Mythology of the Epic Duel

[@wildstargazer11]

As always, you've captured the deeper symbolism of the narrative and I'm so happy that you're sharing the depth of meaning so that others can better understand this story. I truly feel that it is a remarkable piece of storytelling that can really be used to catalyse inner growth and healing. Fantastic work 💜

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you, Em! TLOU2 is the gift that keeps on giving

[@victornganga6972]

I love when he says our two protagonists. Distinguishing this two characters as one. With numerous parallels.

[@RamChop451]

God, when Owen walks in and his head is right in front of the curled tentacle right behind him. That's amazing

[@Natan_Korkot]

Time stamp?

[@simonrockstream]

@@Natan_Korkot 6:07

[@louiekim824]

😨😨😨

[@RamChop451]

6:06 Owen walks up to Abby and Yara and right behind him is a curled tentacle extending from the ceiling, coming into frame and circling perfectly behind Owen's head. It's super ominous

[@VPapgeo]

Thanks for analyzing so many parts of the game. When I first played it I could only scratch the surface of what my mind could perceive, for I was blinded by my expectations as a gamer. Now that I have realised the depth of this game I see it completely different. Thank you once again for your amazing work

[@WolfofThorns]

My pleasure, Vangelis

[@mahmoudwaleed1623]

New video right before the anniversary, Happy tlou 2 anniversary everyone 🎉🎉 !!

[@WolfofThorns]

Happy TLOU2 anniversary, Mahmoud!

[@mahmoudwaleed1623]

@@WolfofThorns ⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩

[@T3AMKILL]

This was so interesting!!!! I did see the whales everywhere but never knew the meaning… and I never even noticed the octopi! Abby going through the belly of the whale was very clever. There’s so much symbolism in this game. The locations of the cards being found at the coffee shop and before the aquarium also really blew my mind. Damn! That’s so well done. You’re completely right though - it was Ellie fighting herself. Her leaving to SB was her trying to overcome her trauma. The entire story is Ellie fighting her ego. Her cathartic moment of Joel is her ego death. Also like you said Abby’s arc, and the fact she carried out her revenge, was very tragic. She paid the price. Redemption or not. Just like Joel. She wasted years of her life and in the process losing her humanity as well as relationship for her obsession of revenge, forming herself to become a literal weapon of destruction to take out this monster known as Joel. It turns out he is nothing but an old man. He did not fight, he did not beg for mercy, he accepts his death. "Get this over with". This is what caused Abby to turn to torturing him, which put their entire group at risk, and eventually this is what caused their entire group to die. It was her selfish and sick desire to prolong Joel’s death that set off the chain reaction. And Abby got nothing from it as her nightmares persisted. She sets off to do good with Yara/Lev, she finds Owen. Owen and Abby love each other, and Owen still wants Abby. “We’re allowed to be happy”. Things are looking good for her (although the last thing she does say to Owen wasn’t very friendly), but anyway. Things are looking good. Then her past catches up with her. Actions have consequences, just like Joel killing Jerry did. She then finds him killed. Owen we know never even wanted to go, and it was Abby who guilt tripped him into going. Now she needs to live with knowing that they could have had a future together, but her revenge took away this chance forever. On top, she will need to live with the guilt that it was her pressuring her friends to go to Jackson. To add, she even failed to protect Lev, and after months with the Rattlers now both their fates were sealed for death on those poles. She even doomed Lev to death. Then by some divine miracle the person who she wronged the most, saved both their lives, and even lets her live despite having every justification to kill her… giving her a second chance at life with Lev. She was able to find her redemption by doing a selfless act, but actions have consequences and you can’t run from your past. Her revenge journey fixed nothing but she still ended up paying the price for it. But, she was cleansed from her sins by Ellie in those shallow waters, and sails off reborn to her new community with her new purpose in life. Ellie’s arc, and that she did not act out revenge, was actually the catalyst in her moving past her survivor’s guilt that was haunting her since Part 1, in her forgiving herself, and the root of it all, forgiving herself. Her fingers were a small price to pay, while also being symbolic to their relationship and Future Days was her connection with Joel. Those stumps, that connection to Joel, was cut. But since then, they have been cleaned, what could be kept was salvaged, what couldn't be kept was taken off. Her fingers are healing, she is healing. Her losing Joel is healing. She lost her physical connection to Joel, but not her mental connection. It is all healing. That last scene, her walking away, to me, was when she finally healed. Ellie’s lost a lot in Part 2, but she grew from that little girl in Jackson to a mature young adult. Sometimes you need to go through hardships to find what you’re capable of, and sometimes your world needs to fall apart to discover how strong you really are. She walked out of that farm as a grown, matured, and much stronger person than who she was at the start.

