Episode 4 is dark

edited January 2012 in Back to the Future
Anyone else think this episode was pretty dark?

Trixie didn't deserve what happened to her, and the episode focuses on destroying Edna's life. The argument at the end at the courthouse was dark, too. Apart from the bit with Jennifer at the beginning, this was a disturbing episode! It was well done, but I'm glad that it sets up the final episode with the idea that maybe there's a better solution.
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Comments

  • edited April 2011
    It kinda felt like the fourth chapter of Tales, in that way. Taking familiar characters in a whole new, darker but completely logical direction.
  • edited April 2011
    And here I was thinking they couldn't top episode 3.
  • edited April 2011
    Yea it really was dark. Having played it twice now I'm very conflicted about this episode. On one hand I of course feel for Marty but on the other I do feel for First Citizen brown and Edna. That's the one thing that I really do think Telltale did so good. The movies showed you the alternate realities but they never showed you how your actions affected those people in that reality.
  • edited April 2011
    Don't forget poor Doc getting the Clockwork Orange treatment at the beginning.
  • edited April 2011
    Bring it on. The story is getting fantastic. I like the conflict. I like the alternate directions. Yet, it still feels very BTTF in style and execution.
  • edited April 2011
    I tried to lie to Doc when he asked about how Edna will end up in the future... But I felt so sorry for her when Marty told him the truth... Old Cat Lady... Poor Edna... But... She is evil!
  • edited April 2011
    Don't forget poor Doc getting the Clockwork Orange treatment at the beginning.
    I actually found that a little hard to take seriously, mostly due to certain sound effects reused from other games that I associated so much with things in those games that to hear them in this context made the situation a little...sillier.

    But yes overall this episode was definitely darker in its own way, and I was seriously afraid that
    near the end Emmett was going to actually plunge to his death rather than get caught on the statue.
  • edited April 2011
    I liked that the game took deep and think emotive decisions.
    I like games that have emotive resonance - there aren't many out there.
  • edited April 2011
    Yeah, it was genuinely sad when FCB asked Marty how Edna was in the future and then seeing her heartbroke walking on the road, I never thought I'd ever feel sorry for her after episode 3. Good Work TellTale.

    Did anyone else get the image of FCB opening the Delorean and Billy Ocean's "Get out of my Dreams (and into my car)" blasting away ( yeah, I know it was released 1988 but still ;)).
  • edited April 2011
    I just found that last scene with Edna and FCB a little creepy...a 17 year old girl walking down a dark road and a 60+ man drives up to her and offers her a lift. O_O
  • edited April 2011
    It was 1931 - completely innocent in those days! :)
  • edited April 2011
    It's good to get a darker feeling episode, reminds me of the Hell Valley bit of Part 2 but in a lighter setting. Good juxtaposition, I feel.
  • edited April 2011
    KaiRubix wrote: »
    I just found that last scene with Edna and FCB a little creepy...a 17 year old girl walking down a dark road and a 60+ man drives up to her and offers her a lift. O_O


    It was 1931: When doors were unlocked and strangers had the best candy!
  • edited April 2011
    Considering she's an employed journalist and head of the Stay Sober Society, I'm pretty sure Edna's older than seventeen. So the REAL creepiness is her relationship with Emmett!
  • edited April 2011
    I certainly did feel like a dick when telling Doc that Edna would end up alone with cats, and refusing to fix the timeline so she could stay with him. It really gave me the feeling that I got with later Doctor Who episodes when you realise he is a selfish tyrant who destroys the lives of entire civilisations just for his personal gain
  • edited April 2011
    IndigoHawk wrote: »
    Anyone else think this episode was pretty dark?

    Trixie didn't deserve what happened to her

    Seconded.

    And I never thought I could feel sorry for Edna, but seeing her crying in the end did just that. :(
    Sometimes, we cannot choose the way we are going...
  • edited April 2011
    I thought of it like this.
    Both futures she ended up as a person no one likes.
    In one she is a crazy cat lady, and another she is a dictator.
    What makes people think that she can turn out ok in some form or way.
    She has been given two timelines, and she screwed up both(yes its her fault, one she decided to be alone and bought cats, and the other she abused her husbands genius to dictate a city) most people only get 1 timeline.
  • edited April 2011
    It' because her main flaw was always there: she just couldn't accept that her rules are not meant for everyone. If someone, somehow loosened her up a bit in her youth, she might turn out to be someone nicer.
  • edited April 2011
    Yeah I felt bad when Marty and FCB had the argument, it does make you feel the rift between them and the dilemma they're in. I dont think either are completely right or wrong either;

    Marty wants what he feels is the 'Right' timeline but has had to toy with people and manipulate them in order to set things back in motion, he doesn't like doing it and most times particularly when speaking to Young Emmett he really hates doing it. But if he doesn't he dooms everyone he cares for to be brainwashed by the citizen plus program or because of the undoing of everything in 1955 Marty's parents are reduced to their coward/drunkard personalities and Biff is still roaming round being a dick to everyone. He's also abandoned his parents and Jennifer when going back to 1931 based on the trust of FCB that all would be undone once they went back.

