recontextualizing Tommy | Character Analysis - The Last of Us Part II 

You lost me when I heard a woman's voice

Tommy is a character who I actually haven’t heard many people discuss or analyze, but that’s a shame because this shows how deep and fascinating he really is!

This analysis does Tommy so much justice! I never had any issues with him in the game, but I also never really took the time to really look at things from his perspective, so thank you for this insight.

Keep making these videos. I love every single one of them, and they have taught me more about storytelling than my English class has this whole year. You've deepened my understanding for one of, if not my favorite game of all time

Wow, I never thought of Ellie’s reckless behavior as a means for her wish to die. It’s almost as if her not dying from what would have been a death full of purpose has made her long for death anyways. The ‘call to action’ after Joel’s death is an excuse for her to risk her life for a “purpose” she sees as leading to her own death. She only sees one end for her journey, and anything else is meaningless. Her choice of poison is death by combat. When she decided to not kill Abby, it wasn’t because Joel’s memory made her realize revenge is wrong, she realized that her new purpose is to live for HIM. Because in that conversation, Joel makes it clear that his purpose was to save her, so she can live. Everything Ellie did was against what Joel wanted, and once Ellie realized that: she stopped and finally acknowledged that she doesn’t have to die for her life to mean something. Your view on the subject really opened my eyes….

Tommy is most likely the most Tragic Character in the entire series. Most people don’t even notice it too. The ending was completely justified, the way he acted. He wouldn’t have placed responsibility on Ellie if he could physically move. It probably feels awful knowing that he failed 3 separate times, all times that he believed he could’ve stopped.

"Tommy saw the world one way i saw it the other" this is a huge missing puzzle that people choose to forget or forget when analysing tommy's actions in p2 making them feel that he is out of character especially in the death scene

Amazing video, as seems to be the standard for the channel. I cannot believe there are still so many facets to this game that I'm yet to understand, so videos such as this one are a blessing. I wanted to mention a moment that I have almost never seen mentioned, that I believe holds significant importance. It was featured in this video, but I understand it not being brought up as it's not the focus. When Ellie and Tommy hug after Joel's death. There is the briefest moment where we see on Ellie's face all of her facade of strength and composure begin to slip. She is about to find peace in the embrace of the only other person in the world who shares her grief and allow herself to begin to feel the pain of Joel's passing. Tommy I think senses this and withdraws, ending the embrace and holding Ellie at arms length. I have speculated on this for so long, it's truly fascinating to me. I think Tommy pulls away partially out of fear of himself being vulnerable, it seems like he would have also crumbled (understandably) and cried alongside Ellie. Given what was talked about in the video this would go against his idea of being the hero. He wants to remain strong for Ellie, to show her that there is hope. He shuts down this moment of connection and weakness in an attempt to lead and appear strong for her. I'm sure there is more to it than just this, but that's what I think so far. The reason this moment has stuck with me so much, and why I cry seeing it every time, is that I truly believe there is a strong chance that if Tommy had allowed that hug to continue, they wouldn't have made the decision to pursue Abby. Ellie was blinded by rage and, once Tommy walked away, was left to stew in her anger. Tommy was also angry and terrified at the thought of allowing more harm to befall Ellie and so left and only had his own panicked, traumatised and injured thoughts as company. If they had sought comfort together, I think it could have shown both the alternatives. That revenge isn't all that Ellie had left, that she has her loving uncle with whom she could strive to honour her father. And Tommy could have realised that the best way to protect Ellie was to grieve alongside her. This is highly subjective and absolutely based on my desperate wishes to spare these characters, who mean so much to me, any more pain. I love the story told and am not typing all of this as an alternative, just to share my thoughts. But yeah, that hug breaks my heart.

this video alone gives me hope for a Tommy Miller DLC😭😭 thank you

the end of this video made me realise that i probably also deal with complicated grief. it's coming up on 2 years since i suddenly lost a friend. i think im going to try speaking to a professional because of this, so thank you

Hell yeah! Edit: On the topic of honor, I now see more than a few parallels between Tommy and Owen.