[@DanFarrell98]

How does this game just keep getting better and better?

[@ThyAxeman]

Looking forward to replaying it on ps5 whenever it will become available again

[@dainphillips3126]

@@ThyAxeman it’s so smooth on ps5

[@nday5356]

@@dainphillips3126 rub it in why don’t cha I got better luck squeezing water out of a rock than find a ps5

[@J.F.331]

Right!? As people are complaining about the plot they seem to be missing the bigger picture hidden deeply in the characters and their decisions.

[@dawndravis86]

"If you're thinking that the whale represents Abby, and the cephalopod represents Ellie, then the point may have been missed entirely" KING SHIT, SPITTING FACTS! Awesome video :)

[@WolfofThorns]

Join me on Twitch live right now to celebrate the 1-Year Anniversary of The Last of Us Part 2 for a 24-hour stream playing TLOU2 from start to finish! www.twitch.tv/wolf_of_thorns

[@nihilityjoey]

I loved this game, and not going to lie, my eyes were filling up at this fight. I so much wanted to just leave my controller alone and not do anything. It took so much effort to do the fight sequence. This game did it right.

[@AAAAAAAA-yl5wh]

Brilliant analysis once again, thank you for the incredible content Wolf-endure and survive!

[@WolfofThorns]

My pleasure, A M! Endure and survive indeed!

[@blacktimbs8354]

Every time i watch your videos i am amazed at how you inspect and dissect everything, with the various literary references. Great video as always

[@remeers7417]

Perfect way to start off my day off. Thanks Wolf!

[@WolfofThorns]

My pleasure, Remee!

[@kurokotetsuya1132]

Wow! Just when I thought you've already explored all the hidden details of this game, you show us even more! Thank you for making this amazing video on the first anniversary! It was so interesting to learn about all the instances where the whale and cephalopod symbols made an appearance. My personal favourite detail is the connection between Big Blue and the precious memory of Joel.

[@rsolaris6929]

Amazing

[@vivekmaharaj8672]

Wow excellent analysis!

[@Petdub]

These videos help me so much. Not only to understand the game more, but I have to write so many essays at school about films and what they are trying to tell us. You help me identify things I usually wouldn’t - like the squid and whale meaning. The small details tell a story. Thank u

[@farbodnaseri2078]

It’s been one year since we were amazed by an extremely anticipated story which caught us all off guard multiple times and reminded us of the power of storytelling in video games and maybe showed us a glimpse of what might happen next in this medium Happy The Last of Us Part II anniversary everyone Endure and Survive✌🏻❤️

[@WolfofThorns]

Endure and Survive indeed, Farbod!

[@ryanli8371]

