A devoted fan's suggestions for how the ANF endings can have a meaningful impact on S4
I've been ruminating over the ANF endings for a while now and felt like sharing my ideas with the community (and hopefully Telltale). All of these ideas operate under the assumption that Clem will return to New Richmond after finding AJ, or at least that she will have a choice to go to New Richmond over other places. Expectations in check, my hope is to both suggest ideas to Telltale and also to raise fan expectations so that we get the most immersive final season for Clementine that we could possibly hope for. My ideas are organized below by ANF ending, hope you enjoy.
David dies, Kate disappears, Gabe survives ending
- Kate mysteriously vanished due to going with Clem to save New Richmond, so I think it is appropriate for her to show up during Clem's adventures in s4. She could be a multiple determinant character who is very costly to keep alive (spending valuable medical supplies, saving her over someone else, etc.), but if you manage to keep her alive until the end then she is able to miraculously reunite with Javi at the end of the season. Clem and AJ reunite as well as Javi and Kate, I literally can't think of a happier and harder earned ending than this.
- Kate's presence alongside Clem would take some effort but wouldn't wholly detract from Clem's story and central focus. Kate could have extra lines when dealing with other survivors that helps calm things down.
- If you had a loving relationship with Kate, then she is overjoyed to be back with her family. If she felt mixed signals, she needs reassurance to continue a romance and a family with Javi. If you had a friendly relationship with her, she is simply happy to be back with her loved ones.
- Your relationship with Gabe changes how he interacts with AJ. If you were devoted to him, he is devoted to AJ. If you were safety first, Gabe becomes a very safety first type of helper. Etc etc.
Kate dies, David and Gabe survive ending
- If Javi told David not to come back to New Richmond, then Clem runs across him scavenging alone during s4. He might be similar to Morgan during his "Clear" phase, just a husk of a person focusing on surviving after everything that happened to them. Clem can convince him to help find AJ or leave him by himself, in which case we never see him again.
- If Javi told David to come back with them, then he has an extremely touching moment when Clem returns with AJ. He breaks down and actually shows emotion at seeing the boy, and vows to never let him out of his sight again. AJ actually recognizes David and is happy to see him. AJ gets to be raised with David as a father figure and Clem as a mother figure.
- Like Kate's presence that I mentioned above, having David in Clem's s4 for some players would take some effort but wouldn't completely distract from her story. David could make walker fighting scenes a lot easier but also cause extra tension during interactions with other survivors.
- If you were brotherly/heartfelt towards David, then he wants everyone to band together as a family and start anew. If you had a more complicated relationship with David, he might need convincing for Javi to be around.
- Gabe treats AJ differently depending on his relationship with Javi, like I mentioned above.
David dies, Kate and Gabe survive ending
- Clementine will not run into any of the Garcia's while on the road in this scenario, since Kate, Gabe, and Javi are all in New Richmond. The lack of Kate/David in her s4 story can make certain situations easier or harder for her.
- If she returns, Kate will be heavily pregnant if Javier agreed to start a family with her. If you told her to wait until someday later, then the sight of AJ makes her cash in Javi's promise.
- Like the other endings, Gabe will treat AJ depending on his relationship with Javi in s3.
David and Gabe die, Kate survives ending
- This ending would be very similar to the one above where Kate and Gabe survive, except Kate would be more traumatized and world-weary. She would be much more protective of AJ and her own potential child.
- Like the above scenario, Kate would be heavily pregnant if you said yes to her. She will be much more skeptical about the child in this ending since Gabe died a horrible death.
- Clementine, Kate, and Javi have a card game and try to teach AJ how to play euchre.
Choices that would affect all of the endings
- If Javi told Jesus he would lead Richmond, then the surviving Garcia's decide to stay in New Richmond. Clem has a choice to stay or go.
- If Javi declined the leadership position, then the Garcia's are keen to be back on the road again. Clem has a choice to stay or go.
- If Javi shot Joan, the people of New Richmond are more scared/wary of Javi.
- This is a reach, but Javi's preferences to leave Richmond or stay could be based on what he told Kate at the beginning of s3e1 in the van
Parting words: ANF had many ups and downs, but despite how disappointing certain thingswent I truly enjoy the Garcia family and would like to see their endings develop after a few more months. I don't think we should necessarily play as Javi ever again, but we went through some shit with him and we should at least have a worthwhile payoff in season 4. Honestly the one thing that would truly make ANF a waste of time is if our choices are completely ignored during s4, or simply glossed over. I personally hope that the Garcia's will have drastic changes depending on your ANF ending, albeit a minor presence in the grand scheme of things.
