why The Last of Us Part II's story can't be separated from its structure

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Please enjoy this in-depth analysis of the structure of The Last of Us Part II.
This video was created for educational purposes only. This is my own interpretation based on multiple playthroughs and hundreds of gameplay hours, my experience as a game writer, and listening to interviews with/commentary by the creators of the game. I am not affiliated with Naughty Dog or any of The Last of Us creators.
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla and Mac Quayle.
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Beyond: Two Souls
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10 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 540

@dorkangel1076 21 день назад

Thank you. That was a really interesting analysis of it following an actual story structure as its something I've heard people complain about. I totally agree though from a slightly different perspective. Naughty Dogs intent is for also us to feel a story. We need to feel Ellies rage. Abby's story isn't really about Ellie (bar her being Abby's final boss fight) so it could go first or second but Ellies story needs to go first. To feel what Ellie feels we need no information about Abby, just a burning rage over what happened to Joel and a desire to know why. We uncover the information at the same rate Ellie does. Dina brings up questions that we might be thinking (why did they let Ellie live) and why did they kill Joel. Knowing that in advance kills that. The memories played out with Joel remind us of our loss as much as they do for Ellie (and slowly uncover the hidden story of Joel and Ellies relationship which is only fully revealed at the end). This helps drive us on just like Ellie as she gets more and more vicious. With Nora I didn't want to press the button but like revenge drives Ellie, the game drives me. At the Theatre when Tommy says we have to go back to Jackson, like Ellie we feel "What? That's it? She gets to live?". When Abbys story starts, we don't like her and feel lost and deflated. We just strived hard for something, went through a lot to get there and didn't get what we wanted. We feel frustrated. That's how Abby feels. She doesn't like herself and after four years of sacrifice and hunting down Joel, didn't get the release she wanted. Now he's dead and she's still having nightmares. Like her we're having to start from scratch. This is the part where some people started fighting with the story rather than letting it do its job. If you let it, like Abby we gradually find something worth fighting/playing for. Yara and Lev. We also start filling in gaps in our knowledge and gain new insight into the story to help keep us interested. When I started Abbys story, I just wanted to get back to the Theatre. By the end of day three I found I was dreading it as I didn't want Abby or any of them to die. The structure may not be the best way to tell a story (if by tell you mean being easy to follow) but it was the best way to feel a story. The two halves together tell the complete story, but unlike the characters, only the player gets to see it all. Each character only has an incomplete picture of what happened (eg. Ellie still thinks it was about the cure and Abby doesn't know Joel was Ellies father figure). It is a complicated story and due to the length, details get blurred in our memories as to who knows what and when. A lot of the criticism of character actions I see are based on them knowing something that was actually in the other persons story. With multiple playthroughs though you see more and more connections and what seemed like a throwaway comment in a conversation gains a new meaning and actually foreshadows something later on and details discovered later change the perspective on things that happened earlier. For example, the first thing I noticed on my second go was when Abby wakes up at the start of the game, she's just had a bad dream. Now I knew what it was. The nightmare of finding her dad dead. It explains her desperation to go off alone and why she was so brutal to Joel when she got him. To her it was like her dad's death had just happened again. I also knew they were actually there looking for Tommy in the hope he had a lead of Joel, not Joel directly.

@bountyhunterx123 16 дней назад

"Maybe not the best way to tell a story but the best way to feel a story" sums it up incredibly, I think. Feeling that motivation to kill Abby along with Ellie for the first half of the game immerses the player so much. And then having that hatred shattered by the end of the second half is sobering and really highlights how complicated the situation is. All of it really makes the ending hit home. Sometimes are no easy answers.

@dorkangel1076 2 дня назад

@@Gamfluent How exactly was it not bad for Abby?

@dorkangel1076 День назад

@@Gamfluent That’s odd because I remember all her friends dying (including the man she loved) plus her getting hurt and injured loads of times? The only reason she got a “good” ending was because she found something to live for instead of revenge. That’s the point Ellie had reached at the end of the game. She just needs to find what that thing is. Maybe that will be in part 3…

@kingpinpasta2934 Месяц назад

An aspect of the game that I find interesting is how many times Ellie is close to Abby without even knowing it. First time was when Ellie was in the hospital chasing Nora, Abby is below fighting Rat king. The second time is when Ellie reached a fork in the road when she decided to go to the aquarium, instead of helping Tommy. Had she decided to assist she would’ve run into Abby, because Abby wasn’t at the aquarium she was fighting Tommy

@AmandaRiu_1 29 дней назад

Yes!

@segevkrespi8609 28 дней назад

Second time is correct, however the first encounter timeline is kinda weird - when Abby exits the hospital, everyone is looking for her but things are quiet, so Ellie probably didn't get there yet, or maybe she just got there but she's sneaking into the hospital silently. When Ellie chases Nora down there, you can hear strange noises that sound like the Rat King, but it should be dead at that point as Abby already left the hospital, so maybe it's just other infected down there?

@tlou_explained 28 дней назад

@segevkrespi8609 when Ellie arrives you can hear some soldiers talking about how Abby took a boat, so Abby is actually already gone by the time Ellie gets there.

@segevkrespi8609 27 дней назад

@@tlou_explained I don't remember them mentioning the boat, just that Abby is gone. You remember which WLF said that? They have plenty of dialogue but it's easy to miss if you get spotted and they start shooting lol

@tlou_explained 27 дней назад

@@segevkrespi8609 yeah it's when you enter the hospital on the right side without being caught

@dansken610 Месяц назад

I'm thankful there are so many of us still unhealthily obsessed with this game 4 years after it's release 😄

@tlou_explained 29 дней назад

every time I think I'm over my hyperfixation some tidbit from ND or the HBO show gets released and it starts all over again lol

@Imagination5002 29 дней назад

same

@AmandaRiu_1 29 дней назад

Same!