An excerpt from CinemaWins’ “Everything Great About Joker Part 2”, I made many twists to suit my version for TLOU 2: The reception for TLOU 2 was super divisive and I understand why not everyone loves it and I understand why it made people angry/disappointed with this game, even though if I don’t agree with the reasoning. However, there’s something that I’ve been slowly learning about critics and general audience members alike. This will sounds strange coming from me, but every games has a slew of problems from the overt to miniscule. Flawless games do not exist, and whether those flaws bother us depends in large part on how we FEEL about the game. There is a razor thin line between masterpiece and schlocky try hard nonsense, and the line can shift based on our emotions. Every single games will fall apart when you start picking it apart OBJECTIVELY. I’m not joking, The Witcher 3 contains many in-game bugs when it was released. Then there is the game economy, it is unbalanced. The reward you get from those quests are rather insufficient and unless you either use some exploitation or cheats, you won’t be rich enough to afford and upgrade all the Witcher armors, especially the ones in New Game Plus. I remember seeing some saying that the final act in the main campaign is rushed. But its still a masterpiece of a game and it won the Game of the Year Award. Red Dead Redemption 2, also masterpiece that really pushed the emphasis of realism for the in-game world. But perhaps too realistic. Some people complained that the in-game animations such as looting and opening drawers takes too long and too tedious. I know a friend of mine took issues with the same repetitive mission structure because he said he grew bored on the dialogue of every horse rides, shooting people, and long riding back. Some also complained that the story was too long to complete and that the epilogues are not necessary and it only padded out the story length. God of War (2018), one of the fewer problems is the lack of boss variety because many of the bosses are the same. They are either re-skins and different attack patterns. There were like 12 trolls? All have the same gigantic column that they use to hit Kratos. Some have different attack patterns and elements, but nevertheless re-skins. The same goes to all the Valkyries. And then we had that one side missions where a witch tricked Atreus in seeing his Faye again turns about to be another Revenant, which we come across plenty throughout the game. The previous God of Wars games had different bosses and they’re not re-skins of previous bosses and each one of them brings engaging dynamics to the players. It also doesn’t have more weapon variety and QTE, which is something the previous entries did well. Then there is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. One of the best games from Hidetaka Miyazaki and won GOTY 2019, yet journalists complained about the game being “too hard” on its release. Unless you mastered the game’s combat mechanics, you will get severely punished if you don’t time the deflect correctly and the damage is very large, whether if its on New Game Plus or not. It also makes the prayer beads useless in the new game plus run because you take more damage from enemies. It also doesn’t really allow you to customize the character, something that it strayed from the previous FromSoft’s souls game. Even though the latest update gave us only a few skins, the customization is limited. Spiderman PS4 (2018) is one of the best Spiderman games to date. But the open world activities are not innovative. Swing to a hideout, take out enemies, mission complete. Some complained on its repetitive elements of the open world activities. The wall climbing wasn’t exactly well fleshed out as well, compared to the last Spiderman games. And Ghost of Tsushima, masterpiece too, but there’s some issues with it too. The lack of ragdolls on the enemies’ dead bodies kind of bothered me because they all have the same death poses and even clip through different environments (that’s coming from a person who became used to rag doll physics in many games). The open world activities are also criticized. Repetitive eliminate enemies at an outpost to free the territory. The story is great, but this kind of story is not exactly new. A big bad threatening a land and the protagonist/hero must defeat the big bad in order to free the land from the big bad’s influence. But, depending on you, the good outweighs the bad, and we like how TLOU 2 made us feel, even if you feel bad in the end, you can like that feeling and so we let the problems slide or we don’t notice it. Change our emotions, and the problems will be all we see. And that includes social or political statements we interpret affecting our experience. I don’t believe this is new, but our feelings obviously matter. It’s frustrating to watch the same people complain about the exact same details/elements in one game and defend it in another. I’m sure I’m guilty of it as well because the truth is, we can’t completely control our emotions, and pure objectivity is pretty much impossible for humans. TLOU 2 definitely got us talking about many things on the game, and I’m glad that the original hysteria and intense hate/toxicity within the gaming community has subsided. We’ll have to wait a few decades to see where this game lands history. You don’t always have to say something to be remembered.

[@TheBiakko]

Great visual work by Voldsby

[@WolfofThorns]

One hundred per cent. I love her work and working with her.

[@ruidusmoon]

Your analysis videos are always so amazing. Thank you for yet another great one!

[@WolfofThorns]

My pleasure, little spacehead!

[@TheMarine316]

As I sit down on the eve of TLOU2 one year anniversary, I click play, enjoying another analysis video, another well thought out analysis video 👍🏻

[@WolfofThorns]

So happy to be a part of your TLOU2 anniversary experience, Marine 3:16!

[@samhinnant4416]

Damn, this game will never be surpassed. Each playthrough is a different lesson we all need to learn. Keep looking for the light everyone 🙏❤. Keep up making the great videos bro!

[@patientelijah861]

Another fantastic video, bud. Can't wait for your livestream tomorrow, though I'll be at work while you play out most of it, so I hope you'll have it recorded so I can watch it when I have time.

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you, Elijah, and 24 hours is a long, long time, so I will be streaming forever--pop in and say hi, help me "endure and survive" the brutal length of it. And no worries, I will be taking your suggestion and uploading the full thing to youtube, or at least try to--we'll see what KZbin has to say about it.

[@alvarocoras10]

Great video as always! Btw, hoping you keep collaborating with both Voldsby and Created Nor Destroyed, quality of these videos is top tier :D

[@WolfofThorns]

One hundred per cent, Merino. Much love for CND and Voldsby, two extremely talented artists in their own right. Looking forward to future collabs with them, rest assured, as we all seem to feel the same about each other!

