Does anyone else think Starved For Help is a little overrated?
I get the story was good and the choices you made had an impact but it felt like filler. The story hardly progressed and the exposition of Mark and The St. Johns was pointless. The episode had great writing but ehh.. Anyone else feel this way
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Starved for Help was one of the main reasons I disliked replaying season 1, it was great the first time... that's as far as it went, though.
Not really. It's a great episode. I don't think it's filler. It shows how the apocalypse is now affecting people and we encounter The Stranger's car. Also, some of the most deep and thought provoking things of Season 1 come up in it. Like Clementine asking Lee if someday everything will be better and he'd have kids. And also the most difficult choice of Season 1, in my opinion, of reviving Larry or smashing his head.
Starved for Help is not even in my top 5 episodes, Mark Darin is a great writer, but this episode is definitely overrated. I'm not saying it's a bad episode, there's no episode from this series I can say I absolutely loathe (even Amid the Ruins, despite all the shit I give that episode), but SFH is not one of the best episodes.
I really, really liked it the first time I played it. After replaying it though, I think it really just the phenomenal plot twist and ending that are really good in the episode.
Nope, after playing ep 1 I thought Telltales walking dead was just interesting, but ep 2 is what made me invested
The only things I probably didn't like about Season 1 Episode 2 were:
Oh look, another farm.
Oh look, I'm cutting planks of wood, again, on a farm.
Oh look, another tractor to be present while crazy danger goes down...on a farm.
That's about it really XD other than that I thought it was a good episode.
Telltale re-using dat assets giiiirrrrlll!
"story hardly progressed and the exposition of Mark and The St. Johns was pointless"
Bull. Shit.
I don't see your point at all.
I think Mark was just used to be eaten by the St. Johns. He's never even mentioned after episode 2 soo
"Heeey let's use the same shaped backpacks everybody, again and agaaain."
Kill me, kill me now T.T
Episode 3 takes place after a few weeks and everyone is more prioritized with getting supplies and moving on rather than dwelling on what awful things happened before except for Lily. Mark was there for foreshadowing, so he served his purpose fine.
Whatever. What I mean is that he was only used for that episode St. Johns, Mark and the entire time at the dairy was just there. There wasn't that much story progression except for the end and the Meat Locker. It sort of just stayed stagnant opposed to moving forward.
Hardly any story progression... So Larry's gruesome death did not contribute to Lilly's growing depression, which in turn resulted in her killing Carley or Doug, which in turn lead to Ben feeling guilty, which in turn led to Ben confessing to Lee and eventually Kenny? Not to mention the lack of food and safe shelter contributing to the group's anxiety and desperation, which caused them to seek help from strangers who had bad intentions. The subsequent experience is their first true taste of the harsh realities of life outside of the motel.
Sorry, but calling this episode filler does it a serious injustice. It is arguably the catalyst for everything else that happens afterwards. Did you forget about the supplies in the car too?
Still not really seeing your point.
How dare you all for saying this!! BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY TOWARDS YOURS TRULY!
lol saw this coming.....Larry sure as hell didn't.
HueHue
And waaait, WUT!?
How!? We are predictable! I AM A SALTLICK YOU FORUM USER AND I SHALL NOT BE PISSED ON BY YOU CROWBAR NAZIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Inner Peace Salt....Inner Peace...INNER Peace....
Are you saying Mark should have had a bigger role? Struggling to see where you think the story was lacking there. Before the meat locker and ending, it was all about atmosphere and tension building. You sometimes have to let things simmer before you bring it to boil. In episode 2, this was executed to perfection.
Saltlick, you talk a big game, but you've only registered 1 kill so far! Maybelle's probably done better than you :P
Maybelle has ZERO on screen, I only have One on Screen but I have any more off
AT LEAST I HAVE KILLS UNDER MY BELT!
Inner Peace Salt.....Don't Crush the Skrub....Don't crush him....
EDIT: OMG, I just saw your user name and at first I thought it said "UKilledLarry" and I was gonna be like THAT'S IT!!!!!! YOU'RE GETTING REKT SKRUB! Thank God your name isn't that though :P
I don't even know anymore...
I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself...
No way, this episode was great. Sure the conflict with the St. John's didnt affect the story much on its own, but the episode was quite thought provoking and the ending was epic.
It was great, first it showed just how fucked up the world was now, the meat locker scene is a breaking point in Lee's relation with Lilly and Kenny,and the final scene set in motion the events in the finale
I wouldn't say it was complete filler. We got to see Lilly and Kenny go full crazy doing things to effect the bigger plot. First play through is amazing. After you know all the twist its pretty boring though.
No story progression? Several events in SFH were extremely important for later events of the Season. It introduced the Save Lots bandits who forced the group out of the motel in LRA. Ben, a character that would cause a great deal of internal conflict within the group, was introduced. Larry's death in the meatlocker was a HUGELY important part of both Lilly and Kenny's character arcs throughout the Season, and also decided your relationship with the two of them. The group encountered The Stranger's car and took his things, which is the entire reason No Time Left even happened. It isn't my favorite Episode, but there was a ton of plot stuff happening in it. The Season would have been very different had the group just been chilling at the motel without the events of SFH taking place.
You're right. It doesn't progress the story. It's only the introduction of the scene where the group ransacks the Stranger's car, who I'd like to point out, is a major antagonist that plays a huge role in the story. And it's also the introduction of Ben, another major character. Oh yeah, it's also the episode where Larry got killed off. And the fall of the dairy also results in the bandits turning their attention to the motel. But other than those elements, no it doesn't really progress the story.
