THE LAST OF US Episode 9: 'Look for the Light' - Arianna & Maple's Reaction!

Join Arianna and Maple as they finish up the gripping world of The Last of Us, reacting to Episode 9: 'Look for the Light.' This episode The pregnant Anna flees from an infected man and locks inside a room. When the man breaks in, she stabs him to death. At the same time, she delivers her baby girl. Out of the blue, Marlene and the Fireflies arrive and Anna delivers the baby Ellie to her and asks Marlene to shoot her before the transformation. Joel and Ellie are emotionally attached to each other and continue their journey to find the hospital where the Fireflies will research Ellie to find the cure. They are surprised by a group of men that hit Joel on the head. When he awakes, he sees Marlene and learns that he was captured by the Fireflies. He asks her how Ellie is, and Marlene tells him that she will be sacrificed by the doctor to create the cure to the mankind. Will Joel accept the fate of Ellie?. Watch us react to these thrilling moments, and if you can't wait for our next upload, catch the finale on Patreon!
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Arianna: / _aerii44
Maple: msha.ke/mapled...
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[@Diegesis]

Wanna see the full length reactions? Consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/diegesischad

[@user-dk3pp2hj3v]

Attention questions: 1. Why did Marlin recognize Joel in the first episode? They only knew each other through Tommy's brother, or was he also familiar with Marlene's best friend ANNA!? 2. Was ANNA Joel's lover? 3. Why is Ellie so similar in behavior and appearance to Joel and ANNA? 4. Why does Marlin say:"you're the ONLY one I didn't want to be in debt to"? 5. Marlin knew that Joel was Ellie's blood father and Joel guessed that Marlin's friend who gave birth was ANNA... gave birth to his daughter. 6. Joel goes to the mountain with Ellie and compares Ellie with her daughter Sarah, because she is trying to fully realize that they are sisters.

[@Dave3Dguy]

No, Marlene was in Boston for a long time and so was Joel. Joel and Tess were smugglers, getting items in and out of the Boston QZ. The Fireflies would regularly work with smugglers and they eventually convinced Tommy to join them.

[@user-dk3pp2hj3v]

@@Dave3Dguy The fireflies convinced Tommy, but Joel knew Marlin well not only because of Tommy, but also because of his beloved Anna... why did Marlin give Ellie to Joel so easily!? Because I thought it was a "sign" that Ellie's father appeared at that very moment.

[@user-dk3pp2hj3v]

@@Dave3Dguy In the second episode, Ellie says that Marlin takes chicken from smugglers. "guess not you guys" says Ellie.

[@Dave3Dguy]

@@user-dk3pp2hj3v Exactly. Marlene knows many smugglers. Joel and Tess included. No need for Joel to have dated Marlene's best friend.

[@KJ-pr1hq]

"This woman LOOKs like Ellie" This woman IS Ellie for a lot of us 😂

[@AugostoPinochet]

Turns out, that Marlene actually didn't know what Joel is capable of.

[@bernardsalvatore1929]

NO SHIT!! SHE ALSO DIDN'T REALIZE THAT JOEL STILL HAD A SOUL AND A HEART AND WOULD ACTUALLY GET ATTACHED TO ELLIE!! VERY ATTACHED!!😮❤

[@Fangtorn]

People say how stupid it was of Marlene to let Joel go, and that the Fireflies should've been more afraid of him and not just sent two guys with him, and that's all true in hindsight, but to be fair to them they had just flashbanged the guy and knocked him out. He was completely at their mercy for awhile there. It was only because Marlene wasn't willing to murder him in cold-blood that he survived long enough to rampage through the hospital. Her compassion or empathy outweighed her pragmatism.

[@itsyourboi5783]

She also probably didn't expect him to become so attached to Ellie

[@markehrlich7534]

Pedro Pascal is perfect as Joel.... And Joel IS the most dangerous man in Episode 9!! 🤯 Love how he handled business...

[@StinkyBuster]

"He didn't kill the nurses" My Joel: 😐

[@MaureenLongoriaTheOneAndOnly]

lmaooo I love Eralia’s playthrough, she didn’t even wait for the doctor to finish talking 😂😂 walked in and started blasting, everyone even the nurses dead before the dialogue finished 😂😂😂

[@WThomas66]

They did not show him killing the nurses. He may have, he may haven’t…

[@ivans.5959]

I used a flamethrower against them lol

[@Brucewayne_55]

😂😂😂

[@b.u.l.1734]

You know the first game's ending scene is iconic when the TV show not only recreates the dialogue, but it also recreates the shot composition.