[@AC-nl7qr]

A very thematic game and it is only through your videos I understand it this game is great and sadly people don’t appreciate it enough and hate it but hey everyone is entitled to their opinion but a very wise saying I heard was from Arthur Morgan “revenge is a fools game” but yea great vid as always and happy anniversary to my favorite sequel to a game and franchise( besides blade runner 2049). Wolf I have a question will you ever do movies for your channel like your video game videos? Again great vid

[@jeffextreme5498]

Your videos are so good. I love how deeply you go into the real meaning of the game.

[@chef_boysauce4399]

I never knew about the belly of the whale or the cephalopod. I should study the hero’s journey. Anyhow, I think Seattle’s flooded city adds to the presence of these two inner forces constantly wrestling as well. And then in Santa Barabara, you see water twice in an otherwise arid environment. When you find Abby’s boat by the shore, and when you duel Abby. The differences of the shores are night and day. Literally and figuratively

[@WolfofThorns]

Absolutely agree--very great parallels as you mentioned, Chef

[@tylerupchurch9581]

You did a great TLOU prequel and sequel pitch. I know it’s confirmed they’re in different universes, but do you think you could do a TLOU/Uncharted Crossover pitch?

[@WolfofThorns]

You never know what the future might hold, Tyler!

[@maybetomorrownewmaker]

how would that work? the only thing that comes to mind is that TLOU pandemic happens shortly after Uncharted 4 and you play as Nathan's daughter surviving in the apocalypse maybe she's still treasure hunting like her father, but instead of uncovering treasure from centuries ago, she's uncovering artifacts and secrets from the pre-apocalyptic world instead? something like that might work otherwise I don't see the point of that crossover

[@vanessabodylski2964]

Thanks for this guided the analysis of the imagery (It feels like a English Lit/Film Analysis class :). This game gets better and better with time and this just made me love it even more. I totally missed all of the symbolism first time through but felt that there must have been something more. Thanks for the amazing content!

[@WolfofThorns]

You're very welcome, Vanessa!

[@exclusiveaccess85]

So many things I miss when I was playing the game, your videos are great is like many story’s in just one game thank you for taking the time to notice all the impressive big details

[@WolfofThorns]

Glad you are enjoying the content!

[@ezio123sh]

A great video...worth the wait!

[@dorkangel1076]

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been a year already.

[@timtemple2230]

This game was poetry in motion

[@drewmayes2935]

Duuuude, your videos are god tier 😥😥😥😥😥😥

[@TruthNeverFade]

Your analysis is on point and I always enjoy watching your videos and open myself up for new perspectives. Thank you!

[@louiekim824]

