Sacrificial Ending?
Like many you guys, I've seen numerous threads continuously asking "Will Clem Die In TFS?". Also like many of you, it's not something I'd like to see. But, what I rarely see anyone ask is "Will AJ Die?". Though it may seem like a dark question to ask, I'd like to get out of the way. Now I'm not entirely sure, but I can predict AJ'll be one of the, or the main priority for S4. Since we see them together in the key art, I guess it checks off "Find AJ". This is obviously only speculation, Clem's death may be something avoidable, but I doubt we'd ever get a season where no one major dies.
- Burning question: Whose death would you be most comfortable with and why? In this case someone dies in order for someone to live.
I've expressed a few times that I've already accepted Clem's death after a long train of thought, she's had more than a great run in my opinion. My only demand is it be handled properly.
Comments
So long as Clementine's death is seriously well written, I would be fine with it. I love how the series has gone through a full loop and Clementine is now the parent taking care of the child and it is the perfect way to end the series. However, I don't think The Final Season should be Season 1 2.0. Would I like to see similar elements from season 1 brought back? Of course, I would. There should definitely be a several parallel moments in The Final Season but within reason. Overall, The Final Season needs to tell its own story, it shouldn't just be a recreation of Season 1. Since it is the last season and they won't have to worry about choices carrying over into future seasons, I hope they go all out on choices and have many branched out endings. Perhaps one of which involves Clementine dying in a similar, yet different scenario to Lee. I do want an emotional season though. I just hope they realize that the game can be emotional in more ways than killing Clem off through a carbon copy of Lee's death.
Let’s just hope they don’t give it the Force Awakens treatment and just have it be a retelling of the original with a few twists.
Well written Vee!! Though I haven't really thought of the multiple ending scenario for this chapter, being this'll be the final season for Clem, I always figured it'll contain 2 solid endings so there aren't any loose ends or what if's. Just "This is what happens". But I doubt Telltale will go that route being aware of how emotionally involved we are.
But if I had to choose a death, I'd be most comfortable putting Clem to rest. Not necessarily dying, just concluding her story (it's inevitable). Clem's been through a shit ton, and on one hand she still has a bit more story that can be told, but not so much. On the other hand, AJ is still growing up, and the amount of potential he has for future installments is exciting to say the least! And I know Telltale is aware of that. But since AJ is deeply involved in Clem's story, this ending will also be his.
But only this time, her leg is bitten
Yes! And if you choose to cut it off she determinately hops on one foot for most of the finale! Even going as far as single handedly fighting her way through a walker herd with only one leg! Why didn't I think of that?!
Other than Clementine dying for emotional shock value, i don't know what else telltale could really do for an emotional ending like S1 or even S2.
The one thing everyone should know about companies/entertainers and usually when they say "last" normally means they'll come back eventually down the line. Especially if the final season is popular and profitable.
No more season after this one,i'm sure the series will end on a positive note but her story needs to end,we'll probably see other Walking Dead games in the future.
I think that this being the end...there should be multiple endings...give the poor girl a chance to live you sick bastards! Other endings I hope have gruesome endings. But if I had to be honest...I want her to live.
I'd accept a good death for Clem that makes the heart race or heart breaking.. like something unimaginably horrifying or sad like that is on par with what the comic does..Clementine dying would honestly be the only tear jerking ending similar to season one. Nothing else could hold a candle to something like that. It needs to be masterfully handled and nothing weak like Kenny and Jane's deaths. Maybe right before her final moments she relives her life in a hallucinatory like sequence with enemies, family and friends current and past talking to her. Like anybody remember Tyreese's death from the show? And then when she passes on she walks with Lee and her parent's into the unknown which could be taken as an visual afterlife of sorts or not.
Or maybe they can go the shock value route and have her die like Noah while locking AJ somewhere safely or fighting off an endless herd that eventually overwhelms her. Maybe some big bad villain like a Governor/Negan like character for the game can kill her and the main character will be somebody different like Javier again or someone Clementine had befriended throughout season 4.. if they still want to try and make money off the Walking Dead brand. I think they may have just about ran out of ideas for Walking Dead though and it is really hardly anything they could touch on that the comic and or show/spin-off hasn't done already due to the long gaps between video game seasonal releases.
