"The New Frontier took over Richmond"
So I'm kind of curious as to what exactly this means.
Jesus mentions that 'The New Frontier' took over Richmond and from the way Clementine addresses and talks about Richmond, it sounds like she knows a decent amount about it, like she's been there before. This, coupled with the fact that she left AJ and David mentions this "harsh winter" the community went through where they had to give AJ up to the McCarol Ranch (whatever that is) suggests that the "harsh winter" perhaps prompted them to take over Richmond?
But I don't see how that could be the case. Unless Clementine was in Richmond before she joined the New Frontier, but if she was then why did she leave? I mean from the way she meets Ava, her and AJ aren't doing that well. So maybe Richmond traded with The New Frontier whilst Clementine was a part of it. She left ANF, and the harsh winter prompted them to take over Richmond.
But surely Clementine would hear of that? In fact what has she been doing ever since she was kicked out? She was said to be looking for a car but where was she exactly planning to go?
Perhaps the old base of ANF (before they took over Richmond)? But this just leaves several more questions.
How did ANF take over Richmond?
Was Richmond occupied so they "took over" as in invaded Richmond?
Or is it like taking over a "company" or something, where Richmond was basically dead/abandoned so they "took it over" and renovated it to make it better?
When did they do so?
How would they have done it? If it was in/after the winter, surely they wouldn't have that many supplies. Even if it was unoccupied it still leaves questions as to what happened to the previous Richmond inhabitants?
If they did it by force and there was a conquest then how did nobody suspect Joan sooner?
Maybe it was kind of by force but there was no blood and the old Richmond inhabitants got to stay in it?
But if all that happened then why is only NOW during the events of A New Frontier is Jesus going over there to check things out?
Sorry to nitpick, especially over one line and maybe they explain it, but it just kinda baffles me a bit as to what really happened or is going on over at Richmond.
Could anyone explain?
Comments
I did not really understand the thing that ANF took over Richmond. Jesus said in Ep2 that ANF took over it and the way he said it sound like they took over it recently. When Javi arrives at Richmond it looks like ANF has been at Richmond for months. Maybe I missed something but it really looked like they've been there for months.
Btw from what I understood , the "bad winter" they had seemed to happen when ANF already took over Richmond. David said that AJ could not stay at Richmond and told Lingard to send him away.
Maybe its a mistake of the writers.
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Wait so that makes no sense whatsoever. So this either leaves two things:
1: Richmond is not the centre of A New Frontier despite all its leaders (yes, all four of them) being there and A New Frontier has another settlement (or multiple settlements) with someone else either looking after that or being higher up.
This doesn't seem like it makes any sense because if the "winter" happened, that has to be at least a month and so why is Jesus only NOW coming here? And also wouldn't Clementine have known that ANF took over Richmond just from how much time it's been?
2: Clementine left meaning that AJ was left behind to David whilst they were already at Richmond before David had to give AJ up to Lingard who gave him up to the ranch. So why was Clementine shocked that ANF took over Richmond?
Richmond's backstory is so very fuzzy. It has most certainly to do with the fact that there was a big rewrite between Ties That Bind and Above The Law as disclosed in the AMA. So this is really like trying to solve a faulty puzzle. Things don't really line up, but we can try to make them line up.
"The Winter" seems to have happened right after Clem left TNF. Note that the game emphasizes the fact that it's starting to snow during Above The Law's flashback (there's also the fact that AJ seems to have caught pneumonia, caused by cold temperatures). This most likely implies that the so called Winter comes shortly after Clem leaves.
Thing is, for the timeline to make sense, it's been almost a year since Clem left ANF by the time of the game's current events. Which makes TNF taking over Richmond because of the winter unlikely since TNF would've taken over Richmond about a year ago, which, as you said, makes Jesus' late reaction to the events not make sense, and Clem's visit to the community pre-TNF impossible.
I am willing to bet that the original plot would revolve around a conflict between the people of Richmond and TNF, who took over for some unknown reason. TNF seemed to have some sort of code, Law, and perhaps the community of Richmond wasn't abiding or following such laws, so maybe they'd have taken over to restore order.
This is backed by the fact that Brad Kane - lead writer for Ties That Bind and Season lead before he left the company between TTB and ATL - mentioned in a video that Jesus, depending on our choices, might not have been a "friend" (I don't recall the exact wording). As is obvious, Jesus on the released game is always perceived and characterized as an ally, which makes it clear that something about his character was cut off. Perhaps siding with TNF would make Jesus an "antagonist" so to say or would get him against us in some capacity since he'd certainly side with the people of Richmond, his friends.
It's really a stretch and we can't really make out much with the information we have but one thing is for certain though, things might've made sense at some point, but after the rewrite, the introduction of the Winter and the sudden disappearance of the Jesus' friends plot point, it all became a senseless, fuzzy story.
Maybe @Alyssa_TTG can shed some insight on the matter?
In Ep3 Clems flashback we can clearly see that ANF was just a small camp with few tents and campfire. From what I can remember it was only like a month before she meet Javi.
I cant even imagine hie they took over Richmond, its a pretty damn big city.
I really dont know how to answer it, maybe the lead writers may know.
Oh my goodness, I never even considered that!
That would explain why he was clearly meant to be sketchy and why he's on the in game banner for the episode.
Great--more factors to consider for my rewrites!
After reevaluating what I believe vs. actual lines from the game, here's my take on the backstory:
Jesus also said that he knew people who were in Richmond previously and that he suspects they are dead. Sounds like TNF violently overthrew the previous residents.
I don't understand why people dig to tiny details in unfinished games like anf.....smh
Just basic ANF problems that were forgotten and rewritten, I just recently remember how this part of the story made no sense.
Clem talks about Richmond like shes been there and knows a lot about it, and then Jesus says Richmond was "taken over" by New Frontier, and Clem is surprised and scared that The New Frontier has taken over Richmond, but then the next episode happens and everyone acts like The New Frontier has ALWAYS been located Richmond and wasnt taken over any time soon, and even if Richmond WAS just recently taken over, lets not forget (going on Kenny timeline due to it easier to explain, although the amount of time Clem was in New Frontier is the same for everyone) Kenny dies, Clem joins New Frontier, trust them enough to get branded, gets kicked out and then Ava comes to see Clem, and this ALL happened within 1 month due to the flashback of Ava meeting Clem takes place exactly one month after Kenny's death, and after the Ava flashback we are pretty much 100% caught up with the current timeline. So apparently the New Frontier took over Richmond and became murderous raiders in like one week. Amazing writing.
Dont dig deep into it. Its a plot hole, there is no answer. The best excuse one could come up with is poor writing. However, season 4 could be an chance to fill in some of these plot holes and fix the terrible writing.
i always thought of Richmond of another community and The New Frontier as a very big group, kinda like the Saviors, and took the control of the community by force and evil shit in a very negan style but the
children running in the streets?
happy people?
killing people is not a popular sport?
dafuw u did telltale this looked good for a moment
Honestly, I was always under the belief Joan came from the East with promises of prosperity through protection, governing, and [stolen] supplies and won the people's trust because of that.
But no, Joan actually says that The Winter happened shortly after they first moved in.