Reader discretion is advised: Major spoilers up to Episode 3 of the game ;)
A few months ago, I saw this new Telltale game which was based off of the "Game of Thrones," called, well, "Game of Thrones," and I remember watching Cryaotic's playthrough of it up until half of the first episode. Only half, because it was late and I was procrastinating too much on homework.
Fast-forward a few months later, and you don't know how glad I am to have picked the series up again.
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| Episode 2's cover thingy... Thought it looked pretty. |
BUT NONETHELESS!!!
As the game progressed, my interest gradually built... and lemme tell you, the end of Episode 1 totally flung me across the room, I swear to God. It shocked me so much that I became instantly hooked.
Not many of my friends have played/watched this game, so I felt the need to make a blog post just to get my feelings out of my chest... but honestly I really don't know why this game makes me feel such strong emotions. The game itself has more than a couple awkward plot holes, glitches, and bugs... but I still like it a whoooooole lot. I've rewatched the three episodes so many freakin' times---more times than I've rewatched the Walking Dead's episodes.
Soo... I think I might be obsessed with this series as much as I am with the Walking Dead, to be completely honest...
For this post, I'll be discussing what I feel about the five playable characters, and Telltale's attention to detail in this game. There WILL be spoilers, so if you're reading this now... HELL, GO WATCH THE GAME AT LEAST. You won't regret it.
(You like my medieval-ish style post divider? Tryin' to get into the mood.)
Before I start talking about the characters, though, I want to mention how I feel about the Forrester fambam. This family gives me the warm fuzzies. Six siblings: 4 brothers and 2 sisters... a kind father and a stern but loving and devoted mother... If all this shit weren't happening to them, I'd totally want to be a part of this family. ;_;
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| How I feel |
Examples? Quite a few. Lady Forrester respected Ethan and treated him like a true Lord of the House, never questioning his decisions just because he was still "a kid." Rodrik respected Talia's judgement of the Whitehills, just as Talia respected his judgement of them, and even before that, they had a touching moment together when Rodrik first woke up from his surgery. You can also see Mira's thoughtful gifts from her siblings in her room, and you could choose the dialog option for Ethan to say that he'd give Ryon all the sweets he wanted (as he was the new Lord at the time). Oh, and even though Lord Forrester may have exiled Asher, his character description (in the Codex, I believe) says that exiling Asher was "his life's only true regret." And speaking of Asher, he beat up some kid bullying Ethan when the two were younger, LOL. If those don't scream "CLOSE FAMILY," I don't know what does.
Man, family goals ;A; I mean, not that I'd want to bear 6 children in the future or anything, but I'd love to have a family that's as close as the Forresters are.
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| The Forrester family picture thingy. -sigh- |
Okay, now, here are my comments (ahem, short essays) about the playable characters.
Rodrik Forrester
Rodrik... yeah, he's good looking. That's it....lol just kidding, of course. :D
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| Lovely GIF by erase--myself @ Tumblr |
On a side note, it's so beautiful that he has his father's eyes. Heck, he looks a lot like his father, in general. (Except that he has his mother's hair color.)
Anyway, I was really glad he wasn't actually dead 'n' gone from the war, because that would've weighed terribly on the Forrester family, having lost poor Ethan as well. The Forrester House needs someone like him, even if he's crippled and limps around with a cane at the moment. The Forresters can still have a peace of mind knowing that Rodrik is there. They're in deep-shit trouble, but having a burly, rather fatherly, and "don't-worry-guys-I-got-this" figure like Rodrik around helps a lot. Everyone loves a morale boost! Yay!
Also something I really wanted to talk about---the defiance vs. obedience scene with Gryff Whitehill in Episode 3. -loud groaning- I honestly don't know what kind of person Rodrik really is; I don't know if Rodrik would toss his pride aside for the sake of his House, or if Rodrik would rather continually show defiance against his enemies. I see benefits from both choices. If Rodrik chose to stand down, he'd be putting his family's lives into consideration, and that's not a bad thing. If Rodrik chose to stand up, he'd be showing that the Forresters still have grit in them, that they're not weak and shouldn't be pushed around. Give hope to the commonfolk. (Interestingly enough, I noticed that you can see the commonfolk follow the Forresters as they walk into the Great Hall if you chose to be defiant, but you can see the commonfolk walking away if you chose to be obedient. Very interesting.)
I personally am a family-oriented girl... Call me a coward, but if it were my decision, I'd choose to stand down to Gryff. It's the most wise thing to do; I honestly don't think it's the best time to aggravate any of the Whitehills, even if they're the biggest assholes and can't do much of anything. I'd rather look like a fool at the moment, and sharpen my sword in the shadows. "Allow them win the battle; allow myself to win the war," as loosely quoted from some posts I saw in the TTGoT forums.
