Berleezy TWD playthrough watcher here.
I genuinely love the first season, the OG, the one that started everything. What really caught my attention was the true diverse story telling. The main lead is a black man whose character have immense emotional depth. He was portrayed in the most beautiful way possible - imperfect, with a kind and strong heart.
The second lead Clementine is a levelheaded, braver-than-her-age black girl who was cute and childlike at the same time. She is neither infantilized nor make to be older for her age. The perfect balance.
Honorary mention is: 1. Christa and Omid interracial relationship between a black and persian character, which is one of the few interracial couples I have seen in American entertainment in general that did not feature a white person in the mix and 2. Kenny and his family being the classic white trash archetype but their portrayal is still done well, which you don't often see even in mainstream media.
However, I never liked any season like season 1 again for one simple reason: they all fell right back into selective storytelling that centers white people.
Season 2 main story leads were Kenny and Jane, who are both white. Yes Clementine is the player perspective, but the ones who called the shots were ultimately Kenny and Jane. Kenny's South Asian girlfriend never really had a presence, and we mostly know her as his girlfriend, compared to Katya who we get to know as a compassionate teacher and mother.
Similarly, there was a character, Mike, who was a black man but compared to Lee, he was just a prop. He literally adds nothing to the story, and there was no point having him there. Unlike in season 1, all characters, no matter how brief their appearance were, all served a purpose.
Does Telltale know that making a white-centered character line up and adding some black and asian NPC characters in the background doesn't make a diverse story?
Season 3 was the most ridiculous to me. They make the white girl, what, Bella, to be this subject of desire within a love triangle of two Latino brothers, as if 1. Javier couldn't find ANY other person to be with, 2. Bella was a cheater and groomer and homie hopper weirdo and 3. they can't introduce a Latina women in the mix.
Not to mention the hot Asian nurse at the start who flirted with Javier, why did they make her an evil character and also to have her in a relationship with the buff white guy that she don't even like? Compared to Christa and Omid who were the healthiest and happiest interracial couple, even had a baby together, and none where white.
If you want white characters in the mix so bad, at least give them a decent character arc or some sort. It's always some BS happening.
And before some white person read this and think "you're being racist to white people" 🙄 - I enjoyed all the white characters in season 1, they were portrayed accurately like how white people actually are. The later seasons portray what white people THINK or WISH they were, which is always to be the main character or main subject of a story.
I genuinely wondered what happened in the writers room for them to switch up the narrative completely and regressed back to these tropes. Some things I would have rewrote instead:
- Instead of just Kenny, it's Glenn and Kenny coming back. And Glenn will be the shot caller to tell his story of finding his family all on his own while still surviving. No point in Kenny having a GF.
- Instead of selfish Jane and her fk ahh haircut, give me a black female lead who will play a motherly/sisterly role to Clementine and make up for the cold heartbroken Christa at the start.
- The Asian nurse should have been a protagonist instead, and make her Javier's love interest. We already have so much white female lead, does it hurt to have one Asian female lead, and to have her in a couple with someone not white? And while at that, make her a complex character and have them have a fulfilling, healthy relationship with no grooming or coercion.