Dammit, Wolf of Thrones. I swear, one of the ND employees had definitely notified their boss and the “boss” is feeling the greatest catharsis of his life enjoying how much you put your thoughts here and figured out the crucial foreshadows and details. Now it’s my turn to impress you! This is something I want to share with you. This is just an opinion some of them are from my own thoughts the others are from different analysis comments from various Ellie vs Abby Final Fight videos. I felt like you might be interested cuz you’re you lol When Ellie sees Abby in her slaved, tortured, and malnourished state, Ellie decides it does not feel right to fight. In addition to the fact that Ellie went to California not because of revenge, but because of her PTSD (there's an interview with Neil Druckman about this). As Ellie witnesses how Abby runs straight to Lev to save him and to comfort him "I got you, I got you", Ellie wonders if this is how Joel must have looked like when he was saving her at the hospital, judging by her facial expression. Abby tells her "There are boats this way" instead of ignoring her or threatening her, so Ellie suspects that Abby's vengeance and hatred towards Ellie, Tommy, and especially Joel are gone. However, when Ellie sees blood she has the flashback of Joel and she cannot bring herself to let Abby go. One should note that Ellie says "I can't let you leave" and the tone is very trembling as if she were desperate. If Ellie wanted revenge, she would have immobilized Abby by shooting her in the kneecap or would have said something more violent like "You're dying here, don't think it's going to be slow". Ellie's PTSD and guilt are slaving Ellie to fight. Since Abby already let all the maliciousness go, she refuses to fight Ellie. Even in the interview with Laura Bailey, she said Abby understood how Ellie felt. My take is that Abby would have let Ellie to kill her. On the contrary to what Abby suspects, Ellie is not seeking revenge; Ellie is looking for a way to escape her PTSD. Thus, Ellie threatens to kill Lev because she is so desperate. Ellie fights Abby and barely manages to overpower her. As Ellie drowns Abby, Ellie has the flashback since the first time Ellie has killed someone, it was to save Joel from "drowning". That's why Ellie is crying. She is becoming the same person who is killing Joel. I still don't have a clear idea what triggered Ellie to have "good" flashback, but I assume it's because the end (of her revenge, of her PTSD, of her journey, etc) is near, she remembers her final moment with Joel. "I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. But I would like to try." Abby finally becomes equal to Joel when Ellie was drowning her. So when Ellie has the flashback of her final conversation with Joel, this sentence is not only to Joel, but also to Abby and also to herself; forgiving herself of wasting 2 years to reconcile with Joel and treating him like shit when they finally had a start to fix their relationship since she figured out the truth. Ellie thought it is too late to fix their relationship much less forgive him, but she realizes it is not to late this time. So Ellie makes the hardest decision ever. "Go. Just take him." For quite a long time, I thought "him" meant Lev. But now I can see that "him" was referring to "Joel". Ellie is finally able to let Joel go. The one who has taken Joel from Ellie is right there. So I think this sentence truly means "Go, I can let go of my vengeance. I can move on now. I'll let Joel/you go." I believe at this point. Ellie is mostly free from PTSD. The final step is to truly say good-bye to Joel. Therefore, the one last time Ellie plays the guitar and remembers the final conversation with Joel one last time. Then she leans the guitar on the wall instead of packing it back into the case (letting the guitar/Joel to be free instead of trapping it back inside). Now all Ellie has to do is to reconcile with Dina, JJ, and Tommy. According to Neil Druckman's interview (I forgot the time stamp but I can give you the link if you'd like), I doubt Ellie reconciled with Dina before visiting their old farm. The first draft of ending is Ellie returning back to the farm only to find that Dina left with JJ and left Ellie nothing. Ellie plays guitar for one last time and she packs JJ's elephant toy (I forgot the name) in her backpack before leaving the house. Neil changed the scene because he thought Ellie packing the elephant toy gives too much away and he wanted to make the ending look as vague as possible. I have to admit, I had thought the story of this game was so fucked up despite not being a fan of Joel. I didn't like him but I care about Ellie a lot. However, throughout the time I realize more and more that this game is very powerful. Personally I see it as a masterpiece; I wouldn't call it a 10/10 but definitely 9/10. With this game in mind, I will never ever judge something until actually having to experienced it myself. Thank you very much for reading!

[@ryanli8371]

Masterfully explained my friend. Its okay if you give this game a 9/10. Make no mistake, this is not an easy game to play. Its a game that challenge our biases and emotions. I have to admit, I share your similar viewpoint with Joel because I played TLOU 1 quite late, only as a preparation for TLOU 2. While Joel is not truly a good person, he is a human being who has emotions and experienced pains. Thats why so many of people loved Joel and saw him as a beloved video game character. So loved that we overlook the misdeeds he committed in the first game. All I have to say, is that TLOU 2 presented humans in its most raw form. It exposed the darkest aspects of humanity, but also the good ones. I have to say that Ellie's forgiveness is more of a case for herself, rather than to Abby. She was able to overcome her guilt of alienating Joel and not giving a chance to forgive him. We experience pain throughout our lives and some scars do not heal, not even like 30 years later. Forgiveness is a truly difficult thing to do. Sometimes not necessarily to others, but to ourselves.

[@louiekim824]

*Moi still waiting for Wolf of Thorns to share his opinion about this* 😞🧐

[@louiekim824]

@@ryanli8371 Hi! Thank you for your reply! I'll have to be honest. I wasn't really a fan of Joel to begin with. I even got to despise him as this "Fans" got crazy to the point whenever I commented that I love Abby they harass me, coercing people that if they like the game they're dumb and "not understanding the game", telling everyone that "Joel deserved better" and that he "went to Heaven with Sarah", and Laura Bailey getting disgusting death threats etc. However, once I got to ignore all that I started to tolerate him more. I agree, TLOU2 illustrates humans as we are and I really like it. Of course, there still are absolutely good people and absolutely bad people but most of us are... "both". I don't know how, but this game sorta shaped me as a human being I guess lol

[@ryanli8371]

