Javier: Your opinion...?
So, as we all quite clearly know, Javier Garcia is this season's undisputed leading character, being the predominately playable protagonist and the individual much of the story and conflict revolves around. Before the launch of the game, Javier was an obvious talking point for many users here since he was announced, some, such as myself, being pleased to see Telltale introducing a new protagonist, whilst others weren't as optimistic and voiced that they would much rather see Clementine be the central character.
What I'm curious to know, though, is whether your opinion has changed since playing Ties That Bind, being as now you've actually been introduced to Javier and what's he's like. What was your initial reaction before playing the game- did you like the idea of him being the lead or were you completely opposed to it? Your reaction after finishing it- Do you now find yourself warming to him despite having been against him, or have you found yourself in the opposite spectrum, disliking him now after playing it even though you concurred originally? Whatever your view, do share it and be sure to explain why you feel that way.
I, as I stated above, felt the idea of a new protagonist was for the best. Clementine, in my opinion, hadn't worked in season 2 and was never able to fully immerse herself as a driving force in the main story, instead often seeming only to be an observer to the actions of others, in particularly Kenny and Jane towards much of the final. In part, it was due to her age, but an aspect of me simply believed (and still believes) that Clementine just isn't complex or interesting enough to be protagonist. So, I was truly hoping that Javier, as a grown adult, would achieve where Clem had failed.
Unfortunately, it seems he hasn't. His backstory is cliché and frankly, boring, and his own personality just seems to be lacking, due to having little to no strong motivational reasons for doing what he's doing. Sure, he's trying to protect his family because it's the right thing to do, but that hardly makes him a relatable or in anyway engaging character. Lee was a man trying to redeem himself for what he had done when society was intact, who saw a second chance to be the father he never had the chance to be, and whatever way you play him, that remains his motivation throughout. I'm not saying he was the greatest character in the world or anything, but he had a very clear arc and reasons, internal and external, for what he was doing. So far, Javier does not. And don't get me wrong, I don't hate Javier. He's okay. I just expected something a lot more from him than what we're seeing.
ANYWAY, your opinions- share them.
Oh, and by the way, do actually add something to your comment besides just saying "Oh, well, he isn't Clementine, so I hate him". Otherwise, I'll be sad...
Comments
I think he's really bland and I'm secretely hoping he has some kind of dark secret or something. Anything to make him interesting.
Javi's cool, hopefully we can start to see him shape out to be a successful gardian to clem like lee was; calm, level headed, clever and to become so close with clem that she sees him like a father figure. I hope that she is his main focus by the end of the season, to keep her protected and fed, that would be a perfect ending to a season that's receiving a lot of negative feedback.
Nope, nothing.
I think its pretty pathetic to be still wearing the team that fired you on your shirt. Especially four years into the ZA. Must be a really durable shirt
I liked Clem being the main protagonist and all the added difficulties it brought, but I'm not and wasn't against the idea of a new protagonist such as Javier. So I went into it optimistic and I still am however it has let me down that I don't know who Javier is and what his end game is. We all understand that he wants to keep his family safe but does keeping them safe mean them driving that van around in circles to oblivion? Is he looking for a place for them to settle down, that would be a start to understanding what kind of person Javi is. Right now all I know about who Javi is is that there was maybe something between him and his brothers wife, and that he gambled on himself to win and got kicked out of baseball. I mean what are the limits Javi will go to to keep his family safe, what are his morals. Of course no one wants their family to die, but will he be alright with using a 13 year old for his own ends, is he ok with killing a man that pulled him from his family? I'm not sure.
So overall I wasn't against Javi as a protagonist, and they might still redeem him, but as of right now I think it just would have been better to keep with Clem
I really like Javi, hes probably one of the only positives about Season 3 for me.
However, he is missing alot. He doesnt have that past like Lee. Lee we knew he killed the senator, but we never really knew the real reason why or how it happened, or if he killed his wife too until the last episode where we learn about what happened that day. Javier so far only has his gambling past, and Id really like to see more of it. Lee had the murder backstory and Javi had the baseball one, but Lee's was clear as day. I didnt even know Javier was a professional baseball player until after I finished and watched the behind the scenes video where it said he was, all the lines in the game that says Javi was a Pro Baseball player can all be determinate and I never got any, so I thought Javier was a professional gambler who was caught cheating.
