Useless characters
To me Doug and Sarah are useless characters and aren't made for that world they're not good at killing zombies and I wouldn't trust them. Arvo is useless too. I might be missing people though that's all I can think of
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Did you save Jane from Kenny?
Well I mean the first time around nobody is made to kill zombies, people have to adapt, look at S1 Clem, she needed protection all the time, even in S2 she needs help from time to time but she ultimately adapted to that world and became what she is now.
I believe if Doug survived more he would become more capable too, Sarah was "protected" from the outside world by her father, which was a big mistake, she could have adapted as well.
ya boi
This.
It's somewhat incredulous that people love to emphasize characters not being badass, infallible, or outright perfect immediately as not worth their time when the characters they tend to praise(aka Season 1's main three) had to get to the still imperfect aptitude they did over time.
To say nothing of the fact that that's unrealistic.
Define "Useless." The word is among those that get thrown around so wantonly that any real meaning is hard to draw from it at times.
You do realize there was scarcely a point where them having to kill(?) walkers was actually relevant, right? Or that part of the reason that was so was because the people looking out for them(family or otherwise) kept them from doing so?
Which is exactly why he was able to translate the demands and dissent/assents of two groups with a language barrier, led the Howe's Ski Cabin Group to a place where there was food, shelter, and even transportation of his own volition, and played a small but important role in their falling apart without actually doing much or really even trying to.
Even though he was a stark departure from the type of characters that are often saddled with this label regardless of context.
S1 Useless: Chet and Becca. (Hard to find more useles characters)
S2 Useless: Nick, Sarah (in a way), And Alvin.
ANF useless: Eleanor, Conrad, Francine, Joan, and Max.
Okay, I gotta ask: what in the world are you judging by?
If anything, every ANF character except Javier is fucking USELESS.
I know people don't like him but I actually prefer the ending where it's just him and Javier Left
I’m judging by impact on story and contribution to the group.
And yet there's a lack of Tripp in place of Eleanor, for instance. Kay.
But for real though, you're gonna have go into each other those, if it wouldn't be too much trouble.
Yeah... Eleanor is useless instead of Tripp, who didn't do shit the entire game? Haha, no.
Season 1: Jolene, Ben, Duck, Travis, David, Doug, Anna and Joyce.
400 Days: Justin, Danny and Boyd.
Season 2: Sarah, Nick, Reggie, Randy, Patricia, Gill and Luke.
Michonne: Dominic, Siddiq and Berto.
A New Frontier: Eleanor, Conrad, Francine, Kenny, Jane, Edith, Ava, Hector, Mrs. García, Jon, Clint, Lonnie and Max.
Luke was really useless imho. He was always just complaining and being a hypocrite and fucking things up.
Well, since most people seem to just throwing whatever out there, I might as well contribute something as well.
In terms of character distinction(for lack of a better single word) plus story and/or gameplay contribution, Tripp is the only close one that come to mind, though Siddiq, James, "jesus", Lonnie, and Mariana also count to some degree.
Yeah but he was the cool big brother so it's ok.
Y'alls'd better stop calling Doug useless. Without him we'd all still be stuck in the pharmacy...
Heck Yeah! Doug deserves appreciation.
Rashid and Vanessa
Did someone say USELESS?
(we're nearly a page in and no one's posted everyone's favorite shitbird, what is wrong with you guys)
I was under the impression that they meant Duck, but yeah.
Doug had apparently saved Carley's life earlier, and didn't he have a lot of scientific knowledge that could be handy or something? Arvo famously proved he was capable of putting a bullet in a human so I don't think he was all that useless either. Sarah fair enough though.
Sarah is only useless because they killed her way too early i remember how Clem could teach Sarah how to use a gun,but they never made her use one.
Probably because he's useful...
In screwing up and getting everyone killed!
Which goes to show the priorities behind Season 2's storytelling when there was at least two opportunities where that major choice would've made sense to follow up on.
Just because characters aren't built for the apocalypse doesn't mean that they are useless characters and it isn't bad writing for including them in the story.
