A House Divided Theory/Prediction Thread(SPOILERS)
I'm sure some of you remember my other Theory/Prediction thread, which can be found here. Instead of continuing to post theories there, I've decided to create a new thread for A House Divided, by far my favorite episode.
William Carver: So we clearly know now why Carver is chasing the group, Rebecca's baby. Even though many suspected this, there was always a bit of skepticism as to under what circumstances Rebecca was involved with Carver. It's still not entirely cleared up, but I feel that we can make the mostly safe assumption that it was consensual.
So we know why he wants Rebecca, and maybe he wants Alvin just to kill him, but why the rest of the group, why did they leave with Rebecca and Alvin, and why does Carver want them back?
I'll get to the first thing later, but for now, let's talk about why(maybe) Carver wants them back...
Simply put, I think he's running some kind of prison camp. Enslaving people and forcing them to work for him. Farm, build defenses, gather supplies, whatever. This means he'd have to have enough soldiers to control all these people, so I assume his army is bigger than just Troy, Johnny, and Bonnie. Also, I think it's safe to say that maybe he has some sort of "hierarchy" within his group. how he talks about them earning their way back into the fold, Bonnie bossing around the others, etc.
In fact, from the previews, maybe Kenny and Clementine have a plan for Clem to get closer to him, and then... well, I'd rather not get into too specific theories, because then things get messy.
Another thing about Carver is that he does seem to care about his own people. Perhaps this means we'll be getting a fairly original villain rather than another version of the "evil despot" types we get from the comics(The Governor, Negan). Regardless, just form this episode alone, i'd say that Carver is one of my favorite Walking Dead antagonists in the franchise, Michael Madsen is doing a fantastic job, and I have high hopes for the character!
Luke: As many people have been saying, something isn't quite right with Luke. I didn't get this feeling immediately, or even earlier into episode two. In fact, it was more of an afterthought once I'd finished the episode.
There's a couple reasons for this. One is his mysterious disappearance. Some say that Kenny killed him. I haven't got much to say about that other than I full-heartedly disagree. He could have just run off as well, but Luke doesn't seem like a coward to me.
One theory is that Luke is secretly working for Carver. things to support this is that he left when Clem said she saw people with lights, and of course, the disappearance itself. however, Carver genuinely didn't seem to know where Luke was, though he could have easily been lying, and Nick and Luke are best friends. they seem to have known each other for a long time.
Even though Luke isn't a coward, maybe he did just "cut and run" like Carver said. There's a couple things to indicate this. There's the rest of what Carver said, "So Luke finally decided to cut and run? Why am I not surprised." And then there's what Nick said, "I wish I could be like him, always movin' on." That's not an exact quote, but it's close. Luke seems to have been at least a little reckless before the Turn, wasting all their money on bullshit schemes, etc. In this way, he reminds me of Jack from Fables/TWAU.
Third option, Luke was smart and stayed behind, deciding to track them down later. It's possible, nothing to support or deny it, but it's possible.
There's more to Luke than just that mystery though. Earlier, I'd mentioned why the rest would follow Rebecca and Alvin, I think the factor that united them all was Luke. Carver talks to Carlos as though he was following luke, so perhaps Luke clearly didn't like Carver, and no one in the group did either. After Rebecca got pregnant, they may have decided to leave as one group. I think there are many reasons why Carlos, Nick, Pete and the rest would dislike Carver and his group... But I get the feeling that with Luke, it's something more personal.
Kenny: Okay, first off
Right, now let's talk about Kenny. If you look at my other prediction thread(link above), then you can see that I predicted that Kenny would come back as a "broken" man, a much sadder and wearier character, but he's just the same old Kenny!... Isn't he?
Clearly something is off with Kenny, we get that right off the bat with his overly optimistic attitude and happy demeanor, but behind it is something darker. It seems as if Kenny never got over the events of Long Road Ahead, and has maybe even tried to "recreate" his family. Sarita taking the place of Katjaa, and now Clem taking the place of Duck.... Believe me, Kenny is just as broken as I predicted. Actually even more so, as I thought that he may have gotten over their deaths, at least a little bit, but it seems he's hardly moved on at all.
Even Wellington had taken the place of his obsession with the boat, though I can't really blame him there, it does sound like a great place.
