If you’ve had the honor of playing Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2, then you have had to make tough decisions regarding the safety of Clementine. In this season, she is about 10 years old and it has been almost two years since we last saw her with our beloved Lee in the first game. Telltale loves to make its players choose between the lesser of two evils. Sounds familiar in our society, right?
One of the most dividing decisions among the community is who Clementine would’ve been better off choosing at the end of the game: Kenny or Jane.
The most important aspect of this debate is Clementine. She is an exceptionally smart girl who learned a plethora of survival skills as well as character skills from Lee. This brings a level of discernment.
In the first game, we meet Kenny, who is also taking shelter at Hershel’s Farm. He comes across as a nice family man who knows his duties as a father and husband to Katja and Duck. At the farm, Lee makes the tough decision of choosing to save Hershel’s son, Shane, and Kenny’s son, Duck. It doesn’t truly matter who you save as Kenny is still a good friend of Lee.
Throughout the game, the gang runs into multiple problems, most resulting in the death of loved ones. Kenny has lost the most people throughout the entire series. This, in turn, results in him being somewhat unstable mentally and emotionally, breaking down at the worst possible moments. However, Clem is with him every step of the way as is Baby AJ, the product of another death.
Jane, a lone survivor type, is introduced to the group in Season 2, when the antagonist group Carver captures the gang. Here, we learn about her story, how she lost her sister to the depravity of the conditions at Carver, and how she had to do terrible things for the good of Carver.
Jane’s personality is sly and witty, and she is quick and silent. Her views on the situations presented to them are cold and factual, leaning less on faith and more on survival. She shares intimate moments with Clem, revealing a certain level of vulnerability with her. She teaches Clementine to not rely on groups and to save only herself when given the chance. This is a complete conflict with Kenny’s ideology of “family first.”
We are left to choose between our hearts and our brains.
Kenny always believes in his plans, even when they fall through. His main goal is to keep Clementine and Baby AJ safe. Jane has the same goal, with the difference being Jane’s cold perspective on the likelihood of survival, which is, unfortunately, very realistic.
The showdown occurs when Jane attempts to prove a point with Clementine about Kenny and his unstable mental state. She tricks them into believing Baby AJ is dead and Kenny, proving her right, goes ballistic and tries killing her in front of Clementine. Clementine is left with the most heartbreaking choice of killing either Jane or Kenny after Jane admits the reasoning behind this plan.
Most players chose to kill Jane as this was the completely wrong way to go about Kenny while others killed Kenny as they saw how unruly he had gotten. When I first played, I sided with Kenny because it felt obvious. He had been with us for so long and became family. As I replayed this 10 years later, I chose to save Jane. I wanted to truly put myself in Clem’s shoes. Personally, Jane had a better head on her shoulders since Kenny had lost so much, he became unrecognizable. The most important thing to think about is Clem and AJ’s safety.
The game came out 12 years ago and this debate is still ongoing and rampant. This is truly what Telltale wanted in the end and they achieved it! What are your thoughts? Did you choose Kenny or Jane? Share your choices with Boss Rush on Discord!
Featured Images Telltale
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