History VideoGame / THEWALKINGDEAD

* CensoredChildDeath: Certain instances where the player gets a game over due to the death of a particularly young main character (namely Clementine in Season 1 and AJ in Season 4) are edited so we don't see them directly. That said...
* DeathOfAChild: Not even children are spared from the horrors of the apocalypse and we ''do'' get to see many of them getting killed on-screen. Even the [[NonStandardGameOver Non Standard Game Overs]] related to Clementine stop being censored from Season 2 onwards.
* TheHero: Clementine is the main protagonist of the series, being the character with the most focus in all four seasons though she is merely the deuteragonist in the first and third seasons.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: The video game series shies away from Rick Grimes' group (with the exception of Michonne for her miniseries) and focuses on another group of survivors from Georgia, namely Clementine.

* WouldHurtAChild: Many of the antagonists have no qualms in killing children in the series.

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: No matter who the player character is, even if she is an eleven year old girl, they always have to figure out how to solve the group's current situation. Even Clementine in season three prefers to let Clem do all the work after doing everything in the previous season.

** ''The Final Season'' has Tennessee.

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to the TV series and comics, the gore in the video game has been tone down significantly especially in later seasons. In fact, there are practically no humans who are decapitated at all in the entire series.

** Season 2 have Nick and Sarah.

* TheHero: Clementine is the main protagonist of the series, being the most focus character in all four seasons though she is merely the deuteragonist in the first and third.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: The video game series sway away from Rick Grimes' group and to another group of survivors from Georgia, namely Clementine.
* HumansAreTHeRealMonsters: Like in the comic and TV series, the apocalypse brings out the worst in people, turning them into murders, cannibals or evil dictators.

* NotUsingTheZWord: The word "zombie" is only mentioned twice but is often pop up during choices. Like in the comics and TV series, the most common term used on the undead are walkers. Others include geeks, muertos and monsters.
* WouldHurtAChild: Many of the antagonists have no qualm in killing children in the series.

Other ''Walking Dead'' games not in the Telltale continuity include:

** Season 2 has Sarah.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: As with the comic and tv series, there are many survivors whose final fate are unknown, notably, Christa, Mike and characters introduced in ''400 Days''.

* DeathOfAChild: Not even children are spared from the horrors of the apocalypse and we ''do'' get to see many of them getting killed on-screen. Even the NonstandardGameOvers related to Clementine stop being censored from Season 2 onwards.

* DeathOfAChild: Not even children are spared from the horrors of the apocalypse and we ''do'' get to see many of them getting killed on-screen. Even the NonStandardGameOvers related to Clementine stop being censored from Season 2 onwards.

Other ''Walking Dead'' games not in the Telltalle continuity include:

* DeathOfAChild: Not even children are spared from the horrors of the apocalypse and we get to see many of them getting killed on-screen.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: The video game series sway away from Rick Grimes' group and to another group of survivor from Georgia, namely Clementine.

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* ''Overkill's: The Walking Dead'': A FirstPersonShooter from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' developer Overkill Software.

Season Four, also given a name (''The Final Season'') released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now sixteen years old, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. Unfortunately, on September 21st 2018, Telltale laid off the majority of their employees, including the Walking Dead team, leaving the future of ''The Final Season'' uncertain. However, other companies have volunteered to help release the final two episodes so the story could be complete.

Season Four, also given a name (''The Final Season'') released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now in her late teens, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. Unfortunately, on September 21st 2018, Telltale laid off the majority of their employees, including the Walking Dead team, leaving the future of ''The Final Season'' uncertain. However, other companies have volunteered to help release the final two episodes so the story could be complete.

* ''Overkills: TheWalkingDead'': A FirstPersonShooter from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' developer Overkill Software.

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* ''VideoGame/OverkillsTheWalkingDead'': A FirstPersonShooter from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' developer Overkill Software.

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-->-- '''Chuck''', "Long Road Ahead" (Season One)

--

Season Four, also given a name (''The Final Season'') released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now in her late teens, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. Unfortunately, on September 21st 2018, Telltale laid off the majority of their employees, including the Walking Dead team, leaving the future of ''The Final Season'' uncertain.

Season Four, also given a name ("The Final Season") released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now in her late teens, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. "The Final Season" is also the last game Telltale produced, as the company announced on September 21, 2018 that it was closing its doors; with a skeleton crew staying to complete ''The Walking Dead''.

Season Four, also given a name ("The Final Season") released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now in her late teens, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe.

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/256px-The_Walking_Dead_Telltale_Logo_1209.png]]

''The Walking Dead: The Game'' is an episodic series by Creator/TelltaleGames that began in 2012. As in, ''[[VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame Jurassic Park: The Game]]'', you guide your character in an {{adventure game}} setting through a relatively linear series of events dotted with minor gameplay puzzles and a few [[PressXToNotDie quick time events]]. Unlike ''Jurassic Park'', it has also gained a reputation as one of the most well-written and emotionally wrenching games of its time due to its [[GreyAndGrayMorality grey and gray morality]], [[SadisticChoice sadistic choices]], and absolutely brutal {{player punch}}es.

The game takes place in the same universe as [[ComicBook/TheWalkingDead the comic]], but begins shortly after the outbreak this time, instead of weeks afterwards.

At the outset of Season One, Lee Everett is a prisoner handcuffed in the back of a police car traveling down a highway in Georgia when an accident involving [[ZombieApocalypse a weird shambling man]] [[TheJaywalkingDead on the road]] gets him loose. Shortly afterward, he meets a young girl named Clementine, and the pair have to work with others to survive, all while hoping Lee's {{dark and troubled past}} doesn't cause everyone to hate him, shun him, or worse, feed him to the zombies.

In between seasons one and two is a DLC episode entitled ''400 Days'': an anthology special which focuses on different individuals and their own stories as they cope with the zombie outbreak at various points over a four hundred day period.

Season Three, given the unique name ''A New Frontier'', follows Javier Garcia, a former baseball player who teams up with Clementine to protect his family from the ruthless community known as the New Frontier.

The fourth and final season returns the focus once more to Clementine, who has reunited with her adopted son AJ, and their arrival at Ericson's School for Troubled Youth. It premiered in 2018.

Going along with the theme of the franchise, while the zombies are ostensibly the problem, the real issue is the remnants of humanity, and the forging and maintaining of relationships with other survivors. Almost all of your actions will have consequences in how people perceive you, and it will be up to you as to how helpful you'll be, and whom you'll help.

See also:
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSurvivalInstinct'': the second ''Walking Dead'' game, which take place in [[Series/TheWalkingDead the TV series continuity]].
* ''VideoGame/OverkillsTheWalkingDead'': A FirstPersonShooter from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' developer Overkill Software. Like the Telltale Games series, this takes place in the comic series continuity.

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadArcade'': A 2017 RailShooter arcade. Like ''Survival Instinct'', it's based on the TV show.

''Be warned: with all episodes of Season One and Two, 400 Days and Michonne now released, this article will have spoilers, and some may be unmarked. Proceed at your own discretion.''

