one of my favorite parts of the end was Abby saying 'there's boats this way' It almost seems like Abby thought Ellie was captured by them too. Idk. Good moment. I love Abby.
1:32:00 I saw someone point out that as a medic, Mel would have been a pupil of Abby's dad, and she may have even felt like a second daughter to him. So there is that tension of jealousy surrounding the others' relationship with their father/father figure as well
I'm so glad that someone talked about how Abby's section of the game mirror's Joel's from Part 1, I haven't seen really any video essays on the game that have mentioned this and I've been confused on how others have missed it, or if they just figured that that they din't have to mention it.
I don’t really understand why people were surprised that Joel died. It seemed so inevitable to me; when he lies to Ellie at the end of the first game, it becomes clear that the next game is gonna be about Ellie dealing with that. Joel’s story is over in Jackson. Him dying due to his gruesome past was the most narratively logical course of action. I loved Joel, but I didn’t find it surprising he died as the inciting incident. If you hate if for that, what story did you want? Them going across the country again? To what end? What’s the goal? What’s the inciting incident? What’s the meaningful character struggle?
The game's marketing advertized Joel and Ellie going on a journey together by putting him into cutscenes that in the final game have another character instead of him
I have played the game three times, and thrice it has been an emotional journey that i loved. i genuinely think this game could've been made in a whole different manner, telling the same story, while fixing parts of the pacing, but that is just my overly logical and critical me talking. I have no words over how TLOU has impacted my life and how much TLOU II is a masterpiece in terms of its message, story, characters and gameplay. thank you for doing this analysis, it is insanely well done
I get why people have issues with the pacing, but I think the most popular fixes for it would have had a negative impact on the story Naughty Dog wanted to tell. In TLoU podcast, they talk about what they were trying to achieve with it and wondering if they could push the player so far down a dark path (Ellie's path) and then bring them back. They knew it would be divisive well before the leaks, and they knew a lot of people would not be willing to play as Abby or try to see things from her point of view. The entire game is kind of an experiment in empathy.
@beauhancock4922 RDR2 is goat but TLoU 2 is a tighter experience. Also shooting a gun is actually fun in TLoU 2 lol. Rockstar needs to update their shooting mechanics
First of all 🚤 but I must be the only player who liked Joel and still thought he got exactly what was coming to him. Of course his allies will never see it that way, since Tommy and Ellie know the truth and that doesn't change anything. Death is forever and you never get over it, and in a world where everyone has seen a very violent death of a loved one, it's hard to just try and be bigger than that. Everyone in the game is a piece of shit in one way or another (except Jesse he's such a sweet boy) and I'm sure they've all done something that ruined someone else's life. I really like how Lev, Owen, Abby and Dina all show the effects of violence on the psyche.
I did too, and I wanted to see him face harsh consequences. The problem is that people waited years for a sequel so they could play as Joel and Ellie, watching their story continue. Not having a beloved character die immediately after waiting all of that time to play as him again. The 2nd game should’ve just been Joel and Ellie, with Ellie discovering the truth of St. Mary’s, and likely ending when they try to rekindle their relationship on the patio. Then the part 2 as we know it is the 3rd game.
To answer how I felt playing the game? For me I always loved it. Coz it's such a painful but beautiful storytelling and combination of great gameplay to go with it. So for as divisive as people were on the treatment of Abby and Joel for me the writers had me in the palm of their hands coz it was easy for me to empathize with the other side. Coz as the saying goes even tho it's cliché at this point, "Just because you are the hero in your own story doesn't mean you aren't a villain in someone else's story." And that's something I've always lived life by. And especially seeing how hostile people become these days on any topic it takes empathy to be able to reason and see down that middle where things often are. And even tho I understand why people would've felt a way, I struggle to see how people couldn't just put themselves in someone else's shoes and realize that we are all able to see things thru a different lens and so for all the bad actions we did in the first game, there was consequences to it and often video games don't make you face them, so having to face them was slightly exciting for me not because I didn't care for Ellie and Joel but because again that motto of heroes and villains I could easily put the foot on the other shoe and be like oh snap we are the villain's to someone else if we flipped the lens. And the characters they introduced weren't just boring cliches they were actually characters who were as well written and fleshed out as the cast of the first game. So yeah enough of my ramble, but for me I will always hold Naughty Dog in a special place in terms of writing coz it takes a lot to be able to throw something new at us especially in a world where things are getting so repetitive so anytime games like this or Red Dead Redemption 2 and all sorts come out I'm always super happy coz I absolutely adore diving into those experiences and knowing that I'll likely get something that sticks with me or has me explore so many things beyond some of the shallow writing that we see these days. Loved this video ❤, keep up the great work
Ya know, there's no reason Ellie couldn't learn to play guitar left handed. Finger picking would be limited but she'd be fine with a guitar pick with her remaining three fingers. I'd love to see that in pt. 3.
You're the only other person I've ever seen say this. It was one of the first things I said when my girlfriend was watching me play and I got to that part; she was sad Ellie could never play again. Even picking wouldn't be too bad. It would just require more practice. I don't think I've ever used more than Mt thumb and first two fingers for that personally, but I'm by no means a professional or anywhere near that. Still, I can't recall ever seeing anyone else use their little fingers either.
she will have to relearn it will no longer be a string between her and Joel she lost everything she had from her parents her mothers knife and the ability to play guitar from her father
@@Ananasik_Evgeniy the knowledge is all still there. She would just have to develop new muscle memory. I agree that it's symbolic of her lost connection to Joel, but I disagree that it's a complete severance of that bond.
To what you were saying about Mel, Mel definitely is a strange character to analyze since we don't quite see what she is thinking a lot of the time and we don't know a lot about her background. I think she is a complex character, and the reason she acts the way she does is to protect what she has. With Tommy and Ellie, I don't think she was genuinely rooting for their murder in a cold way but was scared of what could happen if they were kept alive, she clearly doesn't like hurting people considering how she felt tourniquetting Joel's leg and how she felt after Jackson. With the scars, she only wants to hurt them because they want to hurt her family from what I see, and when Abby brought these two scars back she was willing to perform the operation to save Yara's life, and how she talked about the WLF killing those scar kids. I believe she really cares and loves but when pushed to the boundaries can show a different more cruel side. Even before her death, she was willing to sacrifice Abby, one of her closest friends, to ensure that she, her baby, and Owen lived. There is a really good analysis of the scene with Mel and Abby from the channel TLOU Explained which might explain what I'm trying to say better than what I can. I think the reason Mel feels the way she does is a growing hatred toward Abby that has been progressing, from everything that happened in Jackson, her perceived notion of Abby trying to get close to Owen, and the fact that Owen clearly loves Abby in a way he doesn't love Mel. I wouldn't boil it down to just jealousy, which makes it seem dumb and frivolous, but when you take a look from Mel's side I think you can clearly understand how she feels and why she does. Anyway, super great analysis!!! I always love seeing love for this game. It is one of my favorite games ever if not my favorite. I'm happy to see love and appreciation for a game that is way too overhated in my opinion.❤❤❤
I just wanna say it’s always been a point that Ellie has ALWAYS been the main character, she shares this spot with Joel in the first game, the only difference between Ellie and Joel in the first game is that you PLAY as Joel. Other than that Ellie has always been main character or at least one of the main characters, the first game is about Joel AND Ellie not just Joel and not just Ellie. That’s why she’s the main focus on both game cover artworks
Oh. Well I know what I'm watching tomorrow. I loved and hated the fans reaction to this game's story. I will forever call it art. It evoked too strong a reaction from everyone not to be called art.
Glad you could put your biases aside and actually enjoy the story for what it was. There are very few us out there that can appreciate the bold choice Naughty Dog took to tell a story.
