Episode 2: Starved For Help

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Declining The Offer#

When the group arrived at the farm, the group could either take the biscuits or leave. Lee could also freely leave the farm and go back to the motor inn if desired.

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The group discusses whether to stay at a farm that has offered them food and shelter or to leave. Lee is skeptical and concerned about the safety of the kids, including Clementine. There's a disagreement, with some arguing that the farm's defenses and food supply make it a better option, while others, including Lee, feel uneasy and prefer to stay where they are.

Eventually, they decide to vote on the matter, with the majority opting to return to the farm, while others, including Lee, prefer to stay put. Clementine's opinion is also briefly mentioned, but it doesn't influence the decision.

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Lee's Cut Dream Sequence#

There is a dream sequence present in the game's data, complete with voice lines and partially completed animations.

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In this scene, the character you didn't save in Episode 1 returns to haunt Lee in his dream, their eyes resembling the white eyes seen in walkers. They question Lee for why they weren't saved, blaming him for their death, and say that Clementine will inevitably die because of his actions. Lee's ex-wife Sam and Senator Hans are mentioned as well. The scene culminates with them asking the question: "Do you think you can save me this time?" as they raise a gun to their head.

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Mark and David's Alternative Fate#

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During the bear trap incident, the situation was completely different. Travis was not present and Lee, Kenny or Mark had to help Ben shoot the walkers while one of the three cut off Mr. Parker's leg. If Mr. Parker was saved, the story would progress as normal, but if he was left behind, Lee would have been left with an additional choice of whether to leave Ben behind as well. If David was left behind, Mark would get shot in the head at the dairy by the bandits after he and Lee finish clearing the fence at the St. Johns dairy, requiring Lee to get back to dairy alone, Mr. Parker would then be found taking up Mark's role of being the dinner

Unseen Details#

Watch on YouTubeAs can be seen in this video, there are just three bandit models physically present during the attack on Lee and Mark while they're out checking the perimeter fences. These are the only bandits that exist at this point, and they're simply known as bandit A, B, and C. Bandit A wears the "Hard Ass" T-shirt. Bandit B is the one that Bandit A shoots in an altercation while the group heads to the dairy, but here they're shown alive again. Bandit C is only used here in this episode, as they would make a more prominent appearance in the next episode.

Unused Models & Textures#

Early versions of stuff that would get (re)used in the future, or just general unused models and textures.

Chuck#

Just as some of the characters seen in this episode had early textures present in Episode 1, so does this episode contain early textures for some characters later seen in Episode 3. Chuck, for example, kept the same clothes, but they were made darker and grimier in the final release. His hair and face, however, saw the biggest changes. The final version of Chuck looks way more unkempt. He has dirtier, darker skin, thicker eyebrows, more details on his cheeks and ears, a different nose and eyes, a scruffier beard, and darker hair in a different hairstyle. This version of Chuck was seen (albeit shortly, and only from behind) in the "Next Time On" segment at the end of Episode 2.

Early	Final

Early	Final

Omid#

Unlike Christa, Omid wasn't yet present in the game's files for Episode 1. He does, however, have early textures in this episode. Weirdly enough, he only has a body texture with his hurt leg. His body texture basically stayed identical, but it got made a lot dirtier. His face texture was also made a bit dirtier, his skin tone changed slightly, as did his beard type. This earlier version of Omid was also seen in the "Next Time On" segment, in a scene that was not present in the final release.

Early	Final

Early	Final

Reused Models and Textures#

Travis, one of the teens encountered in the woods, was added late in development. Ben Paul, who would go on to become a main character, was originally voiced by Ruby Butterfield. When the decision was made to instead let Trevor Hoffmann voice the character, the developers created Travis purely for Butterfield to voice him. His face texture is derived from Chet's from the previous episode. However, Travis is slightly more tanned, and lacks any kind of facial hair. He also lacks some of the discoloration seen at Chet's nose and eyes, and Travis also has noticeable freckles on his cheeks as well as completely different eyebrows.

