The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 3: In Harm’s Way [Review]

I’m not sure what the big rush was in The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 3: In Harm’s Way. It had spent a good chunk of the last episode setting up what seemed to be a problem that would last until the end of the season. The situation Clementine found herself in seemed like it would be complicated to escape, but a lot of events were wrapped up all neat and tidy within this one chapter. As such, the gravity of things in this chapter felt a little weak. This situation should have been terrible, had been set up to be terrible, and yet the characters handle it all in a little over an hour. The devs at Telltale Games could be setting me up for a surprise later, but right now it feels like they’re in too much of a hurry.

Without going into spoilers, the current chapter starts with Clementine being trapped somewhere with very little likelihood of escape without some sort of big event occurring. One does by the end of the episode, but it just felt like it was a little too easy to bring about. Not only that, but there are some faction movements that seemed like they were building up as well as some other interesting character developments that simply cut off without being dealt with. This whole chapter just feels like one long setup with very little payoff in the end, as if the devs rushed to conclude this portion of the storyline in a single chapter because they have too much else to do in the next two parts.

That’s not to say that some things aren’t dealt with in powerful ways. It feels like Clementine is really starting to become capable and strong in this chapter. Not that she wasn’t before, but there was a vulnerability within the first two acts that you just don’t see here. In fact, many of the characters, adults and children alike, come to lean on her maturity and intelligence when they start coming apart at the seams. Her dialogue options also feel like they are moving closer to being those of a clever survivor, capable of playing both sides when need be and telling people what they want to know to make them vulnerable or useful. Despite still being a young child, she seems to be the most capable leader among the bunch.

This made me feel a little odd while playing. At times, I found myself wondering why a bunch of grown men and women were relying on a child to do so much for them. I know this is the player’s character, but there is a point where asking this much of a child feels a little absurd. She has proven herself to these people and these are desperate time, but it’s still a bit hard to swallow.

This story seems to have fallen into a bit of a hard spot at the crossroads of player importance and story believability. On one hand, you need to give the players the ability to feel important and involved in the gameplay. On the other hand, the player is taking the role of a child, someone who, while capable, probably shouldn’t be given as much responsibility and importance in such a situation as she is in. I can see her being treated as capable and deserving to be, and this is a story of the death of a child’s innocence in such hard times, but it feels like too much is getting dumped on Clementine. It’s hard to see why so many are placing so much importance and responsibility on a child, or basing their decisions on what a child would want. I just have trouble seeing someone so young basically working as the leader of whatever group she finds herself in.

This is the trouble with this kind of story, though. You can’t just give the player a backup role since they’re playing a child, or else they’ll feel left out of the major storyline. If you give them too much importance, then the story places unrealistic expectations on a child character. This is when you end up with conversations between the main villain and a kid where you’re basically being treated as a potential equal and ally. It feels weird and silly, turning what is normally a rough, serious story into something that’s a little ridiculous.

This is a story about Clementine’s shift from follower to leader, though, and many of these events, as silly as they seem to me, make that point clear. She isn’t squeamish or fearful about just about anything, and is shown as being able to make quick decisions that keep people alive. Opportunities are available through her decisions that feel like they guide events, so while it may be odd for the child to be in charge, there’s no questioning on whether she is capable. I might feel that some of this stuff is out of place, but she is a child in an awful world. Leadership is granted in this situation based on merit and ability, and Clementine shows both over the course of this chapter. I may not feel that it’s all that realistic for her to be given this much responsibility even in this setting, but this is the story that Telltale Games wants to tell. They do their best, and short of a few situations I found hard to believe, Clementine does come out looking strong.

Other points seemed a little odd as well, as if the story elements had been put in place just to build up tension. There are some points where I absolutely know that the twitchy, trigger-happy people in charge of Clementine and her survivors would have shot her. There is no way that they wouldn’t have done it given the character that they’d shown so far, and yet they don’t. It does create these tense moments where you wonder if you’re going to die, but you never do. While it might make things feel a little tenser, it still tosses a little bit more of the game’s limited believability out the window. Why are these lunatics suddenly being so nice (for them) now?

The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 3: In Harm’s Way seems like it’s in a big hurry to get somewhere it needs to be, and trips up along the way with its storytelling. Some of the events with Clementine are hard to believe, as are other character motivations. All of the events here felt forced and artificially sped up to reach a conclusion within this chapter, resulting in the weakest chapter I’ve played so far. Despite that, some of the changes we see in Clementine make this one of the strongest chapters as far as her character arc, so I was left feeling conflicted at the end of it. I’m used to a lot stronger work from Telltale Games, though, but the good parts still have me hopeful for the next chapter. Still, there’s no rush, guys. Take your time and tell the story as it was meant to be told. Your rabid fans will wait.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 is available for $24.99 on Steam.