The end is finally here, not the end of the world but it sure feels like it. I’m not the only one who has been following Clementine’s story from the beginning but we all have a lot of feelings about it. We had left off at Episode One: Done Running, where Clementine and AJ found a safe haven at the Ericson Academy. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead!
Throughout this season we see Clementine and AJ trying to acclimate to a new settlement. AJ had made a questionable choice at the end of episode one by choosing to shoot Marlon. He was trying to convince the group that Clementine and AJ had killed Brody in the school basement. Depending on what choice you make when pleading with the group, some people will stand with Clem. Marlon had actually been trading people to a group called The Delta to keep their settlement safe and was planning on having to do it again.
Suffer the Children (Episode 2)
In Episode 2, the group votes to exile Clementine and AJ for the death of Marlon. Violet and Louis escort past the safe zone. Clem and AJ leave but run into someone from episode 1 of this season that they dealt with at the train station. Abel and a person from Clementine’s past show up to kidnap them. Clem was surprised to see that Lilly, from the first season of The Walking Dead, had survived after departing from the original group. Lilly explains that her and Abel are apart of the group Delta and have plans for them when they get back.
The reminiscing doesn’t last long as they get help from Violet and Louis to escape. When they reach Ericson, Clem explains that The Delta are coming to take the rest of the group from the school. They put their issues aside to fortify their compound.
During this episode you have the chance of having a potential romance with Violet or Louis. I have only explored one of the choices but I believe both are worthwhile to play. It’s nice to see Clementine all grown up and experiencing love in a world torn apart by the dead. There are some things worth fighting for in this world and love is one of them.
Never Back Down
The bond between Clem and the group grows tighter daily up until they have to deal with The Delta. The final night, they share in music and dance.
Once the fight arrives they are more than ready. Depending on how quick you are and what choices you make, some of the group gets taken or killed which includes choosing between Violet and Louis. Lilly has a moment of weakness where she cannot kill Clementine because of the ties to the past. This is an advantage that is easily exploited in the next episode.
Broken Toys (Episode 3)
After the fight, they bury their loved ones and interrogate one person left behind by The Delta: Abel. He dies from his wounds but before he does, he tells Clem and AJ the location of their people are. He doesn’t go into too many details regarding where their settlement is but that there is a boat they use to transport people.
Once they have dealt with Abel they make a plan on how they are going to get their people back. The tensions are high but this spunky group have a lot up their sleeve. They do get some help from James, a former whisperer who they meet in episode 2.
Fight Back
There is a moment where we get to see Clementine dreaming of being in the train car with Lee from season 1 discussing the difficult choices she has made and the ones to come. It was definitely a tear jerking moment for others like myself who have been with them since the beginning.
Prior to sneaking onto the boat, they do run into Minerva, a former group member from the school that was traded and thought to be dead. If Violet wasn’t abducted, she will be there when you run into Minnie which is emotional for both as they used to be an item. She tries to advise them against what they are going to do.
Once they make it onto the boat, they plant a makeshift bomb to make sure they can’t get back to their settlement. Afterwards, they set out to find the abducted group members. Clem and the group run into trouble with Minnie and Lilly.
Eventually, there is a standoff where AJ is put in the position on whether to kill Lilly or let her live. Either way, someone at the standoff dies. If AJ doesn’t kill Lilly, she will take the gun and kill James. The bomb goes off and sends everyone flying all over the ship.
Take Us Back (Episode 4)
Clementine eventually comes to and finds the ship is capsizing and is one fire. The surrounding land has walkers swarming to the boat. Clem finds AJ and they make their way off of the boat. They run into some trouble with some survivors from The Delta but they are taken care of pretty quickly. Minnie is one of the only ones left but eventually gets bitten fighting off a horde.
The group gets separated into Clementine, AJ, Tenn and James (if he survived the encounter from Episode 3) and they make their way to a cave. Once they find their way out of the cave, they are down to Clementine, AJ and Tenn. They run into either Violet or Louis (depending on choices from previous episodes) who are attempting to find a way back to the school via a bridge.
Tough Choices
Once they reach the bridge they end up surrounded by walkers. Minerva directs the herd towards the group. Tennessee sees his sister and feels compelled to be near her even though she has sustained multiple walker bites. Pleading with her doesn’t work as she gets upset at Clementine’s influence on her brother. Clem’s leg is wounded during this encounter but she is able to get across the bridge with AJ. The bridge does have a huge gap at the end but is short enough to jump over.
Depending on how you raised AJ he will make a choice to either shoot Tenn or have Clem’s love interest throw him over the gap in the bridge. His choice will determine whether Tenn dies or Violet/Louis. When trying to escape the area, Clementine gets bitten trying to get away from a horde of the dead. It is what everyone feared would happen at the end of the season: that she would go out like Lee did in season 1.
AJ helps Clementine get into a barn that James used for holding walkers (which were released at the boat landing). Clementine goes over the rules to AJ regarding what he needs to do next. This is a hard decision that anyone has had to make since the first season and it left people, including myself, with a lot of feelings.
The Rules
- Never go alone
- (What do we do when the monsters come?) Shoot them in the head
- (What do we do if I get bit?) Leave me or Kill me
After some flashback from when AJ was part of the The New Frontier, the screen goes to AJ spear-fishing in a stream with Rosie. He spots Clementine’s hat that fell off when the explosion happened in episode 3. Rosie rescues it and they head back to Ericson. We are taken by surprise that Clementine survived. Her leg is shown missing but she is still getting around. It all ends with placing Clementine’s hat on the desk in their room.
Final Thoughts
The entire season left players feeling lost at how to raise AJ to be a good human being while also surviving. Skybound did an excellent job finishing what TellTale had started with this season. The ending felt definite but happy, which is something that this series didn’t always let people feel. Many people died on Clementine’s journey but seeing that she has a happy ending that Lee would have wanted for her, left us relieved and tearful.
10/10