[@joshuacoldwater]

Big Truth- Broke me in the game, broke me in the series 😂

[@blondymonk1535]

They left out a very important line tho. The "Waiting for my turn" line. Bad descision.

[@neptttuno]

@@blondymonk1535 true

[@TheOriginalDogLP]

@@blondymonk1535 Before reading your comment I didn't even realize that line was missing, its not that important.

[@blondymonk1535]

@@TheOriginalDogLP Then you don't understand it.

[@Classicalsin484]

I've watched a bunch of reactions to this series and Arianna's observation at the end was something i didn't think of and i haven't heard anyone else say. Joel's lie to her at the end was the first lie a parent ever told her. The first person she ever trusted enough to feel like an actual parent and when she genuinely wanted honesty he lied right to her face. That makes it even more heartbreaking to Ellie's reaction at the end before saying Ok... loved both of your reactions to this!

[@Dave3Dguy]

"The only ones who can betray us... are the ones we trust." - Maria

[@lunacouer]

This is my first time hearing this too and oh my god, this just made it so much worse. Like I've empathized with why Joel lied - he's afraid she'll keep pursuing being the cure and he's terrified. But now I see how this just broke the last little parts that Ellie's heart had left.

[@goonanhate101]

It goes back to Tommy’s wife’s line, “The only people who can betray us are the ones we trust.” Ellie stood up for Joel because she could never imagine him doing that. Yet in the end, it all came to pass. Y’all aren’t ready for how deep and dark this rabbit hole goes.

[@cja6510]

Imagine how gamers felt when the first game ended the exact same way and we didnt even know if a sequel was coming. Phenomenal ending

[@jgreenbelt]

Then the sequel came and meh

[@MilesDashing]

I've thought about this, and I think that the intention of the writers--when they didn't know if there would be a sequel--was this: When Ellie says "Okay," what she means is that she doesn't believe him, but she's agreeing to pretend that she does. Because the alternative would be to destroy her relationship with Joel, and go back to being alone. It's great because it makes her complicit in Joel's atrocity. It makes her into even more of a "little Joel." But at the same time, by lying to her, Joel forces her into this situation. It's coercive. So many layers. After the second game, we know that it didn't exactly work out like this, but that doesn't undermine it. Ellie could have sincerely thought she could ignore her suspicions in that moment, but changed her mind later. People can make sincere promises and later find they can't keep them.

[@CataRDJ]

The ending is perfect. It's the exact same as the game, the same dialog, the same music, the same long pause before that last word, I just love it so much. This is a beautiful story and HBO told if so well. I'm so happy you guys enjoyed it, loved your reaction to the show and hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the next one. It's gonna be nuts

[@StinkyBuster]

There is actually some changes to the dialog. In the game Ellie has a line about still waiting for her turn to die, I'm not sure why they took it out

[@ChibiHoshiDragon]

There are a few changes. In the Game, Joel says "You keep finding something to fight for", because Game Joel actually cared for Tess/she had been something to him (Tess knew he cared and says: "There is enough here that you must feel some kind of obligation to me" and gets Joel to take Ellie with an emotional plea based on their relationship) In the Show, Joel says "If you just keep going, you'll find something new to fight for" because Ellie is the first person he cared for since Sarah's death. She is that something New. Tess was NOT that something to fight for. Show Joel did NOT care about Tess like Game Joel did (Tess says she never asked him to feel the same and that he should take Ellie to Bill's for his misdeeds, not because she asked).

[@blondymonk1535]

few changes. Bad choices.

[@connorlynch428]

​@@blondymonk1535 not bad choices in the slightest

[@blondymonk1535]

@@connorlynch428 Very bad choices. Sorry.

[@AzaMinis]

One of the biggest things with the finale of TLOU is that both Joel and Marlene strip Ellie of her agency. While we know what Ellie would have chosen (in part because of the conversations after the fact), both of them are too terrified of what Ellie might say to give her an actual choice in the matter. So they both try to make the choice for her.

