Anyone else disappointed about the "I thought you were dead" character? (Episode 2 Spoilers)
Okay, I know that Kenny has a legion of fans on here. I know they're not going to like this. I'm not trying to bait you. I just have to get this off my chest and see if anyone is with me on this. I understand that a lot of people like Kenny, and I respect that. This post is not for you.
I'm sorry, but "I got lucky" is not a good enough explanation for how the heck Kenny is still alive. Not when he was swarmed by zombies with no weapons in an alley with no clear exit. Not when Lee, Christa, and Omid were clearly in a position to see what was going on and declared him dead. That's just incredibly lazy writing on Telltale's part, and it's far beneath them given what we've seen them deliver throughout the rest of the series.
More than that, I'll say it. I never liked Kenny. To me, he was one of the worst, most selfish characters in Season 1. He was way to quick to leave people behind or just outright murder them if they disagreed with him or became even slightly inconvenient. He was one of the few characters I thought actually deserved to die. Then Episode 5 had him going out on a high note by sacrificing himself to actually do something noble for a change, and now they've ruined even that by retconning it so that he survived.
And he immediately reminded me of why I hated him so much in this episode too. First he had that line like, "Somehow I got it in my head to save that kid" ... that was the one time he actually did something good instead of constantly thinking about himself, and he's going, "Doing the right thing was crazy! I'll never do that again!" Then he starts giving Luke and Nick a hard time for no reason. Then when Carver's guys show up, I tell him not to shoot, and he shoots anyway. I was like, "WTF, Kenny?! Are you trying to get everyone killed?" So now this Carver guy has Clementine as a prisoner because Kenny can't stop murdering people for more than five seconds.
I will say that it is pretty impressive how much I ended up enjoying the episode in spite of how poorly Kenny's miraculous resurrection was explained. But it really was handled in a truly awful way. Really, the only redeeming part about Kenny's return was being able to have Clementine call him a jerk. Is anybody else with me on this, or am I completely alone here?
Comments
While I disagree on Kenny deserving to die and such, I really do like him as a character. Yes, I hated him greatly for advocating to kill Larry, letting the street girl suffer, wanting to kill Ben; I went against his decisions at every turn. But I still like him as a character. He's funny, well-written, well-voiced; I just simply like him.
What I will agree on was I was incredibly disappointed with Kenny's "story" on how he survived. While the rest of the episode was fantastic, this single part stuck out in my mind as lazy and below-average quality. Really? You place a guy with a gun that's out of bullets in an alleyway of walkers? And the way he escaped was simply "I got lucky"? It's absolutely ridiculous. I was expecting a flashback, a detailed sequence of events of how Kenny got out. Imagine if they let US play as Kenny for a flashback sequence, detailing how he escaped from that alleyway! Telltale missed a gigantic opportunity there for some incredible gameplay mechanics, I feel. And while I'm happy Kenny's back, I'm not at all happy about how he got back.
I sincerely hope Telltale explains Kenny's escape in greater depth in future episodes, because no amount of awesome facial hair, legions of fans, or character wit can excuse sloppy writing.
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I'm definitely glad it was Kenny. And the way they handled it really toyed with my emotions. Having my Clementine hug him and feeling all the emotions and memories from the first season was just something. Hearing Kenny's signature voice shouting orders just brings me back to playing season one and I'm glad he's back.
I rolled my eyes when I realized (a while before the release of the episode) that the returnee was probably Kenny. Lilly's voice actress said she wasn't making a comeback, and she was the only other realistic candidate who wouldn't have been a total disappointment. That and the fact they're around North Carolina when they already said 'Kenny's fate will be explored' made it pretty obvious. I mean, what, is zombie Kenny gonna track Clem from Savannah?
So yeah. Kenny survives in circumstances where its pretty obvious he should be dead. 'Cause he 'got lucky.'
I never hated Kenny, but I usually sided against him. I'm not one of his legions of fans, but neither am I a huge detractor. He was just the voice of ruthlessness in the group.
Still, I hugged the shit out of him when I saw him again, and got slightly misty-eyed in seeing Clem do so.
Kenny was never my favorite character in the first game, for many of the reasons started in the OP, although I didn't think he deserved to die. He was a jerk, but he cared for his family and when pushed, was there when my Lee needed him. I actually admired his fate at the end of S1, in trying to save Ben. That would have been a perfect ending for him.
While was good to see him again (I actually thought it could be him after the first episode of S2), I was a little disappointed. As said, the story of how he survived was a very weak point and his "Somehow I got it in my head to save that kid" line has lost him my respect. That being said, it was interesting just how damaged a character he has become. Being in a new relationship, calling Clem Duck... it is not going to end well, and I fear he and my Clem will not be seeing eye-to-eye on many issues.
