Unintentionally Sympathetic: The Paint Designation of Draco in White
Hi, DabigRG here! I’ve actually been observing this forum from beyond the screen for quite some time now and I’ve been taking note of discussions, opinions, and details on these two lively games. So, for my very first post, I wanted to make an interesting discussion of a topic that is very and inspires the contribution of a wide variety of overall opinions and dogmatic details. At first, I was gonna make a probe around Sarah (because trust me, there’s a lot to talk about), but I realized I need to gather all of my bits before I beat a dead horse ( or prod a possibly undead woman, in this case). So, while looking up discussions around my favorite and unfavorite characters, I couldn’t help but note the base-breaking nature of the Walking Dead characters in general. I’ve seen some people say they hate the likeable characters but they love the unpleasant characters, sometimes to the point of accentuating the negatives and deemphasize the positives. So, in honor of that polarization, I have decided to make my first post on this forum about Characters with Misaimed Interpretations. Feel free to follow my example and tell us why some character just didn’t go over the way they should have with you. That’s what a forum is for anyway, mate!
Unintentionally Unsympathetic/ Unintentionally Sympathetic:
The Paint Designation of
Ron in Black and Draco in White
Note: If you are unfamiliar with TV Tropes, then you are probably gonna be confused….
Also, this is technically part two of what was originally a single thread that got too long, so if you references to things that just aren’t there, that’s why.
EDIT:To talk serious for a sec, this was supposed to allow others to give the own interpretations of a character they loved/hated that they felt they were'nt supposed to so we can discuss and compare our thoughts amongst each other. I'm removing my full writeup and simply reposting it in the comments if that gets people to start sharing.
Comments
Wow! This forum completely screwed over all the time I spent formatting this blasted thing! AGAIN! Even though I tried to use the forums standards.
Sorry bout this folks. ALL of it. If I find time, I'll try to edit this again later.
EDIT: And its fixed! To the entire afternoon, but that's my fault.
To talk serious for a sec, this was supposed to allow others to give the own interpretations of a character they loved/hated that they felt they were'nt supposed to so we can discuss and compare our thoughts amongst each other. I'm considering removing my full writeup and simply reposting it in the comments if that gets people to start sharing.
If anyone else agrees that that's a good idea, please reserve a small space at the bottom of your comment (no need to reply specifically to this post since I plan on using it as a creator's space later.) saying so and I will take your thoughts into count and move it as a reply to this messsage. Thank you and your input is not only welcomed but encourage!
Here's a link to Part One!
One can clearly appreciate that you have put lots of effort into these posts, @DabigRG!
However, I would suggest tweaking some parts of the formatting in a way that it is more reader-friendly. I provide a bit of an example below. Do not try to work out what it says! It is just placeholder text. The bolded phrases stand for the name of an episode.
Instead of…
…maybe you could go with…
Genius wordplay about Bonnie, simply smashing. But Arvo and his group were nothing more than bandits...sad about his sister...But he needs to die.
Wow, great post and description of Arvo's character. Some of my own thoughts on the matter:
I don't think him and Clementine were going to be anything but bitter enemies when all is said and done, regardless of how "nice" the player is to him through Clementine. When it comes down to it, he was still robbed on some level by Jane and Clementine and his entire crew was also killed by Clementine's crew (which is partly his fault for not coming up with a better plan, but I understand why he wanted revenge. What Jane and Clementine done to him put him at severe risk... hell he shouldn't have been out there by himself in the first place.
I was also quite surprised that he basically became part of the group after the shootout A lot of groups would have either killed him after that, or told him to get lost. Him shooting Clementine at the end wasn't really that much of a surprise to me, neither am I that angry about it. This was expected after everything they had been through. From his point of view, I would have tried to kill Jane and Clementine (and Kenny if possible) first chance I got before going it alone
I can't imagine how long it took to type this out! I agree that Arvo was a kind of sympathetic villian. I think it was somewhat intentional though. I wasn't in love with the guy, but I never wished a gruesome death on him. I do disagree on your assessment of Jane, but that wasn't really the focus. Some of your wording made me laugh! (Where it was intentional. I'm not making fun of anything) Nice post!
