Ties That Bind - Part 2

"Ties That Bind", retitled "Episode 12", is the second episode of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season Three. It is a two Episode premiere, with the first part also named "Ties That Bind".

Both parts of the premiere were said to be released on December 20, 2016 for PC via Steam and the Telltale Store, for Playstation Network, for XBox Live Arcade and for iOS and Android worldwide. However for some reason they were instead released in North America on the 19th and then released worldwide on the 21st.

Summary
In the wake of escalating trouble, Javier leads a group of refugees towards the safety of a nearby town.

Plot
The episode opens with a flashback taking place in the Garcia residence, prior to the apocalypse. While Kate is doing the dishes, Javier insists on helping her. They have a conversation about Javier, eventually leading to them talking about running away and having a fresh start together. Kate then accidentally smashes David's military glass and cuts her hand. Javier helps her, and Kate holds onto his hand. The player can either hold on or let go. David then walks in, leading to a confrontation where the player can either tell David off, saying that he needs to open his eyes, and that Kate is going to leave him, or let it go.

If the player chose to stay with Clementine: Javier wakes up, asking what happened. Clementine then explains to him who The New Frontier are and that they managed to get away. She also tells him that while he was asleep she had buried a grave for Mariana. Javier takes Mari's body to the grave and emotionally buries her, saying she was like a daughter to him. The player can either bury the cassette player with her or keep it as a keepsake. Javier and Clementine then make their way to Prescott, seeing that Kate has already had surgery for her bullet wound.

If the player chose to go with their family: After the flashback, the game cuts to Kate screaming in the Prescott infirmary, as Eleanor performs surgery on her. Eleanor finds out that the bullet has not passed through Kate's body and must be pulled out. Gabriel can either be allowed to help, or turned away by Javier. Eleanor then successfully gets the bullets out of Kate's body, and allows Kate to rest.

After talking to Eleanor about Kate's condition, Javier can then explore Prescott. Javier goes over to talk to Tripp to find out where Gabriel is. Tripp tells Javier that Gabriel has stormed off outside of the gate after Kate's surgery. He also tells Javier that he is welcome to stay in Prescott as long as he would like to.

Javier then has a talk to Gabriel about how Gabriel feels he is useless, and that he wishes he was more like his father who "knew how to be a man".

The peace at Prescott is cut short as the New Frontier arrive to seek revenge for the deaths of their group, with Francine as a hostage. The New Frontier, led by the aggressive Badger and the temperamental but reasonable Max, spew conflicting arguments with Javi and Clementine on who shot first, and they ultimately decide that Javi should be brought out to answer for their group's deaths. Whether or not Javi surrenders, a firefight ensues, with Francine among the casualties. Despite Max's reluctance, Badger orders the New Frontier to ram the gate with a truck filled with walkers. In the ensuing chaos, Javi manages to escape with Clementine, Kate, Gabe, Eleanor, Tripp and Conrad, while Prescott is overrun and its inhabitants killed by the walkers and the New Frontier.

As the group stops to recover, a distressed Conrad blames Javi for the loss of his home and his wife, which makes Gabe point his gun at him; Javi diffuses the situation. The group decides to head for Richmond, a community which they believe has the medical needs for Kate. Gabe and Clementine begin to grow close to each other. When the group remove wrecked cars blocking the road, several walkers converge on the group's loud noise. The group tells Eleanor to go ahead with Kate to Richmond, while the rest of the group flee to higher ground. Javi realizes that they are being watched; the group confronts the man: Paul "Jesus" Monroe. Jesus is also headed to Richmond, which is now taken over by the New Frontier. Shocked at this revelation, the group agrees to accompany Jesus to an unused train tunnel that could lead them to Richmond. After flashing back to meeting one of the New Frontier while protecting AJ, Clementine discloses to Javi that she used to be part of the New Frontier, and has their mark on her arm. The group realizes that the tunnels are overrun, and they fight their way out. They approach a boxcar, where they successfully barricade themselves from the undead as Tripp and Jesus escape. A desperate Conrad confronts the remaining three, as he overheard the conversation of Javi and Clementine, and forces Clementine to reveal her mark to Gabe. Conrad holds Gabe hostage and tells Javi about his plan to use Clementine to bargain with the New Frontier to get what they want.

If Javier agrees to Conrad's plan: Conrad releases Gabe, and Clementine and Gabe call Javi a traitor. The four catch up with Tripp and Jesus outside, and they disclose Clementine's former affiliation with the New Frontier.

If Javier rejects Conrad's plan: he shoots and kills Conrad, which stuns Gabe. Clementine decides to break off from the group, as she does not want to return to the New Frontier.

As the remaining members of the group head toward Richmond, they spot Eleanor's car with Kate still inside and Eleanor missing and presumably taken by the New Frontier. Driven to desperation at Kate's worsening state, Javi decides to approach the New Frontier at the gates of Richmond, with the hope that they will give Kate medical care. Max meets them at the gates, and Javi attempts to persuade him to let them in. Either way, Max opens the gates with several members confronting them at gunpoint. The group is stunned when they realize that David is the leader of the New Frontier.