@josuemartinez9688 29 дней назад

man.. this game immediately became so important in my life

@Jadensburg 29 дней назад

My poor suffering friends and family have got to be so tired of hearing me talk about these games and the show that was made from it…

@viennapatel7809 Месяц назад

oh we're eating this month

@RAdams-z2e Месяц назад

Eating good

@jewels8655 Месяц назад

Good soup :)

@tlou_explained 29 дней назад

stock up on jerky cuz idk when the next one will be

@guisilva9815 29 дней назад

@@tlou_explained next month, I know 🤓

@Flo-qw4jr 29 дней назад

@@tlou_explainedHaha as if it’s gonna run out 😂

@sailren179 29 дней назад

"players are forced to reckon with their discomfort and biases" that right there.

@HakuYuki001 28 дней назад

And as gamers do, they immediately retreated back into their shells whilst screaming they are the victim of "woke" writers.

@tink6225 28 дней назад

and they still do till this day

@ZaZaa-g9z 19 дней назад

@@moonmoon2479 Objectively speaking it did not suck, games that suck don’t win the objectively based awards it won

@sussyslurp 10 дней назад

@@HakuYuki001Woke writers can suck, but from what I've seen this narrative seems pretty good, not as good as the first but plot holes and all it tells a story about the damage that occurs in every human's core during a zombie apocalypse.

@Ronphyxia Месяц назад

“Thank you TLOU Explained” we say in unison!

@pastlife960 Месяц назад

I always wonder why people were so vehemently against playing as Abby. The most common complaint I’ve heard is that the game was ‘trying too hard to make us like her’. But everything in her story shows her to be an extremely flawed, hard to love obsessive who is only now trying to find some light. I wonder if people were angry about the game trying to make us like her or were angry with themselves because they were indeed slowly growing to understand her and why she killed Joel.

@ryanli8371 29 дней назад

Its possible. But I bet my two cent that a lot of people are generally adamant in the face of being challenged to view the perspective of a different character other than the one they grew to love (Joel). Especially the said character is the one who killed our loved character. I think also people mistake tend to mistake "playing a different character's viewpoint" for "playing a different character to make us like them". Liking them can be an added bonus if you DO end up liking that character. But that is not really the goal. Its really about understanding that character's viewpoint.

@toji6952 29 дней назад

Definitely the first one, that people are angry at the game trying so hard to appeal to pretty much all of Abby’s pov in the game. They understand what the game was trying to do, but are still criticizing the game for what it actually did, and that’s probably why there’s a split in the fandom even today. People happy with what they got vs people wanting a less polarizing game.

@slickstar96 29 дней назад

@@toji6952@toji6952 some people wanted another ellie and joel adventure vs other people wanting a challenging philosophical story like the first thats the divide

@jynxycats 29 дней назад

It's usually self-reporting. Finding a neutral viewpoint on some hot-button issues in life is a difficult personality trait for generally everyone on the planet. Some just don't possess this quality at all though, and will find ways to justify it. It's the game's meta theme, that happens outside the game, as talked about in this video.

@JebediahDurango 29 дней назад

You’re also not forced to like her at the end of the game. You can understand her reasoning, her past and her search to be better/pursue a better lifestyle as Lev’s guardian. You can understand the game entirely and still not like her due to her own actions. That is also up to the player to choose for themselves.

@DelCity. Месяц назад

Man, i wish I could analyze this game as good as you. In think the reason why TLOU2 story structure is so engaging because it breaks almost every rule in the order of story telling. The story has multiple insighting incidents, and multiple falling actions. Each character gets one. A fake ending and a real ending. It's almost the opposite of Romeo and Julet, where for their's there is one big moment where everyone come crashing down in the last of us it's domino effect that's spread though in world time and in the sequence of storytelling. But that's just how I see it. I don't study it like you do.

@kill4oj 29 дней назад

your analysis is still really good! i never thought of this as a sort of dark “hate” romeo and juliet, that’s so cool

@bernardodantas1615 11 дней назад

@@laphonz why are you in a video praising the story just to create hate comments?, go fix your face first and then you can talk

@SnackMuay Месяц назад

Recently, I was watching a tv show and it dawned on me why people are frustrated with TLOU 2. *minor spoilers for the show outlander* I was watching the show outlander which is about a time traveler who spends significant sections of time in the 1700s. At one point there’s a flash forward to our protagonist who has gone back to present day, and she learns the outcome of a great battle that everyone she cared about participated in. Then the show flashes back to her in the 1700s trying to avoid the war or change the outcome. While watching, I found myself extremely frustrated with the flash forward. I wished the show hadn’t teased me with that information, because now I had essentially been spoiled. This made me think back to other extended flashbacks in media and whether or not I’ve felt differently about them or if I’ve been consistently frustrated by this story technique. TLOU was an example of a story where the extended flashback felt almost seamless to me. I was able to set aside my interest in the events at the theater and explore Abby’s experience of Seattle. But perhaps people who find issue with this game are so incredibly invested in the ultimate fate of characters like Abby and Ellie that they’re frustrated by anything that gets in their way of learning more about what will ultimately happen to them. It was interesting for me to get a potential window into the mind of somehow who dislikes this game’s story.

@pastlife960 Месяц назад

So essentially people are impatient. You’re not wrong

@slickstar96 Месяц назад

Exactly this, im in camp i like this game but joel death scene and then playing as ellie for hours cemented people's bias, so by the time the switch comes their anger levels is stoked to the highest heights that they just disconnect and start examining abby just as she examine joel in the death scene and the saraphite until she is challenge to question her own thoughts...

@tlou_explained Месяц назад

I have so many problems with Outlander lol, especially season 2 for the reason you pointed out. beginning the season with how it ends was a...strange choice lol

@jynxycats 29 дней назад

I still say to this day that the game has a wild social experiment embedded into it. Gives you a lens into the a person's innerworkings, traits and beliefs.