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!! This video game contains the following tropes:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:''Season One'' A-J]]
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewer in "Around Every Corner", which leads to [[spoiler: a hospital morgue housing a group of cancer survivors who are important characters in the episode]].
* AcquittedTooLate: [[spoiler: Ben]] confesses far, far too late that he was the one [[spoiler: stealing supplies for the bandits]], ''after'' [[spoiler: Carley or Doug]] had paid for this with their lives. Then again, [[spoiler: Lilly]]'s behavior didn't exactly make him eager to admit it - especially when she was becoming increasingly unhinged and was intimidating him.
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: The tense encounter with the Stranger in Episode 5 happens right after Lee fights his way through a horde of walkers armed with only a meat cleaver and a shard of glass. [[spoiler: Or just the meat cleaver, if you took off Lee's arm.]]
* ActionGirl: This seems to be a prerequisite for survival in the zombie apocalypse for most of the female characters in this game.
** Carley manages to be the second most badass survivor in the group next to Lee himself thanks to her crack shooting skills, and also the most likely candidate to pull a BigDamnHeroes moment and save Lee whenever he's in trouble.
** [[TheUglyGuysHotDaughter Lilly]] is explicitly stated to have served in the Air Force before things went to hell, routinely fights Kenny for leadership of the group, and can potentially save Lee a couple of times depending on your choices.
** [[IWorkAlone Molly]] seems like she'd be more at home in some zombie spin-off of ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' or ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' than a point-and-click given the way she [[LeParkour traverses Savannah's rooftops]] and [[DanceBattler elegantly dances around]] walkers to bury her ice-axe in their craniums.
** Clementine herself after Lee gives her some lessons in "Long Road Ahead".
* AdaptationDistillation: The game touches on almost every major core theme of the comic, such as teamwork, distrust, and the difficult choices that come with the disaster, in the span of five (six, if you count 400 Days) episodes.
* AdultFear:
** In Episode 3, Kenny refuses to believe [[spoiler: his bitten son, Duck, will die]], [[spoiler: Katjaa]] is tormented that her medical knowledge cannot help, and Lee has a nightmare about the same thing happening to Clementine.
** "Around Every Corner" ends with [[spoiler: Clementine kidnapped and Lee bitten]], setting up a RaceAgainstTheClock.
** It's quickly apparent in "No Time Left" that losing his wife and children has driven the Stranger mad.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: A lot of players don't believe that the ceramic found inside a spark plug can easily break car windows, but this can be done in real life.
* AmbiguousDisorder: HollywoodNerd Doug with the severely handicapped social skills and the savant-like working knowledge of electronics.
-->'''Doug''': Man, I miss my robots.
-->'''Lee''': You're a strange guy, Doug.
-->'''Doug''': I know.
* AmbiguousSituation:
** Whether or not resuscitating [[spoiler:Larry]] would have been successful in "Starved For Help", with multiple factors indicating it could have gone either way if you try to save them (such as whether or not they're actually breathing, or if they're already reanimating).
** In "No Time Left", the player is given the option of [[spoiler:cutting off Lee's arm]] to stop, or at least slow down, the infection from a walker bite. Whether or not it worked is hard to tell, as either [[spoiler:Lee is still dying from the infection, or the blood loss from his arm is too severe to recover from]].
* AnArmAndALeg: The only way to free David from the bear trap is cut off his leg. Can also happen to [[spoiler:Lee, with his bitten arm,]] in Episode 5 depending on your choices. The depressing thing is that [[spoiler: this does absolutely nothing to halt the inevitable in either case.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: It wouldn't be ComicBook/TheWalkingDead otherwise. It's guaranteed that you won't get through an Episode without at least a couple of the main characters kicking the bucket.
** Episode 1: [[spoiler:Shawn and either Doug or Carley.]]
** Episode 2: [[spoiler:Mark and Larry.]]
** Episode 3: [[spoiler:Doug/Carley, Katjaa, Duck]], and possibly [[spoiler: Lilly]], who's left in an AmbiguousSituation.
** Episode 4: [[spoiler:Chuck]] and, depending on your choice, [[spoiler: Ben]]. Also [[spoiler:Molly]] if you don't take Clementine with you to Crawford ''and'' mess up a quick-time event where [[spoiler: Molly]] gets grabbed by a zombie. Because of this, her 'death' is non-canonical and it's unknown if she'll be seen again in future seasons.
** Episode 5: [[spoiler:Lee and the Stranger. Ben will also die if he hasn't already.]]
* ArcVillain:
** [[spoiler:The St. Johns]] in "Starved For Help".
** The Stranger in "Around Every Corner" and "No Time Left".
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Even ''small'' car batteries weigh nearly forty pounds and are prone to leak acid if not kept upright, so Molly putting it in her ''backpack'' and doing LeParkour is just a ''little'' too hard to believe.
* AssholeVictim:
** [[spoiler: Larry]] in "Starved For Help", considering he [[spoiler: not only actively tried to leave you for a horde of walkers even after you ''[[UngratefulBastard saved his life]]'' by getting him medicine but also because he had an even ''more'' cutthroat attitude when he jumped to the conclusion that ''[[WouldHurtAChild Duck]]'' was bitten.]]
** [[spoiler: Lilly]] also becomes this after [[spoiler: she shoots Carley or Doug]] in "Long Road Ahead".
** If you believe what Molly, Vernon, Brie, and the video evidence says about them in "Around Every Corner", [[spoiler: the people of Crawford]] ''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters really]]'' had it coming.
* ArcWords: "In the end, family's all that matters."
* ArtEvolution: Comparing the animation of Episode 1 to Episode 5, the characters move much more vividly, and the animations themselves aren't repeated nearly as much.
* BaitAndSwitch:
** "Starved For Help" is initially set up to make the player believe [[spoiler: the bandits]] are going to be the villains, even focusing on them [[NeverTrustATrailer in the preview]], while [[spoiler: the St. John family]] appear to be yet another batch of heroic bystanders like the Greenes were. As it turns out, [[spoiler: the bandits]] ''are'' dangerous assholes, but the ''real'' villains are [[spoiler: the St. Johns]] themselves.
** And later, depending on your choices and how much you believe of the Stranger's story in Episode 5, [[spoiler: ''you'' might be the real villain of that episode]].
* BattleInTheRain: Lee vs. [[spoiler:Andrew St. John]] in "Starved For Help".
* BearTrap: In "Starved For Help," Lee comes upon Ben and Travis trying to free their teacher Mr. Parker from one that's been modified to trap humans, and later in the episode Lee and Kenny find another one in [[spoiler: the St. John family's abattoir]].
* BehindTheBlack:
** Not as obvious as most examples of this trope, but one of the bandits in "Long Road Ahead" gets attacked by a zombie that follows him through the entrance he made [[spoiler: to the Motor Inn]]. Given that only a few seconds pass between him entering, and the fact that he'd have to cross the street to get there, it's odd that neither he nor his fellow bandits wouldn't have noticed the zombie on the way in, nevermind taken time to kill it.
** Three zombies appear from nowhere inside the [[spoiler: abandoned railway station]], even though none of them were visible from the door. Granted, the room ''was'' covered in HollywoodDarkness but the point still stands.
** This is especially bad in the sewers during "Around Every Corner", where Lee can walk straight into walkers the player can't see because of the camera angle. The worst is when the camera angle hides that there's one ''holding on to his foot'', instead looking like it's just stuck in a grate.
** There's a JumpScare later on in "Around Every Corner" where a zombie hidden from the player's eyes attacks Lee out of nowhere when he revisits the shack he used to get over the fence to Crawford's garage, despite the fact he should've seen, heard, or even ''smelled'' the zombie the second he walked inside.
** Also in "Around Every Corner", there's the [[spoiler: boat]] hidden in the unlocked shed behind the house the team takes shelter in, which no one thinks to look inside when they first arrive for no other reason than that the door is facing away from the camera. Considering Lee eventually has to [[spoiler: dig up a rotting dog carcass]] to get inside the house, its odd no one would think to [[MundaneSolution peek inside the shed for tools]] first.
* BeingGoodSucks:
** In "Starved For Help", if you kill the BigBad(s) the MoralityPet can become scared of you, if you do the humane thing and [[spoiler: try to save Larry]] your panicky/pragmatic friend will throw a hissy fit and hate you; and if you want to please Clementine you'd better not take that delicious food in that car.
** Putting certain people [[MercyKill out of their misery]] can result in Lee getting scolded, particularly at the beginning of "Long Road Ahead" where it alerts the walkers and results in less time to get supplies.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: It's ''The Walking Dead''. Plenty of examples found in the game, including a zombie infectee, one of the older survivors, an unnamed couple found dead in bed... [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], however, because if someone ''chooses'' to die, they can at least blow their brains out and thus not come back as a walker. Dying at the hands of the walkers, on the other hand, is not only unpleasant but all but guarantees that the person will come back as a walker and possibly kill other people. [[spoiler:Clementine can kill Lee at the end if the player chooses.]]
* BettyAndVeronica: Depending on how you choose to interact with them, Lilly and especially Carly can potentially be implied romantic interests for Lee, with Lilly being a jaded and insecure Betty and Carly being the slightly more glamorous city girl Veronica. [[spoiler: Nothing comes of this in either case.]]
* BewareTheLiving: Naturally. When the characters aren't dealing with bandits, authoritarian communities, and random lunatics, they're squabbling with each other.
* BigNo:
** Understandably used by Lilly when [[spoiler:her dad's face is crushed right in front of her]]
** Also used by [[spoiler: Kenny when Katjaa kills herself, assuming he's there with her.]]
* BittersweetEnding: Most of the major victories in this series are this trope:
** "A New Day" ends with the survivors safe at the Motor Inn and--barring the power going out--they're fairly set, but one of them has died due to you being [[MortonsFork unable to save them]], which continues to haunt the characters afterward.
** "Starved For Help" has the group escape captivity and finally get badly needed food and supplies, but [[spoiler: Mark and Larry]] are both dead and the rivalry between Lilly and Kenny is not only worse than ever but Lee has been forced to choose between them by either [[spoiler: upsetting Kenny by trying to save Larry or causing Lilly to hate you for helping to kill her father]].
** "Long Road Ahead" sees the group finally make it to Savannah and gain some new members, but [[spoiler: Carley/Doug, Katjaa, and Duck]] are all dead, [[spoiler: Lilly]] has gone off the deep end and left the group, and Clementine has been talking to a stranger without anyone noticing.
** "No Time Left" ends with Clementine safe, sound, and set for the dangers ahead but [[spoiler: [[TheHeroDies Lee is dead]], thanks either to a MercyKill from Clem herself or simply being left to turn into a walker]]. Either way, the game definitely doesn't end on a happy note, but it does give off a sense of hope.
* BlatantLies: Clementine invokes this on a few occasions what with her being just a kid.
-->'''Duck''': Daddy says it's called a salt lick.\\
'''Clementine''': Yeah, but don't lick it. It's gross.\\
'''Lee''': Did you lick it?\\
'''Clementine''': ({{beat}}) ''I don't know...''
* BloodIsTheNewBlack:
** Lee ends up like this in "A New Day" after either slipping in a pool of blood or bludgeoning Clementine's (zombified) babysitter to death.
** Depending upon your choices in "Starved For Help", [[spoiler:poor Lilly]] can get splattered with [[spoiler:her own father]]'s blood and remains like this for the rest of the chapter.
** Lee and Clementine both end up like this as part of a ploy to get past the walkers at the end of "No Time Left".
* BolivianArmyEnding:
** Shortly after escaping the mansion in "No Time Left", [[spoiler: Kenny]] jumps down to help a variable character and (depending on your choices) either saves or {{Mercy Kill}}s them off-screen as the horde closes in, and then Lee climbs back up and the camera loses track, and we don't see the character again.
** The game ends with Clementine wandering through a field and seeing two people on a hill who ''might'' be [[spoiler: Christa and Omid]], and Vernon's fate is never addressed, though part of his group is reintroduced in ''400 Days'', but neither the man himself nor a few others.
* BookEnds:
** The game starts and ends with Lee supporting himself on something as he makes his way toward a zombified cop, Lee in handcuffs, and Lee and Clem killing a zombie together (first by Clem handing Lee a hammer, last by Lee kicking Clem a baseball bat).
** The very first achievement you get in Episode 1 is called, "Out of the frying pan...," and the first achievement you get in Episode 5 is [[BrickJoke "Into the fire."]]
* BottomlessMagazines:
** {{Averted}} in "A New Day" where Lee has to load a police officer's shotgun to kill his reanimated corpse and is screwed if he misses, and where running out of ammo is what potentially kills [[spoiler: Carley]] near the end of "A New Day", when she cannot reach her extra ammo in her purse.
** {{Averted}} when the whole party announces how many bullets they have, and after they've fired, ''that's it''.
** PlayedStraight, however, in "Long Road Ahead" and "Around Every Corner" when Lee has to open fire on groups of bandits/undead closing in on him and you can take as many shots as you like as long as no one reaches you.
* BreakTheCutie:
** All of Season 1 serves as this for Clementine, no matter your choices, culminating in her having to [[spoiler: either leave her protector Lee handcuffed to a radiator to turn into a walker, or put a bullet in his head to save him that fate]].
** By the end of "Around Every Corner", [[spoiler: teenaged Ben]] feels so [[TheLoad guilty and useless]] that he asks you to just ''let him die''.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Talking to Kenny five times in the bedroom right after escaping the attic in "No Time Left" nets you a cutscene of Lee extolling the virtues of a Telltale employee's mustache.
* BrickJoke: In "Starved For Help", Kenny assumes Lee knows how to pick locks because he's "well... urban" (i.e. African-American) and naturally Lee takes offense. Near the end of the next episode, while boosting Clementine over another locked door, Lee comments to himself that Kenny would probably ask him to pick the lock, which "might work now that we've got the time."
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: "No Time Left" reveals that the group's decision to [[spoiler: raid an abandoned station wagon for supplies]] indirectly contributed to two deaths that in turn drove another to insanity and a quest for {{Revenge}}.
* ButNowIMustGo: Glenn at the end of Episode 1. This is so he can find his friends in Atlanta. In Episode 3, Lilly will leave the group by [[spoiler:stealing the RV even if you choose not to abandon her on the roadside after she kills Carley/Doug. Kenny comments that she isn't very likely to be able to drive more than 30 miles, as the RV's radiator is worn out and close to overheating.]]. Episode 4 has [[spoiler:Molly]]. This could be out of a desire to not [[spoiler:split the group up]].
* ButThouMust:
** You're usually given silence as a fourth option in timed dialogue responses, but sometimes you can only choose silence a couple times before the game forces you to take a side or even takes one for you, such as if you pit Shawn and Hershel in an argument about fortifying the farm.
** All of the {{Sadistic Choice}}s count too, as you are forced to choose, and whatever you choose, someone is going to end up either dead or really pissed at Lee.
** At the beginning of "Starved For Help", you're given a variety of possible ways to release David from the BearTrap but of course they all fail, leaving only the SadisticChoice between leaving him or [[LifeOrLimbDecision cutting off his leg]], which is a very gory process.
*** In the same vein, more pragmatic players might prefer to abandon Ben and the others entirely in order to avoid adding more members to the group, but despite dialogue options to this effect the game forces you to attempt (successfully or not) to free David, thus allowing Ben to join and making it impossible to avoid Lilly predictably chewing you out for bringing in more mouths to feed.
** Also in "Starved For Help" is the option to turn down the offer of food and safety from the St. Johns. Since it makes no sense for the group to turn it down, second-time players trying to avoid the nightmarish plot that ensues just see Lee get outvoted before Clementine's hunger changes his mind.
** "Starved For Help" also pretty much ''demands'' the player continue investigating rather than return to dinner by having [[spoiler: Mark bang on the floor and ''audibly scream for help'']]!
** And one more time in "Starved For Help": Think you can [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot avoid the whole mess]] with [[spoiler: the Stranger]] by [[spoiler: refusing to steal supplies from the station wagon]]? Think again because Lee and Clementine will just stand aside while the rest of the group [[spoiler: takes them anyway]].
** In "Long Road Ahead", [[spoiler: Katjaa]] will always be the one who goes to MercyKill [[spoiler: Duck]], no matter what Lee says. Naturally, this results in [[spoiler: her suicide]].
** No matter how Lee treats the cancer survivors in "Around Every Corner", if he says he can find his way home without help Boyd will insist they can't let him take that risk. Either choice also results in Brie asking why they should help (even if Lee didn't ''want'' help) and Lee is suddenly given three choices for convincing them to help him. Choose to stay silent and Vernon asks if anyone in your group is injured and so comes to help Omid.
** At times, all dialogue options for a given choice amount to the same sentiment, just phrased slightly differently. This is most obvious at the end of "Around Every Corner" when Clem asks Lee if they have time to [[spoiler:search for her parents]] and the four responses amount to "No", "Sorry but no", "Hell no", and "[Lie]", forcing the player to invoke the major cliffhanger where [[spoiler: she runs away]].
* CallBack:
** Astute players may notice a certain modified bear trap inside the slaughterhouse in "Starved For Help".
** Whatever word Lee used to explain the smell of Hershel's barn in "A New Day", Clem will use to explain the smell of the St. John's barn in "Starved For Help".
** Carley's [[TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket problems with batteries]] in "A New Day" become a RunningGag when she offers Lee some batteries at the end of "Starved For Help" and when she asks if the batteries are backwards in a broken flashlight in "Long Road Ahead".
---> '''Carley:''' You're never going to let me [[NeverLiveItDown live that one down]], are you?
** When Clem is unable to shoot a walker in the train station in "Long Road Ahead", Lee can say she just needs to learn to pull the trigger. If she's the one who kills [[spoiler:The Stranger]], Lee will comment that he wishes she hadn't had to learn to pull the trigger. Alternatively, he can tell her not to be afraid, and then she'll say that she wasn't.
** The achievement upon arriving in Savannah in "Around Every Corner" is called "Georgia's First City," referencing its foundation in 1733. After you escape from [[spoiler: the overrun Crawford]], the achievement is called "Georgia's Last City."
** In "Around Every Corner", you meet Molly, who uses church bells to attract hordes away from where she's looting. At the beginning of "No Time Left", Lee uses the same trick to escape the hospital.
** In "Long Road Ahead", Lee cuts Clementine's hair to ensure she won't get grabbed by walkers easily. Shortly before [[spoiler: Lee succumbs to his bite/amputation, he can offer this as a last piece of advice.]]
---> '''Lee:''' Keep that hair short.
* TheCavalry: Sometimes your allies will step in to save Lee at critical moments. However, not all of these are {{Cutscene}} rescues; depending on your personal relationship with someone, they may opt ''not'' to help out.
* TheCameo: Both Glenn and Hershel show up in Episode 1.
* CannibalClan: [[spoiler: The St. Johns]] in "Starved For Help".
* CatapultNightmare: Lee in both "A New Day" and "Long Road Ahead"
* CharacterDeath:
** In Episode 1, [[spoiler:The policeman driving Lee dies after being pulled from the cars by walkers off-screen. Lee has to kill Clementine's zombified babysitter Sandra. Shawn's friend Chet will be alive if you travel in the day, but traveling at night, he'll approach you as a walker. Later at Hershel's farm, walkers will crawl over the barricade-fence and kill Shawn. Lee finds the bodies of his parents and his undead brother outside the pharmacy. No matter what you do, Irene (the girl whom you set out to save) will take Carley's gun and commit suicide. If you choose to save Carley at the end, Doug will be pulled out of the pharmacy by walkers and eaten. If you choose to save Doug, Carley be pulled by the hair by walkers and devoured.]]
** In Episode 2, [[spoiler:Travis will either be left behind and eaten by walkers or will reanimate after dying from a gunshot wound. Similarly, his teacher can also either be left behind or will reanimate from his leg wound. While walking to the St. John farm, the group will see a bandit murder another bandit with a shotgun overkill. Jolene, the mad woman at the camp, will be shot by either Danny or Lee. Mark will have his legs cut off for food by the St. Johns and die from his wounds off-screen. Larry will suffer from a heart-attack in the meat locker, and Kenny will smash his head in with a salt-lick (possibly with Lee's help.) You have the option to kill Danny with a pitchfork in the barn. Brenda St. John will be killed by a reanimated Mark while holding Katjaa hostage. You have the option to kill Andrew St. John, but it's implied that even if you spare him and his brother, they both die in the ensuing walker attack.]]
** In Episode 3, [[spoiler:Lee and Kenny will see a bitten girl being attacked by walkers, and Lee can either MercyKill her or leave her to die to buy him and Kenny time. Most of the Save-Lot bandits will be killed in the attack on the Motor Inn. Depending on whether you save Carley or Doug, they will be killed by Lilly while defending Ben (if you save Carley, it's on purpose, but if you save Doug, it will be an accident.) You find out that Duck was bitten during the attack, and Katjaa will commit suicide before she can MercyKill him. Your or Kenny can shoot Duck instead, or you can leave him.]]
** In Episode 4, [[spoiler:Lee comes across an undead boy in the attic and will either have to MercyKill him (or have Kenny do it) or leave the attic and have Christa do it instead. Lee will come across Chuck, who had stayed behind earlier in the episode, dead in the sewer. In a video tape, one of the doctors at Crawford is shot in the stomach on-screen, and you'll kill him as a walker later. Brie will be eaten by walkers as the group flees Crawford. Depending on your choice, Lee can drop Ben from the bell tower and kill him.]]
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler:If you saved Ben in Episode 4, he will impale himself on a bar and die off-screen. Kenny sacrifices himself to save either Ben or Christa (after she falls into a building from the ceiling) and is presumed dead. Lee or Clementine will kill the Stranger at the Marsh House. As Lee and Clementine exit, they will see Ed and Diana (Clementine's parents) reanimated on the street. Lee will eventually succumb to his bite from Episode 4 (or possibly his amputation), and will either be left by Clementine to reanimate or shot by Clementine to prevent animation.]]
* ChekhovsArmy: It took a whole episode for [[spoiler:the walkers from the bridge]] to catch up with you. And they're staying for the final episode.
* ChekhovsGun:
** The cane that belonged to Lee's dad. A bit of {{Foreshadowing}} and CallBack: The cane once again protects the store, even without its owner.
** In "Starved For Help:
*** Depending on who arrives, either [[spoiler: Doug]]'s laser pointer or [[spoiler:Carley]]'s gun is used to distract [[spoiler: Andrew St. John]] before he can shoot Lee.
*** Larry's sarcastic comment about the 60 cents in his pocket becomes important [[spoiler: when the coins are used to unscrew an air conditioner in order to create an escape route]].
*** Lee can notice a white arrow in a walker and suggest it might've been used by the St. Johns. Shortly afterward, the fence turns on and [[spoiler: the bandits start shooting ''red'' arrows, but it's still a ''white'' arrow that hits Mark]].
*** When Lee enters the barn, he'll ask about the salt licks just in case the player doesn't examine them later in the meat locker. A couple of scenes later, [[spoiler:Kenny kills Larry]] with one.
*** {{Subverted}} by the multi-tool when Lee realizes he can use it to [[spoiler: unscrew the air-vent in the meat locker]], only to find his captors have taken it.
** Clementine's walkie-talkie.
* ChekhovsGunman: Hey, remember that [[spoiler: station wagon full of supplies that everyone was pretty sure had been abandoned at the end of "Starved For Help"]]? Turns out the owner is the one responsible for [[spoiler: kidnapping Clementine]] at the end of "Around Every Corner".
* ChekhovsSkill: At the beginning of "Long Road Ahead", Clementine demonstrates to Lee how she made a pencil imprint of a leaf due to remembering it from school. Lee remembers this, and uses the same technique to get the imprint of an engine operation diagram when the group discovers the train.
* ChildrenAreAWaste: TheSocialDarwinist inhabitants of the Crawford enclave think so, with their policy of supporting no-one who cannot provide back for the community. In a case of Darwinian {{Irony}}, the structural exclusion of children and elderly combined with their isolationist policies would've eventually led to them falling apart as their population dwindled and grew too old to fend for itself anymore, and if you watch the camcorder tapes in the nurse's office, you find out that--like much else in the game--someone decided [[TakeAThirdOption two choices wasn't enough]]: [[spoiler: A pregnant woman faced with the decision of having an abortion or leaving Crawford snapped and stabbed the doctor before running away. He presumably turned and Crawford was destroyed from the inside]].
* {{Cliffhanger}}: Chapter 4 ends on a doozy of one: [[spoiler: Clementine goes missing and Lee gets ambushed by a walker while searching for her and bitten on the left arm. Lee goes off to look for her - either alone, with some survivors, and maybe ALL of the survivors - and head to Vernon's hideaway thinking he took her, but find it's empty. Just when all seems lost, the walkie springs to life with Clem on the end, who's promptly replaced by her kidnapper. No matter what response you pick, you never hear Lee speak it because he finds himself speechless before the screen cuts to black. What's more, there no preview of the next episode either.]]
** [[spoiler: Episode 5 ends on a minor one: After the credits, we see that Clementine was able to get out of Savannah but didn't find Omid and Christa. Then she suddenly notices two people in the distance and the game ends.]] This ended up being a SequelHook for the second season.
* ClusterFBomb: Kenny does this in "Long Road Ahead" when on what's already the absolute ''worst'' day of his life he finds a tanker truck hanging from a bridge, blocking the group's passage.
--> '''Kenny:''' Fuck, fuck, ''fuck'', ''FUCK'', '''FUCK'''!
** To sum it all up in one ''whole'' game, it takes almost [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJyYoM4l-6o 5 minutes]] just to count the swear words in Season One.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The subtitles. Each character (With the exception of Shawn, Hershel, Glenn, and other minor characters which are grayish off-white) has their own individually colored subtitles.
** Lee is white.
** Clementine is light pink.
** Kenny is light green.
** Katjaa is orange.
** Duck is yellowish beige.
** Lilly is forest green.
** Larry is red.
** Carley is purple.
** Doug is powder blue.
** Ben is gray.
** Chuck is greenish yellow.
** The Mysterious Voice is reddish brown.
** Also two minor characters [[spoiler:who are killed off shortly after they're introduced]] also have color-coded subtitles.
*** The unnamed police officer is light blue.
*** Irene is dark pink.
** Short-lived or transient characters often use the same white font as Lee, for instance [[spoiler: Mark]]. [[InterfaceSpoiler Don't get too attached to these people.]]
*** The background for each episode's achievements share the same colors. Green for episode 1, blue for 2, purple for 3, orange for 4 and red for 5.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Glenn, when confronting the bitten woman at the inn.
-->'''Glenn:''' ...You have a boyfriend?
-->'''Carley:''' '''[[WhatTheHellHero GLENN!]]'''
* ContrivedCoincidence: Larry has a medical problem and needs nitroglycerine, so his group gets into a pharmacy before the player meets them. And who does this pharmacy belong to? Lee's family.
** It may not be as contrived as it first appears. Though medical issues like Larry's would be a major issue in the zombie apocalypse, the story takes place very soon after the outbreak, when many people with those issues haven't died off yet. Since those issues would be fairly common among the general population before they died, many survivor groups would likely still have one or more people with issues that required a pharmacy. And those small groups would be everywhere, again because many of them hadn't died yet. Therefore, it's actually pretty likely that there would be one or more survivor groups in or near Macon, and pretty likely that one or more members of each of those groups would need a pharmacy. The least likely thing is that they happened to go to that particular pharmacy, but when you think about it, other groups had probably gone to other pharmacies in Macon. So the fact that someone was there isn't really too bad compared to many coincidences in fiction.
* ControllableHelplessness: You'll end up in more than one situation where you have to mash a button to escape... only no matter how hard or fast you mash, you can't fix the situation on your own.
* CoolTrain: Omid certainly thinks it is, what with his eagerness to learn the controls and all.
* CruelMercy: The player can indulge in this at the end of "Starved For Help" if they [[spoiler:leave Andrew the only remaining St. John, tell him his mother and brother are both dead, beat the crap out of him, and then leave him screaming in the mud]].
* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: If you're fast enough, [[spoiler: Larry]] shows signs of waking up... though he might just be reanimating.
* DaylightHorror: The game's general encounters with zombies and bandits happen during broad daylight, but the darkest moments happen as night is setting, often involving a BattleInTheRain or AStormIsComing.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Lee [[spoiler: killed a state senator he caught in bed with his wife]]. Worse, a couple characters know this, although you can [[spoiler:let one of them die in Episode 1 and the other dies in Episode 2]]. This becomes a big plot point in "Long Road Ahead" when [[spoiler: Lilly]] reveals the truth to the group after [[spoiler: murdering Carley/Doug]], although you can (and are encouraged to) tell each member of the group beforehand.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Every episode goes into darker and disturbing material, and Episode 5 takes the cake. [[spoiler:Lee's group gets whittled down, has their only way of escape stolen, and Lee dies after a traumatized Clem has to leave him to turn or shoot him.]] The general behavior of the group shifts as well. Lee, who can have the most optimistic lines of the game depending on your choices, turns into a determined and angry pessimist who doesn't care about his own death; [[spoiler: Kenny]] descends into alcoholism and depression, finally gaining hope literally minutes before he disappears, presumed dead; Christa has no major signs of her change, but at one point she downs nearly an entire bottle of liquor seemingly not caring that it's [[spoiler: bad for her baby]]; Clementine ends up wandering lonely and depressed over [[spoiler: both her parents and Lee's death]].
* DeadHatShot: There's one in "Long Road Ahead" as part of a NonstandardGameOver. If you can't convince Kenny to stop the train then Lee will return alone to the boxcar and see Clementine's hat lying on the floor just before he gets murdered by [[spoiler: Zombie Duck.]] [[spoiler: At the end of "Around Every Corner", Lee finds that Clementine has disappeared when he wakes up, and goes into the backyard of the house to look for her; the camera zeroes in on her discarded hat in the foreground. Thankfully, in this case, she's still alive.]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: The game deconstructs just how screwed a normal person would be if the government disappeared and zombies and crazy people started turning up all over the place. You're more likely to die getting everyone else killed than killing a horde of zombies. Ben may be counted since many fans agree that he is the most realistic.
* DevelopersForesight:
** When Andy St. John asks about the leader on the walk to the dairy in "Starved For Help", you can name Lilly, Kenny, Lee, or say that the group is a democracy, but if you contradict yourself when talking to Brenda, Andy will notice and call you on it.
** If you help Kenny kill [[spoiler: Larry]], but spare [[spoiler: Danny St. John]], Lilly accuses you of hypocrisy, failing to understand several crucial differences between the two situations due to her grief.
** If you've taken the time to look around the St. John's farm, the dialogue options allow Lee to use what he knows about the farm and its inhabitants to try to [[spoiler: talk some sense into Brenda when she's got Katjaa at gunpoint]].
** Upon startling the cancer survivors you can either try to calm things down or act dangerous and intimidating, but if you act calm at first and then make threats, Vernon calls your bluff.
** If you fire all but one of your bullets during the mansion attack in "No Time Left" [[spoiler: and Ben is still alive]], you can give the last one to Kenny when he tries to [[spoiler: help Ben after his fall, so he can MercyKill Ben and himself]]. Otherwise, he'll only have the one bullet taken from the gun of the dead couple found just before.
** If you choose not to tell Clementine what to do, she'll make the choice herself whether to [[spoiler: killing Lee or leave him to become a walker]].
** However, it's {{averted}} a few times, like a shot of the elevator in "No Time Left". You'd previously jacked the doors open with a rib spreader, but now they're closed again with no spreader in sight.
* DevouredByTheHorde: Some deaths will vary on who you choose to save.
** In Episode One, "A New Day", you must choose between saving [[spoiler: Carley]] or [[spoiler: Doug]] when the drug store gets overwhelmed, and the unlucky one suffers this fate.
** In Episode Two, "Starved For Help", Travis or David will suffer this fate depending on your choice. If Lee chooses to save David, who's leg is caught in a bear trap, Travis will get distracted and be devoured. If Lee doesn't save David in time, Travis will try to take Mark's hunting rifle and get accidentally shot, forcing the others to leave David behind to be devoured by the walkers.
** In Episode Three, "Long Road Ahead", while Lee and Kenny are searching for supplies in Macon, they see a young woman fleeing a building with her screams attracting the walkers. After one of them bites her, Lee has the choice to either MercyKill her or leave her to be devoured as a distraction.
** In Episode Four, "Around Every Corner", [[spoiler: Ben]] wants Lee to [[DrivenToSuicide let him fall to his death]] from the bell tower because of [[TheLoad all the trouble he caused]]. If Lee chooses to do so, he drops down the tower, breaks his legs, and the nearby walkers devour him alive.
** Presumably what happens to [[spoiler:Ken, when he either stays behind to MercyKill Ben or gets stuck after saving Christa]] in "No Time Left". [[spoiler: However, he "got lucky" and escaped unharmed.]]
* DogFoodDiet: If Lee examines the dog food bag in "Around Every Corner", he'll declare that he hopes he's never hungry enough that it looks appetizing and later speculates the [[spoiler: boy in the attic]] may have been eating dog food out of desperation.
