Thoughts on Kenny's Character?
Kenny has people who liked his character (myself included) and those who hated him, but can we both agree that hes gotten worse? His character seems to have gone downhill in contrast to how he was in season 1, especially with how he acts in Amid the Ruins.
"You don’t just end it cause it’s hard. You stick it out, and help the folks you care about"-Old Kenny
"Why the hell didn't Carver just finish me off?"- Current Kenny
Before Kenny was a hot-headed, stubborn, loudmouth, he still is, but now he seems to have a whole new disregard for Clementine and the people around him. Examples being when he yells at Clementine for cutting off Sarita's arm (if you so choose to) and still treating her like crap if she doesn't, replying, "I would prefer it if you did nothing." Which is exactly what she does in the other option (other than kill the walker, but killing them should be a given). However back in season 1, Kenny can be seen about to chop off Lee's arm without his consent in an attempt to save him. He recognizes that it might save him and takes that risk anyway yet tells Clementine she, "Has no right." In season one, he bounces back immediately when the group needs him, despite losing his family mere hours ago.
I gotta give the man credit, I would probably be a useless wreck , still concerned about my own problems. Kenny still wanted to go save Clementine (in one scenario) recognizing how important she was to Lee (which takes some integrity), but it doesn't stop there. Kenny also has shown a sacrificial forgiveness when Ben, the man he holds responsible for the death of his family and destruction of the group, falls and is unable to get up. Instead of letting Ben get viciously devoured by walkers, he jumps down to first mind you, fight off the herd from getting to Ben, then uses the last bullet he has to put and end to his suffering. He shows no such remote kindness to Clementine as he blames her no matter what choice you make and has to be coaxed into helping the group when in need.
You could say Sarita was the last thing he cared about and thus it triggered this sort of state. But do you notice his drive is completely renewed when the baby is born? Its like Clementine never existed, despite him claiming he cares for her like family. What are your thoughts? Do you think them eliminating Kenny's good traits and straining his relationship with Clementine was a good move for the story? Or do you think the change were unwarranted?
Comments
You know, while I personally found his outburst immature and unwarranted, though still understandable, there’s something else Kenny did this episode that has permanently soured my opinion of him. If you don’t cut off Sarita’s hand, she makes it out of the herd. She then asks Kenny off screen to put her out of her misery. And Kenny refuses.
I’ll be honest that I didn’t really care too much about Sarita, what with the lack of development or interaction. But that doesn’t change the fact that she was a decent human being who did nothing wrong to anyone the entire season.
I forgave Kenny for leaving Shawn to die, because he wanted to protect his own son. I forgave Kenny for leaving Lee to die multiple times, even though this was never justified. I forgave Kenny for goading Lee to murder Ben, because even though his hatred was unwarranted, it was understandable. I forgave Kenny’s reluctance to save a little girl as a result of a petty grudge he had against her guardian. I forgave Kenny for being reckless and getting Walter and Alvin killed at the lodge because I know he had good intentions. Hell, I might even forgive him for ranting at Clem one day provided he apologizes in Episode 5, because his optional apology in Episode 4 proves that, on some level, he knows he was wrong to blame Clem. But I don’t think I’ll ever get over what he did to Sarita.
This wasn’t like with Duck, where he was too young and too far gone to decide for himself. Sarita was a grown ass woman who knew what she wanted. She knew her death was inevitable and she begged the man who purportedly loved her to end her suffering. He decided to ignore her request and condemn her to a slow, painful demise because he refused to accept reality and his responsibilities.
...Plus, I still haven’t gotten over the fact that Telltale basically created Sarita to be a sacrificial prop whose sole purpose was to develop Kenny, i.e. the man who probably needs character development the least out of everyone in the entire cast. I really would have enjoyed this season much more if Omid or Christa or, hell, even Lilly had taken the helm instead of Kenny. Kenny got enough focus in season 1. He doesn’t deserve more.
I guess you could say that it’s also unfair that Clem is getting more screentime too, but that’s different. Clem was the heart of season 1 and the focus of the plot was teaching her to be able to survive in the ZA, so it makes sense for her story to continue. Her development doesn’t get in the way of other characters, since as a playable character her interactions with others is what develops them. In other words, Clem shares the spotlight, Kenny hogs the spotlight.
i think all the time in season1 would make clementine care more for kenny then she does about luke so to even that up they took that road but they saw that luke was to much good so they show that he can fuckup to. now they have good and bad points making it harder to choose between them
He's mah boy, but his sanity depends on the baby so he gotta go, Clem ain't no safe with him.
