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| “ | Nothing's easy. Not one single damn day.
―Marlon to Clementine after she brought food.[src]
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Marlon is a main character and later an antagonist who first appears in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: The Final Season. He was the leader of Ericson's Boarding School and has a pet dog named Rosie. After his secret is discovered he becomes the primary antagonist of "Done Running".
Personality
At first, Marlon seems like a fair and good-hearted leader, rescuing Clementine and Alvin Jr. and taking them in. However, he is paranoid, indecisive and somewhat cowardly. While not shying away from personal combat, he is extremely paranoid about his group's safety, a feeling which only increases after Marlon is forced to give up Sophie and Minerva to a raider group, going as far as establishing a small perimeter around the Boarding School and refusing to have his group venture out of it, even when faced with a food shortage. He also continuously pulled back this perimeter, until it only encompassed a few patches of wood around the school.
His position as leader stresses him greatly, resulting in him lashing out against anyone who criticizes his leadership, culminating in him accidentally killing Brody in a fit of rage when she was about to reveal that Marlon planned on giving Clementine and AJ to the raiders if they came back. Panicking, he attempts to pin the murder on Clementine after locking her in with a soon-to-be-reanimated Brody, whereupon his true nature is finally revealed to the group.
Despite this, Marlon is not fundamentally a bad person, as he is wreaked by guilt over giving up Sophie and Minerva to save the rest of his group and is genuinely horrified when he accidentally kills Brody. If Clementine attempts to reason with him, he will come to regret his actions and will only ask to be allowed to leave the Boarding School as a bad memory.
Pre-Apocalypse
Ericson's Boarding School
Nothing is known about Marlon's life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that he was a student at Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth and played on one of the school's sports teams with his best friend Louis.
Post-Apocalypse
During the early days of the outbreak, all the adults at the school left Marlon and the rest of the students behind.
Marlon took over and helped keep the rest of the children safe. He also took care of Rosie, the Headmasters dog who was left behind. At some point, he took down the road signs leading towards the school to isolate them for safety from raiders and scavengers.
About a year before meeting Clementine, he traded away Minerva and Sophie away to a group of raiders to save his group from an attack. He made Brody, his accomplice, swear to not tell anyone.
Season 4: The Final Season
"Done Running"
While hunting, Marlon and his hunting group found Alvin Jr. and Clementine crashed in a car by the train station with walkers about to attack them. Marlon proceeded to kill some of the walkers and pulled Alvin Jr. from the car wreckage while the others saved Clementine.
Back at the school, he tied Clementine to a bed, saying that, ‘she was in pretty bad shape,’ when asked about it by Clementine (Determinant). When Clementine recovers, she finds him with Tenn, either threatening him or talking calmly. If the former, he aims his bow at her, talking her into submission. (Determinant)
After that, Marlon showed Clementine around the former school. However, he leaves Clementine to tend to an attack outside the wall. A while late, he asks Clementine to help rescue a hunting group. That night, he tries to congratulate Alvin Jr. only to for the child to elbow him in the groin. He claims such behavior is not tolerated, leading AJ to apologize.
After supper, he plays a card game with Violet, Louis and Clementine to learn more about her. Marlon can be asked about his hair cut, and he will reply by saying that his haircut is cool (Determinant). The next day, while staying there, Marlon can help Clementine get over her fear of dogs, caused by the death of Sam. (Determinant) He then requests Clementine help the hunting groups search for food.
That night, Marlon is later found arguing with Brody in the basement. When Brody reveals to Clementine what he did to Tenn's sisters, he strikes Brody between the eyes with his flashlight, fatally injuring her by causing brain damage. Marlon searched for a first aid kit, but overheard Brody telling Clementine that Marlon traded Sophie and Minerva. Panicking, Marlon fled the basement, Clementine inside, telling her that he is ‘sorry.’
Outside, Marlon was confronted by the rest of the group. When Clementine escaped the basement, Marlon grabbed AJ’s gun and held it high, telling the survivors that Clementine killed Brody. When Clementine successfully won the Ericson survivors over, AJ shot Marlon in the head from behind, killing him.
"Suffer The Children"
Marlon's corpse appears in a flashback of Clementine.
The next day, the group bury Marlon along with Brody at a funeral.
When Clementine checks the preparation for the Delta's attack, she can visit his grave. She has also the option to spit on it.
Death
Killed By
- Clementine (Indirectly Caused)
- Himself (Indirectly Caused)
- Alvin Jr.
After accidentally bludgeoning Brody to death in a fit of anger, Marlon attempts to pin the blame onto Clementine. However, his intentions with the group are made known and, after a brief standoff, Marlon is shot in the back of the head by AJ. His body is buried by the survivors along with Brody’s the next day.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Marlon has killed:
- Brody (Accidental, Alive)
- Himself (Indirectly Caused)
- Numerous counts of zombies and animals.
Relationships
Louis
| “ | I hope you know Louis didn't mean any harm back there. He's just the world's biggest dumbass. He's my best friend so I can legally call him that.
