Some Thoughts: *****'s Jokes and Demeanor

edited March 2014 in The Walking Dead

So I noticed this while playing TWD s2 episode 2 last week, and have decided to write this up to see what others think.

At first, Kenny makes a 'blah blah blah' joke with his hand, and the game forces us to giggle: clearly this was intended to be innocent.

However as time went on, his jokes became less funny and more disturbing. Particularly one at dinner where he makes a crass joke and bursts out laughing and the camera deliberately lingers on Clem's face looking, not entertained, but slightly scared by Kenny's actions.

Did you find Kenny's demeanor in these sections worrying? Or do you just view it as casual joking?

To me it seems like he's become more....'childish' maybe?

Also, the way he shouted at Sarita also concerned me. It looks like our old bro Kenny might be about to snap.

Personally, I believed he killed Luke. His explanation of where Luke is is very unsatisfactory, and files have been found with the title 'deceasedLuke'.

Looking forward to see how the character of Kenny plays out this season :) (although I think it will just be this season: I think it's unlikely that telltale will re-use his character AGAIN, and they shouldn't if they want to maintain the tone of the walking dead).

Comments

  • If you can't trust him with your friend's life, how can you trust him with your own?

  • edited March 2014

    Umm, I don't.

    If you can't trust him with your friend's life, how can you trust him with your own?

  • I don't think he killed Luke. Personally I think Luke has a pretty important role to play in the upcoming episode(s).

    He didn't laugh when he called Clem Duck, if that's what you meant by your post (sorry if I misunderstood) and in fact was very upset by his slip. I think he is on the brink of insanity, stepping over the line of reality and make believe. I can see his character making terrible mistakes due to this situation. Perhaps endangering his replacement family (Clem/Duck and Sarita/Katjja)or worse. Personally I think Kenny is going to be a huge liability and perhaps it falls to the player to put up with his delusional state or leave him/try to snap him out of it.

  • Sorry, wasn't really directed at you but for everyone who likes him but still thinks he did something to Luke.

    Flog61 posted: »

    Umm, I don't.

  • No, I said he laughed just before calling Clem 'duck' (if I remember correctly), not that he laughed because of it :p

    Viva-La-Lee posted: »

    I don't think he killed Luke. Personally I think Luke has a pretty important role to play in the upcoming episode(s). He didn't laugh wh

  • Yeah, he said something about peaches and beans being hard on the way out...

    Flog61 posted: »

    No, I said he laughed just before calling Clem 'duck' (if I remember correctly), not that he laughed because of it

  • I kind of doubt he killed Luke. Luke is too important to just get tossed aside off camera.

  • Oh yes, that was it.

    See, that's not really funny. Not in my opinion anyway, nor apparently Clem's.

    Nekrocop posted: »

    Yeah, he said something about peaches and beans being hard on the way out...

  • Yes you remember correctly. I just misunderstood lol.

    His laugher was completely over the top. Perhaps he is desperately trying to make life 'better' since he can't deal with what has previously happened.

    Flog61 posted: »

    No, I said he laughed just before calling Clem 'duck' (if I remember correctly), not that he laughed because of it

  • I think we might discover his corpse at some point and that may be a big plot twist.

    We've not really had any big plot twists so far, certainly not any on the scale of Carley's death or Lee's bite.

    Belan posted: »

    I kind of doubt he killed Luke. Luke is too important to just get tossed aside off camera.

  • deceasedLuke file was a fake. Guy just opened up a thread and ran away. I even searched for the file nothing came up

  • I wouldn't say childish so much as it seems like a very forced effort to get a laugh or some kind of distraction out of someone because of how much he probably thinks about all the crap that's happened to him since the apocalypse. It's pitiful for sure, and I think being captured by Carver is going to create a good excuse to let out some of his rage which, unfortunately, will probably get more people killed.

    I'm not sure what happened between Kenny and Luke, but I think it would make sense for Luke to track where Carver's group's path came from and perhaps try and find his camp since it was obvious Carver was taking prisoners.