Actually, it took less than half the time it took to type up Part 1. Though, admittedly, I initially copied and paste the points where I mentioned him there and then gradually reworded it as I went along. The problem with Part 1 (playing loose with whether you read it or not) was that I was originally thinking about doing something different but wanted to do something where everyone could contribute. Unfortunately, the character I discussed there is so tied to the original idea that I had to briefly include some details that tease my future plans. Also, that character was so much more prominent than Arvo, so this took less than 3 days if that to complete other than the abysmal editing process I stubbornly put myself through.
Ironically enough, I didn't catch the irony of how I spent the writeup talking about how sympathetic Arvo is by pointing out how much I don't like his actions in the story nor his actual mileage as a villain until after I finished.
Thanks for the tips, oh speaker of the devil's language! (Seriously, thats all I see when I read that.)
To talk serious for a sec, this was supposed to allow others to give the own interpretations of a character they loved/hated that they felt they were'nt supposed to so we can discuss and compare our thoughts amongst each other. I'm considering removing my full writeup and simply reposting it in the comments if that gets people to start sharing.
Yeah. If there's one thing that characters like Jane, Carver, and Brenda are able to recognize, its that every shitbird, weakling, and straggler has their uses.
I honestly don't know what I would've done with him myself if I was there: I would like to think I'd follow My Clementine's example and show him a bit of mercy while keeping him on a leash, but chances are I'd react similarly to Kenny and wanna kick ass for catharsis.
Thanks!
Call it a hunch, but I got a feeling that if we do see him again, bandit may not be such an unfitting description of him as either of us may think.
I think arvos group were bandits, nothing more or less really, they were just better written then season 1 bandits.
Eh...maybe? Calling their group 'bandits' just doesn't really click with me for some reason. Maybe its Skyrim resonating in the back of my mind or something.
It could just be the whole medicine thing blurring the line as well, but I also get the feeling people feel the need to call them "just bandits" because Buricko and Vitali were obviously evil. Not mention the whole "Arvo must die!!!" mentality.
Thank's man!
Feel free to create your own thoughts on a sympathetic character you were supposed to hate as a separate comment. That's why I made this!
Unintentionally Sympathetic: Arvo
(The face of pure evil.)
This was a hard one. I honestly can’t think of a single other character, with the exception of possibly Michelle (and even then, she’s admittedly pretty thuggish), who wasn’t exactly what they were intended to be in context: the tragic villains were likeable, the cynical heroes were jerks, and those caught in between were usually portrayed as being a shade of grey. So unfortunately, I have to ride off of Jane’s coattails on this one and use a Season 2 villain. As I said before, Jane is one of the most well written aspects of Season 2. Unfortunately, Jane is well written; everything revolving around her, on the other hand, friggin’ sucks. And the second worst offender of that is the Red, Commie, Russkie piece of shit, shitbird<<<< himself: Arvo. Why is one of the most hated characters in the entire game series not the monster everyone says he is? Let’s find out:
• Amid the Ruins
•Arvo first appears to be suspiciously sneaking around to the observation deck while Clementine and Jane are trying to pick the lock. First of all, he’s not really sneaking around so much a limping. Second, a scrawny teenage dude with a huge duffel bag and a leg brace that squeaks along the pavement as he walks is far from suspicious. If I was Jane, who is supposed this cold, rational survivalist, I wouldn’t look at that and think, “That guy looks suspicious. Hide! ;” I would think, “Oh look, free healthcare and a meal ticket. Let’s get ‘im!”. The Save-lot Bandits and Ben are face palming so hard right now. When he is made aware of Clementine’s presence, he draws his pistol in self defense, but as his visibly shaking gun hand gives away, he states that he doesn’t want to shoot anyone, especially a little girl. Considering this is Clementine we’re talkin’ about, he’s doing the smartest thing anyone can do in this game. What isn’t so smart is why he came in the first place: Why the heck is he hiding a bag filled with useable medicine in a recycle bin? It isn’t until Jane gets the jump on him with his own gun (after he says he’s gonna leave) and orders Clementine to search the bag that we find out that it is filled painkillers and similar medication for his sick sister, who was originally called