Aside from Kenny's fragile mental health, there's a couple other things that have changed about him. He seems to have become a better survivor(a better shot, and stronger according to Sarita), which is different from the S1 Kenny who was basically a weakling. And also, he seems more reasonable and level headed. Of course, there are clear exceptions to this. when Luke and Nick question Wellington, Kenny freaks out, because to him, it's like they're trying to destroy his vision of the way things should be, and his recreation of how things were, but aside form this, Kenny does know when to back down with the incident with Carver near the end. Perhaps even though he's trying to recreate what things were like, he has changed for the better, at least a little.
Over the next few episodes, I think that Kenny will begin to unravel, and Clem will either be there for him... or perhaps not. I know my Clementine will be there to help him every step of the way at least. The progression of Kenny will probably be him finally moving on from what happened, and becoming a better man because of it. Or, maybe he'll fall apart. Either way.
Luke & Kenny: These two characters seem to have a kind of rivalry between them that people have been discussing, so let's talk about it. Clearly Clementine fits in with Kenny's little "pseudo family", but besides that, I think that Kenny genuinely cares about Clem and wants to protect her. The same can be said of Luke kind of as the "Big Brother" figure(or can it? For now, let's say yes).
We see this rivalry between the two of them when Clem has to choose where to sit in the Ski Lodge, with Kenny or with Luke. In a way, this rivalry is almost childish.
Luke has only known Clem for about a week, but still wants to protect her/earn her trust, Kenny has known Clementine for about half a year, and hasn't seen her for two years. Despite whatever relationship he had with Lee, I think that Kenny still does care about Clem. They're both trying to take the same place, though they don't necessarily need to fight over it.
I think that unless there is some dark secret with Luke, we'll continually be made to choose between the two of them, though I don't see them ever truly becoming enemies. In fact, they seem similar in a lot of ways, so at most they'll have this sort of rivalry between them.
Bonnie: I was immediately suspicious of Bonnie when she appeared because she was lying about her family. It was strange, but I didn't expect her to be working with Carver.
Now, there are two theories that I have about this. The one that I don't like as much(it's just as likely, I just don't like it), is that Tavia was actually working with Carver, rounding people up for his "prison camp". Everyone who went with Tavia ended up with Carver. This actually makes a little sense because it was Bonnie we saw, and she goes with Tavia no matter what. Even if this is the case, I don't think that Bonnie is a bad person, and she'll probably be Clem's friend in the group(as shown in the previews).
The other option is that Tavia's community is a different one and, maybe they're fighting with/are rivals with Carver's camp. If this is the case, then Bonnie may be working as a spy.
Either way, I don't see her as the villain in either scenario.
Lilly: I think that if we do see Lilly, we may see her as one of the "higher ups" in Carver's community. It makes sense, Carver hasn't proven himself to be fully "evi", simply brutal, cruel, smart, and pragmatic. Lilly, as a clear pragmatist, would fit right in. In fact, she may thrive in a community like that.
No that's not to say that she would be condemned to being the villain, perhaps as Clementine we could try to talk to her, and maybe she would be nicer to Clem. Also, it would be interesting to see if she would enact her revenge against Kenny if indeed she is in a position of power in Carver's community.
No, if she doesn't end up playing this role, then maybe she will be one of the people to try and help free Clementine and the others from Carver's community. Honestly, I think this role would be less interesting, but still possible. Lilly simply joining up with the group once more doesn't interest me greatly, but Lilly being torn between Carver and Clem, and also being in a position of power over Kenny, the man who "murdered" her father... Well, that would be interesting to see.
So, those are all the important things that I could think of to talk about for the moment, I'd really love to see what you think about my theories, and to see your own. This was my favorite episode of The Walking dead so far, and it shows that Season Two will blow the first one out of the water.
Comments
Uh... Bump?
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I didn't particularly feel that Carver will be a pedophile, but that being said, the game hasn't actually touched on that, and if you know TWD, then you know they've got to eventually... Maybe someone in his group, and Carver could catch the guy and kill him(or punish him), and at that point we'd understand that although Carver is clearly the antagonist, he's not all bad.
Still, I suppose it's possible that Carver may be like that, it would certainly explain some things.
I honestly think "amid the ruins" is when the people in carver's group actually turn on him and try to leave. I don't think you just can't "leave", or he'd probably kill you if you tried to escape.
And Luke.. It was weird when he just dissed clementine like that after she said she saw people.. LIKE WTF? Maybe he's a typical boy that doesn't think twice.. And think about it, would YOU turn yourself in to carver? I think luke might end up saving the group one way.. and I hope kenny never dies.
