History Awesome / TheWalkingDead

** A fantastic bit of role-playing is available for those who have not even done the Stranger ''any'' wrong. Lee can implore him to give up Clementine back into his care, to which the Stranger promptly retorts by saying he'd rather ''[[MoralEventHorison "kill her myself."]]'' [[ReactionShot Lee's face says it all.]] Lee can then give a terrific ShutUpHannibal to the obviously insane individual by telling him he's bitten and that he'll ensure he bites the Stranger before the day is done; unsettling the creep truly for the first time. Upon collecting himself, the Stranger throws Lee's words back at him. ''"No. I'll be with her, and you'll be rotting in the street."'' However. You can then throttle him to death and ''not'' give him the mercy of a bullet to the head, and then have Clementine gift you with not reanimating to hurt anyone else unwary enough to enter Savannah; shattering every delusion the camper-man ever had.

* Clementine gets a pretty badass one in Season 2 after [[spoiler: stitching her arm and fending off a walker after being locked in the shed by the group she finds.]]
--> '''Clementine:''' I am [[PunctuatedForEmphasis still. NOT. Bitten.]] I never was. [[WhatTheHellHero And you left me out here to die]].
** She gets one before that when she manages to [[spoiler:win a fight with a bandit twice her size, ending in the bandit getting eaten]]. It shows just how far she has come since Season 1.
*** Clementine has graduated ''several'' [[TookALevelInBadass levels of badass]] since the timeskip.

-->"That little girl's in ''my'' care! We've been through more together than you can ''imagine''. Anyone who tries to get between me and her -- ''ANYONE!'' is gonna wind up ''DEAD!'' You hear me?!"

-->"You know what, Kenny? Go fuck yourself. You gonna let a little girl die just because I didn't have your back every damn minute? Maybe you should grow the fuck up! Do whatever you want, asshole."

* "You -- [[PrecisionFStrike YOU FUCKER!!]] ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TEAR YOU APART!!!]]''"

-->'''Andy:''' Fuck you! ''(struggles to get up and just manages)'' As soon as Dan and Mama get out here, you're - you're all fucked! Heh hah!

-->"That little girl's in ''my'' care! We've been through more together than you can ''imagine''. Anyone who tries to get between me and her - ''ANYONE!'' - is gonna wind up ''DEAD!'' You hear me?!"

-->'''Clementine:'' But -- I'm little.

* Lee marching down a crowded Savannah street, with just a meat cleaver, [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a guitar solo at his back]], and a look on his face that is the picture in the dictionary next to {{Determinator}}. He can potentially make it through ''completely unscathed''. It's even more bad-ass if Lee has his arm removed. He LITERALLY takes on an army of zombies one-handed and ''wins''.
** If you ''didn't'' cut off Lee's arm, the scene is arguably even ''more'' awesome. The bite on his wrist has rendered his left hand completely numb, so he grabs a huge wicked shard of broken glass off the pebbles and grips it in his bare palm to use as a secondary weapon, squeezing it so hard that his life-blood drips down the shiv while securing it in place. Then you can [[DualWielding alternate them]] as you stab, chop, slice, cut, skewer and crunch your way through a half-score of walker skulls. There is not a more fitting send off for Lee Everett's final hours then parting the sea of dead keeping him from the Marsh House and Clem.
** The final kill culminates with Lee using the cleaver to [[AbsurdlySharpBlade completely cut a walker's head in half]]!
* And lets not forget how Clementine handles her kidnapper. She quietly sneaks out of the room, grabs Lee's meat cleaver (or a variety of blunt objects if you held on to the cleaver), and slices/bludgeons the guy just as he's telling his wife's zombified head that she: "wouldn't hurt a fly".
** When the struggle ensues and Lee fights the guy to the finish, and he can either ''choke him to death with one hand'', or Clementine takes the Stranger's gun and saves Lee with a single shot to the crazy bastard's temple.

* Clementine gets an off-screen moment at the end of Episode 5: When the sepsis (or whatever is killing him) finally catches up with Lee, and he collapses in the street, it leaves Clementine surrounded on all sides by the herd. No one would have faulted her for just freaking out and running away at that point--especially since she's just seen her parents as walkers. But what does she do? She keeps it together, and then this ''nine-year-old'' drags the dead weight of an unconscious grown man to shelter without alerting the herd in the process.
** And then she escapes the city all by herself. Sure she's a bad-ass little nine year old girl, but she's still a nine year old girl who just found out her parents are gone and her only guardian she had left as well, and she still had to wade through the city of Savannah and escape into the countryside all on her own.
* And again, just a while later, when Lee's dying words are instructions and advice to Clementine. The fact he was still alive and not zombified just by sheer will is this, mixed with TearJerker.