THe cop driving Lee would have mentioned if he murdered his wife, he knew it was just the senator.
I'm just glad an adult is the main protagonist again. Javier's been extremely refreshing so far even if he's pretty generic.
Maybe it was sentimental to him.
He could wear it to remind him that he fucked up in the MLB or something like that. Not defending him, just open to thought.
EDIT: tfw you realize Bloop stole your meme and posted it on the forum before you
I think he's pretty alright so far. He had a few funny lines in the premiere despite being on the bland side. He's a hot headed douchebag sometimes, and I like those type of protagonists.
Would I prefer if Clementine had more time being playable? Sure. I fucking love Clementine. One of my favorite Walking Dead characters easily.
But let's not kid ourselves, guys. There was going to be a huge division regardless of who got to be the protagonist of the game. That's how this fandom works. The fucking microsecond Javier was revealed in June, people started flipping their shit.
All that being said, I do hope Clementine gets more playable scenes. Especially in the present. Okay, we get it. She got desperate and joined The New Frontier. Fine. But if David elects to keep Javier hostage, why not have her conduct a rescue mission or something? Yeah, what I said was poorly constructed since I'm spitballing at the moment, but seriously. This CAN be a good season. That rewriting Melissa Hutchison said they were doing will hopefully mean something...
While I do think Javier makes for a better protagonist that Clementine was in Season 2 so far, he does seems a little too on the safe side in his protagonist role.
He's not quite Luke 2.0, but I do think Javier needs a more engaging story arc than another 'protect my family' theme to make him more interesting to play as to make up for Clementine's presence in the game, which is overshadowing the audiences' willingness to be attached to Javier.
As it stands right now I don't feel all that attached to Javier, but I don't outright hate him either.
Javi is just poorly introduced. His all happy bees family seem to be starring in apocalyptic soap-opera which is not realistic and doesn't feel relatable.
On one hand, I'd say he is pretty much whatever for me but there are three episodes left. On the other hand, if they keep their one hour / episode trend until the end, it'll be hard to flesh him out enough to care about his character and what could happen to him.
He's much more interesting than Clem to me.
[Tell him off]
I think he is super bland, he is the most generic character, and from what we have seen of him and his family, I see no reason at all for them to have survived for 4 years, the only one that has a bit of common sense is Javier, and maybe Mariana, but well... Gabe is just a whining moron so far, and Kate is the most irresponsible person I have ever seen in the zombie apocalypse.
I also heavily disagree with Clem not fitting as a protagonist, I thought playing as Clem was the most interesting thing about The Walking Dead, and the exact "observer feel" was part of what made it so good, being a kid, you did not have the power in discussion that Lee had, which means that you can mostly just watch out for yourself. You also did not have the strength or intimidation factor of an adult such as Lee, so you could not brute force your opinion across, or threaten people, (see Clem getting locked in the shed because she has no power to resist), I think it was a very nice experience, to play as a weak character, rather than someone who can just bash walkers faces in, it made alot of walker encounters more dangerous and tense (walker in the shed taking alot of time to put down, axe getting stuck because she doesnt have the strength to pull it out, where Lee could use a fireaxe with ease).
I also immensely enjoyed the fact that I had a personal relation to Clems feelings and opinions, due to being her protector in season 1, which meant that I felt strongly about choices such as cutting off Seritas arm, because after what happened to Lee, Clem would never allow anyone with a walker bite to live, unless she could be sure they wouldnt turn, which as shown with that 1 armed guy at Howes, cutting off the infected limb can prevent turning, Lee was just too late.
So no, I dont like Javier, I think he is very bland, we barely know anything about him, but he has a huge background, that we are supposed to care about as a player, even though the characters are unlikeable, and we dont have any emotional attachment to them. It worked with Lee, because he was a convict, who had gotten a second chance, and had noone left in his life, so Clem, Kenny and co. became Lees first relations at the same time they became the players, which means the player could develop that relationship along with Lee, which immersed the player, and made the player care about the characters. Then in Season 2 you get the same again, but this time Clem has a background, and you know that background, because youre part of it, which means you can put yourself in her shoes, you can take on the mantle of being her moral compass again so to speak. But being Clem made being that moral compass alot more interesting, because this time you did not have to worry about affecting Clem by your choices, (for example, I would have let Ben go, but because of Clem, I couldnt because they were good friends, but in season 2 I could freely do things like cutting of Seritas arm or watching in silence as Kenny beat up Arvo, because I did not have Clem to shield anymore, and my Clem had no remorse left for Arvo after that shit he pulled after I showed him compassion earlier.