Maud in the game files (more on that later, because, boy, does it complicate things in oh so many fun ways). This is the world of the Walking Dead, where people are willing to do just about anything on the justification that its survival of the fittest. Scavenging is near universal at that point; heck, Omid got accidentally shot dead by a scavenger who trying (and miserably failing) to be a raider to Season1!Clementine! And they were major characters! If Michelle had robbed Arvo instead, she would have stolen everything but the brace on his leg and the glasses his face-- With the gun he had in his hand, no less! So, even if none of those girls attacked him, he still would’ve lost the medicine!!! Good Grief, I guess now would be a good time to go into Arvo’s characterization because, boy, if that doesn’t prove my point, I don’t know what else will (that’s a lie, by the way)!(Video 1) Because he’s nowhere near as characterized as Jane, I will be using a lot of comparisons. Like his good counterpart, Season 1’s Ben Paul, Arvo is timid, awkward, and unlucky young man who is apologetic to those he considers good people, a bit of a screw up when it comes to successfully executing his plans, and constantly in a position where he is the subject of victimization, abuse, and ridicule from friends and enemies alike. Like his other debatable< good counterpart Sarah, he is meek and unimposing, tall yet extremely skinny, shies away from any violence, has an older family member that they put most of their faith in, and, despite being arguably handicapped (with her being sheltered to the point that some believe she has a mental disorder, among other things<, and his entire right leg being in a squeaky, heavy metal brace), has a few subtle moments that show that they are far from harmless <(namely exhibiting surprising speed and stealth for someone of their holistic disposition). So, in short, a nervous, weak-willed twig whose admittedly refreshing pacifism and sheer incompetence makes him an easy target, even without the leg brace. It doesn’t help that, like Jane, his line delivery sometimes makes him more humorous than he probably should be: “No! You are not nice people.” Ya think? Anyway, he does have a point: our two ‘heroes’ have left him defenseless and could determinately outright steal the key to his sister’s continued survival for the sake of helping 38% of their group temporarily feel a little better. You don’t really get to feel justified in doing something to hurt him considering, first play-through or in hindsight, you wronged him first. Jane, who still actually had a conscious, believe it or not, even becomes disgusted with herself for threatening what she rightfully considers some stupid kid after the fact. If Clementine returns his bag he is genuinely grateful and shines a smile her way, before giving Jane a disappointedly concerned look and eventually timidly limps away (to be honest, the look Jane gives him when she was refusing to just back off without any further trouble legitimately scares me); if she decides to steal from Arvo, his pouting face morphs into outrage and he tells Jane that she will regret this (remember that line for me). Either way, Jane returns the favor when she promises that she won’t be letting him walk away next time (minor nitpick: Look, I know I said Arvo is slippery earlier, but how did Luke manage to not see him come and go? Nevermind: Luke recognizes him if you mention he was at the observation deck.). If I can throw Jane another walker bone, she’s not the only one who makes a disproportionate decision when there was a better option. Here’s part of what I mean: why didn’t Clementine and Jane simply strike up a deal to share the medicine amongst the two groups? Arvo, I can understand in this context, since Jane threatens him almost immediately after Clementine makes her decision and the ethnic differences could stir up trouble, especially with Mike and Kenny. I can’t believe I never thought about that until just now, but it was a valid option. Later on, in the episode’s final scene, after the group has started moving down the road, Arvo comes limping up to them from afar while they’re busy discussing what to do when Rebecca is finished resting. His group, consisting of his sick older sister Natasha (the voice of reason), their “close-friends” sarcasm mode Buricko (the heavy tattooed leader) and Vitali (the bizarrely psychotic enforcer), with Arvo himself being the group translator and liaison, come out of the woods and surround the group after he starts a conversation with the group. Admittedly, while watching different play-throughs to make sure I had my facts straight, I learned that one of several approaches happens depending on your choices. If Clementine tells the group about his sister, Arvo will ask her if he remembers her name correctly, ask her if the group are her friends, state that he hopes she can help him