@@louiekim824 No problem. When arts like this makes you think more critically rather than based on personal opinions/biases, you know when it succeeds on its purposes Its funny that you mention about the whole thing with fans wanting Joel to "deserve better" ending and such. Well guess what...so are many people in real life. And those people did not even commit any serious misdeeds in their life, practically making them wholly good people. History has a very bad habit of including human tragedies from the minuscule to the overt. Accidents, murder, war, genocide, school shootings... the list goes on. I can pluck out a 1000 examples of these tragedies. Those people in those tragic events "deserved better" too, and yet it happened. The question is, why do we pay attention to the tragedies in fictional stories (especially to someone we love such as Joel) than the ones in real life? I think its simple. It only matters when it directly affects us. Most times, the closest that we come to contact with these events is through the news or history books, so it does not have a serious impact to us. Its curious that video games can create one of those "direct" contact to tragedies But this generally applies to all human beings. We get angry and mourn over a "loved" one's death if the tragedy has a direct impact or connection to us, even towards fictional characters. I don't know about you or your personal beliefs, but there are people who actually genuinely believe this (not saying I wholly believe them either). Do you believe that everyone's story and fate is predetermined? Do you believe that either God, the universe or some form of higher power is in control of our individual story? A lot of people do. But in this case, I'm just entertaining this idea and belief. What if our misfortunes are the result of predetermined fates? What if some of those tragedies are a result of God's "bad writing" or "lazy writing". The way I see it, the people who hate Neil Druckmann for his direction of TLOU 2 is like blaming God or the universe for our tragedies throughout the history. Maybe even accusing and blaming them for Joel's death as unjust and disrespectful is like blaming God or the universe for the tragic deaths throughout history. I'm saying this because ND emphasized realism with Joel's death instead of conforming to those popular entertainment trends such as heroic sacrifices (not saying that self sacrificing is unrealistic). Unfortunately, historical tragedies, especially from the past, are very real. Accusing and being angry that Joel's death is "unrealistic" and "stupid" is practically denouncing our very human existence. It might as well be calling our history "unrealistic". Anyway, sorry if you feel confused with all this ramblings or maybe feeling some existential crisis. Its just that these thoughts are in my head after finishing TLOU 2 and a few months have passed by. I have share them in one way or another.

[@louiekim824]

Ryan Li I have to be honest that I do feel confused and that our conversation got slightly bent but I liked reading this! For me, I believe in free will and heaven and hell!

[@edward9522]

Didn't expect to see Barry Lyndon in this video. One of my all-time favorites.

[@WolfofThorns]

"Lord Bullingdon, in view of Mister Lyndon having fired into the ground, do you now consider that you have received satisfaction?" (Also, I named my beloved tabby cat Lord Bullingdon, which I call Bully for short.)

[@edward9522]

@@WolfofThorns Your cat: "I have not received... satisfaction"

[@WolfofThorns]

@@edward9522 It's as if you know my tabby very well

[@marcileatherboots1]

Another FANTASTIC video!!! Every time I think there isn't any more literary symbolism within the story, Wolf always surprises me with more.

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you, Marci! Glad you enjoyed this one

[@marcileatherboots1]

@@WolfofThorns ... ???? Dude I always enjoy your TLOU content. I just have an issue with people "beating" Part 2 on Grounded if they use cheats. That = all.

[@WolfofThorns]

​@@marcileatherboots1 Still beating me up, Marci 😂 My bruises haven't healed from last week! 🤣

[@marcileatherboots1]

@@WolfofThorns ... Abby is my spirit guide, what'd you expect?? 😄😄

[@tormentedsoul5641]

wow, you always bring something new to the table

[@eduardomora5403]

Bro your videos are holy Mary good for ever in the world

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you for sharing the love, Eduardo

[@emo3113]

Well damn. What a deep, thorough video. This game just doesn’t stop with its surprises. Love the vids man. Keep ‘em comin’.

[@wrench9782]

Yet another amazing video by the Wolf. Keep it up bro, your doing great!

[@WolfofThorns]

Thanks, Wrench, will do!

[@timtemple2230]

Loved all the symbolism in the museum chapter. The wolves and moose the one wolf was even biting the same sideleg that abby blasted of joels . The 2 dinosaurs squaring of at the base of the spiral stairs Hell joel even had a picture of a moose by his bedroom door in part 1.

[@exclusiveaccess85]

Wow the pictures looks 4K well almost but they look so good

[@andreamontanaa]

A year later and there still is so much to analyze and discuss about the game!

[@WolfofThorns]

I can't believe it's already been a year, Andrea

[@busanim]

Even though I absolutely don't like TLOU2 (I mean its story) I still watch these types of analyses with interest and respect the opinions of those who liked the story. I always finds that both sides, those who liked and disliked (or even hated) the game are right in some aspects. So I enjoyed this analyses even though I don't agree with many parts of it. Thank you for the video ☺

[@WolfofThorns]

I am glad you enjoyed this deep-dive, Busanim. Thank you for leaving such a thoughtful comment.

