The COMPLETE Last of Us Series Story Retrospective

[@crimsonking440]

Jesus listening to the Sarah scene with my phone in my pocket almost had me break down in tears at work. There's no scene in anything that just hits me like that. The voice actor for her did a tremendous job.

[@avennoronha7081]

The fact that he tries not to be exaggerated and keeps his conversation with her to live between them two. Then he makes it a point to talk to her first, then looks to Tommy for help, then lastly calls out to God for help shows how he slowly uses every resource before giving up.

[@quantum5661]

i had no idea you could get those sounds out of someone that isnt horribly fucked up, A+ work from the VA.

[@HackJeaney]

Same here brother 😂

[@lukemimnagh2594]

This scene is comparable to Ep.5 S1 of Telltales TWD

[@ryans3795]

As a scientist, the vaccine would have never worked. 100% ellie would die for hope, but I am familiar with the science

[@Varlenia]

Ellie and Abby were actually very close to eachother in the hospital. While Ellie was in the hospital being hunted by the wlf, you can hear gunshots in the background. When the lights turned on, you could hear the soldiers get confused. The lights turned on when Abby was in the basement, and turned on the generator, and the fighting and screaming was when Abby was fighting the Rat King. So they were actually much closer than you thought.

[@BCJ1985]

No they weren't. Abby was there early afternoon, Ellie was there in the evening, and it was visibly going dark. Abby had long gone by the time Ellie arrived there.

[@MikeOck87]

Yօʊ Thɛ Last Of Ma'am Pɛacɛnik 2 ʄans aʀɛ sօʍɛ օʄ tɦɛ stʊpɨɖɛst aռɖ ʍօst ɨnvasɨvɛ, ɛʟɨtɨst, ʊռpʀօɖʊctɨvɛ aռɖ աօʀtɦʟɛss ɢօօɖʏ-ɢօօɖʏ tʀօɢʟօɖʏtɛs wɦօ lօvɛ cʀɨmɨnaʟs! Aʟʟ օʄ ʏօʊ ɖʊʍb tʀօɢʟօɖʏtɛs sɦօʊʟɖ stɨcӄ tօ cʀyɨռg օn rɛɖɖɨt ɨn ʏօʊʀ basɛʍɛռts, ɨt's tɦɛ օռɛ tɦɨռɢ ʏօʊ'ʀɛ ɢօօɖ at ɨռ tɦօsɛ օӼʏɢɛռ-աasȶɨռɢ ʍɨstaӄɛs ʏօʊ caʟʟ "ʟɨvɛs", ɨɖɨօts աɦօ tɦɨռk ʏօʊ'ʀɛ sօmɛthɨռg, աɦɛռ ʏօʊ'ʀɛ ʊsɛʟɛss aռɖ braɨռɖɛaɖ ʍօռkɛʏs! 😆

[@ShadyShadow14]

​@EatMideIck he says, thinking he's any better wasting his life away in youtube comments

[@compassrose1466]

@@MikeOck87jfc

[@unixtreme]

​@@MikeOck87are you OK?

[@theamelia4580]

Actually, TLOU1 had the function of telling the player when an area was cleared too. Ellie or Joel would say “and that’s the last of them” or something along those lines. Also, Stalkers DID stalk you in TLOU1. It’s just that they only appear in 2 sections of the game (the Hotel basement and the sewers with Sam) so it’s hard to recognise. But if you go back and replay those sections, you’ll notice the Stalkers run and hide and try to confuse you instead of just outright attacking like the Runners and Clickers do.

[@skillfuloli492]

The stalkers in tlou also appear in the dlc when Ellie is getting was for the generator in the mall

[@annonymous-pr3ky]

The rat king does have a reason for being the way it is. It is a combination of multiple infected- the first group of infected that were rushed to the hospital on outbreak day. They were left there in the rubble after the hospital was partially destroyed to keep them from escaping into the world. As one can imagine over such a long period of time trapped in that enclosed space together they merged into one beast.

[@Kermit_Kremlin]

The way I think about it is the name itself. A ratking is made when rats' tails become so intertwined that they metaphorically become one. The same might have happened with the infected, but instead of their tails, it could have been their cordyceps strands.

[@aaronottermann5824]

We've seen infected partially fused to walls for example. In a similar way the fungus probably fused multiple infected and possibly became one creature through the connected mycelium.

[@mr.creepysmile7318]

Damn good wording​@@Kermit_Kremlin

[@succubunnie]

2:14:03 I always loved how in this moment, after everything, Joel doubles down on his decision to save Ellie. Despite the strain it put on their relationship. Because her life did matter and he found something to fight for.

[@bennygerow]

And he couldn't save his daughter.

[@SaltTracer]

😊​@@bennygerow

[@okeynwachie]

Love watching these. I forgot that Ellie had said her biggest fear was being alone. And she ended up that way. Sheesh

[@redneckreviews3016]

And she deserves it. The games could easily be titled. Ellie screws everything up for every one

[@animecatalog9194]

@@redneckreviews3016 Ellie lives in your head rent free. You’re commenting so many times about a fictional character that you clearly hate loool

[@redneckreviews3016]

@@animecatalog9194 guess she does.

[@userjoao]

@@redneckreviews3016 i mean ur not wrong… i like ellie but she did get what she had coming. I hope she redeems herself in the future.

[@MilitantVision]

@@redneckreviews3016blaming a fictional character that gave no consent to get a lobotomy for your issues is crazy

[@Itsbeeve]

As a dad of a daughter, the intro is just the worst ever. Seeing Joel call Ellie "baby girl" gets me every time. Absolute classic game.

[@Flowerlytdm]

I don’t even have a daughter, yet I always cry at the scene. I want children in the future and wouldn’t want to lose them even if I have to fight through hell for them.

[@danielcalabrese5769]

I am also a father of 2 19 years old son and 10 year girl, so I totally get what you mean when he calls her baby girl.

[@inquisition3173]

My mom has been out of the picture most of my life and my dad has always been a massive beacon of support and guidance for me. Hes been right next to me through every challenge and hardship of my life. The first thing about the last of us I ever saw was the scene with Sarah and Joel and just seeing Joel trying to save her still makes me tear up. Joel is a great dad like my dad, always gets me seeing that interaction no matter how many times ive seen it. I wouldnt wish that moment on anybody. Naughty Dog created an absolute landmark series.

[@danielcalabrese5769]

@@inquisition3173 hi just thought I would let you know but when you say that part where Joel is trying to save (Ellie) I think you are talking about the start of the game where Joel is holding his daughter in his arms and her name is (Sarah) but I understand how easily it would be to write Ellie while writing about any interaction in that game to do with Joel. I might be mistaken myself and you are talking about an entirely different part I'm not sure? The reason I think you are talking about the part where Sarah dies is because that's what the og comment to talking about and you are replying to it. Anyway it just stuck out so I thought I would let you know. 👍😊

[@inquisition3173]

@@danielcalabrese5769 gah no you're right, i just finished rewatching this and realized i had ellie in my mind not sarah. You are 100% correct

[@Darkwun_DQ4]

"Did I go overboard with the shotgun?" Dude, I used a flamethrower lol

[@Ishbikes]

“So anyways, I just started blasting”

[@xephonprodigy47]

Man, I went HAM SAMMICH with the shotgun and rifle lol

[@Darkwun_DQ4]

@@xephonprodigy47 same! And I'm not ashamed. Because it was Joel. Joel did it.

[@lumeronswift]

She didn't go straight from killing David to petting giraffes... there were several months in between. People seem to forget the time scale... tons of reviewers say "Joel recovered too quickly" but he took more than three months to recover... and Ellie was scavenging for (and finding) medicine as she travelled. Leaves were still on the trees when Joel was injured, and snow was thick when he recovered. The medicine may have just been to knock out a final nasty infection/fever.

