What would you have done with [spoiler]?
Not your Clem, you yourself. What would you have done with Marlon if you were in Clem's position, assuming AJ didn't kill him? You have 4 options, 1 of which the game didn't give us.
- Lock Marlon up, like jail.
- Banish Marlon from the school.
- Let Marlon stay, but not as leader.
- Execute Marlon for Brody's murder (the twins' fate can factor into that or not, your choice).
It's a tough call, for me. I'll put my thought process in spoilers.
Banishment is off the table immediately. Marlon has proved himself a coward. If he got caught by the raiders and they pressed him for where he came from, he'd squeal and tell the raiders anything and everything they wanted to know about the school and kids. Furthermore, he might decide to get revenge on everyone for turning on him after he did everything in power to protect them (in his mind) and he might just go join the raiders and lead them to the school personally.
Imprisonment is also off the table, but only because of their current food situation. They don't have enough food to afford to keep someone around who isn't contributing to the survival of the group. Locking Marlon up in a room or the basement or something just makes feeding everyone harder. If they weren't struggling to feed themselves it'd be an ok solution, at least temporarily.
That leaves letting him stay as part of the group but stripping him of all authority or executing him. On the one hand, he murdered Brody. We know it was an accident, he lashed out and hit her because he was scarred of the truth getting out but he didn't mean to kill her. He meant to hit her, but we know he didn't mean to kill her. But then he tried to blame Clem for it. Again, this is because he's a coward and was fearful of the truth getting out, not only the truth about the twins, but also the truth that he killed Brody. At this point, he hasn't done anything overtly evil. He's a kid that has done things out of fear, but not maliciousness. He traded the girls but we don't know the situation. If he and the girls ran into a large group of raiders, trading them may have been the only way any of them got back at all. Sometimes you're in a no win situation and all you can do is minimize your losses. He accidentally killed Brody, then he tried to blame Clem for it, all because he was scared.
With all that in mind, I'd leave it up to the other kids. He wronged them more than me. Yeah he tried to blame Brody's death on me and locked me in with a fresh walker but at this point if I couldn't handle a single walker I'd deserve to die to it. Locking someone in with a single walker is like a minor annoyance at this point. No, I'd be fine letting him stay but he wronged the other kids at the school far more than he wronged me. He traded Tenn's sisters, which as I said, could well have been justified, but then he lied to the other kids about it for a year and made no effort to find or rescue the twins and he killed Brody, their friend. So I'd put it to a vote, let them vote if he can stay at the school with no authority or not. If they vote yes, then fine, if they vote no, I'd execute him because of the reasons I listed earlier. I wouldn't tell them when they're voting that a no vote would result in him being killed, because I wouldn't want to that to influence their decision. I would just let them vote, then act based on the outcome of the vote.
Comments
Keep him around. I'd let him stay, not let him be the leader, and try to fix his wrongdoings as best as we could with his help. He seemed genuinely remorseful, and like a kid who took on too much and didn't know what to do with what he had and it caused him to make the bad choices. I think he had potential as a character, and keeping him around and fixing things as best you can with him would have been an interesting and cool story.
You want my honest answer? I'd give Tenn and Violet a gun and explain what I believe the raiders wanted Tenn's sisters for, remind them what he did to Brody,then after they listened ask the both of them what they feel Marlon deserved. If they could forgive them knowing the twins if they're alive have likely been used for sex over and over and over for a year. And they might be dead or eaten like the saint John's did. If they could forgive that I could.
I would lock him the cellar the food situation is rough but we don't have feed a prisoner well, we just have to keep him alive. Banishment is rarely a smart choice, Excuting him is more reasonable because the guy certainly earned it. But Marlon also has Intel on these raiders and now that him and Brody are dead these kids are operating blind. Letting him roam free is almost as dangerous as exile because even tho we talked him down or kicked his ass he could easily become a threat again. So I think imprisonment is the best choice, also it would give him an opportunity to find some kind of a redemption, or at least when the shit hits the fan he will make a fine meat shield.
I said this in my game and I stick by it, I would have locked him up as a prisoner. I don't think Marlon is an evil person, just a guy who did an evil thing (giving up the twins) to do a good thing (save everyone else at the school). That being said, what he did was wrong and he still needs to be punished for it, and I wouldn't want him to be running around completely free with no supervision. Since he was adamant on leaving, if we didn't do something with him, he might have just taken off anyway. Locking him up keeps him there, serves as a punishment, but also gives him a chance at redemption for his mistake. Even if he didn't know all that much about them, any information he could have provided on the raiders would have been useful so that we knew what we were up against.
I learned something in survival. There are no good people. I learned a lot by playing TWD if you let someone else live. She's coming back to kill you just to get revenge. But he threatened me and tried to kill me, he does not deserve forgiveness, but I can not expel him, I would put him as my prisoner and observation
I would personally lock him up as an prisoner temporarily, he isn't a bad person, he has just done mistakes, his hands were tied and he did try to protect everyone even though what he did was wrong, I believe that all he needs is some time alone to think of his mistakes because he clearly regretted his actions, eventually I'd get him out of the prison and let him redeem for what he has done, take his leadership away. I believe that at some point everything would be fine again but in a world gone to shit.. People is all we have and everyone makes mistakes, best thing to do is learn from them and move on, I believe that Marlon would learn a ton from his mistakes.
Let Marlon stay, but not as leader. It's what I chose in the game and it's what I would choose in real life as well. Diplomacy above all else.
