Last of Us 2 Thoughts

The first time I saw the ending, I was crying my eyes out. I cried for about an hour after it ended, it felt like my heart was ripped out seeing Ellie getting everything taken away form her. Especially when the house was empty and she couldn't play her guitar, it was one of the few things she did to escape from real life. After thinking about it and reading some alternate writings and endings. I actually prefer the current ending because I think what they were trying to do was just push it way too far. Ellie kept chasing revenge to the point where she hit absolute rock bottom losing everything she loved. It just shows how if revenge is pushed to that limit it could really destroy someone inside and out.

I was thinking about the writers, they must have liked the story to some extent because they took the immense amount of time to flesh it out and make it into a whole-ass video game. I think that once I accepted that the story is a just a straight up tragedy for the sake of experimentation. I actually started to appreciate them just for having the guts to make such bold decisions.

I also like movies that have sad endings because it's just out of the ordinary and it's a slap to the face, kind of refreshing. Take Joker for example, I love that movie because you can witness a good caring man turn into a monster inch by inch and for some reason you as an audience member are still rooting for them. Stories like that take human psychology and pushes it to its limits to create a hectic, mind blowing story. I think it's just newly touched grounds and I think it's a very interesting approach to storytelling.

Only thing is, is that I stopped rooting for Ellie when she left Dina at the theater by herself. Also it was kind of hard to see Joel as a good guy with justified reasons for killing a doctor when Ellie admitted that Joel and Tommy "crossed countless people" and did things that were horrible in the name of survival. Abby's dad was a doctor with good intentions. Joel on the other hand, privately he was the best, but outside of his relationships, he was a monster. But who knows, In the walking dead our main characters start acting more and more evil just because of the violent atmosphere they are in. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You know that promotional poster where it splits in two where Ellie is playing guitar next to a tree and the other side is her hiding with knife. It truly shows that her brain was not only being half taken over by the infection but also revenge and hatred. Anyways, even though I stopped seeing Ellie as a hero, I did get to see her transform from an innocent child or a lovey-dovey teen into a monster was devastating. Which is still admirable because we grew with this character and the sheer familiarity adds shock value going from beginning to ending.

Some say that she is at peace at the end but I'd like to think that she still needs a lot of work to become happy again, and I think a third part could help finish her character arc by letting her find peace with all her relationships and sacrificing herself for a cure.

I will never forget this game. It wasn't made to entertain you; it was made to teach you that hatred is a disease. It wasn't a good game, it was a brilliant experience and I'm glad I got to be a part of it, I applaud all the people that worked on it at Naughty Dog.

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Please watch "Chronological Order" with the regular ending!!!

After watching the regular play-through. I thought that it might have been better if Abby's side was introduced earlier, then most fans wouldn't hate the game so much. Logically and objectively, I thought Abby and her dad were in the right just for all the cure stuff, but since we know Ellie and Joel more, I saw people turn a blind eye to Abby’s story and continue to root for Ellie even though they still didn’t think she was making the right decisions.

After watching this [THE LAST OF US 2 All Cut-scenes (CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER) Game Movie: https://youtu.be/R9TZQ2eKkdY] I realized that it does make the story immensely better!! Especially coming from the first game. Abby's side summarizes what happens in the last game AND tells a different side. Then switching back to Joel telling Tommy brings you back to the other side. Then you go through all the "flashbacks", of course now they are not flashbacks because they are now just story points picking up from the last game. Fans get what they wanted out of Joel and Ellie's relationship growing to more of a father/daughter dynamic with the birthday scene. You are also getting to know Abby and you grow to love Abby and Owen's relationship. You see Joel and Ellie hash out the hospital incident and see her slowly trying to forgive him. Finally, you work your way to present day. Only thing is, is that the timing would feel a bit weird for new viewers. I’m planning on showing this version to my sister in this order and I’m curious as to how she will react opposed to the mass majority. So, if someone were to see it this way, at this point when you get to present day, because all the "flashbacks" are like 2 hours which is the same length as the first game. So, when Abby gets to Joel, it actually feels like an ending, but it's not it’s just the beginning.