[@aarongarcia5590]

Exactly, the entire story of part 1 is August 3rd, 2033 - April 28th, 2034 possibly May 2034 so that’s like 8-9 months

[@meshman4236]

Think he means gameplay wise mate

[@realreal5745]

​@@meshman4236 good thing the game didn't needlessly drag on for 10 hours more than it needed to. There was no reason to show Ellie hunting for food for 3 months, stitching him up, cleaning the wound etc. First game was perfect

[@robertthomson1994]

the part that gets me is that Ellie says she had so many questions for the Fireflys, yet Joel never says anything about "but they had none for you and would have killed you for the cure without even talking to you about any of it." Ellie didn't get to talk to them she was just put to sleep, Joel made that choice for her where she didn't get one at all

[@silenceinspace.]

I feel like this is one of the things that made the first game's ending so complex. You see that Joel is taking Ellie's agency away...but the Fireflies don't respect her agency either. While Joel and the players know that Ellie would likely agree to the surgery, Marlene has no such knowledge and decides she just has to die.

[@chomp7927]

@@silenceinspace. And in the original story before they messed it up with part 2 there was no high chance of success, it was purely a guess to see if they even could get a cure from it, the only certainty was that she would be dead, and glancing over that with some hand wave oh yea it would have been 100% and saved the entire world because it would have worked and the fireflies also could have somehow gotten that all over the world, for free because they are just nice people, totally kills off that complexity as well. I do like the video but taking all of that away from Joel is just so dirty.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Funny how the "flashbacks" were part of the original story, while the 'present' times they just threw it all out the window and shit on them and their character development. Where Ellie already had suspicions, BUT loved Joel more so she put her faith in him. Why I would been happier with the original idea where they tried to save Abby's Group, Abby's group recognize and tried to rush Joel, where he and Ellie get away with Tommy and Joel damaged to a point where Tommy had to stay for blood transfusions and rest his leg, where the original story would went with Ellie going out because "they just try and come back for Joel, I have to stop them" and Abby frustrated with believing she didn't kill Joel, would try and go back to sneak kill him, ONLY for her and Ellie to bump into a 3rd group that was more violent than them (BECAUSE ITS THE APOCALYPSE and barely any resources out there) and the story would went Ellie telling Abby she forgives her to lie that Joel Died. Where both would escape and go back to their groups because that was her character, wanting live and let live but prioritize family and love and willing to kill by then where the "secret ending" would been Abby finding out Joel was alive and plan to kill Ellie just for Ellie to win the fight and pull "you'd just go after him..." truly becoming his daughter.... But instead Covid kicked off and so the younger writers wanted more for Abby's story, more for their new development and granted up to 65% of the game... Just to shit on the whole first game.

[@justinhainsworth7726]

@@stoagymahalo5268weird as the game came out durning Covid , so they redid everything in 3 or so mounts before shipping

[@eye2395]

@@stoagymahalo5268that sounds terrible

[@Fapey101]

Dude is consistently putting out some of the highest quality, most well written content on youtube. Keep it up brotha love the vids

[@stoagymahalo5268]

it is well studied. Though I admit this video particular was more advertised towards the message of the 2nd game. Which is shitting on everything of the first game.

[@BHPaperstacks]

Kinda feeling a certain type of way though that he didn't mention Abby's parallel with Joel, their losses lead to their abandonment of their humanity to rage and revenge, but is brought back when given purpose by forming a bond and having someone that depends on them. Perhaps too Ellie was softened from her time with Dina and Dina's baby, but chose to pursue her addiction to violence instead of letting herself heal and give up the cycle, the same sort of cycle that set Abby to be the killer of Joel because of his past violence, and at a certain point who is to say if it magically turned out Lev had to die to save the rest of the world that now Abby wouldn't make the same decision that Joel did?

[@unwrittenmariposa09]

That first part with Sarah was hard. Especially because I live in Texas and I know the routes they were taking. First time seeing this I cried hard.

[@jamescarr1265]

they’re real routes??

[@unwrittenmariposa09]

@@jamescarr1265 yeah. They are outer Austin so they were trying to get into the main highway which is I-35 going south of Austin. Either San Antonio or Houston. Which hits close to home.

[@jamescarr1265]

@@unwrittenmariposa09 thank you ❤️ and i agree Sarah’s death a lot to handle

[@lexxiiblackwell3304]

Agreed, I grew up near that part of the Austin area and I’m from Houston

[@kakewe]

I'm at around 2 hours and 10 minutes into the video already and i am really enjoying everything you have to say , but one i want to clear up : Abby does come into contant with real Fireflies , the Rattlers just happen to find her when she leaves the house (maybe they were tracking them , it's not clear). But the Fireflies on the radio were real , it wasn't a trap by the Rattlers.This is further supported by the fact that the game screen changes when you finish the game to show the building on Catalina Island where the man on the radio told her to go. It has been confirmed by Neil Druckmann that the new title screen is meant to show Abby and Lev reached Catalina Island and probably found the regrouping Fireflies. Maybe you already figured this out , I haven't finished the video still , but just wanted to give you a heads-up in case you haven't , because it is probably something that sets up part 3 in some way , shape or form

[@chandrawagner4061]

Thank you for that confirmation. When he said it was a trap I was starting to second guess myself because I was sure it was really the fireflies.

[@Gingy]

Ah that makes sense. Given the call they had I assumed it was the rattlers playing the role of the fireflies so they could find her but I guess that makes sense why Abby and Lev got jumped as soon as they left the house and not later. Thanks for clarifying!

[@KingSlayer_.]

Yeah I thought it was the rattlers at first too but it's pretty clear now it was the fireflies.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Funny how a terrorist group that was ruthless to their practices and eventual development into putting all their eggs in one basket, be so cutthroat and unplanned but still have enough to hold a solid amount of fire arms and unrestricted brutality... but suddenly are a heroic faction that made so much efforts and any of the "violent" actions taken were suddenly told "oh those were just thieves trying to blame their actions on us to get away and sell child slaves while smoking meth in prayers to their white god because we're so friendly and diverse, with so much practice in being good and tactical. If only we didn't trust Joel so much to let him in the building, never expected he'd slaughter so many innocent people". Why for me... I was waiting for the twist to be that The Rattlers BECAME Rattlers from the fireflies because of the brutal treatment they acted on people in 1, just to have Rattler come from the Butter in the name and just recarve symbols and words in their weapons. Where the twist was going to be the "religious" part of the fireflies survived with all the resources and arms. But when they suddenly made Tommy go from almost abandoning his brother out of love of a woman, to instantly leaving her and his family for a vendetta when he CLEARLY would have had to been pressured to go by Ellie because in his heart by then, he'd been more guilty over not being able to protect his brother when he could. Where how erratic new writers were, I was expecting the Rattler's to find Abby when they were trying to regroup as Fireflies, just to figure out she's probably a traitor who abandoned their cause because her dad died just to come back after so many years and start killing them. Cause its just ridiculous how 2's story was trying for everything to work against 1's cast and still try to make it sound like 2's new cast had it so much worst and how much they didn't want to fight.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Where I'm just hoping they go to a new story and new group FAR, AWAY from Ellie. Cause I figure if the same writers come back from 2, will likely suddenly tell us that some reason Abby forced herself on Lev, killed Ellie in her sleep after Ellie tried to sell her to slavers, create her own group and suddenly fall for the mole of an opposing faction who just feels conflicted and eventually want peace but because Abby felt betrayed, would burn down the truce and her lover in spite. You all think what I'm saying is ridiculous, just know this is what the new writers had in mind for 2 if they weren't going to have a new cast of characters take center stage. Why they decided after getting a foot in the door, shit all over on the 1st's cast.

[@Arson124]

I felt the same way during the hospital, way more agressive and was moving a lot faster, my brain was just hotwired into "save ellie"

[@nursemain3174]

You’re also forgetting to mention that in tlous, you can find journals in the hospital level where they already experimented on people who were immune and killed them which makes a lot of the points made about the games not work.

[@mati1070]

Naughty Dog forgot about that as well ;x I was waiting for some1 to mention that through the whole TLOU2, but noooooo "Fireflies good, Joel bad, Ellie was a 100% cure"

[@canada1529]

The experiments they performed were on "infected patients". As in the zombies. There's no evidence to suggest that there's another immune person in this world.

