The Walking Dead: Season Two Episode 5 - No Going Back Reviews
No Going Back is a quality episode, yet it fails to be as memorable as Season One's ending, despite some intense and heartbreaking moments.
I really enjoyed Season 2 of The Walking Dead overall, even if its finale lacks bite. It was original, compelling, and managed to deliver yet another interesting cast of characters to romp through the countryside with. I can safely say that Telltale hasn't run out of ideas yet, and I'd still love to see a Season 3 someday.
If you have already been bitten, hopefully metaphorically, this season is unlikely to disappoint. Although the rushed, relentlessly downbeat ending of "No Going Back" may feel like a somewhat necessary clearing of the board for a new cast and new dilemmas in the third season.
While Season Two did its best to present the story of a little girl growing up into a seasoned survivor in a shattered world full of death, it fell short of capturing the magic that Season One held.
The Walking Dead Season 2 Finale is never quite as meaningful or powerful as the first season
A brutal showdown and zombies on ice mark the final, oddly slow-paced, episode of season two of The Walking Dead.
While No Going Back certainly contains some strong parts, its mostly leisurely pace and multiple conclusions all generally lack memorable moments and emotional impacts, resulting in a disappointing end to The Walking Dead: Season Two.
No Going Back lacks the punch of the first season's finale and becomes an analogue of the second season as a whole: an above-average game which has vainly struggled to step out of its predecessor's shadow.
No Going Back is the perfect title for the fifth episode of The Walking Dead Season 2 as it captures the emotional scenarios Clementine has had to overcome. At the same time, it's difficult to see how the series will move forward, especially with the determinative conclusions that contains multiple outcomes.
The first Telltale finale where your choices carry true weight, but the inconsistent and contrived characterisation means it comes at considerable cost.
It's one culminating scene in an episode that should have been filled with a lot more of them. There's a part in the episode when Clementine is dreaming that she's with Lee as her younger self. She's wondering why things have to be the way they are and you can clearly see he's just as confused as she is. Within a few minutes, it's obvious that they need each other. The most condemning thing we can say is the dream reminded us of everything missing in the episode; if only we cared as much as Lee and Clementine used to care about each other.
Clementine's group is pushed to breaking point in 'The Walking Dead' season 2 finale, 'No Going Back.' (Spoilers in this review)
There are enough plot points left dangling to indicate that the third season will follow up on the first two, but if the folks at Telltale are smart they'll shift the focus to a new protagonist and really think about what made the first season work.
My overall negative attitude towards this episode exemplified in "The Game Itself" section is undoubtedly a little inflamed. The visual imagery actually hit some impressive highs, and the voice acting and musical backdrop did some excellent work to support the random plot, more than in past episodes, so the experience was lifted a bit by the team's artists. The writers, on the other hand, dropped the ball.
In this series we look at Clementine, see a child, and then experience where she ends up, getting to feel the disconnect between what it means to be a kid and how to be an adult. You can make the argument that being an adult requires making the hard decisions, and that's what The Walking Dead series comes down to.
Episode 5: No Going Back may not have had the emotional impact as last season's finale, but it certainly provided moments of heart-racing action and split-second decision making.