When I played this game for the first time I felt like I was Ellie. When Joel died I literally had to walk away for two weeks to just be able to play again. At first I was so angry and it upset me in how violent Joel’s death was. I wanted to get revenge for Joel because he was my favorite character. As Ellie’s story progressed I started to understand how destructive this path was not just physically but emotionally. It was really hard to move past it but you just had to keep going. When we finally switch to Abby, I was pissed let me tell you. But for some reason I couldn’t put it down. I had to keep going no matter how much I hated her. It took me so long to realize that just because I hated her doesn’t mean I couldn’t understand her. I believe that you can understand why someone did something even if that’s not what you would do. Abby is not evil, she is in pain. Just like Ellie. Now don’t get me wrong, I hate Abby for what she did, but I can forgive her just like Ellie does to Joel. In the end I feel like Ellie was choosing to understand Joel and the last part in Santa Barbara when she’s hunting Abby, it’s not so much about revenge against Abby but about forgiveness with Joel. Ellie is such a complex character. This game is not about revenge but just like the first game, it’s about love. What we as humans are willing to sacrifice to have it. What parts of ourselves we lose without it. I find this game a piece of art. It’s a game of empathy. It’s a game that shows the real power of love and hate. It wasn’t perfect but it was a masterpiece. Thanks for listening to my Ted talk
Great analysis! As I commented on another UA-camr's video just yesterday, the break-up scene between Dina and Ellie is one of my favorites. The acting is great and it's heartbreakingly well captured and animated. The game's ending had me thinking for days and weeks with conflicting thoughts about what could and should have been. ⛵ For me, personally, TLOU1 was always about Ellie the moment we met her, about protecting and caring for, even though Joel tried to deny these feelings as long as possible. By the end of TLOU1, Joel's story was finished and in the last scene Ellie became the protagonist, so it felt natural to continue as her in TLOU2. The decline of their relationship due to Joel's lie and him getting killed by someone he had crossed in the past were logical continuations from the first game. It made even more sense that it'd be someone from Salt Lake (not that I would've guessed it at the time). I'm glad they dared to create something new instead of repeating the same formula, even knowing that they'd upset a lot of people. The happy adventures of Joel and Ellie part II were never in the stars, though I might not have complained about something more uplifting. What we got instead is now one of my favorite stories ever. That being said, I find it perfectly fine to dislike the game. It can feel very bleak and that may be the opposite of what people seek in a game. I've even watched a playthrough of someone who appreciated the game but who expressed that she'd never want to play it again because of how depressing it was.
Me to im so excited and hyped for part 3 as a 11 year true fan boy of the last of us im excited for part 3 i love the first game and the second game and im excited for part 3 and a Tommy dlc game 🩷🌿🩷🌿🩷
@@Tloufanboy hell yes the Tommy dlc would be incredible and so fun especially with their improved gunplay mechanics. Part 3 is gonna deliver BIG time for both gameplay and story, nothing better happen to me before now and when it comes out finally haha
@@jordanthompson8268 small minded, you didnt even watch the video at all. like if you're incapable of understanding the game, fine, we get it, you cant think beneath the surface. but watch someone elses explanation and try to understand.
@@ezra5737 I've watched plenty of people's videos on the game, seen the game's story several times, and watched the bulk of the video. The game is painfully simple. It's easily understood. It just sucks. Stop huffing your own farts, it's not deep.
@@jordanthompson8268see, the story itself is simple, but what’s complex is the emotions it brings and all the themes people miss because they’re too busy filled with hate. It’s perfectly fine to not like Part 2 even if you fully understand the context, sub context, themes, etc, but unfortunately many who say they do understand actually missed so much.
Really great video! Stumbled upon your channel randomly, and you have a new subscriber! 🙂 The Last of Us 2 will have a special place in my heart, probably more so than than the 1st game. My dad was killed about a year and a half before this game came out and I feel this game perfectly portrayed the anger and grief that you feel and carry when a loved one dies, especially when that death is sudden and tragic. It portrayed the weight you carry with you, and how tired that weight makes you, until you finally try to move on and let go of some that anger. It was brutal, visceral and beautiful. From someone who left things unsaid when their loved one was still around, that last scene with Joel and Ellie absolutely destroyed me.
Great video as always! 🚢❤ I have to admit, you’re one of the first ones that I’ve seen who have actually addressed how the switches between the characters are meant to create empathy in more depth than just “it’s hard to switch.” I think that the writers and the game is literally FORCING you to have empathy, to develop empathy in the face of a tragedy. And that’s really, really hard. You don’t WANT to like Abby, you don’t WANT to empathize with her. You want to turn away. But by the end, not only do you empathize to at least some degree, but you are right there with the characters. You’re just as tired as they are with the senseless violence. You don’t want either to die, you don’t understand why you’re still fighting - and neither do they, but that feeling of “she killed Joel” still keeps popping up. It’s a game that manages to break you alongside its characters, and that’s REALLY impressive. I can understand why people can’t finish it, but god, it’s unmatched.
The only point that originally irritated me was the game putting me in Abby's shoes, not because I didn't understand or accept what she did but because I felt like the game was far to forcefully demanding I relate to her and I just couldn't, I trudged through begrudgingly and at some point that feeling faded as I became invested in Lev and Yara. It's difficult to say that it was the intent but looking back I feel like the gameplay before then was me going through the motions just to finish Abby's section, kind of like how she had gained no happiness or goal after killing Joel and at this point without a purpose was also just going through the motions. Regardless I loved the game start to finish, with that being the only moment that was too much for me, but thankfully only briefly.
i honestly kinda just wanna go on a tangent on how abby was introduced to the story because i loved it SO MUCH. my personal interpretation of why they introduced her as the murderer of joel is solely for moral greyness, one of the more overarching themes of this game. in part 1, joel is introduced as a father who lost his daughter and is trying to regain that chance with ellie. it makes us view him as some pitiable false hero who people will defend no matter what. plus, it often takes away from the greyness of his actions/past. this ultimately made us view joel differently in part 2 as naughty dog forces us to view joel as this dude who has also done bad/unjustifiable things. with abby we essentially get the reverse of joels introduction. abby tortures our favorite character and makes our 2nd favorite character watch (ellie). she is automatically shown as this callous and evil individual until, we get to her section of the story. we realize that she was once a young girl with a father whom she loved. we watch that love be taken from her by joel when he kills her father. sure, we finally get a reason as to why she had to kill joel but, does that mean it was justified to torture him like that? that question is what made her arc so much more realer than joels. we didn’t look at as ‘oh, she’s doing what any daughter would do for their father’ like we did with joel but, in a more greyer/human-like sense with the ‘yeah, i understand why she did it but, did she have to brutally kill joel like that?’ questioning her actions as a character instead of a robotic defense is what makes her so interesting to me. it makes her far more human to me rather than just some ‘false hero’ that joel was. i often ponder on what could’ve been had joel been introduced into part 1 as someone brutal killer and then we slowly were dissolved into his past and why he did what he did. it definitely would have given his character more nuance and greyness to the story
I’m curious how people feel about Owen. For me, him NOT killing the seraphite when he wanted to die, but then being fine killing young ones who want to live, then abandoning Mel because “she’ll be safer here” during a war? She’s pregnant with your child….. Then endangering his life and by extension Mel’s by trying to go after Abby on the island, which is selfish to Mel and the baby. Anyone have different thoughts? I can’t see it any other way help me out
i feel the same way. wanted to like owen but it felt like he was meant to serve as abbys moral compass even though he planned to abandon his pregnant girlfriend for abby, who despite sleeping with him, was very adamant that he get his shit together even if she wanted to be with him too. we were meant to hate abby in the beginning and grow to love her, whereas i think they intended on owen being more likable because he was partly the reason for tommy and ellie being spared. but i guess everyone in tlou is messy lol all of my favorite characters are mass murderers 😭
I agree. I think he was supposed to be a lot more likeable. I didn't really _dislike_ him, tbh. I actually felt pretty bad for him. It seemed to me like he really wanted to be with Abby, but she chose her obsession for vengeance over him. I think he was just with Mel out of obligation, because he got her pregnant and was trying to do right by her and his child. He just wasn't very good at it. Personally, Mel was more annoying. They could have done a lot better for her character. I couldn't even feel bad for her that she was with a guy who clearly didn't want to be with her because I just found her so incredibly unlikeable. Her jealousy was warranted in general, but I feel like they didn't give her very many redeemable qualities so I cared more about Alice dying than I did Mel. It's kind of a shame because I like Ashley Burch as a voice actor.
@@chuidumathey couldve done so much for Mel as a character bc who was she? I've played the game so many times and i still don't really know exactly such a shame bc there was so much potential..
i heard some people say that the scene of her coming back wasnt her coming back from abby, but from jackson. her and dina living together. people pointed out that she is still wearing dinas bracelet. and that she is missing the weapons she had on her during santa barbara. for my sake i'd like to go with that idea
I do believe that a big theme of Part 2 is perspective, in Ellie's perspective just after the death of Joel she doesn't get the chance to forgive Joel and especially herself to taking him for granted, in Abby's perspective she finally avenged her father's killer but she experiences the nightmares of her dad's corpse in the hospital now trying to save 2 Seraphite kids not knowing why but others (mel only) thinking it was to win over, but really in her words "I had... to, I needed to, you both don't deserve this." Owen's perspective where he now tired for fighting for a land he doesn't give a f**k about anymore and want to have the Abby he knew back. I appreciate Naughty Dog giving us a chance to hear different characters perspective in this game.
