Characters / The Walking Dead Video Game - Kenny

Character Index | Playable Characters (Clementine) | Season One Characters (Kenny) | 400 Days and Season Two Characters | Michonne Characters | A New Frontier Characters | The Final Season Characters

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Kenny

^{Click here for his appearance in Season 2.} 

Voiced by: Gavin Hammon

"No-one threatens my boy!"

A flawed but well-meaning family man, Kenny is a fishing boat captain from Fort Lauderdale, FL. He is a sharp, hard-working guy who likes to take action and make things happen. His family is his top priority. He is slowly torn apart by the apocalypse, and eventually loses both Duck and Katjaa. He pulls one of two Heroic Sacrifices at the end of Season 1, but is revealed in Season 2 Episode 2 to have survived the ordeal, and regroups with Clementine and her new group.

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A-L

• Abusive Parents: He increasingly comes across as one towards Clementine over the course of the second season, and he implies that he's also been on the receiving end in Episode 5, since he describes his father as a "mean son of a bitch".
• Action Dad: A tough-as-nails survivor who's a father to Duck and a father figure to Clementine and AJ.
• Action Survivor: He was a pretty normal guy before the outbreak as his subpar fighting skills prove, but Kenny is a survivor.
  • Played straight in Season 2, where his fighting skills have improved drastically. During Episode 3, he easily overpowers Mike, who is later shown lifting both Clementine and two full water containers with ease, and later in the same episode he knocks down Carver with a single punch to the latter's face. During Episode 5, Kenny is able to stand on equal ground against Jane whilst sustaining a cut on his abdomen, and eventually overpowers and kills her if the player doesn't interfere.
• Adrenaline Makeover: In season 1 he looked somewhat like a stereotypical redneck and sported a beer gut. Come season two he's become much leaner and possesses a full beard, and later, a missing eye.
• Aesop Amnesia: He's told off twice for being inconsiderate of other people, as he is not the only one suffering from the outbreak.
• Alas, Poor Villain: While his status as a villain is debatable, if Clementine chooses to shoot him to save Jane, he sincerely apologizes to her for making her do it before passing away, and reassures her that she made the right decision. In-Universe, regardless of what dialogue option the player chooses, Clementine will cry at his death.
• The Alcoholic: In danger of becoming this. He looked on the verge of pulling out of it in Episode 4 when the crew found a motorboat, but falls straight back off the wagon when it gets stolen. Come Season 2, he thankfully seems to have kicked the habit, and will refuse a drink even after he's backslid in every other regard.
• Anti-Hero: Starts off as a Pragmatic Hero, encouraging some of the harsher options (and refusing to compromise if you don't back him up) but generally looking out for the group and his family. He becomes an Unscrupulous Hero after his family's death, especially with the cavalier way he treats Ben, and remains in that territory even after his return in Season 2, whereupon he still encourages killing enemies or abandoning other survivors. He slides slowly into Nominal Hero territory after Sarita's death in Episode 4, bordering on Anti-Villain depending on your interpretation, to the point where Clementine inevitably struggles with the choice of killing or abandoning him. Luckily, he has a Heel Realization if he survives.
• Anti-Villain: One interpretation of his ultimate role in Season 2. Jane even compares him to Carver in Episode 5.
• The Atoner: In Episode 5, after Ben gives out "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Kenny, highlighting that he at least got to say goodbye to his wife and son while Ben doesn't even know the fate of his family, he realizes he's been a Jerkass to him and after Ben falls and is impaled, he sacrifices himself just to make sure Ben doesn't turn by using the lone bullet he has on Ben.
• Ax-Crazy: By episode 3 of season 2 he becomes this, sadistically killing his enemies and acting extremely entitled towards Clementine.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: However strained his relationship with Lee might become, he gets very upset when the latter gets bitten, and will end his arc wishing him luck after making amends with him in episode 5.
  Kenny: Go get that girl.
  • Downplayed with Ben: while he never fully forgives him, he still tries his best to save him if he's still alive in episode 5, comforting him before giving him a Mercy Kill, even if it gets him separated from Lee's group.
  • In season 2, despite his Hair-Trigger Temper bordering on abuse, his love for Clementine is genuine, and he will happily sacrifice his own life to ensure her safety in Season 3, if she chooses to stay with him.
  • He generally shows this with many of the group members after they're hurt or die, and will go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against those who harm them: Despite his disagreements with Walter, he mourns his death and will try to kill Carver in response unless Clem stops him; and no matter how many times he butts heads with Luke, his Rage Breaking Point comes when the latter drowns on a frozen river.
• Bash Brothers: With Lee if they like each other.
• Beard of Sorrow: He grows one between seasons. According to Sarita, it was even bigger when she first met him.
• Berserk Button: Do not mess with his family.
  • In Season 2 - Do not mess with Clementine or Alvin Jr.
• Big Bad: One interpretation of his role in the finale of Season 2. His growing mental instability and hatred for those who don't agree with him push him into a murderous rage against Jane. However, one could also interpret Jane as filling this role, making the whole situation morally ambiguous.
• Big Bad Slippage: He was actually an ally before his Sanity Slippage gets the better of him.
• Big Damn Heroes: In episode 1, after getting PTSD from leaving Shawn to die to take his son to safety he saves Lee from certain death at the pharmacy, by axing a walker inches away from his face.
  • In episode 2, provided he's on good terms with Lee, he will save him from Danny St. John when the latter is about to shoot him.
  • Zig-Zagged with his murder of Larry at the meat locker. He (and determinately Lee) considers it to be this^note And he isn't necessarily wrong, since Larry was unlikely to survive his heart attack regardless., but almost everyone else considers it a Kick the Dog moment for him.
  • In episode 5, he will end his arc by either saving Christa from certain death or mercy-killing Ben, at the cost of getting lost to the herd.
  • Subverted in episode 2 of season 2, where his attempts to save the group from Carver cause the latter to execute Walter and potentially Alvin.
  • In episode 3 of season 2, he takes a serious beating for Clementine by falsely admitting to the theft of the radio.
• Bittersweet Ending: His arc with the Wellington outcome ends this way. He finally manages to save someone he loves, and leaves Wellington happy and content with himself that, despite all the bad things he’s done, he managed to save Clem and AJ. While it’s unlikely he’ll ever see them again, Kenny is more mentally stable, and at least content.
• Boom, Headshot!: If Clementine lets him kill Jane but still decides to shoot him afterward, this is how she will do it.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Kenny is very loud and violent.
• Boring, but Practical: Kenny is not the post-apocalyptic survival machine like some others since his skill set is far more grounded in pre-apocalypse trades but this ironically makes him far more useful as a survivor than many others.