* DoomedByCanon[=/=]SavedByCanon: The characters from the comics and those from the video game largely don't overlap, but the ones that do mostly appear in Episode 1: If you've read the comics, you'll know that [[spoiler:Shawn]] will die and become a zombie, which happens during the episode, and [[spoiler:Herschel and Glenn]] will live and later appear in the comics. This was originally the case of Lilly, but thanks to a {{Retcon}} has now been confirmed as a different character.
* DownerEnding: Episode 5 ends with [[spoiler:almost all of Lee's group dead, with any survivors forced to traverse a city filled with thousands of walkers. Lee slowly dies from either blood loss or the zombie infection while guiding a tearful Clementine through how to survive without him. Afterwards, Clementine [[SadisticChoice either has to let her surrogate father and mentor turn into a walker, or kill him herself]]]]. The only thing that saves it from being horrifically depressing is the post-credits scene that shows [[spoiler: Clementine]] made it out of Savannah safely, and may have found [[spoiler: Omid and Christa]].
* DrivenToSuicide:
** Irene, the young girl you find at the Motor Inn in "A New Day", since [[spoiler: she was bitten]].
** Ben describes in "Starved For Help" how he learned everyone turns into a zombie when a girl he knew decided to overdose on pills.
** In "Long Road Ahead", [[spoiler: Katjaa]] shoots herself after [[spoiler: carrying a rapidly-fading Duck into the forest with Kenny]].
** Lee surmises that [[spoiler:Chuck]] did this when he was [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled cornered by zombies]] in the sewers in "Around Every Corner".
** Blaming himself for [[spoiler: Duck and Katjaa]]'s deaths, [[spoiler: Ben]] begs Lee to let him die at the end of "Around Every Corner".
** And in "No Time Left", [[spoiler: if Ben is still alive, Kenny]]--partly to atone for his treatment of Ben--stays behind in an alleyway to MercyKill [[spoiler: Ben]] with his last bullet [[BolivianArmyEnding in the face of a horde of walkers]].
* DwindlingParty: Usually averted by a revolving door of characters replenishing the group, but in full effect in Episode 5.
* EasterEgg: See BreakingTheFourthWall.
* EmpathicEnvironment:
** In "Starved For Help", the weather starts out calm, but grows cloudier and has low, ominous thunder off in the distance [[spoiler: when Lee starts investigating the St. Johns' suspicious behavior]], culminating in a BattleInTheRain.
** In "No Time Left", AStormIsComing as Lee moves toward his confrontation with the Stranger and it breaks into thunder and rain as Lee and Clem encounter [[spoiler: Clementine's undead parents]].
* EpisodicGame: The game contains five episodes, plus the [=DLC=] episode "400 Days".
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: By the time you reach the drugstore in the first episode, you're treated to an argument between your group of survivors and another, summarizing one of the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters themes]] of the franchise and showing that you're going to ''really'' need to work on your relationships with the survivors.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: You can play Lee as an unrepentant murderer and JerkAss, and some of the things he sees will ''still'' repulse him.
* EverybodyKnewAlready: {{Invoked}}, if Lee chooses to tell everyone about his DarkAndTroubledPast in Episode 3.
* EverybodysDeadDave:By the end of Episode 5, everyone save [[spoiler: Clem and probably Omid and Christa]] are dead, [[spoiler: including [[TheHeroDies Lee]]]].
* EyeScream: Lee digs his thumbs into the eyes of a zombie trying to kill him.
* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Clementine is the ''only'' party member who definitely survives Season 1.]]
* FluffyTheTerrible: The bandits in Episodes 2 and 3 have established themselves at a Save-Lots store, and are therefore known as "The Save-Lots Bandits."
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** "It goes to show, people will up and go mad when they think their life is over."
** If you continue trying to examine the police radio when a bunch of cops are rushing to the city (to deal with the zombie apocalypse and all) you'll get "You'll have to learn to stop worrying about things you can't control."
** If you watch the traffic while in the police car, you might spot Kenny's truck and the Stranger's car.
** If Hershel catches you in a lie, he advises becoming a better liar. In the future, when the player can choose to lie, they are generally more successful.
** Kenny tells Lee at the start of "Starved For Help" that he'll eventually have to decide which side he is on meaning him or Lilly; guess what you have to do in the meat locker scene.
** Kenny says, "I'm gonna kill him, Kat," about [[spoiler: Larry]] in "A New Day". He does so in "Starved For Help".
** Near the beginning of "Starved For Help", Mark says that he's hungry enough to eat ''anything'', that he'd probably ''be'' dinner by now if he hadn't joined the group, and that he "wouldn't want to be locked in a room" with the very muscular Larry. Of course, by the end of the episode Mark finds that [[spoiler: he ''is'' dinner for hungry cannibals]] and most of the group find themselves [[spoiler: locked in a room with a potentially undead Larry]]. Mark's line can also be taken another way, as by the end of the episode [[spoiler: he's a zombie and ends up taking a bite out of Brenda St. John's neck.]]
** If you choose to free David from the modified BearTrap in "Starved For Help" by chopping off his leg, he'll [[spoiler: soon die of blood loss anyway, prompting Katjaa to admit he was never going to survive]]. Later in the episode, you not only discover ''who'' set the trap but [[spoiler: Mark also dies from blood loss from having his legs chopped off by cannibals]]. This can also be seen as foreshadowing [[spoiler: Lee's own fate after (potentially) attempting AmputationStopsSpread]], since it works about as well there as it does here.
** There are ''tons'' of suspicious elements that ultimately point toward TheReveal in "Starved For Help".
*** [[spoiler: Andy]] admits they've had other guests but describes them only vaguely as "moving on", and trying to investigate the barn before fixing the fence prompts anxious questions.
*** The bandits shout that "''It ain't right!'' and that [[spoiler: the dairy]] "Fucked with [them]" about the supplies, despite an excess of supply boxes at Jolene's camp. It's almost as if the problem isn't the ''amount'' but rather ''[[IAteWhat what]]'' those supplies are.
*** The [[spoiler: empty barn]] and certain comments make it clear [[spoiler: the St. Johns only have one cow left]] and the [[spoiler: rear-right pen]] contains a wheelbarrow of awful-smelling clothing and medical waste, hinting that [[spoiler: maybe ''beef'' [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies isn't the meat of choice]]]].
*** There's also Jolene's raving CrypticConversation, and the fact that [[spoiler: Danny shoots her to [[HeKnowsTooMuch shut her up]]]] even if you manage to talk her down.
** In "Long Road Ahead", Kajaa tells Kenny that she [[spoiler: loves their son "more than life itself"]] shortly before [[spoiler: shooting herself rather than MercyKill their son before he becomes a walker]].
** Chuck talks to Lee about preparing Clementine, because there may be a point where Lee won't be able to protect her anymore.
** A [[FiveSecondForeshadowing rather quick example]] comes before Lee confronts Clementine's kidnapper at the Marsh House. Just before the scene cuts away, the camera shows a [[ChekhovsGun familiar car]] parked in front of the hotel. Even if a more observant player recognizes it, they might just assume it's PropRecycling, [[spoiler: until we meet the owner of the car and he reveals you stole from him at the end of Episode 2]].
* FreezeFrameBonus: Lee uses a Georgia state quarter to unscrew the air conditioner from the wall [[spoiler:during the escape from the dairy farm.]] And where does the game take place?
* FromBadToWorse: There's a brief bit at the end of Episode 1 through to the beginning of Episode 2 where things improve--the group get their motel fortress set up and life is fairly stable if precarious. At any other given time, though, you are merely trading one bad situation for an even worse situation, only occasionally finding moments of stability.
* GameBreakingBug:
** The game sometimes imports choices from Episode 1 and Episode 4 incorrectly, randomizing those missing flags.
** Sometimes if you give a fifth chest compression during the CPR sequence on the [=PS3=] version, the game repeats everything twice and gives wonky camera angles, requiring turning off the system to avoid save file corruption.
** Although there's a rough fix for it (that needs to be constantly reapplied and doesn't seem to work quite perfectly), the Steam version seems to wipe your save files post-Episode 1 whenever you close the game.
** The disc release of the game suffers from massive lag on some systems, making the [[PressXToNotDie quick-time events]] nearly or completely impossible to pass.
** If you don't trigger talking to Kenny after you've met Chuck, it's possible you try going back to the cabin to run the train. This will make sure Kenny is there, which makes you meet Chuck again when/if you pass through the box car. This can lead to your save mucking up after the last scene (and sometimes mess with your other saves) which will cause your save game to show up as a black screen with just walker growls.
* GeniusBruiser: Lee, who was a history professor at a university, who can do some damage to zombies and can beat up the BigBad pretty well, unless he's [[OverlyLongGag slipping on every thing in the vicinity.]] (This is less of an issue once his leg heals)
* GilliganCut: In Episode 3:
-->'''Lee''': [hands welder] Here. The weak portion of the coupling is out of my reach.\\
'''Omid''': You think it'll be in mine?\\
'''Lee''': No, but I'm gonna dangle you over that ledge.\\
'''Omid''': The hell you are!\\
[Cut to Omid dangling and welding]\\
'''Omid''': God, you're a real son of a bitch, aren't ya?!
* GondorCallsForAid: When [[spoiler: Clementine is kidnapped and Lee gets bitten]] at the end of "Around Every Corner", your past relationship with the other survivors determines who goes with you. If you play your cards right, ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome every]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming group member joins you]], [[TrueCompanions even if you choose to reveal]] [[spoiler: the bite.]] In fact, revealing it actually increases the likelihood of Omid and Christa going with you.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Normally the series [[AvertedTrope averts]] this, but when you are forced to [[spoiler: kill Duck]] in "Long Road Ahead", you don't see the results of the gunshot... but Lee and [[spoiler: Kenny]] certainly do...
* GoshDarnItToHeck: Clementine reacts with a dismayed gasp if Lee says the word "shit". If he says "manure" instead, she'll smile. Brought up in Episode 2, where what Clementine says in the barn relates to what you told her in the earlier barn; if you said "Shit" you get this gem when Duck asks about the smell.
--->'''Clementine:''' Like shit!... Right, Lee?
--->''(Andrew, Katjaa, and Duck all stare at her)''
** On the other hand:
---->'''Duck''': What's manure?
---->'''Clementine:''' ...Doo-dee!
** Every time Lee swears in her presence later in the series, Clem's response is to chide him. "Swear."
* GrayAndGrayMorality: The vast majority of [[SadisticChoice major choices]] show this, with no clear-cut "good" or "evil" answer.
** The conflict between Lilly and Kenny in "Starved For Help". Both have their merits and flaws, and they represent [[OrderVersusChaos order and chaos]] respectively.
** In the end, [[spoiler:the Stranger is just another survivor who lost everything, and gives sympathetic reasons for his attitude toward you]]. But by this point, he's also completely fucking ''insane''.
* GuiltBasedGaming:
** In "Starved For Help", [[MoralityPet Clementine]] will witness if you kill [[spoiler: Larry or either of the St. John brothers]].
** In "Long Road Ahead", if you chose not to MercyKill the bitten girl being attacked by zombies, you have much more time to get supplies... all while she screams in agony. And then she suddenly stops.
* GunpointBanter: Or rather two guns and a crossbow.
* HalfTruth: Lee can give plenty of these to the other survivors when they question him about his past. Giving people these early may bite you in the butt later, though.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Characters, mostly Lee, will pull out items or objects from their pockets even if they're larger than their pockets. Some of the more egregious offenders include: an acetylene torch and its tank, a fire axe, and a car battery. There are also some subversions such as the tools at the train, which Lee can only carry one at a time.
* HarmfulToMinors:
** Poor Clementine witnesses a seemingly endless cavalcade of horrific deaths over the series.
** Duck possibly witnessed [[spoiler: the suicide of his mother before he turned/died]]]], although he wasn't really in any shape to notice.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Lee just stares in shock while a walker attacks him from behind as part of the NonstandardGameOver if Clem dies in "A New Day".
** Kenny spends the entire second half of "Long Road Ahead" in one after [[spoiler: losing his wife and son.]]
* HeroicSacrifice:
** In "Around Every Corner", Chuck runs to Clementine's aid after [[DirtyCoward Ben abandons her]] when they're surrounded and tells the group to move on while he holds back the walkers. Later on, Lee [[spoiler: finds his corpse in the sewers]].
** In "No Time Left", depending on your choices, [[spoiler:Kenny]] appears to sacrifice himself either to save [[spoiler:Christa or Ben]].
* HeroicSecondWind: All of "No Time Left", certainly for Lee but for Omid as well.
* HiddenDepths:
** Lee, since even if he's played as a NiceGuy, he still shows some moments of homicidal anger and his DarkAndTroubledPast of [[spoiler: murdering his wife's lover]] proves that even if he's generally courteous and caring, he's still flawed and has a ''very'' short fuse.
** Larry, though they're ''so'' hidden as to be almost invisible.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** [[spoiler: The St. Johns chop off Mark's legs and make them into meat for dinner. Mark dies from blood loss and comes back as a walker, grabbing Brenda from behind as she's holding Katjaa hostage.]]
** [[spoiler: Danny]] ends up falling victim to one of his own modified bear traps.
** On a much larger scale with [[spoiler: the Crawford enclave]], since the very system they set up to ensure their survival instead ensured their downfall.
** [[spoiler: Larry]]: killed by the very same knee-jerk emotional reaction that almost had him killing [[spoiler: Duck]] ("We've gotta throw him out or... Smash his head in!")
* HollywoodScience: Clem's walkie-talkie is a ''child's'' walkie-talkie used to talk between a house and the treehouse a few feet away. Who knew it could work inside a metal boxcar or train locomotive miles from another walkie-talkie?
* HollywoodSilencer: You use a pillow to suppress the sound of a gunshot at one point.
* HopeSpot:
** The end of "A New Day", where the cast state that the Motor Inn is defensible and has power, so they could stay for a good while. [[spoiler: Right on cue, the power goes out.]]
** "Starved For Help" is all about this. The group's food supply run low but they seem to come across some friendly people with a dairy farm, plenty of space to move around and a electric fence to keep the walkers out. [[spoiler: Then its revealed the family reverted to cannibalism and was stringing them along so they could capture and eat them]].
** In "Long Road Ahead", after the motel investigation with Duck (who can think you're "totally awesome") and the ensuing confrontation with the bandits, everyone manages to escape in Kenny's RV, and breathes a sigh of relief. Then, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Duck was bitten by a walker during the escape]], and the ensuing chain of events leads to [[spoiler:the deaths of Doug/Carley, Katjaa, and Duck, and the ostracism of Lilly]].
** All throughout "Long Road Ahead", the interface says any decisions you make with [[spoiler: Carley/Doug]] will be remembered by them. Of course, [[spoiler: it's all pointless in the end because they die anyway.]]
** "Around Every Corner" is built around this. Kenny is driven to find a boat in Savannah they can use to escape and live a peaceful life on. [[spoiler: After a short exploration of the docks shows this to the pointless, Clementine finds an intact boat in the shed behind the house they're hiding out in.]] The look on Kenny's face when he comes out and sees it almost makes one think he's starting to come back from his HeroicBSOD. [[spoiler: Then Clementine gets kidnapped and Lee gets bitten.]]
** "No Time Left" uses this to trip up players with [[AllThereInTheManual some knowledge]] of the [[Franchise/TheWalkingDead overall canon]]. [[spoiler:Lee can have his bitten arm amputated, and others ''have'' actually survived a bite this way. Surely our hero will be all right! [[BittersweetEnding ...no. No, he won't.]]]] Oh yeah and [[spoiler: the boat gets taken by the cancer survivor's group that Lee befriended in the sewers.]]
* HostageSituation: Used at the end of "Starved For Help" and the beginning of "Long Road Ahead", but is thankfully interrupted both times.
* ICallItVera: Danny St. John calls his rifle Charlotte and Molly calls her ice-climbing axe Hilda.
* ICantReachIt: Two examples in ''Long Road Ahead''. When Lee discovers a walker buckled into the seat of a car, you are only allowed to kill it by releasing its seatbelt and letting it come after you, rather than simply climbing over the car and attacking it from safety. Later, [[spoiler: after Kenny has crossed the DespairEventHorizon, you have a literal example when he refuses to move to let you grab a map.]]
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Stated verbatim a couple of times.
* IdiotBall:
** Really, the Stranger was probably holding this in "Starved For Help" for leaving the vehicle and supplies so necessary to the survival of his family unattended and so easy to rob with the keys in the ignition, the doors wide open, the interior lights on, and the food and supplies blatantly uncovered, though this isn't completely irrational when viewed as a beacon in the night for the Stranger or his missing son to find again and weighed against the danger of scavengers from the perspective of someone who hadn't really adjusted to the post-apocalyptic world yet. Which, admittedly, may itself be a form of IdiotBall, but the player ''does'' have the option of rejecting the idea of stealing the supplies on suspicion the car ''isn't'' actually abandoned, which ''is'' very logical ''because'' the lights are still on since if it'd been abandoned that way for any length of time the battery would've run down and the lights would've gone out. The follow-through isn't explicit, though, and the Stranger blames Lee in any case.
** In the first episode, the police officer takes his eyes off the highway they're on to look at Lee (who was sitting in the driver's side back seat) while saying something to him.
** One also has to wonder why Lee changes his outfit from thick, layered shirts underneath a leather jacket back to his light-blue collared shirt over a sweater, considering it's mentioned in "Long Road Ahead" that winter is coming soon. It can double as a bit of Fridge Hypocrisy if Lee decides to join the group in looting the station wagon in "Starved For Help", since doing so will have him give Clementine a hoodie because it's getting colder out. One might even have a case of fridge logic after thinking back on this since oh, but lo and behold, does this change in attire [[spoiler: [[IncrediblyLamePun take a bite out]] of him]] at the end of "Around Every Corner".
* ImAHumanitarian: [[spoiler:The St. John Dairy Farm]] hides a sinister secret.
* ImportantHaircut: Lee gives Clementine one near the end of "Long Road Ahead".
* INeedAFreakingDrink: After [[spoiler: Katjaa & Duck's deaths]], Lee can tell Kenny that Chuck has some whiskey. He's quick to take advantage, and later shares another bottle with Christa and Omid when they're besieged in the attic in "No Time Left".
* InfantImmortality: [[spoiler: Sadly averted with Duck, who either gets shot by Lee to prevent him from turning, or is left to turn as Kenny and Lee walk away in "Long Road Ahead"]]
* InterfaceSpoiler: {{Downplayed}}. Some of the story messages are quite relevant, but others ultimately turn out to be meaningless, and a few actions with consequences further down the road don't result in one. It doesn't take long to realize that they're very likely to be at best vague {{foreshadowing}} or even deliberate misdirection in order not to spoil things like upcoming character deaths by maintain the idea they're going to be around to "remember that"
** DoubleSubverted in "No Time Left, with [[spoiler: almost all of the "[Character] will remember that" messages received when Lee explains his actions/choices.]]
** Since the achievements are all automatically unlocked with the story, you can see how much of the game you've completed by checking the list.
** If you're playing with subtitles on, any important character gets their own colour of subtitle. With the exception of Lee (for obvious reasons), if they use the default white they're usually throwaway extras who aren't going to be around very long. This can be an early indicator of the likely fate of seemingly important characters like [[spoiler: Mark and Brie]].
* InterfaceScrew:
** At least once a zombie will attack right in the middle of a conversation menu.
** The "[Character] will remember that" tool-tip doesn't always show up for significant actions, nor is it indicative of how important it is down the line.
* InternalReveal:
** [[spoiler: Lee's conviction]] gets revealed by Lilly in "Long Road Ahead", though if he saved Carley he has the option of [[EverybodyKnewAlready telling everyone beforehand]].
** [[spoiler: Ben's collusion with the bandits]] also comes out in "Around Every Corner", with the player having learned of it in the previous episode.
** The player can also choose whether or not to reveal [[spoiler: Lee's bite wound]] to the other characters.
* {{Irony}}: Molly beats up a walker to extreme proportions in Crawford rather than killing it quickly, and later justifies it as just making sure it was actually dead. She makes this justification just after we see it twitch; it's ''not'' dead.
* ItGetsEasier:
** Averted or played straight with Lee, depending on the player. He will alternatively struggle with violence, or barely bat an eye if he kills the BigBad(s) of "Starved For Help", and shows almost no distress if he helps Kenny with the salt lick.
** Played straight by Kenny.
** Can be simultaneously [[InvokedTrope invoked]] and [[AvertedTrope averted]] in "No Time Left" if Lee tells Clementine to [[spoiler:leave him rather than granting him a MercyKill, since he can tell her this trope and that he doesn't want her to get used to killing a person and should only do so if it's absolutely necessary]].
* TheJaywalkingDead: Played with. Walkers do get hit with cars a few times, but unintentionally, and the cars aren't much better off afterwards.
* {{Jerkass}}:
** Larry, who doubles as an UngratefulBastard.
** His daughter Lilly, as well. [[spoiler:And she gets worse]].
** Of course, there is the option to play Lee as this.
** Kenny in the later episodes, who also may turn into an UngratefulBastard depending on the player's choices.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Several times, thanks to the GrayAndGrayMorality.
** By "Long Road Ahead", Lilly has become a paranoid wreck, ranting that somebody's stealing supplies and betraying the group, accusing [[spoiler: first Ben and then either Carley or Ben again]] depending on your prior choices, but guess what: she's ''right!'' (Except for the [[spoiler: Carley]] thing, of course.) [[spoiler: Ben]] ''was'' stealing supplies and given them to the bandits!
** In "Starved For Help" you are confronted by a nutcase in the woods named Jolene who proceeds to ream you out, call [[spoiler: Danny]] a monster, and insist that she's not with the bandits and you and [[spoiler: Danny]] are accusing her of shooting [[spoiler: Mark]] falsely. Guess what -- it's ''true!'' [[spoiler: Danny and the rest of the St. Johns are in fact cannibalistic monsters, and Jolene ''isn't'' the one who shot Mark with an arrow, and she's ''not'' with the bandits!]]
** In "Long Road Ahead", Chuck scares Clementine half to death by telling her she's going to die if something doesn't change, then gives Lee a list of all the reasons why that is. Turns out he's ''right'' -- Clementine's long hair ''was'' a problem because [[spoiler: Andy St. John]] was able to grab it earlier to threaten her at gunpoint, she ''did'' need to learn how to shoot a gun to protect herself and in fact has to do it several times later, and the group ''didn't'' have a definite plan for what they were going to do when they got to Savannah.
** Kenny is either a {{Jerkass}} or a NiceGuy depending on whether or not you agree with him, but he was in fact absolutely right that Duck ''wasn't'' bitten and Larry ''was'' a colossal asshole who wanted to just [[WouldHurtAChild throw an innocent boy to the walkers]] in "A New Day", absolutely right to be suspicious of [[spoiler: the St. Johns]] and instrumental in pushing Lee to find the truth in "Starved For Help", and turns out to be right that the group couldn't stay at the Motor Inn forever when they're [[spoiler: driven out by bandits]] in "Long Road Ahead".
*** His decision to [[spoiler: kill Larry]] also makes a deal of sense since even if Lee and Lilly managed to get him breathing again for a bit, the odds are still ''severely'' stacked against him since CPR is essentially stalling for time until actual medical helps arrives, which being imprisoned during the apocalypse would make unavailable. Kenny was probably right in wanting to take no chances that [[spoiler: the biggest, strongest person in the room became a walker in close quarters]], though the way he went about it was obviously ''very'' traumatizing.
** Larry is an utter jerkass, but it's possible for the player to make him at least partially right about Lee if you consistently pick "asshole" choices like repeatedly insulting and threatening him or persuading him to [[spoiler: eat human flesh]].
* JustIgnoreIt: When [[spoiler: Duck]] gets bit, [[spoiler: Kenny's]] only way of coping is to pretend it's not going to be a problem. [[spoiler: He's gone out of his way to prioritize the safety of his family]] and at this point, shutting down and going into denial is the only mental option he has left to [[spoiler: "keep his son safe"]]. Lee has to knock some sense into him (verbally or physically).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Season One'' K-Z]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Vernon's group steals Lee's boat and escape, and while they did go off to save Clementine, and would not end [[KillEmAll up needing the boat anyway]], Vernon still knew they were trapped in a walker horde with a little girl and a heavily injured man.]] However, it's implied that [[spoiler:the boat had only a small amount of fuel, plus the group consists of elderly cancer survivors with no weapons except for one gun, so their chances of survival are pretty slim even if they make it to land]]
** Also [[spoiler: Lilly]] if Lee decides not to leave her behind.
** Subverted expectations in ''400 Days''. [[spoiler: You find what remains of the cancer survivors group, and it's strongly implied that Vernon's decision to steal the boat from Lee's group caused the group to fracture over the decision... with Vernon noticeably missing.]]
* {{Keet}}: Duck. Kenny, his father, states that what he lacks in intelligence, he makes up for in enthusiasm.
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: Clementine is the only confirmed survivor. The fates of Omid and Christa are left ambiguous (they might have been the two people Clementine saw off in the distance in TheStinger). Vernon's group made it out, but in 400 Days, it's all but confirmed that he died. It is unknown what happened to Molly and Lilly, but Lilly's odds in particular are not good. Every other named character dies onscreen, including Lee...although Season 2 averts this somewhat by revealing that Kenny survived his presumed death.]]
* TheKlutz: Lee spends the first half of Episode 1 slipping, tripping, and falling over everything he touches because of his injured leg. Thankfully he gets over it in the other half onwards, quickly showing he knows how to handle himself (including getting his WeaponOfChoice in an axe, and using it to great efficiency).
* LaserGuidedKarma: The people of Crawford. [[spoiler:Their rules require anyone who gets pregnant to get an abortion. One woman doesn't want to go through with it and kills the doctor who intends to carry it out. This is what starts the outbreak that destroys their little Fascistburg]].
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Any episode past the first one will be this to someone who randomly decides to get the sequel episodes instead of the original. Episode 2 reveals that [[spoiler:anyone who dies, regardless of bites, will become a zombie.]] That could be considered a spoiler for both the comics and TV show if you haven't read/seen them yet.
* LazyArtist: If Lee saves [[spoiler: Carley]] in Episode 1, the Walker version of David has a gap in his head suggesting that he gets an axe in it when he's dead, which does happen in another run, but he gets shot in the head in a [[spoiler:Carley run]].
* LeParkour: How Molly gets around.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Lee says that you often think you have a choice when you really don't.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: Twice, [[spoiler: and subverted both times]].
** In Episode 2, the teacher caught in the bear trap. [[spoiler: He can only be freed by chopping off his leg, and dies of blood loss]].
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler: the player can have the group cut off his bitten arm. He succumbs anyway, although it's unclear whether it was due to the bite having spread far enough, or infection from amputating his arm]].
* TheLoad:
** [[spoiler:Most players rescued Carley over Doug, since she's a crack shot with a pistol. Doug's more esoteric skills seem like The Load in comparison. The developers have stated their disappointment in interviews that they didn't make the choice more difficult.]]
** Ben. The most useful thing he ever does is inform you that you can turn no matter how you die.
* LudicrousGibs: [[spoiler:Larry's death, which goes from heart attack collapse to ''skull explosion under weight''.]]
* MadeOfIron: Lee is this through several of the times he gets injured repeatedly from things that would usually knock out an average man or even kill him. Taken to the max in Episode 5, where he [[spoiler:cuts through a zombie horde while suffering from zombie infection or blood loss from cutting his arm off]]. His optional injuries show this too, as by the end he can be [[spoiler:suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach from The Stranger, and having been bitten three times while going through the horde]].
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Kenny does work on vehicles, and other characters will fight zombies from time to time, but it often seems like the largest hordes are left for Lee. There are some puzzles for him too, but that could be justified from the fact that he was a professor before the apocalypse, so he is probably the smartest, even if he mostly knew about history and killing walkers.
** Saving Irene - Carley shoots and Glenn helps, but the majority of thinking and zombie killing is done by Lee.
** Escaping [[spoiler:The Meat Locker- Larry bangs on the door. Kenny examines the walls for weak points. Lilly vomits. Lee unscrews the ventilation shaft and helps Clementine out.]]
** Killing [[spoiler:The St. Johns - Lee takes care of both brothers. Kenny or Lilly ''will'' help defeat Danny, but if Lee didn't save Larry earlier, then ''every member of the group'' just stands there while Lee almost dies fighting Andy. It could be because they might see it as his fight, but, as said, he almost ''died''!]]
** Missing Supplies: Lee (and Duck) are the only ones who take any interest when Lilly says someone has been stealing supplies.
** Getting [[spoiler:the train]] working - Lee does everything. Kenny even sits in the driver's seat, yet let's him to activate it! At least Kenny took the job of driving it.
** Getting the gas tanker out of the way - Lee and Clementine walk all the way to that building, unlocked it, fought zombies, and got the blowtorch. Christa calls them out on going alone, but Lee even announced what he was going to do before they went in. It's a mystery why no one came earlier.
** Taking [[spoiler:supplies from Crawford. Lee had to deal with the battery ''and'' the medicine, and later is the one who slows down the horde while the others escape.]]
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [[spoiler:Done seriously in Episode 5; when the balcony collapses, Ben falls about 30 feet onto a metal frame and states he thinks he damaged his leg, but he should be ok. The shock from the fall helps hide the fact that he's actually been impaled through the chest. He doesn't register that until he can see it.]]
* MauveShirt: Two notable examples in Season 1's episodes [[spoiler: 2 and 4]], [[spoiler: Chuck]] shows up in episode [[spoiler:3]] and doesn't last an episode more than that. [[spoiler: Mark]] doesn't reach the end of [[spoiler: his]].
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: In Episode 1, if Lee and Clementine choose to leave the house in the morning, they meet Chet. As he's running away from Walkers he looks at his arm. If the two leave at night they meet him as a Walker.
** In Episode 2, [[spoiler:the zombified Mark behind Brenda]] is illuminated by a lightning flash.
** A very subtle one in Episode 3, just before [[spoiler: Lilly shoots the Episode 1 survivor, there's the briefest glimpse of her pulling out the gun from her back when the camera pans over to Kenny]]. Many players won't notice this until a second viewing.
* MercyKill:
** [[spoiler: You can do this for Irene, [[DrivenToSuicide you can give her the gun and allow her do it, or you can deny her the gun so that she has to forcibly take the gun to kill herself.]]]]
** Kenny does a twisted version to the dying group member, in Episode 2.
** Depending [[FromACertainPointOfView on your point of view]] you can be said to do this to the [[spoiler: St. John brothers in Episode 2]].
** [[spoiler: You can do this to the screaming woman whose being chased by zombie in Episode 3]].
** [[spoiler: Lee/Kenny does this to Duck in "Long Road Ahead"]].
** In the season finale, "No Time Left":
*** [[spoiler: Assuming he's still alive at this point, it happens to an impaled Ben; Kenny, not wanting him to be torn to shreds, uses his last bullet on him.]]
*** [[spoiler: And finally you can convince Clementine to do this to '''you''' at the very end of the series.]]
* TheMillstone: [[spoiler: Ben thinks this about himself... and let's face it, he's right.]] Let us count the ways.
** First, [[spoiler: he made a deal with bandits to trade them supplies in exchange for not hurting his friend - when he realized they didn't ''have'' his friend, he continued giving them supplies because they'd threatened to kill him]].
** Second, [[spoiler: his not confessing to the paranoid Lilly about his guilt winds up in getting an innocent person killed]].
** Third, [[spoiler: as a result of his pissing off the bandits to such a degree, Duck winds up getting bitten, and Katjaa is DrivenToSuicide as a result]].
** Fourth, when he and [[MoralityPet Clementine]] are cornered by zombies in Savannah, he ''[[DirtyCoward runs away]]'' rather than stay and help her, [[spoiler: which ends up getting Chuck killed when he comes in to save her instead]].
** In Episode 4, [[spoiler: he removes an axe ''keeping zombies out'' from a doorway so he can use it to open another door (which also gets Brie killed)]]. TooDumbToLive barely begins to ''describe'' it, but lord knows he tries...
** Then, [[spoiler: proceeds to tell Kenny about being the one trading supplies as walkers try to take down the door, when it is quite clear this will cause Kenny to be furious and cause a crisis amongst the survivors in a critical moment]].
** And finally, after having improved a fair amount, [[spoiler:he can get screwed ''by chance'', when a small balcony collapses under him as he's about to jump from a window to a nearby roof, forcing Kenny and Lee to go down to help, with Kenny's suicidal tendencies finally coming to fruition as he shoves Lee away, kills Ben with the only remaining bullet, and lets the zombie horde devour him]].
* MistakenForPedophile: Subverted: If you talk to Clementine in the pharmacy, which is only the day after you met her, you have the option of saying "we should get to know each other." Sounds like SchmuckBait, right? However, Lee apparently realises this, as selecting the option actually results in him awkwardly saying "So um.....uhh...."
* MoodWhiplash: The achievements, which come at the end of a chapter and therefore often after a heartwrenching SadisticChoice, are very often ridiculous puns or plays on words, for example, [[spoiler:Too Much Salt Will Kill You]].