I thought this game was pretty good as a huge fan of the first game. As much as I didn’t care for Abby, the more I played the game, I started to understand why she did what she did although I still don’t like her. It also hurts that Ellie isn’t her optimistic and gleeful self in this game. She definitely turned into someone unrecognizable, but I love the game regardless. S.N. Your video editing has gotten so good! And your storytelling is so well done! Keep up the good work! 🛶
Tbf, you can blame Joel and the events of the first game as to why Ellie isn’t her gleeful self anymore. She lost Tess, bonded with a kid near her age in Sam but then he and Henry died. She gets tricked by David and eventually captured by him, he was gonna do some awful things to her, she has to kill him and is very brutal in doing so. That’s a lot to take in as a 14 year old. Now add in that she’s been told she’s special and she can change the world, she had purpose. Now Riley, Tess, Sam and Henry’s deaths weren’t gonna be in vain. She couldn’t save them but she can save many others. Joel then takes that away from her and then lies about it. That’s a fuckton to take in at any age, let alone a 14 year old. And one of the themes of Last of Us is that grief, trauma, and PTSD changes people
This games one of the few where I genuinely felt worse after playing it. 😂 I cant say its in a bad way, but definitely in a ...mixed feelings way. Its good to see people looking back at it in a variety of ways.
Amazing video essay LOVED IT! When it comes to Mel I can't help but to empathize with her. I mean, she gets pregnant (we all know it wasn't planned) by this guy who's still hung up on his ex, tries so hard to make it work with him, cares about him, decorates their "place"... and then Abby, her supposed "friend", just sleeps with him like he isn't taken. Abby AND Owen are both at fault for this, I'm not only blaming Abby, I'm talking from Mel's pov when it comes to Abby. So when Mel went off on Abby, I agreed with averything she said cuz, to Mel, Abby's been an awful person... she smiles to her face and tries to not be awkward but it wouldn't be awkward if she hadn't tried to take her man, if she just moved on or accept the reality... it sucks but she lost her shot with Owen over her obsession with Joel. I wouldn't classify Abby as a girl's girl as people say. If Mel and Owen had survived, she'd be miserable, with a cheating partner or an all together absent father figure for the child. As long as Abby's in the picture it would've never worked for Mel.
I don't think anyone is upset about playing as Ellie. No one has an issue with that, it was all about Joel's death. The jump between main characters argument doesn't really apply as a bad descision here. The simple fact that joel died as early as he did & especially in the way he did is what people had a problem with. Something I don't see people talk about is that this whole development was leaked, which i think severely affected the reception of this whole thing
It is a little hard to pull the rug out from the audience when they can see you're going to pull the rug out from them. People wanted a sequel to the first game, they didn't want Neil Druckmann's rejected pitch so he could have a do-over to tell the story he wanted.
From a purely gameplay perspective, the shift to a new character mid game jarred me way more than Joel dying because I had fully leveled up Ellie’s weapons and skills. That bugged me but I quickly got over it once I started with Abby. I personally don’t understand the surprise at Joel’s death. It was inevitable; I don’t really see where Ellie’s story would go otherwise? At least not as a personal character driven story. Joel’s story was done when he got to Jackson. His arc was complete.
40:02 fun fact stalkers were in the first game they were in the hotel basement as well as the sewers they were just combined with other infected so you couldn’t really tell them apart
Loved the video, always enjoy watching peoples opinions on the game. Got to play last of us 1 and two recently and it was amazing. I had prior to playing the game already had watched a ton of content on the game. With playing the game it allowed me to come to terms with what happened with Ellie Joel and Abby. Actually really enjoyed Abby’s section. Also, I believe If we don’t get a Tommy game before or after last of us 3 where he finds peace like Ellie and Abby I’m gonna feel pretty disappointed and like the story is a bit unfinished. He’s the last character who hasn’t gotten peace. I’ve seen a few people seem to now highly dislike Tommy because of how he’s dealing with grief just boxing him into the section of toxic masculinity instead of understanding what he’s been through aswell. I think a Tommy game prior to lou3 will lead perfectly into a final game to sum up the franchise. There is a fan made Tommy dlc story made by MegaDan (malpasdan) and the video is called Tommy dlc? What it would look like? The last of us part 2 expansion idea (unbroken - part 1) there is a part 2 aswell. It’s a great story. I’m taking it as canon for now until we get an actual game 😭.
For Mel i recomend dor you to watch the video from the chanel tlou explained as well as their other videos you can also do reaction videos if you want to.
The last of us pt 1 was my favorite game ever ....then this came out ...and I hated it soooo much .... But after some time . I realized...how freaking amazing this game is ...and it's now my favorite game ever .
This is a very well made video I really liked it but just so you know stalkers aren’t a new type of infected they were in the first game (they were mainly seen in the hotel basement and the sewers)
No one minded playing as Ellie, we love her. It’s Abbie everyone hated. I personally liked Abbie’s story with Lev. It’s hard to match that Abbie with the one from the beginning.
When I first played this game I continue playing to get revenge and kill Abby but when I play as Abby I starting to understand and I started to forgive her
I think some of the major writing choices make a lot more sense when you consider how heavily the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, specifically, influenced the narrative. With the creative director and creator of the series having grown up with his particular experiences there, it's easy to see how "breaking the cycle of violence" is such an important theme toward the end. And then taking the time to humanize and allow the player to empathize with what would traditionally be the antagonist is so much more effective than if Ellie's story had been the only one told. I have some criticisms for some of the writing, but I think they largely accomplished what they set out to do.
I saw another good video where they explained how it's also about empathy, I wish I had the link but the explanation was fantastic. Surface level it's about revenge and where it leads but can also be about learning empathy. There's so many themes. I'm not saying you're wrong or anything just, adding a bit.
My Top 10 Favorite Video Games of All Time 1. The Last of Us Part II 2. Red Dead Redemption II 3. Batman Arkham City 4. The Last of Us 5. GTA IV 6. Portal 2 7. Red Dead Redemption 8. Super Mario 64 9. Gears of War 2 10. Uncharted 4
The writing for this is amazing. Every line every word is so real and so relatable. They poured so much emotion in it. They dont write block buster movies this well
I had a bad opinion of this game, even before playing it, took me 4 years to play it. I was biased by all those other players who hated it after Joel's death. Then I started to watch game plays and I got curious by Abby. I liked Abby a lot. I enjoyed playing her story more than Ellie. I felt she lost much more than ellie. Hopefully, in the series, she wont be played as the "villian".
one of the things about this game, is that it asks you to remove your biases, to humanize the other, in real life it’s very obvious tons of people don’t do that, hence a lot of the hate for the game
I dont think people didnt like switching main character they disagreed with the death being too early after 8 years of anticipation and then playing as abby nothing to do with ellie until later on in the game where obsession gets the best of her... I hear arguments about it all the time its about abby and the death being too early oh and also the ending...
Yeah I think if we played as Abby a bit more before she used Joel as a golf ball we maybe would have struggled more to dislike her But her killing him so early on makes it easy to hate her and look past her character development.
@@OrangecatenergyI think that was the point. Make the players hate her because all they initially see is the horrible act she committed against a beloved character, and then show them that even if her actions weren't justified, her motivations and experiences before and after she gets her revenge make sense. She's just a person who's just as fucked up as anyone else in that world, but doesn't want to be.
@obsequiarch7271 i think its more if you can get on board with ellie's journey then you could do the same with abby challenging our biases which are surface views that were shown in p1 e.g. (marlene's talk with joel in the parking lot) but were easily sidelined because we was joel and ellie in p1. i dont think this game is solely about revenge and thats due to how they structured the game...
@@obsequiarch7271yeah sure it was their point but as you can see a lot of the fans and people who played the first game and this don’t get that. They don’t really have any reason to be rooting for Abby. If we had connected with Abby first, just for a little while, it would have been much harder to play as her SERIOUSLY and not just see that part of the game as a hassle and to be unsatisfied with that part of the game.
@@obsequiarch7271what I’m trying to say is, a story like that works out fine in theory, but not in practice and with the context of this game, if it had been a sequel to a game that hasn’t been out as long as TLOU 1, maybe it could have worked. But with how long TLOU 1 had been out prior to part 2, people only had Joel and Ellie to connect for and root for. Throw a random character in the second part with the intention to make us qeustion Joel when all these years we never had to is hard. We played the game multiple times, killed Marlene and the fireflies multiple times. It’s hard to see Abby as the interesting character she is when she’s introduced like this.