  • He is a very good mechanic which has saved the lives of his group several times when needed to escape or get to another area in general (and people good with machinery are in very short supply)
  • He is a commercial fisherman, meaning not only does he know how to operate a boat but is also a good fisherman
  • Unlike several other support characters he doesn't suffer from Chronic Backstabbing Disorder which helps him out significantly
  • He is also the only one in his group who has experience in childcare and helping with childbirth.
  • His favourite weapon is a bolt action rifle (common for pre-apocalypse hunters) and may have pre-apocalypse experience in the sport, this makes him a pretty good shot with the weapon.
• Break the Haughty: While not being TOO overly self-confident, Kenny definitely fits this trope after Duck gets bitten in episode 3 and even more so when Katjaa commits suicide. To top it off if Lee doesn't offer to shoot Duck for him, he has to kill his own son.
• But Now I Must Go: At the end of Season 2, if you don't kill him and choose to stay in Wellington, he takes the duffle bag of supplies and bids a tearful goodbye to Clementine.
• Byronic Hero: He has his share of issues, and he does some things that are morally questionable, but he remains fairly likeable through most of the game.
  • Deconstructed in Season Two, where Kenny's flaws begin to overtake his good side, and he becomes increasingly more rash and violent. This culminates in Mike, Arvo and Bonnie (if she's still alive) leaving the rest of the group behind for fear of Kenny getting them killed. And then possibly brought to a conclusion if you choose to kill him instead of letting him kill Jane.
• The Captain: In normal life he captains a commercial fishing boat. It shows - he naturally assumes a leadership role almost as soon as he arrives.
• The Cameo: In 400 Days he can briefly be seen in the intro getting gas with his son.
• Can't Take Criticism: Take his plan to find a boat for example. If you tell him it might a bad idea at the house, he calls you out for it later. If you tell him you need a new plan when you find out there's no boats left, he calls you out for changing your mind.
• Cartwright Curse: Both Katjaa and Sarita end up dying quite tragically a little over midway through their respective seasons. Though in the case of the former, it was a suicide after realizing Duck had to be put down.
• Character Development:
  • Played with in Season 2. On the outside it appears more stable than he did at the end of Season 1, and has even moved on from Katjaa and found a new woman. However, his temper is still as volatile as ever, and in a brief moment of anger he accidentally calls Clementine 'Duck'. Even his moving on from Katjaa is played with, as it's implied that he (subconsciously) views both Sarita and Clem as Replacement Goldfish for his dead family.
  • Throughout Season 2, he becomes increasingly violent and aggressive, leading him to be a possible main antagonist (depending on your opinion) by Episode 5. This is most present after Sarita's death in Episode 3.
• Character Death:
  • In Episode 5, he dies either saving Christa after she retrieves Clem's walkie-talkie, or after using his final bullet to Mercy Kill Ben when the two are surrounded by Walkers in an alley. Subverted in Season 2, when it's revealed that he survived the encounter.
  • In Season 2, he dies in three out of the five endings.
    • Clementine can be forced to shoot him to stop him from spiralling out of control when he is attacking Jane, leading to his death in both of Jane's endings.
    • He can also be shot after he kills Jane, via Boom, Headshot!, leading to the Alone ending.
  • And then in Season 3, he will die in a flashback if you got the "Leave with Kenny" ending in Season 2.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Lets loose in Episode 3 when the train comes upon the fuel truck blocking the tracks.
• Create Your Own Villain: By killing Larry, Kenny had made Lilly hostile towards everyone in the group, leading to her killing Carley or attempting to kill Ben. This continue to be in effect years later as Lilly, now a member of a group of raiders, threatens Clementine.
• Cruel Mercy:Him being left at the rest stop could count as this as unlike the Wellington ending where he gets a kinda happy ending if not bittersweet ending, him being left at the rest stop by the last person he loves left in this world shows Kenny just how fair he’s fallen and with clementine leaving him, Kenny is left alone with no one left to care for and without a purpose and with another failure it’s very likely after this he either undergoes a mental breakdown and either goes more insane and becomes even more unhinged and villainous or even commits suicide from the grief.
• Crowbar Combatant: He killed Carver with a crowbar in Season 2 Episode 3. In Episode 4, said crowbar becomes his preferred weapon to fight walkers.
• Death Seeker: Seems to have fallen into this mindset as of Episode 4 of Season 2.
  "You know what it feels like to be beaten, almost to death? Peaceful. It was like I was just floating away. Then I woke up again.
  • However, if Clementine kills him at the end of Season 2, he admits in his final moments that he's actually scared of dying despite asking for it.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: On paper, Kenny is a deconstruction of the knight templar parent; someone who protects and escorts another through dangerous and apocalyptic terrain so they can reach a safe haven. In this case, Kenny is obsessed with Wellington and plans to go there with Clementine. When Kenny is reunited with Clementine and later becomes the guardian of Alvin Jr. he becomes increasingly violent and unhinged, he also becomes overprotective and controlling of others, to a point where the rest of the group abandons him, Clem, Jane and Alvin because they are too scared of Kenny and don't want to be near him when he finally snaps. This is best shown in the ending. Kenny finally snaps when he believes Jane caused Alvin's death, leading to a fight between him and Jane and a choice for Clementine to choose between killing Kenny or allowing Kenny to kill Jane. At this point, Kenny becomes a psychotic, rage-filled monster with no value of human life. These types of guardians seem noble but in reality; they'd be psychotic control freaks, who'd remorselessly kill anyone they deem a threat for making a faultless mistake or for making a bad decision in an impossible one. If these people existed, you'd need to get as far away from them as possible before they snap from the stress of the apocalypse.
• Despair Event Horizon:
  • Definitely crosses this after losing both his wife and son in Episode 3.
  • He seems to have somewhat gotten over it in Season 2, finding a new love with Sarita. But then Episode 4 hits and he winds up losing her as well. To the point he's even considering following in Katjaa's footsteps.
• Determinator: As he tells Lee after a particularly horrifying moment for both of them, "You just gotta keep on movin' along.". By season 2 this is more or less all that's keeping him alive. It's also deconstructed as this mindset makes him too stubborn to abandon his plans. Best seen with his boat idea and Wellington.
• Deuteragonist: Alongside Clementine in Season 2.
• Did Not Think This Through: Kenny often gets called out on his lack of planning. In Season 1 his entire plan involves acquiring a boat and heading out to sea, under the logic that it's the only way they'll finally be safe and free from the walkers. Despite Lee and/or various other group members potentially pointing out the obvious "And Then What?" flaw in this plan, they're forced to go along with it because they cannot think of an alternative. Lampshaded in Season 2 Episode 3; while planning the group's escape from Howe's, Mike points out that Kenny's idea to improvise doesn't count as a plan.