[@Atlas_V_official]

Tbh I believe that this was a mistake. While it can make sense lorewise it just renders the tragic ending of part 1 completely irrelevant. Part 1 is so good mainly because this final climax ends in Joel saving Ellie instead of the world, showing all the things he has learned and how he and Ellie developed. I believe that it is better like this since the fact that there are other immune ppl which died trough experiments just renders the entire point of the climax of the first part completely obsolete.

[@canada1529]

@@Atlas_V_official I thought it was pretty clear that the previous tests were done on the zombies. As far as we know, the only person who's ever survived the cordyceps infection is Ellie.

[@sethl7078]

Yeah, they removed that from TLOU part 1 which is the remaster of the original game. They completely removed that

[@dylantortosa7678]

I finally finished watching the series with my wife but I previously played the games when they 1st came out a decade ago on the playstation 3 and I never thought that the series would have come this far. I'm proud to see that people like my wife who don't play games can finally see that the medium can present such great stories.

[@quentinhirschfeld9382]

This is the weirdest stuff i've ever seen, you're praising the fact that games are becoming what they're not supposed (which makes them unique as a art form) to be in order to please peoples that are not gamers?

[@dylantortosa7678]

@quentinhirschfeld9382 Did you know that not everyone on the planet plays video games? Crazy concept.

[@quentinhirschfeld9382]

@@dylantortosa7678 So? My point is games should stay games, not become movies and lose what makes them special! You wanna tell stories? Use level designs or gameplay as a part of it, or use cinematographic scenery but without scarifying what zt the end of the day is the most important about a videogame! This kid of reasoning are the reason why tis industry is dying creatively and AA games decreases in quality!

[@dylantortosa7678]

@@quentinhirschfeld9382 That's a pretty bad point. 👎

[@quentinhirschfeld9382]

@@dylantortosa7678 Games are about gameplay and level design man! If you don't wan't game that are made for gamers, it means you don't like games, you just want them to be turned into another medium!

[@darthskele]

Does anybody else find it strange that in Part 2, that the photos Ellie finds are all labeled with the character's names? Like, what realistic, believable human being does that? Who takes pictures of their friends and then labels them with their names instead of the dates they were taken? You're their friends, so presumably you'd already know their names, right??? Does anybody else not see this as weird?

[@Yume10605]

Well I could see labeling them with the name, dates and place they where at. But not just the names.

[@StevelyBruckShut]

You know why they did it lol

[@tomb4250]

​@@StevelyBruckShut there is no Part 2 😊

[@rikelizki1965]

@@tomb4250 yup 👍😁 shitty fan made game

[@ekhasetiawan272]

Still I've been waiting for Part2

[@TheTruthx58]

A heads up about Ellie letting you know when all the enemies are dead, this was also in the first one. You can tell if enemies are around by how NPCs move around a room, and they'll have voice lines when you're done.

[@borisfenestra]

I feel like one of the best little subtle details is that Henry was never actually going to shoot Joel, but you'd never know it if you weren't paying attention. Pointing the gun at Joel while shouting "It's all your fault" seems like a pretty clear statement of his intentions, until you remember that immediately before this, he mutters to himself, "What have you done, Henry?" His one responsibility was to keep Sam safe, and not only did he fail to do that, but he was the one who killed Sam. He places all of the blame squarely upon himself.

[@prestomagik9438]

I thought the rattlers jumping Abby was more a random happenstance, the extra detail that the firefly gave of more people joining everyday seemed convincing and honest. Plus, the fact the guys that jumped her don't mention it all makes me think that part 3 will include Abby trying to find the fireflies

[@xdarkwolf2255]

Neil druckman actually confirmed that title screen after beating the game confirmed Abby found the fireflies and they were being genuine

[@joshammari7959]

Title screen is actually catalina island, where the fireflies said they would be. Look up catalina island in real life

[@CeliMe007]

Honestly, I thought the Firefly thing was a trap by the slavers.

[@Nywraper]

​@@CeliMe007I believe that too

[@gurpchirp]

please god no. worst character of all time.

[@SorceressLyra]

The remake is a bit more than just a re-remaster, it adds a LOT of accessibility features which makes it playable for way more people. Just wanted to note that, since the accessibility features finally made it possible for me to play the game.

[@Gingy]

Oh that’s good to know. I personally don’t use accessibility features myself but for those that do that sounds wonderful. Part 2 had a lot so I’m assuming Part 1 has the same. Glad to hear you were able to play the game thanks to those features :)

[@jerrodbates8480]

What are accessibility features?

[@BoolyK]

@@jerrodbates8480 extra features for people who may have trouble playing the game otherwise. These options can make player models easier to see if you have a vision impairment, different audio cues for people with hearing impairment, and so much more. Naughty Dog is one of the few AAA devs that have invested an incredible amount in these features, even adding support for different controllers for people that may have trouble using the classic ones. Super underrated part of the industry but you can tell the teams that truly care focus on these features (See The God of War franchise as reference too)

[@jerrodbates8480]

@@BoolyK Ah I see. Thank you

[@avennoronha7081]

Congrats fam

[@Indiantrombone90]

I dont know if you hear this enough. But your retrospective videos are absolutely fantastic. Your voice is soothing, your analysis is in depth and interesting and I am subscribed because of that. Your ability to use words to convey emotions while dropping the occasional quip and off-the-cuff opinions, gives your videos a flow that makes me want more. I hope you do more retrospectives because watching these make me want to play games that I have never played before.

[@carlgriff]

Regarding Tommy telling Abby their names - you mentioned that he’s ‘just heard Joel’s story’ about the fireflies. Don’t forget that was years ago at this point, not a recent conversation. I don’t believe it to be out of character in the slightest for Tommy. Jackson is thriving, with hundreds, maybe thousands, of residents and it’s mentioned during the game that they often trade with travellers and people do come in and out of the city. So with that information we can assume that Jackson operates on a form of trusting the kindness of strangers first and foremost. They have the firepower to defend themselves if anyone steps out of line. Tommy’s whole mantra is about hope for the future, so in Jackson, he’s found a certain peace and he’s open to helping others. In regards to this specific incident though, Tommy and Joel are on patrol. That is their job. They are tasked with clearing areas of infected, collecting supplies and most importantly here, helping any survivors that may be struggling. Abby is alone and unarmed as her backpack is gone. There is no reason to believe she’s a threat at all. She is clearly scared and shaken, and Tommy does what is taught in any situation that involves a vulnerable person (be it a hostage situation or a suicide etc) - he offers his name. That is rule 1 of getting on a level with someone and calming them down. Relate to them. They aren’t making it out alive with getting Abby to calm down a little. Given all this information, Tommy does not act out of character in the slightest.

[@oscar3153]

Giving HIS name is understandable. Joel told Tommy what he did, why would anyone give out Joel’s to random people, especially since Joel never killed every Fire Fly? He even repeated it while he was surrounded by a group of armed people in a blizzard.

[@jacksonacosta7264]

@@oscar3153they just saved him. It would be rude not to

[@qiqi1329]

THANK YOU! its so annoying whenever people call this a "plot hole". theyve been living in jackson for like 6-8 years or so, its most likely that joel would be more at ease, especially with jackson's positive community

[@cwonderz8251]

I actually dislike many factors of the game and have mixed feelings about a lot of elements, however I agree with this writing plot point. They had no reason to believe that the people that saved them would pose a danger to them, especially since Abby suggested they stay safe where her group was temporarily positioned in while they were outrunning infected and also in the middle of a raging snowstorm which made moving around in that environment even more dangerous. They actually had no choice but to choose to rendezvous with Abby's group as it was the best course of action considering their situation. Plus, Joel at this point has a softened exterior and is more friendlier and warmer compared to how he was before he met Ellie, he's more benevolent and willing to trust other people just trying to survive, albeit not just anyone, we all know he has good intuition and street smarts.

[@coney_island_queen]

You got three things wrong: 1- Owen told Danny that he can finish off the Scar himself then Danny was so adamant on Owen finishing off the Scar so Danny pointed a gun at Owen and then Owen grabbed it and the gun was shot and Danny was shot by chance. 2- We know that the WLF lost to the Seraphites (And we got conformation that Isaac is dead) when Abby walks past the room where Dina was tracking the WLF. 3- The people that Abby and Lev contacted in Santa Barbra were actually Fireflies (We get conformation from the main menu backgroud after we finish the game) but The Rattlers were there by chance.

