Thicker Than Water

"Thicker Than Water", retitled "Episode 14", is the fourth episode of Telltale Games's The Walking Dead: Season Three. It was released on April 25th, 2017 for PC via Steam and the Telltale Store, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, iOS, and Android worldwide.

Summary
When the community is threatened from within, Javier manages unlikely alliances for the safety of his loved ones.

Plot
In a flashback, Javier and David are at a park doing baseball practice. They are talking about Javier's recent ban and David's decision to leave the family. Suddenly, a kid comes and asks Javier if he can sign her baseball. Javier can choose to agree or disagree. The kid leaves and Javier and David finish their practice. David asks Javier if he can take care of his family, after he leaves to join the military.

If Javier agrees, David thanks him and he is glad that his brother is there for him. They decide to leave and David offers to buy Javier a beer.

If Javier disagrees and tells David that it is his own responsibility, and should with that himself. David says that he thought Javier was there for him. He storms off and leaves the park without Javier.

Back in the present, David and Javier are trapped in the New Frontier's jail cell. If Rufus was spared in the first episode, he is seen putting Javier and David in the quarintine room. Javier pleads for his help but Rufus sarcastically says the only help he is getting is not being shot.

If Max was killed, it is revealed that in the shootout that David started, he killed Lonnie (Determinant) which is the reason why they are locked in the cell.

If Max was spared, David and Javier are still thrown into the jail cell for sneaking Javier into the camp.

David will either scream at Javi and briefly fight him for trying to leave Richmond without him or thank Javi for supporting him through all of this.

Joan comes in and demands to talk to David about some problems and issues, she takes David away. Javi tries to follow him but is locked out.

Javi is trapped alone and tries to find a way out, after searching, he finds a loose window at the other side of the room. He tries to break it open but has difficulty.

Gabe/Kate appears depending on whether you chose to stick with David's plan or to leave with Kate. Gabe/Kate breaks you out and you head with him/her.

No matter who it is, they tell you that Eleanor found a place to stay to talk about the plan. Javi and Gabe/Kate head to the hideout. They hide when they see two members of Joan's people circulating the area, when they are gone, Javi and Gabe/Kate head inside to the hideout.

They arrive and hear Tripp and Eleanor arguing about their relationship: Tripp suggests they should be a couple again, and Eleanor seems confused and uninterested.The door opens and Kate/Gabe and Conrad (Determinant) greet them at the door. Now here, Tripp comes in, greets them and notices that they overheard their argument, but shrugs it off. Ava comes in and asks where David is, and Javi explains that he was taken away from Joan (Determinant).

Eleanor tells Javi and Gabe/Kate to look out the window, and they do, revealing a huge herd of zombies outside the New Frontier Gates. Eleanor says even after they are able to rescue David, they will still have another issue to deal with on escaping. They make a plan, and Javi and Gabe are assigned to get guns from the armory.

Javier and Gabe, along with Ava, make their way to the Armoury. Ava distracts Bob, the guard at the door, and Javier and Gabe sneak inside (Determinant). Javier and Gabe take guns and ammunition, as well as collecting Javier's baseball bat that was confiscated earlier. They meet up with Ava, who tells them to head to the entrance (Determinant). However, on their way, they encounter a guard. Gabe will burst out of the closet the two hide in to attack the guard, doing minimal damage: Javier and the guard will fight, resulting in a shoulder injury for Javier, and the guard being stuffed, unconscious, into the closet.

Ava suggests that they head for the medical center, as - due to his friendship with David - Dr Lingard will help. When they arrive, Ava and Gabe keep watch while Javier meets Lingard - who is unconscious after injecting himself with drugs. Javier also disturbs Clementine, who has snuck in to ask Dr Lingard about A.J. Clementine also reveals she is looking for sanitary items, as she has started her period, but does not understand what it means.

Clementine offers to stitch up Javier's shoulder injury, showing her own scar, from "All That Remains".

A flashback will happen depending on if you went with Kenny or Jane in No Going Back.

Javier, Clementine and Gabriel arrive at the town square. Joan begins her speech, and sentences David to death by hanging for his actions. After David accuses her of lying, Joan reveals one (Badger), two (Badger and Dr. Lingard), three (Badger, Max and Lonnie) or four (Badger, Max, Lonnie and Dr. Lingard) corpses of people Javier and David killed as evidence.

Joan notices Javier, and invites him to speak publicly in front of the crowd. She reveals that she has had a conversation with Eleanor, with her revealing the group's plan - which she has either done intentionally or accidentally, depending if you killed Conrad or not back in "Ties That Bind - Part 2", and knows Javier's plan to take her out/rally the people against her, and commands two of the guards to bring out Ava and Tripp, which have been both captured.

She places an ultimatum on Javier - choose one of them to spare. Clint is reluctant, but stays silent after Joan defends her actions. After either choosing to spare Ava or Tripp, Joan betrays Javi's choice, and shoots the person you chose. Either Ava dies by being shot in the head, or Tripp dies by being shot in the neck.