Chet	Travis

Similarly, Travis' hair texture is just a black recolor of Chet's.

Chet	Travis

For Travis' body texture, the developers combined Ben's and Shawn's. Travis reuses Shawn's pants and shoes, colored slightly darker, paired with Ben's top, which now includes Travis' name instead of Ben's (in a completely different style, as well) and has Ben's hoody colored dark blue instead of white. Also, Travis' top is a lot dirtier than Ben's, for some reason. You can clearly see that Ben's body texture was used as a base here, as his original can still be seen underneath where Shawn's were pasted on.

Shawn	Ben	Travis

Unused Dialogue#

Opening Forest Sequence#

8 lines marked with an asterisk have their associated subtitles stored in the file forestbeartrap_lee_mark_english.landb. The others have had theirs made from scratch, and as such might not be 100% punctuated like the developers intended. All lines are from an earlier version of the episode's start, with Mark and Lee by themselves.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	I'm too hungry to think.
Lee	Maybe if we could spot a deer...
Mark	Deer? Hell, I'd be happy to find a raccoon. Anything the Walkers haven't already ripped apart.
Lee	I dont know, Mark.
Mark*	I thought we'd be fine if we survived the Walkers. Never expected that they'd starve us out.		While the line never gets said by anyone in the final release, it is said during Episode 1's "Next Time On" segment. However, in the segment, the line is spoken by Lee, not Mark.
Lee	Maybe instead of hunting, we should head back to Robins. See if there are any MRE's left.		"Robins" refers to Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. This is where the group encountered Mark, but it never gets explicitly named in the final release.
Mark	No way I'm going back there. You saw what it was like when you guys picked me up, completely overrun.

It seems that, at this point, you would've had the usual set of three responses alongside silence.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	But that was over two months ago, maybe they've wandered off.
Mark	I'm not going back there.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	We've gotten better at defending ourselves since then.
Mark	There's still only seven of us, and only five of us any good with a gun.		Mark's math is off. Including himself, there would be nine people in the group at this point.
Lee	That, uh, includes you?
Mark	Okay, four and a half.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	Beats wasting time out here, everything's dead.
Mark	Everything except us, and I wanna keep it that way. I barely got out of that base alive.

From this point onwards, it seems that the conversation between Lee and Mark would've simply continued, irregardless of what Lee said previously.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Mark	You guys went to the base looking to be rescued by the military, and you ended up with a mechanic.		A reason for why the group went to the Air Force base is never given in the final release.
Lee	You've been a big help, Mark.
Mark	Thanks.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	We've settled on "Walkers", then?
Mark	Yeah, I guess. Still can't bring myself to say "zombies".		Interestingly, this marks the second time the word "zombies" would have been used, which contradicts the established lore where the term doesn't exist in the universe.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	What does Lily think?
Mark	These days? She's more concerned about Larry than making any long-term plans.
Mark	What's his problem with you, anyway?

Again, you would get three possible responses, and silence, to choose from. These responses are very similar to the ones used in the final release.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee*	He thinks I'm a danger to the group.
Mark*	That's bullshit. You've saved his life -- hell, all our lives -- plenty of times in the last few months.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	He's an old racist asshole, that's his problem.
Mark	Eh, he's not all bad. He's worried about his daughter.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	I have no idea.
Mark	Well, we're stuck with him. Lily won't do anything without checking with him first.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lee	Maybe Kenny's had more luck than we had.
Mark	Haven't heard any gunfire.
Mark	I don't like him going off on his own, but I guess he's always been anxious to leave the group behind.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Mark	I mean -- when you found Clementine, why'd you take on that responsibility?
Mark	So why did you do it, Lee?
Lee	She would've died without me.
Mark	Things can, uh, get tense back at camp. Lily and Kenny sure got different ways of doing things. It wouldn't have been that way back on Robins.
Mark	And Larry's not helping. What's that guy's deal?

