Why I Like Season 2 Over Season 1 and Why Most People Disagree
In April of 2012, Telltale Games relased the first episode in what would go onto become an award winning series. I was a huge fan of both the comic and show, so I was very skeptical going into it. I had never heard of, nor played anything Telltale has done. When I finished the first episode, I was very suprised. By the time I finished the second, I was hooked! I cried at the ending and I loved every second of it. Now, when Season 2 was relased, I wondered how they could possibly top the masterpiece that was Season 1. In my humble opinion, they have. I care about the new characters just as much as the Season 1 Characters. There are plenty of emotional moments(Pete's Death, Sam the Dog, Alvin's Death, etc). And I love the new design of the graphics. I also prefer the locations and tone of this Season over the first. Now, I think I know why some people don't like Season 2. It's not because of a lack of hubs, it's not because the characters are bad, and it's not because the original director isn't their. It's because of the fond memories they have experiencing this masterpiece for the first time and the memories of each tear jerking moment. Am I saying Season 2 is perfect? No, not at all! The episode length is a little annoying, the lack of hubs is a bummer, and the 16 Month Time Skip felt a little lazy. But let's not fool ourselves, the first Season had a lot of problems. At times the dialogue could be awkward or just irrelevant to the choice you made, the magic pocket was distracting(it returns in Season 2 but makes more sense because Clementine is never carrying anything to big or has a backpack on.), and most importantly Carley died!!!! I respect your opinion if you like Season 1 better, but I personally like Season 2 more. Both are masterpieces. If you do not agree with me, please don't downvote me for my opinion. Anyway, if you agree or disagree, please comment and tell me why. I won't judge you. Unless you say that you don't care that Carley died. Than we've got a problem!!
Comments
I agree i enjoy the environment of season 2 more and i'm worried about the characters in season 2 more than season 1 at the moment (excluding lee). That being said in my opinion its not as good as season 1. It's close though, i think if they bring nice hubs back it will be just as good in my opinion.
I personally like season one better, but I can see where you're coming from.
I like both the same and I agree.
And season 2 is still pretty damn good.
I was hoping to be put into a situation where I have trouble deciding which Season I like better. Even Season Two's only three episodes in, I got it, thank God.
Oh well. We'll have to wait and see. Overall, I agree with the time skip being Season Two's con and Season One having awkward dialogue moments.
I don't think it's fair for me to vote on which Season I like better, right now I would say Season 1, but then again, after Season 2 is finished I will most probably end up liking Season 2
Edit: Season 2 is my favourite now after seeing the Amid The Ruins trailer x. x
Well, I disagree. If you like Season 2, sure. But saying it is better than Season 1? I don't really see your reasoning on WHY you like this season the best, you just stated WHAT you liked. But anyways. It is your opinion just as much as people can think this season sucks.
In my opinion, Season 1 had flaws but nearly not as much as this season. To list them all would require me a week of typing and I'd rather not. You say we like Season 1 better because of our fond memories and because we cried...well...YEAH because that means we had emotional connections to the characters of Season 1. Isn't that what made the game earn awards in the first place? The fact that multiple deaths in Season 1 caused enough heartache to players that made them cry, made them angry, made them regret decisions and feel like they actually had weight on the game. Why won't we compare this season to the last one? You and others may have had emotional responses to the deaths in this season, but as stated numerous times not only in this forum but in other discussion sites (Reddit, Tumblr) I found that most people did not care about the deaths in this season nor do they (we) not care about the safety of the rest of these characters. It is something that was huge in Season 1 that is lacking immensely in this Season, which eliminates the immersion that I used to have to this game. Of course this ALL links back to hubs because I guarantee if you eliminate one hub, any hub from Season 1, you would not learn about a character as much as you did. For example: eliminate the hub in the pharmacy --> we will never know Lilly's backstory, where she worked, her relationship with her father. We will never know Carley's problems with batteries, how she views Doug, her past, and how she got there. We will never know that Doug was a technical whiz. We will never know that Glenn was from Macon, just like Lee, and knew his way around town. We will never know how certain characters react when you give them an energy bar. Do you see how much information that is? And that's just ONE hub!