* [[PapaWolf Lee]] in general during this chapter. He knows that he's infected, and that he has very little time left, but he ''will'' find Clementine, he ''will'' get her back from the Stranger, and he ''will'' get her to safety. Until then, ''[[MilesToGoBeforeISleep death is just not on his agenda.]]''

-->'''Andy:''' Is that all you got, Lee?! Hah! ''(tries to sit up)'' You ain't shit! ''(collapses)''
-->'''Lee:''' It's -- ''OVER!''
-->'''Andy:''' Fuck you! ''(struggles to get up and just manages)'' As soon as Dan and Mama get out here, you're all fucked!
-->'''Lee:''' I said, IT'S OVER! Just walk away! ''(turns to go)''

-->'''Andy:''' Get back here and fight me like a man, Lee! LEE! Leeeee!! [[AlasPoorVillain Leeee...]]

-->''"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page out of Lee's book and try helping somebody for once." ''

-->''"Whoa, my family's not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people. They're [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] Lutheran!" ''
* Lee gets another in episode 3. He single-handedly holds off both bandits and walkers when they invade the motel long enough for ''the entire group'' to get into the RV and escape.

* Doug's, ''unintentional'', HeroicSacrifice.

* Or the truly quote-worthy raison d'etre that Lee delivers to Vernon when he offers to take care of Clementine. It's [[Understatement a bit more than just a stern telling off.]]

* Clementine rescuing everyone from inside the meat locker thanks to being small enough to fit inside the vent. And for being brave enough to volunteer straight away when Lee can't squeeze in.

* In Episode 3, Carley biggest CrowningMomentOfAwesome [[spoiler: and unfortunately her last]] was telling off Lily when the woman accused her of [[spoiler: stealing food and medicine to give to the bandits, despite being right (though the truth wasn't revealed until later)]]. Carley, sick of Lily's bullshit, gives her one of the best {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es yet:
--> ''"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page out of Lee's book and try helping somebody for once." ''
** How she defended herself against Lily when Lily accused her of [[spoiler: being ''related'' to the bandits.]]
---> ''"Whoa, my family's not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people. They're [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] Lutheran!" ''
* Lee gets another in episode 3. He single-handedly holds off both bandits and walkers when they invade the motel long enough for the entire group to get into the RV and escape.
* Even Duck gets one in Episode 3. He offers to help you look for clues about the stolen supplies. Not only is he [[HypercompetentSidekick very helpful]], but you can acknowledge his efforts with a high-five, causing a message to appear saying: "Duck thinks you are incredibly awesome!" It's fair to say that Duck is officially RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. [[spoiler:Before he died, that is.]]
* [[spoiler:Doug's HeroicSacrifice]].

-->''"He knew who you were, he treated you like shit and you still tried to save him. The last thing you have to do is apologize."''

* Lee kills about a dozen walkers in the stairwell at Crawford with a shotgun and later a hatchet. Cut off from the others, he retreats up the stairs, gets his leg trapped in a broken stair, manages to save himself and then get back to the group, hacking every walker with such power that they fly over the railings as he bulldozes back to them.
* Molly taking out a group of zombies by ''herself'', stabbing them gracefully only with her climbing pick.
** Molly also gets one from her ''first appearance''. She can potentially deck Lee if the player fails a rather difficult QTE, and then effortlessly disarm Kenny (who was armed with a gun and flanking her) with a leg sweep.
** For the player, and Lee, being quick enough to beat the QTE with Molly, Lee blocks his own wrench with his forearm and doesn't even seem to feel a damn thing when intercepting a hefty chunk of metal!

* For those who despise Vernon for his hypocrisy, not to mention his duplicity against Lee's group no matter how accommodating you are to him; intimidating the pasty cancer patient is a fantastic treat.

* Or the truly quote-worthy raison d'etre that Lee delivers to Vernon when he offers to take care of Clementine. It's a bit more than just a stern telling off.

-->"That little girl's in ''my'' care! We've been through more together than you can ''imagine''. Anyone who tries to get between me and her - ''ANYONE!'' - is gonna wind up dead! You hear me?!"''

* For those who despise Vernon for his hypocrisy, and his duplicity against Lee's group no matter how accommodating you are to him; intimidating the pasty old man is a fantastic treat.
-->'''Lee:''' You threatenin' me old man? Because you're not going to like how that goes. Put the fuckin' gun down before you really make me mad.

