How would your perception of Luke change if...
I'm going to give you two scenarios and I want you to post how you would feel about Luke in each individual scenario. These scenarios are just hypothetical and not to be taken seriously.
Scenario #1: Luke tries to convince Kenny that they should fall back and live to fight another day. Kenny considers this whining and tells Luke to "take a hike." Left with no other choice and unable to sway stubborn Kenny, Luke withdraws himself from the hostage situation in hopes of preventing any casualties. In episode 3, Luke will track Carver down to his community and formulate a plan to liberate the group. Luke will find the 400 days characters in Carver's camp. He will intentionally get himself caught by Carver so he can persuade the 400 days characters to turn against Carver (just like the cabin group) causing an uprising which is just the distraction that the group needs to set their prison break plan in motion.
Scenario #2: Luke is nagging Kenny that they should escape while they still can. Kenny refusing to leave his group behind, tells Luke to "take a hike." Luke with his keep moving on attitude takes Kenny's advice and runs away. Luke considers the capture of his group as a loss and it's probably best to move on. Luke continues to survive without looking back.
How would your opinion on Luke change between these two absolutely different scenarios.
Comments
Nothing would change in scenario 1; I already think he's a cool guy. :c
I'd kill him if I saw him in scenario 2.
Scenario 1: Luke you're a bad ass.
Scenario 2: Luke you're just an ass.
Obviously id hate him if it was the second
In scenario 1, he would be doing exactly what I would expect. Another reason why he is my favorite NPC.
In scenario 2, he would become walker bate as soon as I have the chance,
Scenario #1 reaches ridiculous levels of Maury Sue behavior.
So you guys hate him because he can't take down armed thugs by himself? I'd run like a little girl if i could in that situation, like Alvin said, there's nothing to be done exept to give up or to kill yourself trying to fight back.
I know Luke needs to look out for his friends but the dude isn't John Maclane.
Wow, anything that doesn't make out Luke as a coward is considered a "Mary Sue" character in your book.
Uh...well...this is embarrassing.
You seem to have misspelled AND misused the term.
The 1st scenario, sounds like Luke's being reasonable.
I respect his character for that.
The 2nd scenario, Luke is acting like a selfish coward, leaving brave Kenny,( A.K.A Rambo), to protect the others on his own.
I have great contempt for his character in that case.
Scenario 1 : that's really what I expected,the only reason I go to kenny is to prevent him from being reckless like his usual self
Scenario 2 : eh,no matter,I'll just keep moving on too,fight my way for the group survival
I believe that "misspelling" was intentional. Seeing as how "Maury" is a male name. However, the typical male version of the phrase is Marty Stu.
And Luke single-handedly breaking us out of Carver's camp by convincing all the 400 days protagonists to turn against Carver would make him seem hyper-competent.
The OP did say that Luke intentionally gets himself caught by Carver since Carver is exceptionally welcoming in his community. Luke also is exceedingly manipulative. Remember he persuaded the cabin group to follow him and he convinced Nick to go into business with him when he didn't want to. Luke persuading the 400 days group to turn against the tyrant Carver shouldn't be too difficult.
I guess you're right about the name.
The term isn't used to describe hyper-competent characters; it's used to describe idealized characters, usually in fan fic.
Being hyper-competent is not the same as being idealized. There's a big difference.
It's also commonly associated with self-insertion.
Luke never struck me as "exceedingly manipulative," and certainly not to the extent that Carver is. He's charming, yeah, but managing to convince the entire 400 days group to turn on an imposing, charismatic leader and his guards armed with goddamn assault rifles would require a jedi mind trick.
And what are the chances that some random farm boy named Luke would turn out to be a je---
Oh.
Take a moment to reflect on how slow you are and what got you in this embarrassing situation. Hint: It was probably you being really mad. When you're caught up read the next line.
Scenario #1 expects Luke to fake capture, exact a master plan of taking over Carver's group, talk his way out of being executed for conspiring a mass exodus, foment a revolution and stage an elaborate escape plan.
This is from the guy who went off half-cocked on some sort of business venture that left he and Nick broke within months.
It's silly.
scenario 1: my perception wouldn't change, in fact I'd probably like him more.
scenario 2: I'd have a hard time believing. His personality more fits scenario 1 in my opinion. He's really selfish in this scenario.
"Exceedingly manipulative" is overstating things. It's not like it hasn't been made apparent that some of the other cabin members have their own personal beef with Carver. And Nick saying Luke always used to "push him" speaks more to Luke just wearing him down with persistence and charm more than anything else.
LMAO.
Situation 1: This is what I think he's doing, so he's still cool in my book.
Situation 2: Bitch better run fast, 'cause I'll be tracking that coward down.
This is a great idea! Then Luke can use his jedi mind trick to free the group!
These are not the people you are looking for.
Well, not with that attitude.
Anyway, I would probably be pretty damned pissed at him and think much less of his moral character, but I wouldn't hate him. Realistically, there's not much he could really do to help break the others out of Carver's camp. Lee brought a whole crew to sneak into Crawford and even that it seemed like a suicide mission to me. I don't expect Luke to take on Carver by himself.