[@rwwilson21]

I personally think she wouldn't say yes to the surgery.

[@PeachesandCream225]

You are just wrong.... Like absolutely wrong@@rwwilson21

[@rwwilson21]

we well never know. like because like Ellie never got the opportunity to like get a choice. We see what "like" I did there?

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Seeing (game) Ellie give birth to (show) Ellie made me a little emotional lol

[@coladict]

I wouldn't recognize Ashley Johnson by sight, but I immediately recognized her voice, even when it was just the grunts.

[@johnnynoise7897]

A little dialogue the series skipped in that last conversation with joel when she talked about riley with the loose their minds together thing is actually a little important , she said "im still waiting for my turn"...

[@StinkyBuster]

Yea I was surprised they left that out.

[@antoniolmartinez8426]

It’s funny how so many people hated Bella Ramsey for Ellie because she didn’t look like her. Everyone says how much Ashley Johnson looks like she could really be her mom. Great reaction

[@rwwilson21]

Not only that they all said she was gonna suck playing Ellie and now she's got an Emmy nomination for the role.

[@MattMuirhead]

Here's something to wrap your head around.... was immunity passed on to Ellie because her mother was bit before the cord was cut, or because she cut the cord with the knife that just stabbed an infected in the head? Gives Ellie's knife a lot more importance as a character.

[@CaturdayNite]

This one is scary. As a parent, I totally get this. This mindless, emotionless killing to save her. It is scary the thoughts of "What would you do to protect your kid" and how it would easily lead me into this mentality. Knowing how far down I can slip, if any of that makes any sense. Because at this point she IS his daughter. She is "Baby Girl" now.

[@MsSwordwolf]

What gets skipped over a bit is that Anna lied to Marlene, tells her she cut the umbilical cord before she was bitten when it was really after. Like Joel, Anna makes the decision that Ellie must live, because she must have at least suspected that Marlene would kill the baby, her initial unwillingness to shoot Anna notwithstanding.

[@martinmillar7137]

Have said this in every reaction but joel wicks hospital scene is one of the best ever shot for tv imo beautiful.. haunting and without being glorifying. It's classic Craig meizen just chef kiss 👌

[@Grenn1471]

The Fireflies lost their moral high ground when they didn't let Ellie choose.

[@biggooberfish7774]

They don't let her choose because they're not going to respect her wishes if she says no. They've done lots of bad things already for their cause of restoring humanity, what's one more on their conscience? And the way they see it, not telling her or letting her see it coming is kinder than telling a child she has to die now to try to save the human race.

[@user-dk3pp2hj3v]

They lost their moral superiority when they turned a minor Riley into a terrorist.

[@julianleft4662]

Joel lost his moral high ground when he took all that action before letting Ellie choose. Matter of fact, he lost it twice when he lied to her. :)

[@b.u.l.1734]

Nobody has the "moral high ground" in the TLOU universe (at least in the games).

[@Herocoldfinger]

Joel lost his moral high ground from Abby's swing😂

[@TerryYelmene]

Bestline: "You can't bring a scalpel to a gunfight!" Until the last line... "She's never had a parent to let her down before." This has been a friggin fantastic series reaction. GREAT JOB LADIES!

[@LuPe1990]

Ellies mother is the actual Ellie from the game. There are many more that gave the voice and motion to the characters that have a cameo in the series for other characters.

[@scalefree]

giraffes have the best group name ever. a group of giraffes is called a tower.

[@ElyonDominus]

2:06 She doesn't look like Ellie. Ashley Johnson IS Ellie. Bella is playing the character that Ashley brought to life and fundamentally changed. Joel is NFTroy Baker, the actor who played the henchman who took the cleaver to the neck. Marlene was played by the voice actor. It's really neat how much of the core TLoU cast were able to be a part of this. Whether or not it was ever canon to the games, Ashley stated that she believes Ellie knew Joel was lying. Then we waited years with zero hope that we'd get TLoU 2.

[@darkaquatus]

The reason this hits so hard is because this entire series we've all been living it through his eyes and we've all sympathized with him. So when he ended up being the bad guy we all felt betrayed. Not just because he betrayed Ellie, but because he did not end up being the person we were promised he'd be.

