Best to Worst episodes from Season 1?
Mrwalto69
Banned
Best: Episode 3: Great episode, filled with action, emotion, sorrow, figuring out how to get the train going, Seeing how things affect the characters, such a smart episode, well played telltale.
Episode 1: Even though it was a learning the ropes episode it was still a great episode, right from the bat it was exciting, and meeting the characters and forming relationships was well done. the whole animation of the episode was great.
Episode 2: I used to think this was the worst but having re-played it, it's grown on me. The whole scene of the farm when Lee and Mark are walking to the fences is a great image. The whole episode is filled with suspense, because you know the st johns are up to something but you don't know what. they took a risk having the antagonists not Walkers and it paid off.
Episode 4: I was very keen for this when i saw the trailer at the end of Episode 3 and while it still is a good episode it hit badly with a few vital things. 1: It's too long and does get a bit boring, and 2: Lee getting bitten killed the episode for me. I know i'll get backlash but i was hoping he wouldn't get bitten. I was hoping something unexpected would happen but you had a sense it would and when he was, you knew that was it. But some things did save this episode from being the worst, like Lee turning bad ass if you choose to threaten Vernon (funny shit) and The big house and the foggy setting is beautiful to look at.
Worst: Episode 5: Call me crazy and stupid but i just didn't connect to this episode. I thought the attic scene and Lee running through the horde of Walkers was entertaining but it just seems too rushed and not as much detail unlike the previous episodes. It's pretty much: Lee's bite affecting him, Losing the boat, Having 2 characters die (or 1 if Kenny is still alive) Lee turning badass, finding Clem, talking to the stranger who we all knew when we saw the car was from episode 2, Then the tear jerker at the end. i guess if they didn't have Lee been bitten they wouldn't of been limited but what can you do? I can't really blame it on the whole episode, because once Lee got bitten at the end of episode 4, you knew it was going to be short.
Comments
Here's my opinion from best on top to worse on bottom.
Episode 2- The fact that the episode works so great as a standalone story as much as a continuation of the season's story is what makes it so fantastic. It has the best dialogue, the strongest conflict, one of the most memorable deaths and perhaps the most fulfilling resolution of any episode in the season. There's a level of investment throughout the writing and direction that the other episode came close to, but never fulfilled as much as this did. On top of everything, this was the episode that elevated the game from being pretty good in Episode 1 to absolutely amazing and something I wanted to play until the very end.
Episode 5- Your issue for it being short is actually what I liked about it. Because they were working with a shorter run time, it forced the writing to be more concise and focused. The dialogue was strong, the resolutions were fulfilling and there was genuine tension maintained throughout. And yes, the ending did make me tear up a little in just the right way. The standout scene that makes this episode great, however, is Lee's confrontation with the "villain." The quiet, nuanced tone of their tense little conversation was perhaps the single strongest bit of writing from the season and it added a whole different layer to the resolution that a lesser game couldn't have captured.
Episode 1- The one that set the standard and a terrific introduction to the story, tone and characters. It is just so dang compelling from start to finish, with natural introductions for characters and memorable moments all throughout. Even the cameos of comic characters worked organically. It was just solid all throughout and it convinced me of what potential the series could hold.
Episode 3- I will say that most of this episode is pretty solid. In particular, the first two thirds of the story really elevated things and gave the two most shocking moment in the whole series. However, after these moments, the episode felt like it petered out in the third act. Christa and Omid's introductions were just ok and the big climax ended up being limp in comparison to how powerful the first two thirds were. So it was a really good episode limited by a just ok ending.
Episode 4- Call it an issue of being the second to last episode, but of all the episodes this was the sloppiest. It would move in fits and starts that killed the momentum of the story, the dialogue was significantly weaker, the thematic elements were too overt, Molly's superhuman abilities bent the laws of physics too much and there never seemed to be a solid direction the episode was going toward until the very end. There were good moments throughout and the twist made up for some of the faults, but it felt like the actual cohesion of the writing and gameplay was disjointed and it removed my immersion far too often.
I was just about to post my opinion on the ranking but you listed everything in my exact order. I think most people agree that episode 4 was the weakest/one of the weakest ones.
