The zombie apocalypse cannot stop puberty, no matter how inconvenient a mood swing might be.
Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead Season 3 episode 4 picks up right after brothers David and Javi were held prisoner by Joan. We see Javi escape with Gabe to figure out how to save David. The episode is mixed with really sweet moments before it hits you over the head with chaos.
First, we’re glad to say Telltale let the telenovela writing out of this episode. No ridiculous, convoluted storylines about loving your dead brother’s wife. No, we get back to the meat and bones of the storyline, Clementine. It’s really hard to care about Javi’s family the we do about Clem. We’ve seen Clem grow up despite living in horrible conditions. Clem shouldn’t have survived, but she did.
In this episode, we see Clem put to use the things she’s learned over the past few years. We saw Clem stitch up Javi and talk about how much better she’s gotten at it. In Season 2, we saw Clem have to steal medical supplies to stitch herself up, now she’s doing it on another person. We also has a sweet moment when Clem has to deal with something she’s actually lucky enough to experience: puberty. Clem asks Javi why she’s bleeding because no one ever explained to her what a menstrual cycle is. Javi tries his best to explain and finds maxi pads for her.
We also see Clem flirt with Gabe, another teenager going through puberty. Except Gabe is an asshole. His mood swings make him impulsive and vindictive towards Javi. Gabe rats out Javi for killing Tripp’s friend Conrad in the second episode. Tripp gets angry and Javi is forced to clean up the mess. Eventually everyone’s decisions lead them to the town square where two people might die depending on your actions.
While the overall story of episode 4 is okay, it just leads us back to a big problem in Season 3’s storyline: you just don’t care about Javi. Clem is not a main character, but we’re more invested in her survival than anyone else. David is an asshole and so his son Gabe, so players really won’t be upset if he dies. Telltale made it clear Tripp is a disposable character with what happens at the end so there’s no point in investing in him. There’s Kate who just wants to be a family with Javi and Gabe, but that’s probably not going to happen. And then there’s Javi, who’s too busy trying to prove himself to his brother who’s always been jealous of him. David hates Javi because he lived life on his terms.
We wish Telltale Games would’ve continued to make Clem the protagonist. Fans are committed to Clem because they know her backstory. Every time Clem mentions Lee, it pulls at your heart because you remember young Clem had to watch him die. Hopefully she’ll be reunited with AJ and that’s the last scene of the game. Honestly, if you haven’t picked up the season pass for this season, you might want to skip The Walking Dea d Season 3 until it goes on sale. It’s just OK.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 4 "Thicker Than Water" is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam.