[@RoxxSerm]

Alot of shows or movies have 1-2 "strong female characters" just for the sake of having them. In this show there is more than a handful of them, and they are actually badass and believable. Writing and execution of this show ( or game ) should be a guideline for writers.

[@Mayan_88694]

No they don’t have strong female characters for the sake of it

[@Mayan_88694]

You can’t even name one tv show who has a strong female character for the sake of it.

[@thefourty-yearoldgamer8289]

I have absolutely loved watching you ladies react to this story. It's like I'm playing the game again for the first time. The Guy who wrote the game says this is a story about love and how it's the most powerful thing, but not always a good thing. The ending of the show is 100percent taken from the game and doesn't deviate at all. It's such a powerful story. Such conflicting emotions, that you are set up to feel from the opening scene. what a journey!

[@dobbytwostep9527]

Love a character who doesn't hesitate, its just so refreshing.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

I really like how joel, ellie, and the audience get the ending they wanted. But it is all soured because Joel's lie breaks the trust at the core of their relationship.

[@stevem2323]

He didn't had any choice.

[@jurassicpark1fan920]

The Last Of Us Is about the danger of unconditional love. Sometimes, when you love someone unconditionally, logic goes out the window and you will do really horrible things to protect the ones you love.

[@mfpatten]

Congratulations to Maple for her attention to detail and self awareness this reaction!

[@jhornacek]

Bella Ramsey (Ellie) has said that when she did that final shot of the episode, she was playing it as "disappointment". She knows that Joel is lying to her but she doesn't know about what specifically, and she thought she would give him this one last chance to tell her the truth. So she's disappointed in him when she says "Ok."

[@selkirk57]

Thanks for reacting to this series. The editing and the reactions were excellent all the way through.

[@blytheguy7510]

A group of giraffes is called a tower.

[@endorphinzz]

I've been wondering if Ellie realized Joel was most likely lying, but decided at the very end to just accept it and roll with it as if it's the truth. Like she won't find out at some later date that Joel lied to her because she already "knows" he did. I love watching both you guys react, keep it up 👍

[@blytheguy7510]

Yes, I believe she knew. And her "ok" was knowingly accepting that lie. It kind of goes back to the line "losing our minds together." Like both of them are accepting the lie that both of them know is a lie. But they're going to both lose their minds by accepting the lie as a truth. But it's also a crack in the foundation of her trust of him. But she's willing to accept the lie for love. They both are.

[@endorphinzz]

@@blytheguy7510 - Excellent points...

[@dillonharnden-shea57]

The creator of last of us has stated that we have to assume that if they got to operate that they would have created a cure- and to look at the choice in that light. Just worth tossing in here.

[@lynetteoliva1256]

Isn't there a saying: "One should not assume anything because it makes an ass out of u & me." Assumptions r as good as guesses, not certainties. Just saying.

[@LowestHonor]

Something that people don’t understand is that “surgeon” was a botanist. He was not a neurosurgeon AT ALL. Not to mention there was an incredibly small chance for that cure to even work.

[@sgtmian]

i feel so sad for ellie, her entire existence has been loss. joel was so unfair when he said she had no idea what loss is.

[@patrickcromwell7554]

I love that it's a huge reveal/surprise for you guys. Anyone who knows what Ashley Johnson looks like was able to get what you figured out a bit earlier though; but Maple, was all over this scene. Bravo for you.

[@Spooky_T2i]

A group of Giraffe can be called a Herd of Giraffe, being that "herd" refs to any hooved animal, but specifically they are known as a Tower of Giraffe.

[@BruderTux]

If they’re standing. On the move they’re a Journey of Giraffes.

[@the_eaglefan]

We don't know how much was said with Marlene in episode 1. They cut from them when Marlene is about to tell her the story.

[@bernardsalvatore1929]

I believe that all Marlene told Ellie at that point was that she was immune and that they were going to take her West to some doctors that could find a cure perhaps using her blood blood!! Even if Marlene knew at that point that Ellie was going to have to be sacrificed I don't think she would reveal that to Ellie at this point!! Marlene the whole way could not take a chance that Ellie would say no to being sacrificed so she had to keep the whole truth from her!! Otherwise why would Ellie throughout the entire trip continue to say things to Joel as if she knew she would survive beyond whatever they were going to do at the lab when they reach their destination?? Ellie thought that she was going to survive beyond getting to their destination so obviously Marlene could not have told her the entire truth!!!