Thanks for making this video! 🛶It wasn't long enough 😂 my thoughts: I think Mel's purpose is to be a pregnant woman and to give some drama to Abby and Owen's story honestly. I do like how close she was to Abby's father, showing how much of a likeable person he was. Especially with her "You're a piece of shit Abby" quote, I think she overall just gives more background context and characterization to the WLF Salt Lake crew. But my first time playing the game was weird. I've watched my roommate play most of it when it came out before I knew what TLOU was at the time. The only thing I knew was that part 1 was a masterpiece and part 2 was a monstrosity because they ruined the franchise and killed off the main guy and it wasn't what people waited years for. I watched the majority of the game while trashing on it and making jokes with my roommate. I knew which characters died and how, I knew you played as Abby and why she killed Joel. I knew she was afraid of heights, but that was about all I remembered before playing it for the first time early this year. After playing pt1, I just had a feeling I was going to like it, and I really did. Wish I went in fully blind but I forgot enough for it to be a full experience. These 2 games are so special.
Of course Joel was honest before his death and didn’t give a fake name, he literally never was the type to do that even in first game, not sure why people invented that non existent aspect of his character. Random people in Boston called him by his name for gods sake.
Great video so far!! Just want to say to the haters who think Joel was out of character before his death etc etc that HE WASNT. Joel says “Tommy!” numerous times (who Abby is looking for to get info about Joel) whilst Tommy moves the gondola. Tommy then formally introduces himself and Joel to Abby during the escape, and Abby stares at Joel in shock. She then takes them to the Baldwin place knowing who they are and with the plan to kill Joel. There, an unaware Mel introduces herself to an unaware Tommy and Joel says his name. People who bash this don’t realise Joel’s fate was already sealed way back when Abby realised her final target (Joel) is stood next to her current target (Tommy). Edit: 🛶
🛶 I have always felt that anyone who played this game and hated it just because they had to play as Abby completely missed the point. It's a story about what holding bitterness in your heart does to you, even if it is totally justified. Ellie allowed her bitterness to destroy her, and if you can't get through the game because you hate Abby that much... then you have the same problem.
🚤 RAAAH I fucking hated TLOU2 when it first came out, obviously just from the fact that Joel straight up dies and the game made us play as his killer but after watching some videos about it and also my partner explaining it to me, I realized that it is lowkey one of the best story driven game I’ve played. Still mad how Neil tricked us into thinking Joel was gonna be alive longer 😭
I didn’t have a problem empathizing with Abby at the end both of their drives for revenge led to them losing loved ones and losing a chance at a romantic relationship and a family.
Man, I really wanted to like this game as much as the first one, and while it’s definitely not as good as Part 1, it’s still kept me busy for quite some time.
Former hater of part 2. I knew it was the end for Joel and that we'd likely not get to play as him in part 2 at all even back as far as 2013. I knew Neil would leave you feeling pretty rough whether you knew it was coming or not, Joel knew it was coming and that's why they were discussing leaving. He got one of the best lines a character gets these days. The original left me in tears and I knew what it took to be a parent when the credits rolled. Now that I have played both one and two several times and have taken in others opinions on the matter, and watching the making of video that finally got me to admit I was originally wrong for thinking the series was ruined. As for playing the game as Ellie, she was always going to take up the helm in some way, we just find out it's more Abby who became Joel and Ellie who became Abby. It's indeed a great game but I will never render that it holds a higher rank in our time than Red Dead Redemption 2. If TLOU2 is a 11/10 than RDR2 is 726/5, No joke. Not trying to promote another title. But it is more broadly topical overall. I just hope that there are no leaks next time and that Neil doesn't play into the terrorists demands. Oh, and RDR2 will take several hundred hours if you want to play it properly. Final note, the day one release of the last of us had several recorders in the hospital that put together a very different story for Abby's dad. There were 6 and at first, they seem promising, but then they realize it won't work this time because it didn't work on the "other" immune people, a dozen or so that the fireflies had already killed, and they got no result. It was a straight up red flag for the completionists that the fireflies, with all their good intentions, wouldn't have succeeded. Making their operation little more than a bad science experiment gone fail. So, in summation, if you see how underqualified Abby's dad is, it puts to rest any question that this guy couldn't have done what he said he hoped he could do. The fireflies are a faction, they are a cult without a prophet or deity. That's ultimately what you learn in the final moments of part one if you played through the whole game on day one and didn't patch it, you'd see where the original narrative was heading. But Neil didn't want to focus so much on the zombie part as he claims that's not what this type of game is... Part 2 suffers from a major lack of conviction. It was hubris that made Abby spare Ellie and Tommy, not humility or humanity. Owen too. He was a childish fool to think that their dumb little group could just go snipe someone like a buncha little gutter punks and not get hunted by someone. Her hubris in thinking that she could leave loose ends on a vengeance quest becomes the primary theme for why both sides end up losing. Same with Ellie though when she finally tracks Abby down. No follow-through. Again, it's a good game because it makes you ask questions, I just don't think the game itself likes the actual answers. While Abby was one among Joels many victims, there was a legitimate claim against her fathers, simply put, unethical proceedings into medical research. Even on a coin toss of chances, Joel did the right thing to save Ellie, both for humanity and for Ellie. A fact that will be ignored or retconned to facilitate the narrative. Remember that Ellie's life is more important than any other character in the game period, unless otherwise retconned. But we still have the question burning away at us. Could they have made a cure and more importantly, would've mattered in time?
WOW. I wanna say I loved this video to the start till the end it was such a great analysing and I loved it watched the whole thing super underrated and for Mel in my opinion she’s been always this joules person that craves validation and love from others especially from the way she acted when Abby told her she was Jerry’s favorite student and I think that’s like the one or top reason she felt targeted especially after Joel death she knew that Owen and Abby were never really over eachother and that they would eventually get back with eachother and that’s why she got really angry at Abby and called her out thinking she was helping the kids to get back with Owen but that was never the case Abby just wanted to do the right thing for once in her life which impacted her a lot for the better otherwise Mel isn’t really a bad cold hearted person she’s nice but she’s indeed joules and digs into stuff deeply and wrongly a lot of the time I’m sorry for my bad English I tried to word it as perfect as I can for anyone reading thanks for listening to me yapping!
Of course I watch another 2 and half hour long video about this game even tho I still dont like its story and how its told. Part1 will remain the better game for me. That said I never played it, dont even own a PS4/ PS5 but will give it a try when an emulator comes around.
Just wanna say with all the complaining ND got for remaking or reworking part 1 I now cant imaging how weird it would be looking at the ps3 clips comparing to lou2 clips
I ain't never gonna miss a 2 hour video essay on tlou
The most immersive commentary I have ever found regardless of the creator tbh
But did you watch the 5 hour from luke?
@@elizaofelia1881 you need to tag me in this I BEG YOU OMG
@@elizaofelia1881 twice
one of my favorite parts of the end was Abby saying 'there's boats this way' It almost seems like Abby thought Ellie was captured by them too. Idk. Good moment. I love Abby.
ur 1 of 10 ppl who like abby
@ A lot mature adults quite like Abby as a character.
@@7emhosiks167 1/10 adults
This game is honestly *DESTROYED* me, but I love every second of it.
A 3rd game was pretty much confirmed by Druckmann in the TLOU2 documentary from February
@@Washanugatrue and i can’t wait
You forgot the "ing" in destroyed but dont edit the comment cause you'll lose the heart from the creator
This
@@Washanuga If we play as Ellie first in the 3rd game I'm going to shed some tears
1:32:00 I saw someone point out that as a medic, Mel would have been a pupil of Abby's dad, and she may have even felt like a second daughter to him. So there is that tension of jealousy surrounding the others' relationship with their father/father figure as well
this is a theme explored by the channel TLOU Explained, it is pretty interesting :D
@@ajellyfishstealingidentities thank you, that's who I watched it from !
it's outright said that Mel was her dad's best student
But her dad was shot when she was like 12, assuming they're a similar age?
@@jscene17 Abby is a couple/few years older than Ellie
I'm a simple man, i see TLOU2 commentary, I click. My all time favorite game 💙
I'm so glad that someone talked about how Abby's section of the game mirror's Joel's from Part 1, I haven't seen really any video essays on the game that have mentioned this and I've been confused on how others have missed it, or if they just figured that that they din't have to mention it.
I don’t really understand why people were surprised that Joel died. It seemed so inevitable to me; when he lies to Ellie at the end of the first game, it becomes clear that the next game is gonna be about Ellie dealing with that. Joel’s story is over in Jackson. Him dying due to his gruesome past was the most narratively logical course of action. I loved Joel, but I didn’t find it surprising he died as the inciting incident. If you hate if for that, what story did you want? Them going across the country again? To what end? What’s the goal? What’s the inciting incident? What’s the meaningful character struggle?
