Do you think Ben and Duck get too much hate?
I can't say that these two are exactly my favourite characters, but holy shit. I've seen my share of playthroughs and I just can't believe how many people genuinely hate Ben and Duck. Why?!
Some of the playthroughs I've seen had the commentator cheering after finding out that Duck was bit, and cheering even more when he died! This had to be one of the most emotional moments in the game, and they ruined it for themselves just because that hate this kid.
Most of the common complaints that everyone has about Duck is that fact that he's annoying, and he gets people killed.
First off: I'd be lying if I said I didn't find him annoying in episodes 1 & 2, but the main reason people found him annoying was the fact that he just came off as obnoxious. My guess is the reason why a lot people found this kid character to be a pain in the ass was because the first kid character that was introduced to us wasn't. But hey, not all kids are like her.
Besides, it's not like he's a bad kid. He's just a kid. He's got good intentions. I actually started liking him in episode 3 when he wants to help you solve the mystery.
Second: If your main reason for hating Duck was the fact that he got Shawn killed at Herschel's farm, then you should hate Clementine even more. It least what Duck did wasn't intentional. If you saved Ben in episode 4, then make that 2 people that died trying to find Clementine after she ran away.
Keep in mind, I'm not hating on Clementine. In fact, she's like top 3 of my favourite characters in tv, games and movies (maybe number 1). I'm only saying that Duck isn't the only kid that got someone killed.
As for Ben? Good God.
I liked this character, but he didn't deserve to die. Yes, he did put the group in jeopardy by giving their meds to the bandits. Yes, he did lie to the group about it. Yes, he did leave Clementine for dead on the streets (I was fucking pissed by the way). Yes, he did let her wonder around outside UNSUPERVISED (I wanted to sack him). And yes, he removed the hatchet that was keeping the walkers away from the group.
And yet after all of those fuck ups, I still couldn't let him die. When he tells me to stop wasting my time saving him and get everyone to safety, he had earned back most of my respect for him. So I saved him.
Then he stands up to Kenny's verbal abuse, and starts to become a great character. So yeah, I was pretty sad when he died. The guy made a lot of mistakes, but he had good intentions. He might have even saved some people. If he had not made the deal with the bandits, they might have just attacked the motel head on.
Like I said, they aren't my favourite characters (though Ben comes very close), but I don't hate them. I don't think neither of them deserved to die just because they made mistakes when others have done the same.
Comments
Some points for Ben:
-The RV had just been gotten into working order in episode three. Ben giving the bandits supplies bought the motel group time, and arguably saved their lives because of it.
-Can you really blame him for not owning up to taking the supplies while Lilly raved on the way she did? I'm not sure I would've owned up to it, either. To his benefit, after it happens he is clearly wracked by guilt and admits to it. His mistake there was admitting it to Lee - Lee tells him (regardless of what you pick) NOT TO SAY ANYTHING. So Ben keeps it to himself because he was told to, and it gets to him. Then people give him crap about telling the truth when he does. Ben just can't win.
-When he ran from Clementine, they were literally surrounded. He gets a lot of hate for this one, and I don't really see why. What exactly was he supposed to do? As far as I remember, he didn't even have a weapon. Was he just supposed to grab Clem and run away with her on his back or in his arms? That might have put BOTH of them in more danger. There's also the fact that in episode one Kenny runs away from Shawn on Hershel's farm when there are like TWO WALKERS. BEHIND A FENCE. With Ben and Clem? Man - I don't even know how many there were. I never see Kenny get hate for that. Ben? People let him die because of it.
-I also don't think it's fair to hate Ben for taking the hatchet from the doors. Lee and Molly walk by it seconds before Ben pops out and they see that he has the axe. When they're walking by, there don't appear to be any walkers on the other side of the door. If you needed a weapon/something to break open a door, and you found that in an area blocking a door when there was nothing on the other side, you might do the same thing.
I don't think Ben was flawless, and I'm not arguing for him because he was always in the right or anything like that. Mostly just because people give the character so much shit, and it isn't deserved.
Commence the downvotes!