[SPOILERS] Ep. 3 Carley/Doug... Relax.

edited November 2012 in The Walking Dead
Alright alright, I realize that a lot of you are upset about (please go away if you haven't played ep. 3) Carley and Doug. As far as I can tell, only about 101% of you think that what happened in ep. 3 was lazy screenplay. However, I think it'd be better for everyone's sanity if we just try to interpret this differently.

Carley and Doug are cool, but let's face it, they're minor characters. Despite this, they're still not the same character, so stop calling them Carley/Doug. There is at least one big difference I can think of: Carley insists that you share your past with the group. I haven't done my Doug play-through yet but I can't imagine him doing the same because he simply doesn't know about you. I'll rescind this if somebody is willing to correct me here.

Yet still, they are minor characters. They don't have *much* time to develop (well, at least more than Chet, come on people), and they pretty much kick the bucket in identical fashion. Their fate still serves a purpose though. Admit it, your jaw dropped. It was shocking. But more than that, it represents the imminent disintegration of the group.

Most importantly, we should be thinking of what happened to Carley and Doug less in terms of themselves and more in terms of what it means to other, more substantial characters. Without spoiling anything else, Lilly and Ben in particular will be affected depending on how you handle things.

So, no, stop it, don't angrily slam your keyboard against the wall. Go outside for a walk, take a deep breath, admit that I'm right :cool:
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Comments

  • edited August 2012
    Now we know that their death couldn't be avoided, let's just be happy that they were both killed quickly and painlessly.
  • edited August 2012
    Actually i disagree Carley is the gun slinger and Doug is the tech guy they not minor characters in a zombie apoc. But i think thats not the only issue the issue is them dieing the same way. You cant have Carley get blasted just like Doug do you really see Lilly pulling a quick draw Mcgraw on Carley glock 9 LOL :eek:
  • edited August 2012
    I find it ironic that people get mad that people die in a Zombie game.
  • edited August 2012
    AceStarr wrote: »
    Actually i disagree Carley is the gun slinger and Doug is the tech guy they not minor characters in a zombie apoc. But i think thats not the only issue the issue is them dieing the same way. You cant have Carley get blasted just like Doug do you really see Lilly pulling a quick draw Mcgraw on Carley glock 9 LOL :eek:

    Argument is invalid: [SPOILERS] Carley has no eyes in the back of her head, which is why Lilly politely tried to put an extra hole there (or was it the side of the face? I couldn't tell). Also, Carley seemed to have forgotten that she had a gun and was instead trying to pester Lilly with word bullets.
  • edited August 2012
    Well Carley a reporter i dont see her turning her back on drama lol:p


    but if thats how they had her die o well.......
  • edited August 2012
    AceStarr wrote: »
    Well Carley a reporter i dont see her turning her back on drama lol:p


    but if thats how they had her die o well.......

    Touche!
  • edited August 2012
    The only problem I feel people have, myself included, is that the sacrifice of Carly and Doug was done solely to serve as a scapegoat for ejecting Lily (who will play an important part elsewhere in TWD Universe later) from the story.

    It wreaks of poor narrative development; I would even go so far as to say no attempts were made to find another way because of deadlines, i.e. dropping an episode once a month.

    Had Carly or Doug's death had genuine meaning, even if it seemed senseless at the time, then I think the outrage would be less. Had Tell Tale wanted to see the characters to their respective death it would have been better to allow more develop time with them and have said death occur in the final episode.
  • edited August 2012
    But who didnt wish shed offed Ben instead? Who didnt know he was the traitor? Anyone?
  • edited August 2012
    ComixFan wrote: »
    The only problem I feel people have, myself included, is that the sacrifice of Carly and Doug was done solely to serve as a scapegoat for ejecting Lily (who will play an important part elsewhere in TWD Universe later) from the story.

    Exactly my point! Their deaths are not pointless, they serve to affect other characters. BTW, I think there's more to Lilly's involvement than just "being ejected from the story." I think that Lilly is coming back, and depending on how you treat her after she gets all trigger-happy will determine how she comes back.
    Had Carly or Doug's death had genuine meaning, even if it seemed senseless at the time, then I think the outrage would be less. Had Tell Tale wanted to see the characters to their respective death it would have been better to allow more develop time with them and have said death occur in the final episode.

