Chuck's Words and the Perception of Clementine in Season 2
"I don't know much 'bout you folks, but y'all keep goin' like this and that girl ain't gon' make it. You gotta consider her a living person, that's it! You're either living or you're not. You ain't little, you ain't a girl, you ain't a boy, you ain't strong or smart, you're alive."
-Chuck
A lot of the interactions with Clementine this season seem to be based upon whether a character has taken upon this ideal that there are no more divisions based on age, gender, race, intellect, etc. There are only two groups now: survivors and the dead. To me, the only people who seem to treat Clem like a survivor are Christa, Pete, Kenny, Carver, and Jane. Christa literally was trying to teach Clem how to do things on her own. Pete seemed as if he would have taught her much if he was still alive. I think Kenny sees the Lee inside Clem and, since he trust her, doesn't allow the fact that she is "a little girl" to stop her from participating and completing tasks. Carver's speech to Clem in his office shows that he understands that even children need to know how to survive. He even said how Clem was raised is how his child would be raised (nice job Lee and Christa!). I'm still not 100% sure about Jane, but she comes off as someone who sees Clem as an example of how a child should be in the zombie apocalypse. I need to see more of her character though.
Everyone else, aside from Luke, Mike, and Nick, seemed to still see Clem as a little kid until the latter half of episode 3 (but even then, I think they see her as a little girl with great potential). Carlos sheltered his daughter and kept referencing Clem as a little girl. Rebecca and Alvin seemed to treat her as a little girl. Alvin said he'd never give a gun to a little girl (option during his death in episode 3). I'm unsure of Luke. He seems like he understands that Clem is a survivor, but he has a soft heart that could hold Clem back. Then again, after the bridge scenario, he seemed more willing to let Clem do whatever, even to the point of stealing a walkie-talkie from Carver's camp. Mike is still a mystery. He seemed a but hesitant of the group willing to let Clem do some dangerous task, but maybe Clem's actions convinced him now. Nick needs more dialog. I can't read him worth anything.
I wonder with things boiling over, will every accept that everyone must be treated as a survivor or just treat Clem as a kid with special treatment? Tell me what you think. If this looks confusing, I'm sorry. I'm really trying to word what is going on in my head. This has been running in my head since the season started.
Comments
I think the dilemma is which side do you fall on in this debate. People like Carver take survival of the fittest attitude way to far, and doesn't believe in the protection of others unless it really serves your own interests, which is what led to his downfall as he could survive but not while treating everyone around him as a slave. Characters like Carlos serve the complete opposite philosophy, as he put too much protection over Sarah instead of teaching her to actually survive, dooming her because "If you treat her like a little girl, she'll die like one".
The overall best protecters of Clem were those who walked a balance of philosophy: Lee, Kenny, Luke, Christa. And probably a few others I'm forgetting but they are the main 'protectors' I can think of.
I really wish we could have sen how Carver treated Becca. He said he saw the survivor mindset in Clem. I wonder what he saw in Becca? Maybe he saw right through her tough disguise and called her on it. And I'm still iffy with Kenny and Luke. It seems like episode 4 is going to show there true colors.