Was Kenny really in the wrong?
At the end of S2E5 one of the biggest choices of the series has to be made. Either shoot an enraged Kenny and join up with Jane, or let Kenny kill Jane and join him. It's easy to see Kenny as the bad guy in this situation, as he is the first one to lose his temper and get physical with Jane. However, were Kenny's actions really all that out of line? My opinion is no, they were not. Put yourself in Kenny's situation. He has lost everything. His wife, his son, his friend (Lee), and his girlfriend. But, when AJ is born he finds another reason to live. AJ becomes the driving force behind Kenny's will to survive and the man will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Despite never saying it, Kenny loves AJ. So when Jane confronts him and implies that she let AJ die, Kenny does what I think any normal human in his situation would do, he gets angry. First of all, in Kenny's mind, Jane let a baby die. A baby. If you don't think that's wrong then I don't know what to tell you. And not only is it just a baby, it is a baby that Kenny has dedicated what is left of his life to protecting. So why wouldn't Kenny be furious? For all he knows, Jane just committed a pretty deplorable and unforgivable act. Yes, Kenny reacted poorly to the situation, but given the circumstances, it's easy to see why. Also, Jane had every opportunity to stop the attack from Kenny. All she had to do was tell Kenny the truth. I doubt Kenny would forgive Jane, but after making sure that AJ was indeed safe, I don't think he wold have killed Jane, especially if he was persuaded not to do so by Clementine. I personally think he would have just left her there and continued on with Clem. Jane approached the situation very poorly, all to prove a point to Clem. Basically what I'm trying to say is that Kenny was not the villain in this situation and he reacted like any moral person would after learning that a grown woman let a baby die. He was also motivated by his love for AJ and the baby's death meant the end of his world. Kenny is not a bad person.
I apologize if this discussion is beating a dead horse, but I'm new to these forums and wanted know what other people think about this.
Comments
Yeah, he did wrong, you can't lose your temper and resort to violence, under the guise of a lie. Both are wrong, that is the problem most people have a problem grasping.
I agree that they both handled the situation poorly, but I'm just saying that Kenny's reaction is understandable (and more forgivable), at least it is in my opinion. The way I see it, Kenny pretty much saw AJ as his son and from his point of view, Jane let him die to save herself. I can't imagine anyone, despite their temperament, would take that news well. If Jane truly didn't mean for it to go so far, she would have told Kenny the truth.
I could understand easily losing my temper and hurting someone, i been diagnosed with combat PTSD, doesn't make it right though. I have to fight myself everyday, not to want to just destroy people mentally, because i can be a real mean person sometimes, as i grew up i realized that you know, i started "trying" to be better, but there is always a Jane testing me, trying to pull me back in.
Jane put that child's life in danger by leaving it alone in a car, what if it got eaten by a zombie, would she of played the card.
"OH I DIDN't THINK THAT WOULD HAPPEN."
You make some really good points. I like what you said about "trying" to be better. I think that Kenny tries to be better and wants to be better, especially for the sake of Clementine and AJ. However, everything that he has been through causes him to lash out and make poor decisions at times. It was certainly not a good thing that he killed Jane, taking a life is never a good thing, but given everything he as been through combined with the belief that Jane let AJ die (his only remaining reason to live) I think his actions are forgivable, if not justifiable.
Well i think IMO Jane wanted that fight.
If she didn't she could of said AJ is in that car over there, again another example of manipulation by Jane.
I totally agree with you.
First off, welcome!
I think that Kenny wasn't really wrong at all for what he did. It's understandable that one could become violent after hearing someone had just accidently killed your (adopted) baby. People have become violent for less in real life. Kenny had just sworn the other day to take care of AJ and after losing so many loved ones both recently and earlier in the zombie apocalypse, he invested everything into that baby. Sucks for Clementine, but he said it himself that he knew she could take care of herself.
Kenny himself, in that moment, must have realized that he had failed to protect someone yet again. Leaving the baby with Jane (a person he had just got done arguing about losing family and whom he doesn't trust) out of desperation to get gas for a truck to keep everyone remaining alive. When she comes back with no baby, it would be perfectly understandable to flip-out on Jane. Since it's hypocritical of her to essentially have the baby die on her watch and now sees her as a threat to himself and Clem (kinda like him wanting to leave Lilly on the side of the road).
When dying, Kenny realizes that he fucked up and couldn't protect AJ or Clem. From himself and the harsh world, so he gives up and dies, after making sure Clementine doesn't blame herself for doing the right thing.
I think what they both did sucked and they were both wrong.
And I love both characters. A lot.
Both are these characters are in the wrong. Jane lied about the baby and Kenny tried to murder her with zero evidence that she "killed" the child.
I think Jane's words and actions provided enough evidence for Kenny to react the way he did. We as the player recognize that AJ is safe, but imagine Kenny's mindset. Although she didn't explicitly say it, Jane pretty much admitted to letting AJ die when questioned about his whereabouts by Kenny. Someone basically telling you they did something is pretty good reason to believe they did it. And from Kenny's point of view, Jane has no reason to lie to him about AJ's status. What kind of person would lie about killing a baby (Kenny's mindset)? It's not really a secret how Jane feels about the baby so, Kenny takes her words (or lack thereof) as truth, which was precisely her intention.
Daily Struggle we must all endure, if we are to ascend to new possibilities.
Its all about perspective.
I saw it a completely different way, where Kenny was manipulated into a fight by a woman who wanted him dead/gone. She used the one thing was his anchor, and tossed it in the murky depths below, in his mind never to be found again. It was too much for him to take, so it became a fight, then Jane pulls out her knife, if you get stabbed with your own blade, its hardly murder. She asked for it, and got what was coming to her imo.