• Dirty Coward: Panics and runs off with his son Duck instead of helping Lee save Shawn in Episode 1, resulting in Shawn's death and getting the group kicked out of Hershel's farm. He can get worse depending on whether Lee agrees to help Kenny kill a comatose Larry in Episode 2, as he will not save Lee from Danny St. John if Lee decides to help save Larry instead. However, in Episode 5, he redeems himself by either sparing Ben from being Eaten Alive at the cost of his life, or rescues Christa when she's trapped in a room surrounded by walkers by jumping inside the room and hoisting her up in spite of no other possible exits.
• Don't Look Back:
  • At the end of Season 2, if Clementine stays at Wellington with AJ, Kenny leaves telling Clementine he's not going to look back because if he does he might change his mind. As he's walking away he briefly pauses, as if he's considering looking back, but then carries on walking.
  • If he survived Season 2, he'll be eaten by walkers while giving Clementine and AJ a chance to get away. Just before she runs off, he tells Clementine that "I ain't letting you watch me get eaten."
• Dramatic Irony: In Season 1; after learning that people reanimate as Walkers no matter how they die, Kenny says "One fatal car wreck, and a family of five turns into a family of walkers." If you stay with Kenny in the finale of Season 2, then he'll die in the lead up to season 3 after a car crash breaks both of his legs. He uses his final moment to distract the 5 or 6 walkers while Clementine and AJ. escape.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: His potential death in the Season 3 premiere is very anticlimactic; Clementine accidentally crashes their car and he is thrown out of the window, getting devoured moments later.
• Drowning My Sorrows: After losing his family Kenny glumly accepts Chuck's offer to share some whiskey. And again in episode 4 when he feels like there's no hope for his plan to escape with a boat.
• Dying Moment of Awesome:
  • In Episode 5, when cornered by Walkers in an alley, he uses the last bullet in his gun to deliver a Mercy Kill to Ben, then goes down cursing and swinging at them. Subverted in Season 2 Episode 2, when its revealed that he survived.
  • His death in Season 2 can also count as this. See Dying as Yourself.
• Dying as Yourself: If Clementine chooses to shoot him, he'll die realizing the monster he has become, despising himself more than anyone and telling Clementine she made the right decision.
• Eaten Alive: If he survived the ending of Season 2 and Clementine left with him, Kenny breaks his legs after crashing the car they were driving in. Kenny, in order to save Clementine and AJ, draws the surrounding walkers towards him to save them. He then is devoured as Clementine and AJ make their escape.
• Eyepatch of Power: Gains one in the form of a bandage after receiving a beating from Carver in Episode 3 of Season 2. Like all fresh bandages, however, it needs to be changed, and what's underneath isn't pretty...He sports a proper one in a Season 3 flashback.
• Eye Scream: In Season 2 Episode 3, Carver beats him so viciously that it costs him an eye. Kenny later returns the favor in spades when he beats Carver's head in with a crowbar to such an extent that most of his face has been peeled off his skull, including both his eyes.
• Face Death with Dignity: If Clementine kills him at the end of the second season, Kenny will admit that he's gone too far, and that Clem made the right choice in ending his life. If she reassures him that he'll finally get to see his family again, or that he’s going to be okay, (he won’t be) he dies with a smile on his face.
  • If Clementine lets him kill Jane and then shoots him, he'll calmly stare down the barrel of her gun and say "Just do it" before being shot in the head by her.
• Face–Heel Turn: He gradually turns to villainy throughout Season 2, eventually becoming the closest thing the season has to an antagonist in Episode 5.
  • Heel–Face Turn: ...However, he realizes the error of his ways no matter what path you take: If Clementine is forced to shoot him, he will admit that she made the right choice and thank her for stopping him as he lies dying. If she lets him kill Jane, then he realizes that he just murdered an innocent woman upon finding out that AJ is still alive, and has a mental breakdown.
• Fatal Flaw: Kenny has three: his stubbornness, his recklessness, and holding grudges.
• Foil: To Lilly throughout the first season. Both are fierce, unrelenting leader types, but while Lilly is stern, orderly, and calculating, Kenny proves to be recklessly hot-tempered and prefers making things up on the fly. This reaches its logical conclusion in the second season, long after Lilly's exit. Both characters' stories end with them killing/attempting to kill someone in a fit of rage and paranoia, crossing an in-universe Moral Event Horizon.
  • To Carver in the second season. Both of them want to protect their people, but both of them are also incredibly flawed men who can go too far to do so. While Carver is more actively antagonistic and spiteful, Kenny at least tries to look out for everyone.
• Friend to All Children: It's not just Duck he cares about.
  • If Lee feeds Clementine and Duck but not Kenny in Episode 2, Kenny will still praise Lee for being "a real man" and helping the children first.
  • If Lee has the option of, and chooses to, reveal his past to Kenny, Kenny will instinctively ask him if his crime was "touching kids" (awkwardly if you're on his good side, incredulously if you've pissed him off). Either way, that wasn't the case, so he has no problems with it.
  • If Lee's relationship with Kenny has been mixed by the end of Episode 4, the argument that helps Lee win Kenny over is his fondness for Clementine.
  • Both him and Clementine, depending on your reaction, can be absolutely overjoyed to see each other in Season Two.
  • Also to Rebecca's baby when he is born, especially heartwarming when you consider the mental trauma he was going through before helping Rebecca go through with the childbirth. Which makes it all the more sad if he is the one who shoots Rebecca when she turns in order to keep her from attacking her child.
  • If Clementine does not shoot him and forgives him for killing Jane, then the two will stay together and find Wellington with AJ before being refused due to overpopulation. Kenny then begs Edith to let just Clem and AJ stay for their safety, even being willing to forfeit the supplies she gave them to do so.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Twice
  • After learning that Ben had indirectly caused the deaths of Katjaa and Duck by leaving supplies for the bandits, he immediately becomes hostile to Ben and berates him at every opportunity. If Ben is saved in Episode 4; Ben finally loses it and drops his special treatment towards Kenny, telling him that while Kenny is right to be angry with him, he has no right to treat him so badly. Kenny had a family to lose, while Ben never learned the fate of his family and never got the closure Kenny did, concluding that Kenny needs to give him a break because Ben is going through enough already. Kenny does seem to absorb this lesson, as he decides to stay behind in a failed attempt to save Ben from a walker horde. Although in season 2, it's indicated that Kenny never fully forgave Ben for what happened.
  • After Sarita dies, he refuses to cooperate with the group out of grief and rage towards Clementine for getting her killed. When Kenny starts pitying himself and getting angry; Clementine has the option to brutally tell him that he has no excuse for his actions because everyone has suffered because of the outbreak.
• Freudian Slip: During a stressful moment, Kenny calls Clementine "Duck" in Season 2, showing he still hasn't gotten over his son's death.