** Carley's abrupt transition between the flirtatious dialogue with Lee and urging him to tell the others about murdering the senator is this for both him and the player.
* MooksButNoBosses: Apart from the zombies and bandits, there are only two [[CutsceneBoss Cutscene Bosses]] that incorporate the game's PressXToNotDie function; [[spoiler: Andrew]] and [[spoiler: The Stranger.]]
* MoralMyopia: [[spoiler:Kenny radically differentiates between his family and others when it comes to zombification; crushing Larry's head without hesitation in front of his daughter while she's trying to resuscitate him because he had a heart attack is ''totally necessary'', but when Duck is dying from a bite, he's convinced everyone needs to back off ''because their son is different and won't turn.'']]
* MoralityPet: The [[WordOfGod developers purposely made Clementine this]] for Lee. Though acting a certain way can make Clementine a MoralityChain, and Lee a BrokenPedestal.
* MotorMouth: Duck. [[spoiler: After the zombie attack, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he becomes completely silent.]] He becomes his usual self at the end of Episode 1, to Clementine's dismay.]]
* MultipleEndings: [[spoiler: Subverted. In the end, it doesn't matter who you made friends with or who hates your guts. The closest thing you get to alternate endings is if Clem shoots Lee, or leaves him to turn into a walker.]]
* MythologyGag:
** Lee and Clementine sleep in Hershel's barn, and he is later shown cleaning it up. [[spoiler: In the comics and the TV show, this is where he locks up zombie family members. Including Shawn, whom you fail to save.]]
** Two within the first minutes, the prison that Lee is being transported to is "The Prison" that Rick's group goes to. The prisoner that the UPO talks bout that was crying was Thomas Richards, the man who kills the [[spoiler: Greene sisters in the comic.]]
** Though in the comic universe, there is a crossover with the TV show as well. At the end of Episode 1, Glenn leaves with Clementine's walkie talkie - the same one he uses to contact Rick when the latter is trapped in the tank.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Ben.
-->'''Ben''': I never got to see my family, my parents, my little sister ... do you get that? Your family is gone, but at least you had them to lose. I never made it home.
* NeverTrustATrailer: The next episode previews sometimes have events, dialogue, and character designs that don't match up to what actually happens in the next episode.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtkkHAmgYWs debut trailer]] shows a lot of things that don't happen in the game proper or in an altered fashion, the most notable probably being Ben, Kenny, and Lee in a forest with Christa, who [[DrivenToSuicide shoots herself in the head]] with a gun. [[spoiler:This situation does come to pass in Episode 3, but with Katjaa rather than Christa, who you don't even meet until later]].
* NiceHat: Clementine, Kenny, and Glenn all have a Cap.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Depending on how well the player does, Lee can deliver a brutal beatdown to the BigBad of Episode 2's face. Molly delivers one to a zombie in Episode 4. [[spoiler:She has good reason to]].
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Lee helpfully utters a variation of this ("No one was getting out of there") if [[spoiler: Kenny seemingly sacrifices himself to save Ben in Episode 5. Since Kenny was in a narrow alleyway with a horde of walkers approaching from either end, almost no ammo left, no other weapons and about a second to think of an escape plan before the walkers were on him, its understandable he would think as much. Sure enough, though, Kenny survives and reappears in Season 2 without any explanation except for he 'got lucky.']]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Invoked a lot, but especially by Kenny at the end of Episode 1.
-->'''Kenny:''' ''No one'' gets eaten again today. [[spoiler: If you've been loyal, he adds, "''Especially'' [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming a good friend]]."]]
** Or alternatively, if you were [[spoiler:''not'' loyal]]:
--->[[spoiler:"Even if he is an asshole."]]
* NoNameGiven: Downplayed.
** Many characters are referred to by only their first name - in fact the only characters who ''do'' have last names are Lee's family, the St. Johns, Shawn and Hershel, and Ben Paul and his teacher, David Parker.
** Lee's family goes the other way with this - Lee's the only one who has a first name, although Lee's brother may have been named "Bud".
* NonstandardGameOver: If you let Clementine die at the end of Episode 1, [[HeroicBSOD Lee stares in shock]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ddrI_ED85Xo#t=259s while zombies attack him]].
** A similar situation occurs in Episode 3. Here, however, there isn't even anything to kill Lee. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kuppL6oHoR0#t=319s He simply watches in horror as the Game Over screen fades in]].
** [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kuppL6oHoR0#t=226s If you fail to convince Kenny to stop the train and deal with infected Duck]], Lee returns to the boxcar and finds everyone dead. He is promptly killed by zombie Duck]].
* NotSoDifferent: Kenny and Larry. Both are unreasonable, violent and [[PapaWolf Papa Wolves]]. Larry, however, is a JerkAss. What Kenny becomes is probably dependent on Lee's choices. Lee and [[spoiler:The Stranger]] are remarkably similar. With how they both hurt their [[spoiler:family]] bringing up an eerie familiarity.
* NothingIsScarier: First flavor. In the first episode, Lee needs to get handcuffs off of his hand by taking the keys off of the corpse of the officer. You drop the keys in front of his ''face''... And when you pick them up again, no reaction... Until after you release yourself, in which the officer resurrects and tries to devour you.
** In Episode Five, you at one point have to cross a rickety bridge erected between two buildings over a waterway full of walkers. Christa warns Lee to be careful, the camera pans above him, the action cursor appears, and you [[spoiler: walk across the entire thing without any problems.]]
** In episode five when you finally make it to the Marsh House hotel, [[spoiler: after literally fighting through a horde of walkers,]] you find the hallways to be completely empty, which just makes it more unsettling.
* NotUsingTheZWord: None of the survivors calls the Zombies ''Zombies'' - instead, they're called ''Walkers'' or simply ''The Dead''.
** This is actually played with in a couple of funny ways. Lee refers to them as zombies a grand total of ''once'' in episode 1. In episode 2 when he refers to them as Walkers, Andy acts amused at the terminology. And in episode 4 when you meet another survivor who has been fending for herself long before you show up she refers to them as ''Geeks'' with her own justification for doing so.
** The interface, though, does call them zombies occasionally.
** Season 2, the group you fall in with calls them Lurkers.
* OffBridgeOntoVehicle: Lee and Omid do this when escaping a horde of walkers. Omid falls off and [[RealityEnsues badly injures himself.]]
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome:
** Between Episodes 1 and 3, the military attempted to re-take Macon but failed. You return to the drugstore to find dead soldiers, jeeps, and a helicopter crashed into the roof of the drugstore.
** Kenny apparently beat a zombie to death with his bare hands, [[PapaWolf after it grabbed Duck]].
* OffscreenTeleportation:
** Many times throughout the first season, a Walker will attack Lee from behind, even when you've thoroughly investigated the area.
** Various characters do this either for the sake of convenience or plot importance, such as Andrew St. John talking to you about the farm and [[spoiler:The Stranger sneaking up on Lee]].
* OffstageVillainy: [[spoiler: The people of Crawford have deigned to create a SocialDarwinist utopia that ruthlessly weeded out those too young, old or sick to pull their weight into survival. Other than a video making it clear that any pregnancies had to be aborted if the mother wished to stay protected, Molly resorting to SexualExtortion to hide and treat her sister's diabetes, and the impaled zombies (who may have been candidates for Crawford that didn't make the grade), we never see any of their cruelty firsthand.]]
* OhCrap: Lee gets seriously scared in Episode 5 when [[spoiler:he wakes up, almost ready to turn, to find out Clem locked herself in the room with him.]]
* OldSaveBonus: The game series is built on this, as its choice system rivals ''Franchise/MassEffect'' and goes beyond with almost every choice mattering, thus saves are highly recommended. Otherwise you get an utter mess of randomized choices as the default.
* OnTheNext: Each episode ends with a trailer for the next chapter.
** Except for the end of Episode 4, which just shows the game's title and the title for the final episode.
* OnlyInFlorida: Kenny comes from Florida and [[InvokedTrope invokes this trope]] after he wonders if Lee, a black man, can pick locks.
-->'''Kenny''': Jesus, man, I'm from Florida! Crazy shit just comes out of my mouth sometimes!
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cissy Jones tried to give Katjaa a German accent, but it comes off as slight at best. Not to mention that she frequently drops it, making it an inconsistent accent.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: At first the [[NotUsingTheZWord Walkers]] appear to be your standard zombies. [[spoiler:Then you learn that they don't need to bite to spread their condition: '''all''' dead with intact brain stems become zombies.]]
** [[spoiler: Actually, the "standard" Romero zombies had this feature too. Less attention was drawn to it, however]].
* OutrunTheFireball: Although you never actually see the explosion, its inferred because [[spoiler: Lee kicks a lit blowtorch onto a leaking fuel tanker to try and blow up a horde of walkers.]] Before jumping onto the roof of a speeding train.
* OverTheShoulderCarry: Mark does this in Episode 2 to either David (if he was freed from the bear trap) or Travis (if David wasn't freed from the bear trap, since he'll be shot in the stomach instead).
* PaedoHunt: Shawn and Hershel get a little suspicious if Lee admits he doesn't really know Clementine.
* PantsPositiveSafety: Many characters have the bad habit of keeping their guns in their waistbands.
* ParentalAbandonment: Before the outbreak, Clementine's parents left her with a babysitter so they could go on a trip to another city. [[spoiler: They didn't make it.]]
* PerpetualPoverty: By Episode 2 everyone's hunger and your food shortage is a major plot point. However, the only points where you find food are at the end of Episode 2 and the beginning of Episode 3. Despite [[spoiler:losing everything in the bandit attack, no one in your group complains about food again. The only character in the entire series to starve to death is Fivel, a minor character who died off-screen.]]
* PhilosophicalChoiceEndings: "Is survival worth risking becoming a violent monster?" In the ending, you have to decide over Lee's fate, but in a way that is also your last lesson for Clementine. Do you want to a) have her shoot Lee and teach her to survive at any cost, even if through violence, or do you b) teach her to abstain from violence when ever possible to prevent her from possibly turning into a ruthless monster. With the game often giving you the opportunity to use violence or not, this perfectly fits the games general theme pretty well.'
** Alternatively: "Is your own safety worth deliberately putting other people in danger and causing them to suffer?" As Lee himself points out, one reason for Clementine not to shoot him is because gunshots make noise and noises draw the walkers. Since shooting Lee puts Clem in a more difficult situation in which to survive, the message would actually be the opposite of what's described above. Not shooting Lee ensures that Clem is more secure on her way out of town, but also leaves her father figure to suffer a lot more, and eventually turn into a monster who would kill people if given the chance. Choosing to shoot Lee not only saves him pain, but also saves others from the walker he would become.
* PoorlyTimedConfession: In Episode 4, Ben finally decides to tell Kenny about [[spoiler:his dealings with the bandits which led to the death of Katjaa and Duck]] while walkers, that were accidentally let in thanks to him, are trying to break in. Kenny becomes furious and tries to attack Ben, but he was held back so he decides to not let him on the boat when they escape. And before escaping the area, [[spoiler:Lee has to decide Ben's fate to live or die and Kenny silently encourages Lee to let him die.]]
* ThePowerOfFriendship: ''The'' cornerstone of the gameplay. How you treat others determines who you bond with, and whoever you bond with will in all likelihood save your ass, come hell or high water. It seems to be literally impossible to finish the game without the help of those who trust and value you.
** This is most visible with Kenny. If you've consistently got his back, he's got yours. If you don't, he'll hesitate to help Lee during certain violent action sequences and come off as useless because he's not willing to risk himself for you in the heat of the moment.
* PressXToNotDie: In exchange for the usual style of action gameplay, moments of danger are treated as this, although the new interface is somewhat more effective than those used in previous Telltale games. Quite humorously; the PC-version employs the [[VisualPun "Q" and the "E" buttons for these events]].
* PrettyLittleHeadshots: ''(snort)'' Averted.
** Played straight with some of Lee's death scenes, with are almost humorously anticlimactic.
* {{Railroading}}: One of the most common complaints about the game is that sometimes you don't really get a choice even when offered one, and the story will usually proceed as it usually does. The game does sometimes [[{{LampshadeHanging}} lampshade]] this trope, particularly when Lee talks to Kenny alone in the Drug Store.
* PunBasedTitle: Oh man, the achievements. For example:
** "Too Much Salt Will Kill You": [[spoiler:Kenny bashing Larry's head in with a salt lick.]]
** "[[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland You Fight Like A Dairy Farmer]]"
** "Bedside Manor"
** "No Time Left": It's not an achievement, but it's still a pun. [[spoiler: You have little time in Episode 5, the one with said title, because you got bit. Even if you cut your arm off, you still can't survive. It could be because of the blood loss, you getting your arm cut by something that probably isn't all the clean, or the fact that you didn't remove the bitten arm immediately after the bite. The arm that gets bit is your ''left'' hand. It also has your watch.]] [[DontExplainTheJoke Get it?]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis No. Time. LEFT!]]
* RealityEnsues: When [[spoiler: Lee gets bitten and chooses to amputate his arm, he still slowly succumbs to his infection anyway, considering that a good amount of time had passed, they/he had traveled to another location a fair distance away, and that he had already passed out, showing that the infection already spread to his brain.]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Carley delivers one to Lilly in episode 3. [[spoiler:Lilly responds by shooting her in the face.]]
** Episode 5 [[spoiler:has Ben finally delivering this to Kenny.]]
** Episode 5 also has [[spoiler:the mysterious stranger attacking Lee for the things he has done through the story, but if the player has steered clear of the more morally questionable decisions, he comes off as desperate and impotent as he brings up events that were more or less out of Lee's control. But if Lee has been trending towards more more pragmatic and selfish behavior, he can comes off as pretty justified in his attacks, especially if Lee took the supplies from the car.]]
* RedHerring: The game tips will do this to avoid spoilers; the game will almost always note "[Character] will not forget that." following a major choice or opinion, regardless of if the character ''must'' die before it matters. A major example in Episode 3 includes [[spoiler:Lilly remembering who you side with, despite the plot requiring her to disappear after she murders Carley/Doug]].
** In Episode 5 [[spoiler:after Lee smears himself and Clementine in Walker gore to safely move through the hoards, the sounds of thunder can be heard in the distance, and once outside looking up reveals the sky has gone dark with clouds.]] Fans of the TV series think they know what will happen next, only to be blindsided by something else entirely.
** [[spoiler:The Stranger on the radio's text in episode 3 is dark brown, but in episode 4, changes to yellow, and you meet two characters in the episode who both have yellow text, though slightly hued differently. This may make you suspect one of them is contacting Clementine. Neither of them are, and by episode 5, the Stranger's text is back to being dark brown.]]
* RelationshipValues: As alluded to in the summary, your actions affect how the rest of the group views and treats Lee.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Used with Mark in Episode 2, as he joined between installments. [[spoiler:Genre Savvy gamers figured out he wouldn't live to see Episode 3.]]
* {{Retcon}}: Due to the novel changing the entirety of Lilly's background, Telltale covered themselves by removing any references to the game Lilly being the same one from the comics, including changing their official website and renaming a trophy/achievement from that was nod to where Lilly was in the comics.
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: [[spoiler:You finally get to do one in Episode 5.]]
* RunningGag: Clementine commenting on Lee's swearing can be this, depending on how often the player makes him swear. Also, Carley's trouble with batteries.
* SadisticChoice: You'll be making plenty of these.
** The first real one is near the end of Episode 1 where you have to choose between [[spoiler:Doug and Carley]].
** There's also a subverted one where you have a choice between [[spoiler: Shawn and Duck. No matter whom you pick, Shawn dies and Duck lives.]] The reactions of other characters however ''will'' be influenced by your choice.
** Also in Episode 2, [[spoiler:Larry suffers a heart attack and collapses in the meat locker. Given the revelation that anyone who dies becomes a zombie, Lilly desperately attempts to resuscitate Larry, while Kenny demands they execute him immediately. Kenny kills Larry irrespective of your choice, but (again) the characters react differently according to your decision.]]
** Very early in Episode 3, Lee and Kenny are scouting for supplies when a woman a good distance away is cornered by walkers and about to be eaten alive. Lee can either give her a swift death and attract the walkers immediately, or leave her as a distraction to buy more time.
** Another subverted choice in Episode 3 where you have to choose who to help between [[spoiler: Omid and Christa. You may think you're condemning one of them to get eaten by the large group of walkers chasing the train, but no matter who you choose, the other will make it. Of course, the one you save will bitch at you about not saving the other one first]].
** {{Subverted}} again in Episode 4. [[spoiler:There are seven people in the group, and the boat can only hold five people. Molly gives up her place, and Lee is bitten and will turn. ''I think you can see where this is going'']].
** Episode 5 is full of them, and the worst part is they will come with a short timer, so not only do you have to make a hard choice, '''you have to do it quickly'''.
* SamusIsAGirl: Molly's introduction.
* SecurityBlanket: The walkie-talkie becomes this for Clementine, as she and her parents use it to talk and she feels it's the only way she'll be able to reach them. [[spoiler: Until the end of Episode 3, when it comes out that the walkie-talkie still works and someone has been extorting Clementine under the pretense that he has her parents.]]
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler: Kenny in episode 5. There was no reason for him to stay behind like he did instead of just shooting Ben before heading back up to the roof. It's pretty heavily implied this was just an attempt to justify his suicide to himself, he's been obsessing on the topic and you can actually call him out on it.]]
* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: After 3-4 episodes of mentoring and protecting Ben, and eventually saving his life, the lead-up to any sort of redemption or even RedemptionEqualsDeath fizzles out entirely when he dies like a chump due to a random vertical piece of iron.]]
* ShutUpHannibal: The player can do this, to a limited extent, to [[spoiler: the Stranger,]] by telling him "You fucked up" when he talks about how [[spoiler: your stealing the food from his car]] destroyed his family. You can also answer "Yes" when he asks if he looks like a monster to you. He responds to both by merely ignoring your defiance and continuing with his rant. You can also do a more successful version of this by [[spoiler: having Lee say he'll bite the Stranger and cause him to turn since he's already been bitten himself when the Stranger threathens to kill him: doing so will cause him to stutter momentarily.]] And speaking to him politely at the beginning of the conversation will temporarily derail him.
* SignatureStyle: When you realize that Episode 4 was written by the same screenwriter as Film/TheBookOfEli Molly's character makes a lot more sense.
* SilentCredits: [[RuleOfDrama Episode 5.]] [[spoiler:At least before the semi-hopeful epilogue, anyway.]]
* SilentProtagonist: In conversations, silence is nearly always an acceptable answer, allowing the player to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope if they really want to. [[SubvertedTrope However]], there are points where Lee will talk to people without input. [[{{Deconstruction}} Also, in a game where building trust and friendship with team-mates is a vital key to success, being an unsocial mute may hurt in the long run]].
* TheSlowWalk: Near the end of Episode 5, [[spoiler: Lee does this when there is a horde of Walkers between himself and the hotel where Clementine is being held. With no other way around them, and running out of time, Lee decides to just push through, determinedly walking through the crowd and hacking the heads of any Walkers that get too close while keeping a steady pace.]]
* SmallRoleBigImpact: The cancer survivors don't appear at all in Episode 5, but they [[spoiler:steal the boat offscreen, making most of Episode 4 pointless]].
* TheSocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:The St. Johns in Episode 2, who consider anyone wounded or weak as lower on the food chain, and to be treated as a meat resource and slowly eaten.]] [[spoiler:Also, the inhabitants of Crawford, who don't allow anyone who isn't a completely healthy adult in the city (namely, cancer survivors, anyone under 14, people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, the pregnant, the elderly, or the disabled to name a few).]]
* SoftGlass: Averted twice. First, when Lee has to kick out a car window, it is realistically hard, and takes several attempts (and even then, he has to kick the entire plane of glass out, not just kick part of the window), and don't forget said car has turned several times on the ground before coming to a stop. It is then averted again when Lee tries to elbow in a truck's window. Not only does this fail, but they actually need porcelain to break it open quickly and safely enough. Averted in episode 4, where a group of walkers cannot break through a glass door. Invoked however in episode 5 when Clementine has to bust the glass window on a door open.
* SpinoffSendoff: Both Glenn and Hershel show up in Episode 1.
* StabTheScorpion: In Episode 1,[[spoiler:after Lee is knocked down by Larry when escaping the pharmacy, Kenny shows up and raises the axe to attack... the zombie next to Lee.]] In Episode 2, you get the option to stab an adjacent hay bale if you spare someone's life.
* StarCrossedLovers: Episode 1 has [[spoiler:Doug and Carley; after hiding their mutual attraction, they both attempt to admit it when walkers attack the Pharmacy, only to be interrupted on both occasions ''before one of them has to die.'']]
* SteelEardrums: Averted. Lee grabs his ears in pain when a rifle is fired closed to his face, and Clementine complains of her ears ringing after a shooting lesson. Ben also covers his ears in the bell tower when the bell tolls next to him and Lee.
* StereotypeReactionGag: In Episode 2:
-->'''Kenny''': Hey. Lee. You know how to pick a lock, right?\\
'''Lee''': ''No!'' Why would you think that?!\\
'''Kenny''': ({{beat}}) Well. You're... you know... "urban"?\\
'''Lee''': Oh, you are '''not''' saying what I think you are saying.
* StockScream: Part of the Wilhelm Scream can be heard at the end of Episode One [[spoiler: as Doug gets dragged out the window to his death after the SadisticChoice. Averted if you save him instead of Carley.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: You can sometimes do this when presented with two unpleasant choices. Annoyingly, there are a few times when it would ''really make a difference'' that you ''can't'' do it.
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:That's how Doug dies in Episode 3 while trying to protect Ben.]]
* TemporaryLoveInterest: [[spoiler:Carley, if she is alive in Episode 3, has some flirtatious dialogue with Lee. Of course this means she's a goner.]]
* TemptingFate: Lilly says she thinks everything is going to be okay at the hotel at the end of Episode 1. [[spoiler:Then the power goes out, and things only get worse from there.]]
** [[spoiler:All of the group besides Kenny, Lee and Lilly think the St. John Dairy exists as some kind of miracle, even ignoring such things as Mark getting shot with an arrow because they broke a deal with ''bandits''. They even ignore the fact that they have an ample supply of meat despite the fact there is one cow on the farm. Bonus points as they mention at every turn they get how great it is.]]
** Both Carley and Larry let Lee know they've figured out his secret, and both come with the choice to be offed at some point (namely, [[spoiler:in Episode 1 and 2 respectively, though the latter happens regardless and neither can survive past Episode 3]]).
** Larry states that he's going to survive longer than Lee, and that he's going to be the one to kill Lee if he turns. [[spoiler:As was said previously, no matter what you do, he dies anyway right after saying this.]]
** Kenny does this to himself [[spoiler:on a few occasions, such as avoiding the "What if it was your family?" arguments by insisting that Duck and Katjaa would never come to harm or be in that position. Cue episode 3 where and Duck is infected and Katjaa kills herself.]]
** [[spoiler:The man who kidnaps Clementine does this as he talks to his wife's reanimated head in a bowling bag, saying that Clementine "wouldn't hurt a fly". Cue meat cleaver, table lamp or if you don't prompt her, her fist.]]
* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies: Lee Everett at the end of Episode 5.]]
* ThemeTuneCameo: Despite allegedly being based on the ''comic'' and not the ''television series'', the series' mournful theme will pop up at [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]] and [[TearJerker tearjerker]] scenes.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Played with near the end of Episode 2 when [[spoiler: Lee confronts Brenda; your dialogue choices are "It doesn't have to end like this!" or "Put the gun down, bitch!" Trying to act 'tough' leads to Brenda shooting Lee and causing a NonStandardGameOver.]]
* ThouShaltNotKill: Judging by all of the decisions by players according to the stats, players refused to kill, whether it meant [[SaveTheVillain electing to spare villains]] [[spoiler: like the St. Johns]], trying to save [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]] [[spoiler: like Larry]], or stopping TheLoad [[spoiler: like Ben]] from committing a HeroicSacrifice.[[note]]In every case, presence of MoralityPet Clementine has been stated to be one of the most common reasons why people do so; more than half of people kill Danny, it's Andy (where Clementine is clearly present) where 80% seem to decide not to. Clementine was present when Larry had a heart attack, while Clementine was the lone member of the group to speak on Ben's behalf.[[/note]]
* TimeForPlanB: [[DefiedTrope Defied]] in Episode 4 if Lee brings up the idea:
-->'''Kenny''': There ''is'' no plan B!
* TimeSkip:
** Three months pass between the events of Episodes 1 and 2.
** A week passes between Episodes 2 and 3.
* ToBeContinued: The first three episodes are followed by previews of the next episode, and the previews all reflect your choices. The fourth episode, however, lacks a preview of Episode 5. [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil For obvious reasons, considering it's the grand finale.]] Season 2 continues the trend.
* TogetherInDeath: The unnamed couple in Episode 5 who committed suicide in their bedroom.
%%* TraumaCongaLine: The game itself.
* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: The game begins at the onset of the apocalypse, which coincides with the beginning of the comic series, which was October 2003. At the beginning of Episode 2, then, it is January 2004. The gas prices (around $2.00) may clue some players in.
* UndeadChild:
** [[spoiler:The zombie boy in the attic in Episode 4.]]
** [[spoiler:Duck, if you fail to convince Kenny to stop the train in Episode 3.]]
** [[spoiler:Clementine in a nightmare.]]
* UnderdressedForTheOccasion: Lee's conversion from the thick jacket back to the blue long sleeved shirt [[spoiler:leaves him vulnerable to a walker bite in Episode 4]].
* UngratefulBastard:
** Even if Lee does a PetTheDog with Larry, and even after he ''saves his life'' getting nitroglycerine for his heart condition, [[spoiler: he still forces Lee back towards the zombies when the group is trying to escape.]]
** Kenny too, you could have defended his kid from zombies and Larry, give them food, support his leadership, and he still whines about [[spoiler: you didn't help him kill Larry, who was (maybe) still breathing right before he got turned into LudicrousGibs]]
*** Similarly, if you chose a fairly neutral response to Duck's suspected zombie bite, such as trying to reason with Larry, Kenny will continue to rag on you for not caring for his son throughout the second episode until you redeem yourself in his eyes.
** [[spoiler:If you save Doug over Carley]], [[TheSmartGuy Doug]] acts like this for saving him for about the whole conversation, [[SubvertedTrope but then]] just chalks it up to "[[SurvivorGuilt that survivor's thing]]".
** [[spoiler: Lilly in Episode 3 if you choose to bring her along after she kills Carley/Doug and especially if you try to have Lee and Clementine leave with her. She repays the favor by stealing the RV, stranding the group by the train.]]
* VideogameCaringPotential: The surrogate relationship between Clementine and Lee.
** Most friendships in the game.
** Pretty much the whole point of the game is to invest the players in its characters, then use that to break their hearts into little weeping bits.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: A villain can do this to Clementine, as he/she can be extremely cruel to her. Taken UpToEleven as [[spoiler:the player can let Clementine and the group eat human meat by not racing downstairs or failing to shout out what it is]].
** Bonus monster points if [[spoiler:the player doesn't shout out that it's human meat; when Larry berates Lee for being rude, there's the option of saying "Fuck you. Eat up, Larry.", prompting Larry to state he'd love to ''before eating a slice of human meat.'']]
** However, it should be noted that any cruelty the player shows Clementine will usually be mitigated somehow, since for plot reasons [[spoiler: especially for Episode 5's tear jerker of an ending]] Clementine ''cannot'' have ''too'' negative an opinion of Lee. For example, if the player doesn't save Clementine from the "bathroom Walker" in episode 1 and if Carley has to shoot it instead, Lee will explain that he was too far away to do anything, which Clementine will accept with a simple suggestion to stick closer next time. For another example, if while handing out four rations for ten people during Episode 2 the player doesn't choose Clementine as one of the people to feed, Clementine will complain later that she's "very hungry", but that problem is solved [[spoiler: or so everyone ''thinks'']] when the dairy farmers show up so this won't have too negative of an impact.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: The mysterious voice on the radio is only a villain at all because [[spoiler:''Lee's group were the villains of his story'': their theft of his supplies caused his remaining family to leave him and subsequently die, and he came after revenge.]]
* ViolationOfCommonSense: After killing [[spoiler:Clementine's zombified babysitter]], Lee has the option to choose when to go out and look for help. Players usually choose to go out before sunset since the [[NotUsingTheZWord walkers]] rely on more than just eyesight, whereas people tend not to. However, choosing to go out at nighttime [[spoiler:while resulting in the seemingly-preventable reanimation of a likable character,]] ultimately spares you from having to do one of the many QTEs that fans tend towards disdain for.
* VisualNovel: The Walking Dead is an American example of the Visual Novel genre.
* WeAREStrugglingTogether: The Game.
* WhamEpisode: It all starts falling apart in Episode 3. The episode really is about lost innocence: things are going to get really bad before they get better, if it does get better at all. Episode 4 does its best to top this. And with [[spoiler: Lee getting bitten, and Clementine getting kidnapped]] being at the top of the list of things that happen, they succeeded.
* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: Ben telling the group that just dying will cause you to become a Walker. Being bitten isn't necessary.]] One of Lee's responses is an appropriate, "God help us."
--> [[spoiler:'''Ben:''' It's ''not'' the bite that does it! You come back no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain that's just what happens!]]
** The end of Chapter 3 has a doozy, especially since it comes from [[spoiler:Clementine's supposedly busted walkie-talkie.]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Voice''': Can't wait for you to get to Savannah, Clementine. I've got your parents right here! And you be sure to find me, whether Lee wants you to or not.]]
** Chapter 4:
---> [[spoiler: '''Voice''' ''(after revealing he has Clem when Lee responds to her walkie)'': If I were you, I'd pick your next words VERY carefully.]]
** If you say you don't know who [[spoiler:The Stranger]] is, he jogs your memory by reminding you about [[spoiler:the car and supplies you stole in Episode 2]]...
** The first chapter has one in the first scene in the police car. The line varies, but the overall scene is the same- the police officer is in the middle of saying something when the dialogue choices suddenly pop up (which include "IN THE ROAD!", "WATCH OUT!", and "OH SHIT!"), moments before the car hits a Walker. It's a nice way of showing that sometimes, choices will pop up out of nowhere, and you're not always going to have a lot of time to make a decision.
** In Episode 1, right when you're about to escape the zombie-infested drugstore, [[spoiler: Larry yells "You're not coming with us, you son of a bitch!" at you and punches you to the ground, with Kenny barely saving you from the zombies afterwards.]] This is after you risk your life to get Larry the pills for his heart.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Maybelle, the St. John farm's cow, isn't ever brought up again after you find out [[spoiler:the St. John family are a CannibalClan]]. Andre the policeman disappears after dropping Lee and Clem off at the Greene farm at night. In Episode 5 [[spoiler: Molly does not return after leaving the group, but considering that the Savannah is completely overrun, her odds are not good.]]
* WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately: Kenny's almost verbatim line when he's complaining about Molly, and Lee points out that she ''did'' save his life. Given his reactions if Lee ''ever'' disagrees with him, Kenny seems to have this mindset quite often.
* WhatTheHellHero: Lee gets this a lot, regardless of his choices. [[spoiler:The man who kidnaps Clementine really lets him have it when he arrives at the hotel. It can be pretty hilarious if the player have made an active effort to steer Lee away from heinous acts, as he starts bringing up events there were either more or less out of Lee's control, or very easy to reasonably justify. On the other hand, if the player has been doing stuff like stealing food from the episode 2 station wagon, or stabbing Danny St. John to death with a pitchfork when Danny was already incapacitated and at Lee's mercy, the man chewing Lee out can actually have a point.]]
* WorstAid: Yeah, Hershel. Go ahead and put that bandage on OVER Lee's grimy, bloody pants. It's not like that would double the risk of infection or anything by pushing said pants up against the wound.
* WritingIndentationClue: Used by Lee to get instructions for how to drive a train from a ripped notepad.