I would probably go with:
Episode 3,
Episode 5,
Episode 2,
Episode 4,
Episode 1,
But I will note that 5,2, & 4 could easily be rearranged for me. I like those 3 all pretty equally. I feel pretty strongly though that Episode 3 is the best, and Episode 1 is the worst. Now, Episode 1 still isn't bad mind you. It has some really great moments in there. But there were a couple hiccups in the storytelling, and the fact that they made one character in particular RIDICULOUSLY stupid in order to set up a puzzle was a little bit jarring to the experience. This is the only episode I really felt anything like that.
I personally thought each episode was better then the last, but they all brought something to the table that the other episodes did not, so in simple words for me it goes 5,4,3,2,1, and I still think 1 was good.
Yeah, but thankfully they were made aware of making that character look stupid and managed to turn it into a running gag. That is something I really respect about Telltale too. Say what you will about their release schedule, but they know how to listen to fans! Heck, even the little reference to that same character during 400 Days (you know the one) is them responding to the fans.
Speaking of 400 Days, I can't fairly rank that in the season because it really is something entirely different than the rest of season. Just the short story format makes the episode harder to judge compared to the others. If by pure enjoyment factor though, I'd say it is in the middle of my list right after Episode 1. I liked it, but it had some faults I couldn't overlook.
Yep. Which is not to say it just sucks, but it wasted a lot of potential that could have made it as good. If they did bring Molly back though, which I wouldn't be opposed to, I'd just hope that she's more toned down and can't magically fit a jack or car battery into her little sack like she did before. She ain't Santa Claus, Telltale!
ALL THE EPISODES WERE THE BEST
I did like that they actually acknowledged how dumb that was by making a joke out of it. I think most fans legitimately laughed at that part. I know I did.
And like I said, I rank Episode 1 last, but by no means do I think it's bad. The only thing really jarring to me was when you're first given control in the Drug Store. Basically, when you talk to Kenny and his wife, he mentions that his parents are dead. But, he only finds that out after talking to Lilly and her Dad. They tell him they "dragged the bodies of an older couple" out of the back and Lee clearly reacts in horror. Problem is, if you talk to Kenny first, then Lee tells him information that he doesn't know yet, and then has this surprised/stunned reaction upon hearing the news from Lilly. News that apparently he already knew ... somehow?
Anyways, this is the only time I experienced anything like this in Season 1, and it doesn't take away from all of the great moments in the episode. But, it did make it the "choppiest" experience in hind sight.
2, 3, 1, 4, 5. Two, three, and one were all solid for the reasons @zgamer said. I agree that two is the best, and three tops out one just barely. I put 5 below 4 because while 4 was certainly the least consistent and had the most problems, and 5 was an extremely strong ending, I didn't like that the gameplay involved in 5 was simply clicking and walking forward, while 4 allowed the player to explore larger areas than any of the other episodes. I know, I know, this game isn't about the gameplay but the story, but I still feel as if not being allowed to really DO anything in 5 was a hindrance to an otherwise excellent episode.
3- The best. It was a mix of emotional scenes during the first half, all along with great writing. The first half of the episode was incredibly somber, while the second half eased down a little and let the player gather their thoughts. I grew incredibly amazed when everyone got out of the train and I'm all, "wait, this is everyone?" Oh man, what I would give to play this for the first time again. I could usually do multiple playthroughs of this episode in one sitting.
2- Full of tension during the climax, I really felt like I was with this group of people and making important decisions. This created a heavy feeling of terror in me, which I loved. You took sides during this episode, making you immediately hate the one other person you didn't agree with. Writing was steller here as well.
1- By no means a "bad" episode, the first episode just had nothing really special. It did a great job of setting up the world and characters, though.
4- Here's where things started to fall apart. As much as I hate to say it, this episode seemed like filler till episode 5. I'm all for zombie action, but it grew repetitive really quickly. Arrive in Savannah? Zombies. Head to River Street? Zombies. Go down a sewer? Zombies. Needless to say, zombies were literally everywhere in this episode. It's incredibly sad how Molly's character purpose was literally to make the player feel better and have a 'badass' to talk to after the traumatic events of episode 3. That's it. That's all. However, the end of this episode had me feeling quite depressed and hopeless, so that's some good writing.
