Clint is Pelican Town’s resident blacksmith. He’s an essential NPC as players will need him to upgrade their tools. That said, there’s more to Clint than his profession. Like many of the other NPCs inStardew Valley, he has his own personality and heart events. However, not everyone in the community is fond of the blacksmith — for different reasons.
Clint is a divisive character inStardew Valley. This primarily stems from his heart events, his relationship with Emily, as well as other minor dialogue lines in the game.
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Clint’s Heart Events in Stardew Valley
Clint has two scripted heart eventsinStardew Valley. The first happens upon reaching three hearts with him. If the player enters the saloon at night, a cutscene will trigger where Clint asks for advice on how to interact with women. The player is given four different replies, but one interesting option has the farmer say, “Just act natural… be yourself.” To this, Clint responds that acting naturally doesn’t work for him.
After the conversation, Emily will show up and take Clint’s order. Before she moves on to the next patron, Clint tries to initiate conversation but fails. Even as Emily prompts him to continue, Clint gives up and says, “nevermind.” Emily then moves on to Shane’s table and the two start talking casually. Seeing this makes Clint feel worse,and the heart event ends.
His second heart event occurs upon reaching six hearts, triggering when the player walks to the town properfrom the Cindersnap Forest entrance. The player will find Clint hiding behind the bushes, watching as Emily talks to Caroline. Clint admits that he was going to visit Emily’s home to ask her out on a date but dove into the shrubbery when he heard her coming to the door. Now, he was simply waiting for the girls’ conversation to end so he could go back home.
The farmer then tells Clint that they’ll nevergo to him for tool upgradesagain if he doesn’t ask her out. This convinces Clint to talk to Emily, and when he invites her to a nearby carnival, she accepts. Clint then walks back to the player and happily exclaims that he has a date. Note that this heart event does not occur if the player has already seen Emily’s events at eight or ten hearts.
Taken together,these heart events portray Clintas socially awkward. He doesn’t really know how to interact with people, especially women he finds attractive. There’s further proof of this in a letter he wrote to Emily (but never sent) in his bedroom. In it, he writes that he knows Emily only sees him as a friend, and that it’s his fault because he’s too shy to tell her the truth.
That said, these instances alone aren’t enough to vilify Clint. Struggling with human interaction can be bothersome, but it isn’t inherently wrong. If anything, the heart events show the player actively helping Clint come out of his shell so he can talk to his crush, which is good.
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If the Player Pursues Emily
Unfortunately, problems arise when the player opts togo the romance route with Emily. In her eight-heart event, she sends the player a letter, inviting them to take part in some clothing therapy. This will take place in Lewis’ house and will involve other NPCs, like Robin, Abigail, and, of course, Clint. Emily explains that clothing therapy is a form of self-expression and that it can help people feel free. She then encourages people to step behind a curtain and put on an outfit they like.
All the NPCs in the room take their turn and the last to put something on is Clint. Emily comments that his outfit is cute, to which he seems disappointed. He then leaves to share his unique style with the world,leaving Emily and the player alone. She approaches the farmer and seems like she’s about to say something important when Clint barges back inside and says, “I couldn’t do it! I don’t want to break out of my shell!”
This is where many players feel off, as Clint quickly assumes that Emily and the player have something going on. (This is the case regardless of whether the player is dating oreven married to someone else.) Dejected, Clint leaves and congratulates the player. The fact that he congratulates the player — not Emily or the two as a pair — doesn’t help his case, either. Many in the community believe this to be Clint viewing Emily as something to be won rather than a person, which is to devalue her character.
Even worse, Clint stops talking to her altogetherafter the clothing therapy event. This is shown by special dialogue from Emily. This reveals that she thinks Clint is mad at her because he doesn’t look at her anymore. She then ends with the line, “I always thought we were friends.” To some players, this signals that Clint was never interested in being friends with Emily in the first place, and that he only wanted to get close to her to get into a relationship. On the flip side, it could also just be Clint’s social awkwardness as he’s now unsure of how to approach Emily after he thinks she’s in a relationship with the player.
A Lack of Character Development
It’s these actions that make Clint such an unlikeable character - though that’s not to discount his struggles with human interaction. Being sociable isa skill that needs to be practiced, and it simply does not come naturally to some people, like Clint. However, it’s hard to deny that he continually refuses to put himself out there and actuallytalk to people. The only instance of him doing so is with the player’s help.
Moreover,should the player decide to romance Emily, Clint’s behavior is inexcusable. People aren’t romance trophies to be won, and neither is it nice to haphazardly cut all ties with someone because they aren’t available anymore. Even if the player doesn’t romance Emily, Clint does the same thing. He didn’t think to talk to either the player or Emily about what was going on; he simply closed himself off. Granted, this could be his social awkwardness at play again, but it doesn’t make things any easier for him or the other parties involved.
InStardew Valley,characters like Haley and Shaneare insufferable at first. However, as the player raises affinity with them, their heart events show how they’ve grown as people, which is good character development. Clint, however, takes one step forward with his six-heart event and three steps back with Emily’s eight-heart event. Throughout these scripted scenes. he refuses to step out of his bubble, even though he desperately wants human warmth and interaction. In short, his character doesn’t develop, it regresses. That’s why it’s so difficult to feel sympathetic for his character.
Stardew Valleyis available on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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