It's kinda fitting for Rodrik to be this way, to me. His father's death would make sense to be the catalyst of Rodrik's maturity... and it makes sense to me that Rodrik would wisen up, shed his "pride coat," and take the sake of his family more into consideration, since he's really the only man of the house now. Although, I don't blame anyone for taking the opposite route either; both choices have their merits. :)
At any rate, I feel like Rodrik's storyline is so painful to watch... poor guy. Like what PewDiePie said, Rodrik's storyline is the "being-somebody's-bitch" storyline, basically.
Asher Forrester
AKA the buff, "BAMF" Forrester who looks like a blond Chris Pratt. |
| That smug ass look in his eyes. LOL Lovely GIF by erase--myself @ Tumblr |
And his face is very pleasing to look at. -wink-
However.. I honestly thought he was gonna be a dark-haired, thin and pale-faced dude.... and he is evidently the complete opposite LOL. (Not that I'm complaining.) I think it was because of his name. Like, Asher? Okay, it's a pretty badass name, but you can't blame me for envisioning a guy who seems like a product of incineration???
Anyway, I thought he was hitting it on with Beskha but they seem to have only a brother-sister bond going on. I mean, he flat out said that she's like a sister to him (to which I responded with a long 'ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh sisterzoned') and she also responded that he's like a little brother to her, so I was like... uhhhh...
With that in mind, I wonder if he still likes that Gwyn girl from the Whitehill House... There's always that one guy who fucks up everything by falling in love with the enemy's daughter... (and Romeo, I'm looking at you, too.) LOL just kidding. I hope Gwyn is actually a good person... she seems pretty okay at the moment, but I still don't really trust her 100% yet, just 'cuz she's a Whitehill. Whitehills can't be trusted. Period.
Anyway, back to Asher, The biggest thought I have about him at the moment... I wonder how he will be when reuniting his siblings. When Asher was talking about his plans on going home, I noticed that he seemed like he really wanted to go home, and his facial expression softened up when he talked about his brothers and sisters... It's clear that he misses them, and doesn't have any animosity towards them (he says directly afterward that his siblings are not to blame for his exile).
Ugh, such a cutie. Can't blame Gwyn for falling for him---I'd be head over heels, too. T_T
I can't emphasize enough how much I want to see him coming home to his family. I WANT TO SEE SOME HUGGING ACTION WITH THIS SEEMINGLY VERY GRUFF GUY. He's like that kind of person who's all tuff, gruff, and buff on the outside, but would be like a huge teddy bear around his family. UGHHH. Best kind of guy.
Gared Tuttle
The poor dude who gets exiled to the Wall for killing someone who killed his whole family... Oh Gared. |
| Best line of the episode |
Anyway, yeah, I just really pity this guy. I can't help it. His father and little sister are killed mercilessly and he gets sent to the dreaded Wall by his own uncle... I mean, what injustice is that :( I understand it's for the best of the Forrester House, since he needs to find the North Grove and save them all and all that, but man... He just got a promotion from Lord Forrester from being a squire, and then Lord Forrester himself dies, and THEN he comes home from surviving the dreadful war to find his father and sister dead on their own farm, killed by three bastard Whitehill soldiers.
You can tell that he had changed a lot from his banishment.
I mean, he's basically screwed already from that fact that he was sent to the Wall, and on top of that, his uncle Duncan tacked on the responsibility of finding this mysterious North Grove that could potentially save the Forrester House. BUT he could have his ass handed to him on a plate if he fails to do so and gets caught. He's apparently on that road already, for intentionally or unintentionally killing that stupid Britt guy (WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING GARED'S FAMILY) in Episode 3. Britt got what he deserved though, that little prick. He couldn't stop provoking Gared, anyway... he was gonna get killed someday.
Let's say it together, everyone: We're sorry, Gared.Omg, I almost forgot... I'm curious about his relationship to Talia :D Talia could have just given him her necklace as a friendly gesture before he left Ironwrath, since Gared did work as a squire to Lord Forrester, but... I'm totally down with shipping them if they're a thing, if ya know what I mean ;)
Mira Forrester
The eldest sister who reminds me of Susan from the Chronicles of Narnia... :D |
| Lovely GIF by queendalish @ Tumblr |
I do have to say... her point of view is seriously the most stressful and the most intense out of all the four current ones, LOL. I groaned sometimes when we went back to her point of view, and I seriously had to skip a little part at some point because it was getting a lil' too intense. It's probably due to the whole 'royal court' business and 'trying-to-maintain-your-reputation' stuff that makes everything really restrained and stressful. This makes her point of view probably the most difficult; you practically have to be cautious about everything you say, or else people turn on you in a snap. Which.. wouldn't be good, considering that Mira is pretty much the representative of the Forresters at King's Landing, and the Forresters haven't been looking good to other people lately.