    Yet it was STILL heart-wrenching to see them go. That despair you feel happens all the time when we look at the real world and see meaningless there too. Let's just let the storytellers do their job; they developed Carley and Doug as much as they wanted to. Now it's time to develop more characters and keep the revolving doors swinging.
  • edited August 2012
    This is the damn zombie apocalypse. Not everyone will get a chance to get an appropriate send-off. I had a budding relationship with Carley, and the game really made me think that was going to go somewhere and then they hit me with her death like a truck. This episode is all about how you can't always take control of what's happening around you, it's about how you react to situations that are out of control. Lilly killing Carley made my Lee go over the edge and abandon Lilly, despite their respective relationship. Lee is learning the hard way what lengths he has to go through to keep his loved ones safe, even if that means taking a pragmatic approach to survival. Carley/Doug's death wasn't a result of lazy writing. It was meant to serve as a catalyst for Lee's determination and a reminder that things will not always go how you planned. Most of the original group is dead and those that remain have blood on their hands. Lee has to learn to deal with people he's had bad blood with instead of cooperating with those that agree with him. I think that fact makes it a very beautiful thing. We all fantasize about how we'd hand-pick our survival group and kick anyone out who didn't agree with us. In the real world you have to deal with people who are absolute idiots or assholes, and The Walking Dead is acknowledging that.
  • edited August 2012
    But who didnt wish shed offed Ben instead? Who didnt know he was the traitor? Anyone?

    Admittedly, I replayed that part of the episode like 5 times in an effort to either prevent anyone from dying or just get Ben killed instead. After I figured that it was impossible to save Carley, I figured that I better side with Poor Ben because I knew that he'd be sticking with me.
  • edited August 2012
    On the train when he said 'it was me' I wanted a dialogue option of 'NO SHIT' and was mad when Lee didnt throw him off the train when he was talking about doing it. I would have.
  • edited August 2012
    Admittedly, I replayed that part of the episode like 5 times in an effort to either prevent anyone from dying or just get Ben killed instead. After I figured that it was impossible to save Carley, I figured that I better side with Poor Ben because I knew that he'd be sticking with me.

    lol you're not the only one. I was stunned when Carley died but then again life isn't always fair.

    I'm still mad I didn't get dat booty though *bites lower lip*.:cool:
  • edited August 2012
    lol you're not the only one. I was stunned when Carley died but then again life isn't always fair.

    I'm still mad I didn't get dat booty though *bites lower lip*.:cool:

    I know I'm not the only one who wanted to see what she meant when she told me not to call her small :cool:
  • edited August 2012
    I feel the overall episode was not as strong. Narrative or script wise as Episode 1 or Episode 2, but I was grateful for the length of the episode.

    I am one of the few people that saved Doug, and Doug players really got screwed here. I built a good friendship with him, and he was useful. Every instance in the plot made more sense with Doug in contrast to Carley, in regards the scenarios and transitions. Whereas everything felt rushed and slap-dash with Carley.

    I knew Ben was the one giving the bandits the medicine, I knew it in my heart but I couldn't prove it. I should have sided with Lily, but I realise there is no saving Doug. Completely lazy screenplay in this episode.

    Still, the chaotic nature, suddenness led me to choose that me and Clem are going our own way, the group is irreversibly damaged. I still cannot trust Kenny to be rational, and Ben I cannot trust him period after his bold face lies that cost a group member their life, trying to show mercy for him.

    Also how did Clems walkie get fixed?! There was only one person who could have fixed it and it was Doug! Another lazy decision from Tell-Tale. If players chose Carley they should never even hear the man on the Walkie-Talkie, they should be in the dark. As usual rewarding players, instead of making choices matter; Grow a back-bone please.
  • edited August 2012
    As I stated in Logic says the Doug/Carly Will Die in Ep 3 to all the people who thought Telltale actually used the choice method properly... HA

    I was rite, there is no real choice; they are not skilled enough to turn out a game monthly that includes great choice moments that actually mean something within the game.

    Instead you get fake choices.

    Moments that seem like choices - masked to the slightly more dim when in actuality they have no effect apart from a few different dialogue choices.

    Like save Shaun
    Save Larry
    Kill the brothers
    Save doug or carly etc

    But they continue to talk about how choice changes the game for each player; I'm surprised if anyone will still listen to this, glad I didn't invest in ep2 or 3.
    Basically its like a film but you can change ever so slightly a few things the characters say... "Immense"
  • edited August 2012
    NeonBlade wrote: »
    Also how did Clems walkie get fixed?! There was only one person who could have fixed it and it was Doug! Another lazy decision from Tell-Tale. If players chose Carley they should never even hear the man on the Walkie-Talkie, they should be in the dark. As usual rewarding players, instead of making choices matter; Grow a back-bone please.