@euphemiakaterina-vr9fp 29 дней назад

"While some believe that reordering the story's event would make the story better, it would actually just make it a different story." Oh my god, YES! This bit hit the nail on the head! I have long felt that this game's story IS the way it's told. It so gratifying to see someone else word it this way.

@callymilller 26 дней назад

I absolutely love that this was said because it’s got me thinking so much about how the second season of the show will be structured. Noting how Neil’s inspiration for Part II was this exploration of empathy and the comment about changing the structure would change the story altogether makes me wonder if maybe they WILL change the structure for the second season, to keep those who played the game on their toes. A different story, a different moral, etc. but we’ll all still know what happened because we played the game. A part of me wants to think that maybe they’ll put off showing Joel’s end because they got so much backlash for having it at the beginning of the game, but then like it was said, that’d change the story. But like, I’m kind of down to see it all mapped out differently! These characters are so greatly flushed out that it’s almost a shame to not play around with the world Neil built when given the chance.

@BandacootK13 26 дней назад

I think one of my favorite aspects of the story is how, from a players perspective, both the games end the exact same way. With both protagonists deciding not to do the one thing they've spent the whole game trying to do at the last possible second. it's kind of beautiful

@gavinjohnson4010 Месяц назад

WAKE UP BABE TLOU EXPLAINED UPLOADED A NEW VIDEO!!!

@HumBug_05 Месяц назад

You beat me to this comment smh 😔

@lordptk4115 Месяц назад

I was preparing to write a comment to argue for pretty much the same things as you did, but I think I couldn't have said it any better. I respect Naughty Dog so much for their creative choice to not only ask the question "can ONE emphasize with someone they hate", but asking the player directly "can you?". The game forces you to consider that question and for that to happen, the structure had to be the way it turned out.

@elucilin Месяц назад

I just want to say how much I appreciate the depth and insight you brought to this video. You’ve managed to capture the intricate layers of “The Last of Us Part II” in a way that truly resonates. I absolutely loved the way you dissected Ellie’s and Abby’s story. The way you highlighted the complexity of their characters, and how the game forces us to see the world through their eyes was amazing. Thank you for creating such a thoughtful and heartfelt analysis. It’s videos like yours that remind me why I love stories like TLOU2 so much.

@mauriciopitta Месяц назад

I don't know if the last moment is a subversion of tragedy conventions. At least considering Greek tragedy, it seems to me more of a full realization of the convention. Ellie is like Oedipus: when (spoiler alert for a work with more than 2000 years) Oedipus learns he's a patricide and has committed incest with Jocasta, he pierces his eyes. It's the catastrophe: the moment where he loses everything, but also the moment where the possibility of lucidity emerges. Ellie loses her two fingers, together with Dina and her link with Joel (playing the gee-tar); but it is at this moment that she can begin to reconcile with her past and make life anew.

@tlou_explained Месяц назад

Totally, I think the catharsis comes from the character having reached rock bottom in whatever way and the only way they can go from there is up

@Gabriel-Tár 29 дней назад

I guess it makes no difference whether Ellie killed Abby or not. I think Ellie intended to kill her, when she landed the knife blows it could have actually slashed her jugular. They were fighting for their lives and I think Ellie was even ready to die in the fight herself. But Abby's luck was being able to disarm Ellie and lead her to drown her. I believe the drowning was the reason Ellie hesitated to kill Abby. Drowning someone who is looking at your face is something extremely difficult to do, it may be the hardest kill for a human being to pull off. In another universe, Ellie slashed Abby's jugular and she bled to death shortly after. Yet Ellie's story would have been the same, because there are people far more innocent than Abby on her conscience.

@oscillis 21 день назад

@@Gabriel-Tár It makes an entire difference if Ellie had killed Abby. Abby is the one on her conscience, the one that beat Joel to death IN FRONT OF HER, the source of her PTSD is through Joel and Abby. In Abby's story, which you consciously for some reason choose to avoid to think about in how you explain yourself here, you know that Abby killing Joel for killing her dad did nothing but hurt Abby's mental state worse, because her friends distanced themselves from her. Abby was losing friends left and right, they were a part of her pain from the Fireflies and her dad. Instead of continuing on her self-destruction, the destruction of countless kids and elderly or all of the innocents on the Scar's side, she was forced to see a different perspective before she could die. She was saved by her enemy. She was forced to consider a different path rather than death and destruction all around, and that's what made her start healing from her pain and trauma. By the time Ellie met up with Abby the third time, at the ending sequence, Ellie had lost a lot of blood and was severely wounded and verging on the brink of mental destruction. After killing Abby and returning to an empty home, Ellie would have killed herself. Maybe even before she returned to where Dina had previously stayed. She would have had nothing left. She would NOT have been able to forgive herself for the death of Joel, nor would she forgive herself for killing a protector of a kid much like Ellie in the first game. No humanity. No family. Nothing. This is a circle of destruction, that Ellie knew deep down wouldn't help her feel better. She needed to know, though. And the pain kept going to a higher extreme the more Abby and Ellie fought, because causing pain to try to heal pain will not work. It will only create more pain. Ellie's story would have been completely different if she had killed Abby. Abby's story would have been different if she had killed Ellie and Dina back at the cinema, or Ellie back when she found Joel. Ellie let go of her pain and trauma when she let go of Abby. She forgave Joel, she forgave herself. She still kept ahold of her humanity. Do you still think that killing Abby would change NOTHING?