I know that season 1 is technically the better season in alot of ways, but I enjoyed season 2 alot more because of what I have stated above, and I think that going back to a strong male who can just bash down walkers and talk shit to everyone without a consequence because he is strong, and his unlikeable family, the only likeable one from his family is fucking dead, which was a waste. Of course, they still have the chance to rectify this in future episodes, but season 2 was the best for me, because it was an experience unlike any other, Clem was not a hero, she was a survivor, whereas Javer is just a do it all hero man type deal whatever, Lee was also kind of this, but that was at the start of the apocalypse, Javier really cant afford to be so trusting, or be so lax with everything he does, which is also what grinds my gears, there is no way they could survive, with how many dumb things that family has done so far.
I really don't think Clementine needs a guardian anymore or that Javier should just end up being that, but now that you mention it, I guess that would solve a number of problems some people have.
I agree.
I think Javier's great. Definitely my second favorite protagonist in the entire Walking Dead game series so far.
Ooh, that's tough. I might have to sit down on that one.
That's exactly what he looks like!
I like Javi he's one of my favorite this season it's just he's being written by telltale who is currently screwing this season with there laziness..it's affecting him and I dont like it one bit
[removed]
^_^
Fucking agian? Ima guna change my faken.phone agian
I like playing as Javier. In my opinion, he is more suited for the protagonist role than Clementine did in Season 2. Sure, while his backstory isn't something to marvel about and his goals can be more than just protect your family, I do find him a very fun character to play as since I am intentionally roleplaying him as a character with flaws.
We shall see how the upcoming episodes are, but Javier as the protagonist is one of the better parts of Season 3 to me.
I think he's great. A really cool and refreshing character.
Keep that monstrous contraption away from Javi!
He needs that beard. No one should take a man's beard.
Why do you think he's great? Just curious to know what you're seeing in him that I can't.
He's bland. He's not complex or captivating or even really charming. The reason Lee worked as the main character is because he was those things. He's someone we meet on his way to prison for murder yet through Clementine be redeems himself becoming what at first glance is a criminal turned parental figure. I know he went through this character change throughout the apocalypse but we're just meeting Javier and his family 4 years after the apocalypse. We've had a few flashbacks in absence of developing any character. He's just a pretty boy good guy. There's no real range of personality you can experiment or have fun with which for right now makes him boring
He just seems like the kinda character that would survive an apocalypse, but isn't an unstoppable Gary Stu. Loyal, tough, and really funny, but also flawed. Probably one of the few saving graces of ANF imo.
And it just feels good to not play as an 11-year-old anymore lol.
I agree, but there's this:
Javi is really like Luke 2.0
Bland, normal, uninteresting, a chick magnet for some reason.
I would've rather preferred if TTg got good writers for Clem so that we play as her.
Yeah don't get me wrong I agree clementine is a legit certified fucking badass, but she still has a heart and isn't completely impenetrable when it comes to her emotions, I think she would definitely give javi the opportunity to be like a father to her, if it just ends up being those two as the final survivors, and from a players point of view I'd feel that freedom and joy of looking after clementine once again like we did in S1.
Clem not needing a guardian, or even a group to keep herself alive, is exactly why I think it could be interesting to play her, being on your own with AJ, ocassionally running into communities or whatever, dealing with the new frontier, stuff like that, it sounds alot more interesting to me than Javier
Yeah that does seem fairly enticing however, there was a solid 2 year period between S2 and S3 where atm we don't know what happened with clementine right? The main character being somebody other than clementine gives us the opportunity to find out everything that happened, I know flashbacks do that for us but I feel being a different character gives a better view on clems past two years if we were given the opportunity to ask her. I hope that makes some kind of sense, essentially what I'm saying is to find out something about a character is better to ask that character about their past, rather than being that character but not knowing the past yourself? Understand me?
He's bland and boring, and I hate that he always try to be funny in most of his dialogue responses. It's annoying.
I was just about to say, I think that's the main reason why he has it in the first place.