  • I think it was childish because he himself laughed really hard.

    I think if it was just a forced attempt to get a laugh then he would have looked to see if Clem was smiling first.

    Katalept posted: »

    I wouldn't say childish so much as it seems like a very forced effort to get a laugh or some kind of distraction out of someone because of h

  • Perhaps, but if he did it for himself then there wouldn't be much need for recognition. I'm sure we'll find out about his state of mind soon enough.

    Flog61 posted: »

    I think it was childish because he himself laughed really hard. I think if it was just a forced attempt to get a laugh then he would have looked to see if Clem was smiling first.

  • Whats up with so many people file searching the upcoming episodes? Doesn't that like.. sort of ruin things for you in a way?

    vivec posted: »

    deceasedLuke file was a fake. Guy just opened up a thread and ran away. I even searched for the file nothing came up

  • I guess some people don't mind the spoilers

    Belan posted: »

    Whats up with so many people file searching the upcoming episodes? Doesn't that like.. sort of ruin things for you in a way?

  • Carley/Doug's death happened in episode 3, so I'd say if one was the come it'd be due next episode.

    Flog61 posted: »

    I think we might discover his corpse at some point and that may be a big plot twist. We've not really had any big plot twists so far, certainly not any on the scale of Carley's death or Lee's bite.

  • OzzyUKOzzyUK Moderator

    People cope with grief and stress in different ways, Kenny making bad jokes and trying to make people laugh could be his way of trying to forget past events and move on.

    Katalept posted: »

    Perhaps, but if he did it for himself then there wouldn't be much need for recognition. I'm sure we'll find out about his state of mind soon enough.

  • You'd think he would have done that by now considering it's nearly two years since all shit went down with Lee

    OzzyUK posted: »

    People cope with grief and stress in different ways, Kenny making bad jokes and trying to make people laugh could be his way of trying to forget past events and move on.

  • It's been over a year since Clem saw Kenny. There's a lot of time for a personality change to take place. I'm not so miffed by his crude jokes, but more the fact that he has regressed from where he was in season 1. He came to terms with Katjaa and Duck's death, now he seems to be projecting his loss onto Clementine. He forgave Ben to the point he would sacrifice himself to get that 0.00001% chance of saving him from a dire situation, now he refers to him as a "fucking shitbird" once again. All the growth he showed at his climax in season 1 is now undone, making his sacrificial act pointless.

    I like season 1 Kenny. I do not care for season 2 Kenny. That's what irks me the most about his return.

  • I'ts clear he's using Sarita almost as a Kat substitute and also his actions were a little odd at times. But mostly he just seems like the old kenny.

  • Much more than over a year:

    Clem is 11 in episode 2, and her 9th birthday was just a few days before the events for episode 5.

    But yeah what you say makes a lot of sense.

    BlackBoxx posted: »

    It's been over a year since Clem saw Kenny. There's a lot of time for a personality change to take place. I'm not so miffed by his crude j

  • Kenny never really made jokes like that before did he?

    Also Kenny never shouted at Kat in the same worrying way he did at Sarita

    I'ts clear he's using Sarita almost as a Kat substitute and also his actions were a little odd at times. But mostly he just seems like the old kenny.

  • Considering his whole family died, I don't think he'll ever be able to move on, even if he lived to old age and the apocalypse was sorted out. In psychology there's this thing called mortality salience and combined with chronic stress and malnutrition, getting over loss is probably extremely difficult if not impossible for most people in The Walking Dead's world.

    Consider also the fact that, as you said, it's been nearly two years. Imagine living in this kind of world for that long. Do you think you'd be able to cope, and what kind of future would you look forward to after all that time?