―Marlon apologizing to Clementine for Louis' behavior.[src]
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” |
Marlon describes himself as Louis' best friend. They knew each other since they were very little and seem to rarely be separated from one another, except for when Louis is on runs. Marlon appears to be the "straight man" to Louis' outlandish personality, scolding him when he asks Clementine a question way too personal during their card game, and calling him the "world's biggest dumbass" for it.
Louis appears to be very supportive of Marlon's decisions, rarely speaking against his friend, as seen when Aasim calls him "Marlon's lapdog" and when he initially refuses to stand up for Clementine when asked to do so during her stand-off with Marlon, shocking all those who are present, including Marlon, when he finally does intervene. If Clementine tries to reason with Marlon (Determinant) he supports her by offering him his help, saying that they are all family. When she calls him pathetic however (Determinant) he will tell that this isn't true when agrees with her before being shut by Marlon who says that Louis was just the only one who couldn't see it. When Marlon is shot by AJ Louis watches it in shock and horror alongside the rest of the group.
Violet
| “ | Violet being difficult. Why am I not surprised?
―Marlon when Violet is asked for help by Clementine. (Determinant)[src]
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Marlon and Violet rarely interact, but they seem to be on friendly terms. It's implied that the two of them play cards with Louis every night after dinner, and Marlon is shown to shrug off most of Violet's comments about himself and even his prided hairstyle, though he still gets annoyed on the later. Despite this, Marlon is shown to be annoyed by Violet's rebellious nature.
However, their relationship is destroyed when Clementine reveals what Marlon did to Brody, as well as how he traded Minerva and Sophie to raiders for safety. If Clementine seeks Violet's aid, (Determinant) Violet threatens Marlon with her cleaver. Although, she remains traumatized when AJ kills Marlon. At Marlon's funeral, she refuses to say a eulogy for him and angrily blames him for the mess the school's in.
Brody
| “ | Shut up Brody!
―Marlon to Brody.[src]
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Brody is the only one who knows that he is lying about Minerva and Sophie's deaths, having actually traded them for protection with a group of bandits.
Marlon and Brody's relationship is shaky, as she seems to respect his authority to some degree, but when faced with the threat of another bandit attack, the two have a very heated argument and Marlon does not hesitate to try and pass her off as paranoid and crazy to Clementine. Regardless, Marlon seemed genuinely horrified when he accidentally killed Brody in a fit of blind rage and appears to instantly regret his actions.
Clementine
| “ | We saved their lives when anyone else would've kept walking! We fed them, we kept them warm! And THIS is how they THANK us?! Guns being pulled and MURDER! Well, FUCK THEM!
―Marlon to the Ericson survivors about Clementine's and AJ's "betrayal"[src]
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At first, Marlon was kind to Clementine, saving her and Alvin Jr from the walkers after the car crashes. He ties Clementine to the bed, not sure If she was bitten or not. When she attacks/threatens Tenn with a knife however, he threatens her with a bow and demands her to drop the knife. They later call a truce however and Marlon intruduces her to the others. They start to bond during the episode and Marlon also starts to respect Clementines fighting skills. During the card game, Marlon will ask Clementine if she had been looked after, guessing that she couldn’t have been alone. When Clementine talks about Lee (Determinant) she can talk about how Lee taught her to fire a gun, stay silent, how to say goodbye, or dodge the question. When she asks him about his hairstyle however, he gets annoyed and slightly insulted, but then decides to shrug it off. After Louis accidantely hurts her with the question, if she ever had to kill someone she loved, he trys to comfort her. The next day Marlon will offer Clementine his help by overcoming her fear of dogs with Rosie and will be happy if she takes it. (Determinant) When Clementine brings foot to the group, he defends her from Brody's accusations and thanks Clementine for bringing them foot, seemingly letting the fact slip by, that she was going outside the safezone for it.
When Clementine is told by Brody about Marlon giving Minerva and Sophie to a group of bandits however, their relationship is destroyed as Marlon accidentally kills Brody in a fit of blind rage and attempts to lock Clementine with a reanimated Brody. After escaping, Marlon attempts to rally the crowd on his side into killing Clementine and AJ, though he fails in doing so when Clementine brings either Louis or Violet on her side. Clementine will later tell him that he sucks in protection when he trys to explain his actions to the group. When he is confronted with his crimes by Tenn, Clementine can show understanding or hostility for him. She can later give him a chance to make it up by offering him her help to fix things. Alternatively she can also insult or attack him, showing her hatred for him. When he gets shot by AJ however, she still reacts with shock and horror, though this was rather because of the realisation of what AJ has become rather than her concern for Marlon.
Appearances
Video Game
Season 4
- "Suffer The Children" (Flashback, Corpse)
Trivia.
- Marlon's death is ironic in the sense that earlier in the episode, he accidentally takes Alvin Jr. by surprise by placing a hand on his shoulder from behind, which results in AJ elbowing him in the groin. When Marlon dies, it ends up being a role reversal, with AJ shooting Marlon from behind.
- Marlon claims to have eaten slugs at one point.
- He is the first character to kill another survivor in Season Four, this character being Brody.
- Marlon takes great pride in his haircut and will be annoyed and slightly insulted if Clementine asks why he's wearing it.