![]() ![]() That said, I can’t shake the feeling my emotions were being toyed with for the sake of a mid-episode cliffhanger. ![]() While Take Us Back pays homage to the first season’s finale, there’s enough amazing twists and turns here to prevent this episode from becoming a mere tribute to Lee’s final stand. ![]() Skybound Games immediately throws this into doubt though, adding tension and uncertainty that’s rarely been seen before in the series. The Walking Dead has always presented itself as unrelenting in the dangers that it presents, but Clem’s safety (with the exception of the odd missing finger) has always seemed like a given. I won’t mention the specifics, but let’s just say that it all adds up nicely. These moments may not heavily impact the narrative, but they’re satisfying acknowledgements nevertheless. There are also moments in the finale that reference decisions you made in previous episodes. Many other variables also come to a head in this finale, making my experience feel extremely personal. Throughout this season, I’ve been trying my best to steer AJ away from violence in favour of compassion and feel my decisions have been justly rewarded. Since my playthrough of Take Us Back, I’ve taken a quick glimpse at the experiences of other players and I’m pleased to say they differed greatly from my own. For some time now, fans (and I include myself in there) have felt as though their choices have counted for very little when a season’s conclusion comes about – simply offering you one of two binary paths, but I didn’t feel that here. The episode actually shares some similarity to the Season Two finale, No Going Back, with our main characters getting very little time for respite as they try and make their way to refuge, although this time around our group is much smaller. Parenting is already one of the most difficult jobs anyone can undertake, but doing so whilst also fighting for your life on daily basis makes me think Clem is some kind of super woman. AJ’s blasé attitude towards violence is a fascinating difference, which seems to be the result of having been brought up solely in this post-apocalyptic world, with life before the outbreak coming across like a surreal fantasy. Since the series began, it’s been a staple of previous finales to have a high body count mixed with intense action and some incredibly high-stakes, but Take Us Back throws that blueprint into the trash and brings the season’s central relationship to the forefront.Įven though there are clear parallels to draw between them, the dynamic of Clem and AJ is very different from how things used to be between Clem and Lee. In fact, compared to any of the finales that have come before it, Take Us Back feels incredibly low-key. In the context of the tone laid out by previous episodes, it makes sense, but anyone expecting a huge infiltration mission of the Delta’s hideout will be disappointed. As if the pressure wasn’t enough already for Skybound Games to create a satisfying ending – something which CEO Ian Howe discussed with us here – Take Us Back also represents the first definitive ending for any of the ongoing series within The Walking Dead universe.įollowing on from the explosive cliffhanger in Broken Toys, Take Us Back could have followed any number of narrative paths but in sticking with the Final Season’s grounded storyline, the episode focuses almost entirely on Clementine and AJ’s journey home. It’s not too often you can label a video game as the ‘end of an era’, but for the last episode of what is indeed the final season of The Walking Dead, I can’t think of anything more fitting. Spoiler warning for the events of The Walking Dead Episode 4 ‘Take Us Back’.
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