Here's also another thing that I feel like isn't really as talked about as much as character development in this season: the plot. In Season 1, we established our goals in the very first episode. The goals were 1) Look for Clementine's parents and 2) Get to Savannah to find a boat. These two were the strongest, most consistent endgame that Lee (the player) had to keep in mind along with being a father figure to Clementine and helping Kenny and Lilly with group leadership. These goals were clear and were mentioned in every episode, and as you go on you find conflicts that might hinder you from getting to a certain goals. There were decisions and choices that affected on whether or not you reach these goals and they were present in every single episode. This season, I feel, is directionless and all over the place. What is our goal as Clementine? Wellington was mentioned in the first episode but what do we know about it? It's cold and it's safe. But the woman who told us about it is missing (which is a point I will divulge in later), Wellington was mentioned in one sentence in episode 2, and completely missing in Episode 3 and from the previews, also in Episode 4. I, as a player, don't have a single stable goal apart from keeping Clementine safe, which is again a goal from Season 1...
(And here's the thing that really bothers me: why is everyone gone missing? We only had ONE instance of that and that was in the finale of Season 1 where Kenny was a mystery. Why is this storyline used over and over again? Luke, Christa, Sarah? To be honest it's getting tiring especially since I don't even care about half of these people.)
You say that last season was unrealistic with how Lee carried all that stuff in his pocket but this season isn't because of Clem's backpack. Oh..okay, physics? Eh, I'm not here to discuss how Lee fit that blowtorch in his back pocket, yes I gotta admit that was silly. But if you wanna talk realism here's some points to think about: 1) How was it that the group locks Clementine in a shed in one day and the next completely trusting her and asking her for major decisions? 2) How is it that the group can't decide whether Clem's capable or not? In Episode 2, Luke asks her to fight the walkers in the bridge because "she's not just some little girl" but in Episode 3, completely yells at Carver for saying that she's seen a lot, which negates him leaving her to do all the dangerous shit like talk to the stranger? Hey little girl I know we locked you in a shed to leave you to die, but can you go to that dangerous looking house to find my wife some food? Hey Clem, God you're JUST a little girl you shouldn't be doing this! But hey, can you turn off this windmill so that walkers stop coming to us?
Bleh, anyway I'm ranting. TL;DR - inconsistent plot (so far), no solid goal for us players, lack of character connection (which I'm pretty sure made Season 1 GOTY for many people), meaningless deaths, overused storylines. Sorry for the essay.
You make a lot of good points. While I still believe Season 2 is slightly better, I really miss the hubs.
Season 1, Season 2, they're both The Walking Dead
I agree. I've been with TWDG from the beginning... And the reason I DO like Season 2 better is because of the fantastic evolution that happened in Clementine's character. I feel like this season allows me to choose how to carry on Lee's legacy, and how Clementine feels his memory is best served. Whether it's to preserve humanity and attempt to save any life possible, or focus entirely on her survival because that's what Lee cared most about... It adds SO much more depth to the emotional investment I have in this series.
Not to mention, Melissa Hutchison and Gavin Hammon did a marvelous job of evolving their characters. Melissa especially.
Not sure if I agree fully there, but I think Season 2's what's prompted me to actively participate in the fandom, so there's clearly something to it. Also I think it does a much better job at portraying female characters, and just being diverse with characters in general.
don't forget Luke's Miraculous appearance in episode 3. he disappears at the ski lodge, then carver takes everyone prisoner, drives them back to the compound (which takes hours in a truck) and some how Luke is able to get there the next day on foot huh? it took them a week to walk to the ski lodge, and we can safely assume that they were moving away from carver's place, and not towards it to get there.
You should play episode 1 again. you'll remember how much better it is.
pete's death is sad, and somewhat emotional, but not because its pete, I would feel the same amount of sad if that was petes first appearance in episode 2. that;s nothing like finding Mark's leggless body upstairs at st. Johns. just in time to warn Clementine to not eat mark. its nothing compared to kenny salt licking Larry's skull! it nothing compared to Ben's death either. Ben, the Character who was simultaneously young/innocent yet so responsible for countless blunders. he was a character everyone wanted to kill, but when you saw him there with an iron bar sticking through his gut, so scared and still so oblivious to the fact that he was worms meat... you couldn't help but ache and really feel for him.
when Carlos got shot at the end of episode 3. why did you care?