I loved this analysis giving Tommy the justice he deserves this is a constant argument between my brother and I, so much of Tommy’s characterization is vastly misunderstood because people wanted a carbon copy of Joel and when Tommy didn’t immediately jump to wanting to massacre people on Joel’s behalf people wrote him off and useless and weak so much of Tommy’s internal and external struggle is so nuanced and layered it was shown and hinted at way before Joel’s death that Tommy viewed killing people even for the sake of family as a last resort. I wish more people took the time to understand how fascinating and heartbreaking his character really is.

you have the best essays about this game in my oppinion

essay so nice, i had to play it twice. Great work, and very pleasant to listen to! beautifully thorough as always. thank you for collecting all of Tommy's character moments for this video, i felt like i got to experience those moments with fresh eyes all over again by having the context so well laid out. I also like how you leave it mostly unsaid (subtext) that Tommy's commitment to the pursuit of honor is a consequence of his masculine identity. Tommy is not able to reject the call to avenge his brother, when Ellie insists that she will go if he doesn't, because he fears losing his honor more than he fears disappointing his wife, while Ellie is able to reject the call to avenge Tommy because she, unlike Tommy, has no fear of losing her esteem in the eyes of other men. because Ellie does not value honor, the way that Tommy does, she is able to say no to him, even if it upsets him and damages his view of her, she still is able to side with Dina in the moment. (of course, Ellie eventually does chose to go after Abby anyway, but not because of Tommy) this theme of 'honor' being something that only men are burdened with is underlined of course by the scene at the dance. Ellie's ability to be a suitor to Dina, despite her being 'just a girl, not a threat', is what makes Ellie so dangerous, as Dina quickly points out: 'they should be terrified of you'. Because Ellie is not a man-- because she is free from the expectations that men place on each other-- Ellie is free to be even more ruthless. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic ^ sometime too. Ellie's feminine identity as her weapon.

Hell yeah! I've been waiting for this since I saw the teaser !

I thought I already had a pretty good grasp of why Tommy acted the way he did during the farm scene, but this video showed me "there are levels to this". Excellent video. I played these games for the first time this year and ended up becoming a bit obsessed with the 2nd one in particular. Your videos have been great companion pieces. For some people, this game is a one n done they never want to revisit- but for me, after numerous playthroughs, watching playthroughs, and your videos have made this game age like the finest wine in my mind. There's so much to unpack and the experience just gets better and hits harder the more you put the puzzle pieces together.

This is insane I’m very glad I found your channel. I’ve played the last of us 1 & 2 more than 99.9% of people I’ve played over 5000 hours of the last of us 2 since I was 16 years old I’m 19 now. Someone close to me passed away and now all I do is get high and play these games. I have done extensive internal and external research and I’ve grown as a person to understand this game due to the need to grow as most people these days could not possibly fully understand these extraordinarily complex characters and story and you are quite possibly the first person I’ve ever heard who fully understands this game and it’s characters. I would love to be able to talk to you and exchange info and your thoughts. Very very clever, congratulations, most people actually have a very skewered sense of this game, as well as their perception of it. You’ve done better than literally every single one of those millions of views videos when you type in the last of us analysis. Austin-

You’re killin it. Got a feeling you’re going to talk about Ellie’s last few scenes and the notorious “just take him” line. Powerful moments all around.

13:17 “The bond between found family can be just as strong as blood" Found family can be much stronger than that 💔

You’ve done Tommy so much justice with this analysis. I love that the first words we hear in this amazing story starting in part one is Joel saying his brother’s name. You really cemented his honour and grief and how enmeshed they are by the end for me. I cannot wait until your next analysis!! 🤍

Damn with Sarah, Sam and Henry.. Joel; I thought all of my crying was over. Then I listen to you talk about all of their love for each other, not wanting to lose and losing each other and the tears start flowing again.

your understanding of these characters is something I deeply admire. i’m only at the 12 minute mark but my heart is literally swelling with love the more I hear you talk about tommy and break him down as a character. i love this video.