[@MoldyOog]

I fed a giraffe cheerios as a 3 - or 4 year old kid. Core memory right there.

[@woeshaling6421]

i like the complexity of these writer's version of the trolley problem. the games fallout 1 and 2 played a lot with these types of problems. choosing between 2 groups who are neither wholly good or bad. that is why i love scifi writing: once the world changes, what remains of humanity? to the point of the show, every detail and every encounter is important for the final choice. if joel was ellie's dad, there would be no ambiguity and it would have been straight forward. it had to be a grieving parent with a stranger orphan. it adds that needed layer of seperation and makes it much more ambiguous. it challenges both joel's libertarian worldview and marlene's calculated altruistic worldview. neither is absolutely certain of the procedure's success or failure and neither is willing to hear ellie's answer if it had the chance to be the answer they didn't want to hear. even the way the story is told matters. because you follow joel, you will forgive, or at least justify, his ruthless actions. the finale offers no clear resolution, that would make the story unremarkable. it puts a mirror to the viewer and show the extent and limits of humanity. great writing imo

[@crewchief5144]

It's not the trolley problem. The trolley problem is a purely logical scenario based on one vs five people that are unknowns to the decision maker and if they will make a choice based on the two options. When the decision maker knows the one person, or in Joel's case loves them...the outcome is emotion based. Marlene is a fanatic. More so in her role as a silent benefactor for Ellie all these years, because she did not have a clear emotional connection to Ellie. She was just personally responsible for her out of loyalty to her mother. Her end goal was always in regard to the possibility of a cure, no matter the cost. Her mistake was in assuming Joel would reach a similar altruistic conclusion and choose the logical outcome. The variable that blew this assumption out of the water was the unforeseen connection between Joel and Ellie. Love trumps logic every time.

[@jseetal]

A group of giraffe are called... "a tower of giraffe." 🦒

[@mast3rNate]

“the doctor squared up with him” LMAO this is why i love Maple 😂😂😂

[@brucecsnell]

I have a few thoughts about the idea that Ellie should have been asked if she wanted to go through with "whatever" to create a cure. NO! Under no circumstance do you want a guilt ridden, traumatized, 14 year old child making that sort of life or death decision. Only a few minutes earlier in this episode Ellie tells Joel that they can't stop now -- after all she has done to get here. She believes that she is responsible for the deaths of Riley, Tess, Henry, Sam, and every other death that she might have been able to prevent if they had her immunity earlier. On top of that, she has the trauma/guilt of "murdering" at least two people in Episode 8 -- doesn't matter that they wanted to rape her, murder her, and possibly eat her for dinner, her feelings of guilt are real. Consulting Ellie at that point in time is asking a suicidal child if she wants to die. Now, Joel handled telling her all wrong, but preventing Marlene and the Fireflies from killing her was the right thing. And, as a secondary thought, I had two complaints about things the show got wrong. The first is basically too minor to matter, but they really screwed up the timeline. There is virtually no chance in hell that Tommy's wife is pregnant in the real world. She's almost 50 -- not happening. Several other people have mentioned that the game is set in 2013 and I think they tried to move it to the present without considering the minor details that screws up. Last complaint -- Whatever cure they can get from Ellie is unnecessary. I suspect that this is a problem that comes from the conversion of the game to a tv show but, we can see at least three examples of how to successfully deal with the fungus and Ellie is none of them. Bil and Frank built a wall and successfully kept the infected out. Tommy's group in Wyoming did the same thing. And in Kansas City, Fedra put the infected underground 15 years ago, effectively solving the problem -- they just failed to follow-up by killing the infected once they were trapped underground. If the survivors would just get their shit together, and build out from the various QZs, eliminating the infected in the new areas, they could have been living like normal people for the last 15 years. By the way, great reaction.

[@SooSneeky]

A group of Giraffes is called a Tower.

[@anthony310h]

People lie that’s facts so one lie doesn’t let someone down. Saving her life was more important than some leap of faith cure

[@jatilq]

This is funny. Ellie is modeled after Ashley Johnson and I bet one of the reasons they chose Bella Ramsey is her looking like Ashley Johnson.

[@PrometheusOfSodom]

Except her freaking eyebrows. I just can't stand them, it's just so damn ugly.