Finally someone who likes Season 2 better just like me.
Highfives
I disagree about the time skip. I think making Clementine older was a brilliant idea. I didnt want to play the season one over again with Clementine having another "Lee" taking care of her. I just wish Christa and Omid hadnt disappeared so fast.
I love both seasons . 1st one is irreplaceable but 2nd is amazing too !
Great post and I fully agree...
To top it all off I dont feel I have any links to the characters atm bar kenny, and I just FEEL nothing has happened yet, ok we got carvers camp in ep 3 but bar that its been very slow imo, all my hopes are laying on ep4, I've not written off S2 but its gonna be a miracle for it to match S1 imo..
My remaining hopes are..
I just played it today. I felt as tough Season 2 got off to a much stronger start.
I picked Doug so i don't care that Carley died.
I agree with you 100% about the two seasons and I agree with you 10,000% about the whole downvoting-because-I-disagree-with-you thing. That and how defensive some (not all) people get on here almost made me leave the forum. Thanks to you, I feel like I can voice my opinion again. So, here I go... again.
Here is what I think in regards to the "hubs" or lack thereof. In my honest opinion, I think the lack of hubs is because of the story. Due to multiple circumstances and situations, we have never had any real time to go "hubbing" (if that even is a word). We were either lost in the woods with/without Christa, running from walkers, or running/escaping Carver's grasp. The story seems to have a sense of needing to get our of harm's way as soon as possible (no pun intended about episode 4). The only time I think a "hub" moment may have worked would have been during episode 2 when Carlos tells you to watch over Sarah. The only way I could have seen it working was if it was like a secret hub where if you pinky swear with Sarah, apologize to Carlos about stealing, and take her picture, you can convince her to break her dad's rules and have her show you around the cabin. The ski lodge hub could have expanded a little more, but not by much in my opinion. And I'm was surprised people thought we would explore Carver's camp. I mean c'mon now, the guy is super strict and is ready to use physical force at a moments notice if you even look like you're out of line. Did yo really think he was going to let you just meander around his camp? I believe that if the museum is a safe enough place where the group feels that they can slow down for a second and figure out where to go from there, then we will get a hub. Kenny or Luke will tell Clem to look around to see if there is anything useful. That when everyone will get the hub they have been wanting for. Also, if Christa were to show up again, now is the time. Her return could slow the pace down enough for a hub just like Kenny's return did (even though, like I said before, the cabin hub was a tab bit too short).
Anywho, that is how I see it. Both seasons are great, it's just I like season 2 a half a hair more than season 1.
Nice explanation man/girl.
Although the character development are lacking with some of the cast of characters, for those who do stick out, they are good. One of the things that Season 2 still have of Season 1's strengths, it is the feeling of being a survivor and the temptation of doing some really morally questionable decisions.
In episode 3, when I had the choice of either helping or ignoring Sarah, I was SO close to pick the latter. I really felt that Sarah was the weak link here and if anything, I wanted to be rid of her before she make a mistake that will cause the death of another character. It really got worse later in the same episode, where I chose to watch Carver getting beaten to a bloody mess by Kenny and I didn't thought about anything else other than to cut off Sarita's arm.
So yeah, lack of character development aside, Season 2 still have morally questionable choices that make us question ourselves.
Why did I get disliked? It's my opinion!!!!
Great explanation!
Thanks!
you felt that it got off to a stronger start because why? somebody got shot in the first 5 minutes, and then nothing happened for the whole episode?
I prefer season 1 to season 2 (so far, anyway).
I love them both!
That depends on whether you actually play to survive or play to survive and be nice. I choosed to not help Sarah since it's too obvious that she won't make it as soon as the sh*t hits the fan. In that regard she's a security risk and by helping her or creating an emotional band with her don't seem to be a great move. Doing such a thing could make it so that other, more valuable, characters die. Characters that would be beneficial for surviving.
But i guess that it comes down to how one play the game and what goal one has like i said in the beginning (play to survive or play to survive and be nice). I'm always nice in the game and take the nicer answers but that is only since it's nearly always more beneficial to be nice to valuable characters then not too and it has nothing to do with being nice for real even though it's easier to like some characters more then others.
I feel like this season is a more coming to age maybe for clem. she is being truly experienced to the random sh8t nature of the zombie world