[@jameswaterman2982]

It’s always a treat to see a Gingy video appear in my feed ❤

[@timfrank7461]

Litterally SAME

[@owlson8829]

Yes

[@justint8415]

big facts

[@JugheadMalakai]

Bot

[@SuperDaz86]

​@@JugheadMalakai 😊😅😊😊😊😮😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😅😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@TheThirdPew]

Finally someone who admits the Abby section is what makes this game go from good to great. I remember thinking how boring it would be if it ended on day 3 ellie with her just getting revenge.

[@xdarkwolf2255]

I also think her section is what proves the message isn't just "revenge bad". It's an interesting perspective of what do we do after the revenge? And how she's still empty inside

[@jackburton9035]

it does though, all you do is replay day 1 and 2 again.

[@iliasVoolgaris]

42:52 "Did i go overboard with the shotgun?" *laughs in flamethrower*

[@cheezburgrproduction]

Imagine in Abby’s dreams he’s all crispy hl2 model lmfaooo

[@timfrank7461]

Did anyone notice the correlation between Bill and Joel? Bill is what Joel could become without love/ellie

[@hemogoblin69]

I don't think that's a thing

[@robertoburkes817]

Bill has love from his lover boy😂🤣🤣 Joel also has had love from multiple people. It would be cool to see Joel go off the deep end if Ellie never forgave him and he runs off on his own doin whatever in the world. And Ellie change her mind n she tries to track him down and save him from his self delete mission.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Here I was thinking Abby was supposed to be Bill. But because the new writers wanted their own "captivating" characters, changed Bill to Abby, change her attitude, change her to being a "tragic figure"... just to shit all over the entire cast of 1.

[@eskindermamo4178]

Another reason why Abby is muscled up is because she learned from her dad that this world isn’t made for naive and helpful people but for the ones that show no vulnerability. That’s why she was able to kill so many scars and become helpful to Isaac. The 3 days serve to show her transformation from that to a protective, compassionate, and selfless lifestyle. This is manifested in her dreams. In the beginning, she's always carrying a gun to her father's death and ultimately sees him dead every time. but in the end, she doesn't have a gun anymore and walks into a bright room with her father smiling back at her. There is also a theme of redemption by helping others and ways of coping with grief. But “revenge is bad” is totally not one of the themes that stood out to me.

[@oscar3153]

Redemption? She tortured and beat a man to death, and then did the exact same thing as said man and never showed remorse or self reflection. The opposite she said she wanted to do it further and wanted it to last longer.

[@Generik97]

​@@oscar3153Exactly at no point does she actually seem to reflect or question on what she did, the entire time she feels she was wholly in the right and never second guesses it and in fact doubles down on her belief. While you would expect that in a world where you have to kill to survive people might have some sociopathic qualities Abby is a psychopath unironically especially when you see her turn on the WLF without even a hint of hesitation or remorse.

[@oscar3153]

@@Generik97 Exactly what I’ve been saying

[@GhostyChives]

Excellent choice to end on the scene with Joel and Ellie overlooking the giraffes. That scene is probably my all time favorite in gaming. I always get emotional, and every time I play through part 1 i always find myself just standing there for 10+ minutes when I get to that part, just taking in the peace.

[@SubaruWRC1996]

I absolutely love ellie, especially in part 1. How she acts with bill is hilarious as well

[@davidmartin9183]

Ellie: why don’t you put fix this cars Bill: oh I haven’t thought about that why don’t I just go fix this cars (all sarcastic) Lmaoo it went something like that. This is why I wish the show wouldn’t kill bill off I would’ve love to see Bill and Ellie bump heads like in the game.

[@redneckreviews3016]

Honestly...how? I loathe Ellie. The first game is the most average game I have ever played. The opening in unreal amazing. And then the game sucks after that

[@mannperson324]

@@redneckreviews3016 that’s an awfully odd take and I suggest replaying the game💀

[@redneckreviews3016]

@@mannperson324 I have. I've played it a few times. And everytime is just a slog. Ugh

[@bug688]

@@redneckreviews3016 err weird take honestly. But it makes sense that the game wouldn't be that great for you because this game HINGES on it's characters. If you don't like the characters, there is no game. But I am really interested to know why you dont like Ellie IN PART 1 because I have never heard that before.

[@prodigyweeb8986]

Every time I think about Part 2 it makes me sad because seeing how Jackson is so chill it breaks my heart Sam and Henry never made it with them

[@stavman777]

The first game is about learning to love and trust again and the second game is about forgiveness, not only forgiving Abby but forgiving Joel for his choices at the end of the first game

[@swordpunk]

so real. That's why it's so heart breaking for Ellie. At the end ****SPOILER WARNING**** (If you even need that since youre watching a video on the entire series lol) You come to find out that Ellie and Joel were JUST beginning to repair their relationship move on. Just to have it stolen away.

[@SalviAlmighty]

I will literally watch every single analysis videos of these games. Thank you so much for covering them, I'm glad you got to experience this incredible story. As a personal note, I've always felt the connection between Ellie letting Abby go and that last flashback she got at the last second where she tells Joel "I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. But I would like to try." I'd like to think there was a huge importance to that specific line.

[@saeyyy]

I felt differently about a lot of this story but it was interesting to hear someone brand new’s take. I liked both games and the dlc a lot but all for different reason-but the way things landed differently for different people is part of the whole thing of telling a story. People will notice or resonate with different things the same as how we all interpret life differently. Cool that we both can still appreciate this game so much even though it seems like we had pretty different experiences playing it.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

I just hate how much the 2nd game's writers REALLY tried so hard to tell us "oh you think 1's cast was compelling, 2's cast is doubly better". Where they just shit on the character, development and story of one's while trying to convince us the 1st cast was totally like this in 1, why they're so terrible in 2 and I got so annoyed that every argument was "well people just don't like Trans in Last of us 2" and no word on shitting on our favorite daughter.

[@miipmiipmiip]

@@stoagymahalo5268 To be fair, a significant amount of tlou2 haters are also openly transphobic. The tlou2 subreddit is full of that stuff, for example. :/ I say this as a tlou2 hater myself..

[@jacksonacosta7264]

@@stoagymahalo5268the fact that no one mentioned lev being trans above and you’re kicking and crying about it tells me that this is projection and you just hate representation of non traditional women

[@SewerRatsarepeopletoo]

"The Rat King" is the hint - if you're scared of rats don't look one up.

[@syra1541]

yuck lmaoo

[@tjtoons6911]

Genuinely one of the best video essay creators on this platform. Every video is top notch man. Keep it up dude, your vids are amazing.

[@RedRum-xc6dg]

Joel told Tommy what happened with the fireflies 5 years before the events of the second game, that’s why we don’t see the “5 years later” thing show up until after their talk

[@bobbytuite3201]

I'd love to see your thoughts on the story of the Uncharted series because the quality shifts so much

[@ottomcannick7698]

Take all the time you need between your videos. The quality of them is fantastic, and totally unparalleled satisfaction.

[@carolinembarnes]

41:44 my favorite part of this scene is that when sarah died, he looked away twice and the second time he looked back she was dead. with ellie, he only looked away once and refused to look back at the fireflies coming straight at him

[@finn2718]

I’d played this game multiple times over the years and always loved it. Recently though I replayed it for the first time since my daughter was born and it was a drastically different experience. I connected with Joel in a way I couldn’t before. It reminded me of some advice I got before my daughter was born. “You won’t understand your own capacity for violence until you hold that little girl in your arms and your instinct to protect her at any cost kicks in.” I thought he was being a bit dramatic..until I held her.

[@Karmmic]

I love the bits of humor thrown into this video. With such a serious game the jump to hotline Miami really got me.