These lines originate from the file env_forestbeartrap_english.landb. A majority of them are alternate takes of finalized lines.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Mark	Lee, this trap's been altered. It needs some kind of custom tool to open it.		Alternate take of the final line "Lee, this trap's been altered. There's no release latch."
Mark	Lee, this trap's been altered. It can't be opened until after it's completely shut.		Ditto.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Mark	Lee, this trap's been altered. These should be easy to open.		Extended, alternate take of the final line.
Mark	This one doesn't have a release!

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Mr. Parker	Lee! Please!!!		This line goes unused, but it's interesting for two reasons. For one, Mr. Parker shouldn't know Lee's name. More notable is that line did get used for episode 1's "Next Time On" segment.

Farmhouse Dinner Sequence#

Apparently, while Lee was off to wash his hands, some ambient scenes would have played out. They would've given some extra backstory to members of both groups. The associated subtitles are stored in the file env_dairymainhouseinterior_english.landb.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Andy	What do you do for a living, Ken?
Kenny	I.. uh... I was a fisherman down in Fort Lauderdale.
Kenny	Commercially, Snapper and Yellowfin mostly. But in the summers I'd take tourists out for some sailfish!
Kenny	I tell ya, there ain't nothing like fresh tuna straight from the sea - to the grill - to the plate!! Especially the way Kat cooks it up!
Danny	Man, that sounds nice! Daddy used to take us out for largemouth bass when we were kids.
Danny	If we were lucky we'd bring in a Sturgeon or two, but man... Never been out in the deep sea.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Danny	Where ya from Katjaa? That accent sure ain't from Georgia!
Katjaa	No, definitely not! My family is from Latvia, but we moved to Florida when I was in my teens.		In the final game, Katjaa can reveal that she's from Belgium in a determinant conversation in Episode 3. Katjaa is a Germanic spelling, eastern europeans use Katya or Katia, which Katjaa is properly pronounced like.
Katjaa	I met Ken after I opened my Veterinary office. He came in with a sick octopus!
Kenny	What? Where else was i gonna take it?

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Kenny	Dan, did you always work here at the dairy?
Danny	Me? No, that was Daddy's business. I ran an insurance company over in Decatur.
Lilly	Decatur?
Andy	Yeah, well Dan felt it would be best to get away from Macon for a while. Had some... trouble.
Danny	Yeah, anyway, it was good business. But then all this shit went down, and I had to come home. Family's more important, ya know?
Kenny	I hear that.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Larry	How long ya had this Dairy?
Andy	Long as I can remember. We grew up here. Dan and I helped out where we could, but really this was a Mom and Pop business.
Lilly	So you two didn't work here?
Andy	Well, I took over as business manager eventually. Put that college degree to work.
Katjaa	What did you do before that?
Andy	I had a real estate business, but, you know... in this economy...
Danny	Yeah, Daddy always wanted you to take over anyway.
Andy	Just worked out that way, Dan.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Andy	So how long you been a vet?
Katjaa	Ooh... well... a long time now.
Katjaa	I started working in a vet's office in my twenties, then got my license a few years later.
Danny	You work with many farm animals?
Katjaa	Early in my training I did, but then mostly it was household pets.
Duck	And alligators!
Clementine	Nu uh!
Katjaa	Oh, yes. Wildlife Rescue Center was always bringing their injured alligators to me to get patched up before releasing them.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Lilly	So that fence does a good job of keeping the walkers out?
Andy	Yeah. Unfortunately we lost most of our livestock before we managed to get the thing rigged up.
Danny	Damned walkers.
Duck	Once, my dad smashed one in the face with a TV!
Katjaa	Kenny Jr! That is not appropriate talk at the dinner table.
Duck	Sorry.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Katjaa	Thanks again for this meal. You have no idea how long it's been!
Kenny	How've you folks managed to find food?
Kenny	Our hunting trips have turned up nothing. The walkers are eating anything living they can get their teeth into.
Danny	Well, ya just have to know what to hunt. There's meat out there that'll keep you alive if ya know what to look for.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Andy	And what do you do Miss Lilly?
Larry	Lilly's a military woman. Takes after her old man.
Danny	That right? Ever see any action?
Lilly	I have.
Larry	Son, you don't ever ask a soldier that question, ya got it?
Larry	All you need to know is that you don't wanna fuck with her. Period.
Lilly	Dad...
Danny	Yeah, I'm sorry.
Andy	Don't pay my brother no mind. I swear he makes a hobby of chewing his own foot.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Andy	So did ya'all know each other before the outbreak?
Lilly	No. We just sort of found ourselves thrown together.
Lilly	But now we've gotta stick together if we're gonna survive.
Andy	I hear ya. Ya gotta know when to make sacrifices for the greater good, ya know.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Danny	How the kids been dealing with... everything?
Katjaa	Kids are resilient, you know? I hate that this is the way they have to grow up, but under the circumstances, I think they're doing well.
Kenny	It ain't right, though. No kid should have to see the things they've seen.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Duck	Are we gonna eat soon, momma?
Katjaa	As soon as Lee gets back.
Larry	How long does it take to wash your damn hands?
Katjaa	Let the man clean up. He'll be done in a minute.
Danny	Maybe I should check on him?