* YouAllLookFamiliar: While the game features unique human {{NPC}}s, there are only about seven or eight different types of zombies, aside from a few unique examples. (The helicopter pilot, for example.)
* YouCantFightFate: Regardless of alternate choices made, the outcome of certain events will exactly be the same.
* ZombieApocalypse: Well, it is about the walking dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''400 Days'']]
* AnachronicOrder: The DLC can be played this way due to the playable characters' individual stories all taking place at different moments within a 400 day time span and the player can choose who to play in what order. The direction or pieces of the stories can change, however, if you choose to do them in order (Bonnie can fight a Walker, for example, depending on something you did in Russell's story).
* BlandNameProduct: Nate's "Chovet" pickup truck.
* ButThouMust: In Bonnie's story [[spoiler: you have no option but to kill Dee: if you take too long getting the iron bar out of the ground, you'll be killed as if it was one of the hunters who found you, and if you don't swing, Dee brains Bonnie with the flashlight. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation It's implied that Dee kills you with the the rebar after she knocks you out to get rid of what she perceives to be competition.]]]]
* CallBack:
** The prison bus from Vince's story can be seen in Wyatt and Bonnie's stories.
** Shel and Becca can be seen fleeing from walkers during Vince's story.
** [[spoiler: Nate]] was the one chasing Wyatt in his story. If the player chooses to play Wyatt's story first, the headlight of the pursuer' car will get shot. The pursuer also has a scar on his hand gotten in Wyatt's story, most noticeable if Wyatt stays in the car.
** The prison guard who ditched the prisoners in Vince's story is also [[spoiler: the one who got hit by the car]] in Wyatt's story and [[spoiler: is a "watch dog" walker]] in Shel's story if certain conditions are met.
** The walker with a screwdriver in its eye that shows up in Russell's story shows up in Bonnie's story. [[spoiler: It tries to grab Bonnie, but Bonnie kicks the screwdriver into its head.]] It will however show up in only one and not the other if certain conditions are met.
** The old woman from Russell's story shows up in Shel's story [[spoiler: as a "watch dog" walker who ends up eating a puppy.]] So does her husband, but only if certain conditions are met.
** The group remarks in Shel's story that they are missing a flashlight [[spoiler: ever since they went to the corn fields. The same ones that Bonnie goes through when trying to escape her pursuers and presumably the same flashlight that Dee was using.]]
** [[spoiler: This also shows that Shel's group were the people who were hunting Bonnie in her story. Their voices and silhouettes become recognizable after you meet them in Shel's story]]
** [[spoiler: This is confirmed again when you get the first morality branch of Shel's story, where they reference the last break-in with food and medicine stolen. If you play Bonnie's story first, Leland's survival and taking the bag decides in Roman's telling of the conversation if the group lost all the goods or if they got them back.]]
* ContinuityNod:
** The Macon General Store briefly appears during the intro to Vince's Story.
** [[spoiler: Carley or Doug's]] dead body appears during Russell's story.
** [[spoiler: Joyce, Clive, and Boyd from the cancer group]] show up in Shel's story, apparently having [[spoiler:broken off from Vernon after taking the boat from Lee's group. Joyce can even be seen wearing a "NAPLES" sweatshirt likely stolen from the Naples resident Kenny in [=S1E5=].]]
*** [[spoiler:The group will also mention what measures they had to take to steal the boat, such as who they had to overpower if someone opted not to join Lee.]]
** [[spoiler: And if you look ''very'' closely, the pre-apocalypse cutscene before your first visit to the character selection area has Kenny and Duck getting gas.]]
* DevouredByTheHorde: In Vince's Story, Vince has to choose between [[spoiler: Justin and Danny on who's ankle he needs to shoot because then the chain could slip out and they'll all be free. Depending on who you choose, the other will be left behind and get devoured by the walkers.]]
* EasilyForgiven: In Russell's chapter, [[spoiler: it is possible to convince Nate to give Russell the gun, which you are then given the option of pointing at Nate and trying to kill him. Russell can't do it, Nate takes the gun back, and doesn't mention it again.]] Actually, because you are given the option of saying different things during this part, [[spoiler: Nate will actually be ''understanding'' if you say the right things]].
-->'''Nate''' [[spoiler: GREAT. Good. That's what I like to hear. And no apology needed for pointing the gun at me; I can see that you're under some stress.]]
* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler: Dee gives one to Bonnie, damning her before dying.]]
* FourLinesAllWaiting / HyperlinkStory: The DLC contains five separate stories that all converge at the end [[spoiler: with the five main characters being invited to come to a settlement by a sixth.]]
* FreudianTrio: Vince is the Ego, Danny is the Id, and Justin is the Superego.
* GenreAnthology
* GuideDangIt: Good damn luck [[spoiler: getting everyone to come with you in 400 days at the end. Lets look at the worst examples. Wyatt: Stay in the car instead of going out to help the cop. Considering that you most likely agreed to play rock, paper, scissors over it, which is a complete LuckBasedMission, good luck. Alternatively, you can choose a specific line of dialogue with Tavia and Wyatt will come along. Russell: You have to choose a very specific dialogue during the ending, also the same one that can be used to convince Wyatt, and considering that that line is hidden in a choice of four, its pretty likely that Russell will stay behind (the line is "There might be people you know"). Vince: you have to save Justin, a JerkAss white collar criminal, instead of Danny, a man who may or may not be a rapist. Justin will have heard about Tavia's settlement and apparently died trying to get there. Shel/Becca: actually ties in with Russell. If you chose to have Shel drive off in the RV, she'll automatically come along due to thinking her former group is hunting her. If you killed Stephanie instead, you'll need to say "There may be people your own age", but this will make Russell stay behind. And if you use the correct dialogue with Russell in this scenario, Shel/Becca will stay behind. So make sure you jack that RV, completionists.]]
* {{Interquel}}: Meant to bridge the gap between Seasons One and Two. The choices from this game will carry on into the second season.
* LastSecondEndingChoice: Played straight with Wyatt, Russell, and Shel. Averted with Vince and Bonnie.
* LostInTheMaize: Bonnie's story takes place in a cornfield.
* LuckBasedMission: The rock-paper-scissors game with Eddie in Wyatt's story. There's no trick to winning or losing, it's completely random, which explains why, at the time of writing, the results for whether or not people stayed in the car are at 50/50.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [[spoiler:Dee]] takes a while to notice that [[spoiler:Bonnie hit her in the face with an iron bar]].
* MistakenForRacist: When Boyd suggests letting the thief stay and join their group, one of the reasons Joyce advises against it is because he doesn't speak English. Shel has the option of responding "That's racist."
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: In Vince's Story: [[spoiler: Despite his humanistic nature, running off with Danny instead of Justin will mean Vince doesn't join the group, claiming that they need to stick together. Russell also remarks that he was a real asshole, likely due to a similarity or two to Nate.]] Going with [[spoiler: Justin instead gives Vince a bit of reason, and prior knowledge of community shelters, sparking him to come along with Tavia.]] Having Shel place her sister's safety over conscience at the end of her scenario makes [[spoiler:Tavia's]] job harder.
** As of Season 2, it is revealed that [[spoiler: ''getting everyone to go with Tavia itself'' is this, as it turns out that the community she was referring to happens to be [[BigBad Carver's]] group. Maybe ThePowerOfTrust in a ZombieApocalypse isn't all it's cracked up to be.]]
* NotUsingTheZWord: One character calls them zombies.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: The various characters in the DLC are just one degree of separated from each other.
* PeekABooCorpse: If Russell chooses to hide from the approaching truck he'll come face to face with the rotting corpse of [[spoiler:Doug or Carley]] from chapters 1-3 of season 1.
* PoliceAreUseless: The guard on the bus was reluctant to act against an murder attempt on the bus. Then he kills that prisoner in cold blood before threatening the other prisoners. To be fair, he was caught in a panic, but he didn't last long either. The other guard on the bus immediately ditches the bus and others once the walkers start showing up, leaving three prisoners chained and mostly defenseless.
* ThePowerOfTrust: Like the previous game, it's a theme among each chapter. [[spoiler: It ultimately plays a part in the ending.]]
* SadisticChoice: Much like Season 1, many of the stories have at least one
** Vince's Story: Vince must decide whether to [[spoiler: shoot off either Danny or Justin's foot]] in order to escape the prison bus.
** Wyatt's Story: Provided that Wyatt leaves the car, [[spoiler:do you try to help the badly hurt police officer, or save yourself? However, it doesn't matter, for Wyatt gets abandoned either way.]]
** Shel's Story: First, Shel must decide whether or not to [[spoiler: allow Roman to execute a thief as he might give up their location to others.]] Later she must choose whether to execute [[spoiler: Stephanie]] for trying to escape with supplies or [[spoiler: flee with Becca.]]
* ShmuckBait: [[spoiler: Considering what we learn about the supposed community in Season 2. The ending to the game can be this.]]
* SeinfeldianConversation: Bonnie's story starts with her and Leland having a bizarre conversation about what sort of weird body parts they could or couldn't live with having, such as a snake for a tongue or lobster claws.
* TakeAThirdOption: Inverted; in Shel's story, [[spoiler: you can only leave or kill Stephanie. Killing Roman instead isn't an option.]]
* UnwinnableJokeGame: It's impossible for Wyatt to succeed in reaching his car.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Nate is never mentioned again after the end of Russell's story, even if Russell chooses to stay with him when he kills the elderly couple.]]
* WholePlotReference: Russell's story has a lot of similarities to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. '''Observe:''' [[http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/67202/russells-story-little-red-riding-hood/p2]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Season Two'']]
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: At the end of episode 3, already a very dark episode, [[spoiler:you have the option of cutting off Sarita's arm after a walker starts eating her hand. Should you do so, Clem only needs to hits with her hatchet to cut all the way through Sarita's forearm. After watching Carver kill Reggie (and possibly Alvin) and beat Kenny so bad he loses an eye, and then watching Kenny beat Carver to death with a crowbar (including seeing Carver's eye pop out of his skull), avoiding a prolonged amputation is probably okay. Plus, in the middle of a horde of walkers, it would probably stretch disbelief if it took too long]].
* AdorablyPrecociousChild / WiseBeyondTheirYears: Clem certainly acts like somebody twice her age (which is quite justified considering the circumstances.) So much so that many of the other adults turn to her for advice and help (something which even gets lampshaded by a dialogue option.) Carver picks up on this much more than her companions do.
* AHouseDivided: The name and overall theme of episode 2.
* AloneWithThePsycho: Sometime into Episode 3, [[spoiler: Clementine has a meeting with Carver inside his office.]]
* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:Clementine is knocked out near the end of Episode 5 and wakes up in the RV next to Lee, who assures her that everything from Season 1, Episode 4 to Season 2, Episode 5 was just a bad dream. She goes back to sleep and it is revealed that this was the dream, and she wakes up in the real world again.]] Also a CallBack, since the layout of the dream is the same as Lee's bad dream from Season 1 Episode 3.
* AnAsskickingChristmas: Episode Two takes place around Christmas time...maybe.
* AnyoneCanDie: As per tradition.
** Episode 1: [[spoiler:Omid, within the first five minutes no less. His murderer, Michelle, is savagely shot by Christa less than a minute later. Christa isn't seen after the ColdOpen. Sam (the dog Clementine finds) also dies. Pete can die at the end of the episode to a walker bite, depending on your choices.]]
** Episode 2: [[spoiler:Pete dies if he survived the last episode. Matthew is shot dead on a bridge by Nick. Nick can die to a walker bite if you don't convince Walter to forgive him. Walter is shot point-blank by [[BigBad William Carver]], and Alvin possibly is too, if Clementine doesn't step in to protect him.]]
** Episode 3: [[spoiler:The new character Reggie is thrown off a rooftop by Carver. Alvin dies in a HeroicSacrifice after being savagely beaten by Carver. Carver himself is later killed brutally by Kenny in the most karmic way possible. Jane shoots Troy and leaves him to die in the episode's climax. Carlos is hit by a stray bullet and then devoured by Walkers. And finally, Sarita is bitten by a Walker, although she may survive if Clementine opts to cut her hand off.]]
** Episode 4: Being the penultimate chapter, doesn't look too good for the protagonists. [[spoiler: Sarita dies at the beginning of the episode, no matter the choice you made at the end of Episode 3 (she's either devoured by Walkers instantly after you amputate her or later put down after she turns). Nick is shown to have died attempting to get help for Luke and Sara via a bullet wound sustained in the previous episode (and zombified in the process). Sarah dies being EatenAlive (either by being left behind at the trailer park or in the collapse of the deck, regardless of whether or not you get Jane to help her). And lastly Rebecca dies of exhaustion from her childbirth towards the end of the episode, forcing Clem or Kenny to shoot her to stop her Walker form from eating her baby. The episode's cliffhanger involves a shootout with an unconfirmed number of fatalities, but judging by how many shots were fired, it was likely a lot.]]
** Episode 5: [[spoiler: Surprisingly, all protagonists survive the BolivianArmyEnding of Episode 4 with relatively minor injuries, but all of the Russians bar Arvo are killed in the confrontation. It doesn't last, though, as Luke falls through a frozen lake and drowns, and if Clementine chooses to provide cover instead, the same can happen to Bonnie. If she is still alive, Bonnie and Mike attempt flee the group with Arvo, who (accidentally?) shoots Clementine, causing her to fall unconscious; when she comes to, she's driving away in a truck with Kenny, the baby, and Jane, and their fates are unknown. Kenny and Jane will confront each other later on with fatal consequences-- if Clem doesn't shoot Kenny, he will kill Jane. You can choose to shoot him after he kills her, leaving just you and AJ.]]
** [[spoiler:Also, for some lucky [=PS3=] gamers, they had the extra option of being able to shoot and kill Mike during his escape attempt. However, this has since been removed following an update.]]
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler:Michelle, who comes in at the beginning and holds Clementine at gunpoint. Omid comes in to try to save Clementine, but the door he left open closes with a loud sound, startling her so that she instinctively turns around and shoots Omid. She actually feels remorse over this -- or is panicking because an obviously [[PregnantBadass pregnant woman]] holding a rifle has just walked in -- and then repeatedly starts shouting that she didn't ''mean'' to shoot him! She even drops her gun to plead with Christa, who shoots her anyway.]]
** Episode 3 has [[spoiler: Carlos forced at gunpoint to slap his daughter, apologizing before and after for what Carver made him do.]]
** At the beginning of Episode 4, [[spoiler:if you cut off Sarita's arm at the end of episode 3, you can apologize to Kenny after Sarita freaks out and gets bit some more. Then, if you ax Sarita in the head, you can apologize again]].
* ArtEvolution: Season 2's art style is still in-line with Season 1, though employs slightly more vibrant colors as well as making the cel-lines more noticeable, character animations are far more fluid and less prone to being recycled. The Walkers also have more variety, along with being more detailed.
* BadassAdorable: Thanks to hanging out with Lee, [[spoiler: and eventually Christa and Omid,]] Clementine has picked up on some survival techniques, skills, and become even more resourceful, and still looks like a regular little girl doing this. Understandably, this impresses some of the adults she comes across.
* BadassBoast: ''"[[PunctuatedForEmphasis I'm still. NOT. Bitten!]]"'' [[spoiler: This is one of the responses that can be said by Clementine when, after being locked in a shed, she has to kill a Walker with a claw hammer. Not to mention this happen after she sneaks in and out of an house unnoticed and stitches herself up.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: At the end of episode 3, [[spoiler: Sarita is bitten and you're given the choice of killing the walker or cutting off her arm. Reggie claims to have survived a walker bite after immediate amputation, so you're led to believe cutting off her arm is the best option.]] But in the next episode, [[spoiler: if you cut off her arm her screaming will attract walkers and they will gang up on her, forcing you to put her down immediately. Killing the walker is actually the best option, as it at least gives Kenny time to say goodbye. Furthermore, chopping Saritas arm off will cause Kenny to deliver a brutal speech to Clementine in Episode 4.]]
* {{Bambification}}: Uncle Pete's story about [[ChildrenAreInnocent Nick refusing to shoot the buck]] has elements of this, especially when you consider that it could represent a [[BreakTheCutie loss of innocence]].
* BigBad: William Carver [[spoiler:[[ArcVillain for the first three episodes]], at least. At the climax of Episode 3, he is brutally killed by Kenny. By the end of Episode 5, Kenny and Jane can hold these roles for each other's endings, depending on your perspective.]]
* BigFriendlyDog: [[spoiler: Subverted so very, very hard in episode 1.]]
* BitchAlert: Rebecca is very much in favor of killing Clementine in case she was bitten by a walker. Understandably, Clementine isn't too fond of her after this.
* BittersweetEnding: Episode 5. For more information, see MultipleEndings below.
* BackstabbingTheAlphaBitch: [[spoiler: Turns out Clementine overheard Rebecca worrying about who the father of her child is (since it's possibly ''not'' her husband) and later isn't shy about letting the abrasive Rebecca know it.]] Even the dialogue choices in that conversation are bitchy.
* BolivianArmyCliffhanger: Episode Four ends with [[spoiler: an all-out shootout between Clementine's party and the Russians, with only the sound of gunshots and a cut to black. Episode Five reveals that the minor Russian character Natasha was the only one killed.]]
* BookEnds: In "No Going Back", the [[spoiler:Kenny Ending]] cuts to Clementine's somber face after a nine day time skip, in near the exact same expression and angle the time skip begins [[spoiler:after Omid's death]].
** Similarly, in the [[spoiler: Jane Ending]], provided that [[spoiler: Clementine and Jane invite the starving family into their compound]], the [[spoiler: son]] will remark that Clementine has a nice hat, which could echo back to one of the first conversations that Clem has in the season's first episode with [[spoiler: Michelle, right before the latter killed Omid]].
* BrandX: The "Howe's" in Episode Three is clearly modeled on Lowe's Home Improvement.
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Matthew and Walter.]]
* ButThouMust:
** Genre savvy players may attempt to [[spoiler: pick up Clementine's gun when searching for her lost water bottle or find a food dish for the dog]], but the game doesn't allow one to make those choices and the consequences are dire, although there was no way for your character to know in advance that [[spoiler:a random bandit would wander into the bathroom in the ''few seconds'' she spent picking up the water bottle.]]
** In the fourth episode, [[spoiler:when Jane and Clementine come to Luke and Sarah's rescue]], the player is forced to have Clementine talk to [[spoiler:Sarah]] and take quite the time doing it instead of just being allowed to immediately flat-out abandon the latter as soon as the [[spoiler:walkers arrive]]. This is despite being offered the opportunity to mostly leave [[spoiler:Sarah]] to herself - and even fire some snarky lines at her - during previous episodes.
** Perhaps one of the laziest examples in the Season occurs in episode 4. [[spoiler: You and Jane catch a bystander at gunpoint and are given the option of either stealing his medication or letting him leave. If you choose to steal it from him, he will return later with a heavily armed entourage and he will tell them you've robbed him. If you choose to not take the medicine and let him go, he will return with a heavily armed entourage... and tell them you robbed him. Even Clementine's dialogue forces you to go along with this, as there's no option to deny stealing from him.]]
* CallBack: Clementine falling in and out of consciousness while [[spoiler:the cabin survivors argue what to do with her]] is evocative of Lee suffering the same after his initial crash in the police car. And in another parallel to Episode 1, Clementine brains a walker with a claw hammer, just like Lee did. [[NightmareFuel This time we get to see it in all its bloody glory.]] In the hunting cabin, Clem will comment that a picture of a mallard reminds her of Duck from season 1. And if you, as Lee, tried cutting your arm off in season 1, this gets a couple callbacks. First when Clem finds the tied up Walker who'd attempted to cut the infected part of his arm off, second when Clem mentions having once knowing somebody who'd lost an arm, and third when she notes later that she's glad she still ''has'' both arms. And when finding the aforementioned tied-up walker, Clem will reassure Sam the dog that its safe, repeating whatever advice Lee gave her last season.
--->'''Clementine:''' Its okay, we're smarter than it. We're smarter than all of them.
** One of the [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140226001201/walkingdead/images/f/f9/AHD_Promo_1.png promotional pictures]] for "A House Divided" is almost a perfect match for [[http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120317201453/walkingdead/images/7/73/Walkingdead2-930x522.jpg one]] from "A New Day".
** In episode 3, [[spoiler: the entire escape plan is lifted from the first group's time in Savannah, from Molly using noise to attract a walker herd to Lee's using walker guts on Clementine to blend among zombies. Both are explicitly referenced.]]
** In "No Going Back", as [[spoiler:Kenny tries to kill Jane, it parallels neatly with The Stranger's attempted murder of Lee in Season 1, to the point of using lines ''very'' analogous to the Stranger. Kenny could be considered a Foil to The Stranger by now, while Jane's gambit of lying about a family member to manipulate the situation and gain her trust is disturbingly similar to The Stranger lying about Clem's parents. Clem can further the similarity by shooting at Kenny to save Jane's life (if you let her kill The Stranger in Season 1).]]
* CanineCompanion: Sam serves as this for Clementine in Episode One. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted after a short while once he attacks her over some food.]]
* CharacterDeath
** In Episode 1, [[spoiler:Omid will be shot and killed in the prologue, and Christa will do the same to the girl that killed him. Sixteen months later, Christa is possibly killed by bandits, albeit it's ambiguous. One of the bandits will be killed by a walker as he's fighting Clementine. Clementine will find his partners (and Roman's body) at the riverside. If you choose to go with Nick at the end, Pete is eaten by walkers.]]
** In Episode 2 [[spoiler:If you go with Pete at the end of the episode, you'll find his body as you leave the cabin. Matthew is killed on the bridge by Nick. One of Carver's men will be killed by Kenny. If you are dishonest and mean in your confession of this to Walter, he will let Nick be killed by walkers. Walter will be shot and killed by Carver as payback. According to your decision, Alvin may be killed by Carver.]]
** In Episode 3, [[spoiler:Reggie will be pushed off of the roof of Howe's by Carver. If you saved Alvin in Episode 2, he will buy Clementine time to escape Carver's office, and will die from a gunshot from one of Carver's men and the wounds that Carver gave him. Kenny will smash Carver's head in with a crowbar, which Clementine can possibly watch. Jane will shoot Troy in the groin and leave him to the walkers. Carlos is shot by one of Carver's people and is devoured by walkers.]]
** In Episode 4, [[spoiler:if Clementine cuts off Sarita's hand, her screams will attract walkers that bite her, and you have the option to either leave her or MercyKill her. Alternatively, if you don't cut off her hand, she will be killed by Kenny to prevent animation at the camp. If Nick lived in Episode 2, Clementine will find him as a walker at the trailer park and will kill him. Sarah will either be left for the walkers at the trailer park or will be eaten by walkers at the camp, if you save her. Rebecca will die from blood loss, exhaustion, and hypothermia and will be killed as a walker by either Kenny or Clementine.]]
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler:Everyone in Arvo's group will be killed in the shootout, including his sister. Luke will drown in a frozen lake, and Bonnie can possibly die if Clementine doesn't attempt to save them. At the end, you will have to choose to kill Kenny or Jane, or you can kill them both. Clementine and A.J. are the only characters that cannot die.]]
* ChekhovsGun:
** Matthew's knife is the reason [[spoiler:Walter finds out he'd dead]], and when he flicks it away it is later found by Clem when Walkers start attacking.
** Episode 4 has this [[spoiler:Double Subverted:]] Mike and Bonnie say that the cannons you find at Parker's Run Memorial Museum could do a lot of damage and make a lot of noise if you got them working. Jane later explains at the observation deck that you ''can't'' get them working, as they've been filled with cement for safety. [[spoiler:But when you have to keep the walkers of the deck, it can still be used to block the gate - except the weight of the cannon breaks the deck when you try to move. Well, now there's no stairs for the walker to climb up!]]
* ChekhovsGunman: The guy at the bridge. [[spoiler: It's Matthew. As in, the Matthew that's Walter's significant other.]]
** [[spoiler:Bonnie]] may also count.
* ChekhovsSkill:
** In Episode 3, [[spoiler: Reggie is living proof that someone can survive a walker bite to a limb if it's cut off fast enough. At the end, you're given the choice of doing the same for Sarita.]]
*** [[spoiler: A special note for this particular example is that attempting to put it into motion will cause Sarita to die IMMEDIATELY upon Episode 4's start, tricking the player into taking the worse conclusion (though leaving her to deal with the bite is still really bad to say the least).]]
** In Episode 4: Who's the only person who knows anything about pregnancy? [[spoiler:The only man left if your group who ever had a son; Kenny.]]
* ChildByRape: [[spoiler:Rebecca's baby is heavily implied (and confirmed via WordOfGod) to be this.]]
** However, by Episode 5 [[spoiler:the baby's character model has been modified to more resemble Alvin, and was even named Alvin Jr. by Kenny.]]
* CliffHanger: Episode Four ends on a ''nasty'' one. [[spoiler: Clem's group is confronted by Arvo, the Russian kid who Clementine and Jane encountered (and possibly robbed, depending on the player's choices) at Parker's Run. A group of his friends emerges from the woods with guns and demands all of the group's goods and supplies, triggering a MexicanStandoff. Things go FromBadToWorse when an ill and exhausted Rebecca suddenly expires and reanimates, forcing either Kenny or Clem to put her down... cue BlastOut. SmashToBlack, roll credits.]]
** The Alone Ending may also count. [[spoiler:How are you supposed to know if you and Alvin Jr. got safely through the herd? You see Clementine covering them both in walker guts and blood to help, but what if something happens?]]
* ComingOfAgeStory: Seems like one for Clementine. In the first season she was just a timid youth with someone to look out for her. This season sees her grow more into independent able to take care of herself despite others still viewing her as a child. [[spoiler: However the story likewise seems to hint this could potentially go the wrong way with Clem risking becoming cold-hearted in order to survive the horror of her world.]]
* ContinuityNod: The reveal trailer shows almost all of the (now overrun with Walkers) previous locations from ''Season One'' and ''400 Days'', and the group of bodies Clementine, Pete and Nick find at the end [[spoiler: are Roman's group, who were presumably hunting Shel and Becca]].
** There are a number in Episode 2 including in the beginning depending on [[spoiler:If you're with Pete or Nick with Nick she'll mention Ben and with Pete she'll reference Lee.]] and when Carver shows up at the cabin Clementine can say that her name is Carley. If you tell him it's just you and your dad living in The Cabin Clementine will say her Dad's name is "Ed", which is the name of her actual father, and when talking with Alvin about [[spoiler: Nick losing it]] Clem can mention Lilly. Also, when you reunite with [[spoiler:Kenny]], he'll either reference Lee as [[spoiler:one hell of a guy, if Kenny and Lee were friends]], or as [[spoiler:Kenny and Lee having their differences, if Kenny and Lee didn't get along]]. If Clementine asks, he'll also reference [[spoiler:either having put Ben out of his misery, if Ben was with you in season 1 episode 5]], or he'll reference [[spoiler:jumping down to save Christa and "give her a hand", if Ben wasn't with you in season 1 episode 5]].
** In Episode 4, while talking to Jane, Clementine can mention her baby sitter, Sandra.
* ConvenientMiscarriage:
** In Episode 1, [[spoiler:this ends up being implied as the ultimate fate of Omid and Christa's baby. After Omid's death and the TimeSkip, Christa is no longer pregnant and the baby is nowhere to be seen. However, Clementine's reaction when she thinks that AJ died implies that the baby died after birth.]]
** In Episode 4, [[spoiler:this is thankfully {{Subverted|Trope}}. When Rebecca gives birth, we see Kenny hold up the unmoving baby in silence as everyone looks on in horror... And then the baby coughs and wakes up as everyone breathes a sigh of relief.]]
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Happens often, as is common for a branching-paths story, but especially blatant in [[spoiler:Nick's death]] in Episode 4: [[spoiler:He'd had multiple dependant death scenes in previous episodes, and so just finding his zombie caught in a fence seemed to many fans like Telltale simply DroppedABridgeOnHim.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: To season 1, big time. [[spoiler:Omid gets shot and killed by a teenaged looter, Christa shoots the looter in retaliation even though she'd dropped her gun and was completely defenseless, absolutely no mention is made of what happens to Christa and Omid's baby, and Clementine makes friends with a dog only for it to turn feral and give her a nasty bite on the arm before she fatally impales it by accident...]] Of course, that's all just from the first half of the FIRST EPISODE of season 2. [[PlayerPunch The second half will likely leave your jaw hanging off the side of your face.]]
* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler:Kenny names Rebecca's baby Alvin Jr., AJ for short, after the baby's late father.]]
* DeadPersonConversation: In Episode 5, [[spoiler:after getting shot, Clem sees Lee in a dream.]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: Episode 5 has [[spoiler: Jane enact a BigDamnHeroes moment to save Kenny, and]], at the end of the episode, [[spoiler: provided the player doesn't decide whether to let the family in or not, ''Jane'' will be the one to take the risk and let them inside Howe's]].
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Omid's death]] causes this for [[spoiler:Christa]] and Clementine. Even almost a year and a half after it happens they are pretty broken up over it, and Clementine takes a more bleak, realistic look at the world after it.
* DevouredByTheHorde:
** In Episode One, "All That Remains", if Clementine chooses to save [[spoiler: Nick instead of Pete, he'll be surrounded by walkers and get devoured while they watch helplessly.]]
** In Episode Three, "In Harm's Way", when the group is trying to leave the store, [[spoiler: Troyholds them at gunpoint, Jane will convince him that she'll lead him to safety. But once he's distracted, Jane [[GroinAttack shoots him in the groin]] and leaves him to be devoured by the herd of incoming walkers. While the gang is trying to navigate their way through the walker herd, Carlo is trying to calm Sarah down, a stray bullet shot from the people from the store hits him in the neck. The blood from his neck attracts a group of walkers and they attack and devour him.]]
** In Episode Four, "Amid the Ruins", no matter what choice you make, [[spoiler: Sarah]] will unfortunately suffer this fate. [[spoiler: When Clementine and Jane tries to find her after being separated, they find her with Luke trapped inside a trailer as walkers try to enter. After getting inside, Clementine tries to get Sarah to leave with them but she still hasn't recovered from her panic attack. If Clementine chooses to leave her in the trailer, the walkers will break in as Sarah cries out for Clementine and reaches out to her moments before being devoured. If Clementine chooses to save Sarah, later on in the game, the observation deck they're staying on crumbles when the group is moving a cannon and Sarah falls and is trapped under the rubble while Walkers are heading towards them. Regardless of your choice, Sarah cannot be saved at this point and she gets devoured.]]
* DiabolusExMachina: The end of "In Harm's Way", [[spoiler:Clem and her group kill Carver and manage to escape his settlement by using Walker guts to sneak through a herd, when a stray bullet kills Carlos, Sarah panics and runs, and Sarita gets bit in the arm.]]
* DisneyDeath:
** [[spoiler:Clem gets shot and finds herself speaking to Lee. She turns out to be dreaming, not in the afterlife.]]
** [[spoiler:Jane implies that AJ was killed by Walkers. It turns out that AJ was fine and Jane lied so Clem would see just how insane Kenny supposedly is.]][[note]]After making fun of his dead family.[[/note]]
* TheDogBitesBack: At the end of Episode 4, [[spoiler:Arvo comes back, looking for revenge, bringing his friends with him.]]
* DownerBeginning: [[DarkerAndEdgier Holy.]] [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Fucking.]] [[PlayerPunch Shit.]]
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Naturally, but there's two out of a possible five.]]
** [[spoiler:You can leave with Kenny and Alvin Junior to Wellington, but it will be overpopulated. You and Alvin Junior can stay, but Kenny must leave. Can also be a bittersweet ending, as Kenny has finally achieved his goal of keeping his surrogate son and daughter safe, and Clementine and AJ can have a chance at a normal life in Wellington.]] Assuming that [[spoiler: You don't just leave with Kenny. It still can be a DownerEnding if you think that after all that searching throughout basically the ''entire'' season, you have to leave if you want to stay with one of your only allies left.]] What makes all of this even worse is that [[spoiler:you never get to find Christa. You can ask the guard, but there's still no sign of her.]]
** [[spoiler:The Alone ending has Clementine kill Kenny or Jane and then possibly leave one or the other behind afterwards. Don't like the thought of either of them even getting to live? Well, you can also kill Kenny almost immediately after you let Jane die. Doing any of this pretty much makes it certain that you are only staying with Alvin Junior. Later, as they go towards a field of walkers, she covers them both in walker blood to pass through a herd.]]
* DramaticIrony:
** In Episode 2, [[spoiler:as the ski cabin survivors are saying how they're hoping Matthew comes back soon, Clementine suspects Matthew is the man Nick shot on the bridge. Later, her suspicions are proven right.]]
** After Jane comments that Clementine's group is fracturing (in no small part due to Kenny), cue Luke and Kenny arguing bitterly in front of a Civl War mural showing the eventual armistice, with a union and confederate soldier shaking hands beside quotes by Gen. Lee and President Lincoln extolling peace and forgiveness.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Nick in Episode 4. After he catches a stray bullet while leaving Carver's settlement, he doesn't show up again for a while. Then Clementine finds him caught in a fence, [[KilledOffScreen already turned into a walker]], and she puts him down. Besides Luke, Clem, and (briefly) Rebecca, no one seemed to care much about his death]].
* DummiedOut: Several fully-functioning alternate scenarios were cut from Episode 5 of Season 2, including [[spoiler: letting Bonnie die if she falls through the ice and shooting Mike when he attempts to flee with Arvo.]] They were accidentally left in for the [=PS3=] version of the episode, but were quickly patched out.
* DwindlingParty: [[AnyoneCanDie Naturally]]. However, Episode 4 goes into full throttle with this trope. [[spoiler:Sarita dies right at the beginning (or if you didn't cut off her hand, she dies later on). Nick is KilledOffScreen [[DroppedABridgeOnHim very abruptly]] and is forced to be killed after he becomes a walker. Sarah dies if you leave her inside the trailer or she dies when the observation deck collapses. Jane [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leaves the group shortly after Sarah dies]]. And Rebecca dies from exhaustion seconds before the episode is over. To make matters worse, the episode ends on one hell of a BolivianArmyEnding involving Russian bandits shooting at Clem's group, so more than likely, at least one or two characters will be confirmed dead or fatally wounded at the start of Episode 5]].
** As of Episode 5: [[spoiler:Luke will end up freezing/drowning to death, Bonnie can also do so, Mike and Arvo (and possibly Bonnie) will abandon the group, and it's possible for Kenny or Jane, or both, to die as well. Clementine and AJ are the only characters that cannot die.]]
* EasterEgg: One for sharp eyes: in Episode 1, amongst the graffiti on the public toilet's cubicles, [[http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/40863953934231801/C24ED39C6A614A10A1372CFECE0D486966B16901/ there's a tiny smiley face with the words 'We're back!' written underneath.]]
* EmpathyDollShot: Clementine finds a stuffed rabbit while searching the bathroom stalls at the very beginning of episode 1. It's actually one of the LEAST sad things about that chapter. She can also find a doll at the abandoned campsite in the woods.
* EstablishingShot: Comments from Christa and a discarded license plate establish that they have made it as far as North Carolina. In Episode 2, a quick shot of a map shows the group has reached Virginia.
* EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler:By the end of the season, almost every single main character except Clementine and Alvin Jr can die: Pete, Nick, Alvin, Carlos, Sarita, Sarah, Rebecca and Luke all die by the end of Episode 5. Bonnie can die if you let her drown during the lake scene. Either Kenny, Jane, or both will die at the climax of Episode 5, and Mike could be killed by Clementine in an early [=PS3=] release of Episode 5.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:If the player chooses to kill the dog at the camp site, and to tell Luke and Pete about it, Luke is disturbed because "you don't kill dogs."]]
* EvolvingCredits: The title screen's colors significantly darken as each episode is released.
* ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: Not counting the TimeSkip at the beginning, the entire season takes place over the course of about 7-8 days.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Kenny]] gets one courtesy of Carver in Episode 3. [[spoiler:How fitting, then, that Carver ends up getting one from Kenny at the end of said episode.]]
* FissionMailed: If you don't hide in time in the bathroom, [[spoiler:Rebecca doesn't discover you. Before she can enter the bathroom, you luck out, because Sarah asks Rebecca what she's doing, and when Rebecca replies she's looking for a towel to wash up, Sarah says there are towels in the kitchen, so Rebecca leaves.]]
** [[spoiler:Also, if you save Nick over Pete in episode 1, then in episode 2, it looks like Nick sacrifices himself to save you just as Pete does if you save Pete instead...''but'', unlike Pete, your group comes back to find Nick alive.]]
* FiveBadBand: You encounter two of them in the game.
** Carver's inner circle.
*** BigBad: Carver
*** TheDragon: [[spoiler: Tavia]]
*** TheBrute: Troy
*** TheEvilGenius: [[spoiler: Bonnie]]
*** TheDarkChick: Reggie
** The Russian gang.
*** BigBad: Buricko
*** CoDragons: [[spoiler: Arvo]] and Vitali
*** TheBrute: Vitali
*** TheEvilGenius: [[spoiler: Arvo]]
*** TheDarkChick: Natasha
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Clementine is [[spoiler: separated from Christa]] and finds herself in another part of a forest, she can read a sign that warns of dangerous animals that wanders around the forest. [[spoiler: This is a big hint to Sam the dog's true nature when meeting with him shortly after reading the sign.]]
** During the trailer when Chuck says [[spoiler: "or smart" it shows Omid, after showing clips of others who didn't make it.]] This may have been Tell Tale hinting towards [[spoiler: his fate at the very beginning of Season Two.]]
** Episode 3 has [[spoiler: Reggie and his missing arm, proving that cutting an infected bite fast enough ''can'' save a person - this comes back at the very end with Sarita's bite]].
** Throughout Season 2, people constantly point out [[spoiler:Kenny's increasingly violent behavior]], showing that sooner or later, it's going to come to a head.
** In Episode 5, Clementine [[spoiler: dreams she's back with Lee after Lilly kills Doug/Carley]], and he tells her sometimes people change in circumstances like these, and there isn't always a right answer to their problems. How oddly fitting when we see [[spoiler: Kenny and Jane fight to the death]], and she has to end it.
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler:Kenny]] says "Where there's smoke, there's fire" regarding how widespread the rumors of Wellington's existence is. [[spoiler:If he survives his fight with Jane, Clem and Kenny find Wellington by following a plume of smoke.]]
* ForgottenFallenFriend: [[spoiler: When Nick dies, Luke gets exactly one line of dialogue to regret his loss. He then seems to completely forget he ever existed, apparently more upset when Jane leaves after a one night stand than he is by the death of his best friend of 20 something years. Sarah is another example, considering how after she died no one gave a damn for more than a few seconds because the baby was born. A little kid just died (If you chose to save her earlier on in the episode)!]]
** Addressed more fully in Episode 5, as [[spoiler: Luke comes to the realization that he's the last survivor of the group he'd started with]], and it becomes apparent that he was [[AngstWhatAngst just trying not to think about it at all]].
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While riding in the truck at the beginning of Episode 3, there's a sign behind [[spoiler:Kenny]] reading "'''WARNING: CRUSHING HAZARD'''," a sly way of referencing [[spoiler:[[MythologyGag him crushing Larry's head during Season One]].]]
** Which becomes HarsherInHindsight by the end of the episode, as [[spoiler: Kenny had his face smashed in by Carver enough to lose an eye, and Kenny later repays the favor on Carter.]]
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: If you ask Sarah about the book she was reading when you stumble into her room Clementine can later be seen with said book while eating. Looks like Sarah loaned it to her.
** In Episode One, if you give water to the dying bandit by the river [[spoiler: you won't have any left for Pete if you decide to save him.]]
* GenreBlind: [[spoiler: Michelle and Jane. When Michelle is holding up Clementine in the bathroom in Episode 1, Michelle automatically assumes Clementine is alone when she isn't. Jane does the same thing, assuming Arvo is alone when holding him up in Episode 4.]] This is likely meant to fit in to the central ideals shown through the game [[spoiler: [[IWorkAlone trying to take the horrors of the ZombieApocalypse alone]] or working with a group. The way this fits is that both Jane and Michelle are loners, and are the only two in the game to show this trait.]]
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: In Episode 4, [[spoiler: you have to slap Sarah to convince her to leave the trailer park]].
* GoneHorriblyRight: Jane's plan to [[spoiler: show what kind of violence Kenny is capable of]], especially if you [[spoiler: don't save her]].
* GoryDiscretionShot: Averted big time in the second season. You never directly see Clem die during game over scenes in the first season when Lee fails to save her. In the second season however her [[PromotedToPlayable promotion to playable]] comes with death/game over scenes that are just as bad as some of Lee's if not worse due to her age. To say it's very unsettling to see Clem get her neck torn out or her stomach ripped open by a walker is a massive understatement.
* GroinAttack: [[spoiler:At the end of episode 3 Jane shoots Troy there so he would draw the walkers.]]
* GrayAndGreyMorality:
** One of the themes of the season. While in Season 1, all the people that are in your group are good people at heart, even if they [[{{Jerkass}} don't show it.]] The Cabin Survivors, on the other hand, often are somewhat grayer in their morality, and a lot of times the conflicts that the group solves has no clear good or bad solution.
** Exemplified further with [[spoiler: Kenny and Jane. Kenny violently attacks Jane because he thought she killed or left behind AJ, and can kill her if you let him. Despite this, he legitimately cares for Clem and AJ, and is willing to sacrifice himself to make sure they're safe. On the other hand, Jane is extremely callous and underhanded in her manipulation of proving to Clem that Kenny is crazy, purposely gaslighting him into attacking her. It's also implied that she did this for the purpose of keeping Clem to herself. Despite her initial disdain towards AJ, she seems to care for Clem and AJ somewhat, and desires to keep them both safe. She can even care enough to let a starving family into their new home.]] There's no real resolution for the conflict, and neither side is entirely justifiable in their actions.
* HopeSpot: In Episode 2, the group is force to flee the cabin after a dangerous former ally finds them. They reach a bridge and Clem and Luke go scout up ahead. They find another survivor, Matthew, and he seems nice enough. Even willing to share his food. [[spoiler: Then Nick stupidly comes running up without assessing the situation and shoots him thinking he was about to attack the pair. This leads to consequences later when they find the rest of Matthew's group. Maybe even moreso as Matthew was that group's lookout and without him. Carver manages to catch up to the cabin group easily.]]
** Also in Episode 2, when [[spoiler: Carver is holding Alvin hostage]] if you [[spoiler: tell Kenny to take the shot, he does. Carver goes down... for a bit. [[NightmareFuel Then he gets back up like nothing happened and kills Alvin.]] Turns out the bullet only got his shoulder but the fact that it didn't even slow him down [[{{Determinator}} says something about the man.]]]]
** [[spoiler:One of the most notable examples of this is Episode 5, which is, in a way, one gigantic hope spot. Throughout the first half of the episode, the group works out their problems and come together, finally accepting each other and acting as a group. After one of the most heartwarming scenes of the series, with the group talking around the bonfire, the episode viciously tears this hope to shreds by slowly tearing apart the group with Luke's death, Bonnie and Mike's betrayal and finally the struggle between Kenny and Jane, ending on one of the most traumatic {{Sadistic Choice}}s in video game history.]]
*** To a lesser extent, [[spoiler:Clementine waking up back in the RV in Episode 3, with Lee by her side, making it seem like everything after that was all [[AllJustADream a horrible nightmare]]. And then she wakes up in the back of the truck while Kenny and Jane argue.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: Jane is one, attempting to prove how dangerous Kenny is by pushing literally every single one of his buttons in an attempt to start a conflict.]]
** [[spoiler: Christa]] seems like one. [[spoiler: Early on in the first episode she leaves you in the bathroom and it's implied that she has sex with Omid. She left a kid in an abandoned bathroom, one they didn't check before, just to do something they could've waited a few more minutes to do. Remember Episode 3 of Season 1? Where she yells at Lee for going alone into a place possibly full of zombies? Yeah.]]
* HypocriticalHumor: Clem complains how she hates scavengers because they always take everything -- while she's scrounging around an abandoned campsite for food.
* [[IceQueen Ice Princess]]: Due to the events of the games, and partially depending on your choices, Clementine shows signs of turning into this in Episode Two. Even the gentlest version of Clem is notable for being considerably more emotionally dead compared to her personality in Season 1. The least gentle version is a cold, abrasive and manipulative {{Jerkass}}. [[spoiler: This is understandable, given that everyone she's ever cared about is dead or missing, people who are capable of helping her initially refuse to, and she was engaged in PassiveAggressiveKombat with one of her new group.]]
** Carried a step farther in Episode Three, where Carver explicitly acknowledges her as the shrewdest, strongest, and most experienced member of the group, willing to do whatever it takes to survive. He even compares her to himself, which, considering his status as a stone-cold killer whose very name inspires fear in the rest of the party, is seriously saying something. At the end of the episode, Clementine [[spoiler:can choose to stay and watch Kenny beat Carver's skull in with a crowbar, and her own face barely strays from cold indifference throughout the entire ordeal.]]
* IdiotBall: Played catch with in Episode 5. [[spoiler: First, nobody believes that Arvo, who was left with nothing to lose and whose remaining allies were unknown, might be leading the group into a trap (conversely, assuming that he ''isn't'' leading the group to a trap (which he isn't) the fact that Kenny treats him so terribly gives him plenty of reason to abandon the team as soon as safely possible). Then, on the thin ice, when the goal is specifically not to put too much weight in one area, if Clementine chooses to cover Luke as he climbs out of a small hole Bonnie will lumber up to him instead, causing them both to fall in. Finally, the ball is caught by Jane, who decides to prove a point to Clementine by playing a trick on Kenny which provokes him to fight her to the death - at no point during their fight, which she claims later not to have expected, does she think to reveal that AJ is alive and well.]]
* InVinoVeritas: Invoked by Mike when Bonnie lets it slip that [[spoiler:she had romantic feelings for Luke]].
-->'''Mike''': They say a drunk man's talk is a sober man's thoughts.
-->'''Bonnie''': Well, I ain't a man, so "they" can take that shit somewhere else.
* {{Irony}}: The sign in the campground warning Clem of dangerous animals. [[spoiler: There IS a dangerous animal around, but not one you'd expect. A starved Dog bites her after she tries to take some food back from it after it tried to keep it all for itself.]]
** Also, if you opt to help Sarah pick berries she'll worry about making a mistake. Clementine responds that it won't be the end of the world if she does. [[spoiler: Cue Carver showing up and pushing Reggie off the roof for not making sure they picked enough berries.]]
** A more depressing irony is present in Amid The Ruins where a memorial in a civil war site quoting "Fallen, but not Forsaken". [[spoiler: Sarah, if she was saved in the trailer house, literally falls to her death and is immediately forsaken by her friends afterwards.]]
** [[spoiler: Kenny]] ends his storyline in by doing exactly what [[spoiler: Lilly]] did - [[spoiler: violently snapping and killing/attempting to kill someone in a fit of rage and paranoia.]]
** Jane is known for her loner characteristics, but at the end, [[spoiler:if Clementine chooses to abandon her, she'll practically plead for Clem to stay with her.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Sam gets kicked into a group of sharp metal tent-poles and stabbed though his leg and chest, and unlike other examples where the victim either dies moments after or immediately, Sam remains fully conscious and whining in pain while trying to pull himself off of the poles.]]
* ImproperlyPlacedFirearms: Everyone in America uses '''Russian [=AK-47s=]''' since the creators probably didn't want to get sued by Colt's Manufacturing Company (They own the registered trademark to the AR-15).
** Better make sure no one tells them about ''Call of Duty,'' ''Fallout,'' ''Battlefield,'' and...well, practically every single shooter ever made. The AR-15 is an incredibly common firearm and ''dozens'' of companies make it. This doesn't make the AK any less bizarre to find in the game, but its inclusion is more likely a nod to its equally bizarre thumbs up from ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' than any fear of gun-related lawsuits.
* InfantImmortality: A major aversion, as always. Here, Clementine can die in a number of brutal ways.
** In Episode 1, [[spoiler:Omid and Christa's baby isn't mentioned again after the TimeSkip, implying a ConvenientMiscarriage.]]
** In Episode 4, [[spoiler:Clem can leave Sarah at the petrol station if she doesn't think she will be able to convince her to leave, and even if she does save her, Sarah will die in a later scene.]]
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler: this is played straight in all 5 possible endings; Clementine and baby AJ survive to the credits no matter what else happens.]]
* InsultBackfire: In Episode 3, Clementine can tell Carver that she wishes [[spoiler:Kenny]] had shot him. He appreciates the gall it took to say that to his face, and segues it into a NotSoDifferent moment.
* ItsUpToYou: The number of times an 11 year old girl is asked to take point on even extremely dangerous tasks becomes almost comical. Especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} is when all of the adults defer to Clem's expertise in figuring out how to turn off a wind turbine. Though this is usually because the other members of the group are otherwise preoccupied taking care of their family or [[WorfHadTheFlu recent events have made their abilities... questionable.]] There are also other times where Clementine's specially suited to a task (such as being smaller and sneakier) so there are at least [[JustifiedTrope in-story reasons]] for this besides the fact that you're the protagonist.
** Clem finally gets the opportunity to lampshade it during "In Harm's Way" [[spoiler:as she's volunteered to set off the PA system to attract walkers]].
--> '''Clementine:''' Ugh, why is it always me?
** In Episode 5, She and [[spoiler:Kenny]] have this exchange when she's given the task of cleaning [[spoiler:his eye wound]].
--->'''[[spoiler:Kenny]]''': You shouldn't have to do this.
--->'''Clementine''': I shouldn't have to do a lot of things.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Nick really comes across as this, [[spoiler: since the last time they'd let a bitten survivor into their group, his mother wound up being killed when they turned]]. He does later apologize for his behavior, giving the player the choice to forgive him or not.
** As unhinged as he becomes, Kenny's actions aren't entirely irrational or baseless. [[spoiler: His treatment of Arvo is horrible, but Arvo tried to ambush the group, tried to run away from them across the ice to a cabin, getting Luke killed, and shoots Clementine when he, Mike and Bonnie were stealing the vehicle. His desire to leave with the truck as soon as possible is seen as insane by everyone, but last time Kenny fixed up a vehicle, it got stolen when the group's attention was directed elsewhere. When everyone is asleep, this is ''precisely'' what happens, [[EtTuBrute by Mike and Bonnie no less.]]]] Granted, these cases have traces of SelfFulfillingProphecy given that Kenny's actions played a part in their reactions, but he's not entirely wrong in what he's saying.
** VillainHasAPoint: Considering The Cabin Group locked us in a shed and we don't really know much about their background... Let's just say this quote struck a chord for some players.
-->'''Carver''': If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?
** As utterly sociopathic as Jane's plan to [[spoiler:fake AJ's death and demonstrate just how tenuous Kenny's grip on his own sanity is]], there's little denying that it worked far more than she expected it to.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Arvo, Mike, and (if still alive) Bonnie]] completely get away scott free with screwing over the group, stealing all of the supplies, and shooting [[spoiler: Clementine]].
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: Carver shoots Walter in the back of the head after torturing Carlos in front of his sobbing daughter.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The fact that over 70% of players chose to [[spoiler: stay and watch as Kenny caved in Carver's face with a crowbar]] at the end of Episode 3 is pretty telling.
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: It turns out that Omid and Christa both survived and met up with Clementine, but Omid gets killed early on in Episode 1, and Clem and Christa are later separated, forcing the former to strike out on her own and find a new group. Kenny turns up in Episode 2, having miraculously survived his previous encounter with the herd. By the season finale, almost everyone in the cabin group is dead; the two surviving adults, Kenny and Jane can die or be written out of the narrative in a few different ways, depending on player choice.]]
* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:Nick in Episode 4]].
* LanguageBarrier: In Episode Four, Clementine and her crew encounter a group of Russians who want revenge for [[spoiler:Jane (and possibly Clem) robbing and threatening one of their members, Arvo.]] They demand that Clem's group surrender all their supplies, but Clem's group refuses, resulting in a MexicanStandoff. By this point, everyone wants to back out, but only Arvo can understand both languages. Unfortunately, when an [[spoiler:undead Rebecca is killed, the gunshot causes a firefight.]]
* LastBreathBullet: How [[spoiler:Alvin]] [[TakingYouWithMe takes out one of Carver's]] {{Mooks}}, [[HeroicSacrifice buying time for]] [[spoiler:the group to escape Carver's camp]].
* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:Lee died in Season One, leaving Clementine to fend for herself.]]
** The promotional artwork for Episode 4 clearly depicts [[spoiler:Kenny, spoiling his return in Episode 2]]. Players who were waiting for the entire season to be complete before playing, and were just casually browsing the Steam Store front page around Episode 4's release, might not appreciate this.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: [[spoiler: The escape plan in Episode 3, deliberately attracting a massive herd to overrun Carver's settlement.]]
* LifeOrLimbDecision: [[spoiler:Carlos and co. consider doing this when they think Clem is infected. Ultimately averted. Similarly done later with Pete if he's saved, as he can't bring himself to saw off his own leg, [[MortonsFork figuring he'd bleed out anyway.]]]]
** Also done at [[spoiler: the end of Episode 3, where you have to choose to cut Sarita's arm off or not.]]
* LoneSurvivor: A picture Clementine can find at the abandoned campsite features a family, all of whom are implied to be dead, with Sam the dog in the background, revealing he's the only family member left.
* LetsSplitUpGang: Forced by circumstances. [[spoiler:Clementine and Christa split up when they're attacked by thugs early on in "All That Remains", and at the end, if you opt to run to Pete's aid, he and Clem are separated from Nick as they escape from walkers. When crossing the ice to get to Arvo's cabin, the group needs to split up to avoid putting too much pressure on any particular spot.]]
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: This job needs someone small? Let's get Clementine. This job requires someone who knows [[spoiler:Kenny]] well? Let's get Clementine. This job requires fixing a windmill? Okay, let's get Clementine.
* ManHug: In Episode 2, [[spoiler:Luke gives one to Nick when comforting him over Pete's death.]]
* {{Mentors}}: A recurring theme throughout the season. Due to Clementine's age, pretty much every character attempts to play one to her, but their own flaws generally lead to situations where Clementine is the one guiding them, coming to its head during the finale where [[spoiler: two characters fight to the death for the position of Clem's mentor]]. This creates a massive contrast with Clementine's relationship with Lee in the previous season.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler: Clementine can do this to the dog that attacked her...]]
* MexicanStandoff[=/=][[spoiler:BlastOut]]:One particularly traumatic one at the end of Episode 4 between [[spoiler:Clementine's group and [[TheDogBitesBack Arvo's group]]. Sadly, when Rebecca reanimates, and Kenny or Clem is forced to shoot her, it ends in a BlastOut after a SmashToBlack with an unconfirmed number of fatalities]]
* MoodWhiplash: [[spoiler: Clementine finds a dog, plays with him for a bit, then finds some food and decides to share it with him. Then the dog attacks her for trying to take "its" food.]]
* MoralMyopia: During Episode 3, when the group is taken captive by Carver and his goons, the entire group wastes no time planning an escape route by having Clementine turn on the PA system to attract a hoard of walkers to the community they are imprisoned in, and uses Jane's advice by covering themselves in walker blood to blend into the crowd. Though they manage to get out after [[spoiler: having Carver and Troy killed]], the group's actions ends up luring a massive amount of walkers into a community full of unseen people who have likely done no wrong to the group, and was not directly involved in Carver's atrocity towards the group. Regardless it is possible that the group had gotten many innocent people killed during their escape, all because they wanted to get out sooner rather than wait until the walker hoard passes by the next day or so, and the protagonists never once questions how they doomed a once well guarded community because one or two people working in said community were evil to them.
* MortonsFork:
** In "All That Remains", you have the choice of feeding the dog Sam. If you don't feed him, [[spoiler:He will attack for denying him food. If you do feed him, he will try to take all of it, and attack you for trying to stop him.]]
** In "In Harm's Way," [[spoiler: Reggie is on thin ice with Carver, who is furious that he helped the group escape the first time. He is tasked with making the Clem and Sarah work cutting berries and trimming plants. Sarah immediately has a breakdown and cannot complete her task, giving the Clementine the choice of helping her finish or doing their own work. Regardless of what option you choose, one of the girls will have not completed their share when Carver returns and he murders Reggie in retaliation.]]
** At the end of "In Harm's Way," [[spoiler: Sarita is bitten and you're given the choice of killing the walker or cutting off Sarita's arm.]] In the next episode, [[spoiler: Sarita is killed by walkers immediately no matter what you did.]]
* MultipleEndings: Serveral, all of them [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet.]] Suffice to say, Creator/TelltaleGames could have a ''lot'' of juggling to do [[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/222009/The_Walking_Dead_sells_28M_episodes_third_season_on_the_way.php at the start of Season 3]].
** [[spoiler: Kenny Ending]]: [[spoiler: Clem, Kenny, and AJ (the baby) make it to Wellington, only to be told that they can't accept any more people at the moment due to winter food shortages. The defenders toss the three a bag of survival supplies and suggest that they keep returning, in case some space opens up. Kenny, not content with this, successfully argues for them to keep the supplies if they let Clem and the Baby in.]] The player is then given a choice...
*** [[spoiler: Stay with Kenny: Clem refuses to leave Kenny behind, and while he resists, she ultimately convinces him. They agree to keep returning to Wellington until they are allowed entry, and leave to find shelter for the time being.]]
*** [[spoiler: Go to Wellington: Clem tearfully agrees to leave, taking the baby to the gates. After one final goodbye, Kenny leaves as the gates close behind him, and in front of Clementine.]]
** [[spoiler: Jane Ending]]: [[spoiler: Clem, Jane, and AJ (the baby) return to Howes', the department store that Carver used as his fortress, quickly finding food for the baby. While none of the defenders are alive, Jane notes that the decimated walker population and still-intact defenses and greenhouse would make it an excellent hideout. Suddenly, a family of three approaches. The father begs for food and shelter, stating that they been wandering for some time and have not eaten in a day.]] The player is then given a choice...
*** [[spoiler: Let Them In: Clem lets them come in, and Jane reluctantly agrees. The family is overjoyed at their kindness, and the father begins sizing up the place, also noting that it would make a great place to live. However, Clementine silently notices that the father's situation and gung-ho attitude is eerily similar to Kenny's, and seems worried about the possibility of everything coming full-circle.]]
*** [[spoiler: Send Them Away: Clem and Jane tell them to leave, worried about their limited supplies and the possible danger the strangers may present. The father threatens them, but Clem calls his bluff, and they leave, dejected. Jane worries that they'll be back, but Clem coldly notes that they'll be ready if it happens. The final shot is of the family's son, sadly looking back at Clementine.]]
** [[spoiler: Alone Ending]]: [[spoiler: Clem takes the baby and either abandons Jane after killing Kenny or abandons/kills Kenny after he killed Jane, disgusted by their callous, selfish actions. 9 days later, she and the baby are seen walking over a hill, seeing a massive herd in the distance as they reach the top. She silently kills a straggler, covering herself and the baby with their guts to disguise their scent, and calmly begins pressing on through through the field of walkers.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Players who strove for the GoldenEnding in 400 Days. [[spoiler:Anyone they convinced to come along with Tavia becomes security at Carver's stronghold, and are likely killed by the herd in the climax of Episode 3.]]
* NoEnding: [[spoiler:The "Alone" ending. Clem and Alvin Jr. are seen wandering the wilderness, when they come across a herd of walkers in the distance. Clem covers herself and the baby with walker guts to disguise their scent, then begins to walk through the herd. Cut to black, credits.]]
** [[spoiler: The "Jane" ending, with the "Let Them In" option, in which Clementine and Jane let a family get in Howe's. Clementine watches how the family gets in, while everything seems normal, except the dad carries a gun. Clementine signs to Jane about it. The kid of the family says to Clementine she has a "cool hat". Cut to black, credits.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivered to [[spoiler: Kenny by Carver during Episode 3.]] He returns the favor later.
* NoNameGiven: Even worse than in the last game - the only two characters who have full names are William Carver and Peter Randall. As Clementine still has no full name, you ''literally don't know your own last name.''
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Reggie confirms that a prompt amputation will stop infection. Good to know, right? [[spoiler: Well, at the end of "In Harm's Way," Sarita is bitten on the hand by a walker during the group's escape, and the game prompts you to either get it off her or take her arm off. If you choose the latter, she is swarmed by walkers and dies immediately.]]
* NotSoDifferent:
** [[spoiler: Carver claims that this is the case with him and Clementine. He notes that when they first met in Episode 2, he realized how brave she was for looking him straight in the eyes, without any signs of fear, and that there's no way she could've survived in this world without being like him.]]
** Jane accuses [[spoiler:Kenny]] of turning into another Carver.
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: In Episode 2, [[spoiler: holy '''hell''' does Walter do this in regards to the missing Matthew!]]
* OffhandBackhand: Christa doesn't noticeably seem to aim her rifle or even look at her target [[spoiler: when she guns down Omid's killer]].
* OldSaveBonus: Whatever decisions that were made in the first season can be carried over to the second via a save file of your choice from the last season. If there are any uncompleted episodes (including 400 Days), or no save file, the decisions that were to be made in those episodes are randomized.
* PaletteSwap: Randy and Patricia from the [[spoiler:go with Jane]] ending are pretty clearly texture swaps of Carlos and Molly respectively.
* PerpetualPoverty: Particularly in Episode 4 and especially Episode 5. While Bonnie and Mike's hunger is mentioned during a raccoon chase, they are never shown finding food. And while in Episode 5, they do finally find ''some'' food, Clem, Jane, [[spoiler:AJ and Kenny]] do not appear to have it the next day. Despite this, Clem, AJ, and [[spoiler:possibly Jane or Kenny survive the next ''nine days'' as they look for a settlement.]]
* PleaseDontLeaveMe:
** In "No Turning Back", [[spoiler:Clem has a dream where she's with Lee in the old RV. Toward the end of the dream, she can ask Lee to promise not to leave her.]]
** If Clementine [[spoiler:Shoots Kenny to save Jane, Jane will almost beg Clem to stay with her when it's revealed AJ was okay.]]
* PlotImmunity: In Episodes 4 and 5, [[spoiler: there are at least 7 scenes in which it makes perfect sense to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoot Arvo]]. He proves, at the cost of Luke's life and Clem's shoulder, that it would have been a good idea too. However, the option is never presented, as those things happening are critical to the story.]]
* PostApocalypticDog: Clementine encounters a starving dog near an abandoned campsite.
* PostRapeTaunt:[[spoiler: Carver]] cruely does this to [[spoiler: Rebecca]], just as he's about to die.
--> [[spoiler: '''Carver''':]] Bitch! Don't act like you didn't enjoy every second of it.
* PrecisionFStrike: [[spoiler: Clementine isn't as opposed to cursing as she used to be, but she never added "fuck" to her vocabulary. However, the player can have her drop an f-bomb after she discovers Jane lied about the baby being dead.]]
* PressXToNotDie: Back once again though now include directional presses ala ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs''
* PromotedToPlayable: You're controlling Clementine this time out who, unlike Lee, is limited in fending off Walkers and Scavengers, meaning it's up to you how you have her deal with certain situations.
* ProperlyParanoid: While it seems harsh to players, [[spoiler: how many wouldn't be suspicious of someone with an unidentifiable bite on their arm told you that it was only a dog]] during the middle of a ZombieApocalypse?
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: In episode 3, when the group decides to make a plan to [[spoiler: escape Carver’s group, not only does no one mention how ‘’innocent'' people (the ones who are largely unseen but still present in the episode) still staying in with Carver will be affected due to the plan, but the game itself doesn’t even hint at the devastation they caused to the people who stayed.]] The game acts as if their plan isn’t morally grey at best because we’re only supposed to think about how the group needs to [[spoiler: get away from Carver, not think about how the other people either died or were forced to leave their home.]]
* PublicDomainSoundtrack: A folk song for the end credits and two classical pieces at the ski lodge in A House Divided.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: One of the dialog options [[spoiler:after the cabin survivors find that Clem has killed a walker that broke into the shed they put her in to make sure she isn't bitten]] (and the achievement you get for reaching that scene) is aptly labeled as "Still. Not. Bitten."
* PuppyDogEyes: When [[spoiler: Carlos' group]] is deciding whether or not to help Clementine, she can appeal to several of them by picking a "sad eyes" option. Doing it to Luke (who is on Clementine's side) gets him to complain about her trying to "guilt trip" him.
* PyrrhicVictory: Clementine and the cabin survivors manage to [[spoiler: kill Carver and escape his compound, but their plan involved leading a colossal herd of zombies to storm the department store. Along with destroying a well barricaded safehouse with a good supply of food, the group had to deal with the zombies they invited, and the stray bullets of Carver's minions.]] The ensuing deaths throw the rest of the group into absolute turmoil. On top of all that, [[VillainHasAPoint Carver's morbid predictions were pretty much spot on.]] In choosing freedom over safety, [[spoiler: all of the original cabin survivors are dead in less than a week, and the chances of survival are pretty slim for the rest.]]
