Review: The Wolf Among Us Finale - "Cry Wolf"
Thu, July 17, 2014 MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
The Wolf Among Us's finale is one of the best fictional pieces of video gaming I've ever played. Tantalizing, explosive and psychologically melting, the final episode - “Cry Wolf” - is not one to be forgotten, at all. The finale wraps up every ribbon of a storyline perfectly, even ones you didn't realize existed. It's impossible to compare any other Telltale product to this singular 2 hour drama as it's literally a perfectly crafted experience. It also features scenes that Fables fans have been waiting MONTHS for, but for the non-readers these scenes will absolutely shock you, completely. There's too much to praise about this behemoth of an episode. As I said, it's quite possibly the best piece of fiction you'll find in a video game.
The episode really starts to flesh out character with The Crooked Man, as he tries to set up on of his own henchmen as the killer of the strippers. The best thing about The Crooked Man is his gift of cerebral assassination, and despite that being a little cliché in fiction these days, it's still executed perfectly. Telltale's Crooked Man never loses his cool, he's always calm and composed and never changes his stance or opinion on the matter. He calculates every possible outcome and tries to spin it away from him. My problem, however, was that up until the final act of the episode I never felt as if the Crooked Man was that much of a viable threat to Fabletown. Fortunately, this was all rectified during the ending with Bigby and Snow putting The Crooked Man on trial in front of everyone he has affected (that we've seen). This scene in front of all of The Crooked Man's victims (except Woody, interestingly enough) is probably one of my favorites in all the series. It's a perfectly crafted “courtroom” scene, reminisce of Sidney Lumet films. Overall, The Crooked Man turns out to be a sadistic “villain” and one of the best in all of Telltale's video game history, but the real question is whether or not the Fabletown conspiracy was crafted by the monocle-wearing psychopath.
The ending of the episode is a beautiful scene between Nerissa and Bigby outside of his apartment. They talk about how Nerissa lied in the “courtroom” to get The Crooked Man convicted by the jury that Bigby and Snow had setup. The scene is reminisce of the ending of Zack Snyder's Watchmen, where Nite-Owl cries out that the world is peaceful based on a lie, and Veidt replies that it's “peace, nonetheless”. With that, Fabletown is put in a similar situation where Nerissa's plan altogether was seemingly to get rid of The Crooked Man. Unfortunately, the episode ends with a tight cliffhanger that Nerissa may actually be Faith in disguise, or the other way around. Telltale's Wolf Among Us cliffhanger is far better than the one in the first season of The Walking Dead, especially considering that as with The Walking Dead, this ending does not have an answer in the Fables comic books.
Speaking of the comic books, this episode of The Wolf Among Us is the pinnacle of Fables video gaming. I can't imagine it being any better. On one hand, Telltale has crafted some great original characters in Bill Willingham's world but on the other, you've always wanted to see some important people and moments in the game as well. Thankfully, Telltale finally lets Bigby go “full-wolf” like you've seen in the comics, and he is big and bad. In an amazingly choreographed scene inside an abandoned warehouse, Bigby completely wolfs out against Bloody Mary in an action-packed and suspenseful sequence that rivals even that of a foreign action film. It's completely fun to play and the cinematography is completely on-point. Mary is a psychological bitch of a villain that takes a while to completely destroy but other than that, she is a fantastic henchman for The Crooked Man. Another event from the comics that's teased is the fate of Crane, which is teased when Bigby looks into the mirror and finds out that Bloody Mary is paying him to stay in Paris. Bigby retorts that the problem has to be solved later, and if you've read Fables comics you know exactly how Bigby solves that problem. It's a great nod to the fans of the book.
On the whole, “Cry Wolf” is the pinnacle of storytelling in regards to products by TellTale Games. I've yet to play something else from them that even comes close to the cerebral probing that The Wolf Among Us contains. In particular, this entire season felt like True Detective on LSD, an extremely dark noir crime masked with characters from children's books. It's a mature and explosive story filled with the governmental issues that the real world faces while also challenging the morals and ethics of those involved. Coupled with the fact that the player is in charge of the narrative, Telltale's gaming experience is bar none. Coupled with the fact that it's often duplicated and attempted by other big budget studios, Telltale's visual flare is also one of the reasons it is ever-so recognizable. Overall, “Cry Wolf” is an absolute, stellar masterpiece in video gaming that is not to be missed.
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