Toss him in a cell. Figure out what to actually do with him later if anything else, but for now, he deserves confinement to limit his potential backlash and grill him for information when convenient.
Plus, I've kinda always been wanting to do that.
I agree on banishment not being an option for the same reasons. Not sure what I would've chosen, but I'm squeamish and I do try to give second chances, so I probably would just demote him.
I had Clem tell him he'd be locked in the basement. I stick by that. It wouldn't be permamnt solution. Just temporary so he can think about what he did whilst the other kids voted on what to do with him.
Banishment is not an option as many others have said. Just can't take the risk of him leading the raiders to the school.
us,issa bout Marlon again,NICE!
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so me,idk what i would have done,maybe not execute him like a little shit that will need to get his ass kicked in episode 2
(jk
but Clem (well my Clem at least) is supposed to b all nice and shit so she would have probably let him go,maybe she would have let the other mf s choose,and maybe she would have agreed on lockin (misspelled lockin as "lickin" the first time
his ass up!
not on killin him tho
Well Tenn can forgive him if you stay quiet during the "Because he is a coward" / "He did a mistake" choice.
I offer option 5: beat him up, imprison him, tell him he's leaving, then before he walks away... call him a FUCKBOI!
I would have kept him around so I can sell him out to the raiders for the group's sake.
I let Marlon stay, but not as a leader. It's the least I can do. He went out of his way to save my life and bring me back to his community, in return, I spare him and let him stay, figured that would make us even.
I would suggest to the others that we let him stay, and assign new leadership. He'd been given a chance for redemption. He's a damn good shot with that bow, and has good control over Rosie. There aren't many capable combatants in the school, and a threat somewhere nearby.
Lock him up. Definitely most logical. Letting him be with us but not as a leader is too risky because we don't know what to expect. Locking him up keeps all the decisions open in future to be made when we feel we know what's the right thing to do with him.
Except that Marlon brought Clem and AJ to Erickson because he was hoping to sell them off as slaves to raiders.
Well I can scratch bringing them to the community off and spare him for just saving Clem & AJ.
I'd probably do as I did in the game. Keep him around, but not as a leader. Have him watched closely and never allow him the position he once had, but still give him the chance to prove his remorse.
In a situation as shit as the zombie apocalypse, you need as many competent survivors as possible. He may have been a coward when faced with a threat like raiders and potential exposure of what he did, but Marlon was still able to handle himself against walkers, was a great shot, and was able to lead a group of teenagers for quite a few years. He isn't useless. At least this way, rather than just locking him up, he can try to contribute to the group's survival and attempt to redeem himself for what he did. I wouldn't worry all that much about betrayal, either. Maybe that's naive of me, but Marlon showed that he does care about the kids and with all his lies being exposed, he doesn't have anything else. These people are all he's known. He needs the group if he wants to continue to live, so I couldn't see him being dumb enough to jeopardise that further.
Not only that but I don't truly feel it's my place to make a judgement as severe as execution. He tried to frame me, but he wasn't behind my friends' demises, nor has he been my leader and friend for years. Ultimately I think it's up to Tenn and Violet, and the others, and whether they can bring themselves to forgive him.
Following up on Oneway's point, I just had an idea...
Aj character model swap with Violet or Tenn?
...No.
No he didn't. He said he'd let them take Clem and AJ if they came, but that was only AFTER Clem and the others ran into Abel at the train station. He didn't rescue Clem and AJ specifically to trade them up. He doesn't have some ongoing deal with them. He traded up the twins when they ran into the raiders because that was the only way any of the 4 would make it back to the school at all. It was a one time thing and that was it... until Abel showed up and Brody started freaking out.
The safe zone was shrinking for a reason.
And don't even get me started on how the raiders were intentionally weakening them for the next visit.
The impression I got with Abel messing with the traps was that was the first time it had happened. None of the kids mentioned it happening before and they all seemed really surprised that someone was in the area at all.
The shrinking safe zone is a bit odd. We know in hindsight that Marlon was shrinking it because of the run in they had with the raiders, but what isn't clear is how often Marlon would shrink it. Logically, I'd think Marlon would have shrank the safe zone right after losing the twins, but the way Aasim talked, it'd been getting smaller and smaller over time, which is weird since again, all of the kids acted like that was the first time anyone had ever messed with their traps and were all surprised someone was so close to the school. Marlon continually shrinking the safe zone doesn't make much sense, UNLESS it was him being scared and continually pulling back the boundaries out of fear of running into raiders rather than out of actual encounters with people.
There's also the matter of the occasional walkers/herd passing by.
The way they were all shocked about the traps indicates it may have been new. But Abel was trying to starve them intentionally. I keep trying to think up new analogies but this picture sums it up
Yep those are smoking rocks.
Because Rick's people fucked with Negan he took ALL of their weapons, a bunch of their food, and luxuries like their mattresses. But instead of using them for his own uses he had them dropped on the side of the road doused in gasoline and set on fire. Having them wasn't important. Rick's group NOT having them was what mattered.
Same thing with the Ericson food traps. It isn't about Abel needing to Fred himself he sabotaged the empty traps too. So noone else got any food. It wasn't about his hunger it was about making the kids hungry. I wouldn't be surprised if the raiders come back offering to trade food for violet Ruby or Clementine.
I would let the group decide and put it to a vote, however my vote would be leading towards execution.
I chose to keep him in the group but not as a leader, and I genuinely believed that my choice would matter. I feel like it's most sensible decision.