The game's marketing advertized Joel and Ellie going on a journey together by putting him into cutscenes that in the final game have another character instead of him
You made me love a game that I hated due to a death I chose to not let go. Bravo!! 👏 🚤
You must suck to watch movies with
I have played the game three times, and thrice it has been an emotional journey that i loved. i genuinely think this game could've been made in a whole different manner, telling the same story, while fixing parts of the pacing, but that is just my overly logical and critical me talking. I have no words over how TLOU has impacted my life and how much TLOU II is a masterpiece in terms of its message, story, characters and gameplay. thank you for doing this analysis, it is insanely well done
I get why people have issues with the pacing, but I think the most popular fixes for it would have had a negative impact on the story Naughty Dog wanted to tell. In TLoU podcast, they talk about what they were trying to achieve with it and wondering if they could push the player so far down a dark path (Ellie's path) and then bring them back. They knew it would be divisive well before the leaks, and they knew a lot of people would not be willing to play as Abby or try to see things from her point of view.
The entire game is kind of an experiment in empathy.
"It is a complicated perfection"
But it is also a perfect complication in full circle, so beautiful and haunting and heartbreaking
Best game I’ve ever played. Been playing games since 1991 😅 but never seen so much attention to detail and interwoven story/gameplay. So good
Play Red Dead Redemption 2...
@@beauhancock4922 very boring. Tried 2 times. Did not enjoy it at all
@beauhancock4922 RDR2 is goat but TLoU 2 is a tighter experience. Also shooting a gun is actually fun in TLoU 2 lol. Rockstar needs to update their shooting mechanics
First of all 🚤 but I must be the only player who liked Joel and still thought he got exactly what was coming to him. Of course his allies will never see it that way, since Tommy and Ellie know the truth and that doesn't change anything. Death is forever and you never get over it, and in a world where everyone has seen a very violent death of a loved one, it's hard to just try and be bigger than that. Everyone in the game is a piece of shit in one way or another (except Jesse he's such a sweet boy) and I'm sure they've all done something that ruined someone else's life. I really like how Lev, Owen, Abby and Dina all show the effects of violence on the psyche.
I did too, and I wanted to see him face harsh consequences. The problem is that people waited years for a sequel so they could play as Joel and Ellie, watching their story continue. Not having a beloved character die immediately after waiting all of that time to play as him again.
The 2nd game should’ve just been Joel and Ellie, with Ellie discovering the truth of St. Mary’s, and likely ending when they try to rekindle their relationship on the patio. Then the part 2 as we know it is the 3rd game.
To answer how I felt playing the game? For me I always loved it. Coz it's such a painful but beautiful storytelling and combination of great gameplay to go with it.
So for as divisive as people were on the treatment of Abby and Joel for me the writers had me in the palm of their hands coz it was easy for me to empathize with the other side.
Coz as the saying goes even tho it's cliché at this point, "Just because you are the hero in your own story doesn't mean you aren't a villain in someone else's story."
And that's something I've always lived life by. And especially seeing how hostile people become these days on any topic it takes empathy to be able to reason and see down that middle where things often are.
And even tho I understand why people would've felt a way, I struggle to see how people couldn't just put themselves in someone else's shoes and realize that we are all able to see things thru a different lens and so for all the bad actions we did in the first game, there was consequences to it and often video games don't make you face them, so having to face them was slightly exciting for me not because I didn't care for Ellie and Joel but because again that motto of heroes and villains I could easily put the foot on the other shoe and be like oh snap we are the villain's to someone else if we flipped the lens. And the characters they introduced weren't just boring cliches they were actually characters who were as well written and fleshed out as the cast of the first game.
So yeah enough of my ramble, but for me I will always hold Naughty Dog in a special place in terms of writing coz it takes a lot to be able to throw something new at us especially in a world where things are getting so repetitive so anytime games like this or Red Dead Redemption 2 and all sorts come out I'm always super happy coz I absolutely adore diving into those experiences and knowing that I'll likely get something that sticks with me or has me explore so many things beyond some of the shallow writing that we see these days.
Loved this video ❤, keep up the great work
10/10 made me feel like shitty in a good way
Ya know, there's no reason Ellie couldn't learn to play guitar left handed. Finger picking would be limited but she'd be fine with a guitar pick with her remaining three fingers. I'd love to see that in pt. 3.
You're the only other person I've ever seen say this. It was one of the first things I said when my girlfriend was watching me play and I got to that part; she was sad Ellie could never play again. Even picking wouldn't be too bad. It would just require more practice. I don't think I've ever used more than Mt thumb and first two fingers for that personally, but I'm by no means a professional or anywhere near that. Still, I can't recall ever seeing anyone else use their little fingers either.
she will have to relearn
it will no longer be a string between her and Joel
she lost everything she had from her parents
her mothers knife and the ability to play guitar from her father
@@Ananasik_Evgeniy the knowledge is all still there. She would just have to develop new muscle memory. I agree that it's symbolic of her lost connection to Joel, but I disagree that it's a complete severance of that bond.
Glad to see as the years pass more people understand how masterpiece this game was in storytelling
To what you were saying about Mel, Mel definitely is a strange character to analyze since we don't quite see what she is thinking a lot of the time and we don't know a lot about her background. I think she is a complex character, and the reason she acts the way she does is to protect what she has. With Tommy and Ellie, I don't think she was genuinely rooting for their murder in a cold way but was scared of what could happen if they were kept alive, she clearly doesn't like hurting people considering how she felt tourniquetting Joel's leg and how she felt after Jackson. With the scars, she only wants to hurt them because they want to hurt her family from what I see, and when Abby brought these two scars back she was willing to perform the operation to save Yara's life, and how she talked about the WLF killing those scar kids. I believe she really cares and loves but when pushed to the boundaries can show a different more cruel side. Even before her death, she was willing to sacrifice Abby, one of her closest friends, to ensure that she, her baby, and Owen lived. There is a really good analysis of the scene with Mel and Abby from the channel TLOU Explained which might explain what I'm trying to say better than what I can. I think the reason Mel feels the way she does is a growing hatred toward Abby that has been progressing, from everything that happened in Jackson, her perceived notion of Abby trying to get close to Owen, and the fact that Owen clearly loves Abby in a way he doesn't love Mel. I wouldn't boil it down to just jealousy, which makes it seem dumb and frivolous, but when you take a look from Mel's side I think you can clearly understand how she feels and why she does.
Anyway, super great analysis!!! I always love seeing love for this game. It is one of my favorite games ever if not my favorite. I'm happy to see love and appreciation for a game that is way too overhated in my opinion.❤❤❤
I just wanna say it’s always been a point that Ellie has ALWAYS been the main character, she shares this spot with Joel in the first game, the only difference between Ellie and Joel in the first game is that you PLAY as Joel. Other than that Ellie has always been main character or at least one of the main characters, the first game is about Joel AND Ellie not just Joel and not just Ellie. That’s why she’s the main focus on both game cover artworks
The first game was way too idealistic for it to even take place in an apocalypse. This game is exactly what I wanted in a sequel.
What do you mean? I played it some time ago but don't remember it being idealistic really
Oh. Well I know what I'm watching tomorrow.
I loved and hated the fans reaction to this game's story. I will forever call it art. It evoked too strong a reaction from everyone not to be called art.
Few games sum up the “Dig Two Graves” rule of revenge like TLOU2
Glad you could put your biases aside and actually enjoy the story for what it was. There are very few us out there that can appreciate the bold choice Naughty Dog took to tell a story.
I'm biased in favor of good writing which is why I don't like this game.
When I played this game for the first time I felt like I was Ellie. When Joel died I literally had to walk away for two weeks to just be able to play again. At first I was so angry and it upset me in how violent Joel’s death was. I wanted to get revenge for Joel because he was my favorite character. As Ellie’s story progressed I started to understand how destructive this path was not just physically but emotionally. It was really hard to move past it but you just had to keep going. When we finally switch to Abby, I was pissed let me tell you. But for some reason I couldn’t put it down. I had to keep going no matter how much I hated her. It took me so long to realize that just because I hated her doesn’t mean I couldn’t understand her. I believe that you can understand why someone did something even if that’s not what you would do. Abby is not evil, she is in pain. Just like Ellie. Now don’t get me wrong, I hate Abby for what she did, but I can forgive her just like Ellie does to Joel. In the end I feel like Ellie was choosing to understand Joel and the last part in Santa Barbara when she’s hunting Abby, it’s not so much about revenge against Abby but about forgiveness with Joel. Ellie is such a complex character. This game is not about revenge but just like the first game, it’s about love. What we as humans are willing to sacrifice to have it. What parts of ourselves we lose without it. I find this game a piece of art. It’s a game of empathy. It’s a game that shows the real power of love and hate. It wasn’t perfect but it was a masterpiece.
Thanks for listening to my Ted talk
Played both games about 100 times each. Biggest fan here. It's absolutely life changing. Beautiful video!!!
