Why was Sarah killed off but Mike survived?

Idg what the writers were doing, Mike a dull no personality boring voice actor and character was written to be killed off by Clementine but they rewrote the scene and Mike gets away with stealing with Arvo. Sarah was a interesting character she was basically an idea of what would have happened if Clementine didn't grow up to be who she is now.

Comments

  • edited September 2018

    Because the staff didn't like Sarah very much and so rushed to have her killed off in Episode 4 without caring much about how it carried over or reflected beyond Jane's benefit.
    Mike on the other hand was likely spared either to make the choice to shoot Kenny more special, because they felt Clementine asking to come with them would be more interactive/in-character, or maybe they just thought having him live to see Arvo shoot the essentially surrendering Clementine anyway against their best interests was more fitting. Though it is worth noting that there's an unused voice clip suggesting he might've been meant to die in the shootout at one point.

  • So was Sarah meant to die in the trailer? Is that why her second death is so half-assed compared to the first?

    DabigRG posted: »

    Because the staff didn't like Sarah very much and so rushed to have her killed off in Episode 4 without caring much about how it carried ove

  • edited September 2018

    Sarah's death was predictable anyway. Carlos himself said that if Sarah knew what was happening around here, she would cease to function. She was unfitted for an apocalypse, even Jane said that, if you saved Sarah the first time, it didn't mean that Clementine saved her at all. She just prolonged her exsistence, delaying the inevitable.

  • Eh, not really...?
    Like I said, they clearly just wanted to kill her off in the most cruel way possible and if you didn't abandon her in the trailer to be killed by walkers, then she's abandoned under the observation deck to be killed by walkers.

    Joshua1991 posted: »

    So was Sarah meant to die in the trailer? Is that why her second death is so half-assed compared to the first?

  • She lacked hyper power

  • Carlos himself said that if Sarah knew what was happening around here, she would cease to function.

    Not to join the dumptruck here, but that means jackshit considering Sarah knew firsthand some of what the world can be like anyway.

    She just prolonged her exsistence, delaying the inevitable.

    Is that not the case with almost every character anyway?

    Gauss99 posted: »

    Sarah's death was predictable anyway. Carlos himself said that if Sarah knew what was happening around here, she would cease to function. Sh

  • Writers never like Sarah, like at all, so they just wanted it done and over with. However I thought Mike could die. There was an option for ps3 to kill him which then got updated for other platforms. So was it removed or something?

  • Yes, because they decided against it sometime before release, but failed to patch it out with the "new" scene in those very early versions.

    lottii-lu posted: »

    Writers never like Sarah, like at all, so they just wanted it done and over with. However I thought Mike could die. There was an option for ps3 to kill him which then got updated for other platforms. So was it removed or something?

  • But he was literally the most pointless character in the entire season if you killed him off in Episode 3 you wouldn't notice anything because he was just there.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Yes, because they decided against it sometime before release, but failed to patch it out with the "new" scene in those very early versions.

  • She had a mental disorder, she was even waiting for her father to come after they escaped from Howe or when she was being killed by zombies.
    Her death was so easy to predict.
    She was unable to defend herself and a burden for the others, even an 8 years old Clementine from S1 showed she can defend herself.
    The death may indeed come for every characters sooner or later, but for Sarah it was literally a matter of time more than anyone else, because she was unable to take care for herself.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Carlos himself said that if Sarah knew what was happening around here, she would cease to function. Not to join the dumptruck here,

  • The original intent was for him to be the third member of the scavengers that stuck up Christa in the forest, but this subplot was removed from the actual episode.

    Remnants of it can still be seen in his earlier interactions and impressions with the other characters(or really Kenny and determinantly Luke). Otherwise, his only roles are to help protect the group and to essentially lead the Defector Trio(him, Arvo, and Bonnie) after Kenny's increasingly aggressive behavior alienates them.

    Joshua1991 posted: »

    But he was literally the most pointless character in the entire season if you killed him off in Episode 3 you wouldn't notice anything because he was just there.

  • Why did they remove it?

    DabigRG posted: »

    The original intent was for him to be the third member of the scavengers that stuck up Christa in the forest, but this subplot was removed f

  • She had a mental disorder, she was even waiting for her father to come after they escaped from Howe or when she was being killed by zombies.

    Eh, it was more psychological than anything.

    She was unable to defend herself and a burden for the others
    The death may indeed come for every characters sooner or later, but for Sarah it was literally a matter of time more than anyone else, because she was unable to take care for herself.