-->'''Lee:''' ''(looking superbly disdainful)'' [[LittleNo No.]] I don't think so. I know killers. Seen my share. You ain't got the look. And that means you ain't got the balls. Now drop the goddamn gun! ''(snatches the Colt off him)''

** If you ''didn't'' cut off Lee's arm, the scene is arguably even ''more'' awesome. The bite on his wrist has rendered his left hand completely numb, so he grabs a huge wicked shard of broken glass off the pebbles and grips it in his bare palm to use as a secondary weapon, squeezing it so hard that his life-blood drips down the shiv while securing it in place. Then you can [[DualWielding alternate them]] as you stab, chop, slice, cut, skewer and crunch your way through a half-score of walker skulls. There is not a more fitting send off for Lee Everett's final hours then parting the sea of dead keeping him from the Marsh House and Clementine.

* And lets not forget how Clementine handles her kidnapper. She quietly sneaks out of the room, grabs Lee's meat cleaver (or a variety of blunt objects if you held on to the cleaver), and slices the guy just as he's telling his wife's zombified head that she "wouldn't hurt a fly".
** When the struggle ensues and Lee fights the guy to the death, and he can either do so with his bare hands (or even one handed), or Clementine takes his gun and saves Lee with a single shot.

-->'''Andy:''' Don't you ''dare'' walk away from ''me'', Lee! ''(falls to his knees)'' GET BACK HERE AND ''FINISH THIS!!!''

-->'''Andy:''' Get back here and fight me like a man! LEE! Leeeee!! [[AlasPoorVillain Leeee...]]

* Lee kills about a dozen walkers in the stairwell at [[spoiler: Crawford]] with a shotgun and later a hatchet. Cut off from the others, he retreats up the stairs, gets his leg trapped in a broken stair, manages to save himself and then get back to the group, backstabbing every walker in between him and them.

** For the player, being quick enough to beat the QTE with Molly.
* Chuck holding off several zombies with a shovel to save Clementine. [[spoiler:This costs him his life]].

* If Ben's still around in Episode 5, he eventually stands up to Kenny and just lays into the guy. The whole rant is a mix of this and TearJerker, and the best part? He actually gets through to Kenny. Depressed, guilt-ridden, [[TheLoad burdensome]] Ben actually gets Kenny to ''listen'' to someone else for once.

-->'''Lee:''' ''(NoHoldsBarredBeatdown [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome one that leaves Andy's face a puffed up mess and two rows of his teeth smashed out]])''

-->'''Lee:''' ''(NoHoldsBarredBeatdown)'' ''([[VisualEffectsOfAwesome one that leaves Andy's face a puffed up mess and two rows of his teeth smashed out]])''

* Clementine rescuing everyone from inside the meat locker thanks to being small enough to fit through the vent. And for being brave enough to volunteer straight away when Lee can't fit.

* If Ben's still around in Episode 5, he eventually [[spoiler:stands up to Kenny and just lays into the guy.]] The whole rant is a mix of this and TearJerker, and the best part? [[spoiler:He actually gets through to Kenny. Depressed, guilt-ridden, [[TheLoad burdensome]] Ben actually gets Kenny to ''listen'' to someone else for once]].
* Kenny [[spoiler:stays behind to deliver a MercyKill to Ben, and when cornered by walkers, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome he goes down swinging]]]].
** Alternatively, if [[spoiler:Ben died in Episode 4, Kenny performs a HeroicSacrifice to save Christa from walkers]].
** However, [[spoiler: Season 2 reveals that he actually ''survived'' and managed to escape the hundreds of Walkers in an OffscreenMomentOfAwesome that even ''he'' isn't sure how he managed to pull off]].
* Clementine gets an offscreen moment at the end of Episode 5: [[spoiler:When the sepsis (or whatever is killing him) finally catches up with Lee, and he collapses in the street, it leaves Clementine surrounded on all sides by the herd. No one would have faulted her for just freaking out and running away at that point--especially since she's just seen her parents as walkers.]] But what does she do? [[spoiler:She keeps it together, and then this ''nine-year-old'' drags the dead weight of an unconscious grown man to shelter without alerting the herd in the process.]]
** And then she escapes the city [[spoiler: all by herself. Sure she's a badass little nine year old girl, but she's still a nine year old girl who just found out her parents are gone and her only guardian she had left as well, and she still had to wade through the city of Savannah and escape into the countryside all on her own.]]
* And again, just a while later, when [[spoiler:Lee's dying words are instructions and advice to Clementine. The fact he was still alive and not zombified just by sheer will is this, mixed with TearJerker.]]
* Admittedly, Ben stops being too much of bad luck guy in Episode 5. He was about to chop off Lee's arm to stop his infection but refused when he was awake (understandable since he would faint). He got the elevator door open when Lee was unconscious. He also helped shoot the Walkers in the mansion. He picked up Lee's gun when he dropped it, and stands up for himself against Kenny(though mentioned above). Additionally, in episode 2 he tells the whole group about what actually causes you to become a Walker. Poor kid does deserve some credit.
** Also in episode 5 if you chose to bring just Ben along he will actually save Lee if he misses the jump from the bell tower.
* [[PapaWolf Lee]] in general during this chapter. He [[spoiler: knows that he's infected, and that he has very little time left]], but he ''will'' find Clementine, he ''will'' [[spoiler: get her back from the Stranger]], and he ''will'' get her to safety. Until then, [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep death is just not on his agenda.]]