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:Carver's last words more or less suggest that he raped Rebecca, telling her to admit that she liked it]].
* RealityEnsues:
** Our lovable child protagonist is wandering the forest and encounters an abandoned dog. Will she gain a canine companion for her adventures? [[spoiler: Nope. The dog is starving and has probably been without human contact for a long time - so it tries to [[WhamEpisode maul her for her food.]] It actually is quite friendly right up until she tries to take the food back from it, which is a good way to get bitten even with a thoroughly domestic dog.]] {{Franchise/Fable}} this ain't.
** In Episode 2, [[spoiler:Pete (if he's still alive) attempts to saw off his foot, but then decides against it because he knows he'll bleed out anyway. Even if he didn't, he knows there's no way for Clementine to carry him all the way back to the cabin]].
** If you choose to [[spoiler:chop off Sarita's hand at the end of Episode 3, she'll die anyway at the start of Episode 4 either from blood loss or shock]].
** After being out in the cold for so long, [[spoiler:and not being treated shortly after she gave birth, Rebecca dies from exhaustion]].
* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler: Kenny]] seems to treat [[spoiler: Clementine]] and [[spoiler: Sarita]] as his new family. Becomes pretty obvious when he accidentally calls [[spoiler: Clementine]] "[[spoiler:Duck]]".
** Jane also appears to treat [[spoiler: Clementine this way, though how much is up to interpretation. It's ''very'' evident she views Sarah this way, and not in a good way; she has precisely zero interest in protecting her, and even goes so far as to call the other girl's PTSD selfishness. You start to wonder if she's referring to Sarah at all, or to her own dead sister, Jaime, whom she finally got sick of and abandoned.]]
* SadisticChoice:
** At the end of Season 2 Episode 1, [[spoiler:Nick is surrounded by Walkers, while Pete is only facing one but has a leg injury. You have to choose whether to save Nick or Pete; you only have time to save one because earlier, Clementine was attempting to grill a bandit she recognized about Christa's whereabouts. Similar to Telltale's ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'', the choice actually has a good and bad option, as running to Nick (As he is surrounded by more and could use more help) results in Pete being overwhelmed when more walkers appear, but going to Pete (who is injured and has no ammo left) results in Nick running off into the woods unscathed.]] However, it ends up being [[spoiler:''subverted'', because in Episode 2, either Pete dies anyway sacrificing himself to save you, or Nick ''seems'' to sacrifice himself but you later find him alive. No matter who you save, in the end, Pete dies, and Nick lives.]]
** DoubleSubversion in Episode 4 regarding [[spoiler:Sarah. You have the option to leave Sarah in the trailer to die, or to rescue her. If you choose to rescue her, later on, there's ''another'' choice where you have to rescue Jane or drop Jane and tell her to help Sarah, who's pinned beneath a collapsed deck. If you try to save Sarah this time around, [[PlotlineDeath she'll die anyway]], just like Pete.]]
** Played straight in Episode 5, where [[spoiler:Jane and Kenny get into a fight at the end of the episode. Kenny gets the upper hand and attempts to stab Jane. The knife goes into Jane slowly due to her resisting, but it is clear that Kenny will kill her if the player does not intervene. The player is forced to choose between shooting Kenny dead, or letting Jane die.]]
* SceneryPorn: The environments in this season are ''gorgeous''.
* SchmuckBait: The gold watch Clem can find in a drawer. Everything about it just screams that it is a KleptomaniacHero's trap, given the circumstances it is found under.
** Subverted, since if you took it [[spoiler: you can give it back to Nick in Episode Two and he thanks you for it.]] Meaning you can actually get '' rewarded'' by the game for stealing. Although [[spoiler:in context, the watch is a valuable token of Pete and Nick's familial bond, so Nick doesn't chew you out because he doesn't even realize you "stole" it; he thinks you deliberately grabbed it just to return it to him.]]
* ScreamDiscretionShot: In Episode 2, if [[spoiler:Clem goes outside to find Kenny after Carver shows up with his thugs, we don't get to see what Carver does to Carlos. Presumably, Carlos lost an ear (camera angles hide it after that, so that the scenes can play the same regardless of which choice you made)]].
* SearchingTheStalls: Done by Clem in the prologue to Episode 1.
* SelfSurgery: [[spoiler: Clementine gets to stitch her own arm up after she's bitten by a dog.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV9KqZ_rSRQ It's gut-wrenching]].
* SequelDifficultySpike: The [=QTE=]s are somewhat harder this time around, with directional controls added and some slight changes in layout and controls ([[DamnYouMuscleMemory which most likely results in your instincts causing your death in regards to the controls being different]]), among some other things. Telltale also added an "invert Y" function, but having presumably played six chapters the other way, the players may have different opinions as to whether or not changing it now works better.
* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:Of the surviving three characters from season 1, Omid is by far the most light-hearted and jovial. Guess who dies in the very first scene of the second season?]]
* ShootTheDog:
** [[spoiler: Clementine ends up fatally wounding a dog after it gave her a near-fatal bite wound. She can end its life mercifully if the player chooses to. And yes, the game makes this as unpleasant as humanly possible. After all, the dog was just as desperate for food as she was...]]
** At the end of Episode 4, [[spoiler:either Clementine or Kenny ''has'' to shoot Rebecca after she dies and reanimates]].
* ShootTheShaggyDog: Twice in Episode 4:
** [[spoiler:The entirety of Sarah's plotline ends this way. Over the course of three episodes, Clem is given repeated chances to choose whether to be friendly and help Sarah or to be mean and abuse her. She can help Sarah learn to use a gun and seems to be preparing her to finally face the post-apocalyptic world without her father sheltering her. Then Sarah's father dies in front of her, Sarah becomes catatonic, and everything you may have tried to build with her comes to nothing as she inevitably dies being torn apart and screaming for her father before the end of the episode. Even if Clem saves Sarah in the trailer home, Sarah will still be killed by Walkers during the shootout on the observation deck.]]
** [[spoiler:Double subverted with Rebecca. After all the effort the group went through to ensure she could give birth safely, it looks like her baby was stillborn, only for the baby to start breathing a few seconds later. However, Rebecca dies of exhaustion at the end of the episode.]]
* SlashedThroat: If the player chooses to [[spoiler:MercyKill the dog that bit them in episode 1]] this is the method that is used to do it.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: [[spoiler:Everyone in Arvo's group apart from himself]] has almost no lines [[spoiler:in English]] and all of them die after about five minutes. However, if it weren't for them [[spoiler:Arvo wouldn't have become your prisoner, which may have had a different effect on Kenny's sanity and prevented you from finding their hideout and their truck. It would also result in Luke (and Mike) not being shot during the firefight, which might've saved Luke's life later on.]]
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Even after Omid tells Clementine to keep an eye on her stuff, you're forced to leave the gun behind while retrieving the water bottle.
** In Episode 2, [[spoiler: Clem will spot the flashlights of Carver's group approaching from across the bridge. Despite the approaching danger, the game forces Clem and her group to stay in the ski lodge and be utterly surprised when they're suddenly held hostage by armed psychos. To be fair, Clem ''did'' tell Rebecca and Alvin about seeing the flashlights, which is what prompted Carlos to say they'd leave at dawn. It's just that "dawn" turned out to be too late.]]
** [[spoiler: After seeing the flashlights, Bonnie abruptly appears snooping at the back of the lodge. None of the characters put two and two together.]]
* SureLetsGoWithThat: When adults are talking about sex in front of Clementine, Bonnie tells them off. One dialog option allows Clementine to say that she's not stupid, she knows what they're talking about. The script then has her elaborate that they're talking about kissing and stuff. They go with that description.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute:
** Arvo's group as a whole is reminiscent of [[spoiler:The Stranger: if you take or leave the meds, his group attacks you for Jane's treatment of him, rather like the Stranger blaming Lee even if he didn't take his supplies.]]
** Jane comes off as very much akin to Molly. Both [[spoiler: are extremely pragmatic (almost to a ruthless extent), both have [[DarkAndTroubledPast troubled pasts]] that were in part caused by losing little sisters, each are aloof to the group at the start, [[DefrostingIceQueen before gradually warming]] to the player character [[FireForgedFriends after learning how efficient and sensible they are]], and each end up departing the main group at the end of the fourth episodes of their respective seasons, claiming that [[IWorkAlone they prefer isolation to travelling with a group]]. However, unlike Molly she returns the next episode and becomes an important character in the season finale]].
* TemptingFate: Jane and Luke have sex in Episode 4. Not only does this have immediate repercussions(Luke was supposed to be on patrol, and their interlude allowed a herd of Walkers to show up and directly leads to [[spoiler: Sarah's death), but in ''A New Frontier'', it's revealed that either they used the 'withdrawal method' of birth control or didn't bother even trying, as Jane is pregnant]]. Like much else in the game, [[DrivenToSuicide it doesn't end well.]]
* ThatCameOutWrong: This infamous line from Mike, when talking about eating a raccoon:
--> '''Clementine''': "We can eat raccoon?"
--> '''Mike''': "I'd eat the shit out of that raccoon."
--> (cue Bonnie and Clementine grinning)
* TheLoad: Sarah. Her father's sheltering of her from the chaos of the outside world left her inexperienced. Because of this, she often gets [[DamselInDistress herself]], and others, in trouble. [[spoiler: You can choose to save her or leave her at the trailer park in Episode 4, but she dies shortly after either way.]]
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Said word for word by Clementine before she [[spoiler: disinfects and stitches her arm.]] And you know what, it does [[spoiler: because the game ''makes you do every agonizing second of it.'']]
** Gets a CallBack in "No Going Back" as Clementine can repeat this to [[spoiler: Kenny as you prepare to clean his wounds.]]
* IThoughtYouWereDead: Said by Clementine in the trailer for Episode Two, and a possible dialogue option when players reach the scene in the episode itself.
* TimeSkip: Even if [[WordOfGod the developers]] hadn't said that Episode Two starts "months" after the first season ended, it's pretty obvious. Clementine looks a bit older and Christa is big-belly pregnant when she wasn't even showing at the end of the first game. Then there's a sixteen-month time skip from the first scene to the rest of Chapter 1, meaning the bulk of the Chapter and Episode will take place almost three years after the beginning of Season One; interestingly, this put the game further into the ZombieApocalypse than any other [[Comic/TheWalkingDead Walking Dead]] media at the time, (the original comic swiftly caught up with a time skip of its own shortly after the game's release).
* TookALevelInBadass: '''CLEMENTINE.'''
* TookALevelInJerkass: Can be played straight with Clementine, depending on the choices made. She can go from TheHeart of the team to a manipulative survivor who [[spoiler:threatens a pregnant woman, taunts a starving dog with food, and manipulates a girl with an AmbiguousDisorder into giving her supplies.]] Given what happened to her in Season One and the DownerBeginning of Episode Six, she can't entirely be blamed for going off the rails. [[spoiler: Christa as well, due to the death of Omid and fate of her child. It's implied her cold demeanor towards Clementine is due to blaming her for Omid's death.]]
** [[spoiler:Bonnie seems to have become much more ruthless and cunning since her appearance in ''400 Days''. Subverted as it turns out to be her assuming that Carver knows what's ultimately best for his settlement; as soon as she realizes just how horrible he is, she lightens up considerably. The rest of the ''400 Days'' crew, however, seem fairly tight-assed if they went with Tavia as well.]]
* WhamEpisode: Episode 4. It can be best described as '' '''"fuck"''' ''. To elaborate: [[spoiler: Sarita dies, Kenny goes into shock, Nick dies (if he hasn't already) and you have to kill him as a walker, Sarah dies, Jane and Luke (who are barely seen interacting) have sex when they were supposed to be on watch, which triggers a massive hoard of walkers, Jane leaves, Rebecca's baby is born, Rebecca dies, the group is attacked by Russians, presumably killing most if not all of them, then the screen cuts to black with no preview for episode 5.]]
** Season 2 Episode 5: [[spoiler:Arvo's sister dies and reanimates in the middle of the gunfight, forcing Clem to shoot her and causing Arvo to think she murdered his sister. Jane comes back and helps kill the Russians except for Arvo, who is taken hostage. Kenny becomes increasingly hot-tempered and abusive towards Arvo, who offers to lead them to their base. Luke - and potentially Bonny as well - fall through the ice of a frozen lake and drown. Kenny nearly beats Arvo's face in, and later that evening Mike, Bonnie (if she's still alive) and Arvo try to hijack a truck Kenny fixed and Arvo shoots Clem in the chest when she catches them. Clem survives, but loses Jane (who has Alvin Jr.) and Kenny in a snowstorm. When they find each other again, Jane has lost AJ, prompting a fight between Jane and Kenny, with Clem forced to shoot Kenny or let him stab Jane. If Clem picks Kenny, they find AJ hidden in a car and travel to Wellington, where Clem is forced to choose between leaving Kenny for the safety of Wellington or staying with him. If Clem saves Jane, they return to Carver's outpost, and Clem must choose to help or turn away another family of survivors. Alternately, Clem can leave Kenny/Jane in disgust, and take her chances on her own with AJ.]]
* WhamLine: From Episode 2:
--> '''[[spoiler:Kenny]]''': ''[to Clementine]'' Pass me that can, [[spoiler:Duck]].
** From Episode 5, when [[spoiler:Bonnie admits her feelings for Luke]]:
-->[[spoiler:'''Bonnie''': ...Worked on me.]]
** Also from Episode 5, the moment when [[spoiler:Jane]]'s funny anecdote turns into [[spoiler:a violent retelling of a DarkAndTroubledPast]]:
-->[[spoiler:'''Jane''': The problem with glass is that it looks ''a lot'' like sugar crystals.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Actually intentionally done, as [[spoiler:there's no indication what happened to Christa's baby after the TimeSkip. Have fun picturing all kinds of grisly fates for it.]]
** Nor is there any indication of [[spoiler:Christa's fate after Clementine is separated from her.]]
** In Episode 5, [[spoiler:Mike, Arvo and (potentially) Bonnie's fates are unknown since Clementine passes out after being shot and ends up waking up in the backseat of the truck with only Kenny, Jane and AJ]].
** It's not made explicitly clear whether [[spoiler: anyone from ''400 Days'' (except for Bonnie) who joined Carver's camp died in the zombie attack from Episode 3 or escaped. It's also never mentioned what happened to the group members who declined Tavia's request, or even Tavia herself.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: In episode 3's preview, [[spoiler:if you gave yourself up to keep Carver from hurting Carlos further, Kenny gives Clementine an angry dressing-down.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Kenny:''' I don't know if we could've saved Walt, but I know one of us didn't just give up.]]
** On the giving end, if [[spoiler:Walter lets Nick get his throat torn out by a walker]] and then [[spoiler:lies about knowing what happened to him]], among other dialogue options, '''you can hit him for this.'''
** [[spoiler:Kenny]] gives Clementine a particularly vicious one in ''Amid the Ruins'' after [[spoiler: Sarita is bitten, especially if you chopped her arm.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Kenny:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion You think because you're a little girl]] [[KickTheDog you can just get people killed and no one will care?!]] ]]
* WhosYourDaddy: Rebecca is heavily pregnant with a baby and doesn't know who among her fellow group of survivors (including [[YourCheatingHeart her husband]]) is the father. For bonus points, the Episode Seven trailer makes it seem like [[spoiler: a possible former LoveTriangle with the leader of the bandits, Carver or even a child of rape.]]
** Answered as of Episode two - [[spoiler: it's Carver, and this is why he's so persistent in his pursuit of the group, and is confirmed by WordOfGod to be a product of rape]].
* WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: Luke's (lack of a) reaction to [[spoiler: the death of Nick, his best friend of over 20 years]] led many fans to question the quality of writing in Episode 4, especially since Luke had more of a reaction to [[spoiler: Jane leaving the group]]. This is largely a case of the game [[spoiler:CuttingOffTheBranches, and a pretty blatant example at that, as there are multiple other ways Nick could have already died in previous episodes.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: Unfortunately for Clementine, a lot of people are not so reserved about hurting other children. [[spoiler: Christa]] even crossed this the moment she [[spoiler: saw Omid get murdered by one as he attempted to save Clementine]].
** [[spoiler: Carver has no problem threatening to shoot Clementine to get Kenny to surrender.]]
** [[spoiler: One of Carver's henchmen Troy appears to have no problem with harming children, as he attacks Clementine with the stock of his assault rifle, leaving a nasty wound that's still there as of Amid The Ruins.]]
* WrongNameOutburst: At dinner, [[spoiler: Kenny calls Clementine Duck]], making it clear that despite surface appearances he's still somewhat of a wreck.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** In Episode one, [[spoiler: Clementine lost all her companions, got swept downriver in a rainstorm, and is cold and hungry while lost alone in the woods. However, things start looking back up for her, when she befriends a dog named Sam, finds an old campsite, and comes across a can of beans that are still good. Just when things are starting to look fine, Sam (equally desperate for food) attacks her to get the can, ripping open her arm. Clem fatally wounds it in the struggle. Then she is back to being alone, cold, and hungry.]]
** And later in the same episode after that, the chain gets yanked ''again'' when [[spoiler:a group does discover Clem so she's no longer alone, so now she can get someplace warm with food...but because of the dog bite they're ''suspicious'' of her, and end up locking her in the shed overnight to be sure she's not a walker victim. Once again, back to being alone, cold, and hungry.]]
* ZombieInfectee: [[spoiler: The cabin survivors accuse Clementine of this and decided to lock her inside a cabin to see if she'll turn. Of course, her bite wound came from a dog who, decidedly, isn't infected. Pete later gets this if he is saved by Clem, and he ultimately helps her escape before he starts to turn.]]
** [[spoiler: Should Clementine not amputate Sarita's arm at the end of In Harm's Way, she becomes this during Amid The Ruins]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Michonne'']]
* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler: [[TokenGoodTeammate Zachary]] accidentally shoots Greg dead after being pressured by Randall.]]
* ActionGirl: The titular protagonist.
* AdultFear: Michonne's children were killed during the zombie apocalypse and she never found out until it was too late.
* AffablyEvil: Norma dislikes her brother being excessively violent, is fairly friendly to Michonne and offers her a drink, and believes in giving second chances. However, she also captured Michonne, Pete, Sam and Greg and it's stated that she steals from other survivors and kills them if they resist.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: Sam is not exactly the most trusting of survivors, but Norma is also an UnreliableNarrator.
* AnArmAndALeg: Michonne chops off [[spoiler: Norma's arm]] with her machete.
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: This is the first time that a character from the actual comic series is playable in the game.
* AnyoneCanDie: Yes, this applies even in a spin-off series:
** Just when it looks like gamers might get an episode of the Walking Dead without any major character deaths poor [[spoiler:Greg]] and potentially [[spoiler:Zachary]] get shot with just under five minutes left before the credits of episode 1.
** [[spoiler:John]] is shot in the head after he is introduced by Randell, [[spoiler:who the player can then choose to either murder or use him as a bargain with Norma at the end of the episode]].
** By the end of the mini-series, [[spoiler:Zachary and Randall]] end up dying regardless of the previous choices you made. [[spoiler:Norma, Berto, and (if you bungle up the trade with Norma) Oak]] also perish, along with [[spoiler:most of the community from Monroe]]. Even [[spoiler:Sam]] can die, depending on what choice you make in the end.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Randall and all of Norma's JerkAss goons]] all go down in the end after pushing Michonne to far.
* BadDreams: Michonne suffers from these, usually involving her missing daughters.
* BeardOfEvil: Randall is a brute and has a beard.
* BigBad: Norma is the major villain of the story.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Michonne, Sam's brothers, Paige, Pete, Siddiq, and (if she's alive) Sam all manage to get away from Norma and her thugs, and most of the Monroe community (Norma and Randall included) are dead. However, dozens of people have died, Sam and her family must find a new place to live, Pete has lost Berto (and if you handled the trade with Norma poorly, Oak), and Michonne still hasn't fully recovered over leaving her daughters]].
* BoomHeadshot:
** [[spoiler: Sam's father]] gets shot by Randall.
** Michonne kills a random {{mook}} by forcing him to shoot himself with his own flare gun through his skull.
** [[spoiler: Berto]] gets executed by Norma's men no matter what you do.
* BringMyBrownPants: Greg wets himself when Randall holds a gun to his head. He's mortified and makes a point of telling Michonne this is the first and only time it's happened.
* CassandraTruth: Norma doesn't believe Michonne if she truthfully claims to have only just met Sam and Greg.
* CityOnTheWater: The settlement of Monroe is a drastically scaled down version of this trope done with various boats and rafts. It's not as visually impressive as most other examples, but it has kept the survivors living there safe for well over a year into the zombie apocalypse.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Michonne can torture a captured [[spoiler: Randall]] by beating him and crushing his fingers in a vice.
* CoolSword: To Michonne KatanasAreJustBetter.
* CreepyChild: Michonne's daughters are shown having their faces obscured by shadows while laughing in a scary manner.
* DeadStarWalking: Jonathan Joss guest stars as a supporting character in episode 2 [[spoiler: and dies in his debut.]]
* TheDragon: Randall usually carries out his sister's orders and serves as her second-in-command.
* DreadlockWarrior: Our main protagonist.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** [[spoiler: Michonne very nearly shoots herself early in episode one, though is interrupted by Pete.]]
** Sam's mother Sophia is revealed to have killed herself some time before the present events.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: If he's still alive, [[spoiler:Zachary ends up getting abruptly shot in the head during Episode 3 after helping Michonne]].
* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse. Pete pretends to have had his arm infected by a walker, much to Michonne's anger.
* DueToTheDead: Sam obligates to bury [[spoiler: her father]]'s grave before prepping for war with Norma.
* EatenAlive: [[spoiler: Norma]] ends up swarmed by walkers, who begin to devour her. Michonne can either choose to put her out of her misery or let her suffer.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Sam is pale girl with a questionable past.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Norma really loves her brother Randall despite the two constantly arguing. [[spoiler: When he gets captured by Michonne, Norma tries to negotiate for his safe return. He is ultimately killed by Michonne - either in retribution or in self-defense - causing Norma to grow enraged and order her people to burn the house down.]]
* TheFaceless: In one of Michonne's nightmares, she encounters a strange woman in the shadows who doesn't reveal what she looks like. When she hallucinates her daughters, their faces are always shrouded in darkness - [[spoiler: until the end of Episode Three.]]
* FacialHorror: [[spoiler: Sam's father gets half his face shot off by Randall.]]
* FatBitch: Norma.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Randall doesn't hesitate to drop his polite façade and get violent.
* FillerArc: In retrospect, this miniseries was made to entertain Telltale's ''The Walking Dead'' fans and tide them over while the company completes the third season of Clementine's story arc.
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler: Michonne traps Randall's hands in a compressor and closes it on his hands in order to keep him prisoner. The player has the option to ''squeeze it harder.'']]
* FiveBadBand: Norma's inner circle of named survivors make up one that combat Michonne's allies.
** BigBad: Norma
** TheDragon: Randall
** TheBrute: Gabby
** TheEvilGenius: Jonas
** TheDarkChick: Zachary
* GoodAllAlong: Sam turns out to be a NiceGirl who's simply misguided in the apocalypse.
* HealItWithFire: After Sam was shot in Episode 2, Michonne has to cauterize the wound using a burning fire poker after removing the bullet. The sheer pain causes her to faint out of shock.
* HeelFaceTurn: If spared, [[spoiler: Zach will turn against Norma and save Michonne's life. Unfortunately, this gets him killed.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:If you choose to stay behind with Colette and Elodie, Sam will force you out of the window before being crushed by the burning debris.]]
* InfantImmortality: Nastily averted. [[spoiler: Michonne and Pete come across a large group of people who have been massacred, including a young girl. This causes Michonne to briefly hallucinate her daughter in the child's place.]]
** [[spoiler: At the end of the episode, Greg (who looks to be in his mid teens) is shot and killed.]]
** [[spoiler: Played straight with Sam's younger brothers, who both survive to the end of the series.]]
* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler: Michonne was about to kill herself until Pete met her.]]
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Randall is eager to do this to make Greg and Michonne talk, though Norma prevents him. He does manage to punch them around a bit before she does, though.
* {{Jerkass}}:
** Randall is an ass to ''everyone''.
** Pretty much all of Norma's goons except for [[TokenGoodTeammate Zachary]] want Michonne's blood. A female guard even desired to kill Michonne against Norma's orders.
* JerkassHasAPoint: In episode 3, Norma's bloodthirsty goons call her out on trying to negotiate peacefully with Michonne, who ended up demolishing their safe zone in her escape, and [[spoiler: exchanging ''The Companion'' crew for [[{{Sadist}} Randall's]] life (if you kept him alive), despite the fact that he ditched them in their time of need to gain revenge.]]
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Randall will die by either Michonne or Sam's hand after relentlessly taunting them.]]
* KickTheDog: Randall rubs the death of [[spoiler: Sam's father]] right in front of her and her younger brothers.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: You can torture and possibly kill Randall for all the crap he's put you through.]]
* KillEmAll: Norma orders her group to kill Michonne's entire group [[spoiler: after the death of Randall.]]
* LeanAndMean: Randall. His sister on the other hand is a FatBitch.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Platonic example. Norma is driven into an intense rivalry with Michonne because [[spoiler: Randall is captured and at her mercy.]]
* MacheteMayhem: Michonne does most of her fighting with one.
* MercyKill: When [[spoiler: Norma]] is being EatenAlive by walkers, Michonne can either put a bullet in her head or walk away.
* MoralMyopia: A very similar situation to Season 2. In Episode 1, Michonne and Pete discover a group of people who were massacred, including a young child, and are horrified by it. In the very next episode, Michonne and her group escape the community of Monroe, but burn the whole place down in the process, leaving everyone homeless. And by the end of the mini-series, [[spoiler:almost everyone from Monroe is either killed by Michonne and Sam's group or devoured by walkers]]. Monroe was a relatively peaceful community filled with people [[PunchClockVillain just doing their jobs]], and some (if not many of them) were innocent. Michonne and Sam end up burning Monroe down [[spoiler:and are largely responsible for most of the residents getting killed]] all because two members of this community (Randall and Norma) were antagonistic towards them, which Randall [[WhatTheHellHero will call her out on]], but considering [[{{Sadist}} what he's like]], he's clearly pointed out to be in the wrong.
* MythologyGag:
** While scavenging for food, Michonne finds one of the canned foods with the picture of a cartoon mascot that Clementine was compared to in Season 2.
** In one of Michonne's dream sequences, the outside window of her apartment shows Atlanta in ruins just like depicted in flashbacks from ''The Walking Dead'' comic and the series.
** When Michonne comes across James holding a pistol, she can ask him how it feels. He responds by saying it's heavy - the same thing Clementine said in Season One when she held a gun for the first time.
** Michonne mentioned that she had met people like Norma and Randall before, likely referring to the Governor and Negan.
** If [[spoiler: Randall]] is killed in Episode 2, Michonne will put a sack over his face after he is reanimated and continue with the prisoner exchange in the next episode, a method she likely learned from Negan who did the same with Holly.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The whole story arc is kickstarted by Sam's attempts to rob from the same villainous woman ''twice''. Unfortunately, Michonne and Pete's crew are dragged along thanks to her as well.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. Michonne's friend Pete shares the name with the character from Season 2.
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: If he lives, Zachary will help Michonne, Sam, and Pete escape the city of Munroe. He will also save Michonne's life in Episode Three, though this results in his own death.]]
* RealSongThemeTune: Dorothy's ''Gun in My Hand''.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath[=/=] RedemptionEarnsLife: After all the trouble she's caused, [[spoiler: Sam will either pull a HeroicSacrifice to save Michonne or sincerely apologize to her after admitting that she would've been dead along time ago without her help.]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: Randall stalks Michonne with a small squad of men without even telling his sister Norma about it and leaving his own safe zone in a state of disarray. [[spoiler: It gets his men killed and himself either held hostage or killed as well.]]
** Similarly, upon either hearing about or seeing [[spoiler: Randall's death, Norma becomes enraged and orders her people to attack the house and burn it to the ground. This results in both her death and the death of most of her group.]]
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Michonne's apartment in her dream sequences is full of discarded children's drawings, walker corpses, blood, and partially demolished furniture.
* {{Sadist}}: Randall gets a lot of joy from hurting others.
* SadisticChoice: As per Telltale Games tradition.
** You have to decide whether or not to allow Sam [[spoiler: to kill Zachary for accidentally killing her brother.]]
** You can choose whether to [[spoiler: murder Randall for what he has done, or keep him alive as a bargaining chip. Letting him live greatly upsets Sam, whose father Randall has just killed, but killing him enrages Norma and leaves you without a hostage to negotiate with.]]
** In the climax of episode 3, you have to decide whether or not to [[spoiler: save Sam's life and escape the burning house or give Michonne more time with her children, which would cost Sam her life.]]
* SavedByCanon: Michonne, Pete and Siddiq are all seen after the timeskip in the comic, which means that none of them will die during this series. Everyone and anyone else is fair game though.
* SchrodingersGun: In Greg's interrogation in Episode 1 his response to the second question will change so that he always contradicts Michonne's earlier testimony.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Michonne shows definite signs of being this, frequently having flashbacks to her missing daughters.
* ShoutOut: The dream sequences in the game share very similar gameplay elements from ''Franchise/SilentHill''.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Michonne is the only female crew member on ''The Companion''.
* TheSocialDarwinist: Randall brags about how only the strong survive and how a human either adapts to the horrors of the world or dies weak and pathetic.
* SpitefulSpit: Possible for Michonne to do to Randall after he brings up her daughters.
* StraightGay: Jonas and Zachary are a couple.
* StrawNihilist: Randall goes into a villainous monologue about how all hope is meaningless.
* ThousandYardStare: Michonne stares far away while [[spoiler: she contemplates suicide.]]
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: There are several levels you have to play through as Michonne suffers from her BadDreams and loses grasp on reality.
* TimeSkip: After Michonne meets Pete, the game skips three weeks ahead.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Zachary is very opposed to Randall's methods of withholding order in their safe zone and appears to be the most moral member of Norma's group.
* TooDumbToLive:
** One of Randall's men chasing after Michonne tries climbing up an unstable tower slowly falling apart. He naturally dies getting crushed by falling debris after putting too much weight on the structure.
** [[spoiler: After disposing of walker parts, Sam's father actually has the foolishness to pause at his wide open gate so he could cry and let out all his emotions. Since he takes his sweet time thinking his life through while standing at the vulnerable entry to his safe zone, he abruptly gets shot dead.]]
** [[spoiler:Randall in the final episode. If you hand him over to Norma, Randall will ''immediatelly'' attack Michonne for no reason the second she frees him, prompting Sam to kill him in self-defense]].
* UngratefulBastard: To hammer in how much of an ass Randall truly is, [[spoiler:in the final episode, he attacks Michonne even if she releases him to Norma. There's no reason behind this, especially since Norma would've kept her word, and the two of them would've left Sam and her family alone and wouldn't have burned Sam's house down]].
* UnreliableNarrator: Norma tells Michonne that Sam is liar not to be trusted with, but Norma is also the BigBad of the first episode.
* WeHardlyKnewYe:
** [[spoiler: Greg and (potentially) Zachary]] in episode 1.
** [[spoiler: Sam's father]] in episode 2.
** [[spoiler: Berto and potentially Oak]] will get killed in episode 3.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It's unclear whether or not [[spoiler:Jonas survived the firefight at Sam's family's house]].
* WideEyedIdealist: Pete certainly has an optimistic outlook during the zombie apocalypse.
* TheWorfEffect: Sam's father is told to be the man who's single-handedly kept his family together while enduring the zombie apocalypse. [[spoiler: He gets shot dead by Randall.]]
* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: Randall actually jokes about how he killed [[spoiler: Sam's father]] right in front of her family.
* YouWontFeelAThing: Inverted with a '''vengeance''' in Episode 2; [[spoiler: after Sam gets shot while fleeing from Randal and his flunkies, Michonne must extract the bullet from the wound (which is graphically oozing blood, btw) and then cauterize it with a ''red hot fire poker'' while Sam screams bloody murder.]]
-->'''Michonne:''' I'm not gonna lie... This is gonna really fucking hurt.