• Go Out with a Smile: If Clementine kills him in Episode Ten, she can reassure him that he will be with his family again. Kenny thanks Clem for always being able to make him smile before passing.
• Good Is Not Nice: In Episode 2, and beyond.
• Good Parents: While not perfect (as he himself laments in season 2), he's very protective of Duck, and loves him dearly. In episodes 1 and 2, he's often seen playing with him or comforting him, and clearly worries about his mental state regarding Shawn's death. When Lee is bitten, he can potentially assign Kenny as Clementine's caretaker for this very reason.
  • In season 2, while some of his decisions regarding Clementine and AJ are questionable at best, he clearly loves them very much and is willing give them up to Wellington to ensure their safety.
  • If Clementine stays with him at the end of season 2, he's implied to have become a loving and supportive father figure to Clementine in his season 3 flashbacks.
• Happily Married: To Katjaa. Family means the world to Kenny.
• Handicapped Badass: Even after losing his left eye to Carver, Kenny doesn't have much trouble taking out walkers.
• Has a Type: He appears to have a thing for foreign women with exotic accents, despite being a little bit racist himself.
• He Who Fights Monsters: In Season 2, Jane claims Kenny is turning into Carver. Even Clem can agree, regardless of her feelings towards him. The game implies Jane is right on the money.
• Headbutting Heroes: With Lilly. And Lee depending on the player's actions. In Season Two, he clashes with Luke and Jane.
• Heel Realization: If you shoot him in Episode Ten, has one of these in his last moments.
  Kenny: (If you saved Jane) Clem... you made the right choice. I let you down. I let everyone down.
  • Alternatively, as you point your gun he will say:
  Kenny: (If you let him kill Jane) Do it... Just... Just do it.
  • If he survives and the two make it to Wellington, one of the reasons that he leaves Clem and AJ is because he no longer sees himself as fit to be their caretaker.
• Heroic Sacrifice: To deliver a Mercy Kill to a gravely wounded Ben, or to save Christa from walkers, depending on whether or not Ben died in Episode 4. Ultimately subverted by Season 2, Episode 2, where he is revealed to have survived the encounter by the skin of his teeth.
  • He does this again in Season 2, Episode 3 as well: When Carver captures Luke and finds out about the group's escape plan, he demands the walkie-talkie that Clementine stole. Kenny, fearing for Clementine's safety, steps forward and takes the blame for it, causing Carver to put him on the receiving end of a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. Kenny survives the ordeal ultimately, but the beating is so savage that it costs him an eye.
  • If Clementine doesn't kill him at the end of Season 2, he will plead for her and Alvin Jr. to be allowed into Wellington without him, while he remains outside. It's entirely possible that he will die out there, but this is Kenny...
  • If he survived the end of Season 2 and Clementine went with Kenny, the car they are driving in crashes. This results in Kenny being flung from the car and having his legs broken with walkers surrounding them. Kenny distracts the walkers, giving time for Clementine to get AJ out of the car and escape as he is eaten alive.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: While his sanity continues to fall wayward in season 2, he at the very least shows several times to be all too aware of how far he's fallen.
• Hot-Blooded: Deconstructed, in that Kenny's temper is treated as a character flaw. While he's very loud, boisterous and aggressive, these traits get his group in more trouble as many times as they get the group out of trouble.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: It gets even worse in Season 2 to the point where he will blow up on people whom don't share the same viewpoint. It ultimately causes Bonnie, Mike, and Arvo to abandon the group and leads to Jane's conclusion that Kenny is unstable and will get Clementine killed.
• Hypocrite:
  • He doesn't hesitate to kill Larry when it looks like he might die and come back as a walker. But when Duck gets bitten, he dismisses the problem and goes into denial. You can call him out on this, too.
  • In Episode 2, he calls Lilly out on treating the group like a dictator. Yet he does the same in Episode 4, refusing to consider any plan besides his boat plan (even when they get to the river and find nothing). Later in Season 2, Episode 4, if Clem decides they should head to a town the day after the baby is born, Kenny refuses to let the group stop even when Rebecca is dying of exhaustion.
  • If Kenny has a mixed relationship with Lee by the end of Episode 4, he'll be on the fence about helping Lee rescue a kidnapped Clementine. If Lee then loses his temper and tells Kenny to "grow the fuck up", Kenny will then lose his and call Lee out on "losing his shit" when his friends don't "bend over backwards" to help him. This is despite Kenny doing the exact same any time Lee disagreed with him.
  • His blaming of Clementine for Sarita's death. He's especially angry if Clem chopped off Sarita's arm, claiming she "no right" to do so. This is despite the fact that he almost cut off Lee's arm while Lee was unconscious in Season 1, Episode 5 (provided he went with Lee at all). If Clem axes Sarita in the head to stop her turning, Kenny will be furious with her and again claim that she had "no right" to make that decision, despite doing the exact same thing to Larry in Season 1, Episode 2.
• I Can't Feel My Legs!: In season 3, if Kenny survived season 2, when Kenny is teaching Clementine how to drive a car, the car she's driving crashes into a tree and Kenny is flung out of the car. When Clementine goes to help Kenny, he tells her, after trying to lift him up, that he can't feel his legs.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Smashing Larry's head with a salt lick after he collapsed of a heart attack to stop him from reanimating.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: In Episode 3, 4 and 5. He refuses in Season 2, Episode 5, though.
• Indy Ploy: His entire M.O. for everything, ever. Clem's new group calls him out on this several times in Season Two, particularly in "In Harm's Way."
  Kenny: [after being asked And Then What?] I don't know! Whatever we can! We improvise!
  Mike: Then that's not a plan! You don't plan to improvise!
• Innocent Bigot: When he and Lee are trying to open the locked door in the St. John's barn in episode two, he asks if Lee can pick a lock since he is "urban". Lee (who, bear in mind, was a tenured college professor) reacts about like you would expect, and Kenny apologizes, saying he comes from Florida and crazy shit just comes out of his mouth.
  • Becomes a Brick Joke when it's implied later on that Lee does know how to pick locks.
    • In a bit of Irony it's usually Kenny who's called to try to pick locks in later episodes.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: By Season 2 Episode 5, when he's well and truly gone off the deep end, he has light shades of being xenophobic, referring to Arvo variously as "Russkie", "Commie", and "Eurotrash".
• Irony: Kenny ends his storyline in Season Two by doing exactly what Lilly did in Season One - violently snapping and killing/attempting to kill someone in a fit of rage and paranoia.
• It's All About Me:
  • Kenny is fairly selfish and self-centered, even when it's not about his family. His insistence in dragging the group around to find a boat in Savannah in Episode 4 is a prime example, going as far as to not wanting to help Lee take Clementine back to the house for shelter because he still hasn't found an operable boat, in spite of clear evidence that there isn't any working boats left in the pier.