[@ThunderTaco206]

She's not just modeled on Ashley. Ashley Johnson IS Ellie. She is the Mo-Cap and voice actress for her.

[@BrandonWestfall]

@@ThunderTaco206 He never stated otherwise. Get off your high horse.

[@ThunderTaco206]

@@BrandonWestfall Whoa. Chill, dude.

[@jilliantrevino30]

There’s a small family owned zoo in my town and they let you feed the giraffes 😊

[@rhysfriesen]

A group of giraffes is called a Journey

[@OgBobby42]

“How did they do that?” She looks like ellie because she is ellie from the game, shes the voice actress

[@Diegesis]

they havent seen ellie from the game so ashley and bella looking the same has nothing to do with ashley playing ellie in the game

[@massdriverone7583]

Something to consider, this was a glimpse of what Joel can do OUT of his prime. Imagine the things he did back in the days Tommy was talking about Joel is one cold blooded dude.

[@Thunderer0872]

This one was so close to the game ending almost beat for beat. although strung out with more infected between the Giraffes and the hospital scene, then its almost as per the game with that ending of Ellie going "Okay" the mother is Ashley Johnson who did the motion capture and voice in the 2 games, also there is a cameo from the second game, that voice actress was in the operation room on the right but no spoilers here!

[@thefourty-yearoldgamer8289]

The actress who portrays Ellies' mom is Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie in the video game

[@Raving]

Marlene found Riley and Ellie when the Fireflies went to the mall to see why Riley didn't report for her transfer. Ellie had already put Riley down by then.

[@zaneplatt3533]

Joel is one of the best video game/cinematic characters ever because he does what all great characters do, he makes decisions. He isn't a passenger in a formulaic story, he is a complex guy who has agency and counters the usual shit you see in stories. He also does what the fireflies fail, he completes his goal as a father.

[@Quzga]

"They're moving herds.. they do move in herds" Play JP theme

[@joshuacoldwater]

This is EXACTLY how the game ended- it broke me. 😢 Oh and a group of giraffes is a Tower.

[@frozenharold]

This must have taken place about two months after the last episode. There wasn't a speck of snow. So was this new dynamic with chatty Joel and quiet Ellie been going on that whole time, or was she just having an extra quiet day like Joel said? I think Marlene knew full well what she was doing when she sent Joel off with just those two guys. You could almost see it on her face as the three of them walked past her out the door. She was kind of looking for someone to take the guilt away from her. She was definitely letting Joel go and he knew full well he could have left without killing her. Also, he did leave the two nurses alive so, the Fireflies will know what happened. They also know Tommy, so they are bound to look there. I think it wouldn't have ended up mattering to either Joel or Marlene what Ellie's decision would have been. They both would have ended doing what they thought was best. I believe Ellie would have gone through with it. I don't think going in she thought it would mean sacrificing herself, I think she, like Joel, just thought they needed her blood. But, as she said to Joel, what would have been the point of everything she had been through? There's no halfway with this. We finish what we started. Marlene dropped her at FEDRA as a baby. She had no idea she would be immune. She only found out aa about 6 months ago. She never would have found out if she never went to the mall with Reilly. She specifically told Reilly Ellie couldn't join the Fireflies when she asked because Marlene thought she would be safer with FEDRA. Joel may very well have doomed all of humanity. QZs aren't the answer. We know at least the Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Chicago and KC QZs are all gone. He killed that doctor. How many of them that knew how to do this were there even before the apocalypse? Joel was basically Kathleen at that point.

[@alextennant4218]

It’s a herd of giraffes 😂

[@beegwan1893]

Apparently the correct terminology for a group of giraffes is “journey”. So there’s that.

[@coladict]

There's some raw photos of the shoot online and they're showing us that the giraffe is real, but the background behind it isn't.

[@Cramdeon1969]

I absolutely love the conversations people are having about the end of the 1st Season of this adaptation. Just imagine playing this, without the knowledge that a 2nd game was a possibility. Well Done on the reactions 👏

[@samolofsson2401]

People forget what Joel told ellie early on that Joel and Tess are not good people, Joel will do what ever it takes to save his inner circle it used to be tommy and tess now its tommy and ellie so the fire fly's was fucked at the moment they told him shes in for brain surgery.