* Lee at the motel, taking out three walkers stealthily with an awl, trapping one behind a rolling car in neutral then driving the pick handle-deep into its forehead. Then Lee acquires his ''[[AnAxToGrind fire axe]]'', butchering one; then decapitating the final walker in a single swipe.

* Lee marching down a crowded Savannah street, with just a meat cleaver, a guitar solo in the back, and a look on his face that is the picture in the dictionary next to {{Determinator}}. He can potentially make it through ''completely unscathed''. It's even more badass if Lee has [[spoiler:his arm removed. He LITERALLY takes on an army of zombies one handed and *wins*.]]
** If you ''didn't'' [[spoiler:cut off Lee's arm]], he grabs a piece of broken glass bare-handed, to use as a secondary weapon while his own blood drips down his arm, culminating with Lee using the cleaver to [[AbsurdlySharpBlade completely cut a walker's head in half]]!
* [[spoiler:And lets not forget how Clementine handles her kidnapper. She quietly sneaks out of the room, grabs Lee's meat cleaver (or a vase if you held on to the cleaver), and slices the guy just as he's telling his wife's zombified head that she "wouldn't hurt a fly".]]
** Even MORE badass if you tell her to grab something else. [[spoiler: A struggle ensues and Lee fights the guy to the death, and he can either do so with his bare hands (or even one handed), or Clementine takes his gun and saves Lee with a single shot.]]

* "You -- YOU FUCKER!! ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TEAR YOU APART!!!]]''"

-->'''Lee:''' ''(NoHoldsBarredBeatdown)'' ''([[VisualEffectsOfAwesome Andy's face is puffed up and two rows of teeth smashed out]])''

-->'''Lee:''' I said, IT'S OVER! Just walk away! ''(turns to leave)''
-->'''Andy:''' Don't you ''dare'' walk away from me, Lee! ''(falls to his knees)'' GET BACK HERE AND ''FINISH THIS!!!''
-->'''Lee:'''(looks back, then down, shakes his head in disgust, [[UnflinchingWalk and leaves]])''

* When David or Travis reanimate, Lee has no choice but to attempt to stop the new-born walker ''unarmed'' by gouging its eyes out with his thumbs as it pins him down.

* Doug or Carley also get a BigGoddamnHeroes moment at the end of the episode. After Andy shoots Kenny in the side and is holding Lee at gunpoint, Doug distracts Andy with the laser pointer he found earlier, or Carley shoots his left ear off from a great distance, lowering his guard and giving Lee the opening he needs to take him out.
* Seriously. Dat BattleInTheRain.
Andy: is that all you got Lee?!... You ain't sh**!
Lee: It's OVER!
Andy: F**k you! As soon as Dan and Mama come out here you're all f**ked!
Lee: I said IT'S OVER! Just walk away!
Andy: Don't you dare walk away from me, Lee!... GET BACK HERE AND FINISH THIS!!!
Lee: shakes head in disgust
Andy: Get back here and fight me like a man, LEE! Leeeee!! Leeee...
** Yeah, ''or'' you could KickTheSonOfABitch. ''Literally'', as in Sparta punting him into the electric fence. You know, [[{{Irony}} the very thing that kept them all safe and alive?]]