In-Game Decisions
How did you deal with Kate and David's argument?
 * 57.3% of players told David that Kate wanted to leave him.
 * 42.7% of players stayed out of the argument.

How did you handle the New Frontier at the gates of Prescott?
 * 58.1% of players opened fire.
 * 41.1% of players surrendered.
 * 0.8% of players tried to negotiate.

Did you trust Jesus?
 * 83.4% of players took him at his word.
 * 16.6% of players tied his hands together.

How did you deal with Conrad's threat to Clementine?
 * 88.7% of players killed Conrad.
 * 11.3% of players agreed to Conrad's plan.

How did you get into Richmond?
 * 94.7% of players surrendered to Max's demands.
 * 5.3% of players refused to disarm themselves.

Credits

 * Javier García
 * Clementine
 * Kate García
 * Gabriel García
 * David García
 * Mariana García (Corpse, Determinant)
 * Alvin Jr. (Flashback, No lines)
 * Tripp
 * Eleanor
 * Conrad
 * Francine
 * Paul Monroe
 * Max
 * Badger
 * Ava (Flashback)

Deaths

 * Francine
 * Conrad (Determinant)
 * Many unnamed members of Prescott
 * Many unnamed members of The New Frontier

Season 2

 * The following occurs if Clementine stayed with Kenny.
 * Clementine will have a scar on her forehead.
 * If Javier talks to Clementine at the gas station, she will say "I had a... a friend. He had a wife... a son... he was really protective. Having people is nice, but it always ends up hurting in the end."
 * The following occurs if Clementine stayed with Jane.
 * Clementine will have the letters "AJ" inked on her right hand.
 * If Javier talks to Clementine at the gas station, she will say "I had a... a friend. Her name was Jane. Having people is nice, but it always ends up hurting in the end."
 * The following occurs if Clementine stayed with Edith at Wellington.
 * Clementine will have a bullet wound/scar on her right cheek.
 * If Javier talks to Clementine at the gas station, she will say "I had a... a friend. He had a wife... a son... he was really protective. And after that there were others. The thing about people is... they always change."
 * The following occurs if Clementine ended up alone.
 * Clementine will be missing her left ring-finger.
 * If Javier talks to Clementine at the gas station, she will say "Usually, it's just me on my own. Having people is nice, but it always ends up hurting in the end."

Season 3

 * The episode begins at either the junkyard or Prescott, depending on whether Javier stayed with Clementine or with his family.
 * Tripp or Eleanor will demand to know what happened at the junkyard and why Javier didn't join them if the player stayed at the junkyard (Determinant).
 * If Javier stays at the junkyard, he can keep Mariana's tape-player or bury it with her; if he goes with his family or keeps the cassette player after burying her, he can keep it or give it to Gabe.

Trivia

 * First appearance of Paul Monroe.
 * First appearance of Ava. (Flashback)
 * Last appearance of Conrad. (Alive, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Francine. (Alive)
 * Last appearance of Mariana García. (Corpse, Determinant)
 * This episode is tied with "In Too Deep" for the least amount of named character deaths than any other episode.
 * However "In Too Deep" still has the lowest for total character deaths, with ether one or two.
 * This is the first episode in which Lee Everett cannot be mentioned.
 * This is the first episode in the series that Kenny does not appear in since "All That Remains".
 * Taking too long to decide whether or not to tie up Jesus results in Tripp apologizing to Jesus and allowing him to remain free.
 * Taking too long to decide whether or not to accept Ava's offer results in her assuming Clementine would not accept.
 * Taking too long to choose between shooting Conrad or agreeing to his plan results in the non-canon deaths of Gabe and Javier, resulting in a game-over. The player is then allowed to return to the start of the conversation and try again.
 * Taking too long to decide whether or not to capitulate to Max results in Max choosing to take the silence as a negative response.
 * If the player Hums to AJ, Clementine hums the theme music, "Alive inside" which occurs when she was with Lee.

Deleted Sequences

 * During the Prescott raid, sound files suggest that Max would get stabbed and possibly devoured by walkers during the raid.

Goofs/Errors

 * If Javier killed Conrad in the wrecked train, Clementine will leave the group, but she can seen again through the car's windows when Javier finds and hugs Kate.
 * After Jesus introduces himself, when he walks off his hands will either be binded or will be free. However it will always be the opposite of the option you chose, so if you chose to bind him his hands will be free when he walks off, but if you trust him he will walk as if his hands were bound.
 * Even if Javier draws his gun on Conrad in the tunnel, the frame of Clementine telling Conrad to either shoot her or put the gun down shows Javier not holding his weapon.

Glitches/Bugs

 * If Javier is unable to remove the pipe from the train wall when looking for something to barricade the door with, Javier freezes and stands up straight with the pipe in his hands, unable to move. The game continues on as if Javier is still trying to break the pipe, although the walkers do not break through the door and cause a game-over, prompting the player to quit the game and return to try again.