Team Mike
I definitely agree with you that someone else should have been brought back instead. I think that bringing back Lilly would have been a lot more interesting than Kenny imo. Would you forgive her for killing Carley/Doug? Or would you still be angry at her for killing an innocent member of the group? With Kenny, all we get is his story from season 1 being done all over again in season 2.
Exactly. Omid, Christa, and Lilly all had much more potential for interesting storytelling and development than Kenny. Telltale even said in an interview before All That Remains was released that this season would focus on trust; you're a little girl, who will you be able to trust? Had Lilly returned, the question of trust would have been a really interesting and divisive issue. She committed a horrible crime, but would she feel remorse for her actions? She clearly cared about Clem (unlike with Kenny, Lilly didn't let her relationship with Lee interfere with her concern for Clem), will she still care now?
With Kenny back, all we got was "oh look, it's your best buddy Kenny! He was lucky, real lucky. Aren't you super happy to see him again?! Aren't you happy that you will have very very few opportunities to ever express dislike towards Kenny, if at all? Oh no, look, his girlfriend died! Aren't you sad that Kenny is suffering so much, even though you should really feel bad for Sarita?"
I feel like Kenny's story arc was complete in season 1, I didn't see why it was necessary to bring him back for season 2. Sure, it was cool to see him again, but besides a few funny lines in ep 2 and ep 3 (calling Nick Vanilla Ice and 'I don't know what the fuck you're saying but it's probably bullshit!' was funny to me) he doesn't bring much else to the table. And I also agree that the game almost forcing you to like Kenny is annoying to people that don't like him. I liked him well enough, but I think it takes away from the game if you're forced to like a character, especially one as controversial as Kenny.
He makes the Kenny fanboys happy, I guess. Never mind that Kenny got more than enough focus and screentime in season 1. You know, it'd be pretty interesting to see who had more screentime in season 1: Clem or Kenny. Clem was missing for most of Episode 4 and 5 after all, especially if you left her with Omid when going to Crawford.
I want him to stop hogging the spot-light.
I was fine with Kenny having a large amount of screen time in s1 because he was an important character with a role (he was a half of the Lilly/Kenny rivalry, and was the one one that suggested the boats and pushed the group to get one) but his large amount of screen time in s2 feels unwarranted to me because I don't feel like he is really adding as much this season.
lets just kill kenny the first chance we get and end this for good
Yes please. And this isn't even about my hatred for Kenny. I want him gone for the sake of the story and the other characters who deserved the spotlight Kenny hogged.
I don't like him but that is not why i want him gone i want him gone so the characters can get out of his shadow and conflict in the group can fade a little bit
Considering all that's happened to him, I can understand his anger.
And his lashing out at others, particularly those he's closest to.
People, when hurting, unfortunately tend to do that.
Kenny is in a deep state of depression.
And people, when depressed, make very poor, even erratic decisions sometimes.
So give the guy some leeway!
To say Kenny doesn't care about Clementine, is complete nonsense.
Remember when running back to the observatory, that walker is closing in on Clementine, who was it that killed it?
That was Kenny!
And when in the tent, if Clementine says that Kenny helps her all the time, Kenny appreciates the comment.
And of course Kenny would be especially concerned for the baby.
The baby is a new life, and in TWD, there's not a lot of that going around.
So he's going to garnish attention from the adults.
And also, the baby is exceptionally vulnerable right now.
Out of curiosity, what're your opinions on how Kenny has been given so much focus at the expense of other interesting characters? I understand that Kenny's fans must enjoy it, but I hope they can at least acknowledge that people have reason to be unhappy about his return.
I think it's a good move on telltale's part.
With everything Kenny has been through, it makes for great human-emotional drama.
I am very curious to see where his character is at in season 3.
And when you think about it, it makes sense to focus on Kenny's story.
After all, the first game, even though Lee was the main protagonist, the focus of the story was primarily on Clementine.
So now, with Clementine being the PC, it would make sense for the story's focus to shift a bit.
Even in Tv shows, other charcters, besides the main star, have to be given attention to.
If it was all about the main character, and the stories of other characters was not explored, it could put the writers in danger of running out of material real quick.
And it allows them to appeal to other audiences.
On a tv show, not everyone may be a fan of the main character.
So having a strong, long-lasting, co-star cast around them, allows them to do that.
It also adds strength to the series.
For example, Elvis Presley was not only "The King Of RockNRoll," but he was also a decent actor.
The only problem was, his salary ended up being so huge, that it made it difficult for studios to hire other big-name actors to co-star with him.
Hence his movies were often lacking.
However, when a movie/ tv show has not only a Strong leading character, but as well as Strong supporting characters, it adds to both it's appeal and strength.