[@happyadz8352]

Brilliant work as always Wolf! I always felt that their conflict is mirrored on a much larger scale by the wolves and seraphites. Like you say, duals are presented as about resolving an issue and many players at first want to kill abby as they believe it will bring them closure or justice. But, in the endless violence and suffering between the two seattle factions, the lack of resolution or justice is abundantly clear and I think attentive players subconsciously register that. Having all that in the background definitely made me lose more and more desire to keep chasing ellie's idea of violent retribution. - Adz

[@T3AMKILL]

I think they show what happens in a big scale and things escalate going unresolved. Eventually, they both completely wiped themselves out.

[@iraoscuro4514]

Thank you very much for this great analysis

[@WolfofThorns]

My pleasure, Irina!

[@edwardzu]

Great job. Thx

[@unbrokengaming5954]

Amazing video as always, that helps me further understand why this is my favorite game of all time🔥🙏

[@RebeccaRFrechette]

super insightful! I love your videos :)

[@WolfofThorns]

Thanks so much, Rebecca!

[@thedragonofechigo7878]

I absolutely love your content on the TLOU It's utterly brilliant Ah the epic duel Reminds me of Anakin V Obi-Wan

[@stitchlover4381]

Don't know if this is just a theory but either way It's CRAZY the attention to detail these games have.

[@michaelgeorge1737]

Wow I had no idea there was so much subliminal stuff put into this game 🤩

[@parmindernangla]

This is amazing

[@wickdaline8668]

Why do I feel like Ellie and Abby are sisters separated at birth? Given they literally have the same character traits presented in game. Selfish vendettas, inability to forgive, and hypocritical actions that in consequence cost them everything and everyone.

[@Jesup1204]

I wouldn't count on it, but that would be a good twist for part 3

[@wickdaline8668]

@@Jesup1204 Glad to see someone else thinks it's a good idea.

[@arminosas]

Soul sisters

[@nilesreacts3594]

1 year anniversary!!!!!

[@WolfofThorns]

It flew by, didn't it?

[@nilesreacts3594]

@@WolfofThorns so fast! Still think about it every single day! Thanks for all the awesome videos!!

[@exclusiveaccess85]

What I think about the last of us part 2 story is simple but I the same time a look at how a human would react at what is an almost impossible situation this remind me of a phrase that say this, if you love something just let it go, meaning that each of us have our own ideas whether they are tragic or successful

[@quatschkopq186]

Great!

[@Natycik]

Hey, god video. I don't think decomposition of the "Epic duel" trope can be applied to conflict between Ellie and Abby. Not because the story itself deconstructs the myth, but because of the general story structure can’t allow for a proper decomposition. Why exactly Abby wanted to take revenge? Not to avenge her father, but to satisfy her desire to make things just. And in the process she makes her friends hate her and later she losses them, and in so she is "punished" for her hypocrisy... except one important thing - she herself never acknowledges her hypocrisy. There was ONE scene when she was called out for being a hypocrite (by Mel) and that’s it. She does see her friends die, but she never blames herself for that. When she understands that it was Tommy and Ellie who killed her friends, she doesn't express regret for taking revenge, making them also want to take revenge, or think how stupid was to let them live. Instead, she's angry at them for taking revenge on her and her friends... while she was in the exact same situation when her father was killed. I guess it could be interpreted as her "character flaw" - she was so blinded by her own tragedy she overlooks other people's suffering, - but I don’t think it was intentional. If it was intentional, then she would express this "character flaw" more constantly, like: not caring for Danny’s death (literary who) or not caring to save Yara and Lev from the Scars. Her biggest "character flaw" is not her overlooking other people’s desires, or her own desire to risk her new live for the sake of revenge (which I think was intended), but her own stupidity (which wasn't). Same case, kind of, with Ellie, but with smaller scale of problems. Her reason to take revenge is more vivid - she lost Joel JUST as she started to forgive him, she JUST saw him being tortured to death and the trail is still hot. The only moment when wasn’t as excused to take revenge was when she decided to abandon Dina. Abby, on the other hand, had 4 years of relatively normal life. She had all time in the world to move on, but she didn’t. She made her friend follow her on her quest of revenge and when the consequences came - she acted entitled to be free of them. So, the biggest problem with TLOU2 story structure is that it relies on emotional instability of people who are too stupid to accept the reality of their world and life. There are a lot of things that were simplified and even specially overlooked to make the setting and story serve the core gist of the story, like: Abby being able to somehow track down Joel, Joel softening up to the point that he isn’t even able to argue with Ellie or even somewhat defend himself in the argument about the Fireflies (this is really out of character for him), Joel acting like an idiot around a group of strangers, allowing getting himself cornered (same for Tommy), Abby’s group deciding not to kill Ellie and Tommy, Ellie losing her map so Abby could track her down, Lev dismissing Yara on returning to Scars to get their mother (he should know she is as fanatical as the rest of the Scars, why would Lev think she would follow them?) Abby acting like an idiot while trying to defend Yara and Lev from WLF (the “they are just kids” moment), And every single one of the characters acting on their own desires and urges to the point they are seen as completely immature. And that's the problem! That's why people hate TLOU2 - the story depends too much on characters’ immaturity. Why does Abby want to kill Joel after getting a new home? Because she wants to. Why does Abby want to betray people who took her and her friends in after their faction fell apart? Because she wants to. Why does Ellie want to kill Abby and risk losing Dina in the process? Because she wants to. Why did Ellie want to find out the truth after she accepted Joel's lie about the Fireflies? Because she wants to. The first game wasn’t anything like that. And, to be honest, any story that has similar ideas as TLOU2 executes it better. Because of this the whole point of the story doesn’t hold up to anything, it can’t hold up a torch to any idea it explores. I didn't really hate the game, I appreciate it for trying, but there are a lot of reasons why it doesn't work. For every good moment and idea of the game there are ten moments that break it.