Comments
cough @Alyssa_TTG cough
God I hope we don't see the Garcia's again. Just personal opinion.
The one thing that would truly make ANF meaningless is not factoring our endings into s4 in a cohesive fashion.
Edit: Also like i said these ideas operate under the assumption that we will get a choice whether to go back to the Garcia's or not. Should be totally optional depending on how your Clem feels about them.
well they said we will see them again so sorry to you
I like your thinking, @VengefulKenny. And yes, I have been lurking about the forum to make sure I keep abreast of the hopes of the fans
We love you @Alyssa_TTG! Hope that our ANF decisions will impact in Season 4!
What do u think when someone changes there ending I ended up with David and Gabe but change it to Kate and Gabe because I couldn't with my first game play choices
I always advise towards keeping your original decisions no matter what. The regret and guilt that you feel is what makes your playthrough real and impactful. Changing it just to get a "better" ending is only lessening your own experience.
I see what was your ending
I got the ending where David dies, Kate disappears, and Gabe is the only one with Javi.
While this could be considered among the "worst" endings since not as many people are with Javi as it could have been, it was an incredible ending from a writing and storytelling perspective and I feel like it wrapped up a lot of arcs very nicely, mainly David's. I'm hoping for all the endings to be fleshed out in s4, especially in my case where Kate disappeared without any explanation.
Yeah and I wonder what David and Gabe will do for me in season 4 and I think for most people David is dead and who do u think should live more David Kate or gabe
Well to answer that question, your Javier and Clementine largely decided that for themselves during the s3 finale. I personally believe Gabe deserves to live because he is a child, then Kate because because she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Richmond, and lastly David because he has had a tortured existence and I believe peace would be best for him.
And as i said above, I'd like David to have a huge presence if he is still alive (even though he died in my game). If he came back to Richmond he should have an emotional reunion with AJ if Clem brings him back. If he left Richmond then Clem should find him nearly deranged and consumed with his soldier attitude and be able to convince him to find AJ or leave hom to his fate.
Yeah I think gabe would be good for clem since she needs someone her age to spend time with and I hope David is OK for season 4 since I didn't see him since he was not talking to his son and brother but I think it's just because of Kate death
Yeah I think gabe would be good for clem since she needs someone her age to spend time with and I hope David is OK for season 4 since I didn't see him since he was not talking to his son and brother but I think it's just because of Kate death
Definitely. Gabe gets hate for being immature, but he is also brave, moral, and most importantly a child. Clem needs someone to make her feel normal, despite how goofy he may be.
Did you romance Kate in your game? I feel like that should be a major factor in why David isn't talking to his only surviving family. At least in my ending where he dies he makes amends with Javi.
Yes I romance Kate but I looked up the wiki for walking dead it says the reason he won't talk to them is because of her death and I think gabe death is the saddest one of the family and do u think season 4 will start as soon as the 3rd one ended
It will probably start within a few days or week from the end of ANF. Also take the wiki with a grain of salt
Ok
Amazing ideas, i have never thought about it, good work. I really hope the writers take this into consideration.
Thank you, I truly hope they take them into consideration as well.
I'm not going to get my hopes up for this happening but you do have some great Ideas. You put a lot of thought into how things could possibly play out. Telltale should consider doing something very similar to this. Hopefully the final season will break Telltale's sterotype of choices barely causing any difference and at the very least your ANF ending plays a minor role in how the final season starts out or ends.
i hope for a kenny cameo at the end if you stay at wellington
I know some people desperately want Kenny to be alive in this scenario but let me explain why i think its a bad idea. First off, choosing to stay in Wellington without Kenny was a very tough sacrifice to make and people didnt choose it expecting for Kenny to just show up again later. If he miraculously came back (again) it would take meaning away from that sacrifice. And secondly, bringing Kenny back for Wellington folks would absolutely infuriate the players who actually stayed with Kenny and had to watch him die in ANF. As a "stay with Kenny" guy, I would really feel ripped off and betrayed if that happened.