@Gabriel-Tár 21 день назад

@@oscillis Sure! I understand what you mean. And I'm also glad that Ellie spared Abby, I wasn't denying that. Allow me to explain my thought better. Ellie's future is uncertain, after the fight with Abby all we see is her returning to the empty farm and leaving. Personally, I don't have any idea for an alternate epilogue, in case she had killed Abby. I'm curious to know what other epilogue scene you had in mind! Feel free to share. The only other important scene in the epilogue is the flashback of her and Joel's last conversation, but that happened in the past. Ellie had that memory from the beginning. Here too, whether she killed Abby or not, nothing would change. As I say in my comment, the fact that Ellie was killing Abby through drowning, and in a situation where Abby was extremely vulnerable and already half dead is something extremely fortuitous. These fortuitous factors definitely precipitated Ellie's realization that what she was doing wasn't right. What if Abby hadn't been kidnapped by the Rattlers and Ellie had found her living peacefully on her beached sailboat? What would they have done? I don't think they would have chatted in that scenario. We know that Ellie would kill Abby in the theater, because the "Game Overs" show Ellie killing Abby, so it's canon that Ellie had the intent to kill in the theater, and the only reason why she doesn't do it it's because Abby has the upper hand. But Ellie was definitely going to kill her. Furthermore, since during the last fight Ellie strikes violent knife blows against Abby, even impaling her chest, it means that in this case too Ellie goes there with the intention of killing Abby, and even almost does it given the wounds she inflicts on her. Ellie goes to Santa Barbara with the intent of killing Abby. We know that Ellie does this because she has PTSD and can no longer sleep, eat, etc. But she believes killing Abby is the solution to stop this disorder. Because if she knew from the beginning that the solution was to forgive her, Joel and herself, and let everything go, well, she wouldn't have gone to Santa Barbara and left Dina and JJ. That's the point. What I said so far is the reality that the game shows, I didn't add anything of my own interpretation. Now I'll add something that isn't in the game, but it was revealed in some Behind the Scenes documentary. In Neil Druckmann's original script, Ellie killed Abby. And that was the case for most of the game's development. It was Halley Gross who, when it came time to shoot the scene, changed the script at the last minute because it was too dark for Ellie. And Neil Druckmann eventually agreed. The reason a change like that can be made so late in development is precisely because it has no effect on the rest of the script. The story works regardless of that last minute change of heart. That's why Neil Druckmann wrote the ending like that initially. It put Ellie in the same spot Abby was at the beginning of the story. Abby can realize it late, but Ellie must realize it before? Why? If anything, this ending makes Ellie better than Abby, but it doesn't make her less guilty, because in the end Ellie has killed many people, guilty of being Abby's companions, such as Nora, Owen, Mel and their unborn child. So, you think that letting Abby go will make that unborn child that Ellie has killed come back to life? Obviously Ellie is going to suffer for her revenge quest regardless of Abby. Are Nora, Owen, Mel and the unborn child forgettable secondary human lives? Is Abby's life worth more than them? Would Ellie have made the situation worse? Yeah, but does this fix everything? Absolutely not. It fixes less than you think. Ellie is still going to experience the consequences of her choice. She left Dina, which is horrendous, the worst thing Ellie has done in the entire game (after the torture), and so Dina left her. She let Abby go, though. What changed? Is that going to be Ellie's excuse to ask for Dina's forgiveness? She made the decision to leave to kill Abby and whether she killed her or not doesn't matter to anyone. Ellie doesn't even know one single thing about Abby other than her name and her being a former Firefly. Just like Abby didn't know anything about Joel. We empathized with Joel and now we empathize with Abby, but neither Abby nor Ellie had the chance to even know who these people they wanted to kill were, so the intent to kill them stayed pretty much intact and constant through time. Between Ellie's Day 3 and Santa Barbara we experienced Abby's days, but Ellie didn't. So Ellie still hated Abby as much as she, and we players, did at the end of Ellie's Day 3. Let's say, Abby wanted to kill Joel, but instead of doing that, ended up killing Ellie, Maria, Tommy, Jesse, Dina and her unborn child, BUT let Joel go at the last minute because she has this sudden realization that violence is not the answer and that Joel is just a poor old man. Would that make Abby suddenly not in need of a redemption arc? Would her nightmares suddenly stop? Would her relationship with Owen be suddenly fixed? No. That's the same thing for Ellie. Wouldn't Ellie have had the same bitter realization that the solution to everything was forgiveness even if she had killed Abby after finding her chilling in her sailboat instead of hanging half-dead from a pillar? Wasn’t that empty house already waiting for her? Wasn’t that memory of Joel already there since the beginning? Seriously, what would have changed?

@blackwidowbrigade5042 Месяц назад

As someone who wasnt a big fan of TLOU II, your videos always give me an interesting perspective

@zeato6320 29 дней назад

So happy you're a writer for games, the industry is so much better because of it!

@JH-xc9we 29 дней назад

I hope more people find this video. I tried to argue in favor of the games structure in a comment on another video that was trying to suggest ways to "fix" Abby's story and get you to like her more. The structure might be the game's most misunderstood aspect. Also thank you for bringing up that the game isn't forcing you to like Abby. If that was the intention, they would've never let you play as her to fight Ellie at the end of her section. In the same way, the game is not trying to vilify Joel, which is a similar take I see a lot. The game wants you to learn about who she is, understand her, and explore your willingness to empathize and let go of hatred. Her reasons aren't any more or less valid then Ellie, who we all backed anyway. I grew to really like Abby, but a character doesn't necessarily need to be "likeable" to be a good or great character. And I love how the story took full advantage of the medium as a video game, to truly have us walk a mile in her shoes. Cutting between Ellie and Abby throughout the entire game would've made that a hell of a lot harder to do.

@user-wr3wf4bz5w Месяц назад

Your analysis are always always so inspiring for me because no one, literally no one has analyzed this game in such a deep way. The Last Of Us 2 is a game that seriously needs this quality of study. It has so many layers to explore in its visuals, environments, gameplay and of course, the story. That's why everything on this game has such a level of detail. I am so serious, you are so inspiring to me, you take so much time to analyze each detail of this story and you always make my experience even better about this game even more than how much I loved it at first. Really thank you really really much for this.