Clint, after witnessing Tripp/Ava's death, attempts to resolve the conflict and urges to strike a deal with Javier - take David and the rest of his group out of there, and do not come back. Joan disagrees, but Clint forces her to cooperate. David, enraged, tells Javier to shoot Joan. At this point, the player is presented with a choice, negotiate and accept the deal, or shoot Joan dead.

Shoot Joan: Javier shoots Joan in the eye, killing her instantly. A guard hangs David, as he begins to choke. This sparks a shootout within the square. After using a few people as a meat shield to hide behind and killing a few guards, Javi and Gabriel assist David and save his life. They take cover, and they see Clint escaping amid the chaos. David goes after him along with Ava (Determinant), and urges Gabriel to go as well. Javier can either let him go or make Gabe stay with him.

Accept the Deal: Clint frees David from his restrains. As David makes an ominous smile, he goes against the deal, and disarms a member of the New Frontier, taking his gun and taking Clint for a hostage, threatening to shoot him. While David is distracted by Javier and Joan, Clint manages to free himself and attempts to wrestle the gun away from David. This sparks a shootout within the square. After using a few people as a meat shield to hide behind and killing a few guards, Javi and Gabriel assist David, with David managing to shoot Clint in the head. They take cover, and they see Joan escaping amid the chaos. David goes after her along with Ava (Determinant), and urges Gabriel to go as well, Javier can either let him go or make Gabe stay with him.

This next part is non-determinant and happens regardless of the player's decisions:

After Javier managing to find Clementine and take cover, Kate contacts him on the walkie-talkie and asks what is happening at Javi's location. She asks if she can come, and regardless of the player's choice, she will proceed to drive the truck towards them. A Richmond guard throws a smoke bomb at Javier and Clementine, making them come out of their cover. If Conrad did not die in Ties That Bind - Part 2 and Above the Law, he helps Javier with the guard, shooting him.

Kate appears with the truck, as another guard throws a molotov cocktail at the truck's engine. As the smoke bomb reduces Kate's vision and the fire from the molotov spreading, she begins to uncontrollably maneuver the truck, driving towards the group. If Javier does not manage to evade the truck in time and has saved Conrad, Conrad will sacrifice to save Javi, being hit by the truck. Kate then crashes into a fence, as gas starts leaking out of the truck. The truck explodes, and the fence has been broken, letting dozens of walkers inside. The people of Richmond flee in terror, as the screen cuts to black.

In-Game Decisions
Did you promise that you would help Kate with the family if David left? How did you respond to Dr. Lingard's request? Did you tell Kate that you have feelings for her? Who did you try to save at the execution? Did you shoot Joan or take Clint's deal?
 * 93.8% of players promised you'd help Kate.
 * 6.2% of players did not make any promises.
 * 50% of players assisted in Lingard's suicide.
 * 48.7% of players refused to kill Lingard.
 * 1.3% of players let Clementine decide Lingard's fate.
 * 82.3% of players told Kate you shared her feelings.
 * 17.7% of players told Kate you didn't share feelings.
 * 52.6% of players tried to save Ava.
 * 47.4% of players tried to save Tripp.


 * 54.8% of players chose to shoot Joan.
 * 45.2% of players chose to take the deal.

Credits

 * Javier García
 * Clementine
 * Kate García
 * Eleanor
 * David García
 * Gabriel García
 * Tripp
 * Conrad (Determinant)
 * Ava
 * Paul Lingard
 * Clinton Barnes
 * Joan
 * Bob
 * Rufus (Determinant)
 * Kenny (Flashback, Determinant)
 * Jane (Flashback, Determinant)
 * Alvin Jr. (Flashback, Determinant)
 * The New Frontier
 * Badger (Corpse)
 * Max (Corpse, Determinant)
 * Lonnie (Corpse, Determinant)
 * William Carver (Flashback, Corpse, Determinant)

Deaths

 * Lonnie (Confirmed Fate, Corpse, Determinant)
 * Paul Lingard (Determinant)
 * Ava (Determinant)
 * Tripp (Determinant)
 * Joan (Determinant)
 * Clinton Barnes (Determinant)
 * Conrad (Determinant)
 * Numerous counts of Howe's residents (Zombified, Flashback, Determinant)
 * Numerous members of The New Frontier

Impacts
This list shows the narrative consequences affected by choices from previous episodes of Season 2 and 3.

Season 2

 * Clementine will have a scar on her forehead. (If you stayed with Kenny)
 * Clementine will have a flashback of Kenny.
 * When Kenny talks about going to Florida, if you choose to say "There are no good people left", then depending on how you ended "In Harm's Way", Kenny will either thank Clementine for trying to save Sarita or giving them time to say goodbye.
 * Clementine will have a scar/wound on her right cheek. (If you stayed at Wellington)
 * Clementine will just have a flashback of Ava.
 * Clementine will have AJ Inked on her right hand. (If you stayed with Jane)
 * Clementine will have a flashback of Jane.
 * Jane will bring up whether or not you watch Carver die in "In Harm's Way."
 * Jane will say that she doesn't want to get puked on again, referencing whether you let her hold AJ or not in "No Going Back".
 * Clementine will have a missing left ring-finger. (If you went alone)
 * Clementine will just have a flashback of Ava.