    FCB on the other hand also genuinely feels his existence should still count, after all hes lived 70+ years with someone he loved, despite the disaster it caused in the future he can hardly be blamed for wanting to hold on to it or change it for the better despite its flaws. From his perspective 'Martin' is just as bad as Edna, wanting to 'Override' his personality for his own gain. Also he cares more for the fate of Edna, which he now learnt from Marty lives an extremely lonely life, and doesn't see why someone should be doomed to misery if it can be helped. Not to mention his alternative self lived a similar, isolated life until Marty befriends him and timetravels and meets Clara.

    Could go one but, yeah - great work storywise on this one Telltale, just get rid of that damn 'Temporal Duplicate' bug by the car of the futures tent ;). I really cant wait for OUTATIME :D
  • edited May 2011
    daeva0123 wrote: »
    Not to mention his alternative self lived a similar, isolated life until Marty befriends him and timetravels and meets Clara.

    I do think Doc was something of a loner, until he ended up in the Old West. I don't really subscribe to the theory, though, that everyone in Hill Valley thinks he's crazy. Yes, Mr. Strickland and Biff both spoke badly about him - but, then again, they're also not exactly portrayed as being the nicest and most tolerant people in the world. You wouldn't expect people like them to be accepting of Doc. It's likely that Marty was his only close friend, but there were other people that were friendly acquaintances to him.
  • edited May 2011
    Marty also seems to be kind of an egoist, always thinking about his own timeline only. I'd show more concern, for Trixie at least. I felt so elated when I saw Artie finally stand up to Edna and say that he doesn't care about Trixie's past, just to be deflated a minute later by that single point of her nationality that made him fire her. So unfair for Trixie, she's been really kind to everybody so far. She even seemed more moral than Edna at times: she explicitly said she wouldn't play any tricks on Emmet unless someone played really foul with her.
    Unfortunately, Edna did so, with Marty's help.
    At the same time, seeing Edna lose Emmet and cry in front of FCB was heart-wrenching too. Edna was already annoying in 1931, but she had some redeeming qualities, and seeing her tumble into life of despair and loneliness really bites.
    Taking all that, this episode was one of the most depressing ones I've ever had from TTG. People keep being horrible, one to another, and they can't really stop it. I just hope Edna gets a chance at decent life, but somewhere the worse parts of her personality won't surface.
  • edited May 2011
    KaiRubix wrote: »
    I just found that last scene with Edna and FCB a little creepy...a 17 year old girl walking down a dark road and a 60+ man drives up to her and offers her a lift. O_O

    no doc said the edna is older then him. she is in her early twenties
  • edited May 2011
    In the other episodes it had the usual "gotta fix the timeline!" vibe, but here it made me feel guilty having Marty do all these things to get back his own life, he had to make(even though everything should be fixed in Episode 5?) so many people miserable in this episode.

    Very hooked to see how it will end though. :)
  • edited May 2011
    I will say this, at least Marty has the decency to seem very conflicted about it. Just look at his expression when Citizen Brown says, "What does it matter to you? Aren't you planning on overwriting me?"
  • edited May 2011
    feverfew wrote: »
    It' because her main flaw was always there: she just couldn't accept that her rules are not meant for everyone. If someone, somehow loosened her up a bit in her youth, she might turn out to be someone nicer.

    An alternate -- and arguably darker -- interpretation is that Emmet's belief (stated in the preview for episode 5) that Edna's tyranny was a consequence of his affinity for science, and that bettering her requires a change in his behaviour rather than her own, is consistent with the attitude of many abused spouses.
  • edited May 2011
    Dimensio wrote: »
    An alternate -- and arguably darker -- interpretation is that Emmet's belief (stated in the preview for episode 5) that Edna's tyranny was a consequence of his affinity for science, and that bettering her requires a change in his behaviour rather than her own, is consistent with the attitude of many abused spouses.

    Remember at one point in the movies Doc Brown stated he should have never created a time machine and that it should be destroyed. He even asked Marty to destroy the Delorean when he went back to 1985.

    I don't see this as a huge twist on his personality. He always had doubts about the misuse of his inventions.
  • edited May 2011
    redfish wrote: »
    Remember at one point in the movies Doc Brown stated he should have never created a time machine and that it should be destroyed. He even asked Marty to destroy the Delorean when he went back to 1985.

    I don't see this as a huge twist on his personality. He always had doubts about the misuse of his inventions.

    Especially ones that are inherently dangerous, such as the time machine.
  • Julianne wrote: »
    It was 1931: When doors were unlocked and strangers had the best candy!