@JengibreRallado Месяц назад

I hear from Neil that the structure also has to make sense on a gameplay perspective. That's why we start with Abby with a new set of weapons and skill trees. The set action pieces are more grandiose because they assume the players have been already playing for hours.

@jynxycats 29 дней назад

Gameplay dictates story often. A fact that we gamers generally aren't faced with as we aren't out there working on games personally.

@saramckenna9008 11 дней назад

jacksepticeye had asked neil why there wasn’t a back and forth between abby and ellie, and apparently he said it’d make more sense gameplay wise, cause of the new weapons and upgrades and stuff. it wouldn’t be efficient if u keep having to get the same skill set up twice rather than all in one go. also since switching between the two would confuse ppl cause of their difference in gameplay

@mothtolight 29 дней назад

As someone who's *_special interest_* is TLOU, this channel is a *_huge_* comfort for me. Seriously, its a whole channel about this specific thing that's so deeply important to me. Kid (me) meets candy store (this channel). I've been a fan of this world since I was 12 years old, and I'm almost 24 now. I couldn't have asked for a better sequel to a game like TLOU, and I genuinely wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. So it's so nice to see people analyzing this story for what it is. Even though I totally agreed with you even going into this video that the structure of the game is VITALLY important to the story itself, you brought things up in this video I had never even considered as factors for that. I'm so excited to see how this storyline is handled in the show, what will change and what will stay the same, and if that'll be for better or worse. I also admittedly can't wait to see your videos about it lmao. Love your content

@madelynricket 29 дней назад

TLOU has been a hyperfixation of mine for almost a year now so I understand-- it feels so demoralizing when people just tear down the second game. I love the way this channel approaches it's analyses with love for the game and of the story.

@jakekilemade3313 29 дней назад

This is probably the most well explained story-beat explanation ive seen. Bravo

@scottrigby5627 Месяц назад

Rapidly becoming my favourite RU-vid channel. Elite content every single time.

@tamatebako_yt 12 дней назад

Yes! 💯

@ec949 29 дней назад

I love the structure of TLOU2 and non-linear storytelling in general. One of my favourite shows is Lost which also has a "climax" halfway through the show which turns out only to be the midpoint.

@TheMarine316 Месяц назад

I loved the structure of the game from start to finish.

@lizzie9110 Месяц назад

So happy to see someone as talented as you indulge in my special interest as well! These viddies make me so happy, great work!!!

@cherryredcola 29 дней назад

seeing the game i hold nearest and dearest to my heart get this type of analysis is such a gift. thank you TLOUE, you don't ever miss with these

@Wattywatasaurus Месяц назад

I like to say that both characters have specific tableaus that take place at the climax of their respective character arcs, and in turn at key points in the story. The first tableau is when Abby escapes the Seraphite island. It’s the moment where she and Lev ride through abject carnage , dodging burning buildings and crossfire between two warring factions that both hate them, and row away, escaping a literal inferno of hate blazing behind them, illuminating people viciously slaughtering each other. The second takes place at the beach in Santa Barbara, where Ellie and Abby have lost all their weapons, are both practically at death’s door and are still trying to kill each other, at the end of a violent and bitter feud that has almost destroyed them. Those tableaus, to my mind, are the key climactic moments in the story. And neither of them would be as dramatically striking if there hadn’t been the total immersion that the structure offered.

@solemy-gf4sb 29 дней назад

TLOU2 wants the player to fight against their own prejudices. I apologize in advance for my bad English. We spend 10 to 15 hours with Ellie thinking that Abby is the monster, the wrong side of this story. We are in the right. We want to know who she is, why she killed Joel, and more than anything else we want to kill her. During the 3 days in Seattle Ellie will lose all her innocence, the curious and cheerful little girl of the first game will become a brutal hunter blinded by revenge. The torture of Nora and especially the killing of an incited woman were the two moments that made me sick. Seeing that we were(Ellie and I) no better than Abby led me to distance myself from her, we had crossed the line. Playing with Abby was hard. When it is revealed that she is the surgeon's daughter, the hatred vanished almost immediately. I thought "I probably would have done the same thing." The hard thing was that I couldn't accept that Abby had a good side(just like Joel and Ellie). I had to fight against my own prejudices. I had played with Ellie thinking that Abby was the monster, the wrong side of this story. Now I was thinking the same about Ellie, maybe she is the monster in this story, and that thought made me feel terrible. I cursed the screenwriters, I hated Naughy Dog but luckily in some moments I was able to empathize with Abby and once I finished the game I didn't hate anyone anymore. I realized that I had one of the best experiences of my life. I agree with every word you said about the ending of the story. I would add that by letting Abby go not only does Ellie save 3% of her humanity but we players also find our humanity again.

@artemis_liz7096 Месяц назад

Just started the video, but I loved the switch to Abby halfway through. The game took my emotions and directed them where they wanted to take me. This is why the game is the GOAT for me, because it was an experience.

@Anonymous-vb7fw Месяц назад

These videos are so comforting, thank you for making them

@tlou_explained Месяц назад

i dont know where the song at the end went lol??? bruh

@ImUnchartedsoya-neverknow 29 дней назад

I hate when that happens when i try to make a video and it just ain't going right

@Daren_PNW 29 дней назад

reading this comment after the video i started questioning if it's the same person haha 😅

@tlou_explained 29 дней назад

@@Daren_PNW once I get all the professionalism out of the way with the video I just vibe

@Pastelsnek 29 дней назад

Lowkey, its kinda nice, its like a one on one with you as a person. With the music it would just feel like an outro

@clubnightmare 29 дней назад

i’ve been a last of us fan since i was 8 years old; i turn 19 this coming thursday and i wanted to say that finding your channel has solidified my decision of becoming a communications major (concentration tv. and film). i may not end up having half the mind to do media essays/analysis on youtube, but i strive to work and think the way you do in order to be in spaces like naughty dog. you’re amazing and you’re appreciated ❤.