Oh God, don't even get me started on the scenes with Coal Boy, aka Tom. Damien's murder scene was so so so stressful... and the whole thing about Lord Tyrien poisoning Joffrey and getting the royal decree out of Tyrien's office... STRESSFUL!!! I would've died if I played that part myself. x__x
I wonder what Mira is thinking amidst all this though... Telltale doesn't really expound upon how Mira feels about what's going on back home. They do mention that Mira feels worried, and she does go around asking for help, but... does she long to go back home? How does she feel about her father and Ethan's death? How does she feel about not being there for her family? I feel like a scene with Mira preparing to go to bed and with her being alone with her thoughts would be appropriate to address those feelings. But most of her scenes so far are showing her walking around King's Landing, being pretty darn busy with no time to be with her thoughts. :(
Ethan Forrester
Poor baby ;_; I have the most to say about him. -sniffles- (DOESN'T HE LOOK SO MUCH LIKE MIRA T___T)
When I first came across his character, I thought he was gonna be another one of those whiny, spoiled brats who was gonna abuse his power as the new Lord or whatever... he had that "look"... and I was kinda turned off by his just-entering-puberty voice just a little. Ahem, in other words, my first impression of him wasn't all that great for some reason, but I turned out to really like him in the end ;_; Although he didn't even last an entire episode, I can tell that he is one of the sweetest, most honorable characters in this game... unfortunately, he's also the most pitiable, in my opinion.In this world of GoT, Ethan's death was one of the most unfair. I mean, just think about it. He was thrown into the position of Lord too quickly, with no warning, at a REALLY bad time, and he freakin' died because of it. He was technically the Forresters' sacrifice to the Boltons... Like, c'mon, he looks like he's barely 15 or something, man... that's so fucking sad.
Allow me to elaborate. First things first, he's the third-born son of the Forrester family. When you're a third-born, does it even cross your mind that you'd have a chance of being the next Lord of the House? Usually, you don't, but unfortunately for Ethan, his father AND eldest brother Rodrik both supposedly died "together" in battle. Now with his second-eldest brother Asher in exile, he suddenly bore the heavy title of Lord Ethan Forrester. Better yet, he bore the title in the midst of the Whitehills and Boltons being at the peak of their cockiness and displays of disrespect, those pieces of shit. (Excuse my language but I have really strong feelings against those bastards, especially the Whitehills... they don't deserve anything good, honestly.) That is a lot to swallow, especially when he lost both his father and brother.
During Ethan's short time as Lord, he had to deal with the shit with the Whitehills and the Boltons. He had to deal with being mocked by others because of his young age and inexperience. He had to deal with Lord Whitehill spitting at his feet. He had to deal with that fucking Ramsay Snow (his name just cannot be mentioned without some profane adjective before it) dancing all around him in HIS Great Hall like everything was some kind of joke (which it probably was to that stupid Ramsay). And the last thing Ethan sees before he dies (AFTER BEING STABBED IN THE NECK BY THAT JACKASS RAMSAY SNOW), is his little brother Ryon, the last Forrester heir at that moment, being forced as a ward/hostage under the Whitehills.
AND ETHAN DIED THINKING RODRIK WAS DEAD.
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| "I'm not going anywhere"... -sigh- The irony... |
When Ethan suddenly got stabbed by that asshat psychopath Ramsay Snow, right in the damn neck, my eyes turned into water faucets. I knew that being stabbed in the neck was death sentence for him, but I instantly threw myself into denial BECAUSE I LOVED HIS CHARACTER SO MUCH ALREADY, GODDEMMIT.
Even though Ethan was wary about the situation, he assumed the position without hesitation, and was willing to change. He did his best as Lord, and he was a good kid and a good brother; you can tell by his dialogue choices to Ryon and his sister Talia. That's why I love this guy so much. I seriously could not get over his death, even days after watching Episode 1.
Ethan had a whole life ahead of him that was taken away. :( Ugh, and he would've been such a handsome guy, just like his brothers. -grunts-
Well, there it is. It took me quite a while to get this post up, since I had so much to say... The last thing I'll talk about here to top it all off, is the song Talia sang at Lord Forrester and Ethan's funeral, "The Ballad of the Forresters," otherwise known as "Talia's Ballad." It's so amazing how small actions on Ethan's part could change a couple lines in the song, or even entire verses. And that Ethan could be called either Ethan the Wise or Ethan the Brave based on those actions. Very cute, and absolutely incredible.
There's this one version of the song (there are five versions I believe) that has Talia sing the lyrics "Our Lord, my kin, an old soul dies" instead of "Our Lord, my twin, a hero's grave" if Ethan didn't choose to pull Talia back from Ramsay and stayed silent through the scene. This version also sounds much more resentful towards Ethan... uGH, LIKE DAMN. DETAILS, MUCH???
I cried so much at the funeral, and when Talia started singing that goddemn song I started crying a river for Justin Timberlake, if you know what I mean. And when I found out there there are different lyrics for different choices, forget the river, I cried the Pacific Ocean. Got me so damn emotional...
Telltale is so talented at pulling your heartstrings... I applaud them for their attention to details for things like this. Really. I love you, Telltale.
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