million-in-one chance of getting out of his predicament, yet Christa falls into a black hole off-screen? Would bringing back Christa ruin the narrative or something?
The Cabin Group in general are the most screwed over, (I know this is top 5 but 2 more can't hurt). I mean what do we remember them for other than being fillers to plush out the group?
Rebecca: She's the pregnant one right? Seriously she had no development other than "I'm pregnant! Listen to me! Make sure my baby lives!"
Alvin: The guy that makes a few jokes (one of which is shared with Walter) and then, dies.
Carlos: The doctor, who is such a genius it makes me wonder if he is really a doctor.
Sarah: The poor girl that died and we couldn't save.
Nick: The guy who messed up and then disappeared until he was sitting on the fence... or hanging on the fence. That's a better way to put it.
Luke: The guy that was inconsistent, who could have lived and had a lot of screen time but most of that time was filled with puns and jokes instead of development. Makes me wonder why I even became obsessed over him. It wasn't until episode 4 when he had a true conflict with Kenny and made me think it was actually going somewhere, then episode 5 came along, we got development for Luke and suddenly he was dead, in the water. For no reason other than "Hey! We need to break the group apart, how should we do it?"
"Well I just finished going back through the credits music and In The Water got me thinking. No one really matches that song. So, why don't we drown Luke?"
"Great idea! We'll drown Luke and then the whole group will fall apart because he's keeping the peace. It's perfect!"
It's like I'm watching WatchMojo when i'm looking at this thread
I agree with you 100% on Christa. She does not get the credit she's due. If anyone has shaped who Clementine is its Christa
Actually, Bonnie doesn't always blame you for Luke's death, if you go to help him, you just have a regular conversation with her and she'll ask you if you have any regrets about any of your actions. You can even share a cigarette with her (I never do, as I don't approve of smoking).
omid was everything
I didn't help him on first play through. I thought the ice would break even with Clem's small weight. I just felt she didn't have the right to say how it was my fault when if she just covered Luke, Luke wouldn't be dead. But who knows maybe Luke still would've died but I hate how Bonnie couldn't take a little responsibility.
Carver, Christa, Charles, Nate, Pete. Not necessarily in that order but I think they were short changed.
Preach sista! I'm still bitter they made him end up to be nothing but useless eye candy instead of developing him more. All the shit they did with him in episodes 1 & 2 with the others, I was pretty much like "Fuck you fascinate me, you and your dysfunctional crew. I am so ready to learn about you man, I am so pumped you have no idea how-[finale] you're an art geek and only just mentioned it now with no hints prior? Oh...oh and now you're drowning, that's great, just beautiful. So is that a Picasso painting you're depicting with your final breath of air? Hey, is your last name Dawson by any chance?"
Hell, the whole cabin group got screwed over. I keep praying for a DLC on them so they can be less screwed over and I can let it go...that and I just really want to see them one last time ;_; Niiiiiiick!
Buddy, never fear a rant. Your ranting powers are clearly quite impressive (maybe even surpassing mine?!). You do bring up a lot of fantastic points, but I want to focus on your number 3. Arvo; season 2's Ben.
Now, I am going to admit something that might shock you. I don't think Telltale botched Arvo. Arvo was supposed to be a scared, weak kid in the apocalypse; and that was what he was. The shot confused a lot of people, but you can see from the way he looks at you that he mistakenly believes you killed his sister. As such the urge to shoot you came over him depending on whether you shouted for help/ wanted to come with them. If anything, he is one of the most consistent characters of season 2. And that's why I didn't even think about putting him on this list.
(And I've already mentioned my reasoning behind everyone else)
We all do. (quieter) we all do...
But she blames you for his death if you choose just to cover him when he specifically asked to get cover. Regardless it's not your fault
I've never gotten this compliment before, thank you! I like your list as well, not many people mention Carlos when talking about lackluster season 2 characters, or Bonnie either, most people seem too busy hating on her and calling her a dirty junkie to care about the inconsistencies in her character, of which I feel there were many.
The problem with that for me is (I will admit that in the instance where Clementine calls for help and it appears he just shoots her out of fear makes sense.) that his reasoning for shooting her in the case that she gives up the gun was something that could have been solved with a simple conversation. Arvo shooting Clem for revenge related reasons feels contrived because all it would have took for him to not do that would have been having him understand that Clementine shot his sister because she turned, not because his attempt to revive her actually worked and Clem decided to murder her for the hell of it, which is what he believed happened.