[@djericwhin7780]

It’s really nice to have you post this video as I’m finishing up the Last of Us part 2. After the show recently came out on HBO I tackled both games back to back. I definitely have to say, although both games were spoiled for me, I really have enjoyed both of them, but for entirely different reasons. I appreciated your takeaways from part 2, because in so many ways I agreed and identified with what you said about it. Both are amazing games in their own ways, and although the story may have taken directions I wasn’t ready for In part 2, I am hoping part 3 eventually puts a bow and wraps up everything nicely. I feel like with the show’s success the chances of a third game are highly increased.

[@SpeedDemon55]

Spoilers don’t really matter to me. I knew everything that happened in Part 1 and a bit of Part 2.

[@cheesydawg371]

Definitely the narrative needs a part 3 but Idk how they can have Ellie still be the main character when she has two fingers missing. That and the whole last game was about how violence consumed her so they're gonna need some reason as to why Ellie would ever go down a violent path again.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

I'd been ok with the plot... had they just been open about how much they wanted to burn down 1's cast down to their character development so they can make 2's cast look so much more compelling and struggle twice as hard for that award. I just hate everytime a fan would say "Ellie wouldn't do that, I hate what they're doing to her", its always "well not everyone likes Trans in games these days, but we accept that's why not everyone likes our game" where since then its still frustrating especially with 2's ending. Where even if they played the story UP TO THAT POINT of ellie deciding. She'd NEVER leave her family and Tommy NEVER leave his love. But EVEN that moment, I doubt Ellie be so guilty to hunt Abby down, see her left to die and get her down and rile her up to fight... to fight her for revenge AND still almost lose. -_-

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Honestly, I just wish if 2's Writers wanted to be so much better than 1's... they should have just put the story on the other side of the world.

[@Lifeless_Muffin]

i can barely sit through movies but these types of videos always attract me and keep me there

[@YeOldeMachine]

Tlou2 gave me probably the strongest emotional reactions ive ever had from any form of media. Yeah, it has its issues, but nobody can deny its a powerful, powerful piece of entertainment.

[@EnternalLast]

Could you do Red Dead 2 next? I think thats the best written game that I've ever played and would like to see your thoughts on it

[@Memnto_Morii]

I agree, would love to hear hom cover rd2. Such an amazing game

[@QuanchProductions]

Finally another Gingy video I can put permanently on repeat until I memorize every word

[@TheKuno]

i love that now people think this game is hated because its bad, even though its hated for completely unlogical reasons

[@skeley6776]

Bad story writing and pacing for a game that didnt need a sequel to begin with is somehow now unlogical?

[@TheKuno]

@@skeley6776 the game literally none of these issues exept pacing but even that is subjective

[@GloomyVerse123]

@@skeley6776 bad opinions

[@bankai9601]

What an outstanding work you've done with this. And I think that you are one of the few out there that truly highlighted what Part II is about, the improper handling of grief and its proper turnaround. Revenge was just the perfect medium to truly convey this topic of improper closure to a traumatic event. We as players felt the same anger and disappointment with how they handled Joel in Part II, but this was a heavily flawed character and at some point all the burden of its actions would have catched up, and we needed to accept that, say our goodbyes and move on. And those who turned on the game and/or shit on it are just a mirror of what Abbey and Ellie became while their grief was mishandled. Top job Gingy, really glad you did this one.

[@pignebula123]

I appreciate you making this video. I am someone that couldn't get over my hate for Abby and dropped the game after a couple of hours as playing her. After watching this I have a much greater appreciation for the second game. I still think the ending for Ellie was more brutal than necessary as it feels like Ellie is punished for making the same decision that Abby makes but gets punished for it in a way that Abby isn't. Abby looses her friends/family while Ellie looses her friends/family but Abby gets a “happy" ending while Ellie gets left alone by the end. Abby also doesn't suffer permanent injuries, beaten and starved sure, but she doesn't lose fingers like Ellie and doesn't end up alone.They both lost everything but it wasn't Ellie who started it, it was Joel and then Abby. I think the game would have been received better if there was a more "equitable" ending as it feels like Abby gets off "light" (it's relative) compared to Ellie.

[@titusarnklint8581]

So true! Feels really unfair. I like the idea in theory, but the execution is f#cking awful.

[@cthklh1458]

couldnt have said it better

[@Zoepohey]

Isn’t Ellie wearing Dina’s bracelet when she returns to the farmhouse? She isn’t seen wearing it when she leaves for Santa Barbara. That bracelet is pretty much like a wedding band between them. I think there is hope for them, and that Ellie will get a happy ending in the third game.

[@blackmanwithcomputer]

Abby got a "happy" ending after suffering and redemption. Ellie hasn't started her path of redemption yet. The whole point was that Abby was on the opposite side to the revenge mountain, while Ellie was basically a speed run of Abby's previous 4 years with us in the role of her friends (on the ride, despite ourselves).

[@redmdlee]

I agree that the game would had been better received if the perpetrators "got" what was coming to them but then to me it would lessen the point of the narrative and make it a shallow generic revenge story by adding in Karma ie. The "bad guys" get punished, all is right in the world. The Last of Us is brutally realistic in its depiction of the post apocalyptic genre and the Human Condition. Trauma Victims often don't get a happy ending despite being the victims, more often than not they suffer more than the people who inflict it as sad as that is.

[@ggImJesus]

Gingy with the amazing content as always! I’m looking forward to making quality videos like yours as well!!!

[@VexedVergil]

Ooof how dare you play the daughters death scene in full. Gets me every time :(. I think it hits me a little harder then it should as I too have a single daughter, and couldn't imagine losing her.

[@73delgado]

I noticed in the part where joel is cleaning the fret board of the acoustic guitar it was a Taylor. Kinda cool that they made the guitar bear the name of a real life manufacturer of acoustic guitars. Really awesome attention to detail and adds to the realism of the world.... well if you are a guitarist or a guitar nerd like me haha. not a detail just anyone would pick up on but still really cool none the less

[@rumblepuffgaming9415]

Jesus... the scene with Sarah's death... I cry every time.... Every damn time...

[@georgethomas4567]

I'll never forget the very first time I played this game. I picked it up because I had seen my uncle playing it and thought, "Neat that looks fun" only to be crying after about ten minutes. The first game has such a powerful story. I've had this running bet with people I know who don't play video games. They'll play the opening to this game and if I don't see tears I'll treat them to dinner and a movie of their choice but if they do I get $100.. so far I'm 2-0 lol

[@georgethomas4567]

Also just a side note. The scene with Ellie killing David is my favorite scene in the entire game. You start with this brutal moment when Ellie gets on top of him and he screams out only to instantly fall silent after the of many swings. So brutal, so chilling. Then the score seeps in as Joel stops Ellie taking her into his to comfort her and let her know she's safe. Then those three words that just ripped my heart.. "Oh baby girl" many people say their argument in the house is the best scene and I agree it's really damn good at the voice acting is emotional and raw. But this moment is the moment I knew this game was different. That was the moment I said to myself this game is going to be known as THE narrative focused video game.

[@TheGrooovyDude]

The switch to Abby does ruin the pace but damn was it amazing. Being forced to play as the person you were groomed to hate. Fucking amazing.

[@chandrawagner4061]

I appreciate your take on Part 2. You had a few more problems with it than I did which are valid and personal preference (ex not liking that Ellie announces when an area is cleared, I personally appreciate that but I'm also trying to Platinum the game right now and that saves so much time haha). But overall your interpretation of the game matches how I read it as well and that's nice to see as even people who I've seen praise the game didn't touch on some of the aspects and criticisms like you do. Great video!

[@Alex_Casaus]

You showed the daughter death scene but not the dead infected insect?

[@Ronam0451]

Seeing dead ants would be too much

[@lizw5587]

Tbh I'd probably still hate Abby even if her campaign was better than the first game. Joel was my father figure in my life when my own dad and I were dealing with super difficult things. Just my feelings and I see why people can like her and the point of the story. I'm not saying the story is stupid, I'm just too butthurt to ever play and knowing the ending I'd be upset. My dad thought the ending of the first game was stupid so I guess everyone has their opinions about everything.