Great analysis! As I commented on another UA-camr's video just yesterday, the break-up scene between Dina and Ellie is one of my favorites. The acting is great and it's heartbreakingly well captured and animated. The game's ending had me thinking for days and weeks with conflicting thoughts about what could and should have been. ⛵
For me, personally, TLOU1 was always about Ellie the moment we met her, about protecting and caring for, even though Joel tried to deny these feelings as long as possible. By the end of TLOU1, Joel's story was finished and in the last scene Ellie became the protagonist, so it felt natural to continue as her in TLOU2. The decline of their relationship due to Joel's lie and him getting killed by someone he had crossed in the past were logical continuations from the first game. It made even more sense that it'd be someone from Salt Lake (not that I would've guessed it at the time). I'm glad they dared to create something new instead of repeating the same formula, even knowing that they'd upset a lot of people. The happy adventures of Joel and Ellie part II were never in the stars, though I might not have complained about something more uplifting. What we got instead is now one of my favorite stories ever.
That being said, I find it perfectly fine to dislike the game. It can feel very bleak and that may be the opposite of what people seek in a game. I've even watched a playthrough of someone who appreciated the game but who expressed that she'd never want to play it again because of how depressing it was.
Best game ever made. I cannot fucking wait to see what part 3 has in store
Me to im so excited and hyped for part 3 as a 11 year true fan boy of the last of us im excited for part 3 i love the first game and the second game and im excited for part 3 and a Tommy dlc game 🩷🌿🩷🌿🩷
@@Tloufanboy hell yes the Tommy dlc would be incredible and so fun especially with their improved gunplay mechanics. Part 3 is gonna deliver BIG time for both gameplay and story, nothing better happen to me before now and when it comes out finally haha
the amount of people who said the game sucked because "revenge bad" is all it was is crazy. everything must go over their heads
This game is "I'm 14 and this is deep" for people in their 20's.
@@jordanthompson8268 small minded, you didnt even watch the video at all. like if you're incapable of understanding the game, fine, we get it, you cant think beneath the surface. but watch someone elses explanation and try to understand.
@@ezra5737 I've watched plenty of people's videos on the game, seen the game's story several times, and watched the bulk of the video. The game is painfully simple. It's easily understood. It just sucks. Stop huffing your own farts, it's not deep.
@@jordanthompson8268see, the story itself is simple, but what’s complex is the emotions it brings and all the themes people miss because they’re too busy filled with hate. It’s perfectly fine to not like Part 2 even if you fully understand the context, sub context, themes, etc, but unfortunately many who say they do understand actually missed so much.
@@jordanthompson8268also, why do you say it sucks? What makes you think that?
Really great video! Stumbled upon your channel randomly, and you have a new subscriber! 🙂
The Last of Us 2 will have a special place in my heart, probably more so than than the 1st game. My dad was killed about a year and a half before this game came out and I feel this game perfectly portrayed the anger and grief that you feel and carry when a loved one dies, especially when that death is sudden and tragic. It portrayed the weight you carry with you, and how tired that weight makes you, until you finally try to move on and let go of some that anger. It was brutal, visceral and beautiful. From someone who left things unsaid when their loved one was still around, that last scene with Joel and Ellie absolutely destroyed me.
This game really changed my perspective on a lot of things in both gaming and life. 10/10 series and I love it to death.
Abby & Ellie would be unstoppable together i swear to God I can't stop thinking about a team between the two 😭❤️
Great video as always! 🚢❤ I have to admit, you’re one of the first ones that I’ve seen who have actually addressed how the switches between the characters are meant to create empathy in more depth than just “it’s hard to switch.” I think that the writers and the game is literally FORCING you to have empathy, to develop empathy in the face of a tragedy. And that’s really, really hard. You don’t WANT to like Abby, you don’t WANT to empathize with her. You want to turn away. But by the end, not only do you empathize to at least some degree, but you are right there with the characters. You’re just as tired as they are with the senseless violence. You don’t want either to die, you don’t understand why you’re still fighting - and neither do they, but that feeling of “she killed Joel” still keeps popping up.
It’s a game that manages to break you alongside its characters, and that’s REALLY impressive. I can understand why people can’t finish it, but god, it’s unmatched.
The only point that originally irritated me was the game putting me in Abby's shoes, not because I didn't understand or accept what she did but because I felt like the game was far to forcefully demanding I relate to her and I just couldn't, I trudged through begrudgingly and at some point that feeling faded as I became invested in Lev and Yara.
It's difficult to say that it was the intent but looking back I feel like the gameplay before then was me going through the motions just to finish Abby's section, kind of like how she had gained no happiness or goal after killing Joel and at this point without a purpose was also just going through the motions.
Regardless I loved the game start to finish, with that being the only moment that was too much for me, but thankfully only briefly.
i honestly kinda just wanna go on a tangent on how abby was introduced to the story because i loved it SO MUCH. my personal interpretation of why they introduced her as the murderer of joel is solely for moral greyness, one of the more overarching themes of this game. in part 1, joel is introduced as a father who lost his daughter and is trying to regain that chance with ellie. it makes us view him as some pitiable false hero who people will defend no matter what. plus, it often takes away from the greyness of his actions/past. this ultimately made us view joel differently in part 2 as naughty dog forces us to view joel as this dude who has also done bad/unjustifiable things.
with abby we essentially get the reverse of joels introduction. abby tortures our favorite character and makes our 2nd favorite character watch (ellie). she is automatically shown as this callous and evil individual until, we get to her section of the story. we realize that she was once a young girl with a father whom she loved. we watch that love be taken from her by joel when he kills her father. sure, we finally get a reason as to why she had to kill joel but, does that mean it was justified to torture him like that?
that question is what made her arc so much more realer than joels. we didn’t look at as ‘oh, she’s doing what any daughter would do for their father’ like we did with joel but, in a more greyer/human-like sense with the ‘yeah, i understand why she did it but, did she have to brutally kill joel like that?’ questioning her actions as a character instead of a robotic defense is what makes her so interesting to me. it makes her far more human to me rather than just some ‘false hero’ that joel was.
i often ponder on what could’ve been had joel been introduced into part 1 as someone brutal killer and then we slowly were dissolved into his past and why he did what he did. it definitely would have given his character more nuance and greyness to the story
I’m curious how people feel about Owen. For me, him NOT killing the seraphite when he wanted to die, but then being fine killing young ones who want to live, then abandoning Mel because “she’ll be safer here” during a war? She’s pregnant with your child….. Then endangering his life and by extension Mel’s by trying to go after Abby on the island, which is selfish to Mel and the baby. Anyone have different thoughts? I can’t see it any other way help me out
i feel the same way. wanted to like owen but it felt like he was meant to serve as abbys moral compass even though he planned to abandon his pregnant girlfriend for abby, who despite sleeping with him, was very adamant that he get his shit together even if she wanted to be with him too. we were meant to hate abby in the beginning and grow to love her, whereas i think they intended on owen being more likable because he was partly the reason for tommy and ellie being spared. but i guess everyone in tlou is messy lol all of my favorite characters are mass murderers 😭
I agree. I think he was supposed to be a lot more likeable. I didn't really _dislike_ him, tbh. I actually felt pretty bad for him. It seemed to me like he really wanted to be with Abby, but she chose her obsession for vengeance over him. I think he was just with Mel out of obligation, because he got her pregnant and was trying to do right by her and his child. He just wasn't very good at it.
Personally, Mel was more annoying. They could have done a lot better for her character. I couldn't even feel bad for her that she was with a guy who clearly didn't want to be with her because I just found her so incredibly unlikeable. Her jealousy was warranted in general, but I feel like they didn't give her very many redeemable qualities so I cared more about Alice dying than I did Mel. It's kind of a shame because I like Ashley Burch as a voice actor.
@@chuidumathey couldve done so much for Mel as a character bc who was she? I've played the game so many times and i still don't really know exactly such a shame bc there was so much potential..
The Greatest story ever told..this game changed games forever my expectations of what game is has changed technology and storytelling
I just beat this game like last week. One hell of a game.
i heard some people say that the scene of her coming back wasnt her coming back from abby, but from jackson. her and dina living together. people pointed out that she is still wearing dinas bracelet. and that she is missing the weapons she had on her during santa barbara. for my sake i'd like to go with that idea
When I saw Joel's death I separated from the franchise for about 3 years. it still hurts
That’s lame, bro. Part 2 is a better game. And part three is coming soon
This video is absolutely amazing. Really heartening to see someone else's love for this absolutely marvelous work of art shine through.
I do believe that a big theme of Part 2 is perspective, in Ellie's perspective just after the death of Joel she doesn't get the chance to forgive Joel and especially herself to taking him for granted, in Abby's perspective she finally avenged her father's killer but she experiences the nightmares of her dad's corpse in the hospital now trying to save 2 Seraphite kids not knowing why but others (mel only) thinking it was to win over, but really in her words "I had... to, I needed to, you both don't deserve this." Owen's perspective where he now tired for fighting for a land he doesn't give a f**k about anymore and want to have the Abby he knew back. I appreciate Naughty Dog giving us a chance to hear different characters perspective in this game.