Arvo spent the vast majority of the episode tied up, there was really no reason to not let her talk to him. It wasn't like he was going anywhere. It really felt like the game was trying their hardest to keep him isolated from Clementine. For example, if you talk to Jane and Kenny first at the power station and then try to talk to Arvo, the game skips right over him and onto the bonfire scene.
Arvo can call Clementine kind regardless of if she steals from him on the deck or not before the shootout in Amid the Ruins, so if he came to understand that Natasha had turned I doubt he would have been so vindictive towards her, the misunderstanding was what caused him to become spiteful, not the stealing choice. So in the case that Arvo now knows the true fate of his sister and Clem asks to go with them when they leave, he'd have had no problems with it and wouldn't have shot her. Then Clementine would be with the three of them, but going with Bonnie, Mike, and Arvo was not what the writers would allow, so they had to sacrifice any character development he could have gotten for the sake of plot and that was one of the biggest letdowns of the game, in my opinion. (You've done it, you've unlocked my special Arvo-specific rant. I promised I wouldn't do it again. I lied.)
Honestly, Arvo's unchanging attitude towards Clementine is just one example of the problems with the choices this season. (Or more specifically, the ones in Amid the Ruins.) The writers seemingly wrote the game under the assumption that all players will pick the same things.
It's probably part of the reason why Nick and Sarah got such unsatisfying second deaths, they never planned anything important for those two beyond their first ones. They apparently hated Sarah, and wrongly assumed that their fanbase shared that opinion. We were supposed to leave her to die, and supposed to sell out Nick, I'm certain that's what the writers intended. For those of us who didn't agree with that and wanted to see them grow as characters or have a moment similar to the one Ben had with Kenny if he was saved in Crawford, well, we were out of luck.
Sarita's arm was another example. Cut it off, and she is instantly attacked by the walkers and dies. It makes more sense for Kenny to be angry with Clementine in that scenario instead of the one where she simply kills the walker biting Sarita. The writers assumed everyone would cut off her arm so they wrote Kenny's reaction for that choice and that choice only and never considered how things would be different if the players took the other option.
Sarita's reaction to you killing the walker is a sick joke.
I admit Nick got it a bit worse than Luke but it hurt more with him because he actually had a setup to be important and well, a final choice kinda guy. So disappointed.
Also, I´m biased but whatever.:D
This is hitting the nail on so many heads. The writers seemingly punish you for making decisions they didn't want you to make. Most of Season 2's major decisions resulted in the same outcome one scene afterwards, but when it was something major like a character death they out right shun them until they could find a way to execute them.
And this problem was entirely avoidable! Season 1 perfectly accommodated Carley or Doug in either play through. They still both die at the same time; but they're both still characterised and important in either outcome. And as you pointed out, Ben is in no way backgrounded after his maybe-death (in fact, Ep 5 feels a little empty without him).
Like we can all agree, Arvo; like so many other characters this season, was a victim to poor plotting. Personally, the choice to go with him and Mike was something I opted to do; both Kenny and Jane's plans being foolish and daydreaming. Mike was actually thinking rationally, and Bonnie (insert long winded rant). The NEEDED to end with Kenny vs Jane, and it was better for it. But if the choice had been legit, that's how my play through would have ended.
Christa and Omid in S2, they were just thrown out of the story.
While Ben was screwed over IN-GAME, out of game he was incredibly focal from his introduction to his departure. He is even one of the few characters who isn't backgrounded after becoming determined.
I try to imagine what it must've been like for Brian Bremer, walking into that recording booth for Episode 4 all excited, and then he just sees that script in front of him below the mic, and there's only one line of dialogue, not even words, just "Aurghaaah!" that's written really scruffy in pencil on a crumbled piece of post-it-note, and then they just kicked him out the door after the first take and hand him the 50 cent paycheck for the recording.
That poor bastard T_T
Yeah, what you said. The Cabin Group is the most screwed over. Now they're all walkers...
Some of them only turn determinantly tough... But yeah all of them can turn.
Awww, you even have a little Pete one. How cute.