now(did I miss something here?), claim that he needs bandages and when Bonnie asks him if he’s hurt, he sadly says no. Buricko then comes out the woods shouting “No guns!” in Russian(Note: I would like to take this opportunity to specify that I do NOT speak Russian, so this is based on various secondhand sources and if I state something incorrect, feel free to kindly point it out. Thank you, Kindly!). It is possible for Kenny and Luke to calmly realize the other Russians are nearby if Clementine tells them Arvo might be mad at them, which causes them to casually reveal themselves (notably, Natasha reveals herself first, rather than last) on the notion that they normally stay hidden for safety, but they know Clementine (plus, Arvo comes across as a creepy brand of Affably Evil here). Either way, Natasha confirms with her brother that these are the people that robbed him, to which Buricko and Vitali laugh at the notion that he got jacked by a little girl. Let’s talk about her for a second, since she is what motivates Arvo throughout the game. It goes unmentioned in the game proper, but Natasha suffers from sickles cell anemia, a disease that, as Arvo mentioned before, causes pain that causes her cry, running the risk of attracting walkers The exact nature of their connection to Buricko and Vitali is unknown, though I personally believe she is a member of their ‘gang’ and Maud could still be used as her street name; both of these headcanons are inspired by events in the next episode. Which one is actually Buricko or Vitali is actually complicated, because not only do they swap weapons and places between episodes, but one of Vitali’s unused English clips has him refer to Buricko as himself. For the sake of simplicity, I will pretend the game makes sense and take everything at face value by using the released interpretation. Back to the story, Arvo explains that they ambushed the Howe’s Ski Cabin Group looking to get even with Jane and Buricko tells the group to put down their guns so they can take anything they have—without actually knowing what he wants (Dem nutty Russians!<<<<<). If Clementine robbed him of the medicine, he comes off as much more to the point and indignant; [My!]Clementine did not and treated Arvo as just some regular survivor, to which he mentions he isn’t being told to ask for the group’s things and laments that he couldn’t have met her under different circumstances because her kindness is not common, as Buricko impeccably proves when he orders Arvo to just do it. Either way, it is made apparent by his expressions that while payback isn’t completely outside his moral code, he still doesn’t like the idea of robbing people. Once it’s brought to his attention that Jane isn’t with them, he begins to panic in Russian, which understandably unnerves Kenny, and assumes it’s a trap, showing that he is still afraid of Jane. Things escalate so that everyone has the gun raised and pointed at the other group. If you try to convince him to make his group lower their guns, he freezes with uncertainty for a second before Natasha encourages him to stand his ground. When Arvo realizes that they have a baby with them, he hesitates and begins angrily arguing with Buricko, who oddly enough, steps out of the woods a little to see for himself. Soon, everyone begins arguing; tempers are hot, and tensions are high. Natasha recognizes how badly this will turn out and hysterically demands Kenny and Bonnie to lower their guns (By the way, her unused English voice sounds like a psychotic strangled chicken. No offense to the actress but if I heard this in the actual game, I’d probably get distracted and crap my pants because she sounds terrifying!); Arvo likewise loses his nerve and tries to get Buricko to back down because he doesn’t want to die. Hilariously enough, Buricko and Vitali have the opposite idea: Buricko fearlessly accepts the dachshund motto that “this is a good day to die” and Vitali demonstrates that he has some serious fuckin’ problems by claiming that he kill three of the group with his bare hands, tear out Kenny’s throat with his teeth, and promises to eat everyone’s entrails for breakfast. While everyone was distracted, Rebecca apparently passed away and Clementine notices her turn and take note of her surroundings. (Also, not to change the subject, but I swear that on my first playthrough, Walker!Rebecca actually looked down and gave the baby one of the most hilariously curious looks I’ve ever seen; I have yet to see it again, but I seriously doubt I just imagined that.) Anyway, Clementine either calls for help which causes Kenny to shoot Rebecca or does the deed herself. Unfortunately, this causes Buricko to start blastin’ as the episode cuts to black and the sound of rapid gunfire is the only thing that’s heard (or at least until the credits song that, believe it or not, I barely remember despite the alleged subject matter, starts playing). Interestingly, he seemed to be horrified by Rebecca getting headshot before he opened fire, so I guess he does have standards and can’t believe she was apparently killed by her own group member. So, Arvo and his group play the compelling role of the villains who only antagonized the heroes because one of their numbers decided to rob one of them with little regard for their well-being in favor of their own. Sounds like one heck of a morally complicated conflict, huh? Well, continue to the final episode of Season 2 to see the “epic” conclusion! sarcasm mode
