There are so many moments that make Clementine such an awesome protagonist, but I decided to do the 5 best ones that I believe make her badass. Before starting this list of what makes Clementine one of the best characters in The Walking Dead, be warned of spoilers ahead!
5. Stitching up her own arm with limited supplies (Season 2)
Nothing made players cringe more than having to attempt a stitch job with only peroxide, a sewing needle, fishing line, and floral bandages. Each of these items must be found by escaping from a shed that a group locked Clem in after seeing a bite on her arm. The bite came from a dog, but in the apocalypse, one can’t be too sure!
After obtaining these items, the player is tasked with sewing up the wound. The player must follow directions by moving the needle through targeted points on the skin while also watching/hearing Clem hold back screams as she does this. What a pain threshold!
4. Surviving the first few days of the outbreak in her tree house (Season 1)
In season 1, the player controls Lee Everett, a recently escaped convict that strolls into Clementine’s backyard. After taking care of the turned babysitter with Clem’s help, Lee learns that Clem had been surviving by staying in the tree house in her backyard for the last couple of days. I don’t know many children at that age who would stay calm in that situation, so that makes Clementine a fighter. She was also contemplating dropping a hammer on Lee in case he was up to no good. Those are good instincts in a badass character.
3. Shooting the “The Stranger” (Season 1, if Lee doesn’t kill him)
If there is one thing that my mom taught me is to never talk to strangers, especially on a walkie talkie. This may not seem like a great moment of Clem’s, but just wait! Throughout episodes 3-5, Clem had been communicating with a man on her walkie talkie without Lee’s knowledge. When Lee does find out about it at the end of episode 3, he tries to keep the device away from Clementine. Which doesn’t matter because she ends up with The Stranger in episode 5.
When Lee does meet The Stranger who has locked Clem in a closet, there are dialogue options while the two sit in arm chairs. The man’s intention was to raise Clem as his own. Lee wasn’t going to let that happen and fighting ensued. If Lee doesn’t kill The Stranger, Clem will because he attempts to attack Lee from the back. This is a pivotal moment as it is the first live person she has ever killed, but she does it to save Lee. Making mistakes is part of life, and this proves that Clementine learned from this.
2. Putting her own life on the line for AJ (Season 2 & 3)
In season 2, Clem joins a group after being split up from Christa (character from season 1). One of the members of the group is pregnant. While there is drama around who the father is, this doesn’t change how Clem came to take care of the baby.
AJ is born after the group escapes from William Carver’s group at Howe’s Hardware. AJ loses both parents and it becomes the responsibility of Clementine to take care of him, regardless of choices at end of season 2.
In the New Frontier, Clementine and a now toddler AJ, try to find refuge in a small shack as they are running from walkers. Another person joins them by the name of Ava who invites them back to her community. Knowing what is best for AJ, players would choose to accept offer.
Before long though, Clem gets on the bad side of one of the leaders and is ultimately kicked out. What she did to get kicked out was really in the best interest of AJ and making sure he wasn’t sick and using supplies she was told not to use to remedy this. The New Frontier keeps AJ, and Clem must figure out a way to get him back.
1. Choosing whether to leave Lee or keep him from turning (Season 1)
I found this to be the best badass moment of Clem’s, because this is where she grows right before the player’s eyes. Nothing is harder than to leave someone who was like a father, for death due to a walker bite. Lee was bit when reaching for Clem’s hat in an alleyway back in episode 4. Now in episode 5, once in the jewelry store, Clem has to choose whether to leave or shoot Lee.
My choice has always been to shoot him because I feel like this hardens her character and prepares her for the future events. Leaving him is brave as well though, because it means she can walk away from someone she cares about but knows is doomed.
Conclusion
All in all, the majority of her badass moments were in season 1. It was the beginning of the apocalypse and she was in the thick of it. Lee was influential in molding Clementine into the character she became, albeit it’s really the player’s choice on her outcome. Another person who helped shape her is someone not what anyone expects but it is one that I think is very important; Chuck the hobo on the train. What started as an insensitive comment turned into a very good point, “She’ll die a little girl if you treat her like one. You gotta consider her a living person. That’s it. You’re either living or you’re not. You ain’t little, you ain’t a girl, you ain’t a boy, you ain’t strong or smart. You’re alive.” This quote is what I think kept Clementine astute all through each season. Players’ have watched her grow into a formidable young woman, and I have no doubt there will be tears when playing this final season of Clementine in The Walking Dead.
-Nicole Withers