Another problem I have with this is the fact that death now seems to have lost a bit of its threat. I mean, one of the reasons I love this game is how realistic and brutal it is. It is rather easy for a major character to be killed off, yet now it seem that unless we actually see that happen in gory detail they could pop up again. I think that is a shame...
I wonder whether the idea to bring him back came after S1, or whether it was always the plan... I can't help thinking that he was originally killed off for good, but bought him back simply because it was a nice twist/people like him. I'm kinda new here, so I am unsure just how popular he is...
I think it's debatable just how "lucky" Kenny really is. From what Sarita told us, Kenny had pretty much hit rock bottom by the time she found him, and who KNOWS how much detail she's leaving out. Let's also not forget that Kenny seems just a teensy bit...unbalanced.
Kenny's return was joyous for me, but Telltale tampered it with just enough realism to make it credible, IMO.
I don't mean "worst" as in he was bad as a character. I mean "worst" as in he was morally a terrible human being. I actually think the character worked very well, but part of why he worked was because he pushed against Lee doing the right thing. He was a character that I liked to hate.
But yeah, what you mention is exactly the problem. I gave in a while ago to the idea that Kenny would probably be returning for Season 2. But like you, I thought they'd at least come up with a clever explanation for how he managed to escape, maybe even give us a flashback scene. Just saying, "I got lucky," is woefully inadequate given the situation in which we last saw him.
I guess maybe they'll give us more details on that in a later episode. It just really kind of irritated me because his "death" scene in Episode 5 was so perfect, and then the explanation for his return, if you can even call it an explanation, is such a total cop-out.
While i agree with what you said there (exept for disliking kenny) i just can't see a flashback sequence because The Walking Dead is supposed to be ''realistic''.
I agree on that part. A flashback would have been unrealistic and spoiled the mood. If anything, I think he will open up more about what happened in future episodes. I will be somewhat disappointed if that is all we get in regards to how he cheated death.
I agree with most of you. While I had always mixed feelings about him, I was somehow glad he was there and hugged him.
BUT "I got lucky." does not do the trick. I really hope Telltale comes up with a real explanation on that part. Everything else would be just cheap, you know? But if they manage to make me believe he could survive his death scene, I will be more than happy!
I'm not disappointed. I wanted it to be Kenny and I'm glad it is him. Mind you, I'm not one of the obsessive Kenny-fans. But I do still like his character. Primarily for how flawed he is. But I didn't find him selfish, he just had an awful lot on his mind since he was protecting a family. You could tell he was a good guy who wasn't too good at hiding his stress.
But I can see where you're coming from. I'll admit, I'm quite annoyed he's just somehow back. I always say this, but if Telltale just made some sort of visual flashback on how he got out of there (Like he could've jumped into a window or something) than I wouldn't mind in the slightest. But right now, it's making me think that Kenny simply dashed out of the herd of Walkers. Granted, it's possible. But I thought Christa would've seen him.
I really hope there's an explanation, but I sincerely doubt there will be now.
What a fucking joke.
Tell tale you've really screwed yourself over here.
I also didn't like Kenny. I find (or maybe found...) him an intresting character but I still remember what he did to Lee (couple of Times he didn't want to help him just because he wasn't going to kill Innocent people) and well he was totally selfish.
I like his coming back because it's a S1 character after all but I think it was a little weird. Well my opinion is that it was VERY weird.
There's really no satisfying everyone. People would've lashed out MORE if it wasn't Kenny.
Hahahaha look at this
After he ran out of bullets he had one more trick up his sleeve. He didn't want to use it, but it was finally time. He went super saiyan, the beard sprouted, and every walker in his path felt the pain. This is how he survived.
In all seriousness though, I always thought he survived, but I would like to see the specifics. I feel like it'll probably remain a mystery though, unless we get more small tidbits and have to piece it together ourselves.
We all know Kenny was dead in S1. TellTale brought him back so people would buy the game.
It doesn't bother me, though. It just means that Lily isn't going to die this season
I didn't really liked Kenny's return,I was happy to see him but how did he escaped,an angel took him and flew over Savannah? And it passes la 10 or 20 minutes and he's yelling at strangers ( Nick )..The same Kenny from Season 1..
Apart from Lily's voice actor said she isn't going to appear. So you are right in saying Lily isn't going to die this season, because she isn't going to appear this season.
You know why Telltale didn't say how he escaped? They couldn't think of anything.
Simple. As.
He could have simply just ran out of the alley. I don't remember which way he was running out, but he could he sprinted up, pushed one, and got in that door. He could have pushed one, and just made a break for it. We don't know yet. I'm sure it'll be hinted at more, and it really doesn't seem that impossible to me.