I thought this game was pretty good as a huge fan of the first game. As much as I didn’t care for Abby, the more I played the game, I started to understand why she did what she did although I still don’t like her. It also hurts that Ellie isn’t her optimistic and gleeful self in this game. She definitely turned into someone unrecognizable, but I love the game regardless.
S.N. Your video editing has gotten so good! And your storytelling is so well done! Keep up the good work! 🛶
Tbf, you can blame Joel and the events of the first game as to why Ellie isn’t her gleeful self anymore. She lost Tess, bonded with a kid near her age in Sam but then he and Henry died. She gets tricked by David and eventually captured by him, he was gonna do some awful things to her, she has to kill him and is very brutal in doing so.
That’s a lot to take in as a 14 year old. Now add in that she’s been told she’s special and she can change the world, she had purpose. Now Riley, Tess, Sam and Henry’s deaths weren’t gonna be in vain. She couldn’t save them but she can save many others. Joel then takes that away from her and then lies about it. That’s a fuckton to take in at any age, let alone a 14 year old. And one of the themes of Last of Us is that grief, trauma, and PTSD changes people
This games one of the few where I genuinely felt worse after playing it. 😂 I cant say its in a bad way, but definitely in a ...mixed feelings way. Its good to see people looking back at it in a variety of ways.
Loved this analysis and will absolutely love a last chapter from this beautiful story 🛶
Perfect video and perfectr game, i watched everysingle second of this video. Thank for making this!
this was such a treat to see in my recommended during my work shift!! ⛵
Amazing video essay LOVED IT!
When it comes to Mel I can't help but to empathize with her. I mean, she gets pregnant (we all know it wasn't planned) by this guy who's still hung up on his ex, tries so hard to make it work with him, cares about him, decorates their "place"... and then Abby, her supposed "friend", just sleeps with him like he isn't taken. Abby AND Owen are both at fault for this, I'm not only blaming Abby, I'm talking from Mel's pov when it comes to Abby.
So when Mel went off on Abby, I agreed with averything she said cuz, to Mel, Abby's been an awful person... she smiles to her face and tries to not be awkward but it wouldn't be awkward if she hadn't tried to take her man, if she just moved on or accept the reality... it sucks but she lost her shot with Owen over her obsession with Joel.
I wouldn't classify Abby as a girl's girl as people say. If Mel and Owen had survived, she'd be miserable, with a cheating partner or an all together absent father figure for the child. As long as Abby's in the picture it would've never worked for Mel.
I don't think anyone is upset about playing as Ellie. No one has an issue with that, it was all about Joel's death. The jump between main characters argument doesn't really apply as a bad descision here. The simple fact that joel died as early as he did & especially in the way he did is what people had a problem with.
Something I don't see people talk about is that this whole development was leaked, which i think severely affected the reception of this whole thing
I definitely agree, but there were plenty of stupid people who were so mad that Ellie kissed someone that didn't have a weiner
It is a little hard to pull the rug out from the audience when they can see you're going to pull the rug out from them.
People wanted a sequel to the first game, they didn't want Neil Druckmann's rejected pitch so he could have a do-over to tell the story he wanted.
From a purely gameplay perspective, the shift to a new character mid game jarred me way more than Joel dying because I had fully leveled up Ellie’s weapons and skills. That bugged me but I quickly got over it once I started with Abby. I personally don’t understand the surprise at Joel’s death. It was inevitable; I don’t really see where Ellie’s story would go otherwise? At least not as a personal character driven story. Joel’s story was done when he got to Jackson. His arc was complete.
@@crazyinsane500aww, is someone still upset?
⛵Such a great analysis. Thank you!
40:02 fun fact stalkers were in the first game they were in the hotel basement as well as the sewers they were just combined with other infected so you couldn’t really tell them apart
Loved the video, always enjoy watching peoples opinions on the game. Got to play last of us 1 and two recently and it was amazing. I had prior to playing the game already had watched a ton of content on the game. With playing the game it allowed me to come to terms with what happened with Ellie Joel and Abby. Actually really enjoyed Abby’s section.
Also, I believe If we don’t get a Tommy game before or after last of us 3 where he finds peace like Ellie and Abby I’m gonna feel pretty disappointed and like the story is a bit unfinished. He’s the last character who hasn’t gotten peace. I’ve seen a few people seem to now highly dislike Tommy because of how he’s dealing with grief just boxing him into the section of toxic masculinity instead of understanding what he’s been through aswell. I think a Tommy game prior to lou3 will lead perfectly into a final game to sum up the franchise.
There is a fan made Tommy dlc story made by MegaDan (malpasdan) and the video is called Tommy dlc? What it would look like? The last of us part 2 expansion idea (unbroken - part 1) there is a part 2 aswell. It’s a great story. I’m taking it as canon for now until we get an actual game 😭.
For Mel i recomend dor you to watch the video from the chanel tlou explained as well as their other videos you can also do reaction videos if you want to.
The last of us pt 1 was my favorite game ever ....then this came out ...and I hated it soooo much .... But after some time . I realized...how freaking amazing this game is ...and it's now my favorite game ever .
Beautiful, very well edited!
This is a very well made video I really liked it but just so you know stalkers aren’t a new type of infected they were in the first game (they were mainly seen in the hotel basement and the sewers)
No one minded playing as Ellie, we love her. It’s Abbie everyone hated.
I personally liked Abbie’s story with Lev. It’s hard to match that Abbie with the one from the beginning.
When I first played this game I continue playing to get revenge and kill Abby but when I play as Abby I starting to understand and I started to forgive her
I enjoyed the game, the gameplay is great. The story I get it, revenge has consequences.
I think the story is more about grief and how it takes us over
I think some of the major writing choices make a lot more sense when you consider how heavily the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, specifically, influenced the narrative. With the creative director and creator of the series having grown up with his particular experiences there, it's easy to see how "breaking the cycle of violence" is such an important theme toward the end. And then taking the time to humanize and allow the player to empathize with what would traditionally be the antagonist is so much more effective than if Ellie's story had been the only one told. I have some criticisms for some of the writing, but I think they largely accomplished what they set out to do.
I saw another good video where they explained how it's also about empathy, I wish I had the link but the explanation was fantastic. Surface level it's about revenge and where it leads but can also be about learning empathy. There's so many themes. I'm not saying you're wrong or anything just, adding a bit.
@@AFoxInFlames You're right, I watched that same video I think but i forgot what it was called
@ramondpotter573 I cannot even remember who did it but I watched a couple of these essays, I like hearing what everyone thought about it.
unbelievable intro well done 🤝
This was great
⛵ Well put and nicely done 😌
My Top 10 Favorite Video Games of All Time
1. The Last of Us Part II
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Batman Arkham City
4. The Last of Us
5. GTA IV
6. Portal 2
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Super Mario 64
9. Gears of War 2
10. Uncharted 4
The writing for this is amazing. Every line every word is so real and so relatable. They poured so much emotion in it. They dont write block buster movies this well
I had a bad opinion of this game, even before playing it, took me 4 years to play it. I was biased by all those other players who hated it after Joel's death. Then I started to watch game plays and I got curious by Abby. I liked Abby a lot. I enjoyed playing her story more than Ellie. I felt she lost much more than ellie. Hopefully, in the series, she wont be played as the "villian".
one of the things about this game, is that it asks you to remove your biases, to humanize the other, in real life it’s very obvious tons of people don’t do that, hence a lot of the hate for the game
I dont think people didnt like switching main character they disagreed with the death being too early after 8 years of anticipation and then playing as abby nothing to do with ellie until later on in the game where obsession gets the best of her...
I hear arguments about it all the time its about abby and the death being too early oh and also the ending...
Yeah I think if we played as Abby a bit more before she used Joel as a golf ball we maybe would have struggled more to dislike her
But her killing him so early on makes it easy to hate her and look past her character development.
@@OrangecatenergyI think that was the point. Make the players hate her because all they initially see is the horrible act she committed against a beloved character, and then show them that even if her actions weren't justified, her motivations and experiences before and after she gets her revenge make sense. She's just a person who's just as fucked up as anyone else in that world, but doesn't want to be.
@obsequiarch7271 i think its more if you can get on board with ellie's journey then you could do the same with abby challenging our biases which are surface views that were shown in p1 e.g. (marlene's talk with joel in the parking lot) but were easily sidelined because we was joel and ellie in p1. i dont think this game is solely about revenge and thats due to how they structured the game...