  • If Ben is alive, he gives Kenny a furious dressing down about how he has no idea what's happened to his family. This strikes Kenny to his core, and in the end, he cares for Ben and Mercy Kills him when he's helplessly dying and surrounded by zombies.
• I've Come Too Far: A Fatal Flaw of his. Once Kenny has his mind set on something, he will not give up on it. Even if his ideas or plans don't work, he'll still insist on sticking with them since he feels it's better than giving up or struggling to find an alternative that may not exist. In season 1, he doesn't give up in finding a boat to escape with, despite the fact that there's no working boats anywhere in Savannah. Season 2 has him wanting to go to Wellington since his group progressed far north already and he feels that they might as well keep going north to find it rather than go south where they can avoid the winter weather.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he comes across as a jerk if you disagree with him, the game proves him to be right on multiple occasions:
  • Killing Larry in front of Lilly is awful. But without his medication and medical help, Larry was unlikely to survive, and they couldn't handle a "400-pound, seriously pissed off dead guy".
  • While getting the RV fixed up and leaving the inn is incredibly risky and there are chances of the plan not working out (it doesn't by the way), between being stuck with irate bandits on one hand and dwindling and riskier-to-get supplies from Macon on the other getting the hell out of dodge is understandable.
  • If he isn't in the best terms with Lee, or if the player fails to convince him, he'll stay behind and guard the boat while the others go rescue Clementine. While this might come across as selfish and petty, the boat gets stolen by Vernon while the rescue mission is taking place (even if the entire group, sans Lee, is left behind), making Kenny Properly Paranoid.
  • He's vicious towards Arvo, but Arvo and his group tried to ambush Kenny's group and attempts to find numerous opportunities to escape and/or screw them over, culminating in him gut shooting Clementine when trying to make off with the truck.
  • His stubbornness in using the truck to get to Wellington immediately after fixing it up pisses off several members of the group, but last time Kenny had fixed a vehicle it got stolen when his back was turned (and it nearly happens again when everyone's asleep), so he wants to take advantage of the opportunity while they clearly have it.
  • Regardless of whether Clementine kills Kenny or allows him to kill Jane, you find out that Kenny was totally right about Jane being selfish and dangerous towards the group, given what she pulls and her reasons for doing so.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Kenny is kindhearted and loyal to his friends, he is temperamental and can become a surly bully if the goals of others don't align with his. Kenny genuinely desires to help those around him, but due to his Hot-Blooded nature he would rather take immediate action and fly by the seat of his pants than stop and make an actual plan first. By Season 2 Kenny's bad qualities have begun to overtake his good ones, and Clementine has to eventually decide whether he should be put out of his misery, abandoned, or forgiven. Despite this, he will have a Heel Realization regardless of what outcome you choose for him, and he will redeem himself if given the chance, sticking with Clementine until his death.
• Karma Houdini: If Clementine does not shoot him but also does not stay with him. While Kenny regrets his actions, he receives no comeuppance for them if Clem either goes off alone or stays at Wellington. Particularly true at Wellington, as Kenny is rewarded even more with a large bag of supplies.
• Kick the Dog: On occasion.
  • While he had an understandable reason to smash Larry's head in, calling Lee "fucking worthless" if he doesn't side with him was unwarranted. Furthermore, while he clearly does regret the action, he deals with it by lashing out at everyone around him.
  • If Ben dies in Episode 4, he bluntly tells Clementine (who was the only person who still liked him) that Lee killed him, and doesn't even try to hide his delight in the fact that Ben is dead. Clementine runs off heartbroken, and when Lee calls him out on this, he bluntly states that he doesn't care.
  • Depending on what Lee chooses to say to Kenny in mid-Episode 3, he says the following quote if you try to persuade Kenny to stop the train as Duck is moments from becoming a walker and is at risk of killing Clementine and everyone:
  I've got a REAL family I'm trying to protect. Not that fucking sham you're running back there!
  • His beating and tormenting of Arvo, depending on your stance.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch:
  • Determinately punching Larry in the face in Episode 1 might have caused more tension amongst the group, but the Grumpy Old Man deserved it, considering he had just suggested kicking his son out of the pharmacy.
  • If you consider Arvo to be directly responsible for Luke's death, then his No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of him can count as an example.
  • His murder of Jane may count if the player allows him to do so, as she put Alvin Jr. in danger to prove that Kenny himself is dangerous.
• Knight Templar Parent: More so in the second season than in the first, although shades of it are present even then. Case in point; in the Season 2 finale, his first reaction when Jane appears without AJ is to fly into a rage and try to kill her.
• The Leader:
  • While Lilly ostensibly is this, Kenny immediately takes charge when the walkers get into the drug store. This becomes a much bigger issue in Episode 2, as they argue with each other over who should be leading the group, and it's up to Lee to support Kenny or Lilly, or stay neutral.
  • After Lilly is either left behind or steals the RV in Episode 3 Kenny tries to rise to this position, but after his Despair Event Horizon he basically steps aside in favour of Lee.
  • There is a key moment during Episode 4 when the group is in the Crawford classroom. Someone asks what to do, and Kenny seems about to respond... and then uncharacteristically falls silent, his despair overtaking him. He seems to have devolved into the group Lancer, ready to offer ideas, but no longer able to lead.
  • In Episode 5, Kenny admits that Lee is the smartest of the group, and is ready to take orders from him.
• Leeroy Jenkins: When it comes to planning, Kenny's suggestions frequently involve going off half-cocked, without any way to get themselves out of the situation afterwards beyond the vague suggestion of "improvising".

M-Y

• Mood-Swinger: Has developed into this by Season Two.
• Morality Chain: Katjaa can usually calm him down before he does anything too cruel. Sarita also acts as this in Season 2, before she dies. By the end of Season 2, Clementine's the only one who can calm his rages.
• My God, What Have I Done?: If you kill or abandon him, he'll finally realize that he's gone too far and accept Clementine's choice, even telling her she did the right thing.
• My Greatest Failure: Not trying to save Shawn after Duck gets rescued on Hershel's farm. If Lee opts to talk Kenny into stopping the train after Duck starts succumbing to his bite, he admits to Lee that he thinks that the whole situation is the world getting even with him by taking his son for allowing another man's son to die.
• Never Found the Body: In both possible scenarios, Kenny always runs off-screen, so you never actually see him die. Also noticeable that in the post-credits results screen, he is the only character presumed dead that is not explicitly referred to as such, only that he was "lost". Unsurprisingly, he turns up in Season 2, handwaving his survival as just him being really lucky.