[@sonicsforrealfather]

I remember getting caught up in the hate-train following TLOU2's leaks the week they occurred, especially watching live reactions from a live stream. After a few years being away from it, I got to say I have a new weird love of some of the most somber beats of the story. Joel's death aside, I remember just disliking how after everything Ellie is left a husk of her former self, but I guess that was the point. Great vid, as usual.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

That's what I still hate with a vengeance, because after the breakdown across number of channels, I keep hearing "most people who don't like Trans, don't like this story" or "most people just hate this because they must be sexist or uncomfortable around progress". Where for me, its the fact the writers in the second game clearly said "we won't change anything from the first part", just to ensure to shit on every single character and plot in 1's story and anything related to 2's new cast is "supposed" to be better and more compelling going through tougher times while still trying to tell us that this totally was a natural progression. Where REALITY, with what everything happen in the first game, the ONLY conflict should been from the first scene in the 2nd game, would be Ellie frustrated BUT move on and only plan incase that group would try and come back to kill her and her community, where I'm certain Joel (to avoid Ellie's death or discovery) would accept his death and Tommy just go back to his wife and prepare incase the group would come back. Where it been tough but the logical progression would have brought Ellie to becoming truly Joel's daughter because she'd NEED to go after Abby because the danger, not the revenge. Where you could tell, they (originally) wanted was for the moment of Ellie telling her target "you'd just come after us" where she'd never be vengeful, BUT cautious from here on.... But instead, everyone in Ellie's group changed to 1sided haters of trans and struggling people going through hardship and war... while enjoying melons and pregnancies. Where Walking Dead game written it better and it was just a quiet moment. Where I'm CERTAIN by then, Joel and Ellie WOULD have a contingency case he died, regardless if she was resentful or not.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

Where Long short, I hated it because it was just 2's writers shitting on the entire story AND cast of 1, while trying so hard to convince us "that's totally what everyone would do" and we hate trans characters and LGBT community if we have any contest against it. Because I still don't like how EVEN AFTER ALL that, I DOUBT Ellie would have left a wife and child AND TOMMY would leave his love just to live with his niece to go after his brother's killer.

[@justinhainsworth7726]

@@stoagymahalo5268I don’t think they shitting on it, the new cast isn’t good, most of them are unlikable , they clearly aren’t better people than Joel , only one who doesn’t want to kill Tommy and Ellie is Owen

[@bross7801]

@@stoagymahalo5268 how did they shit on their characters. Dude...Ellie left Dina (not her wife) because she felt she had no other choice. She was not sleeping, eating, she was depressed and Tommy brining Abby back up made it worse. Ellie was in the process of moving on, but had not "let it go" yet. She was still seeing Joel in a negative light, in pain, suffering because she had not let it go. It is not until she actually confronts Abby that she realises that this is not what Joel would have wanted for her. She recalls Joel from their last conversation and that he just wanted her to be happy and to live her life as best she could in the world. Ellie did not want to kill Abby and decides to let her go, letting "it" go. She chooses to end the cycle of violence in order to save herself from losing who she was, allowing her to begin her redemption.

[@skillfuloli492]

​@@bross7801bro just wanted an excuse to go in a homophobic rant

[@shaqtaku]

Steve Buscemi's performance as Mel was top notch

[@hemogoblin69]

Lmfaoooo

[@datiger39]

Your one of the content creators inspired me to start doing analysis videos good stuff as always

[@joshmclovin]

Just a note on the Joel and Tess thing, I think they might've had history. Before she dies, she tells Joel as she looks in his eyes "Look, there's enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me." Also there's a bunch of audio logs and notes in the Salt Lake City Hospital stating that there's been kids just like Ellie, who all died and provided no cure in return for their sacrifice so most likely Ellie would've died "all for nothing" like she says. There is a note about the "Rat King" too, they just started throwing patients down there and it became a mass grave during the initial outbreak. Great video, I figured you wouldn't catch everything, especially on your first playthrough.

[@hemogoblin69]

I could be wrong but I'm so sure ellie is the only one they found like that

[@joshmclovin]

@@hemogoblin69 it's time for another playthrough! There's audio logs and notes you can find in the hospital as you're fighting through it as Joel. Like he said in the review, everyone tends to rush through that section cause of the context.

[@hemogoblin69]

@@joshmclovin damn you're right, I should play it again

[@alfredsmith4431]

The tape actually states that the fireflies tried to make a cure out of normal.infected people, Ellie really was the only known immune, at least to them.

[@meaburro4207]

The thing about other immunes was a misunderstanding, there's no such recording/note, only one talking about experimenting on INFECTED and then jumping to talk about Ellie, which got some people confused. It even says they had never seen something like Ellie's situation. They never met another immune person.

[@Virgil__]

39:33 Straight up an AoT reference Amazing Video as always ❤

[@alanviniciuswanderleytavar4399]

It's pretty clear that Ellie would want to make the cure, even if she dies, even Joel and Marlene know that

[@StevelyBruckShut]

So let her make that decision

[@TheRandomLetsplays]

@@StevelyBruckShut What a pointless statement. The whole point is that Joel made the decision for her, it doesn't matter if she would have went through with it by choice.

[@StevelyBruckShut]

@@TheRandomLetsplays He made the choice for her because she literally couldn't. It's not that hard to understand If your female friend was hanging out with her crush black out drunk, would you stay with her? Or would you leave her with the dude because you think that's what she would want lmao

[@justsomekid6847]

She didn't want a vaccine, she doesn't care about what happens after, all she wanted was to join Riley.

[@jamesgatz5301]

100% they couldn’t make the cure, the hospital was falling apart and unsanitary. The firefly’s were a bunch of violent terrorists on their last leg. They were too eager to jump straight to ripping apart her brain and not even giving anyone time to think about the choice. All fan fic from part 2 don’t apply.

[@Crackerjack917]

Another Gingy video on my feed? I gotta break out the snacks for this one.

[@proxema_centauri]

Sarah's death scene is a whole different experience 😭😭😭😭bro this is prolly the first time i felt genuinely sad about someone dying in a game

[@Blackinght11]

I think the reason the second game falls flat for many, myself included, is that it gambles on wether you will feel for Abby and her friends, given how you've already murdered half of them by the time you met them in Abby's campaign. Also, many people waited seven years to see Ellie's and Joel's story to continue, given the game is called Part 2, and we didn't really get that. To cap that off, NOT killing Abby because revenge is bad, falls flat when you murdered 300+ people in game to get to that stage. I think telling the story chronologically, while also giving us time to bond with Abby (sans Lem imo because that dynamic feels bland and trying too hard to be Ellie and Joel 2.0). Maybe adding player choice to be more nonlethal or merciful. Those have made the game better as is, it's baffling Niel Druckman tried to throw a new protagonist at us in a 7 year wait, with one of the most iconics duos in gaming at the time. Just look at all the streamers and game walktroughts, that intentionally died at the Ellie boss fight. Regardless of your opinion of Part 2, that tells me something went wrong with it's plot. And the fact not even part 2 enjoyers are looking to part 3, which I think is dead in the water by now.

[@DanielAlves-ch9lb]

"And the fact not even part 2 enjoyers are looking to part 3, which I think is dead in the water by now." You are very wrong on this point tho. Go to the TLOU communities (that like both games) and you'll see that every month there are people talking about a Part III. Neil Druckmann himself in an interview these days said he recognizes the fans' desire for a Part III.

[@Blackinght11]

Daniel, I don't care about you or what you have to say.

[@DanielAlves-ch9lb]

@@Blackinght11 You actually care, since you mentioned it in your comment. I just wanted to clarify something that is not true.

[@TopNotchStoner]

​@@DanielAlves-ch9lbAgreed. I love Part 2(even more than Part1) and I'm very much looking forward to Part 3.

[@DragonDonut64]

@@DanielAlves-ch9lb Of course there will be at least some desire for a P3, but bad writing definitely either made it an inevitability or put it back many years. It took 2 years for what was arguably the most anticipated video game sequel of this century to hit the 10mil sales mark. Close to half of those sales were likely bought while heavily discounted and doesn’t disclose physical copies that went unsold at stores. While GoW Ragnarok sold more copies on its opening week AND hit the 11mil sales mark just 3 months later. If people like P2, good for them. I wanted to, but was let down. I know sales don’t always reflect quality. It kills me that Bloodborne doesn’t have more sales considering how great that game is. But I’m just saying. With how highly desired that sequel was, why did P2’s 10mil mark take 2 years to do what took Ragnarok 3 months to do? They’re both Sony exclusives. Druckman betrayed us all. P3 might’ve been teased by now if P2 had hit it’s expected revenue/sales mark in 3 months.