I prefer Carley over Doug but Doug was still a well written character. Doug wasn't neccesarily built for the world but he certainly helped the group more than he was a burden. He didn't have the same knack for combat that Carley had but he was very crafty and good at making and fixing things. I found Carley's personality and character more interesting because she knew about Lee's past but there are also well written scenes with Doug.
I for one wasn't a very big fan of Sarah and it was obvious from the start that she didn't have what it takes to survive in this world but her character served a purpose. Seeing Sarah really showed how mature and independent Clem had become since season 1. Sarah was basically the complete opposite of Clementine. Clementine was taught how to face the world and Sarah was only sheltered and hidden from most of the horrors of reality. In the end this made things harder for both Sara and the people around her. It was interesting to see Clem give brief pieces of advice on how to grow stronger in the apocalypse to another girl who was a few years older than her. Sarah's death emphasized how relentless the world was and why it is important to be strong or you can easily get both yourself and those around you killed.
As a more serious answer, there's more than one way to be useful, even in an post-apocalyptic setting. Being able to kill zombies or bandits does make you useful in a fair amount of situations, but that's not the only way to contribute to the well-being of a group or community.
People who are skilled at diplomacy are useful. People with technical and mechanical knowledge are useful. People with medical knowledge are useful. People with a knack for tactics and strategy are useful. People who are good at talking/persuasion can be useful for rallying people against a threat, or just for morale in general. Even people that just serve to lighten the mood (like Omid) can be useful.
All those individuals fill certain niches/roles that allow for a functioning community/group. It takes a lot more to keep a group of people up and running than violence/fighting alone. It isn't a coincidence that most groups that revolved around fighting/violence, like the bandits, ended up being wiped out.
Doug would fall under having technical/mechanical knowledge. That makes him more useful than first glance. Sure, some of his abilities might be limited due to a lack of electronics, but that doesn't mean he can't still rig together and fix things if need be. It would have been nice if they showed off his resourcefulness a bit more in the actual game, though.
A character like Sarah does appear useless in that she doesn't fit into any of the above... but she could. Keep in mind that nobody in that above list just woke up with their abilities/knowledge. They had to learn it from someone or somewhere. They had to be taught/mentored. Maybe Sarah's not built for fighting, but that doesn't mean there isn't something else you could teach her. There's some job she'd be able to perform just fine, that'd allow her to pull her weight. You just need to find it. Just like in the real world, not everyone's built to be shipped off to the army. There's people that are simply better suited to different jobs, and with the right training in said field can become extremely beneficial and helpful individuals.
And even if you forgo all of that, there are some people that are just meant to be protected and insulated by the rest of society. Children, the elderly, people with disabilities, etc. A society/community doesn't flourish by throwing those people to the wolves and adopting a "survival of the fittest" mantra. They thrive by allowing the stronger individuals to protect the weaker individuals. You can't protect every single person, and trying to save every person that falls under this category would be foolish... but writing off entire groups of people and abandoning them to their fate doesn't really help, either. You need to find a balance. Otherwise, you either get a community that gets taken advantage of and destroyed/taken over due to being too merciful, or you end up with a place like Crawford that just kills itself from the inside out.
I pretty much agree except for Siddiq and Jesus. Siddiq was captured by Norma and her crew so he couldn’t contribute to the story until the very end. Jesus didn’t have much to do besides help save Richmond.
Jesus might have helped Richmond, but he also helped save Gabe back in episode 2. So I guess that means it cancels out.
Jesus saves?
What about Arvo
You know, it's a[nother] sad day in a later year when my retort to that is "Gabe wouldn't need to be saved if BKHK wasn't an Advertised Extra."
Which he still didn't do, if I remember correctly.
It's been a while, but I at least remember Berto making a cringetastic mutiny pun. Siddiq, on the other hand, is apparently a comic character that the DLC could've expanded on but absolutely didn't, making his presence pretty much pointless.
And [redundantly](and apparently hypocritically) lecture Javier for killing Badger. And "lead" the group to David's Warehouse. And save Gabe. And tell the group that the New Frontier conquered Richmond.
All things pretty much any other character could've done.
Wisdom from Da Bossman.