Eh. I think it'll be more of a BITTERSWEET ending like the Season 2 Wellington one.
Something I was really hoping for too actually. But under no circumstances should Clem remove her hat for anyone!
God I was really hoping I didn't have to read anything like this
Unfortunately I feel like this is a direction they might end up going. I mean it's way more simpler and clean for the writers, but a total slap in the face to us invested. I'm highly against this ending. I hope this isn't anywhere near what we're getting.
YES, now that was a chilling death. Just to see everyone from S1 who died in a room telling her it's gonna be okay, and the camera slowly moves to the doorway to focus on Lee (Or her parents, preferably Lee
) and she just follows him and they roll credits. Dude! that's the way to go.
Yeah, I can see plenty easter eggs & nods to Clem already in future installments.
Honestly speaking, ANF put Telltale in hot water. The way I look at it is this is their last straw and final chance to show why this Walking Dead franchise needs to continue. I'm not too big on money, but if I had to guess TFS might rake in as much as ANF, cause for one, we aren't sure what we're getting at all. But if TFS shows to be rather profitable, the most we might ever get to see of Clem again is a cameo. I'm 50/50 on the future cameo.
Clementine sacrificing herself for AJ is predictable. For that reason alone, AJ's death could have a bigger emotional impact. The Walking Dead: The Final Season's key art mirrors The Walking Dead: Season One's. Clementine mirrors Lee and AJ mirrors Clementine. In The Walking Dead: Season One, Lee dies from being bit by a walker, or shot with a pistol by Clementine (determinate). In The Walking Dead: The Final Season, instead of the protagonist dying again (predictable), have the person who we least expect to die out of the two. Especially since The Walking Dead: The Final Season will have us developing an intimate and personal relationship with AJ, we would be more impacted emotionally by his death than had we not had that time to spend with him. However, the ending of the season can be without any character dying, because there are more ways than one to have an emotional impact on people.
If anything, Telltale Games should have Clementine have close encounters with walkers, but ultimately escaping from danger unharmed. It would tease the possibility of Clementine's death, enough to keep us invested, but without actually causing anything to happen. We would therefore become emotionally invested in the story. Although, I don't think, nor do I want, either Clementine or AJ to die.
I agree! One thing I've also been thinking about for TFS is possible enemies. There are many times where we've seen survivors/travelers taking advantage of smaller groups, which looks like where Clem & AJ(Ten) will most likely be. I can see another Joan or Carver being introduced and ultimately becoming our downfall. But I still can't imagine TFS ending without a major gut punch, I mean I'd love it! But I wouldn't get my hopes up. Then again I'm still optimistic
In some articles the team also describes this chapter as being "Bittersweet" So going into this one I'll have my guard up and prepare for the worst but still expect the best!
And the thing with this is, it's absolutely true. However, the emotional damage will not be long term at all. Yes we will all hurt, but not for long. We all love AJ, but his impact on us wasn't as much of an impact as Clem's. Best guess is AJ's death'll take us a few weeks to recover over after few "rip's". But we'd mourn Clem till Telltale decides to reincarnate her
Melissa Hutchison (Clementine's voice actress) mentioned about how the final season of The Walking Dead will be "bittersweet", if I'm remembering correctly. Which, it honestly concerned me when I first heard it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Clementine will die. Fortunately. Because it may be bitter, but it will also be sweet.
I agree with you in part. AJ's death could potentially cause us a long-term emotional pain, depending on how they write it into the story. Clementine's death would probably cause an outrage from fans and also a mourning for her, though. So, Telltale Games has a choice to make.
I would be more comfortable with AJ dying. Clem'd death would erase the impact of Lee's, and it would not come full circle, it would just turn this into an infinite cicle/loop of sacrificing yourself for a kid.