[@si7dsc]

Try to think of the flashbacks as stages of grief. For both characters, Abby’s grief is a little bit different, she thought killing Joel would end her grief, but it didn’t. She realized she actually had to change to reach acceptance and let go. Ellie’s grief was basically turning her into Abby. The flashback scenes are brilliant when you tie them to where each character is at psychologically.

[@Raidenfelipe07]

Amazing video as always Gingy, thank you very much for sharing it with us. Cheers

[@meshman4236]

I love that ellie doesnt know sam is bit when he asks about the afterlife, so she doesn't lie to comfort him and is brutally honest when sam is terrified about what comes next.

[@kirbeeez6131]

Babe wake up gingy is about to talk about tlou2 finally

[@Zoepohey]

It’s interesting that you say that Abby is still interested in Owen 1:43:54 and that Owen has moved on, when I honestly think it’s the opposite. I found that Owen was avoiding Mel and their new apartment by picking up assignments, Mel even says he hasn’t seen the apartment yet and it’s been a while. I personally think Owen broke up with Abby due to her lack of affection, and Abby was hurt by it but eventually got over it but still deeply cares for him of course. The main reason she went to the aquarium in the flashback is to notify him of the news, and he was the last one she told. He tries to tell her to blow off training (AGAIN) to stay with him and she interrupts him completely ignoring his request. I think she still has some feelings but is able to push them away, but honestly I think it’s more of a “I want you because I can’t have you” thing. But after their affair, Abby realizes it’s never going to work between them and starts giving him the cold shoulder, causing Owen to get more desperate for her, even willing to die on the island for her instead of staying with his pregnant girlfriend. I found Owen and Abby absolutely adorable when they were together, their optimism vs pessimism personalities worked really well. But then, Owen got toxic by dating her best friend, trying to avoid the fact that he’s about to be a father, and trying to prioritize Abby over Mel. Abby realized this and that’s why she says “get your priorities straight” when she’s about to head to the marina. It was so satisfying hearing her say that and you can tell she’s happy without him in Santa Barbara, but still acknowledges that he’s the reason she’s there trying to find the fireflies. When you play as Ellie and you find Owen and Mel at the aquarium, when you open the door you can hear them breaking up because Owen still wants to go to the island. At that point, it’s obsessive and pathetic he’s shoving Mel away and basically giving up his child for his ex girlfriend, whom he SHOULD be over with by now. If Abby and him got back together, I don’t think Abby would’ve forgave herself for what she had done to Mel and their child. It would’ve been a very toxic relationship.

[@michaelreuter2524]

Boys, it's my sleepover, I get to choose the movie.

[@lutha420]

As a father with a daughter, these games have a special place in my heart. I hope we get a conclusion to this dark twisted roller coaster!

[@riptofen6015]

Ain't no way gingy just opened his backpack to pull the shotty out for the doctor 🗿

[@coltonbunja]

ooof wasnt expecting to tear up at work today but here we are, watching sara die again. this is the harshest opening ever, booting this at 7am on a saturday while my partner slept... and man. it was just... heart wrenching.

[@Tonyoung55]

I felt both games were instant classic sure part 2 cut deep early but the story of revenge and grief was done great

[@ThisNThat0810]

Dude, i caught that One Punch joke when Abby got jumped lol. Definitely enjoy these for the PS games. Your deep dives into our favorite games is appreciated.

[@Queenofthebifauxnen]

the fact that my man's reaction to the trans character was 'oh, a trans character' and then continuing with his excellent content warmed my heart.

[@HighWireDiver]

My reaction was, "Wow, really? Y'all couldn't resist?" Although to be fair, that's not what made me quit. It was the lesbian farmhouse thing that really got under my skin for some reason. Subliminal messaging and propaganda at its finest.

[@JessieorQuinn]

@@HighWireDiver wow what a Snowflake

[@crazywarriorscatfan9061]

Phenomenal series. Sarah's voice actor utterly breaks my heart whenever I play the first game

[@R3TR0J4N]

I'm glad I've watched shows (like The Pacific) that shares similar emotional and moral aspect to base my perspective when it comes to PT.2. writing felt forced, yes, but so are incidents.

[@stoagymahalo5268]

If you felt that force, that's because they wanted to shit on the first cast and disregard ALL their development and established attitudes because the new staff writers wanted their own 'epic' game story that will be remixed for 10 years on... and to show 2's new cast is 100x better and harder struggled than 1's group. Why the sudden capture at the end of the Rattlers makes them come off as ACTUALLY BEING THE Fireflies as the twist, otherwise a group of "savages" living in old Tribes land BE in the same place as a freedom fighter group with the same frequencies without bumping into the fireflies just doesn't sound right. Much like Ellie and Tommy throwing away the very things that they both told Joel they prioritize, don't even bother throwing that very love away.

[@ilikemusic2726]

I'm pretty sure they're making a part 3. I really hope this doesn't happen, but I know Ellie is probably gonna die. She has to, it's just where the game is naturally headed. I would love to be wrong with her living out the rest of her days with Dina and JJ on the farm after a reconciliation, but I know that's not gonna happen.

[@itsCaptainEli]

I feel it's less that we see Joel and Ellie as unable to do wrong, but more that by the time they try to shake your loyalties, it's just not happening. Much like Ellie, we simply don't give a shit who Abby is or what she's about, especially right when they drop the Abby campaign on you. I feel it'd have been better if we somehow started with Abby and had some chance to start to bond with her friends before Ellie hunted them down. I feel like maybe there's some chance for your loyalties to be rocked a little bit if we knew them before they killed Joel, because by that point it's so unlikely most people will bother to understand her.

[@snowman851]

That's definitely fair, but the whole point of the switch is to test you. You're absolutely meant to hate it, you're not supposed to care or empathize with her immediately, but then yeah, later on, even if you don't empathize with her, you're supposed to see where she's coming from. After the Rat King, I started coming around on her and by the end I cared about both her and Ellie equally. But it's okay if you and others didn't, but you at least know where Abby came from and why she did what she did.

[@edmediciN7]

@@snowman851 What really makes me not relate to her is the reason her father died which started all of the plot. The fireflies were literally going to kill a child without talking to her or Joel (the "father") of the risks in a proper manner. After all of the journey, they could have taken at leats a few hours to talk things through The dad was killed basically beacause he was going to kill a kid, than her "father" killed him in rage. He more than deserved

[@snowman851]

@@edmediciN7 I mean it was to save humanity and even Ellie said she was supposed to die, she wanted to be the cure. It's the reason why she suffers from survivors guilt. I do agree the Fireflies could've handled it better, but the whole point of Last of Us, you're not dealing with the best of anyone anymore

[@denarr8276]

Keep up the good work Gingy. Hope to see more videos like this and the previous ones. I love that you tell the story and also give an opinion of your own on the plot/game itself.

[@swagwolfgang]

I played part 1 and 2 back to back for the first time in october and somehow didnt’t get part 2 spoiled all i know was that alot of people hated it and i was waiting for that moment while playing the game and i dont hate it at all i love it

[@lukemimnagh2594]

The game takes a second play through for most, it's not as good as TLOU 1, but it's still a good game

[@swagwolfgang]

@@lukemimnagh2594 oh i know i played it 3 times and still enjoyed it just as much

[@alansmith4655]

The story is... passable. The gameplay though is top class. Played it 4 times back to back going through the difficulties.