[@johnyd1911]

Not sure if it plays into anything but I'm thinking when she cut the cord it infected her quicker than that bite. Also, the ending is made to be decisive on purpose. Most parents wouldn't think twice about saving their Children compared to single people siding with the Fireflys.... Plus, they never gave Ellie the choice to decide on her own. Love it!!!

[@steveshute3810]

The giraffes were real, not CGI. They brought in some giraffes and filmed it with a green screen for the background. So cool!

[@CrownlessKing88]

Eli‘s mom is the original body, face and voice actress of Ellie in the games. Ashley Johnson.

[@4ortytoon]

fun fact: there's a running rumor or fan theory that Joel is Ellie's biological father. it would be very interesting if that was revealed to be true!

[@joshv9139]

6:59 Arianna "I love EATING giraffes" 😳😬. I love feeding them but not eating them 😅

[@arturmouradian8039]

"He didn't kill the nurses" That will play its part. Fun fact: one of the nurses was played by Laura Bailey who played Abby in videogame THLOU2

[@ThunderTaco206]

What happens in the last third of this episode is essentially what happens in the game. They end exactly the same. Those events drive what happens in the second game, and from what the writers are saying, what happens in season 2. It. Is. Brutal. And without spoiling anything, what Ellie did at the end of episode 8 is a tiny window into the violence she is capable of. Joel might be her adoptive father, but let's just say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[@alexv6324]

Maple hitting me with the memories of feeding the giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

[@STAXXX313]

The realization that Anna is Ellie was perfect

[@Morten_Storvik]

Why does everyone think that Ellie`s consent would have been relevant in this situation? I mean seriously, one person dying or millions dying, there is no moral question there. And imagine giving a kid that kind of ultimatum to begin with. The Fireflies were actually compassionate by trying to do it as quickly as possible.

[@obenohnebohne]

This adaptation did a good job. Your reaction was enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. Season two will be something.

[@crewchief5144]

It is not the trolley choice. I see where you would make that argument but as Joel demonstrates, it is different when it's personal. The trolley problem is based on one person vs five people and they are all strangers. In Joel's case, he is making his decision based on one person that he loves vs anyone. The person you know and love will always come first. That's human nature. Logic dictates "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" and to let the one person die...but AI and robots don't know love. Love trumps logic...every time.

[@geraldbatts575]

Funny thing about giraffes is that their body makes the chemical that makes poo stink as perfume to attract potential mates

[@DavidB-2268]

Even if the doctor's theory was right (doubtful), the trolley problem doesn’t really apply. While they may be able to "vaccinate" people in North America, there's no facilities to mass produce "the cure", or regrigerated vehicles to transport it safely, and no way to transport it overseas.

[@patrickcromwell7554]

Okay so, Maple & Ariana, just in case you were not aware, Ellie's mom, is played by Ashley Johnson, who actually voices Ellie in the game.

[@theeLonelyRedPanda]

Even "if" the cure was made. Who decides who gets it and who doesn't? How do you distribute? Cure doesn't make you invisible to the infected they still targeted ellie and will tear you apart. Plus you gotta worry more about other people

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

Here's the thing ladies, the kid who was euthanized in the first episode, was probably immune. (Did the kid look like someone who had been recently bitten? No....)

[@bmart73]

Odds with millions of pregnant women on the planet at the time and them giving birth at the same time just after getting bitten would be higher than you think, like 10's to hundreds.

[@PhreakPhantom]

"It wasn't time that did it....."

[@maslad]

A group of giraffes is called a Tower. "I saw a tower of giraffes today" :D

[@o0pinkdino0o]

So the dude in the last episode that Ellie skewered in the neck with the knife does the voice acting for Joel in the video game, and the pregnant lady in this episode is the voice of Ellie. How cool is that ?

[@bigpictureguys8415]

15:41 From a morality standpoint I don’t see why it should matter to the fireflies whether Ellie was willing to have the procedure or not. Would it make the decision easier? Yeah. Should it stop them if she said no? No. All asking her for permission would have accomplished would have been to make her feel fear in her final hours 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@mfpatten]

"This is the first time... I've done a good job at my job." - Maple Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Shout out Maple.

[@AimekReacts]

Yeah Joel and head trauma definitely go hand and hand

[@CrownlessKing88]

A group of giraffes is called a corps, a tower, or a herd.