    I can't really remember much about it in Episode 1 but my guess is that it was never broken and the man speaking to Clementine told her to tell Lee it was broken. Don't you think Doug would have told Lee he fixed it?
  • edited August 2012
    Ja1862 wrote: »
    As I stated in Logic says the Doug/Carly Will Die in Ep 3 to all the people who thought Telltale actually used the choice method properly... HA

    I was rite, there is no real choice; they are not skilled enough to turn out a game monthly that includes great choice moments that actually mean something within the game.

    Instead you get fake choices.

    Moments that seem like choices - masked to the slightly more dim when in actuality they have no effect apart from a few different dialogue choices.

    Like save Shaun
    Save Larry
    Kill the brothers
    Save doug or carly etc

    But they continue to talk about how choice changes the game for each player; I'm surprised if anyone will still listen to this, glad I didn't invest in ep2 or 3.
    Basically its like a film but you can change ever so slightly a few things the characters say... "Immense"

    Ummm... correct me if I'm misunderstanding your last words there, but did you just admit that you didn't even play episode 2 or 3? Because if that's the case, I think you're being a little dishonest by being so opinionated, no?

    The choices DO make a difference, you just have to see how they affect the people you're traveling with rather than whine about how they don't change the actual situation much. And take it from someone who has a save for Carley and another for Doug, each save becomes radically different in Ep. 3 despite the fact that they each die.
  • edited August 2012
    Ummm... correct me if I'm misunderstanding your last words there, but did you just admit that you didn't even play episode 2 or 3? Because if that's the case, I think you're being a little dishonest by being so opinionated, no?

    The choices DO make a difference, you just have to see how they affect the people you're traveling with rather than whine about how they don't change the actual situation much. And take it from someone who has a save for Carley and another for Doug, each save becomes radically different in Ep. 3 despite the fact that they each die.

    I agree, Ja1862 didn't even play the games and is being way too opinionated. He shouldn't even have a say in this if he didn't experience it. Anyways, I think the choices matter alot, I enjoy watching the different schenes that play out from different decisions you made in the past.
  • edited August 2012
    He didn't say he didn't play the games, just that he didn't invest in them. Maybe he played it round a friends house? Even if he hasn't played them, there are plenty of walkthroughs available online where you can see the consequences of each choice.

    Lets be honest, the choices barely matter. They might bring about a slight change in dialogue or effect a very minor part of the story for a short period, but all in all they don't make much difference. I understand why though, Telltale don't have the time or resources to make a game that branches out in multiple directions. Hence Doug/Carley barely appearing in Episode 2 and being killed off quickly in Episode 3. They didn't have the time to do a Doug and Carley version of every scene in Episode 2, so they came up with a way to not have them there at all for the majority. For every scene they're still alive in Episode 3, it again means having to do it all twice, so as soon as they could, they killed them off.

    They've made an entertaining game that i've enjoyed a lot, but the choices we make effect the story only in the most minor, superficial way.
  • CapnJayCapnJay Banned
    edited August 2012
    I was more upset lily abandoned me and clem. But killing Dougley was kinda shitty. Lets get rid of all the women except the drag queen.
  • edited August 2012
    Ja1862 wrote: »
    As I stated in Logic says the Doug/Carly Will Die in Ep 3 to all the people who thought Telltale actually used the choice method properly... HA

    I was rite, there is no real choice; they are not skilled enough to turn out a game monthly that includes great choice moments that actually mean something within the game.

    Instead you get fake choices.

    Moments that seem like choices - masked to the slightly more dim when in actuality they have no effect apart from a few different dialogue choices.

    Like save Shaun
    Save Larry
    Kill the brothers
    Save doug or carly etc

    But they continue to talk about how choice changes the game for each player; I'm surprised if anyone will still listen to this, glad I didn't invest in ep2 or 3.
    Basically its like a film but you can change ever so slightly a few things the characters say... "Immense"

    GAA I'm trying to find out what happens if you kill both the saint jhon bro's and lilly stays behind there...COULD THAT BE A WAY TO SAVE THEM!??!
  • edited August 2012
    spymanx wrote: »
    GAA I'm trying to find out what happens if you kill both the saint jhon bro's and lilly stays behind there...COULD THAT BE A WAY TO SAVE THEM!??!