And the longer these supporting characters have lasted, the greater strength they add to the series.
For example, think of Breaking Bad.
Even though Walter White was the main character, Jesse Pinkman also added much to the series.
And the often electrifying dialogue made the series enjoying and exciting to watch.
Plus, every leader, needs a good right-hand man.
Examples: Rick and Daryl: Twd show. Butch and Sundance: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Walt and Jesse: Breaking Bad.
Same thing between Clementine and Kenny.
Kenny is a great character, and adds so much to TWD, and the dialogue between him and Clementine is awesome.
Together, they make for a great game!
This game shows how even the characters with the most spirit can change and begin to give up.
Except Sarah could have been Clem's side-kick - an young woman who is nonetheless more immature and vulnerable than a young girl? Christa could have been a deuteragonist - a survivalist dealing with the loss of her husband and child, protecting a girl she blames for her loved ones' deaths to honor a dead friend's promise. Virtually any other character could serve to provide a vital supporting role IF THE WRITER BOTHERS TO DO SO.
There's a couple of problems with reviving Kenny: the first being that he was last seen in a hopeless situation that makes his survival both unlikely and negates the meaning of his sacrifice, and the second being that Clementine is not Lee. They were strangers to each other in the first Season, and while I suppose that element's been touched upon in Kenny's return with Clem not being sure what to think about him, it's silly to revive Kenny just because he had a close relationship to Clem's guardian rather than Clem herself.
You forget, Kenny has gone to great lengths to protect her.
Something at a father would do.
And with his attitude toward her in episode 3, Kenny showed a genuine, fatherly affection for her.
And also, as regards the situation he was in, it would not be the first time Kenny has beaten the odds.
Remember season 1?
I think Kenny is gonna come out of this still kicking.
For the writers to kill him off in such a way, would in my mind be lazy.
I never said he didn't care about Clementine, its the fact his determination and significant restoration was the result of the newborn, which I can understand. Think of it more if the baby had not been born yet or if there was no baby in the mix at all?
My point is if the things that anchor Kenny are loved ones and family, why isn't his focus on protecting Clementine keeping him? You could say Sarita was preventing his mental collapse because he spent a whole year without anyone from his original group and that she was his "Katjaa" But he still has his "Duck"
As noted by Luke, his clinging to the baby is a little on the disturbing side. From my point of view, he found his "true Duck" But i'm just speculating.
Kenny is a man in need of constant maintenance in order to avoid his self destruction.
That said, the maintenance is completely and totally worth it. Where as Kenny does display several lots of bad traits, intellect and character wise. And where as he has little compatibility with the crew, and even screams at Clementine sometimes. There's one thing I can say with absolute certainty.
When go time comes, The one man I can be sure to literally stand between Clementine and a bullet. Out of the entire season 2 cast(even counting those who are dead now) is Kenny. Hell he even sorta did that in episode 3, what with going in with the self blame even with knowing in advance that Carver might've completely killed him.
The other people who are alive, or used to be alive or unknown status of season 2 who would give their live/greatly endanger their life for just Clementine alone(not for the good of the group) are Luke, Omid and probably Nick. The one who already did(other than Kenny) is Christa.
And the only one of those already few people(other than kenny) who is neither dead nor M.I.A is Luke. So even if/when Christa appears in episode 5. Regardless of his past, his behavior, his attitude. Until the day when hard times come Kenny leaves Clementine for dead. Kenny is Rare golden gold. Hard times is when it matters the most.
I wouldn't call myself a 'Kenny fanboy'. However, I did happen to agree with most of his decisions and comments in season one. In fact the only one I didn't, was stealing the food and supply's out of the car. So I went against him in that regard.
In season two I was pleased to see him back, although not surprised in the least. What still gets on my nerves is the lack of explanation of HOW he got out of there. That's still very much up for debate.
It should have been brought up straight away when he reappeared. Not just left to fester and fuel stupid comments about him having super powers.
Tell-tale must have some idea of how he got out of each scenario. Or is it that they scratched their heads for months, couldn't agree on a solution and so just added the infamous 'lucky' line.
This is why season two has so many dissatisfied customers/players. There are too many unanswered questions and loose threads. Most of which aren't going to be addressed because there is only one episode left and if tell-tale were to try and tie everything up, the episode would probably be four hours long. As tempting as that maybe, I very much doubt it will happen.
I realise that no story is perfect and that there are always the odd thing never explained, but the sheer many over this one season is ridiculous.
He's funny. That could just be my weird sense of humor.
Except Luke only fucked up once, Kenny has fucked up multiple times.
well two times at carvers when he got captured and when he banged jane