@MrWhchrd Месяц назад

I completely agree! I hope they don't change the structure for the show.

@Storm87778 29 дней назад

The impact certain moments have wouldn't have the same impact if the story was just spoon fed to us. We'd know oh Joel is about to die. It's the not knowing until time allows the answers to be revealed. It feels more imersive how this game was executed. Thank you so much for this. ❤TLOU

@omas1178 29 дней назад

I find it really interesting how the structure offers one story split between 2 characters. We start playing as someone pursuing violence and then we're following someone that deals with the ramifications of the violence they commited. God i do love this game

@aydaybaynay 21 день назад

Something that I noticed at the very end of the video is the parallel to Abby and Joel with the scene of Abby carrying Lev to the beach. It reminded me of the first game when Joel is carrying Sarah away from the madness of the outbreak as well as carrying Ellie away from the hospital. Even though she's walking slower than Joel did in both of those scenes, there's urgency with both of them to take someone that they've considered to be their child and under their care out of a dangerous situation. Ellie knows that Joel cared about her but she never experienced seeing someone in her life ever doing that. Risking life and limb for someone you've sheltered and protected in the world is such a heavy burden. And I don't think how she had been protecting Dina is the same. I think in part it's because when Ellie finds out that Dina is pregnant, she calls her a burden. Which it does create a hardship for Ellie and her goal, but this frames Ellie's perspective as single minded to her own goal unlike Abby and Joel which regardless of their goal, they divert their attention back to who they are protecting to prioritize their well-being. Her perspective does change but not until things have spiraled out of control. This is from a perspective of having children of my own and going from hating to empathizing with both Joel and Abby. Having Ellie witness Abby carrying Lev I think demonstrates that Abby is more similar to Joel than (until that point) Ellie ever had been or potentially could be. And she may never see it until she is placed in that position of caring for someone like that in that way. BTW I love your videos and think they are so amazing to watch.

@aamarts6439 29 дней назад

THANK YOU!!! I always see people criticize the structure of Part 2 but the structure of the story and the order in which we're shown events is SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to the story!!! It is so important to play through all of our "hero" Ellie's section and see her becoming a sort of "villain" and then swap to our "villain" and witness her becoming a "hero". If you change the structure of the story you change the story itself. I very much hope that the TV series follows the same pattern of the game. An excellent analysis video ❤

@WhatchaGot2Say 28 дней назад

The most rewarding TLOU 2 explanation video I’ve ever seen.

@flatpacked Месяц назад

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EARLY I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED!! welcome back!!

@rachellily 29 дней назад

I am SO happy I found your channel. TLOU is my special interest and having someone who is also so passionate about it’s story and characters is so exciting for me. Your videos are PHENOMENALLY good. Comparing Part 2 to Romeo and Juliet is a stroke of genius. Can’t wait to see your next deep dive!

@blackfalcon2252 29 дней назад

Never thought to see the game's plot in the same structure as a Shakespearean tragedy and it feels so obvious in retrospect lol. Banger video as always

@PyrrhusofEpirus-g9u 29 дней назад

Wow, your TLOU videos are on another level. The depth and breadth of your analysis are truly unparalleled-I've never seen anything like it. If I were an executive at Naughty Dog, I'd hire you in a heartbeat!

@malachifreedman3975 29 дней назад

I don’t know what, but something about TLOU II’s story really clicked with me. I get that there are problems, but I’m the type of person that can suspend my disbelief of the coincidences and just truly enjoy something. Everything that TLOU II tried to convey to my conveyed it perfectly. I was shocked at Joel’s death, I hated Abby with a passion, I felt good killing Abby’s friends, and resented having to play as her. At first I was playing through Abby just to try to finish the game, and then I really ended up sympathizing for her and understanding her. I liked her relationship with Lev, I hated Mel, I didn’t want Ellie to kill Abby at the end, and sighed with relief when she didn’t. I honestly liked TLOU II more than I liked the first game. While the pacing and structure did aggravate me at first, I thought it really did its job well and communicated the story to me in the way it wanted me to understand it.

@tamatebako_yt 12 дней назад

I think you should watch another video on this channel. Mel is often misunderstood and doesn't deserve the unfair amount of hate she's getting.

@malachifreedman3975 8 дней назад

@@tamatebako_yt So I just watched the video, and yeah I stand corrected. The points made a lot of sense.

@tamatebako_yt 8 дней назад

@@malachifreedman3975 Lovely! Glad I could change your mind, at least a little. :3 tysm

@eyalruf 24 дня назад

Can't help myself from crying from every one of your videos. This story is the biggest goldmine of emotions and compelling narrative. Too good to be real. Please, please keep making 'em.

@elenamunro5720 29 дней назад

I love so much that your channel was the first one i saw that talked about TLOU when I played for the first time a couple months back - pointing out how genuinely clever, deep and beautiful this story is has been so amazing for me - going beyond the surface level 'this game is about revenge' like so many, pointing out its more about forgiveness, explaining the subplots and relationships with Abby, Mel, Owen, and even Dina has been amazing, and only deepens my appreciation. I LOVED when I played and I immediately knew what ND was going for, asking me to empathize with someone I was meant to hate, and seeing if I could even feel happy for them if they try to be a better person??? I think Part 2 may well be my favourite game of all time, despite how stressed I was playing it, and it's definitely been helped by your analysis, thank you! It's become a special interest for me in the last few months since I played for the first time, and your content is just so damn good and well written. I would personally love to see a discussion about Jesse and his characters purpose - he's a bit of a background character but I'm sure there's a lot to him I just can't see, plus the symbolism of Seattle and the dreary weather being a forecast (hehe) of the story to come and how bleak the futures are for everyone and how the rain changes with the story!!!! There was one channel that mentions this, but TLOU P2 was only talked about really, really briefly and I think you'd nail it.