[@Zoepohey]

5:58 is that why we are forced to drop down in the staircase instead of the developers making the entrance to the staircase clear in that scene? I always thought there was maybe a deeper reason for that!

[@z3nith4l]

How do you figure this stuff out, it's incredible.

[@peterbradley2998]

How do you find these subtle references?! Crazy how much you miss seeing, playing the game…

[@ilonao_]

i love your video analysis ! please do on uncharted 4

[@zainah3446]

Wow

[@petermunoz6109]

The Last of Us Part 2 was so deep of a game. In my opinion ..... Part 2 is the real masterpiece but its story needs to be told on a large platform. I hope that someday we'll see this narrative on HBO.

[@WolfofThorns]

I think that day will be here before we know it.

[@philipharney8907]

I didn’t understand the last of us 2 when I first played it, honestly I kinda hated it, but after seeing this I think I now more so understand the story underlying message that Neil Druckman was trying to tell us; I could also see it in uncharted 4 (less violent and relevant) the pursuit of vengeance or self satisfaction for inner demons will bring one no joy or any real satisfaction

[@exclusiveaccess85]

The gameplay of this game is a milestone naughty dog accomplish and I love it also the story is just a reality and even if is not pleasant still is how a human would react and lastly I love the character of Ellie their is just one detail I didn’t like about her and as for Abigail (Abby) she play the part as it was it was a battle of forces they were the only ones that understand but they need it to find the answer for themselfs

[@liam101112]

Im getting some english teacher vibes from this

[@lebronjames4855]

Could you talk about how Lev would be in a sequel to tlou2

[@WolfofThorns]

I actually do that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKimZYWviMhgo6s

[@maged_mohamed]

Is there a way that Joel might be alive ?

[@WolfofThorns]

Given the realistic, grounded nature of this world's narrative, we should accept that Joel is gone for multiple reasons and levels. The storytellers have made it quite clear that he is gone. Anything else would be indulgent fan service that belies everything we have experienced. Even if he had somehow survived his grievous wounds, "surviving" them would be on a biological level only, as his brain was most likely damaged to the point of no longer being himself at all.

[@maged_mohamed]

@@WolfofThorns but he might have survived it but he can't remember anything so they just left him without Ellie or Dina or even Tommy's knowledge .

[@maged_mohamed]

@@WolfofThorns Joel is already a super human,he can kill multiple infected with ease and he just killed a bloater with a sword !!! .

[@chef_boysauce4399]

@@maged_mohamed he is no longer alive, because even if he survived, we saw his grave. So if he did survive, he was buried alive and died there

[@maged_mohamed]

@@chef_boysauce4399 what if he wasn't in the grave?

[@PachuStrauss]

Jesus Christ, are you sure you didn't help write this game?

[@WolfofThorns]

Very kind of you. While it would be a dream to help write for Naughty Dog, it's not one I can currently claim as having lived.

[@kkkmm0957]

Please Russia su