Why Luke was Perfect in Ep 4
A lot of people are saying that Luke was written wrong this episode. I totally get what you're saying. Completely. But I have to disagree. I think he was more consistent in this episode than he's ever been. I know that sounds crazy when you're thinking of Luke as the levelheaded, kindhearted, mature, and extremely likable adult that everyone thinks of post ep 2. And I REALLY wanted him to be that person, but when you look at it objectively, he only was that person for episode 2. And only part of episode 2, at that.
The whole rest of the season, he's been dropping Clem in surprise, locking her in the shed, lying to Walter, getting in fights with Kenny and then disappearing, pushing himself past his limits following the group back to Carver's camp, getting caught stealing food, doing nothing to help Kenny or Clem when they got beaten by Carver and Troy, suggesting they leave Kenny behind, and bizarrely refusing to shoot Carver and kill him quickly even when it became apparent Kenny wanted to beat him to death.
Now, none of that means he's a terrible person. Some of it (following the group back) even means he's kind of a good person. But ALL of it screams childishness and erratic-ness.
Looking at those actions of his, doesn't it make sense that he spent this whole episode yelling at Sarah to try and snap her out of it, being the first one out of the skylight, being suspicious of Kenny and Mike out of concern for his own safety, making sexual intercourse his first priority, becoming naively attached to Jane, being too preoccupied with thoughts of Jane to really care that Clem is not ok, barely owning up to his mistakes, and fighting with Kenny all the time?
I think it makes perfect sense. In fact, that's one of the reasons I liked this episode.
It pushed Luke out of the ambiguous range he's been in since episode 3 and finally made his character clear. Which is exactly what I wanted this episode to do. I also, however, really wanted this episode to redeem Luke and confirm that he is indeed the mature, kindly person we knew in episode 2. If it was going to confirm that, though, it would have to explain all his cruel, immature actions as well, or I'd still be really confused and unsatisfied.
So since it appears they couldn't explain his actions AND redeem his character, I'm glad they did the former rather than the latter. I've come to the conclusion that, though Luke may be good natured and charming, he has the mind of a 14 year old, and not a terribly bright 14 year old at that. Teenagers are often childish, erratic, and naive, just like Luke. So it explains a lot.
Comments
I've never understood how Luke developed the reputation that he had. The biggest things he had going for him was that he didn't seem to be a jerk, and he was pretty quick to open up to Clem. Both of those things I chalked up to being a typical "nice guy." But like you said, he has actually made quite a few poor decisions, it's just that this latest one was colossal. Sure, he was able to come back to help in episode 3, but only because he made the bonehead move of going off by himself, which is usually a terrible idea. Just because things worked out doesn't absolve someone of making poor decisions.
Luke is stupid and useless #TEAMBONNIE #TEAMMIKE #TEAMREBECCA #TEAMSARAH #TEAMKENNY #MONNIE
I think Luke only wanted to lie to Walter to protect not only Nick, but everyone else. There was no telling what Walter would have done if he found out a bunch of strangers killed his boyfriend and then stayed in his temporary home. Luke says that it's risky either way.
As for not helping, there was nothing he could do. When Clementine (or Sarita) tried to help Kenny, they were knocked out by Troy's gun. Carver also beat him (although much less so than Kenny) so he really wasn't in the best condition anyway.
I've interpreted Luke's character as someone who not only struggles between choosing the moral choice or the logical one (evident from how much he blames himself for Sarah's death or even thinking of leaving her behind if saved), but someone who distracts himself in order to avoid dealing with pain. We see that Kenny can get irrational, Nick shuts down for awhile and blames himself, and Sarah just completely shuts down and everything out. Nick says that he's always moving, but I think Luke is trying to not let himself feel it. He's experienced his whole group dying in just a matter of two weeks, so I think that when he slept with Jane, it was him trying not to think about how bad everything is. After finding that relief, he felt used and upset when it was taken away very suddenly.
That's my interpretation of him and how he grieves in his own way.
I'm not saying that many of his mistakes weren't understandable and human. I agreed to lie to Walter until Walter came right out and asked me, and then I saw no point in lying anymore. I'm just saying Luke is extremely erratic in when he chooses to make the moral decision. Lie to Walter who seems like a good person but don't kill Carver who definitely already has the intent to harm. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?
Maybe he wouldn't have been able to stop Carver or Troy from beating Kenny and Clem, but in cases like that, it's the thought that counts. I try to help Kenny in every playthrough of ep 3 even though I know I can't help and I'll get hurt for trying, but I try anyway for the sake of trying. Luke could have at least tried to help or he could have comforted Clem while she was lying on the ground, like Bonnie did, but Luke did absolutely nothing. It really bugs me, but once again, it's consistent with the actions of a bewildered child.
I can appreciate this!