God I loved this video. Even tho TLOU 2 is highly controversial and disliked among the fandom, I loved it. The story itself is so personal, to hurtful, so grounded. Despite being set in a post apocalyptic world, the human stories and interactions are 100% the main focus on the game. I rarely have anyone to discuss deep thoughts about this series, but now I do!

I never noticed that detail at 33:28, even though I've played through the game multiple times. Thank you for showcasing that

As someone who studied film and literary analysis in uni, its great to find such thoughtful, in depth critical analysis of my favourite video game. A lot of TLOU content is about the story as a whole or game play mechanics (which I also love), but rarely do people discuss characters like this. Especially Tommy, who I think gets way too bad of a rap! You're my favourite TLOU content creator!

The last scene with Joel and Ellie on the porch; the flashback to the dance- heck all the flashbacks and the disjointed order we get things in throughout the game that contextualize that scene and lead to it...but that final scene, where Ellie picks up the guitar, the flashback, and then her letting Joel go by leaving the guitar... I know that scene has been examined before but I'd really like to see your analysis of it. It hits so hard and, imo, WHEN we get that scene made it hit so much harder, despite would a lot of storyteller RU-vid channels might say. Anyways, that scene! Please.

Love these deep dives on TLOU, my favorite, I could talk all these themes and the story for hours!❤I know it takes so much to make these, and you always bring something new to the story, and actually explained Tommy's reactions that I didn't quite understand, connected and made it all make sense so thank you!❤

LETS FUCKIN GOOOOOO TLOU RXPLAINED UPLOAD ON ECLIPSE DAY

I am so thankful for these vids. Ty so so so much for making these. This is my absolute favorite game and to have someone not only also see that, but appreciate it enough to share just how deep all the themes, characters, stories, etc. all go is amazing. Keep making these please! Your work is fantastic and it also gives me more reasons to appreciate this beautiful, deep piece of art more and more.

Thank you so much for sharing! Your videos are incredible

The random jump to a meme while you had me SOBBING was really helpful so thank you. This video was amazing ❤ I love all the care and detail you put into your video and can't wait for more content!

Your analysis videos are everything! Not only does it give me different perspectives about the games and characters I love so much, but I learn so much about writing in the process! You are incredible!

Your essays are of amazing quality. Many times people just summarize the story while you truly unpack and analyze every portion of the story so well. Please don’t stop.

I love how with each one of these essays I get to learn something new about a character! It’s so easy to feel like you’ve figured everything out until someone else tells you what they noticed. This is my favorite last of us content on RU-vid!!!

Omg I love the way you smooth lines into one another it’s so satisfying and beautiful i honestly really love all your videos keep doing what you’re doing ❤🎉

Hey, I recently discovered your channel and I just wanna say how amazing your videos are. It is so obvious that you put so much work into them in order to show every facet of the game which is so unbelievably mind blowing. Your analyses are so detailed and researched. It is truly amazing. We really appreciate it! Thank you for making such videos! ❤

when you post i know im about to watch the most fire analysis ever

It’s tough to put into words just how incredible of a job I think you’re doing with this series. Your analysis is absolutely phenomenal. Some of the best criticism of any media I’ve ever been fortunate enough to experience. A game and a story as nuanced and detailed as this one deserves an equally nuanced and detailed deconstruction, and it’s truly a joy and a privilege to watch the work you’re doing here. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make such high quality content. I can’t wait to see what you put out next.

Dang, you're good at this! Very engrossing, I haven't seen many channels that break down individual scenes so elaborately. This revealed layers I hadn't seen before, and you convinced me that essentially all of your takes were backed up by the material. Well done

That cut with Ellie and the M21 and Abby w the infected was 🤌🏻

Tbh I’ve always thought that Tommy is the coolest tlou character ever, especially in the part two when he was holding jj felt like a nice uncle. Can’t wait to play as him.