    "The death."
    And you know this for sure because...?

    even an 8 years old Clementine from S1 showed she can defend herself.

    And when was this exactly?

    Gauss99 posted: »

    She had a mental disorder, she was even waiting for her father to come after they escaped from Howe or when she was being killed by zombies.

  • edited September 2018

    In the Jewelry store, killing a walker with a baseball bat when Lee was half dead and handcuffed or when she saved Lee's life from the stranger if you fail the quick time event. Hell she even dragged Lee in the jewelry store in the first place when he passed out.
    You said that delaying the inevitable, prolonging the exsistence of somebody can be applied for every characters on the show, but I think that people like Sarah, who cant defend herself and unable to realize the danger when surrounded by a horde of zombies, sitting in a corner and crying while hundreds of zombies are smashing the door and getting at her, well I think people like that could die faster than someone else who can actually take care of him/herself. Cant be sure but I think it would be the case.

    DabigRG posted: »

    She had a mental disorder, she was even waiting for her father to come after they escaped from Howe or when she was being killed by zombies.

  • Probably either runtime constraints or Pierre Shorette(or whoever else might have consulted him) simply didn't figure the need/goal for having Mike actually be connected to the mystery of Christa's whereabouts.

    Joshua1991 posted: »

    Why did they remove it?

  • edited September 2018

    Ah! So at the end of the game, after she'd been taught self-defense and given serious talks as a pretty experienced 9 year old.
    That's what I thought.

    I think that people like Sarah, who cant defend herself and unable to realize the danger when surrounded by a horde of zombies, sitting in a corner and crying while hundreds of zombies are smashing the door and getting at her, well I think people like that could die faster than someone else who can actually take care of him/herself.

    Sometimes, sure, but that instance in particular was clearly during a time where she was relatively overwhelmed with grief and trauma. She kinda needed a sufficient push to truly take the threat seriously and a swift one at that.
    Also, the confirmed intentional bidimensionality of the choice(s) clearly got in the way, but still.

    Gauss99 posted: »

    In the Jewelry store, killing a walker with a baseball bat when Lee was half dead and handcuffed or when she saved Lee's life from the stran

  • edited September 2018

    Clementine received some teachings only after Charles told Lee this line "I don't know much 'bout you folks, but y'all keep goin' like this and that girl ain't gon' make it. You gotta consider her a living person, that's it! You're either living or you're not. You ain't little, you ain't a girl, you ain't a boy, you ain't strong or smart, you're alive".
    So basically before Charles appearance, they kept Clementine at safe for the most part, she didn't have much time at her disposal to trully learn the meaning of being a survivor. Lee just quickly showed her how to shoot and gave her a "smart" haircut and that's all, considering they had to run all the time when they arrived in Savannah and she also disappeared, being lured by the stranger. I think she learnt a lot more when she stayed with Christa for 16 months.
    Anyway that trauma and grief you were talking about, she showed that she was unable to get through that even after she was at Parker's Run, she basically spent her time sitting in a corner and doing nothing than crying and thinking about his dead father.
    Mike even had to leave the water they found in the museum behind because he had to take care of Sarah when they were running away from the walkers, leading a pregnant Rebecca and the others at the local observation deck.

    Anyway Clementine showed Sarah how to use a gun (even if the magazine was empty), she gave her some advices and told her to try to react and behave like a survivor, but everything was in vain. Sarah was a lost cause.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Ah! So at the end of the game, after she'd been taught self-defense and given serious talks as a pretty experienced 9 year old. That's what

  • Sigh...you had to quote that whole friggin line, didn't you?

    Anyway....

    So basically before Charles appearance, they kept Clementine at safe for the most part, she didn't have much time at her disposal to trully learn the meaning of being a survivor. Lee just quickly showed her how to shoot and gave her a "smart" haircut
    and that's all, considering they had to run all the time when they arrived in Savannah and she also disappeared, being lured by the stranger. I think she learnt a lot more when she stayed with Christa for 16 months.

    Pretty much.
    Damn, I didn't really think too much about the Crawford duration. Probably because I usually take her and she gets involved there once or twice too.

    Anyway that trauma and grief you were talking about, she showed that she was unable to get through that even after she was at Parker's Run, she basically spent her time sitting in a corner and doing nothing than crying and thinking about her dead father.

    Because Luke ordered/allowed her to.
    And she only briefly cries there if you say...some dialogue option to her. Otherwise, she's just mulling things over and in fact moves around a bit before she eventually ends up warning everyone about the herd when Rebecca's goes into labor.