Also kenny makes me so horny
Well aside from the last part, I agree with you!
Didn't that exact scenario play out in the comic books with Negan?
Amid the ruins. The ruins being carvers ruinous community?
Kenny will die. I'd bet money on it.
Exactly.
I think I know what's going to happen in episode 3, shit it's not pretty.
I'm not saying any more on if Kenny will live to S3 until I can see what direction his progression goes in E3. Until then... I'm hoping he'll live to S3, but I'm not going to predict or theorize anything about it.
That whole argument between Luke and Kenny about who gets Clem kinda weirded me out. It's like picking between two evils because kenny wants Clem for his makeshift family and Luke strangely wants Clem after only knowing her for a week. I don't like where any of this is going.
It's never pretty, nothing in TWD is every good. Or if it is, it's laced in badness.
For example, Kenny returns!.... but he's crazy.
I looked in the game files and found something interesting, not joking....
Oh Zyphon. .. When it comes to Kenny we all know you have a bigger hard on than a whale.
Well don't tell me if you're telling the truth, I wish people hadn't found the Kenny202 and Sarita files, because it kind of ruined it for me.
Well... Ah... Haha.... Umm...
....
Perhaps Tavias group was a nicer group that was absorbed into Carvers group by force? He does say how he wants groups to accept their love, and that the cabin group can earn their way back in. Maybe Tavias group was not so bad and decided to join/was forced to join Carvers and Bonnie just started to follow how things were going there.
Also perhaps Bonnie will redeem herself, she seemed a little remorseful about screwing over Walter, and he did say to her to repay his act of kindness with another. I can see her helping Clem out as a way of trying to atone for Walters kindness.
That's another possibility, I don't really see Bonnie as the villain in this story, or at least, as one of the villains.
Michael Madsen is good for this Carver role!!!!! I don't buy the Luke working with Carver thing people are talking about. Luke will be back to save the day later.
Did anyone else think Matthew was Vince? I sure did at 1st.
Bonnie is recovering crack head and young so she just following whoever.
Nick is unstable like we talked about before and it really showed in episode 2..
To be honest I do not like anyone or trust anyone so far, I hope these guys from 400 days kick in soon. Cause I think Clem needs them
I don't think Carver's place is as bad as everyone thinks. If Tavia was working for him she seems like she truly believes it is a good place. Maybe there is a dark secret like in episode 2 but Bonnie by no means looks like she really wants to leave and Carver doesn't look that evil when standing next to Clem. By no means do I like Carver or think he is sane but maybe once they are in his group he won't act evil if they don't try to run away, which they eventually will do
I'm just spitballing ideas really. I think that Tavias group is Carvers group, but it might be seperate or absorbed. I agree that I don't think Bonnie is a villain, or certainly not a 'committed villain' if that makes sense.
I'm also curious about Carlos, it felt to me like Luke was leading him in speech. When they mention leaving the cabin and Luke says something along the lines of "I'm sure your dad won't start hurting anybody again right?". Kinda feels like Carlos used to be a darker character. Maybe his poor doctoring skills are because he was a torturer for Carver and not a doctor in the conventional sense?
Good theory. I still think Bonnie is a villain here but let's wait to see how things play out.
I added predictions about Lilly to the main post.
Loved reading this, great theories. I especially like your ideas for Kenny/Lilly/Carver, that would be VERY interesting. And I definitely agree that Kenny cares for and will protect Clementine, no matter what. He saved Lee in S1 E1, even if he hated him, despite later possible abandonments. He would never leave Clem to die, and I fully intend to stand by him in his time of need. One instance of him at least acknowledging his past was his reminiscing of Lee, in my game he remembered that he took care of Duck, so at least he's able to face that it happened on some level.
I hate that everyone is saying that history will repeat itself when it comes to the relationship between Clem and Kenny. I get that he could be a real piece of shit in S1, but do people really believe he'd ever leave Clementine behind? Really? They obviously don't know his character very well. Even back in S1(because I beleive in terms of being more reasonable and understanding, S2 Kenny had become much better), Kenny would stick by Lee in Episode 2 if Lee fed the children.
Also, thank you, friend!
And thank you, chum.
Yeah, I definitely think Kenny is more invested in Clementine's survival than his own at this point.