I listened to the interview with Druckmann and KindaFunnyGames [https://youtu.be/g6rRfK-V2jY]. He says that the reason why Joel’s death was so early was because he wanted to align the player with Ellie. And yeah when Ellie talks to Tommy about chasing Abby, I was on board. But then when we find out that Dina is pregnant, at least for me, I started to disassociate with Ellie because I couldn't understand her rage anymore. And watching some others play it like Jacksepticeye and PewdiePie they were also disassociating with Ellie. They were saying, "common Ellie! Just stop already!" This proves that the player has cognitive dissonance without even knowing Abby's story. However, in the old order we still don't care about any of the characters on Abby's side. So, when we switch over to Abby's Seattle days the player is STILL disassociated from not just from Ellie but from ALL the characters in the game till maybe when we meet Lev and Yara. But for me, while watching play-throughs and Abby's part started, I actually put the game on in the background and listened to it waiting for the climax again. I know many let’s players kept playing just to see the ending, and not the journey. I don’t think that’s what Druckmann wanted…I regret that I rushed through Abby’s part now because I missed the opportunity to bond with Abby and all her supporting characters just because I wasn't in the mood to start all over again.

However, in the chronological view, when we start in the Seattle days and switch back and forth between Ellie and Abby, yes, the player is now not as angry as Ellie is. And yes, Druckmann didn't want this. BUT! The player is not completely detached, they are like a free spirit since they know Abby and Ellie. They can embody both and understand both fully. Cognitive dissonance is still there but now the game itself is with the player on the cognitive dissonance. One day you see Ellie being revenge hungry and you can identify because you love Joel. Then on the next day you are with Abby and you see her trying to get over killing Joel, but she can’t, and you can identify with that. Now all of the bonding with the dogs and Abby’s fear of heights don't seem like a cheap way to get you to like Abby. You already like Abby because you saw her grow up before you saw Joel die. Now your just with her, you’re not catching up with her.

I think Druckmann should have told the story chronologically because starting with Abby really doesn’t take away from the player being just as mad as Ellie when Joel dies because of THE ACTING. Druckmann should’ve trusted that Ashley and Troy could deliver a performance that can win over and bring the players back into Ellie’s point of view of anger and revenge even if we grew to love Abby in the beginning. Druckmann wanted the player to get the same adrenaline rush as Ellie but is the shock value worth sacrificing our only chance to bond with Abby? And allow players to identify with both characters in the present day? I don’t think so. That shock value of Joel’s death in the beginning wasn’t worth getting REAL people enraged, which lead to the extreme criticism and death threats to the producers and actors. If Druckmann let the player identify with both characters during Joel’s death, maybe players wouldn’t be so anger driven in real life…

Anyways, when you get to 7:48:50 of the chronological video, switch over to the real ending here [https://youtu.be/zJ-VrnPeXpY]. When you get to the first Abby/Ellie fight you as an audience member understand both characters, love both characters, and don't want them to fight.

When you are at the farm and get flashbacks of the dance and the porch scene with Joel and Ellie. They are now YOUR memories as well as Ellie’s. Since the cut scenes alone are like 8 hours long, I don’t think it would seem repetitive. In contrast to the old order where you are unpacking the hospital story arc at the same time you are going through the Ellie revenge arc. Now you are just with Ellie sharing a memory about Joel, thus igniting the rage to go after Abby again.

Now, the ending doesn’t feel as empty because you know that Abby, a character you like, has a good ending. But you still get the game’s hard hitting ending with Ellie. I really like stories that end “bad” or as in Greek storytelling, it ends and is now a tragedy. I like it because it’s unexpected from many stories today. If both characters had a happy ending you as a player can leave it behind and not think about it anymore because it satisfied you. However, when it ends “badly” for Ellie, you are forced to think about why. And that’s where you get the beautiful thing where everyone creates their own interpretation. Either way when it ends you get to experience the “epitome of humanity: it’s horrible and selfish, but beautifully emotional, loving and Joel being so broken as a person by this point just hoping for something to hold onto. I get emotional every. Fucking. Time.” That quote was from a comment by David Short under the Druckman/KindaFunnyGames video. I thought he summed up why the ending NEEDED to end like a tragedy. Similar to how people create their own endings and theories with novels, great paintings, and other legendary creations. The sadness forces the player to glean a deeper meaning, rather than being happy and forgetting about it.