Thank you for the in-depth analysis, bringing context from Part I (as well as from the show) for a more well-rounded piece! Always enjoyable.

Just a quick comment for the engagement of your channel. You do a great job on these videos and I love your outlook on things. You seem very analytical and open-minded and you do a great job exploring these stories and presenting your thoughts on them to us. Keep up the good work! I'm here for it and I'll keep being here for it! Thanks!

omg!!! so glad you uploaded this video and i’m super excited to watch it i’ve been waiting since the community post!!!

These videos make me feel even more connected to the characters and what’s going on. I love these videos!!

These videos are so amazingly good. They provide incredible insight and context. As much as I already loved these games and the writing in them, I appreciate the complexity and the nuance even more after watching these videos.

Yours are hands down the most thorough and well connected analyses I have ever seen about this universe and this is coming from someone who is obsessed with and eventually wrote her masters thesis about the games. Well done, brilliant work!

im so glad to hear your analysis on Tommy, he's truly a beautiful character

Thank you! I’m glad I found your channel. Every video essay you’ve made so far have been the exact things I’ve been saying for years. I even used the TV adaptation of Tommy in the army with his hero complex in his younger years. Makes sense on why he joined the fireflies and their “cure mankind” mission 34:04 I always saw that question as him wanting Ellie to say “no” and he would’ve kept goin. The way he looks at her, with the his demeanor. He screams “please say you want to keep going” I just finished the video and it was perfect! I’ve had all the same thoughts (maybe not as well put together) for years. I try to come off like this whenever I argue for TLOU2 being good. I just don’t have nearly enough vocabulary as you do 😂

Love the subtle TLOU music to change the mood of each segment. Super well done!

these videos always add an interesting perspective that i’ve never thought about. keep making them!!! ❤❤

I’ve watched all your videos where you analyse certain scenes from the game and I think this one is the most heartbreaking, at least from my point of view. Plsss keep doing these kind of videos, they make me comprehend my favourite game a lot more and the way you do it is amazing and great 💪🏼🏆

The shivers that went down my spine every time you mentioned how tommy couldn't save sarah

these are some of the most solid and concise character analyses on youtube, awesome to see focus on tommy; it feels like everything that people blow over with him was covered in this.

your voice and style together is soothing, not to mention the content bangs. 🙏 thank you

Found your channel the other day and csnt stop watching these videos. Amazing

Grateful that the algorithm recommended these videos. Really love your analyses for TLOUT pt 2, this game has not left my brain since 2020

Perfectly written and spoken. I love your calm and clinical way of delivering speech and analysing everything. I loved everything about this. I'll be liking, subbing, and probably clearing out the rest of your videos within the month. Thank you so much for this!

Amazing stuff - I never really thought Tommy was acting out of character in the end scene but you’ve really added to my understanding of his motivations. Brilliant analysis!

These are fantastic. I'm happy with whatever scene you choose to tackle next.

As always you've given me a different perspective on a story line that I underestimated Thank you as always it was worth the wait!🙏🙏🙏👏👏👏

These videos are outstanding, thank you so much for putting them together, I really enjoy watching them. Would love to see a deep dive on the Fireflies at some point

Glad someone’s doing a deep dive on this!! I think about Tommy’s arc every time I see anything about the game and it breaks my heart 😭

I adore your content, even as a huge TLOU nerd your videos are helping me to better understand the story and characters, and think about scenes in ways I wouldn’t have thought to otherwise. Keep up the good work!!

Your analysis just prove how mature the plot of the last of us is. Amazing how you translated it in a more easily understandable way.

Amazing analysis! These videos are helping me learn more and more about this game and its opening my eyes to so many different ideas and perspectives. I would love to see more!!! ❤️

This was so eloquently put, thank you

Really great analysis of Tommy. Love these video essays youre doing, keep them coming!