@GamingTree990 29 дней назад

Real shit, I was the player that was intentionally dying when I first switched to Abby. But goddamn is Ellie scary to play against and I was really annoyed/relieved to finally beat the shit out of her back at the theater. Fucked up how all that goes

@madelynricket 27 дней назад

Saaaame except i was intentionally dying and crying when i realized i had to fight Ellie. i was distraught

@universome511 Месяц назад

When I played this game I had the exact opposite problem as everyone else I just went oh ok she's mad about her dad, same as Ellie, wants revenge, fair enough got it If you just naturally skip over the struggle session that makes up the theme because of your instincts it loses a lot of the reasons to complain or fawn others had I did think the ending about how she has to get over forgiving Joel more so then getting revenge was interesting and original

@tlou_explained 29 дней назад

No same! I mean I was shocked but mostly because I couldn't believe this game had the balls to do what it was doing. I was SO excited to play as Abby and learn what her reasons were. As soon as I connected the dots about her dad I was like OH I get it.

@universome511 29 дней назад

@@tlou_explained I actually predicted that because you didn't see her at all or any of the other crew more then once during the Elle Missions. Add on that they were writing them as more fully themed characters, she's mentioned doing other stuff off screen and the hour or so you get to set up Abby at the start and I was not remotely surprised when the switch happened. So when a lot of people got mad when that happened I thought ah this is the part where it happens It reminded me of the time I met a guy who predicted the twist in the sixth sense so he was just sitting in the theatre knowing what would happen before the ending actually occured But hey I knew Joel was dead for sure at the start of the Announcement trailer so I guess this was always how it was going to be for me

@sytheion169 27 дней назад

This was a fantastic analysis of perhaps the best written story I’ve ever seen. Loved your rationale and the way you present it. Beautifully put!

@kobeyhaywood0 20 дней назад

I love the structure of the game. The way information was revealed to to the player completely enhances the game. The way they play with expectations and recontextualized events with flashbacks was masterful. That final flash back hit me like no other story has before.

@gushmii7851 22 дня назад

Very refreshing take on a 4 years old game. It is a shame there’s people that till this day still hate on it because they hold personal grudges and biases. Loved the video

@kassadingdong 29 дней назад

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. Every time someone tries to criticize the structure of this game, I am just absolutely baffled - there IS NO WAY to structure this game better than it was done and have it tell the same story and cause the same emotions. If it were any other way you would not be 100% behind Ellie’s vengeance, and interrupting that with random Abby days would be insanely confusing and would not result in the ultimate goal of “I like both of these girls and don’t want either one to die, please stop it you two.” There is only one way to appropriately tell this story, and it is the one they did. Thank you for being basically the only youtuber to see that!! ❤

@Ren-fo4lg Месяц назад

Never been so early and so excited for a video! Thank you for making another insightful essay.

@blindsided1 28 дней назад

People refusing to see another person's perspective was 99% of the reasoning behind the crowd that hated this game, boy does it say alot about the current state of our country (and possibly world).

@Benzomo 21 день назад

Girl I need to know how I can think like this, feel like this video made me realize some things about myself I should address. Your ability to explain all these concepts as well as the evidence is just fantastic😩

@skincrawlbaby 27 дней назад

I know it’s been used in theory but comparing tlou to Shakespeare feels truly correct. It will absolutely go down with the same legacy. Amazing video as usual ❤

@dachless 24 дня назад

great video, I havent seen anyone explain TLOU story like this and it has shed a new light to me as to why Naughtdog did what they did with the structure

@Nappy-pp9jh 21 день назад

Thank you your in-depth videos. People hated this game so much when it came out, but I was blown away how it successfully manipulated my emotions. I loved it from day one, it’s better than the 1st.

@UnMotivatedMedia Месяц назад

Can I use this as an example of video essay in my classes?

@jacobwright9687 Месяц назад

For sure in fact it’s amazing example of one, all of her videos are.

@kevinfunkhouser4707 13 дней назад

This was beautifully put together great job.

@Cogito-r6n 6 дней назад

The dramatic irony would work if it actually added anything of value to the story, instead we just have filler characters that could be completely written out of the story and the story wouldn’t change. The only thing we actually gleam from Abby’s section is the Yara and Lev plot which is basically pointless because Yara and Levs mom dies which was the whole reason for them to go to the Island in the first place but whatever. If the story was structured from both perspectives equally with Ellie’s events happening in conjunction with Abby’s and eventually converging at the theater scene it would be coherent. And speaking of the theater scene, the fact that Lev needs to tell Abby not to kill a pregnant woman as if she can’t figure that out by herself goes more to show that Abby is the same sociopath we see in the beginning, we are given literally no indication that Abby has changed after the inciting incident, the closest we come to this is when Mel goes off on her but she never considers the possibility that killing Joel was an inherently evil action, only upset about it because her friends rightfully don’t want to be around her after she tortured an old man in front of his daughter. The whole message of the game is that revenge will tear you apart, so why is it that we consistently see Ellie become more remorseful rather than bloodthirsty, even breaking down over killing the people she started the whole charade over? Why would a vengeful person be remorseful for the people they are killing? It would make way more sense if Ellie becomes increasingly psychopathic in killing these people, pushing her close friends away and slowly destroying her life because of her warpath. And yes naughty dog was actively trying to make you like Abby, going as far as to blatantly tear down Joel as the villain and point out how the people and even fucking dogs you kill are actually really nice and good people and dogs after the fact that you already killed them. You can’t give someone peak combat gaming and turn around and say “You’re actually the bad guy for doing that!” Although I didn’t make this quote, put simply, “This game is about right and wrong, and it is made by people who think they are always right”. You should check out TheAlmightyLolis video on the last of us 2, he goes way more in depth on the problems with this game than I ever could

@callymilller 26 дней назад

My main takeaways from this video are that understanding English lit and storytelling makes everything better and more intense, and anyone who is still strongly anti-Abby after completing the game canNOT empathize with someone they hate.