the odds are that Clem dies so they can try and capture some of S1's emotional outpouring
That's why I was thinking there was something with those holes in the back of her jacket in the teaser. A walker could have come up behind her, I was thinking one with a mangled arm and the other one fell off, and took a chomp on her back while she wasn't looking. Clem, appearing surprised, quickly turns around and puts a round in it's head. "No no no.", She exclaims, thinking the worst had happened. Lewis looks at her with a confused look, "Hey, what's wrong?". Clem says nothing and quickly takes a small mirror out of her pocket and holds it up behind her back. We could get to move the mirror till we see the tear in her Jacket while you hear Louis talking in the background, annoyed by your silence. "Um...hey! Are you gonna talk to me?" (Maybe if you wait long enough, he'll say something else really stupid out of his annoyance XD) When you find the tear, you use your other hand to open the tear wider the check for any bite wounds, but it looks clear in the dirty mirror. Louis can no longer bare not knowing what's going on and circles behind her. "What are you worried abo....oh". Finally, Clem says to him, "Louis, could you take a look?". He takes a step or two closer and leans in with this look on his face that you can't really tell if he's being serious about it or not, with his eyes glued to the site. For a few seconds, he doesn't move or make a sound and the silence begins to make Clem feel uneasy. "Is there... any blood? ....Loui?". After an uncomfortable pause he stands back up straight and shrugs, "Yeah, you're fine", with a unconcerned tone. She turns around and sees a slight smirk on his face, showing that he was faking his tone. "Well, thanks. You're a real lifesaver", Clem says sarcastically, kicking him in the shin as she walks past him.
I feelv like there should be a bittersweet ending, all will seem good but then clem will leave AJ alone for a second and when she comes back he's been bitten by a walker, she can't face losing another person and so she purposely lets her self get bitten too so they will die together. Then it ends with them walking off into the sunset but you know the sad truth is that happiness won't last long.
I just wonder.. would that really be bitter sweet? AJ dies, she dies. Everyone we mostly played these last few seasons for would be dead. A bright side to that? Please explain, kind User.
They need to have a choice like in S1 : Show Bite / Hide Bite
and the most painful thing for the fans (if your scenario happens) : Cut Clementine's arm / Leave the arm.
A bright side to that is that they died together
I'm gonna be so goddamn pissed if Clem dies for that little shitstain, AJ. I wanted to toss him in a garbage can and leave him the moment Rebecca squirted him out and left Clementine to deal with him. I've never liked that kid and if Clem dies for that little turd I swear I'll never buy another Telltale game ever again. I've already basically quit because their quality took a nose dive, didn't get minecraft, either batman, or guardians, but there are still a few titles I'd buy the sequels to, but not if Clem dies saving AJ. That's a giant slap in the face to those of us that never wanted to deal with him in the first place. I'll agree there's some poetry there, and if I actually cared about the shit it'd be ok but I don't, never did, and I seriously doubt the final season can make me care enough to be ok with her dying for him.
Now if she dies for some other reason, depending on how it's handled that might be ok, if it makes sense narratively, like it's the only realistic outcome to a dire situation, but NOT to save that little parasite, AJ. Let that little fucker die.
Lmao! I couldnt explain this better.
Good job man, i feel you.
I just want the leather jacket to be worth something ;_:
Is that too much to ask?
Oh most definitely, and "outrage" would be just the beginning of the emotional distress
. Clem would also be a martyr in my book without a doubt, her death would take an irreplaceable piece from us, that no other character Telltale creates in the future can put back. I'd bet on it 
.
Gosh I'd hate for that to be the case. S1 holds a place in our hearts that no other season or game can fit in in my opinion. My emotions for S1 is for S1 and S1 alone
Anything else would get rejected. I really hope Telltale keeps S4 in its own lane and makes it's own unique statement without the S1 crutch. I'd hate to see it crash and burn all because Telltale tried desperately to recollect the S1 feels for a big finale bang </3
Plot twist: Imagine if she's been bitten this whole time and reveals it later on in the final episode
What if she's already bitten?
Disclaimer: i has no ties in telltale (only paranoid speculation)
Screw the edgy jacket! Where was her hat in that teaser?!?!?!
Huh, I actually never thought of AJ as being a burden until now. But I can see you're not in the boat of giving af
. I always looked at him as a symbol for responsibility, or something along those lines. In a way he keeps Clem on her toes and can be used as a distraction from the real world. They're literally all they both have left in the world that isn't undead. So Clem needs AJ for that and vice versa.
I'm just gonna copy/paste what I've written before because I don't feel like typing it all out again lol. This is from another thread somewhere around here, but this is the full accounting of my thoughts on AJ and why I hate him.
