Spoilers follow.
This season of The Walking Dead is much shakier than the previous one, and as such I will go over each episode in a separate paragraph. My overall impression is that it only reached the heights of the first season in the final episode, and that it could have used a stronger emotional pull, but it's reasonably entertaining, and the ending is wholly satisfying.
"All That Remains" was a flawed introduction to this season. Opening with a general lack of major character moments and almost immediately moving into a quick time event, it almost seems to forget what made the first season works. Add to that the interface, which takes some serious getting used to. Many more buttons are used, and the newly coloured prompts make the visuals much murkier. The episode eventually gets better as it introduces you to this season's cast, but even then there's still a lack of the emotional resonance that made S1 work so well. One moment near the end finally delivers and shows promise, though
"A House Divided" works much better. It contains a lot of set up, but Clementine has to make many more decisions in dialogue. It does a very good job of building up the characters, and introduces a few more. This episode's main problem is something that is never fixed in the series: The plot doesn't sit down and let you just talk to people. The story of this season has far fewer lulls, and it seems Clementine is always just pushing the episode to the next big plot point. Combine this with the varied button prompts, and there's the feeling of an extended quick time event. Still, the writing and the plot are good for the most part, and in this second episode it seems it's moving towards more character stuff.
Then "In Harm's Way" happens. Finally, the season invests us in the characters, and the driving force of the plot is at its most compelling all season. This is particularly due to the antagonist, the deplorable Bill Carver. Telltale does a good job of making this villain easy to hate, especially as shown by the stats at the end of the episode. Whenever it seems like the episode might be lagging, he steals the show, and its his shadow that makes the plot interesting. More new characters are introduced, and deaths happen. It's an exciting midpoint... but it also reaches a climax way too early.
"Amid the Ruins" is easily the weakest of the season, which starts strong but quickly loses steam as it has nowhere to go. With what was previously the season's main threat out of the way, the episode lacks something to really be about. There's no driving force, and as such the episode drags despite its quality moments. And there are a lot of quality moments, as the characters deal with their own personal struggles. This might have worked if the episode truly ran with exploring this and its impact on the group, but instead it reaches for any plot thread to follow. Eventually, it just makes up one of its own, out of sheer desperation.
"No Going Back", however, picks things right back up, being the best episode of the season and finally approaching the quality of the first season. It's filled with strong little moments, certainly, but it's also got a driving force. There's forward momentum in this episode, and more than that, it feels like choices matter. Indeed, "No Going Back" is a delightful return to weighty form after the previous episode, where the vast majority of major choices were quickly forgotten about. Then, it ends on a mostly satisfying note, but the choice near the end between the two remaining members of your group feels like it lacks some choices.
So, yeah. Fun enough season, but after the first season, it's a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps they were going for a different sort of game with Clementine's story, but the increased focus on the story results in an experience that feels less emotionally resonant, and it never quite leads into its full potential. All the same, after the strong ending, I'm looking forward to season three. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes.
7/10
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