TFS The Other Side of the War
Since Suffer the Children post-mortemly released back in September, I've found myself critically considering of a number of things. There's one thing in particular that I've only seen one of other person (@IronWoodLover) consider in very recent memory: What are The Deltas fighting against?
I say "what" instead of "who" both to make my point focused and because the who is something that has been discussed and speculated on--perhaps overwhelmingly so. There have been threads and comments about who they are--ranging from the newly lead New Richmond to comic originating groups like the Whispers to even the hyperfocus on one being with the singular Christa--, but not on what this other side of this war is. "What" is arguably or even fittingly dehumanizing, I realize, since the opposing group is most likely comprised of human survivors, but it is an important question to ask in these [eventually?] coming episodes.
One recurring query I've seen in places like my Flaws thread for the recent episode concerned this: Why were The Deltas so concerned with drafting a bunch of teenagers, especially given the deal & loses that had to be cut to get what few they did? What is this other side capable of that it necessitated Abel and his partner Lily try to get ALL of the survivor students from Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth?
These are actually very good questions in themselves. As you know, teenagers are essentially kids/adolescents in increasingly adult bodies; having them help in fighting a war along with or even instead of the much older adults is, in theory, not that bad a tactic biologically speaking. This, however, is not what one would call an exact science, particularly in some works of fiction. The Walking Dead Game in particular, with some exceptions like Ben Paul and his friend Travis, has a tendency to depict teenagers as relatively compact compared to their adult counterparts despite their age--with Sarah and Becca, for example, more resembling awkward twelve-year-olds than the high school attending fifteen. Even The Final Season, whose cast is primarily comprised of youths in their double-digits, doesn't fully escape this habit: Marlon, Louis, and especially Mitch are notably about as tall and even masculine as their likely ages would suggest, yet they still don't quite measure up to the likes of the adult Lily and Dorian especially.
It is also worth noting that a major feature of this story is the fact that among The Deltas' ranks are Lily, a veteran survivor who led the group Clementine was in during Season 1, and Tenn's twin older sisters Sophie & Minerva, who were secretly exchanged as part of a deal between Marlon and Abel so that the other students would be left be. These three female characters are obviously inclined to give the story some personal conflict & stakes due to their connections to the protagonist group and thus, there clearly has to be some easily more complicated storytelling in place to help give these aspects some room for development--storytelling that the next episode will inherently have to step up after the, um, Status Quo that was the first half of this four episode Season.
So what do you think of this other side? Do you think they're a threatening force to be reckoned and not trifled with? Are they in fact successfully trying to inhibit The Deltas' plans for survival? Is it far more complicated than merely either of those things?
Comments
Damn, these are some good questions. I think people have been more focused on Lilly and Abel rather than the Delta as a whole. The reason for the war is definitely going to be explored in Episode 3, but theories before it’s released seems like a great idea. There are only two possibilities I can think of at the moment as to why the war began: 1.) They could be fighting over ownership of the land, and 2.) The other community could’ve been started by ex-Delta members because they didn’t agree with the politics and leadership in the Delta. I know these are awful theories, but at least they’re some. Also, Lilly wanting to kidnap the Ericson kids is because there is a possibilty that the Delta is losing the war, so they’re trying to recruit as many people as they can.
Okay, gonna finally give you the attention:
Pretty much.
For what that's even worth, in the former's case.
I was just a tad shocked that there wasn't much.
Huh. That could be interesting.
If the Cabin Group vs CarverHowe's Hardware turned up full blast
Maybe, but you should give yourself more credit.
Exactly.
Since the trailer for Broken Toys came out today, the time is nigh. Here is a key question:
Did anyone notice that Clementeen is taking cover alongside Lilith and Minerva at the end of the trailer?
Hmm, I guess you're right.
What a twisst!
I think i know what happens here
Clem sneaks into the Delta,she meets Minerva first who agrees to take Clem to Lilly so they can talk,but only Clem,and yeah that's why she's guarding the door i guess.
Holy shit, commentors!
Oh man, Lilith's face..
Huh. That does make some sort of sense.
Pending....
What an absolute fucking let down.
I loved how Abel talked about the other community the delta is fighting, "Richmond's west coast" or something like that and he's like "we're just protecting our home what we built i'm sure you understand" and you think that maybe they're not so bad after all and that the story is more complex.
But no,they never really bring it up again they just fucking baited us,and Lilly is somehow worse than fucking Hitler.
I'm extremely disappointed.
How was it bad?
Yeah, seriously. It's like...what was the fucking point of rushing the first couple of scenes then if the Other Side of the War wasn't actually gonna play a role by the end of this episode?
Oh shoot, did he actually mentioned it by name?
Or that the story was any degree of complex!
Hitler? You're bein fuckin generous!
"It's a bloodbath one community against another,from Richmond to the coast"
"back at the Delta we're at war with some really sick fucks who make me look like the Virgin Mary" those were his exacts words,
and wow i have no idea what the hell happened.
It's like the entire third act was written by different writers.
Have you played/watched the episode or not yet? Cause I'll spoiler this sentiment just in case.
It's spending time-or rather, NOT spending time---by reinforcing the idea that the stakes are high and that conflict overall is pretty complicated despite how straightforward the actual story has been thus far.
[Bigger spoiler here]
Only for the subject of said complication to never come up, which renders the first sped through scene just kinda bizarre but enlightening and the second sped through encounter in the next scene or two open to eventually be made fruitless & contradictory.