So, now the last episode is out, what do you guys think? I loved it all through the first four episodes, despite a few flaws. However, I was sorely disappointed with episode 5.
I think it's mostly that they should've had a plot in mind from the get-go. Instead, they just muddled around too much. In the first episode, they killed Snow, but then figured that this would probably piss off fans of the comics, so they made that not be so.* The same thing happens in the episode 2 to 3 break, where they figure out that Crane probably should not be the murderer, but just a ******* creep, so they throw over the entire plot once more, making crooked man the big bad. Luckily, they stick with it, but they shift the hatred of the player from him to Mary, which they set up as a foil for bigby and do nothing with for the rest of the episodes.
But the story is so far from done. There are still bad people out there: at least one of the Tweedles, Jersey Devil and the non-named compatriot of the Crooked Man. It feels kind of abrubt to end it here without even mentioning those. Furthermore, I know that Crane went to Paris, but it would've been nice to actually tell the player this. And where the Woodsman has gone, even I don't know.
As for current episode 5 issues:
I chose to take Crooked Man back in my first playthrough. I was highly annoyed that I wasn't able to talk about the other bull***** he had done. The money lending schemes, which were only mentioned, the slavery involved in making the charms, which is completely skipped over, sending armed goons after people. It felt like the writers were trying to make too much of a point that it was a case of grey and grey morality, while it is in this case clearly a case of grey and black.
Furthermore, what was the deal with Toad still being sent away? I gave him Crane's money, so he can pay for his charms. This was another blatant **** you, I think.
Although I understand what they wanted to do with the ending sequence, make it a rather noire-like thing in which a pretty girl tricks someone into helping her, it still doesn't make sense whatsoever. There was no way to see it coming, and it just felt like a bad "bet you didn't see that coming" moment.
Furthermore: it is interpretable in multiple ways. I've had friends thinking they meant it was Nerissa in ep 1 pretending to be Faith and others thinking it was Faith in ep 5 pretending to be Nerissa.
As for the fight scene: I found it very disappointing. They did try to set up Mary as some foil of Bigby and what he could've been, someone taking what he wants through strength and intimidation, but they do it so badly. And the fight itself was kind of... I don't know. Why could Mary suddenly make clones of herself? I'd have liked it if there had been some in-battle banter or something, or some kind of puzzle to solve with smashing a mirror, anything to break up the monotony of clicking on the Maries.
So yeah. I pretty much made the same decisions as most of you: got onto Georgie's car (since it wasn't really clear the other one was the Crooked Man's), mercy-killed him (don't know why Bigby didn't go for the throat), brought the crooked man in, turned him into a ******* raven. I still think that I'll like the next try I'll do better, because **** the Crooked Man. I hope it'll turn the discussion back to the underlying motive of 'is Bigby still the big bad wolf', in stead of the horrible arguments the CM was trying to make and you couldn't do anything against.
So today, I did the other playthrough, where I denied the Crooked Man his trial. This should've been a good option, I think, instead of making Bigby look like the bad guy. At least let me defend myself, instead of making me the ******* "I'm not the sheriff Fabletown wants, but I'm the one it deserves". There were good reasons to kill that guy, and the game acts like there were none apart from "because I ******* felt like it". At least make it feel like he's regressing, or like Bigby is trying to set himself up as a benevolent but judgemental God.
So far my thoughts. What did you reckon?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
We have laboured long to build a heaven, only to find it populated with horrors.
I think it's mostly that they should've had a plot in mind from the get-go. Instead, they just muddled around too much. In the first episode, they killed Snow, but then figured that this would probably piss off fans of the comics, so they made that not be so.* The same thing happens in the episode 2 to 3 break, where they figure out that Crane probably should not be the murderer, but just a ******* creep, so they throw over the entire plot once more, making crooked man the big bad. Luckily, they stick with it, but they shift the hatred of the player from him to Mary, which they set up as a foil for bigby and do nothing with for the rest of the episodes.
But the story is so far from done. There are still bad people out there: at least one of the Tweedles, Jersey Devil and the non-named compatriot of the Crooked Man. It feels kind of abrubt to end it here without even mentioning those. Furthermore, I know that Crane went to Paris, but it would've been nice to actually tell the player this. And where the Woodsman has gone, even I don't know.
As for current episode 5 issues:
I chose to take Crooked Man back in my first playthrough. I was highly annoyed that I wasn't able to talk about the other bull***** he had done. The money lending schemes, which were only mentioned, the slavery involved in making the charms, which is completely skipped over, sending armed goons after people. It felt like the writers were trying to make too much of a point that it was a case of grey and grey morality, while it is in this case clearly a case of grey and black.
Furthermore, what was the deal with Toad still being sent away? I gave him Crane's money, so he can pay for his charms. This was another blatant **** you, I think.
Although I understand what they wanted to do with the ending sequence, make it a rather noire-like thing in which a pretty girl tricks someone into helping her, it still doesn't make sense whatsoever. There was no way to see it coming, and it just felt like a bad "bet you didn't see that coming" moment.
Furthermore: it is interpretable in multiple ways. I've had friends thinking they meant it was Nerissa in ep 1 pretending to be Faith and others thinking it was Faith in ep 5 pretending to be Nerissa.
As for the fight scene: I found it very disappointing. They did try to set up Mary as some foil of Bigby and what he could've been, someone taking what he wants through strength and intimidation, but they do it so badly. And the fight itself was kind of... I don't know. Why could Mary suddenly make clones of herself? I'd have liked it if there had been some in-battle banter or something, or some kind of puzzle to solve with smashing a mirror, anything to break up the monotony of clicking on the Maries.
So yeah. I pretty much made the same decisions as most of you: got onto Georgie's car (since it wasn't really clear the other one was the Crooked Man's), mercy-killed him (don't know why Bigby didn't go for the throat), brought the crooked man in, turned him into a ******* raven. I still think that I'll like the next try I'll do better, because **** the Crooked Man. I hope it'll turn the discussion back to the underlying motive of 'is Bigby still the big bad wolf', in stead of the horrible arguments the CM was trying to make and you couldn't do anything against.
So today, I did the other playthrough, where I denied the Crooked Man his trial. This should've been a good option, I think, instead of making Bigby look like the bad guy. At least let me defend myself, instead of making me the ******* "I'm not the sheriff Fabletown wants, but I'm the one it deserves". There were good reasons to kill that guy, and the game acts like there were none apart from "because I ******* felt like it". At least make it feel like he's regressing, or like Bigby is trying to set himself up as a benevolent but judgemental God.
So far my thoughts. What did you reckon?