• Nice Guy: In Episode 1, at least. He will stand by Lee, give him advice, and rescue him from the walkers regardless of the choices he makes. After the 3 month Time Skip, he has hardened a lot. He will only have a chance to return to this if forgiven in Season 2, whereupon he will remain a good father-figure for Clementine and AJ, sticking by her until performing a Heroic Sacrifice for them. Despite this, his actions leading up to this can make Clementine wonder whether it was worth it to remain by him.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While he does have some good reasons for what he does, several of Kenny's actions eventually bite him and the group in the worst way possible. Killing Larry may be Necessarily Evil, but it divides the group in driving a permanent wedge between himself and Lilly, who eventually murders Carley/Doug in a fit of paranoia due to her father's horrible death. Stealing supplies from the abandoned car leads to the Stranger's family abandoning him, dying, and the Stranger himself coming after the group with tragic consequences. Throughout Season 2, his growing temper and unwillingness to listen or explain himself to the others in the group leads to Bonnie and Mike attempting to jump ship, and Jane turning on him out of growing fear of his mental instability.
• Noble Bigot: In Season 1 he assumes Lee can pick locks because he's African-American and "urban". He quickly apologizes when Lee calls him out on this, blaming his rural Florida upbringing for the "stupid shit" that comes out of his mouth sometimes. Despite this, he considers Lee his best friend.
  • In Season 2 he has no shortage of anti-Russian pejoratives to sling at Arvo.
• Noodle Incident: Exactly how he managed to escape a hoard of walkers and got out of Savannah in the first place. And what he's been doing since that time.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
  • The player can elect to let Kenny beat Lee up after asking him to stop the train. Kenny will wail at Lee, "I fucking hate you, Lee! DO YOU HEAR ME?" Lee can simply mumble from the ground, "Stop the train." From the narrative perspective, it was catharsis for Kenny to vent all of his pent up anger and distress at his family being dead.
  • Kenny takes this trope to its logical extreme in the third episode of Season 2, quite deservedly using a crowbar to beat Carver's face into a glob of unrecognizable mush. Since he was also on the receiving end of another nasty beating from Carver earlier in the episode, this instance also counts as Extreme Mêlée Revenge.
  • When Luke drowns after Arvo leads them across the frozen lake and tries to flee, Kenny starts brutally pummeling him before being hauled off by the others. If Clementine watched him kill Carver but tries to stop him from beating Arvo, Kenny will knock her back, then mockingly ask if she lost her taste for bloodshed.
• No One Gets Left Behind: Wracked with guilt over refusing to help save Shawn in a rash decision to protect his son, he saves Lee at the end of episode one because of this, even if Lee has been an asshole to him.
  Kenny: I'm not letting somebody else get eaten today....
  Kenny: Especially a good friend. (If you supported him through Episode 1)
  Kenny: Even if he is an asshole. (If you didn't support him through Episode 1)
  • From Episode 2 onwards, however, his heart has been hardened, and he subverts this trope continuously; encouraging Lee to leave Ben's teacher, Beatrice, Lilly, and later Ben himself to die in order to ensure the safety of the rest of the group.
  • In Episode 5, he snaps back to this, and sacrifices himself to either save Christa or try to save Ben
  • Despite him Taking A Level In Jerkass, he seems to have maintained this philosophy in season 2, as he is one of the few characters to never suggest leaving anyone behind (with the exception of Arvo in Episode 5, but he wasn't a member of the group)
• Not Quite Dead: He survived whatever fate befell him in Season One and turns up fine in Season Two.
• Outliving One's Offspring: After Duck's death and Katjaa committing suicide because of it, Kenny gets really depressed and starts leaving more and more of the decision making up to Lee.
• Parental Neglect: Laments in the Season 2, Episode 5 that he didn't raise his son Duck right, and used to think his happiest times was when he was away from his family. He obviously regrets thinking that way, and says that he'd give anything to be with them again.
• Parental Substitute: He tries to be one for Clementine in Season 2. Clem can choose to like him or hate him for it. If Clem chose to go with him at the end of S2, Flashbacks in season 3, shows he has fully developed into one for her and Alvin Jr. Clem can even refer to themselves as family, although he doesn’t last too long...
• Papa Wolf:
  • In his first encounter with a zombie Kenny beat it to death after it tried to grab Duck, not even realizing what it was.
  • He can determinately punch Larry square in the face for trying to kick his son out of the pharmacy under the false belief that he was infected. He gets his nose broken for his troubles. It's also implied that his decision to kill/put down Larry later on was influenced by the aforementioned event.
  • In episode 3, he can beat up Lee for suggesting putting down his infected son.
  • As of season 2, he's become this for Clementine.
  • He becomes this to Rebecca's baby, being very overprotective. Justified, as it's practically the only thing giving him hope at this point.
    • On that last: How overprotective, you ask? When he thinks Jane got the baby killed, even when she claimed it was an accident, his immediate response is to try and kill her.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: In season 2 against Carver when he smashes his face with a crowbar.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: At the end of Season 2 Episode 5, if he kills Jane, should the player opt to shoot him he tells Clem to kill him.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Inverted. His possible friendship with Lee is sorely tested over the first season, to the point where he may refuse to help find Clementine in Episode 4. Even if he and Lee have fallen out, however, they'll patch things up in Episode 5, with Kenny expressing some regret over his treatment of Lee and lamenting that he could've been "a better friend", among other things.
• Prized Possession Giveaway: He sports a nice baseball cap. If Clementine decides to not kill him and enter Wellington with AJ without him, he will give said hat to AJ as a final farewell gift before he sets out again into the wilderness.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • He knew the moment he arrived at the St. John Dairy Farm that something was wrong and that they were hiding something in the barn. It was butchering equipment for animals, but they don't use it for butchering animals. However, his paranoia ultimately leads to the death of Larry, who may not have died from a heart attack, and was killed by Kenny's hands to prevent reanimation while Lilly was trying to resuscitate him.
  • Reaches its peak in Episode 4, where he accuses Molly of being the mysterious voice on the walkie-talkie, despite the fact the speaker is a gruff-voiced male.
  • While his beating of him didn't help much, he was right on some level about Arvo in season 2, considering the first thing he does once his restraints are gone is to steal the groups only means of transportation, and the second thing he does is shoot Clementine. While one could argue that this was Kenny's fault in the first place, the fact that Arvo spends half of "No Going Back" giving Clementine a Death Glare, this is unlikely.
  • Depending on who you think is ultimately responsible for the final showdown between Kenny and Jane at the climax of Season 2 Episode 5, Kenny might also be Properly Paranoid of Jane. Kenny spends much of Episode 5 chastising Jane for thinking of no one but herself. If you're against the method Jane chooses to prove what Kenny is like, you can even choose a dialogue prompt after the fact having Clementine agree with Kenny that Jane thought of no one but herself.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni:
  • In Season 1, he is the red to Lee's blue.