---idk why Telltale keeps trying to force people to care about that little mcguffin. I've hated that kid ever since his mom squirted him out and left Clem to deal with him. At the end of season 2 I wanted nothing more than to toss that baby in a garbage can and leave him to die. Realistically, trying to take care of that kid would have gotten Clem killed. There's no way, other than shitty, miracle writing, that a kid as young as Clem could keep a baby alive by herself in a zombie apocalypse. Even if you end season 2 with Jane or Kenny, they both die and Clem is left alone. Like, AJ hardly makes any noise, and that's nowhere near realistic. Babies cry, a lot. I've had 2 and and I have 4 nieces and nephews and even my son who was "the good one" of my two and didn't cry constantly still cried when he needed food or was wet or uncomfortable etc.
What would actually happen is AJ would cry 24/7 because he's hungry, drawing walkers down on them like a goddamn dinner bell. Clem would be forced to try to scavenge in grocery stores to find formula for him. If she took him in with her, he'd be drawing every walker in the building to them. If she left him outside somewhere, he'd draw walkers to his location and be eaten while she was gone scavenging. If she was smart and tried to put him somewhere out of zombie reach, like in a tree or something, she'd not be able to get back to him because of all the walkers that'd be surrounding the tree trying to eat the noisy, fleshy thing. And even if she managed to get him formula and not get either of them eaten in the process, she'd need warm water to mix it with. Feeding a baby cold formula will serious hurt their stomach and they'll cry non stop because they have stomach cramps.
No, that kid was far too great a burden to put on an 11 year old and they both would have died because of it. I really, truly hope there's an option to just forget the kid and move on in Season 4 but my fear is they're gonna force a situation where Clem will end up sacrificing herself or otherwise get killed saving AJ, the same way Lee died saving her, bringing her story full circle. I'll admit there's a certain amount of poetry to that that I find appealing, but not for a character I've hated since he showed up.---
I can't help it but "McGruffin-Noisy-Fleshy-Thing" is amazing
But I can see what you're saying. Especially with Clem not being related to Rebecca in any way shape or form, it seems like an extremely generous thing to take care of a stranger's newborn when you're just a kid yourself. And I agree with you on the
I think Telltale just needed some filler for Clem's story. Like something she's desperate to achieve other than survival for future chapters. Then again I could be wrong, cause Telltale did say they weren't really sure how we'd react to having Clem around, so I don't think they planned for her stardom to get this big.
But when you think about it, without the urgency to find this missing (now found) kid, what else could Telltale have thrown in there to keep up motivated? I can't think of anything else besides the same 4-point setup TWD franchise has had for years:
And that setup has been recycled so many times it's ridiculous. So in a weird, drawn out way - Without AJ, what's the point of Clementine's story continuing?
"McGruffin"
Not Mcgruffin, with an r lol. It's McGuffin. From the wiki article defining the term - "In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin) is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The MacGuffin's importance to the plot is not the object itself, but rather its effect on the characters and their motivations. The most common type of MacGuffin is a person, place, or thing (such as money or an object of value)."
I refer to AJ as a mcguffin simply because we the players have had practically no time at all to get emotionally invested in him. In Season 1 we spent the entire game with Clem, bonding, falling in love with her. AJ was just thrust upon us then was just kinda' there, didn't really do much. I know he was a baby so there's not really anything he could do, but that's why it's such a bad plot device. Clem didn't even really have a good reason to care about him. Sure, after 2, 3, 4+ years we can infer that they've bonded, but WE haven't and that makes him a mcguffin.
Stole the words out of my mouth. 100% this.
Well it's possible but they wouldn't kill her violently I believe like Noah or Bre because most would throw a tantrum if they showed Clementine getting ripped apart with guts flying out or if they did they wouldn't show it and you'd see like an aftermath of it and then maybe have to put her down as AJ or Javi or maybe yourself as Clementine if still have the strength to do it. If you took notes from New Frontier Clementine did wish to go down fighting like Tripp did if she still has that same personality then something like T-dogs death could be possible mixed with a bit of how Tyreese, and Carl from the show died too. Also keep in mind that Clementine is fully prepared to die for AJ given what she said to Kenny based on choices of dialogue in S3.ep.4.