@@obsequiarch7271yeah sure it was their point but as you can see a lot of the fans and people who played the first game and this don’t get that. They don’t really have any reason to be rooting for Abby. If we had connected with Abby first, just for a little while, it would have been much harder to play as her SERIOUSLY and not just see that part of the game as a hassle and to be unsatisfied with that part of the game.
@@obsequiarch7271what I’m trying to say is, a story like that works out fine in theory, but not in practice and with the context of this game, if it had been a sequel to a game that hasn’t been out as long as TLOU 1, maybe it could have worked. But with how long TLOU 1 had been out prior to part 2, people only had Joel and Ellie to connect for and root for. Throw a random character in the second part with the intention to make us qeustion Joel when all these years we never had to is hard. We played the game multiple times, killed Marlene and the fireflies multiple times. It’s hard to see Abby as the interesting character she is when she’s introduced like this.
UA-cam suggested this video randomly to me. Thank you for this beautiful work. ⛵
Thanks for making this video! 🛶It wasn't long enough 😂 my thoughts: I think Mel's purpose is to be a pregnant woman and to give some drama to Abby and Owen's story honestly. I do like how close she was to Abby's father, showing how much of a likeable person he was. Especially with her "You're a piece of shit Abby" quote, I think she overall just gives more background context and characterization to the WLF Salt Lake crew. But my first time playing the game was weird. I've watched my roommate play most of it when it came out before I knew what TLOU was at the time. The only thing I knew was that part 1 was a masterpiece and part 2 was a monstrosity because they ruined the franchise and killed off the main guy and it wasn't what people waited years for. I watched the majority of the game while trashing on it and making jokes with my roommate. I knew which characters died and how, I knew you played as Abby and why she killed Joel. I knew she was afraid of heights, but that was about all I remembered before playing it for the first time early this year. After playing pt1, I just had a feeling I was going to like it, and I really did. Wish I went in fully blind but I forgot enough for it to be a full experience. These 2 games are so special.
🚤 terrific video!
I love part 2 so much. It's one of the most emotional games that I have ever played
I just finished playing it, i feel so empty it was so good. The character writing is so excellent i love Abby and lev so much
thanks for the vid queen⛵⛵
Of course Joel was honest before his death and didn’t give a fake name, he literally never was the type to do that even in first game, not sure why people invented that non existent aspect of his character.
Random people in Boston called him by his name for gods sake.
Great video so far!! Just want to say to the haters who think Joel was out of character before his death etc etc that HE WASNT. Joel says “Tommy!” numerous times (who Abby is looking for to get info about Joel) whilst Tommy moves the gondola. Tommy then formally introduces himself and Joel to Abby during the escape, and Abby stares at Joel in shock. She then takes them to the Baldwin place knowing who they are and with the plan to kill Joel. There, an unaware Mel introduces herself to an unaware Tommy and Joel says his name. People who bash this don’t realise Joel’s fate was already sealed way back when Abby realised her final target (Joel) is stood next to her current target (Tommy).
Edit: 🛶
🛶 I have always felt that anyone who played this game and hated it just because they had to play as Abby completely missed the point.
It's a story about what holding bitterness in your heart does to you, even if it is totally justified. Ellie allowed her bitterness to destroy her, and if you can't get through the game because you hate Abby that much... then you have the same problem.
🚤 RAAAH I fucking hated TLOU2 when it first came out, obviously just from the fact that Joel straight up dies and the game made us play as his killer but after watching some videos about it and also my partner explaining it to me, I realized that it is lowkey one of the best story driven game I’ve played. Still mad how Neil tricked us into thinking Joel was gonna be alive longer 😭
Wee some player's thought Manny was mr Neil druckmans mocap model lol
I didn’t have a problem empathizing with Abby at the end both of their drives for revenge led to them losing loved ones and losing a chance at a romantic relationship and a family.
I wish I could play part 1 and 2 again for the first time tbh
Man, I really wanted to like this game as much as the first one, and while it’s definitely not as good as Part 1, it’s still kept me busy for quite some time.
the ending left me so unsatisfied, but reddead redemption 2 was also sad but very satisfying in the end
Former hater of part 2. I knew it was the end for Joel and that we'd likely not get to play as him in part 2 at all even back as far as 2013. I knew Neil would leave you feeling pretty rough whether you knew it was coming or not, Joel knew it was coming and that's why they were discussing leaving. He got one of the best lines a character gets these days. The original left me in tears and I knew what it took to be a parent when the credits rolled. Now that I have played both one and two several times and have taken in others opinions on the matter, and watching the making of video that finally got me to admit I was originally wrong for thinking the series was ruined. As for playing the game as Ellie, she was always going to take up the helm in some way, we just find out it's more Abby who became Joel and Ellie who became Abby. It's indeed a great game but I will never render that it holds a higher rank in our time than Red Dead Redemption 2. If TLOU2 is a 11/10 than RDR2 is 726/5, No joke. Not trying to promote another title. But it is more broadly topical overall. I just hope that there are no leaks next time and that Neil doesn't play into the terrorists demands. Oh, and RDR2 will take several hundred hours if you want to play it properly. Final note, the day one release of the last of us had several recorders in the hospital that put together a very different story for Abby's dad. There were 6 and at first, they seem promising, but then they realize it won't work this time because it didn't work on the "other" immune people, a dozen or so that the fireflies had already killed, and they got no result. It was a straight up red flag for the completionists that the fireflies, with all their good intentions, wouldn't have succeeded. Making their operation little more than a bad science experiment gone fail. So, in summation, if you see how underqualified Abby's dad is, it puts to rest any question that this guy couldn't have done what he said he hoped he could do. The fireflies are a faction, they are a cult without a prophet or deity. That's ultimately what you learn in the final moments of part one if you played through the whole game on day one and didn't patch it, you'd see where the original narrative was heading. But Neil didn't want to focus so much on the zombie part as he claims that's not what this type of game is... Part 2 suffers from a major lack of conviction. It was hubris that made Abby spare Ellie and Tommy, not humility or humanity. Owen too. He was a childish fool to think that their dumb little group could just go snipe someone like a buncha little gutter punks and not get hunted by someone. Her hubris in thinking that she could leave loose ends on a vengeance quest becomes the primary theme for why both sides end up losing. Same with Ellie though when she finally tracks Abby down. No follow-through. Again, it's a good game because it makes you ask questions, I just don't think the game itself likes the actual answers. While Abby was one among Joels many victims, there was a legitimate claim against her fathers, simply put, unethical proceedings into medical research. Even on a coin toss of chances, Joel did the right thing to save Ellie, both for humanity and for Ellie. A fact that will be ignored or retconned to facilitate the narrative. Remember that Ellie's life is more important than any other character in the game period, unless otherwise retconned. But we still have the question burning away at us. Could they have made a cure and more importantly, would've mattered in time?
one of the best and most inightful video essays on tlou2! so happy we're past all those awful and hateful right-wing takes from back in 2020
Okayyyyy tlou fandom here ahahaha 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
WOW. I wanna say I loved this video to the start till the end it was such a great analysing and I loved it watched the whole thing super underrated and for Mel in my opinion she’s been always this joules person that craves validation and love from others especially from the way she acted when Abby told her she was Jerry’s favorite student and I think that’s like the one or top reason she felt targeted especially after Joel death she knew that Owen and Abby were never really over eachother and that they would eventually get back with eachother and that’s why she got really angry at Abby and called her out thinking she was helping the kids to get back with Owen but that was never the case Abby just wanted to do the right thing for once in her life which impacted her a lot for the better otherwise Mel isn’t really a bad cold hearted person she’s nice but she’s indeed joules and digs into stuff deeply and wrongly a lot of the time I’m sorry for my bad English I tried to word it as perfect as I can for anyone reading thanks for listening to me yapping!
Great video!
You meant emaciated, not emancipated in 2:04:58.
What is the music playing in the background?
Joel was a daddy
boat emoji. 🚢
Of course I watch another 2 and half hour long video about this game even tho I still dont like its story and how its told. Part1 will remain the better game for me. That said I never played it, dont even own a PS4/ PS5 but will give it a try when an emulator comes around.
Just wanna say with all the complaining ND got for remaking or reworking part 1 I now cant imaging how weird it would be looking at the ps3 clips comparing to lou2 clips
Stalkers are in the first game they aren’t new to tlou2 Joel faces them after falling off the elevator in part 1
I love this game 🚤🚤
This is the worst story driven game I've played don't know why this keeps popping up in my feed. None of this shit makes a sense
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Mel's Character
ua-cam.com/video/L5MNoie-cUY/v-deo.htmlsi=WqcSEyM0R09gdr8e
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🛥️ Nice vidéo Mad en cried several times (+1 sub)
Mad =man and en= I
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