What I did expect him to do is to try to do what Kenny did and snipe the motherfucker from a distance. That wouldn't require very much sacrifice on his part and could potentially help the group out greatly. Granted, he probably only had a pistol, but he could at least [obligatory donning of sunglasses] give it a shot. So, yeah, he better have a pretty damn good explanation for why he wasn't there.
If you're going to nitpick about the self-insertion then Canon Sue would work. Either way we know what attributes are usually being referred to. That being said I'm not very fond of Mary Sue/Marty Sue terminology of any sort because it's tossed around a little too casually.
The problem I find with the first scenario is that I doubt Carver is just going to let Luke back into the community and give him free reign to stir up another rebellion. After all the effort to make him appear formidable I doubt they'd make Carver that dumb. And I'd just be neutral to Luke due to the whole thing being overly contrived.
As to scenario 2, I wouldn't mind personally if it turned out he did that (as long as he had a rough time of it) but my Clem would feel horribly betrayed and hurt (and he'd probably have to die to redeem himself or at least become more seasoned).
It's either he's rallying up some kind of group for some "tactical espionage action" or he's gonna look for some way to get inside Carver's territory.
What group could he possibly rally? You think Luke is just going to find 4-5 random dudes who are willing to break into some guy's super-well-guarded prison camp and save a bunch of people they don't even know? And there is no chance of him accomplishing anything by himself. To me, the best case scenario is that Luke tries to break in, fails, gets captured, and we all start hatching an escape/assassination plot from the inside.
I'd think he's pretty dang stupid in scenario 1 and would understand scenario 2.
Something in the middle would be nice though, where he actually uses planning and calculation rather than putting himself to Carver's mercy just to try to change the mind of his brainwashed followers.
...Yes.
In all seriousness, I don't think Luke is stupid enough to do it on his own, let alone failing in doing so and getting captured. I bet he'd surrender then probably rally up inside the belly of the beast.
Wait, how is trying to break in and getting captured more stupid than surrendering and getting captured?
Well if Luke does try to break in, he could get himself killed in the process. And we all know how Carver likes to deal with people who rub him the wrong way. Believe me, surrendering without struggle then striking from within is a common tactic.
Situation #1: I already like Luke as it is. If he does pull it off and show that he cares about us then I would think more highly of him.
Situation #2: Did he just pull a Ben on us!?
1: Luke your a great guy!
2: Nick! Shoot this guy off a bridge!
Scenario 1: Shoot him. Make it quick and painless
Scenario 2: I'll give him a head start and make him think he's getting away just so I can mow him down moments later in the most painful way possible.
Could redirect walkers towards Carver's camp.
I hate Luke, so..
Scenario 1
I think he would be actually pretty nice, so I might like em.
Scenario 2
Hes a pissant!
In all seriousness, I would hate em if he did the things in Scenario 2 and track em down and murder him! Scenario 1 EPIC DUDE!
Scenario #1: I seriously hope that happens, I want see more 400 Day's group. even more so now I seen Bonnie now a bad guy, I need convincing the other guys a good people.
Scenario #2: I would feel betrayed, Sad not see any more of Clem-Luke brother and sister relationship. If this is indeed the case next time I see Luke I will fight him.
Scenario 1 - I wouldn't expect anything less and I would probably end up trusting and liking Luke even more.
Scenario 2 - Clem: "Im not an asshole" Luke: "you calling me an asshole?" yes Luke, I am.
1: FUCK YEAH! LUKE!
2: Come on, dude. Get some balls!
Here's what needs to happen! Everyone is at the camp, and Carver is interrogating everyone in the camp's cafeteria. All the other people in the camp are also in the room and having a good time. Suddenly, Luke kicks the cafeteria doors open, and steps inside, clad with a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, and a poncho. Everybody in the room is quiet and turns to look at him...
I don't care what happens after or before. Gotta love westerns.
Scenario 1: He's reliable and proved to me that I can trust him from now on. c:
Scenario 2: He better hope that he never crosses me again. >:c
Scenario #1 would not happen. Sorry to be a party pooper, but Carver is completely focused around social and psychological control. You think he would just allow Luke, a very charming and somewhat persuasive (in his own way) guy to just freely enter the camp and hang out with the other survivors? Carver is very psychologically intelligent, and if he really wanted to allow Luke into the camp with the others, he would break him first. I hope you all understand what I mean by "break him".
But, let's suppose that Carver does allow him back into the group. Sure, Luke is a charmer, but do you honestly think that he would have the capability of convincing people to turn against a semi-tyrant who undoubtedly has armed guards and has his own heavy firepower? All it would take is one doubter and the entire thing would fall apart even if he somehow managed to convince them to turn on Carver.
As for scenario 2...
He would actually be smart to do this, assuming he has the survival skills necessary to live on your own in this kind of world. If he broke away from everyone he would no longer have to deal with the Carver threat and could focus on survival and possibly finding another group.
If he left after Kenny told him to f*** off, I honestly wouldn't blame him, especially because I sat at the table with Kenny without any hesitation. Luke is a cool dude and all, but Kenny has been my homie since Season 1 and had my Lee's back through thick and thin.
/my2cents