• No Turning Back
•We begin with the apparent aftermath of the blast out in the previous episode’s cliffhanger: Clementine hits the ground, Arvo is busy trying to revive Natasha (who was apparently shot in the chest by Kenny), Mike gets hit in the arm, Bonnie eventually calls over to cover, Luke is behind a stone gate trading fire with Buricko (who somehow got shot in the legs in the open, is firing a shotgun instead of his AK, and is trying to slide backwards to safety), Kenny is shooting at Vitali (who is hiding behind Buricko’s rock with an AK) and hilariously notes that the Russians started this fight, and the baby(who would be named AJ in the following scene) is crying on the ground a few steps away Rebecca. Luke receives a game breaking injury when he either runs out on an impulse to save AJ if Clementine abandoned him to take cover or gets attention drawn to him by Kenny while trying to get a better vantage point on Buricko; either way he gets shot in the leg by Vitali and is only spared due to Kenny headshotting Buricko. Kenny notices that Arvo has his guard down and vengefully takes him hostage to coerce Vitali into the open; Vitali returns the sentiment by pointing out that Kenny already killed Natasha, so as far as he’s concerned, Arvo is already dead (no idea on what Arvo is saying during the sequence, though I assume he is only concerned about his sister at this point). While this is going on, Natasha finally turns and, despite Kenny and Arvo raisin’ sand and flailing around literally three feet away from her, goes after AJ’s crying ( I guess newborn baby is a delicacy where walkers come from) and ends up getting put down by Clementine. Arvo turns just in time to see the shot and breaks free to mourn at her side, is apparently too devastated to notice the slightly greyer skin<<<<<, and now has a motivation to personally hate Clementine. Vitali moves in to finish off Kenny when a wild Jane appears and stabs him in the back of the neck to helplessly drown in his blood and Do the Swim. While it was cool that Jane showed up just in time to stop Vitali from killing everyone, she loses a few points for getting them in this mess in the first place; on a side note, the implication that she was there for a while but hesitated because he never wronged her personally is fine by me since it implies she actually has standards and something resembling a conscience. Also, it does genuinely bother me that Kenny is the one to finish off all three of Arvo’s friends<<. While everyone is saying their parting words about Rebecca, Kenny gets angered by the loss and starts trying to beat up and then shoot Arvo (by the way, that missing eye must be crucial because he could have easily popped him from between Luke and Mike’s shoulders). When he pauses to reconsider, Arvo mentions that he has a house not far from there with food that he can take the group to use; regardless of Clementine’s choice, Jane says the smartest thing out of all of them: trust him or not, it’s worth the risk to check this place out. Speaking of the sociopathic dike, remember when I said Jane wasn’t the only one who makes a disproportionate decision when there was a better option? Well, I was also talking about our ‘good buddy’ Arvo: why didn’t he think to join forces with or take hostage the Howe’s Ski Cabin group when he realized Jane wasn’t with them? He clearly robbed the group because he remembered Clementine was with her, so couldn’t he have capitalized on this by trying to convince her to help him help her get back at Jane. I honestly think even he realizes this because he hangs his head when he tells Kenny he wants to help them because he “not want to see more people dead”. Well then, genius, why the hell did you allow your group, which includes some nutcase YOU KNOW is a psycho, to hold up these “robbers” so you can rob them back? Troy is banging his head at your stupidity (well, the one on his shoulders, anyway). No wonder Mike and Bonnie take pity on him: this guy was a dumber, more pitiful two-bit goon than they were (among other things…)! And even that’s debatable because he’s done very little at this point to actually qualify as a villain (or at least a conflict instigator). Remember, Rebecca was gonna die regardless of Arvo showing up (and may have been dead before the moment he noticed the baby), Luke gets his limp