* Near the end of episode 2, Lilly potentially has her own BigDamnHero moment, too.
** Assuming you chose not to, you know, [[spoiler: kill her father.]]
* If Lee refuses to kill [[spoiler:Danny]], he angrily retorts that it's '''not''' the way the world is, regardless of ZombieApocalypse. Similarly, Lee screaming at [[spoiler:Andrew]], "'''IT'S OVER!'''" -- and breaks his spirit by screaming once more, "'''I SAID, ''IT'S OVER!'''''", and walking away, breaking [[spoiler:Andrew's]] spirit.
** Yeah, ''or'' you could KickTheSonOfABitch. [[spoiler:''Literally'', as in kicking him into the electric fence]]. You know, [[{{Irony}} the very thing that kept them all safe and alive]]?
* Doug gets an onscreen awesome moment at the end of the episode. [[spoiler:After Andy shoots Kenny and is holding Lee at gunpoint, Doug distracts Andy with the laser pointer he found earlier, lowering his guard and giving Lee the opening he needs to take him out.]]

* Lee at the motel, taking out three walkers stealthily with an awl, trapping one behind a rolling car in neutral then driving the pick handle-deep into its forehead. Then Lee acquires his ''[[AnAxToGrind fire]][[SignatureWeapon axe]]'', butchering one; then decapitating the final walker in a single swipe.

* Near the end of the episode, when Lee is sucker-punched by Larry and lying dazed on the ground, about to get horribly eaten by the living dead, who else but Kenny comes charging back in and saves him with the fire axe Lee lent him beforehand in a great StabTheScorpion moment. Needless to say, players were [[BeginningOfABeautifulFriendship very grateful]] to the Florida fisherman.

** Rick shanking the straggler in a firing line, stealing his gun and mowing down a whole group of Terminus residents repelling Walkers. This episode clearly demonstrates that Rick is finished screwing around.

* Lee at the motel, taking out three walkers stealthily with an awl, trapping one behind a rolling car in neutral then driving the pick handle-deep into its forehead. Then Lee acquires his ''[[AxToGrind fire axe]]'' decapitating the final walker in one swipe.
-->'''Glenn:''' Man, that was [[TotallyRad sick!]]
* If you side with Kenny when Larry threatens to toss Duck out of the drugstore, under the mere suspicion of him being bitten (when he clearly wasn't), Lee will ''dare'' Larry to try and lay a finger on the poor kid, but warns him that he'll have to go over Lee's dead body first. The sheer amount of anger in his voice whilst standing up to a man twice his size is nothing short of admirable.

* Near the end of episode 1, just when Lee is sucker-punched by Larry and lying dazed on the ground, about to get horribly eaten by the living dead, who else but Kenny comes charging back in and saves him with the fire axe Lee lent him beforehand. Needless to say, players were grateful.

* Lee at the motel, taking out ''each and every zombie'' out stealthily.
* If you side with Kenny when Larry [[spoiler: threatens to toss out Duck under the suspicion of him being bitten (and he clearly wasn't)]], Lee will ''dare'' Larry to try and toss the poor kid out, but warns him that he'll have to go over Lee's dead body first. The sheer amount of anger in his voice whilst standing up to a man twice his size is admirable.
-->'''Lee''': NO! You don't touch that boy! You don't touch ''anybody!'' I've got a little girl I'm trying to protect in here too. You want to get violent you old fuck?! WELL, COME ON! You better have a plan to kill me though, because it's '''ME''', BEFORE ANYONE ELSE IN HERE!
* Near the end of episode 1, just when [[spoiler: Lee is on the ground, about to get horribly eaten by the living dead, who else but Kenny comes charging back in and saves him with the fire axe Lee gave him before]]. Needless to say, players were grateful.

* According to Carley, Doug also got a (sadly off-screen) CrowningMomentOfAwesome when he saved her from a horde of zombies attacking their film crew's van. Not bad for a quiet, awkward nerd.

* No matter what you think of Shane, his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of Ed for abusing his wife and trying to hurt the other women is a ''deeply'' satisfying scene, one that many people would want to replicate with real life abusers.

** Two words. [[spoiler: '''TAINTED. MEAT.''' Bob laughs at and mocks the Hunters for eating his leg without noticing his bite, until Gareth kicks him unconscious.]]

** A subtle one: Tyreese tells Carol that he had to put Martin down because he put his hands on Judith's neck. Carol says nothing, just makes to move past him, ready to finish Martin off (not knowing Tyreese killed the S.O.B. rather than just knocked him out).

** Rick's plan for dealing with the Hunters. [[spoilers: He leads most of the group's fighters out of the church and expects the Hunters to see that. When the Hunters move into the church, the group then double back and wipe half them out with silenced pistols.]]
** Rick fulfills his promise from the season premiere: [[spoiler: he dices up Gareth with his red-handled machete after waiting for the Hunter to beg for his life. Sasha meanwhile repeatedly stabs Martin and Abraham beats another Hunter to death.]]

** Two words. [[spoiler: '''TAINTED. MEAT.''']]