[@Spacecrust]

Same, I just bought a ps4 pro just to play the series. People were invested in Joel and Ellie, and fans waited a good long 7 years for a sequel. Playing as Abby after all the damage she's done, deeply upset people. The first couple times Ellie and Abby fought, I kept letting Abby die, hoping that would be the outcome 😅

[@somerandomperson5473]

The game play is really good but what pissed people off was the story

[@realBorisLegasov]

I don’t know why it would have come as a shock to you that Joel had told Ellie about what happened at the hospital. There are clues all the way up to that point that not only is their relationship hostile, but that she outright knows about his lie. The biggest one that comes to mind is the dialogue on Day One where Dina is asking Ellie to speculate about who was responsible for Joel’s murder, and Ellie becomes agitated and defensive, asking Dina to stop guessing. The implied reason is that Ellie knows the motive, and yet she can’t tell Dina because it would ruin Joel’s reputation with Dina and anybody else who might let it slip to. This is also partially the reason that Ellie couldn’t tell Dina (or anybody) about her immunity until she was extremely close / intimate with her. If people knew Ellie was immune, then it would prompt a line of questioning which would ultimately out Joel as somebody who could have saved humanity but chose not to - putting Ellie in an impossible position at the same time. Even before Ellie knew, Joel urged her never to tell people about her immunity which makes much more sense for his self-preservation than for Ellie’s. Not to mention that Ellie’s revenge is clearly motivated by her self-loathing which is fuelled by guilt at having cut Joel out of her life up until mere hours before his death. Also disagree with you about the effectiveness of ‘telling not showing’ story elements in the early stages when most of them are eventually shown later. Hearing them said gives them a subjective quality that seeing them doesn’t. Ellie can relay the events from her perspective, but we need to take her word for it until we can see it for ourselves later. We cannot appreciate the full emotional weight of the situation until we’ve gone through the story. When Ellie humiliates Joel at the dance, it’s heartbreaking as we presume at that point that it was their last contact, and since at the start of the story we can’t know why that would be so heartbreaking yet, it would be a waste to see this moment play out at that stage. This story is ALL about perspective. Likewise, the placement of the flashbacks is not bizarre , they are prompted by things which have happened in the present at that time. Strumming the guitar in the theatre when Ellie is alone prompts her to think about Joel, the reason she is there in the first place, remembering a moment in which she is learning to play the guitar followed by a memory of Joel. After coming back from trying, and failing, to find Tommy, she thinks about a memory with Tommy. After a horrible encounter at a hospital, she remembers when she returned to St Mary’s to reveal the truth of Joel’s lie. All the while, when she has moments alone, she is battling with her guilt, the very emotion which is driving her on her mission. Meanwhile, they also serve to reveal to us bit-by-bit the details of the mysteries at a pace which fits with the development of the situation in Seattle from Ellie’s perspective. For example, while I think most people would already have picked up on Ellie knowing about Joel’s lie, it’s a revelation that Ellie chose to respond by severing ties with him, giving a tragic gravity to the way in which he was taken, before (we presume) their reconciliation. Lastly, your ending line “I know part 2 wasn’t liked by many” is super weird. Pt 2 is highly, highly acclaimed and loved by the overwhelming majority of the players. The dissenting group who for some reason always get a mention in every review of the game are a small and vocal minority. I look forward to the day when every mention of this masterpiece isn’t prefaced by giving lip service to such a minority group. Challenge me if you disagree, but most of those who dislike the game have spurious reasons for their stance, and most of whom simply can’t handle the idea of seeing things from another person’s point of view. Regardless, the split in opinion on this game is not 50-50, it’s more like 90-10. Pt 2 was loved by many. I urge you to play the game again and pay more attention to the details.

[@DS3Enjoyer]

Man, you part 2 dick suckers are so volatile. Keep coping 😂😂 It was not loved by more, you're referring to the game reviews. Most people hated it

[@DS3Enjoyer]

Ironic you say we can't handle another point of view 😂 completely blind to the game's flaws

[@realBorisLegasov]

@@DS3Enjoyer flaws such as what? If you’re referring to the things I went into detail to refute in my comment, then you can hardly call it blind, when I simply disagree and give my reasons why. If you have others I'd be glad to have that discussion though.

[@DS3Enjoyer]

​​​@@realBorisLegasovidk the awful pacing, trying to make you care about Abby after she killed the main character, ruining a perfect ambiguous ending the first game gave us, the hollow "revenge is bad" message.

[@realBorisLegasov]

@@DS3Enjoyer you and I must have played two different games. Had no issue whatsoever with the pacing. I cared immensely about Abby and her place within the story, because she had a righteous cause and a morality no better or worse than anybody else - liking the ‘main’ character simply because you met them first is intellectually lazy. I mean what do you even think the purpose of art is? Being brave enough to kill characters that players like is good storytelling and keeps things genuinely unpredictable. Nobody in the story is ‘good’, or ‘bad’, and the moral ambiguity has been present since the beginning of the first game. To summarise the ‘message’ (not a word I would use) as ‘revenge is bad’ is so simplistic it barely warrants a response. Nor was it hollow - the actions of the story broke both of the protagonists in deep and resonantly human ways. Sanitizing the real world human cost of violence depicted in a game would be childish and pander to people who just like games because the gun goes bang. If you prefer games that show things in black and white then play those games instead. I don’t waste my time complaining about games that I don’t like, I just don’t play them, simple as.

[@alt0799]

Very cool for you to give a totally unbiased opinion on Part 2, considering how easy it is to get swept up in the bandwagon.

[@goodtaste2185]

The Last of Us Part 1 succeeded in bringing those classic zombie tropes alongside a predictable premise to gaming with incredible motion capture and cinematic storytelling. The gameplay was basic but it served the game well enough without disconnecting the player from the player character. The Last of Us Part 2 succeeded in bringing the brutal combat of a realistic apocalypse alongside an unpredictable narrative structure with incredible attention paid to detail through motion capture and cinematic storytelling to represent the best gaming has to offer from a realistic viewpoint. The gameplay was incredible and it served the game more than enough while delivering a disjointed narrative. They are both great games for different reasons and the overall plot is interesting and provocative, for better or worse. Any true artist or writer can draw volumes from this artistic endeavor. Great video, Gingy!

[@Comicbroe405]

Tlou is one of my favorite franchises & I always love hearing different takes on it. Really excited for yours!

[@HardWhereHero]

Joel's AI on LOU 2 during the hotel encounter is impeccable. He rushes enemies and protects her just like you did has him in LOU1, go back and play that part and just observe how he fights. He is the most deadly of companions, he takes down way more than other side characters. "surgical with a shotgun"

[@it_all_r3v0lv3s7]

at the end, Ellie still had Tommy and Jackson... Abby and Lev had NOBODY to fall back to but themselves

[@darenh355]

I swear. I don't even have to be looking at the screen. Just hearing Sarah's cries of pain is enough for me to start balling, and I've never even played the game. The VA did an outstanding job for the little screen time she had.

[@andrewkrickhahhn]

Thank you for calling “Part 1” out on what it really is. A Remaster of a Remaster.

[@y1pp33st4r]

everytime i see the clip of ellie beating the heck out of david and screaming while joel comforts her after i sob uncontrollable

[@tmullins64]

I played part two completely unspoiled but I played in short sessions. Completing 1 maybe 2 seditions at most a day. Not for any other reason other than it’s an emotionally heavy game. Doing this helped curb the pacing issues and gave me more time to process and empathize with Abby. Granted I almost put the game down when I found out I would have to play as her for the second part. Naughty Dog asked a lot of the players in their second part. A bold move but never have I had a game make me feel as much as this. There were parts that I just didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to bash the girls head in at the hospital o didn’t want to fight Ellie, hell I didn’t want to fight Abby at the end. Never have I went into a boss fight not wanting to be the victor. This is why I think TLOU 2 is an amazing game.

[@liamfackelman6582]

Honestly, an amazing game

[@TheMasterk1lla]

As someone with ptsd myself and dealing with those memories this game had me completely enthralled, when this game first came out I didn’t play out for 2 years because of how Joel died

[@sladehildebrand7518]

Part 2 is very good, my only complaint was the way it was laid out. Spending many hours as one character only to get to a cliffhanger and having to spend severe hours as another character was jarring. Had we switched each chapter we could’ve cared more for the individual characters.

[@BigDexMedia]

Sarah's death hurt me the absolute most even though I am not a father but I am in a friendship/relationship with mother characters