Your analysis are so good i can't believe it

great work uve done in that video! thank you so much, ive been playing this game since it came out and still thanks to you i still find something new to think about from another perspective

These are the type of videos I had always hoped to find, your straightforward entertaining last of us content brings a new breath of fresh air that I can throw on after getting home from work while eating, bravo! just subscribed! :D

This was an excellent video. I’ve always thought the game does such a perfect job of showing why Tommy would act how he did on the farm and it always surprises me to see people say it’s either out of character or too sudden a change. The way you explain it is just incredible. I especially liked how at the end you talked about people understanding Joel and Ellie but not extending that understanding to the others in the game. I can’t wait to see what scene you decide to go over next.

I’ll happily watch every one of your videos to support your journey and goal of working on TLOU Part III

I have no idea how I wasn’t subscribed prior to this video since I follow you on tiktok but this was excellent. Such an inspiringly detailed delve into Tommy!

I’m not quite halfway through, and I’ve cried multiple times. These games are so powerful and so good. Thank you for lending context and bringing sub-text to the forefront. You’re helping people see things they may not have known, and reminding others of the things that make these games so moving.

Please keep doing these videos!! They are so great, you’re so in depth about everything and it’s always a good watch. Tommy’s fall from grace is depressing as hell, I don’t know how he can redeem himself

these videos are amazing, thank you so much!

so glad you made this video, tommy is one of my faves

Really great work and insight and edits.

I’ve been savouring this video for tonight. Off work. House to myself. Some beers. Thank you for these videos. Always worth it. My love for this series, especially after the second chapter, knows no bounds. It is an endless trove of thought and deep discussion. Thanks for highlighting and enlightening me, such a huge fan of this series, and growing my love and fanaticism about this series. 😁

I am so happy to see someone continuing to analyze TLOU. I've been desperate to find more content to watch and I love your takes on all of this - I've been obsessed with it since I was in like 5th grade (im 20 now), and it's definitely one of the things that brings me the most joy in my life (alongside intense emotional suffering but solace within it, ya know?). Thank you thank you thank you! Please do more characters. I would love to see more Ellie analysis, and Dina too! Man, the first time I saw a playthrough of TLOU pt II years ago it fucking destroyed me. I didn't even know if I liked it, especially after what happened to Joel and then what Ellie's descent did to me. God, the 16th birthday part always will hold a special spot in my heart. Now I'm on my re-analysis and I love it more and more. I'm hoping it'll come out on Steam so I can play it - It's like an emotional processing for my own life, these games. Existential shit, man. Anyways, this is great.

PLEASE never stop making these!

this was epic! when i played through the game, i struggled to understand the actions Tommy, but thanks to your analysis, i can totally understand all his actions! this really helped to be more connected with the story (in parts, i found it difficult to connect with, as i did not fully understand the motivation of the characters.) Maybe i am numpty, but i did not pick up on alot of the small details and context and sometimes concluding that they were getting the characters to do things just for the convenience of the plot. However now, i can see that there was alot of depth and though go into all the character. Thank you so much for your video! It really changes the way i view this game and makes me enjoy it more!

Absolutely beautiful analysis of Tommy's Character in TLOU1 & 2, there's so much Depth to these Stories and you put it across extremely eloquently!

Let's goooo! Another great video. Thank you so much. Don't stress yourself out making this great content 😊

I love ur videos so much I truly get to understand deeply into the characters

I love your videos so much! They make me love the game even more than I already do 💜

Great stuff. I think your analysis vids are interesting, thought provoking, and thorough. Also really enjoyed the reactions to the HBO series. Hands down the best TLOU reactions I've seen on any channel, and I've watched damn near all of em. It's clear you put a lot of heart into the work, and care a lot about the source material. It definitely translates into the material, and 100% resonates. Makes my AuDHD brain go brbrbrbrbrbr. 😅 Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to put together such quality entertainment. It's greatly appreciated.

