Season 1 is the only classic, imo. It had it faults (and a couple of plot holes) but I cared about the lives of the characters and Lee was hands down one of the greatest protagonist I'd ever played as. The entire season was one long gut punch and really demonstrated how effective games could bring in delivering a story. Unlike a film or novel, you were an active participant and I'll be damn if that didn't make the games ending one the most emotional conclusions in media
ever. I won't hold season two against them too much as season one was always going to be next to impossible to follow up, but it simply wasn't as inspired as the first and suffered from Clem being limited as a preteen yet tasked with taking care of individuals twice her age. I love Clem as a character but I'll always maintain that going with her as the playable character was a mistake.
Not only did it cheapen the ending of season one, it became clear midway through season 3 that they were spinning their wheels and had no idea where to go with her. The time jumps were also so disjointed because they had to age her due to the fact that so many fans acknowledged how bizarre season two felt with a 10 year old taking care of 25 & 30 year olds in a post apocolyptic setting. It would have been much more poignant and memorable to come across Clem as a different character and witness her abiding by and living with the philosophies that
you as Lee instilled within her.
Taught her to not trust anyone? Don't expect her to hang around or chat for long with you without a loaded weapon pointed at your head.
Told her to stay away from cities? She attempts to dissuade you by proclaiming that your idea of heading into the city to scavange supplies for an injured party member is a suicide mission.
Had her finish off Lee head before he could reanimate? Don't expect sentimental discourse or for her to hesistate to tell you that your fiance is as good as dead and that you should ensure she stays that way by putting a bullet through her skull.
An episode or two down the line with a teenage Clementine would have been better for the series and the character. I would have even taken some DLC in the vein of the Michonne series if I was curious for a summary of her life post-Lee. Fans loved her and I sure as hell do, but there's a reason Telltalle is pulling the plug after this season, and it's not just because the zombie craze is teetering off. They have other properties like 'Stranger Things' and 'The Wolf Among Us' lined up but nowhere else to go with Clem.
They know it's too late to
now attempt to convince fans to move past her story. They half assed it with Javi and his family in season 3. It was a debacle because they had
already given fans an entire season with the most adored character in the gaming series as the playable character and they didn't commit fully to Javi. They tried to do two things: appease fans of Clementine and simultaneously move beyond her creativley. You can't do both effectively, which is why season 3 is a disjointed mess. Truth is they would have better served going the direction of 'Fear The Walking Dead' with a different focus on a different survivor (each season as opposed to each episode since players would need to care about the PC and their party.) They toyed with this notion with the pre-season two DLC that many people don't remember due to the fact that they went nowhere it.
I have high hopes for this season since it appears the focus will be on the inevietability of the circle of life. Clem is pretty clearly now in the role of Lee with AJ in her role from season one, so I'm hoping we get a memomarble send off, however tragic it may or may not be. I also love the new art direction and revamped camera. Still, every season dropped in comparison to the previous one. With the franchise as a whole losing steam, it's likley the right move to pull the plug and undoubtedly gives the writers a ton of freedom creatively.
That said, I ultimately will probably view Clementines story as bittersweet. I enjoyed being able to experience (most) of her growth as a young lady & survivor post Lee, but I think her familiarity ultimately did a disservice to the character & her story. I view it sort of how I view Michael & Loomis in the 'Halloween' franchise. Both would have benefitted from dying in that fire at the end of Halloween 2, and Michael in particular would have been even more iconic if he never returned for those lackluster (at best) sequels. We outright didn't
need full seasons of Clementine but I'll be here for the finale just like I was here for the in-between.
