Telltale Games is channeling my abuelita’s telenovelas in The Walking Dead Season 3 episode 3, and not in the endearing way.
[WARNING: This review contains story spoilers from The Walking Dead Season 3 episode 3]
Seriously, where are you going with this, Telltale? In episode 3, we find Javi and friends in “quarantine” at the New Frontier home base. Based on decisions made in the previous episode, Javi, Tripp and Jesus reunite with Eleanor. They learn Eleanor went ahead to ask for help when the car broke down. She asked them to look for Kate who was badly injured and needed medical attention.
Tripp explains to Eleanor they just walked into New Frontier territory. In the middle of their conversation, Javi’s brother David walks in and escorts him out of the quarantine area. David and Javi catch up, where you learn David is still a freaking asshole. David is an abusive SOB and doesn’t deserve the reunion with his family. He never went back for his family. It turns out Javi and Kate waited three months before they decided to move on. David’s son Gabe even wrote him a note.
David barely apologizes to Javi when he give him a mini tour of the New Frontier. Javi learns David is one of four people in charge of the community. David acts like he can pull a few strings to get him to stay, but he can’t save his friends. They make their way over to Kate, who fakes being in pain to be alone with Javi. She begs Javi to leave with her as soon as they get the chance. She doesn’t feel safe and [our] Javi doesn’t either.
And Kate’s right. The New Frontier is run by evil people who took AJ away from Clementine. Yeah, turns out Clementine was kicked out for giving AJ medication to save his life. Why? Because David didn’t think AJ had any value to their community.
AJ IS A FREAKING BABY! CLEMENTINE WAS THE ONLY ONE LOOKING OUT FOR HIM!
And the story just gets frustrating from there. And it’s not because of the story, but the way it’s being told. Let us explain. We understand that in Telltale’s The Walking Dead universe, the world is small. People can’t really travel far distances, so the chances of you running into another survivor you know is actually quite high. If you were separated from loved ones, there’s a chance they might make it out there as well.
However, what’s with the ‘I’m in love with my dead brother’s wife, but he’s alive so now I’m going to fight you for her,’ Telltale? That feels a bit cheap in the third episode because David is basically the same asshole he was before the apocalypse. He doesn’t seem affected by anything. Javi isn’t loyal to David. We love our siblings, but that doesn’t mean we have to like them.
David turned into a bigger POS after the apocalypse; he’s always been nasty to his family. David was abusive to his wife Kate. He doesn’t get a pass. And the fact that David is alive is such a weak story choice. David is a weak character. Yeah, we’re sure he has his reasons to be angry with Javi and had a hard life, but David’s anger just comes off as superficial, like what you’d find in a soap opera. It comes from the dialogue choice and just rushing through the introduction.
In a soap opera, they constantly have to remind you of the plot because they don’t let it unfold. They’ll say things like, “Juan doesn’t know you’re pregnant with Jose’s baby because you had sex with his father”, over and over again in hopes of making you clutch your granny pearls and gasp in disbelief. It’s like they have to slap you over the head with over-the-top plot lines to keep you committed to the story.
Telltale made a choice to go down this road and now we’re left with a lackluster episode 3. Nothing shocking really happened. The fact David did something heartless to Clementine wasn’t a shocker, the turmoil in the New Frontier was expected and so was Kate not wanting anything to do with David. The great thing about the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead was the relationship with Lee and Clementine. Lee found this girl and tried to help her find her parents; it was an organic, beautiful relationship. You cared about their well being. Can’t say we care about David...or Javi.
All in all, Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3 is the weakest out of the three episodes released so far. It won’t make you feel much, but it moves the story along in a generic way. However, Telltale has time to pick it up again in the last two episodes. iDigitaltimes give Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3 a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