Season 3

 * Conrad will appear in this episode if he was spared by Javier in "Ties That Bind - Part 2" and did not die in "Above The Law".
 * If Conrad was killed in "Ties That Bind - Part 2", Gabriel brings it up during an argument which leads to Eleanor and Tripp getting furious upon finding out. Eleanor also changes her tone with her revealing the group's plan, which she has either done intentionally or accidentally.
 * Max and Lonnie will appear as corpses in this episode if Max was killed in "Above The Law".
 * Rufus will appear in this episode if he was spared by Javier in "Ties That Bind - Part 1".
 * Badger's corpse is shown depending on how you killed him, If he was killed by Javier, Badger appears with a bag covering his head. If he was killed by Tripp or Conrad, he will appear with a perforation wound on the side of his head. If he was left to reanimate, his skin will be pale and discolored with a perforation wound on the side of his head.
 * Depending on if you chose to say goodbye to AJ or spit on David's face in "Above The Law", Ava will mention that during Clementine's flashback.
 * Kate or Gabriel will come to Javier's rescue depending if you stayed with Kate or stick to David's plan.
 * If Javier chose to attempt to leave with Kate, David will be furious with Javier that he attempted to leave without him after bringing him in and saving his life, then he will say he's dead to him, straining their relationship. If Javier stuck to David's plan he and Javier will reaffirm their close bond, with Javier telling him he is with David no matter what, Javier can also hug David or fist bump, showing their bond.
 * If Javier left with Kate and when meeting Gabe, he will be either happy or angry to see Javi depending on how he treated him in the previous episodes.
 * If Javier chose to leave with Kate, Ava will appear later when Javier and Gabe are getting guns, holding them at gunpoint for not sticking with the plan and unsure whether to trust them but will then join them. If Javier chose to stick with David's plan, Ava will already be with the group and will join Javier and Gabe to get the guns as well as distract Bob so they can enter the building with no issue.
 * If Javier rejects Kate, depending on certain decisions Javier made in the previous episodes such as kissing Kate in "Ties That Bind - Part 1", she will call him out on it and that he did have feelings, not the other way and she'll slap him. If Javier didn't make any advancement choices towards Kate, she will sadly comfirm that she knew he didn't feel the same way and that she has to accept it.
 * If Javier chooses to spare Ava, then depending on your previous choices and kills Tripp will either say that he trusted him or that he knew he was a murderer.

Trivia

 * First (and last) appearance of Baseball Kid. (Flashback)
 * Last appearance of Paul Lingard. (Alive, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Clinton Barnes. (Alive, Determinant) (Unknown, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Joan. (Alive, Determinant) (Unknown, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Conrad. (Alive, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Tripp. (Alive, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Ava. (Alive, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Lonnie. (Corpse, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Kenny. (Flashback, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of Jane. (Flashback, Determinant)
 * Last appearance of William Carver. (Flashback, Corpse, Determinant)
 * In the trailer's description, it reads "And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." This is a reference to Chuck who quotes something similar in "Around Every Corner".
 * This episode holds the record for most determinant deaths of any episode, with 7 determinant deaths.
 * It is also the only episode where all named character deaths are determinant.
 * This episode features one of the few pre-apocalypse scenes in the whole The Walking Dead franchise.
 * In this episode, Clementine does the voice-over to cover the events of the last episodes.
 * A new patch update was released to have Clint's facial expressions through out all of his appearances of the episode changed as well as changing his subtitle from white to blue.

Goofs/Errors/Animating Mistakes

 * If David killed Max in the previous episode, his body depicts a bullet in his forehead as if Javier killed him even though David shot Max in the temple.
 * If Javier takes Joan's deal, David will end up killing Clint; however, if you fail the next QTE after David kills Clint, Javier will die in a non-canon death, but Clint can be seen still alive in the background of Javier's death despite David killing him.
 * Even if you killed Conrad in episode 2, it's possible for him to appear in this episode.
 * Fern, Jesus and Max are credited in this episode, despite the fact that they do not appear (aside from Max who appears as a corpse).
 * In the Jane flashback, Carver's skull is less damaged than it appeared in "No Going Back".
 * Sometimes, the New Frontier combatant that throws the molotov cocktail will not appear, giving the appearance that a bottle floating in midair materializes and develops a flame before randomly flying towards Kate.
 * As Kate drives towards the wall, Clementine can be seen running away from the town square and Javier, but if Javier fails to react in time to dodge the truck and Conrad had previously died, she appears at Javier's side to push him out of the way. Once Kate crashes, Clementine appears on the wrong side of Javier.
 * The hole in the wall changes size twice as the walkers flood into Richmond.