when Vitali shot him because of Kenny and/or Clementine (who not only got him exposed out in the open, but also started the gunfight by firing the first shot in the first place), and Kenny was cracked ever since Carver beat his eye to mush or possibly even before Season 1 was over. And need I repeat for the umpteenth time that Jane caused nearly every bad thing that has and will happen in this episode when she provoked Arvo by stealing from him in the first place; even at Clementine’s nicest, he clearly saw robbing the group, who he probably assumed were bandits, as the “eye for an eye” mentality and he still isn’t comfortable with it. Which reminds me: Kenny tells Jane to stay outta this by pointing out she’s the reason they came after them in the first place and she says “don’t try and pin this on me” (you jerk!). You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but hey, yo, Kenny’s got his shit together, son. Why doesn’t Arvo do that? He even glances over at Jane when Kenny points this out. Dude, you’re supposed to be a bad guy now: villains are all about blaming their failures on the smallest nail possible! And if anyone’s a nail, its Jane; just ask Troy and Luke. But, alas, this is never brought up again, as Arvo’s talents are put elsewhere for the time being….What we have now is a grieving plot device being held prisoner against his will by his sister’s killers, and whose only purpose is to bring Kenny’s instability to the forefront with his vengeful abuse of the boy. So, now the latest addition to this dwindling party, Arvo quietly and sometimes absentmindedly leads the group towards his house. That night, while everyone else is laughing around the campfire, Arvo is tied to a tower of power, simply crying out alone in the cold. As it turns out, this is all he wants to do now, as he yells at Mike to leave him alone when he tries to offer him some rum (is he even old enough to drink that?), which earns him either a violent beating to the head with a gun that knocks him out or just an animalistic sneer from Kenny, if Clementine got him to rejoin the campfire. In the latter scenario, Arvo…apologizes(?)to Mike (again, I don’t speak Russian) and starts mourning his sister again, and is comforted with the knowledge that she’s in a better place now (well, sure, if you like zombie punk rock music—which, to be fair, is awesome). (Video 2)And, I admit, this is one of the few times I felt truly sympathetic towards the guy(for the right reasons): here he is, bound cold and helpless in the presence of people who robbed him, threatened him, wiped out his group, and then abused him, and the only thing he’s concerned about is the death of his sister.
Based on his expression at the time, the obvious answer is that the walkers following them spooked him and Kenny's temper wasn't helping. Also, recall that it was Arvo's idea to walk on the ice in the first place, which implies that he's done it before and thus he was very confident that they could get across safely that he accepted Kenny's suggestion that he go first. So him running to get away does make sense, its just that the ice proved to be a bit thinner than he expected.
I think Arvo being sick of Kenny's shit is a reasonable response, especially if he knocked him out the night before. Kenny insulting his home, mocking his poverty and race, and literally pushing him around seconds prior didn't help. Besides, it was kinda awesome that he had the guts to do that at the time.
That gloomy night, when Clementine is awakened by the sound of a conveniently loose rope at the window, she finds Mike and Arvo putting his bag of supplies in the truck while looking for the keys and, not wanting a repeat of Vernon and the Cancer survivors, draws her gun on them and the also team-changing (possibly in more ways than one) misandrist Bonnie, who just can’t stay in one group for long. Properly paranoid by this point, Arvo draws a gun of his own and keeps his aim on her (♪MEMORIES! Of the way that we were! ♪) while having enough trust in Mike to allow him the chance to reason with her. Immediately after turning around, Mike moves towards her and tries to keep her calm; when she threatens him to stop, he and Bonnie do so with guilty tones, which seems to indicate that they obviously didn't want her to see them like that. Mike honestly explains that they just need to get away from "that guy" because he didn't give them any choice(with Arvo outright calling him pure evil), despite knowing that Clementine's preexisting history and feelings around him would only complicate things. When she shows signs of potentially getting upset when she realizes they're afraid of Kenny, Mike takes a moment to make the best decision before setting down the bag and, in spite of the possibility that Clementine could easily gun him down or alert the others, starts to ease his way towards Clementine to get her gun so they can talk things out.