5- Definitely the worst. While the ending was substantial and made me cry, there are very few other memorable scenes in this episode. The pacing was infinitely quickened, with most of the (already void adventure) gameplay taken over by the dialogue choices. It wouldn't give me a chance to have a moment for myself, excluding the fact that this was the shortest episode. It pains me to play through this episode again.
If we count 400 Days into S1 then that would be the absolute worst for me. The others it's been too long since I played to remember the order.
Episodes 2 and 3 were my personal favorite!
First off, its hard to call any of the episodes bad. All of them were fantastic in my opinion.
Here is my ranking:
Episode 3: I can't think of anything bad about this episode (Critically, of course). Other than the train glitch, this episode was a masterpiece. It honestly shifted the way I look at life.
Episode 2: I know a lot of people immediately thought the St. Johns were cannibals, I was brought in by their southern charm. It wasn't until the barn when I realized something was up (I shot Jolene, so I didn't see Danny shoot her mid sentence). I have no regrets leaving both brothers as live walker bait.
Episode 5: Lots of people rank this one towards the bottom, but this was a sold episode in my book. While i dislike how short it was, any longer and it would have felt drag out. The confrontation with the Stranger was perfect. Whoever choose to have absolutely no music during that scene made the right call. The silence was deafening. By the end, I felt more sorry for Clem than Lee (and by extension, myself). I had her leave Lee, and that was the second time a video game made me cry (the first time was with Duck and Katjaa).
Episode 1: Telltale was venturing into uncharted territory at this point, so its no surprise this wasn't their best episode. I hate the fact that saying "reason with Larry" makes the game think you sided with Larry. Going back to the drugstore again and again was a drag, but it did help you get a clear sense of the initial group members.
Episode 4: All the reasons have already been listed. However, i personally think the attic scene was the best in the game.
First off, its hard to call any of the episodes bad. All of them were fantastic in my opinion.
Here is my ranking:
Episode 3: I can't think of anything bad about this episode (Critically, of course). Other than the train glitch, this episode was a masterpiece. It honestly shifted the way I look at life.
Episode 2: I know a lot of people immediately thought the St. Johns were cannibals, I was brought in by their southern charm. It wasn't until the barn when I realized something was up (I shot Jolene, so I didn't see Danny shoot her mid sentence). I have no regrets leaving both brothers as live walker bait.
Episode 5: Lots of people rank this one towards the bottom, but this was a sold episode in my book. While i dislike how short it was, any longer and it would have felt drag out. The confrontation with the Stranger was perfect. Whoever choose to have absolutely no music during that scene made the right call. The silence was deafening. By the end, I felt more sorry for Clem than Lee (and by extension, myself). I had her leave Lee, and that was the second time a video game made me cry (the first time was with Duck and Katjaa).
Episode 1: Telltale was venturing into uncharted territory at this point, so its no surprise this wasn't their best episode. I hate the fact that saying "reason with Larry" makes the game think you sided with Larry. Going back to the drugstore again and again was a drag, but it did help you get a clear sense of the initial group members.
Episode 4: All the reasons have already been listed. However, i personally think the attic scene was the best in the game.
I will say the music improved in 4-5. The dialogue improved in 4-5 IMO. I could go on for hours. I want Andy St. John to live.. I liked his dialogue and the character was interesting.
One big thing I found was that in episodes 3-5, the dialogue got more... Well... More human. I'm not sure how else to describe it. It felt very... Exposition-y in the first two. Like, "I like this!" "I don't like this!" "GRR!" "GRR!" (of course, that's a huge exaggeration, but... You know... Making a point)
I liked 2 and 5 the best. Never really liked 1 and 3 but 4 was different. It was ok
Episode 2,5,3,4 then 1 . All excellent though
I remember after I saw the attic scene I couldn't get it out of my head for days. It was so powerful. "Around Every Corner" certainly has its faults but that scene really affected me. I don't see the scene talked about a lot so I'm glad you mentioned it.
For me:
2, 4, 5, 1, 3.