    Flog61 posted: »

    You'd think he would have done that by now considering it's nearly two years since all shit went down with Lee

  • edited March 2014

    He seems to be a different person. He was never so joyful in season 1 and, you're right, his humor is a little disturbing, and occasionally disgusting, and I was a little shocked by his bursts of anger. I agree with Sarita on him, I believe he is struggling. He just wants to pretend everything is fine, but it's not working. I hope Clementine can help him get better, somehow.

  • Yeah. I was just trying to cover my bases with that estimate. The time gap from season 1's end to season 2's intro was unspecified, but it had to be several months. Christa went from barely showing signs of pregnancy, to being about to burst (intentional hyperbole). Add in the 16 month time skip, and we have... 20-something months before the game proper begins? So yeah, 2 years sounds more reasonable, especially since Clem can tell Bonnie she is, in fact, 11 years old.

    Just to add to what I said; Kenny's return just feels like it was done purely for fans of season 1. His growth and responses to the events of season 1 were what made him so endearing. If he's done with all of that, then where is there for him to go? Backwards, I guess. People liked him once for these reasons, so they should like him for the same ones, no? Not for me.

    Flog61 posted: »

    Much more than over a year: Clem is 11 in episode 2, and her 9th birthday was just a few days before the events for episode 5. But yeah what you say makes a lot of sense.

  • Oh that's interesting, so Lilly must have that too

    Katalept posted: »

    Considering his whole family died, I don't think he'll ever be able to move on, even if he lived to old age and the apocalypse was sorted ou

  • Good thing he only became a commercial fisherman and not a comedian. I did get a chuckle out of his "blah blah blah" joke.

    Nekrocop posted: »

    Yeah, he said something about peaches and beans being hard on the way out...

  • edited March 2014

    I don't trust Kenny. His bipolar behavior was already bad enough in Season 1, I can only imagine it got worse 2 years later.

  • He's clearly unstable, and it seems as if he's trying to rebuild his old life rather than face his loss and move on. He's definitely going to snap at some point, and the consequences won't be pretty. However, I don't think he killed Luke. Kenny made it seem like Luke ran off, and Carver even says that running away if exactly what he expected from Luke, with no knowledge of what actually happened when Luke and Kenny were away from the lodge.

  • Kenny doesn't make it seem like Luke just ran off: he said 'I told him to take a hike' and that's all he'll tell us

    Rock114 posted: »

    He's clearly unstable, and it seems as if he's trying to rebuild his old life rather than face his loss and move on. He's definitely going t

  • If she's still alive...

    Flog61 posted: »

    Oh that's interesting, so Lilly must have that too

  • Well, looking at the stages of grief, there's…

    Shock and denial- Refusing to believe that Duck was going to turn, even going as far to say that Duck wasn't like the billions of other dead humans walking, almost unable to believe in his shock that Katjaa had shot herself.

    Pain, guilt and isolation- Didn't want to discuss his feelings with Lee, wondering out loud whether he could have protected Katjaa and Duck, not being able to put Fivel down, getting drunk and having lost all will to live until the group found the boat.

    Anger- Going berserk when they found the tanker, threatening to kick or not allow people on the boat (Omid and Christa after the leg injury, Ben when he confessed) Getting paranoid and angry with Molly after he was disarmed by her, being snappy, arrogant and easy to piss off in general.

    Depression, reflection and lonliness- We saw a bit of this after Katjaa and Duck's deaths, but most of this happened after he was separated from the group as he hid out in an abandoned restaurant, all alone with his pain until Sarita found him.

    The upward turn- now this is the part where Kenny is at. Except, he only believes his life has taken an upward turn despite his real emotions. He just pretends it's better and that his pain's gone by laughing too loud and making jokes while his true personality and feelings really show when he gets even the slightest bit pissed.

  • I dunno, Telltale's pretty good at ripping off plot armor. That said, it seems unlikely that Kenny would have the time to kill Luke, or even want to. The best time for it would've been during the walker shootout and when Carver's group arrives, and that'd been when he'd needed Luke most.

    Belan posted: »

    I kind of doubt he killed Luke. Luke is too important to just get tossed aside off camera.

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