    Thats still the case in canada in 2011 :)
  • edited May 2011
    personally i always felt the idea was to try and make things as good as possible for as many people. Given how unhappy most of the peeople seem miserable in FCB 1986 can not blame Marty for wanting to return the timeline back to his own. On the other hand, I can not blame FCB for wanting to help Enda as she did make him happy for a long time before she decided to First Citizen him.
  • edited May 2011
    In truth, I felt more sorry for FCB than anyone. Edna is pure evil: she's not a ha-ha villain, but she's the real Big Brother, has always been. Always watching and disapproving and trying to make people do what she wants. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions: Edna is a prime example.

    FCB was in love with her, and probably was reminded of why he fell in love with her in the first place. The bad thing is that Marty couldn't offer an alternative to FCB, he just out-refused to see things from his point of view. FCB and young Emmet share the same thing about Marty: everything seemed to be going okay until HE showed up.

    The problem is FCB is completely dominated by Edna. Letting them pair up was COMPLETELY out of the question. Marty could have looked for an alternative for Edna, perhaps looking for a partner for her, a partner who wasn't Doc Brown.
  • edited May 2011
    What I found most intereting was how they took a very new, dark, and appealing approach to the franschise. Creating the idea that Marty has been only using Doc this whole time and how Doc must sacrifice what HE wants for Marty. Portaying Marty; instead of this energetic, heroic teen; as almost a selfish, self- centered bastard. (in a way.)
  • edited May 2011
    I don't see how any of you can call Marty selfish if you have seen any of the BTTF films. He is doing the smart thing. Doc always warned him that changing anything can completely alter and possibly destroy the space-time continuum. Marty has learned this and is trying to contain the damage as much as possible, but in the process is creating more problems. I think Marty is doing what he has to do.

    If I were in his shoes, I would lie my ass off to FCB just to keep him happy. I would have agreed with his plan to stay with Edna but in reality still trying to get her to dump him and steer young Emmett towards his original timeline.
  • edited May 2011
    Marty was being quite manipulative in the last episode, especially when he was working to turn Trixie and Edna on each other (not that they were too fond of each other, to begin with). I'm sure he felt bad about it, though - and I'm sure that, at the end, he felt like he was a terrible person. After all, he ended up hurting the younger version of his best friend. I'm not sure who I felt worse for, Marty or young Emmett.

    Since Marty did save young Emmett's life - all does seem to be forgiven, for now. Plus, Emmett probably realizes that Marty did do some good in his life - such as getting him to stand up to his father.

    I can see where, on the surface, it does look like Marty was being selfish. In the end, though, I think he was just trying to get the timeline back on track.
  • edited May 2011
    i just hope the story ends up in a normal way.....i would hate to see the original characters change....i love em

    p.s i hate this timeline
  • edited May 2011
    Guys Marty didn't even try to think about how he could help Edna out. He has all the time in the world after he breaks both her and Emmet up. Why not spend a little time trying to solve edna's problem?
  • edited May 2011
    coolguy721 wrote: »
    Guys Marty didn't even try to think about how he could help Edna out. He has all the time in the world after he breaks both her and Emmet up. Why not spend a little time trying to solve edna's problem?

    If you were in the same position, I'm thinking you'd be a bit more focused on not screwing Hill Valley's future at the moment. It's not as if they had oodles of free time.
  • edited May 2011
    SushiGummy wrote: »
    If you were in the same position, I'm thinking you'd be a bit more focused on not screwing Hill Valley's future at the moment. It's not as if they had oodles of free time.

    "Free time"? They've got all the time they want! They have a TIME MACHINE!!
  • edited May 2011
    coolguy721 wrote: »
    Guys Marty didn't even try to think about how he could help Edna out. He has all the time in the world after he breaks both her and Emmet up. Why not spend a little time trying to solve edna's problem?

    Because you can't help them all. Marty's priorty is getting Hill Valley as back-to-normal as he can. Getting old Doc back first!! :)
  • edited May 2011
    "Free time"? They've got all the time they want! They have a TIME MACHINE!!

    BUT IT'S BROKEN! And let's just ignore the fact that point-and-click games have no time limit!
  • edited May 2011
    But the time machine is both taken by FCB and on the fritz what with the time circuits being hours (and sometimes month) late from the original planned destination....

    So there really isn't a lot of free time travel permitted, at least not until the next chapter which should be interesting.

    In regards to this chapter being dark... I sorta like the approach, I mean, I DO want good ol' Doc back and Marty maintaing his cheerful demeanor but it's a cool scenario the characters are in now. I like that we get to see the point of view of someone who is not from the original timeline and their dilemma conflicting with what we as the players know is right (FCB wanting to still be with Edna vs Marty's timeline with Doc married to Clara) and I like to see how the character, primarily Marty, handle it. So yeah, it does come off as selfish the way Marty handles things, as someone pointed out that Marty has practically ruined both Young!Emmett and FCB, but at the end, he only wants to set things right for everyone, which may or may not include Edna (but we'll see by Ep.5) and after the argument he had with FCB, there was a look of guilt on his face when he continued on with the plan of splitting Emmett and Edna, almost knowingly that he's being a jerk.

    Okay, I'm done ranting.
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