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Clementine	I like your cow. She's pretty.
Andy	Yeah, Maybelle is the only one we have left.
Danny	She provides the milk.
Danny	We'd love to have another healthy calf, but we mostly want to make sure Maybelle's okay.
Danny	That's why we need Katjaa's help.

It seems that if Lee was gone too long, Danny would actually come in order to check on him. He would find Lee rummaging through the medicine cabinet.

Speaker	Subtitles	File	Notes
Danny	What are ya looking for?
Lee	Nothing. Can I get a little privacy?
Brenda	Danny, where'd ya go? I could use a hand.
Danny	Coming, Momma.

Development Oversights#

Grammar Mistake#

During the sequence where the group takes items from an abandoned vehicle, if the player picks the choice "Just hold onto it for safe-keeping", the text box for the outcome has a notable grammar mistake "You convinced Clementine to take to hoodie for a while.", the second "to" should have been replaced with "the".

General Notes#

• Ruby Butterfield was originally meant to be the voice of Ben, evidenced by his performing of Ben during the trailer for "Starved For Help". There is even some left over files of Ruby's voice acting of Ben.
• Ben would recount how his group was already quite familiar with the bandits, having been attacked by them in the past and describing how they would "fuck with them". In the final game, this is kept vague, as Ben would go on to trust the bandits again in the next episode.

• There are unused voice lines for Brenda that indicate that she was originally not voiced by Jeanie Kelsey, and instead being voiced by an unknown actor, half of her lines seem to be similar to the voice lines heard in the final game with only alterations, there are also completely different lines that weren't recorded by the final voice actor.

• When the group arrived at the farm, the group could either take the biscuits or leave. (Refusing them apparently results in some hilarious dialogue between Mark and Carley/Doug.) Lee could also freely leave the farm and go back to the motor inn if desired.

• Jolene has quite a bit of unused dialogue. Depending on Lee's choice she could mention another bandit called Paul, and her daughter Danielle.

• The dinner sequence was much larger, with an unused sequence where Lee had to cut Clementine's food or let Lilly/Kenny do it. Lee could also choose to add more salt or pepper to Clementine's plate or let the two above do it. There were several retakes of a prayer, and Lee at this point had found out that Mark/David was dinner.

• Multiple smaller lines related to Larry's demise exist, in which he would've apologized to Lilly for not being able to protect her and her mother.

• Mark Darin stated in an interview that originally, Lee would have to move from stall to stall while avoiding detection by Danny St. John and he would have to place the bear trap in order to catch Danny (as opposed to him stumbling into it during a cutscene).