Absolutely phenomenal. Instant subscribe. Also this game’s story was so ahead of its time. The more I explore its depths the more I’m astonished at the absolute fools who never gave it a chance.

One of the best TLOU analysis channels I've ever come across My hyperfixated brain is very happy

every time i play this game i notice something new. it never gets old. your videos help me pick up on things that i never considered! i especially love the part when tommy realizes joel cares for ellie, and everything comes together in his mind. i find that moment between ellie and joel so heartwarming.

I love seeing your videos because you put into words everything I’m thinking and feeling about characters, and you explain everything perfectly. I understand people don’t need to like this game, but I always see those people criticise things that just show they don’t actually understand it when they say they do. Even from a first play through, there’s not a single character where I didn’t understand their motivations or why they react the way they do but I always see people complain about it and talk about how it ‘doesn’t make sense.’ It’s especially refreshing seeing a video like this talking about Tommy, because a constant criticism I see is how his character switch from telling Ellie not to go and then a year later getting mad at her for not going ‘does make sense’ and happens out of nowhere. But that’s not true, like you said unless it’s Ellie or Joel it’s like people don’t really look into the character stuff we already have been given or pay attention to who Tommy is and everything he’s gone through. People don’t seem to take into account his own grief, his failure or his physical injuries that’s caused permanent disability. It feels like people don’t get that character development doesn’t always need to be a good thing, Tommy has regressed from how we know him at the start. You pointed out perfectly, he became who Joel was after Sarah’s death in the first game. Tommy lost everything he cared about for this need for revenge, just like Ellie did at the end. People say they understand what the games trying to say but then will hate on certain characters and act like they’re the real bad guy, it’s fine to not like the characters but all of them aren’t perfect people. Especially in this world, all of them are very flawed and they’re human. You could make arguments easily about how any one of them could be bad people, because it’s easy to have a bias. But everyone has their own perspectives and knowledge and experience of why they do what they do, which leads to consequences down the line. It’s not as simple as ‘well this person is bad and this person is good.’ The closest person we have to being morally good is Jesse, but that doesn’t mean he’s perfect or that he wouldn’t struggle with that if he went through a similar situation as other characters did. I’m not that engaged with the fandom but I didn’t realise that people didn’t like Tommy until recently, I still love his character and I can still understand what he did to Ellie at the end was wrong, and it was bitter and mean but I also can’t blame him for becoming that way either and even though it did push Ellie into leaving and doing something, she was looking for an out to leave anyway. I think why people struggle with tlou2 is because of how human it is, this world is awful and these characters have went through immense trauma in a scenario that most of us won’t be able to comprehend and it can bring out the worst and the best in people and no one knows how to deal with that trauma. So characters tend to make lots of mistakes, can’t handle their emotions and it creates a cycle of never ending consequences which is why Ellie not killing Abby at the end is so significant, her killing Abby wouldn’t have done anything for her. It wouldn’t make her feel better and I don’t think her killing Abby at the end would be the great ending people act like it is.

This helps me understand this story so much fuller

dude this video is amazing! Love it!

tommy is one of my favorite characters, this analysis was well written, thanks for the excellent video❤

Keep putting these videos out,they’re great👍👍

I absolutely love this video! No game has made me think and soul search emotionally quite like the last of us 2 and I love in depth analyses like this. There is just so much to unpack. It is one of the most thematically complex, most human games ever made imo.

This was a really good watch. I enjoyed it. Thanks. I'm about to check out the ones I missed

Amazing video! You really did a phenomenal job!

This is an unbelievable channel and thank you so much for making it. I will definitely put this on again in the near future. Tommy lashing out at Ellie was heartbreaking but made a lot of sense why he would, and this video gave me even more to think about regarding Tommy. Neil did say he wants to make a Tommy focused side story, and I'm all on board for it. Would love to see a deep dive on Dina in the future.