[@dilayiloglu85]

ellie's mom anna is played by ashley johnson aka. ellie in the game. i recommend you to play it.

[@richardscanlon4210]

A group of giraffes is called a herd or a troop.

[@adamwells9352]

I mean, that sounds like at least TWO jobs, Maple... Really enjoy the reactions. You two play off each other really well.

[@MrPicklerwoof]

Joel was basically running on fatherly protection mode from the moment he finds out Ellie is about to be murdered to the point when they're in the car driving off. There isn't even a decision for him to make. Marlene made it for him. Shielding Ellie from the truth was probably Joel attempting to give her the best chance of a fresh start in Jackson. It's perhaps misguided, but it comes from a place of love at least.

[@Dark__Thoughts]

Now imagine this ending without knowing if it ever sees a continuation, and then having to wait 7 years for it. It also might not just be the happenstance of her birth, but other rare factors like genetics or a very lucky mutation of that specific cordyceps that made this possible. Joel might also just killed the last person that could be considered an expert on this field. Marlene found Ellie because she was checking up on Riley, who was a Firefly that was supposed to leave that day for Atlanta. Marlene said in the first episode to Ellie that she was the one that told the others not to shoot her. Whether this was because she had a hunch or because of her connection towards Anna we don't know, but she might've already figured out when she realized that Ellie didn't turn like Riley, despite being bitten even higher up the arm, which should've turned her first. It's unknown how much Ellie knows about her mom, however she seems very focused on wanting her knife back when she encounters Joel, so I would at least assume she knows that it is from Anna (just like her jacket btw). You're hard on finding excuses for Joel here though. lol Yes, infected will be there and can attack you even if all of humanity was immunized. But you'd starve out the infection by preventing it from getting new hosts, which would slowly turn the tables and give humanity a chance of survival and eventual recovery, even if it would take many many years. You two should watch some Attack on Titan if you want to cry some more.

[@ilikeknives1000]

at the end of the day the kid knew what he did .....

[@nickgrundy1353]

Well done ladies, loved watching this series with you!

[@menotyou8369]

No one seams to notice that Ellie's mom cut's the umbilical cord with a knife that's covered in infected blood.

[@BadassRaiden]

The show runners have said they are months away from shooting the next season, not years, which is really good. It ended the same way the game ended - so just take solace in the fact that you don't have to wait 7 years for the next part to come out 😝

[@lamprdo]

The thing about that ‘cliffhanger’, that was originally going to be it. The video game ends exactly the same way, nearly word-for-word and shot-for-shot. There wasn’t a sequel planned at that point, and personally I think it should have stayed that way. This season, and the game before it, perfectly pose the question: how much are you willing to sacrifice for the people you love?

[@Tristan_Anderwelt]

My conclusion at the end: I totally love your reaction to my new favorite series and still my favorite game Thank you for letting us accompany you

[@MrPicklerwoof]

Remember, in the show version, the fungus is purely contact-based, not airborne. So really all it needs is for the remaining humans to work together properly, split each area into sectors and set up extermination squads to clear them all out. Not enough people are talking about this - in the show there really is no need for a cure as such, compared to the game with its invisible spores blowing everywhere. It completely changes things.

[@arctic1439]

Nah, the fungus still grows underground. Although its not airborne, im sure crops can be contaminated. Plus, I imagine the underground spindles of fungus come up and infect people. Maybe those that are close to death idk

[@MrPicklerwoof]

@@arctic1439 Nah, none of that would be an issue. The show makes it clear humans can grow and eat vegetables without any problems, plus characters are regularly traipsing through grass and woods - even sleeping on the ground outside - so it seems like tendrils are a minimal risk. It really does come down mostly to just physical contact with infected humans in the show version, which is a game-changer.

[@arctic1439]

@@MrPicklerwoof You make good points but the one example that kind of confuses me is in the first episode. When we first see the fungus take over the guy attached to the wall, Joel makes a comment implying that he was somehow infected without a bite or something.

[@PrometheusOfSodom]

You can survive a headshot, even the ones that seems to be very well placed. Sometime the bullet will ricochet or just deviate enough to not make enough damages to the tissue resulting in the survival of the victim. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is common, but I think I can say it is not uncommon either.