    It doesn't matter if you kill them or don't kill them. Nothing changes storywise. Apparently it changes the way the others feel about you, but as far as i'm aware there's nothing in episode 3 that indicates anyone behaves any differently towards you if you killed them both.

    In fact from what I can remember, I don't think what happened there is even mentioned at all. Apart from when Lee is convincing Clem to cut her hair and he reminds her Andy St John grabbed her by it.
  • edited August 2012
    Hopefully TellTale will go all-out by Episode 5 because it is the last episode, they can cut all loose strings and start fresh for Season 2 :D
  • edited August 2012
    The whole game so far I'v been supporting lilly and carley an now there both gone, I think they should have had an option to have ben shot instead of carley, The group is so small now, depressing
  • shammackshammack Former Telltale Staff
    edited August 2012
    The group is so small now

    You're small!
  • edited August 2012
    Bcroft wrote: »
    The group is so small now, depressing

    It truly is, not to mention emotionally and mentally fractured. I'm hoping Tell-Tale give us a respite from the death in Episode 4. I want tension, dread, ugliness, conflict, human condition exposed with flaws, but no more deaths please, atleast in Ep4. Give us an ease. Of course. Then go ass-cheek spread wide crazy in Ep5.
  • edited August 2012
    Exactly my point! Their deaths are not pointless, they serve to affect other characters. BTW, I think there's more to Lilly's involvement than just "being ejected from the story." I think that Lilly is coming back, and depending on how you treat her after she gets all trigger-happy will determine how she comes back.

    That would be interesting, but I believe they're going in opposite directions. I think she's heading northwest and the train is going southeast.

    I don't understand why, if the point was to get rid of Lilly, they didn't just have Kenny drive off and leave her behind at the motel. That seemed to be what was about to happen before she miraculously ran downstairs, through the parking lot, and into the RV as it was pulling away.

    I think of Doug and Carley as separate people who fulfill almost exactly the same role. One uses a laser pointer and the other uses a gun. One rigs an alarm and the other screams. Both get shot. Inconsequential dialogue choices aside, they're basically interchangeable. It's just disappointing there couldn't have been at least two puzzles that used their differing skill sets. One puzzle would be easy if you saved Doug and the other is hard with him, and vice versa with Carley.
  • edited August 2012
    couldn't have been at least two puzzles that used their differing skill sets. One puzzle would be easy if you saved Doug and the other is hard with him, and vice versa with Carley.

    Doug would have really loved to see the train. Sigh...:(

    Miss you bro...
  • edited August 2012
    NeonBlade wrote: »
    Doug would have really loved to see the train. Sigh...:(

    Miss your bro...

    Damn it. He would have, wouldn't he? :(

    That just makes it even more depressing.
  • shammackshammack Former Telltale Staff
    edited August 2012
    Inconsequential dialogue choices aside, they're basically interchangeable. It's just disappointing there couldn't have been at least two puzzles that used their differing skill sets. One puzzle would be easy if you saved Doug and the other is hard with him, and vice versa with Carley.

    The bandit raid/zombie shooting gallery section does play a bit differently depending on who's alive (
    if you have Doug, he and his alarm system tell you which side of the RV you need to watch out for zombies on. If you have Carley, you don't get those warnings, but she helps to pick off some of them for you
    ). There's also the whole sort of "side quest" of
    telling the other people in the group that you're a murderer
    , which also affects how the Lilly RV scene plays out. That doesn't happen at all if you have Doug, but in exchange, you get to learn about chalk.
  • edited August 2012
    I agree with him. You don't have to play the episodes to realize the choices aren't really choices. I have enjoyed the game immensely but that's been my biggest complain so far. You can change the scenes around a little bit with the different choices, but the story itself wasn't really changed all that much.

    The Doug/Carly decision has been the most distinctive difference between different play throughs and by effectively "erasing it", it's not only thrown everybody back into playing the same game with the same characters (not to mention that was pretty much the only incentive to replay episodes up until now, to see how Doug/Carly would react) it's also kind of firmly established this trend of "fake choices".

    The biggest thing you can do with a game about "choices" is to have a choice made at the beginning of the game that significantly alters the story and it's events from the beginning all the way to the end... and that's not happening now so it's understandable for some people to be upset about it. The game's plot will be a lot more simplified now and worse for it until the next "fake choice" comes along.

    It's not just a zombie apocalypse game, it's a game zombie apocalypse game about characters and choices and when people like Ja1862 can see a bait and switch coming two episodes before it happens, well that's not a good thing in either genre.
  • edited August 2012
    If TTG were to truly have branching plots it would essentially mean they are developing 2 games - one for Carley and one for Doug. Imagine how much longer that would take to release.

