We're at the penultimate The Wolf Among Us episode and things are... well, not exactly “heating up” but moving along. After Episode 3, you probably know where this is going, and the lack of meaningful twists or new information in this episode might be a bit of a letdown.
As always, this review contains some pretty frank spoilers for previous episodes in the series, so if you're running behind, you should probably check out the reviews for the first, second, or third episodes instead.
Bigby was not in great shape at the end of the previous episode, with a belly full of silver and an arm that definitely shouldn't bend that way. Luckily for him, he's basically Wolverine, and he has one of the Three Army Surgeons on speed dial, so it doesn't take too long for him to get back in the game.
Here's where we're treated to some nice development for Snow White. Ichabod Crane is in no position to act as Deputy Mayor in King Cole's absence, so the job falls to Snow. You'll finally get to see her as she appears in the comics, as someone who cares about Fabletown and sternly believes the best way to keep things running smoothly is to do everything by the book. This means no talking pigs in New York apartments, so it's back to the Farm with Colin unless Bigby decides to stand up for him. And why wouldn't he? Colin is awesome.
Here's where things start to seem unnecessary. You're treated to the noir-est possible scene when the beautiful, mysterious Nerissa stops into Bigby's detective office to offer cryptic hints about the case, but you don't really learn anything important from her. She can't be forthcoming with information because she's under a spell? Well, yeah, we've known that since episode 2. The ribbons have something to do with it? Well, obviously. Bigby should go to Beauty and Beast's apartment when he's called there? Yeah, that would probably have happened anyway, but thanks. As interesting as it was to see Nerissa try her best to work around her spell and give you information, the scene doesn't really do much to move things along.
This trend continues when you're given the option to go check out a butcher shop or a pawn shop, both of which are fronts for The Crooked Man's shady businesses. You'll end up going to both places, but you'll miss out on some dialogue and information at the second spot you visit. The thing is, you'll miss a lot more (including a Book of Fables entry) if you go to the butcher shop first. It feels like there's a right answer here, and, once again, it feels like the butcher shop is unnecessary. You don't learn much there that you didn't already know. Just go to the pawn shop first and spend more time hanging out with the Jersey Devil who is definitely from New Jersey, which is great. He is the highlight of the episode. Telltale continues to nail these characters.
The story does move along and you are given a few more opportunities to show how much or little you care about other Fables, with the new twist being that they're talking animals that the law says should be at the Farm, so doing what you might feel is right and making people happy can conflict with upholding the law and following the boss' orders. The episode ends at an important moment, as you'd expect from a Part 4 of 5, and there's still plenty of room for Episode 5 to bring things to a satisfying conclusion. I just kind of wish this episode didn't contain so much filler. It doesn't ruin anything, but In Sheep's Clothing is certainly a slow point in the story. Let's hope things bounce back next time.
Staff review by Rhody Tobin (June 04, 2014)
Rhody likes to press the keys on his keyboard. Sometimes the resulting letters form strings of words that kind of make sense when you think about them for a moment. Most times they're just random gibberish that should be ignored. Ball-peen wobble glurk. |
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