I'm pretty sure Mike and Bonnie(and, to a lesser degree, Arvo) were meant to have genuinely turned over a new leaf or at most given in to their true friendly natures. The fact that all three had been enemies to begin with (Mike was one of the bandits that (possibly, but most likely) killed Christa, Bonnie was initially working as a guard and informant for Carver, and Arvo and his group tried to rob everyone after Jane and Clementine stuck him up) does sort of muddy the waters, admittedly, but their decision was not completely wrong: Jane, Bonnie, and Mike feeling nervous around Kenny after spending so much time around Carver is understandable and Arvo learned this firsthand through very little provocation of his own. The implication that fear is what brought them together and also convinced them that it’s ok to leave a two day old baby and a preteen girl to starve to death would make it apparent that they really just made the decision as soon as the oppurtunity presented itself and didn't have time to consider the consequences. The fact that Clementine may not even bring AJ up doesn't really give her much leeway to convince them that their wrong for wanting to leave and I would like to think that Mike would be conflicted if she did.
If Clementine asks to go with them, Mike agrees, ignorant of Arvo's anxious head-shaking in disagreement, on the precautionary condition that he still take the gun. When she does clumsily give it to him, he calmly reassures her that its fine, just--before being cut off by Arvo shooting her.
He hit that notsovitalarea because he has some bad aim: notice how that area is right above Clementine's heart? I'm pretty sure shooting her was partially intentional, given that he's clearly paranoid about Clementine and doesn't want Mike to trust her should she ask to come along. I doubt he was planning on outright killing her, mind you, but in the heat of the moment, he pulled the trigger and realized seconds too late what had been done.I think it could be a combination of both: he felt like he should just should her at the moment but actually doing it was going too far: if you were nice around him, he does noticeably get a look of horror when he does so; if you were mean, he does so without too much of a regret on his face but realizes that he made the wrong move.
Arvo's decision to shoot Clementine regardless of her actions was where he had truly crossed the linebecause although as he seemed to be genuinely concerned about Mike's safety, he still decided to do so against his wishes so he could get revenge for Natasha. Yes, revenge is a terrible thing! It is an internal darkness that can create a cycle of ruining and destroying everything it touches. This is what makes Arvo exit the story a villain: he did something he previously(and determinately, still would) shied away from and hurt what is physically a little girl in the process.After Clementine drops to the ground and Arvo stumbles to his escape in a panic, Mike and Bonnie express shock that this happened and are concerned for all of their wellbeings now. Deciding that they need to go to avoid Kenny's wrath , he tries to convince Bonnie that if she is the first to go to Clementine's side; On the otherhand, Mike himself also wants to help Clementine since he obviously didn't want anyone else to get hurt but decides to follow Bonnie and leave under the hopes that Clementine is in good hands.
Technically, Kenny had the keys and Arvo suggested that Mike wire it(not so different?
) when Clementine approached them.
Arvo was introduced hiding his/Natasha's stash of medicine in a recycle bin and draws his pistol in self defense when Clementine suddenly appears behind him; this display of danger is immediately undermined by the fact that his gun hand is jittering the entire time, showing him to be a fearful despite the fact that his opponent is a little girl who even he could potentially take in a fight (not holding my breath, tho). This directly contrasts with when he does so at the end of the game: once again, Arvo is trying to secure his belongings when Clementine approaches him from behind, only this time, she also has a gun ready to be drawn on him and he is a lot more serious about standing against her; despite the fact that their mutual friends Mike and Bonnie are attempting to keep things under control and determinately convince Clementine to help them, Arvo is now at a point where he was able to pull the trigger despite the fact that his opponent is still a little girl. The difference here is the context: Clementine showing up at the observation deck was completely unexpected but also something Arvo didn't want any trouble over due to her potentially kind nature as a little girl, whereas her stopping him from getting away from his own home occurs after hours of being held prisoner by her group and repeatedly beaten by Kenny after this same little girl seemingly killed any chance of his sister (the whole reason they clashed in the first place) surviving.
So, Arvo goes from a nervous bystander who makes a few dumb choices in self-defence, to a mourning prisoner who makes smarter choices in compliance, to a negatively encouraged villain who spitefully acts against those who have wronged him in the name of revenge.
he was shoehorned into being a follow-up to Carver, a one-note doomsday villain, rather than being developed into the grey character he was set up to be. Thus, they have opposite problems: Carver was such a villain without being much of a character and Arvo was so much of a character waiting to be developed that his sudden treatment of a villain felt more than a little unwarranted for a while.