  • In Season 2, he becomes the red to Jane's blue.
• Refusal of the Call: If Lee requests help in rescuing Clementine after being bit, Kenny will refuse to go if Lee hasn't been supportive of his actions. He instead chooses to go prep the boat. Kenny still thinks of Lee as a friend if he's been somewhat supportive, though, and will allow him on the boat if he makes it back. Even if Lee reveals he's bitten.
• Religious Bruiser: He may identify himself as Christian in Episode 4, and he sometimes expresses hope that he'll be reunited with Katjaa and Duck in heaven.
• Replacement Goldfish: This is how he deals with grief. He uses Clementine (and later Rebecca's baby) as a replacement for Duck and Sarita as a replacement for Katjaa.
• Running Gag: Of the most brutal kind. As both Larry and Carver discover, Kenny really has a thing for smashing people's heads in. He nearly does it a third time to Arvo, but is stopped short of actually killing him.
  • It gets worse. First Katjaa, then Duck, and most recently Sarita — the latter two possibly being killed by him — Kenny keeps losing his loved ones.
• Sanity Slippage: He gets increasingly aggressive throughout Season 2.
• Senseless Sacrifice: His (potential) Mercy Kill of Ben. Had he not spent so much time arguing with Lee, Kenny could have easily escaped and rejoined the group.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • Of Lee. To explain: Lee and Kenny both generally want the same thing- to help people. While Lee can generally be infallible with a lack of faults, Kenny has plenty (namely his temper and his selfishness). However, Kenny legitimately desires to help people (always putting others before himself if he gets the chance), and sacrifices himself several times. Despite this, his flaws turns him away from the path Lee walks. For all his attempts to be a hero, Kenny fails. Not for a lack of trying, but because he's inherently flawed.
    • Additionally Lee's arrest ruined his life and the apocalypse gave him a perfect opportunity to redeem himself, whereas Kenny was a relatively successful family man pre-apocalypse and the following events slowly tore him apart.
  • He could also be seen as one to Rick Grimes, as they are both family men who were figures of authority (police officer and fishing captain) and were slowly torn apart by the apocalypse.
• Shifting Voice of Madness: Just before he brutally kills Carver, his voice drops to a frightening growl. This only emphasizes his Sanity Slippage.
  Kenny: Go on and wait outside...I only need a minute.
• Shoot the Dog: More like Shoot The Son Of A Bitch, as he kills Larry by smashing his head with a salt lick to prevent him from reanimating. Considering the group had no weapons, no medicine, and would be stuck with a walking piledriver of a human being, he arguably did the group a favor.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: While other characters don't have much of a problem with swearing, Kenny seems to do it the most often. His first line in Season 2, in fact, is "Fuck that!"
• Slowly Slipping Into Evil: He darkens a lot over the course of the game, especially in the latter half of Season 2.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: If the player lets Ben alive in episode 5, Kenny will talk smack back about Ben Paul to Clementine after being impaled. It's very likely Kenny hasn't forgive what Ben has done despite the latter giving him a good talk about his own actions.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: After his return halfway through “A House Divided”, he starts to get more and more focus on him than the game’s central group as the series goes on. As well as getting the most Character Development, along with Clementine.
• Status Quo Is God: A downplayed case, but still there. If you saved Ben in season one, after Ben snaps and yells at Kenny for being so brutal with him, Kenny feels sorry for him and later pulls a Heroic Sacrifice by Mercy Killing Ben and (seemingly) lets himself be eaten by walkers, presumably to atone for treating Ben like dirt for the past two episodes. Come season two, if you ask Kenny where he had been since he and Clementine were separated, Kenny will angrily refer to Ben as "that shitbird" with a tone and facial expression that implies he still thinks of Ben the way he did late episode four of season one.
• Strong, but Unskilled: Physically, Kenny's pretty formidable and can both give and take a lot of damage. His actual combat ability leaves a lot to be desired, however.
  • Becomes most pronounced during his final fight with Jane, where he is clearly less skilled than her but still manages to overpower her several times due to raw strength alone, he will actually succeed in killing her if you don't intervene.
• Surfer Dude: Judging by the paint job and the surf board decor on his truck in the first episode, he seemed to be this back in Florida.
• Took a Level in Badass: Kenny's fighting skill is rather poor in season 1, losing to Larry, Lee (Kenny could win but only if the player doesn't fight back) and Molly. By season two, his skills have improved and can take on the stronger Mike as well as overpowering Jane.
• They Died Because of You: Will pull one on Clementine regarding Sarita, especially if Clem chopped Sarita's arm off and caused her to die before Kenny got the chance to say goodbye. His accusations are a lot more baseless if Clem doesn't, as Sarita, to her credit, tries to stick up for Clem despite being very near death.
  • However if you stay silent in the tent scene he will apologise for what he said to her.
• Time for Plan B:
  • Defied, there ain't no Plan B. Kenny's sole plan is getting a boat in Savannah and that's it. It's pretty clear he's focusing on that course of action to avoid having to cope with his grief.
  • Continues right on into Season 2. He's heard of a settlement called Wellington, which Clem has the option of corroborating with what she heard from Christa, and that becomes Kenny's sole goal across the whole season.
• To Absent Friends: To Lee in Season Two. Kenny describes him fondly even if he and Lee often clashed and later asks Clementine what he would advise, wishing Lee was still alive to keep everyone under control.
• Together in Death: If Clementine kills Kenny in Season 2, she can comfort Kenny by saying he can finally reunite with Katjaa and Duck.
• Token Evil Teammate: In Episode 4 & 5 of Season 2. Though he makes a Heroic Sacrifice in the season finale.
• Took a Level in Badass: His hand-to-hand combat has greatly improved in Season 2. In season 1, his fights against Molly, Larry and Lee all ended quickly and badly for him, in season 2 he's one of the most formidable fighters on the team and manages to fight Jane on equal ground and even overpower her several times.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: He's a lot more aggressive and assertive in Episode 2. A bit of a Justified Trope, as in Episode 1 there was a belief the military could stop such an ordeal, or that help might come. By Episode 2, the situation is rather unambiguously dire, and so Kenny (like anyone else) being more vigilant and irate is to be expected. Also, depending on how you interpret his actions should you side with Lilly after Larry's heart attack in Episode 2, it could be Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and maybe even crossing the Moral Event Horizon.
  • Specifically: not coming to your help when fighting Danny St. John if you don't help him kill Larry. He at least looks ashamed.
  • His level of Jerkass in Episode 3 (and toward the end of Episode 2) depends entirely on Lee's decision regarding killing Larry in Episode 2. If Lee tried to bring Larry back to life, Kenny is incredibly rude to Lee from then on, generally regarding him with anger and refusing to help him on two separate occasions. If Lee helps him kill Larry, however, Kenny is much nicer to Lee, referring to him as "pal" and helping him out in the two aforementioned occasions. It's to the point where Kenny is more pissed with Lee if he tries to save Larry than Lilly is if he helps kill him.