I think it's great the first time you play it. Now, everytime I think of replaying Season 1, I just "ugh" and don't.
It was one of my favorite episodes. I wish they would of let Ben/Carley/Doug been a bigger part of the storyline, but other than that i think it was one of the better episodes they came out with if not the best IMO.
Nope, sorry. I thought it was brilliant.
Overrated? Though I may disagree with your opinion my friend, I'll defend to the death your right to have one.
Filler? Literally 80% of Season 1's important plot paths are introduced in this episode. Damn near every scene leads to something else.
Mr. Parker/Travis show the group that you can turn no matter what ---> Leads to Kenny blowing his wad too early in the meat locker ---> Lilly goes insane ---> Kills Carley/Doug ----> Leaves the group ---> May or may not be alive (may or may not return in Season 3)
Ben/Save-Lot bandits ----> Group leaves motel -----> Duck gets bitten ----> Katjaa and Duck Die -----> Kenny becomes an aspiring martyr ---> EVERYTHING is season 2
Most of your relationship building/ Lee character building is done in this episode. Your relationship with Kenny/Lilly is defined here. A lot of Clementine bonding (some of Scumbag Lee's finest work can be done here). You can determinately kill 0-4 people.
The fucking station wagon..... I mean, I can go on forever. Definitely not a filler episode. You can maybe argue that Mark and the St. John's (to a much lesser extent) were plot devices, but they played their roles to perfection. But hey, if you didn't like the episode that's ok.
An episode made solely for the purpose to show that humans are the real monsters is a filler episode? Top fucking kek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OWL7AzvHo
I don't really think it can be considered a "filler". Several elements introduced in this episode played a big part in the next episodes. You want to see some real fillers? Watch the second half of the forth season of the show, then you can talk to me about filler:).
Joking aside, I do agree it gets kind of tiresome to replay the episode after a few times, but as far as the atmosphere and its impact goes, this episode is easily in top 3. Loved the whole "old horror flick movie" theme this episode had. The only episodes similar in that regard that I can think of is "Around Every Corner" and the 400 days segment with Wyatt and Eddie. Seeing Nate's truck pop out just after Wyatt picks up the keys,classic!
I suspect by filler they're criticising the fact you finish in the same place you start (The Motor Inn). I actually think that's one of this episodes great strengths. By reusing the same hub and giving you more "day to day life" dilemmas, they effectively create a place that feels like home and give you a chance to get attached to the other people there. Something i felt season 2 was lacking. I never really felt like i knew anyone other Kenny. It sets you up nicely for the heartlessly cruel opening half of episode 3. You've got to build em up to knock em down.
Its also silly to claim it doesn't advance the plot. Most of the remaining big events of season 1 are set in motion here. Lilly's descent into madness, The bandits and the stranger. Its just disguises these by giving you a more pressing threat.
Its hard for me to decide if this episode or No Time Left represents the peak of the franchise.
I completely agree with you. Although, I'm not sure if the peak of the franchise has even come yet. Maybe once Clementine's timeline is over. Which could be in Season 3.
Looking back, I feel like the only reason why I thought this episode was good was just how intense everything from the dinner scene up to the end was. Everything else before that felt boring to me.
And to call this episode filler depends on what you think the story is about. If the whole Season was about getting to Savannah to find sanctuary, then this could be considered filler.
I did not like introducing cannibalism so early in the season and the St. Johns felt kinda cartoonish (not to take seriously). I don't know how to articulate it better but their personalities did not work for me. I do agree with what most people said as it put a lot of things in motion for the rest of the season.
I think it was solidly rated. Sure, it didn't add much to the overall story, but it did make me feel for the characters. If episode 2 never happened, I wouldn't have cared nearly as much about all of the characters. Plus, episode 2 has the longest reaching choices in the whole season. Larry followed you until the last episode. This episode is also the episode which most powerfully executes on the theme of family, with Larry, Duck, and the family of cannibals. That isn't even talking about the extremely tight and awesome story shown in the episode.
On top of all of that, everybody that was in episode 2 had an extremely memorable scene, and a memorable shot. Kenny standing over Larry's corpse, Doug's laser pointer, Carley taking aim at the St Johns over at the motor inn, Katjaa and Brenda, Duck with a gun to his head, Lilly watching Lee and Andy fight, Lee shouting, "It's over!", Ben explaining the zombie situation, and even Clementine turning down the jacket had some kickass cinematography.
I have to respectfully disagree with this one. Starved for Help is a personal favorite (if not my ultimate favorite). Off bat we get the choice to cut a mans leg which is a major theme in the apocalypse, cutting off organs in order to survive. Then, we return to have to make a tough decision as to who to feed, which again in the apocalypse shows that no matter what decisions you'll make, you'll inevitably piss someone off. Then we meet the st johns. The dairy gives us HOPE! When I first played it, I just knew the group would be able to spend the rest of the game at the dairy. We learn of the bandits. We have the whole scene with Jolene. Then the plot twist with St. Johns being cannibals. Larry's death, choosing between kenny and lily and developing that sub plot. The rest of the group coming to save us helped build trust. clem getting grabbed by the hair re appears later, a lesson that is continued in season 2. Lee choosing to kill the brothers - very important. We also learn from Ben that everyone is infected and that the brain must be destroyed regardless of if you're bitten or not. Theres a lot in Ep. 2 that leads to the rest of the story, specifically the bandits and the stranger.
Curse you lol. I just wrote a long ass explanation without reading your post and I see you said everything I said but much more concise. sighs I'm too long winded