    Mike even had to leave the water they found in the museum behind because he had to take care of Sarah when they were running away from the walkers, leading a pregnant Rebecca and the others at the local observation deck.

    I don't know what causes it exactly, but it's possible for him to not do that. In which case, Sarah will either come along herself or be called by Clementine as Bonnie get's Rebecca going.
    I believe he also varies on whether he'll say anything to her if you told him to help Kenny, as I recall from one video.

    Anyway Clementine showed Sarah how to use a gun (even if the magazine was empty), she gave her some advices and told her to try to react and behave like a survivor, but everything was in vain. Sarah was a lost cause.

    Sarah never actually got to use a gun, though. And Observation Deck collapsing when it died caused her(and nearly Jane) to fall and somehow get stuck under the rubble, where she couldn't be expected to be able to defend herself.

    Gauss99 posted: »

    Clementine received some teachings only after Charles told Lee this line "I don't know much 'bout you folks, but y'all keep goin' like this

  • edited September 2018

    Sigh...you had to quote that whole friggin line, didn't you?>

    Of course, Charles and that dialogue in particular are epic!
    Probably is the most important dialogue ever happened in Season 1, it made the difference between Clementine and Sarah.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Sigh...you had to quote that whole friggin line, didn't you? Anyway.... So basically before Charles appearance, they kept Clementin

  • I'm sure it would [still?] be if everyone didn't quote and/or misuse it constantly to the point of disarming it's impact.

    Gauss99 posted: »

    Sigh...you had to quote that whole friggin line, didn't you?> Of course, Charles and that dialogue in particular are epic! Prob

  • I have no idea where there were going with Mike's character. Everything he said and did was forgettable and he never really had a strong part in the overall story. And his departure just made it seem like there was nothing else for him for the writers

  • Mike just was a very bland character with little importance or really anything to him.

    Telltale really missed a perfect opportunity to have a transformative character arc that evolved Sarah into a matured survivalist overcoming the life altering aftermath of her dad's death and the cabin group's collapse left with a destroyed psyche and all but given up on life. And if Sarah lives, she could have become a sister like bond with Clementine surviving into S4 with Clementine and AJ.

    That would have been a superb way to have a very good character arc and actually make the player's choice to have real have longterm effects on your story. Unfortunately, Telltale went the easy route of killing her off just as they do 99% of everyone.

  • I killed Mike ahhah I still have the save on ps3

  • To Mike's credit, I do feel like had they kept [most of] the original concept and possibly still got the general outline of we ended up with, he could've been a pretty interesting, unorthodoxly complex side character and a stronger foil to Jane and possibly Luke.

  • It entirely has to do with the fact that the writers of Amid the Ruins were only brought on for this episode and hated Sarah, afaik. Ew.

  • How and when could you kill him?

    lottii-lu posted: »

    Writers never like Sarah, like at all, so they just wanted it done and over with. However I thought Mike could die. There was an option for ps3 to kill him which then got updated for other platforms. So was it removed or something?

  • When he was walking towards Clem to take her gun.

    Ghetsis posted: »

    How and when could you kill him?

  • Woah. Seems pretty unecessary though.

    Jayroen posted: »

    When he was walking towards Clem to take her gun.

  • When he tries to get Clementine to lower the weapon.
    As in the final game, Clementine has an option where she can threaten to shoot him, making Arvo more nervous/determinant. It then cuts to an over the shoulder view of Mike approaching--this is because you could originally choose to aim at and shoot him.
    They decided to remove this option near release and replaced the other aggressive option with her asking to come with them.

    Ghetsis posted: »

    How and when could you kill him?

  • Guess the voice-actors need to be ready to deliver on short-notice. Must be really difficult.

    DabigRG posted: »

    When he tries to get Clementine to lower the weapon. As in the final game, Clementine has an option where she can threaten to shoot him, m

  • There were also voice files of Luke surviving his little swim so yeah, they change shit on the spot.

    Ghetsis posted: »

    Guess the voice-actors need to be ready to deliver on short-notice. Must be really difficult.

  • edited September 2018

    Actually, I think that was just him seething in pain from his leg being in the water.

    @Ghetsis Guess the voice-actors need to be ready to deliver on short-notice. Must be really difficult.

    Depends on how they do it, but yeah.

    Jayroen posted: »

    There were also voice files of Luke surviving his little swim so yeah, they change shit on the spot.

Sign in to comment in this discussion.