  • In Episode 4, if Lee chooses to not save Ben in Crawford, especially after Clementine says she wants Ben to stay with the group, Kenny outright tells Clementine and the others that Lee killed Ben off and doesn't even hide that he's glad about it, which causes Clementine to run off heartbroken. If Lee calls him out, Kenny says he doesn't care; she'll understand.
  • Mostly subverted when Clem finds him again in Season Two, but there are a few moments that show his temper is getting even more out of control. Double Subverted in "No Going Back", where Kenny's outbursts are the last nail in the destruction of the group and lead to him trying to kill Jane on suspicion that she killed Alvin Jr.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Very possibly can have this effect on Lee and Clem as Kenny will almost always be the one to support morally dubious actions for the greater good of the group (unless of course said actions involve his family). For instance, in Season 1 Episode 3 when a woman is being swarmed by Walkers outside the drug store Kenny will recommend not killing her and instead leaving her as bait for the walkers to allow him and Lee to completely raid the store.
• Tragic Hero: His aggressive and brutal behavior in "No Going Back" ends up driving Bonnie, Mike, and Arvo away from the group and initiating a violent fight between him and Jane, culminating in either him murdering Jane or Clementine being forced to shoot him.
• Trauma Conga Line:
  • Episode 3 is... not kind to the man. Episode 4 smacks him in the face with his suffering, when he's traumatized by seeing a zombie boy who looks remarkably like Duck.
  • He's clearly still traumatized in Season 2: after reuniting with Clementine, he calls her "Duck" at one point.
  • It gets worse when Sarita dies at the beginning of Amid the Ruins.
• Undying Loyalty: To Lee, but only if Lee shows the same to him. While he will have Lee's back if Lee supports him, it only takes a few disagreements between them for Kenny to be on the fence about helping Lee rescuing Clementine when she gets kidnapped.
  • To Clementine in Season 2. However much he may feel angry or otherwise frustrated with Clementine, he will always do whatever he can to ensure her safety, misguided as he may be.
• Ungrateful Bastard:
  • Starts developing this after the events of Episode 2, and gets worse in Episode 3 and 4. Finally stops being this in Episode 5 if Ben is alive to tell him off for his selfishness.
  • This is however inverted in Episode 1, where even if you do not side with him at all, he will still save you from zombies at the end.
  • He'll be upset with Clementine on Sarita's death no matter what you tried to save her.
• Unstoppable Rage: When Kenny finds out about Ben's actions...
  Kenny: (requiring Lee and Vernon to restrain him) You little pissant! You are fucking dead, you hear me!? Dead! My wife and child, you got them both fucking killed! If this asshole thinks he's getting on my boat, after what he did, he's out of his motherfuckin' mind! You hear me, shitbird? You can stay behind, and fucking rot!
  • And again in Season 2 when he believes that Jane lost AJ. His first instinct is to storm back into the convenience store and try to kill her.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By killing Larry, Kenny unknowingly made Lilly lose her sanity and humanity which led to her killing Carley/Doug and creating a dangerous enemy for Clementine to face many years later.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Averted with Lee. If you back him consistently, there's pretty much no "vitriolic". If you don't, though, you can forget about being "best buds". Despite this, he can still make amends with him in episode 5, though their banter doesn't stop, making him a downplayed version of this.
  • After lots of headbutting, seems to be developing this with Nick through Season 2 Episode 3, if Nick lasts that long.
  Nick: Not bad, old man.
  Kenny: Thanks, asshole.
• We Used to Be Friends: This can potentially be his relationship with Lee if the latter backs him up until the fateful decision to kill Larry. Afterwards, regardless of how supportive Lee is, Kenny will remain cold and indifferent towards him.
• Wham Line: In Season Two, after reuniting with Clementine, having found a new love interest between series and appearing to be a lot better and more stable than he was at the end of Season One, Clementine is just as shocked as he is when he accidentally refers to her as "Duck" during dinner.
  Kenny: Pass me that can, Duck.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: His fate is left unknown if Clementine does not kill him but then either abandons him or leaves him to stay at Wellington.
• What Have You Done for Me Lately?: Kenny prioritises his family over anything else and you have to do your part in helping him protect them in order to gain his loyalty. If Lee refuses to help him kill Larry when he believes the latter has died from a heart attack, then Kenny will refuse to help Lee fight Danny St. John. He becomes especially ungrateful and petty when Lee tells him that he saved Duck and Kajaa. He even says this verbatim when talking about Molly in episode 4.
  Kenny: Fuck you, man. You're alive because of me. Why didn't you have my back?
  Lee: I saved your wife and kid!
  Kenny: No, I saved them! By making sure Larry didn't kill US!
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Lee can give him one at the end of Episode 4 if Kenny refuses to help him look for Clementine.
  Lee: You're going to let a little girl die because I didn't have your back every damn minute?
  • If he survived Episode 4, Ben will rip into Kenny in Episode 5 for his selfishness.
  • In Season 2 Episode 4 Clemetine can call Kenny out, again for being selfish. Kenny responds about as well as one would expect a hot-tempered mentally-unstable guy to.
• Would Hit a Girl: In Season 2 Episode 5, if Clem tries to stop him from pummelling Arvo he'll knock her back with his elbow (though it's clearly accidental). Later on, he outright tries to kill Jane when he thinks she got AJ killed.
• The Worf Effect:
  • While much is made about Kenny's proficiency at fighting, after episode 1 his track record becomes pretty dubious, losing to almost all walkers without Lee's help and getting terribly curbstomped by Molly. This gets continued in season 2, where he proves to only make the situation worse in his attempts at fighting Carver. Even in episode 1, attempting to fight Larry leads to him getting his nose broken.
  • Even gets a Lampshade Hanging after Kenny loses an eye in Season Two.
  Mike: Man, you are one tough bastard.
  Kenny: Yeah? Do "tough bastards" get their asses kicked in front of everyone?
  • However, the final fight between him and Jane in Season 2, Episode 5 ends with him having the upper hand. It takes Clementine's intervention to stop him.
• Worf Had the Flu: An argument could be made that, at least in season 1, the reason Kenny loses so many times is because he's still suffering from the bullet wound he received from Andy St. John at the end of episode 2. In episode 3 he mentions he's still suffering from it and since the last three episodes of the season takes place within a few days of each other it's very likely he just hasn't fully recovered yet.
• You Lose at Zero Trust: If his relationship with Lee has been mixed rather than wholly positive, he'll have to be persuaded to help find Clementine in Episode 4 of Season 1. If their relationship has been wholly negative, he won't go no matter what.

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