It's one of the most impactful pieces of media I have ever experienced. The world is set in the universe of Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" but it's not based in the same universe as AMC's hugely popular television series and is more akin to the original comic in which the show is loosely based on. The story takes place after a recently convicted felon, Lee Everett, is on his way to prison via police escort when things start to take a turn for the worse thanks to a misplaced walker in the middle of the highway. One thing leads to the next and eventually Lee stumbles into a recently orphaned girl's (thanks to zombie apocalypse) backyard. Lee decides to take care of this girl, Clementine. Throughout their journey of survival and adversity, the two develop a truly profound relationship as Lee assumes a father like role for Clementine teaching her all the nuances of this truly horrid life in which they have to live in. Throughout the episodes of the first season Clementine has to grow up fast and Lee has to make some extremely ethically challenging decisions such as either saving a child or saving Hershel's son who is currently giving them refuge in their secure farm.
These type of ethical dilemmas and believable engaging characters is what made Telltales' The Walking Dead so special to me. In the series you are more often than not presented with two types of choices, one that serves your general self interest or another that generally benefits your group as a whole. These two ethical concepts are understood as the hypothetical imperative and utilitarianism respectively. Utilitarianism is ethical theory that says one should always take action to improve quality of life for as much people as possible(Salazaar,2). The Hypothetical Imperative simply states that one should simply do what they wish to do (Blackburn). By the end of the story the young girl Clementine felt a lot like a daughter to me. She reminded me of my niece who looks a lot like her and is right around the same age. I imagined myself within a world of perpetual struggle, with one painful loss right after another. And I was just trying to shepherd her along whilst just trying keep things together. In a lot of ways it kind of just seemed like real parenting with the stakes just being much more desperate. The Walking Dead makes you answer a lot of difficult choices whether you want to or not. If someone in your group has a kid that had gotten infected, do you kill the kid to ensure that no one else in the group gets hurt? Or do you just let the parents deal with their one and only child as they see fit? If someone in your group has an abusive father that has literally tried to kill you before, do you risk your life to save the father when possible? Or do you just look out for number one? This series allows you to cheat, steal, and kill as much as you see fit as long as it benefits the well being of your crew. Lee is allowed to take on many different ideological/ ethical stances such as kantian, utilitarian, and even hedonist if he so chooses. The Walking Dead has allowed me to find out more about myself as an individual and this is clearly evident in the last scene of the first season.
The last choice that was available once Lee got infected is do I make Clementine, an 8 year old girl, kill the only important person she has left in her life. Her parents are gone and everyone around her just keeps dying. Everyone except for Lee. Lee has always protected and even saved her life no matter what the consequences. Lee even promised her that he would protect her forever. But all good things must come to an end and Lee got bit trying to save Clementine, he even mutilated himself by cutting off his own arm to slow the rate of infection. But it wasn't enough. Clementine was stuck between two choices. She could either take the utilitarian route and just kill the only person she has left in this world (so that Lee can't hurt her or anyone else) or, she could just leave him to turn and spend their last moments together and practice hypothetical imperative.
Which choice is right?
The last choice that was available once Lee got infected is do I make Clementine, an 8 year old girl, kill the only important person she has left in her life. Her parents are gone and everyone around her just keeps dying. Everyone except for Lee. Lee has always protected and even saved her life no matter what the consequences. Lee even promised her that he would protect her forever. But all good things must come to an end and Lee got bit trying to save Clementine, he even mutilated himself by cutting off his own arm to slow the rate of infection. But it wasn't enough. Clementine was stuck between two choices. She could either take the utilitarian route and just kill the only person she has left in this world (so that Lee can't hurt her or anyone else) or, she could just leave him to turn and spend their last moments together and practice hypothetical imperative.Which choice is right?
References
Blackburn, Simon. Being Good, A Short Introduction to Ethics. Oxford University Press, 2001
Salazar, Heather. “Self-Interest,” The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Series on Ethics and Morality, ed. by Robert Fastiggi. Gale Cengage Learning, 2013
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