    After all this and season 2, it would be awesome if they developed a full fledged AAA The Walking Dead game with branching narratives. I could see myself putting 40 hours+ into that.
  • edited August 2012
    Awesoke wrote: »
    If TTG were to truly have branching plots it would essentially mean they are developing 2 games - one for Carley and one for Doug. Imagine how much longer that would take to release.

    I'd much rather wait a longer period of time and be totally enthralled in developed character progression, then have a faux-choice of protection and camaraderie between people, when all they do is die anyways, in a train wreck of a fashion. Like really, Carley had the least amount of screen time in ep. 2, but when she did show up, she always held it down. It made me lose my motivation to purchase any new episodes, because, besides Clem, Who gives a shit anymore. I know she will be until the 5th episode by looking at the episode photo. Only person I cared about besides Clem was Carley, and by the reaction of others on forums, and youtube comments alike, it's a real low blow to fans of the game, thus far.

    I can understand her dying in a later episode though, to add to the loss of attachment toward her character, but episode 2... No, too soon.

    This could have been a more memorable moment in ''gaming history,'' such as Aeris' death in FF7, but was probably decided she die so they can cut corners on production, and instead quickly generate a surprisingly linear story with forgettable characters like a football jock who replaced a bad ass woman and potentially blooming love interest.

    I'll miss you Carley.
  • edited August 2012
    Awesoke wrote: »
    If TTG were to truly have branching plots it would essentially mean they are developing 2 games - one for Carley and one for Doug. Imagine how much longer that would take to release.

    After all this and season 2, it would be awesome if they developed a full fledged AAA The Walking Dead game with branching narratives. I could see myself putting 40 hours+ into that.

    When you have a game with choices, branching plots generally come with the territory.

    It wouldn't be like making two games, it actually wouldn't be any different then what they do now. Multiple lines of dialog and events are set to appear depending on the value of certain variables (the statistics on the choices you've made) this would just affect a character's actual appearance along with that, but yes it would've been more work.

    It's not the end of the world either way. I would definitely take good story telling over "the illusion of choice" so if it works, more power to them. It just seems to me like episode 3 moved the entire series BACKWARDS, not forward. It seems like they took most of the interesting characters and relationships and... well killed them off or got rid of them and replaced them with two cut out recycled ones.

    If the game doesn't have branching story lines going for it (in which case every single choice is going to turn out to be a fake choice) then it only has it's story so I hope they throw in some interesting characters to replace all the good ones they threw out. Here's hoping for episode 4.
  • edited August 2012
    meh i just think its case of resources. They arent main characters so it would cost to much to have them around. So they did the best of it, did it had an affect on me? yes. espacially when they hinted on a romance with carley, which i guess was just to feel an attachment when they later killed her off.
  • edited August 2012
    It is sad indeed that they took away not only Lilly bur also Carly from me.

    But well, maybe now they will be able to complete the episodes on time since they don't have to write two characters in one...
  • edited August 2012
    To be fair, I wasn't that surprised at Carly's death. The gunshot at the end of the 'next time' thing pretty much gave away that someone was going to die.

    Carly also called Lily a 'stupid scared little bitch' (or something along those lines) moments before she was shot. When I saw Lily reach for her gun, I knew that if anyone was going to die, it would be Carly.
  • edited August 2012
    Seems like a lot of choices are futile. It's understandable why the choices would take you to the same places but, for the most part it doesn't just seem geographically. The things you say and do only come back to haunt you once at most.

    Carley/Doug was never going to make it all the way. Especially with the amount of shortcuts Telltale will need to take to keep their fans interested until the end of the series. All teh characters and their seeming "invisible affection points" appear to be undoable. That's what's starting to indo the series for me.

    You get the chance to take a lot of things back. Only the very worst occurences are forced on you.

    I feel that Clem might truly carry something over from each episode, but that'll be the extent. And being that it'll only come to show in Ep 5, it'll be very short term, and right now, is very VERY far off.

    Edit: (!) Carley will remember your support for... nevermind she's dead.
  • edited August 2012
    I don't mind they killed carley but, i believe doug and carley should have least lasted till Ep. 5 or Ep 4. not because they should not die, but because more time to get attached while still being around familiar faces you trust. Now i just feel screw liking them they will die. Even if this is walking dead universe he at least waits to the climax of an ark to kill of characters you like.
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