[[/folder]]

[[folder:''A New Frontier'']]
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Javi's axe in Episode 5. If he chooses to, Javi can chop of [[spoiler:Rufus']] arm with one swing.
* ActionGirl: Clementine's no longer LittleMissBadass, but a fully capable gunslinger; she's gone from needing multiple tries to hit a bottle less than ten feet away(Season 1), to being able to headshot a guy who's shooting back at her from over fifty, and with a pistol no less.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:If Javi and Clementine decide to chase after David and Gabe at the end of Episode 5, this is what ultimately happens to Kate after she helps to defend Richmond on her own. If Javi helps Kate, this happens to David instead.]]
* AndThisIsFor: [[spoiler: Javier has the choice to say that it's for Marianna before he has the choice to kill Badger]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Par the course for this series.
** Episode One: [[spoiler: Whoever you chose to stay with in the Season 2 finale (Kenny, Jane, or Edith) dies in a flashback. Jane hangs herself after discovering she's pregnant with Luke's child, Kenny is thrown through the windshield of a car, paralyzed and devoured, and Edith is shot by bandits who attack Wellington. Rufus, a minor character who tries to transport Javi, can either be spared or killed. Toward the end of the episode, Mariana is abruptly shot in the head by the New Frontier.]]
** Episode Two: [[spoiler: Francine is gunned down by the New Frontier regardless of your actions. Conrad can potentially be killed if you choose to shoot him in the head when he has Gabe held at gunpoint.]]
** Episode Three: [[spoiler: Conrad can again be potentially devoured by walkers if you choose not to give him a gun during the mission to the warehouse. One of the antagonists, Badger, is either stabbed by Tripp, shot by Conrad, left bleeding to death to turn, or his skull bashed into a bloody pulp with a [[BatterUp baseball bat]] Javier (or David) can also optionally kill Max or spare him to use as evidence against Joan. It is also suggested Lonnie was [[KilledOffScreen shot by David]] if Max is killed.]]
** Episode Four: [[spoiler: Earlier in the episode, Dr. Lingard asks Javi and Clem to assist him in suicide in return for information; Javi can choose to accept or refuse the deal. Joan forces Javier to make a SadisticChoice between sparing either Ava or Tripp from execution. In a nasty twist, Joan orders ''the one you chose to spare'' to be executed instead, to teach Javier a lesson about betrayal, so either Ava or Tripp will die in this episode, and it will be the person you tried to save. Joan can also potentially die if you choose to shoot Joan instead of taking a deal to leave Richmond safely. If you accept the deal, David would hold Clint hostage and kill him instead. Finally, if Conrad is still alive and you don't successfully take a button prompt to have Javier jump out of the way of a truck, Conrad will push Javier out of the way only to get run over and killed himself.]]
** Episode Five: [[spoiler: If Ava was spared by Joan, she will slip and fall to her death after being attacked from behind by a walker while shimmying across a narrow ledge on the highway; if Tripp was spared, he will throw the walker off of him but ultimately will fall to his death after being pushed over the edge of the highway after Javi and the others manage to swing to the other side of the gap. Javi can also lose [[MultipleEndings up to two family members]] depending on your relationship with Clementine: If Javi and Clem side with Kate, then both David and Gabe will die as a result. If Clem chases after Gabe while Javi stays with Kate, only David will die. If both Javi and Clem follow Gabe, Kate will die. If Clem stays with Kate while Javi follows Gabe, both David and Kate will die.]]
* ArtEvolution: Once again the graphical style has recieved improvements since last season. While everything is still cel-shaded, more realistic textures and lighting are laid onto the comic-book style colouring, adding an overall lushness and sense of realism to the proceedings, particularly for details like character skin and eyes. While two-dimensional trickery is still employed heavily for distant scenery and walker herds to ease the visual burden on portable devices, said textures and models are a lot more detailed, animated and generally harder to notice than before.
* BatterUp: Javier uses a baseball bat as his weapon from Episode 3 onwards. [[spoiler: Also helps that he was formerly a professional baseball player.]]
* BeingEvilSucks: [[spoiler:Dr. Lingard is so tired of serving the New Frontier that he asks Javier to assist him in killing himself.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Forget the Zombies. Clementine is officially ''the'' most dangerous thing out there now. If she's on your side, ''keep her there!''
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Javier's presumed dead brother David]] is a leader of the New Frontier. [[spoiler: However, it's later revealed that the one who organized the raid on Prescott behind David's back was another boss; [[BitchInSheepsClothing Joan]].]] Though David can still be considered this for the season, especially on a personal level to Javier.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:By the end of the season, Richmond has been restored to its former glory after the herd has been dealt with, Javi can choose to become the new leader, and [[ButNowIMustGo Clementine sets off]] [[IWillFindYou to find AJ]]... [[MultipleEndings however]], depending on your choices in the finale a number of people in Javi's family can die. If he and Clementine both go after Gabe and David, then Kate dies. If Clem stays with Kate while Javi goes after the boys, Kate goes missing and David dies. If Clem goes after the boys while Javi stays with Kate, then David dies. And finally, if both Javi and Clem stay with Kate, then both Gabe and David die.]]
* BlandNameProduct: "Candy Bar" brand candy bars.
* BoomHeadshot:
** One of [[spoiler: Conrad's]] optional deaths.
** [[spoiler: Marianna]] gets shot dead by Badger.
** [[spoiler: Ava or Tripp]] will be killed this way by the New Frontier.
** [[spoiler: Clint or Joan]] will be killed this way by David or Javi, respectively.
* BrickJoke: Javi's water bottle.
* ButNowIMustGo:
** [[spoiler: Jesus]] departs the group to return to his people in Episode 3. [[spoiler: However, he returns in Episode 5 to help defend Richmond from the herd of walkers.]]
** Clementine leaves in Episode 2, but comes back soon. [[spoiler: She leaves again at the end of Episode 5, [[AndTheAdventureContinues so that she can find AJ]].]]
** Assuming that [[spoiler:Conrad]] is still alive at this point, he will leave midway through Episode 4, [[spoiler: only to return towards the end of the same episode.]]
* CallBack:
** When escorting Javier back to the junkyard, Clementine employs the close range technique Jane had taught her in Season Two to take down a zombie. [[spoiler: She teaches the same technique to Gabe in Episode 5.]]
** Once again, Clementine is asked, this time by Javier, what happened to the people who were supposed to take care of her. And once again, her answer is "The same thing that happens to everyone."
** Whilst in the car to on their way to Richmond, Gabriel makes a comment about how "parents always think the kids can't hear them" and [[spoiler: Clementine makes an offhand comment about not knowing about that, due to her parents dying in during the events of Season One.]]
** In an attempt to slip by a large herd of walkers, Clementine [[spoiler:tells Javi to cover himself in walkers' guts so that he can slip by undetected.]]
** [[spoiler:The ending of Episode 5, no matter how it plays out, will always see Clementine asking Javi to cut her hair even shorter than before. Javi even acknowledges that he isn't too sure of what he's going, and when asked for his opinion on her new look, he bashfully tells her to put her hat back on.]]
* CuttingOffTheBranches: [[spoiler:Most of the choices made at the end of Season 2 (stay in Wellington, stay with Jane, stay with Kenny) result in the death of Clem's caretaker. Kenny dies after being involved in a car crash, causing his legs to break, before being consumed by walkers. Jane [[DrivenToSuicide hangs herself]] after discovering that she's pregnant with Luke's child. Edith and the residents die in Wellington after they're attacked by a group of scavengers. In all three of these cases, Clem and A.J. are the only survivors. The only cases where this doesn't occur is if Clem chose to leave Kenny[=/=]Jane and go off on their own]].
* DeathEqualsRedemption:
** [[spoiler:In Episode 5, if Javi goes after David and Gabe on his own, he will reach them in time to save them from the herd, only to disover that David was bitten by one of them during the struggle. David realizes what will come, and takes the opportunity to make his peace with Javi.]]
** [[spoiler: Could also count for Gabe, if Javi and Clem helped Kate defend Richmond. By the time Javi and Clem search for him, he is already dying from a walker bite while David is already dead. Gabe will tearfully apologize to Javi for being TheLoad and will give Clem his deck of cards before dying.]]
* DeathWail: [[spoiler:In episode 5, If both Clementine and Javi chased after David and Gabe, leaving Kate behind to help protect Richmond...Javi will let one out after seeing [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie Kate as a walker among the remaining herd within the settlement]] upon his return and deciding to shoot her.]]
* DemotedToExtra: Downplayed. Clementine has a lot less playability in this game compared to her role as central protagonist in the last game featuring her.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** [[spoiler:If the player chose to stay with Jane at the end of Season 2, the flashback will show them having a conversation about giving A.J. a middle name, with Jane suggesting "Jamie" after her sister and noting that it's a gender-neutral name. She talks about once thinking that one day she'd have a child of her own to name, but gets oddly emotional about it before telling Clem she's not feeling well and is going to lie down while sending Clem to patrol the perimeter. When Clem makes it back, she finds that Jane hung herself because she discovered that she was pregnant with Luke's baby]].
** Averted with [[spoiler:David in Episode 5. After David storms out of the hideout after a violent confrontation with Fern, Javi heads to the roof and sees him standing on the edge. Javi tells him not to jump, however David simply indicates that he is looking out over the settlement.]]
** [[spoiler: Dr. Lingard, barely conscious due to an overdose, will ask the player to assist him in killing himself since he's had it working under the oppressive New Frontier. However, if you don't kill him, in Episode 5, he will come back, fully recovered, and will eventually give you the location of where they have put AJ.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Regardless of which choice was made at the end of Season 2, [[spoiler:Clem and Alvin's caretaker dies during a {{Flashback}}. If the player chose to stay with Kenny, he is seen [[HopeSpot teaching Clem to drive a vehicle]], but her actions cause a car crash and she's forced to leave him behind while she saves herself and A.J. If the player chose to stay with Jane, she [[DrivenToSuicide kills herself]] after discovering that she's pregnant with Luke's child. If Clem chose to stay in Wellington, Edith (the door guard) and all of the residents perish due to an attack by a group of scavengers, forcing Clem to take A.J. from her arms and flee the area]].
* {{Expy}}:
** Tripp bears a striking resemblance to Sgt. Abraham Ford, and has [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold some of his personality too.]]
** The New Frontier initially sounds a lot like the Saviors. Both groups are comprised of an army scavengers with multiple shades of villainy and they're heavily armed, but [[spoiler:later on it's revealed that the New Frontier has four leaders and the settlement raids are actually just Max's group, commanded by Joan.]]
* {{Fingore}}:
** Depending on what choice was made at the end of Season Two, [[spoiler:Clem can lose one of her fingers]]. If the player had Clem go alone with AJ at the end of the previous season, [[spoiler:the flashback in Episode 1 reveals that she lost her left ring finger when a car door is slammed on it, while she fends off a group of walkers attempting to break into said vehicle in order to attack A.J.]].
** Francine ends up getting her finger cut off by one of the goons from The New Frontier in retaliation [[spoiler: before getting killed whilst trying to run away.]]
* {{Flashback}}: All of Clementine's playable sections are flashbacks on how she came to where she is in the game.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Francine's hand in the poker game at Prescott is Aces and Eights, aka The Dead Man's Hand. [[spoiler:She dies in the next episode.]]
* GuideDangIt:
** [[spoiler: In Episode 5 Javi has the choice between saving Richmond or going after David. However, Clementine will either choose to follow Javi, help Kate save Richmond, follow David or split up from Javi. Depending on her choice either Kate and Gabe can be saved or David and Gabe can be saved. What makes Clem choose which path to take seems to be due to several different factors, such as Javi's relationship to Clementine and choices made in the previous season]].
** [[spoiler:It's also possible for Clem and Gabe to share a BigDamnKiss before he dies but the exact conditions are so far unclear, though it's believed to be tied to whether you stayed with Jane or not in season 2]].
* HopeSpot:
** During the {{Flashback}} in Episode 1, [[spoiler:and if Kenny is alive and the player chose to stay with him at the end Bothof Season 1, he's seen teaching her how to drive. After a subverted moment of InterfaceSpoiler where Clem tells him how happy she is to be learning a new skill, she loses control of the vehicle and crashes. Kenny's legs are broken, and he forces her and A.J. to leave him behind and make a run for it while he's consumed by walkers]].
** Another one happens at the end of the episode, [[spoiler: Javi makes it back to the junkyard, accompanied by Clem and either Eleanor or Tripp and find that walkers have invaded. They clear out a few of them and find that Javi's family is still alive and unbitten. Everything seems like it'll be alright...and then a bullet goes through Mariana's head. The scavengers have been laying in wait for their return to take revenge for stealing their supplies. Kate is wounded by a bullet and, if you decided to try to take her back to the settlement, she falls unconscious during the ride back.]]
* IceQueen: After showing hints of it in the previous game, Clementine is veering toward this ''hard'' after the events which followed Season 2, and her [[spoiler: time among the New Frontier]]. Depending on which ending you chose for that game, it's obvious from the flashbacks that either Jane or Kenny's deaths seriously affected her. [[DefrostingIceQueen She gets better over time]].
* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Clem confronts a [[AssholeVictim trader]] after he sells her bullets that don't fire properly. Clem proves that the bullets don't work by attempting to shoot him in the head. However, when the trader attacks Clem and Javi and Javi disarms him, Clem pulls the trigger again and this time the bullet works and hits the trader in the face. A bit of ArtisticLicenceGunSafety here, as it was clearly showed that the faulty bullets didn't cause the slide to work, so unless Clem had cleared the action herself, at least the second bullet still should have just been sitting there in the chamber, and nothing would have happened when she pulled the trigger.
* ImportantHaircut: [[spoiler:By the time Jesus reunites with Javi, Javi comments that he almost didn't recognise him with shorter hair. Also, regardless of which ending you receive, Clementine will ask Javi to cut her hair even shorter.]]
* InfantImmortality: Played straight so far with A.J. as of the flashbacks up to Episode 2, which show him alive and seemingly healthy. Averted in a sense with Jane's unborn child, which died when she did.
** Averted in Episode 1 with [[spoiler:Mariana being killed by the New Frontier.]]
** Again averted in Episode 3 when [[spoiler:Javi and Kate find one of Gabe's friends as a walker while they are out scavenging for gas.]]
** [[spoiler:Also averted in Episode 5, if Javi and Clementine stayed with Kate, the two will eventually discover that Gabe has been bitten by a walker and is moments away from death. The player is then given a choice to either shoot Gabe, or give Gabe the gun to shoot himself. Earlier in the same episode, Fern laments that her daughter was lost to the walkers during the chaos.]]
* InformedAttribute: Jane's pregnancy, which is only hinted at by her character model's face being a lot fuller than at the end of Season 2. In real life, most women don't start to gain weight in their face until at least their second trimester, and given A.J.'s appearance, that scene takes place only a month or two after the end of Season 2.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Badger, a ruthless and violent New Frontier member secretly serving under Joan, kills Mariana and destroys an entire town. In Episode 3, Javi may optionally beat Badger into a bloody pulp with a [[MythologyGag bat]], mirroring his violent acts.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During Episode 4, Joan says that David put her in a "no-win situation." This is a clear representation of the episode as a whole. Regardless of what you do and whether or not you killed [[spoiler:Conrad, Dr. Lingard, Badger, or even Joan]], the episode still ends with [[spoiler:Eleanor ratting you out to Joan, Joan trying to execute David, Tripp or Ava dying, and the wall being destroyed shortly after a shootout starts]].
* TheLoad: Gabriel "Gabe" Garcia has done absolutely nothing to benefit the group and seems to be mostly useless. He himself realizes this and seeks to become a real man like his father. [[spoiler: Gabe, however, actively helps the group Episode 4 onward.]]
* MythologyGag:
** [[spoiler:If Javi decides to kill Badger, he will pulverize his head with his baseball bat in the same vein as Negan and Lucille. However, Javi can stop at any time and simply leave Badger to bleed to death, or allow Tripp or Conrad (if he is still alive) to finish him off. ]]
** [[spoiler: The New Frontier tries to have David hung for failing them as a leader just like how Gregory was executed by the Hilltop Colony.]]
* NewOldWest: Being set several years AfterTheEnd, this has started to crop up. The town of Prescott, in particular, has a "frontier town" vibe straight out of a spaghetti western despite being built out of an old airstrip.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: By sending Kate and Eleanor to Richmond lead them to be [[spoiler: in the hands of the New Frontier.]]
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Clementine has her first period in the fourth episode and asks Javi for advice. The player can find maxi pads for her in a medical center.
* NonStandardGameOver: Doubles as a DownerEnding, [[spoiler:if Javi and Clem chase after David and Gabe, and Javi ends up failing the final quick-time event, sees Javi being bitten by a walker. Gabe emerges from the car and kills the walker, however with his dying breath, Javi implores Gabe to return to Richmond and help her restore the town. Javi tries to ask Gabe one final request, however [[KilledMidSentence he dies before he can finish his sentence]], leaving his nephew behind as more walkers are closing in.]] [[spoiler: As Javi's final words were for Gabe to 'Tell Kate...' one can only assume this may have been a DyingDeclarationOfLove.]]
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. [[spoiler:There are two different characters named Paul; Paul "Jesus" Monroe and Dr. Paul Lingard, though their first names are rarely mentioned.]]
* RealityEnsues:
** In Episode 4, Javi and Gabe decide to break into an armory by banging a fire extinguisher against a metal door. And then they walk into the room full of weapons and leave the door open. Ava catches them a couple minutes later.
** If you choose to chop off [[spoiler:Rufus']] arm in Episode 5, he'll immediately die of shock, since his arm wasn't treated properly.
* SadisticChoice: As per Telltale tradition.
** Episode 1 has the player deciding if they should either help get Kate medical treatment or help Clementine assault the New Frontier.
** Episode 2 has the player deciding if [[spoiler: you kill Conrad or capture Clementine to hand over to the New Frontier]].
** Episode 3 has the player decide multiple times if you should trust Javier's [[spoiler: brother David]] or Kate's ideas.
** Episode 4 drops several doozies; [[spoiler: first, whether or not you assist Dr. Lingard in committing suicide, in return for AJ's Location; second, whether choose to save Tripp or Ava, [[KickTheDog only to watch whoever you chose to save get killed and vice versa]]; finally, whether you swallow your anger and accept Joan's deal to leave Richmond with the rest of your group, letting her get away with everything, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim or shoot her]]]].
** Episode 5 has the player decide [[spoiler:whether to stay with Kate and help defend Richmond, or pursue David and Gabe as they try to escape. At least one family member will die.]]
* SchrodingersGun: Depending on what ending you went with in Season 2, [[spoiler:the fate of Kenny or Jane is left uncertain if Clementine left either one alone]].
* SequelHook: The game ends with [[spoiler:Clementine leaving Richmond to find AJ, with a caption telling the player that "Clementine's story will continue..."]]
* ShesAllGrownUp: Clementine, now around the age of 13 to 14, returns more mature, more pragmatic, and grown up than when we last saw her.
* ShesBack: After a brief departure from the mainstream game story, Clementine returns once more as a main character.
* TheStarscream:
** [[spoiler: Joan]] backstabs the council of the New Frontier and has been calling the shots the whole time.
** [[spoiler: Eleanor optionally throws Javier under the bus when the New Frontier tries him and his brother after she finds out that Javi killed Conrad in Episode 2.]]
* SteelEardrums: Averted. Firing a shot too close to his head causes Javi to become disoriented and temporarily deaf.
* TheStinger: After Episode 5's credits, the player is treated to a scene of [[spoiler:Clementine effortlessly fighting through a herd of walkers on her way to find AJ.]]
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler: Whomever the player went with in Season 2 (Kenny, Jane, Edith and all of Wellington) is immediately killed off in the first episode of this season.]]
* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: [[spoiler:Invoked by David in which he states that it took the end of the world to make Javi a responsible brother than he previously knew.]]
* TimeSkip: WordOfGod states that this season is now matched up with the current timeline of the comics (i.e. the Whisperers conflict, though how [[spoiler: Jesus]] can be in two places at once is anyone's guess).
* UnexpectedCharacter: Nobody was expecting [[spoiler: Jesus]] to join your group in the game.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: In the final episode, [[spoiler: Eleanor]] attempts to justify her actions in Episode 4 (most notably, [[spoiler: betrayal of Javi and his friends]]) this way.
* WhamShot:
** In the Jane flashback, Clementine walking in on [[spoiler:[[DrivenToSuicide Jane's reanimated body hanging]] above the desk. And when Clem walks up to her, she steps on something on the floor, and picks it up to see that it's a home pregnancy test stick, positive results.]]
** In the Kenny flashback, [[spoiler:Kenny has been thrown out of the car and devoured by walkers.]]
** In the Wellington flashback, [[spoiler:Edith and the residents are promptly killed by a group of scavengers.]]
** At the end of Episode 2, one of the bosses in charge of the New Frontier is [[spoiler:David, who was thought to have died offscreen in the prologue for Episode 1.]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of [[spoiler: Alvin Jr.]] is explored in Clementine's flashbacks, but has yet to be fully revealed. [[spoiler: In episode 3, it is shown that the New Frontier took him away from Clementine after stealing or attempting to steal drugs to deal with Alvin Jr. sickness. Clem assumes that AJ dies from his sickness, but David reveals that he survived, and you can learn Alvin Jr.'s location in episode 4 if you agree to kill Dr. Lingard on his request, as he'll tell you that Alvin Jr. is in the [=McCarroll=] Ranch. If you don't kill him in episode 4, then at the end of episode 5, Dr. Lingard will still tell you the information because by then he'll finally be in a stable state of mind.]]
** If spared in episode 4, [[spoiler: Joan will not appear at all in episode 5, leaving her ultimate fate ambiguous.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: Tripp gives a very angry one to Javi on episode 4 if you killed Conrad back in episode 2 after an emotional Gabe blurts it out in front of Tripp and Eleanor.]]
* WildCard: We don't know if [[spoiler: David]] is an ally to the player or still looking out for himself. [[spoiler:David and Javi's relationship becomes increasingly complicated throughout the season and David could either fight or make peace with Javi before he either dies or walks away.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: One of the members of The New Frontier [[spoiler: shoots ten-year old Mariana in the head.]]
** [[spoiler:David, in Episode 5, ends up accidentally hurting Gabe when he tries to break up a fight between him and Fern, causing David to immediately stop and apologise for his actions. However, later in the same episode when David is trying to kill Javi, David again ends up hitting Gabe when he tries to stop him, only this time he hits him with a wrench, square in the forehead, and doesn't even flinch.]]
* YourHeadAsplode: See MythologyGag.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Final Season'']]
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:How Marlon dies at the end of Episode 1 courtesy of AJ.]]
* EmpathicEnvironment: [[spoiler:As the first episode comes to its dramatic end, a storm and lightning help reflect the intensity of the confrontation.]]
* FissionMailed:
** [[spoiler:AJ is seemingly taken away from Clementine ''again'' after the car crash shortly into Season 4 Episode 1, but not to worry, he was just being saved from the car crash by the residents of a school, and you reunite with AJ shortly after.]]
** [[spoiler:Regardless of whether you choose Louis or Violet to appeal to during the confrontation with Marlon, your appeal will ''initially'' fail, as Louis chooses to side with his best friend and Violet only met you two days ago. Not to worry, if you ''keep'' appealing to either Louis or Violet, the person in question will eventually be persuaded to step in front of Marlon's gun to protect you.]]
* IronicEcho: During the raid on the train station, Louis half-jokingly states that if he gets bitten "Walker Louis" is going after Clem and Violet first. [[spoiler:When Louis initially refuses to help her if appealed to during the final confrontation, Clem can echo that statement by coldly telling him to bury her body deep because if she reanimates she's going after him first.]]
* GrandFinale: As the title says, it's the finale of the Telltale version of ''The Walking Dead''.
* MythologyGag: Promotional art shows Clementine with an axe in a protective stance with AJ reminiscent of artwork for the first game with Lee and Clementine in much the same way. The two images are also recreated as BookEnds in the Story Builder that the first episode starts with.
* NoodleIncident: At some point prior to the beginning of the final season, Clem found Alvin Jr. on the farm where David left him in Season 3. Exactly what happened is left unsaid, but AJ remarks he was happy there before the blood.
* RealityEnsues: AJ has spent his entire life knowing nothing but distrust and hostility towards anyone that isn't Clementine. When he arrives at the school, his first actions involve savagely biting Ruby, delivering a GroinAttack to Marlon and just causing trouble for everyone else around him. [[spoiler:Because he's so desensitized to death, he kills Marlon despite Clem already having a handle on the situation.]]
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:In Season 4 Episode 1, you can either surrender some food to Abel (and thus have less to bring back to the school), or you can attack him, which will let you keep all the food but risk him possibly coming back for revenge in the future.]]
* SweetieGraffiti: The fishing shack has a carved heart on one wall with "V + M" in the center. AJ asks Clem what it means, and she can tell him that it means Violet and Minerva were a couple.
* TimeSkip: Set some years after season 3. Clementine is now around 17 while AJ is at least 6 years old.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: It quickly becomes apparent that the gameplay is vastly different compared to the previous three seasons, and indeed other games in Telltale's repertoire; instead of the fixed camera angles present in other works, an over-the-shoulder camera is used with full freedom to move the camera, not unlike ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange''.
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:When Marlon lets slip that he traded Sophie and Minnie to raiders and told everyone they were dead, Tenn steps forward and gives Marlon one of these.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Marlon has no qualms about giving his own people to the raiders for safety, intending to do so with AJ and having already done it with both of Tenn's sisters at least a year ago.]]
[[/folder]]
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