@greeneyesgirl467 26 дней назад

Men...tend to not empathize when people they hate. And that tends to be women. In general. And I don't even care that I'm generalizing men here because they are always the loudest when it comes to hating a female protagonist. I truly believe this game wouldn't get the same level of hate if the person who killed joel was a man.

@tlou_explained 26 дней назад

I've said this for years and people always jump down my throat lol but it's true.

@tamatebako_yt 12 дней назад

@@greeneyesgirl467 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭why are you so right tho I'd like to add that (many) men can't empathize with (most) women period. Not even their own kin (think sister, mother, spouse etc.) and when they finally get around (daughters!) it's often too late. The reasons for this are multi-faceted and I have neither the energy nor mental capacity to explore them right now. The frustrating thing is, these men don't have the foresight or neural pathways to even comprehend what is happening to them. Then they isolate themselves, hurt those around them and radicalize among themselves (pushing for bad policies, turning a blind eye to harm in their community etc.). Can I say how much it fucking sucks to be a part of the lives of such people???? Like man it fucking sucks...but because I'm a woman they'll never listen to *me*, it has to come out of the mouth of a cis-hetero man to have any meaningful impact at all. That's why women tend to swarm around the few men who show even a modicum of insight, singing their praises and supporting them when in reality they're not even saying or doing anything extraordinary. So eye-roll-inducing but ok, I get it. I've been there. Okay, what was I saying? Anyway, rant over.

@LizudemAm 11 дней назад

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand TLOU2

@sodaroni_enthusiast 2 дня назад

@@greeneyesgirl467 I wish I could disagree, but sadly, it's true. I'm just glad I'm not one of those men. I'm extremely empathetic, fortunately.

@Blag_Cog 13 дней назад

Its very satisfying to see someone else has the same perspective as myself after 4 years. I am a staunch defender of the game but I also recognize the pacing problems. I would say though that the part at 6:25 where you say we are reaching the middle is presented as a climax (a fake one ofc) and then instead of moving upwards to the real climax, it restarts us at the ground. In my opinion that is where the pacing issues begin, and as much as I value the first section where you play as young abby saving a zebra its just a heavy handed way of executing that transition compared to the incredible climactic anticipation that is built up in most players at that point. It wasn't until Abby woke up on day 1 that I felt we had actually been calibrated back on track for the storytelling. And at that point its not only reseting the 3 days in seattle its also resetting your building up your character. I feel this would have been executed better if the game said "End of Act 1" or "End of Chapter 1" when it cuts from Abby holding up Ellie at the theater, and then sending us all the way back to the menu where it reveals we have unlocked a new chapter (kind of like Left Behind sat in the menu of TLOUpt1, or how No Return sits in TLOUpt2r). This way the player is both intrigued as to what comes next because they feel like they unlocked something AND it feels less jarring to start a character all over again because we essentially started a new game. Obviously thats just my opinion.

@jynxycats Месяц назад

Babe wake up, a new TLOUe video dropped

@way2l8te 19 дней назад

Out of every analysis video of this game…11/10.

@connormcglone9344 29 дней назад

I want to send this video to naughty dog, as a thank you

@dudu_tuga_2002 27 дней назад

Amazing vid! As a huge TLoU fan that doesn't understand art and storytelling it's always amazing to see why I love this story so much and why it works so well in me, thanks a lot for these analysis!!! Can't wait to see more 🙃

@oranski3299 29 дней назад

I say this on every video, just wow. Every point made so well. Perspectives I've yet to consider, and those I have, framed and explained so eloquently. Truly every video on this channel is a gift

@JohnSmith-mz2zo 29 дней назад

Thank you so much for these eloquent and illuminating analyses. These have quickly become some of my most favourite and replayed game analyses AND video essays. You have a very effective way of presenting theses and do so in a way non-belittling of the viewer. Ty ❤❤

@maxwimberley5690 29 дней назад

Haven't watched a whole lot of this video yet but I think this is the first one I've caught shortly after it came out so wanted to leave a comment expressing my appreciation for your channel. I think I've watched basically every other video (especially the more video-essay-type analysis pieces) and loved all of them. I had played the remastered TLOU back in 2015 or 2016, after which it became probably my all-time favorite game until I played part 2, which mesmerized me from the moment I picked it up (I think sometime in the Spring of 2022 -- miraculously I had managed to avoid both spoilers and even being aware of the reactions and discourse the game had prompted). Part 2 had a profound and lasting effect on me, and I still think about it often, and I find that almost every time I engage with it in any way I notice some new interesting detail, some shade of meaning, some deft bit of storycraft, etc. which somehow deepens its significance even further. As a result, I have definitely spent a good deal of time (honestly too much lol) perusing commentary on the game, both out of curiosity about what insights other people have or what significance the game has to them and also occasionally some weird masochistic impulse to listen to some sweaty gamer bro rail against how the game was "ruined by woke" and all that (no idea why I do this to myself). There's definitely a lot of good stuff out there, but I wanted to say that I've consistently found your commentary to be the most interesting, the most insightful, and the best articulated (for starters) by a *significant* margin, and I really hope you keep making these videos so long as you feel you have something you want to say. I don't know what platform would be good for it but I genuinely think you could turn these videos into to some excellent (non-video) essays too. Anyway I should stop myself now; I might leave another wall of text more pertinent to the actual video after I watch it. tl;dr good shit, love to see it, keep it up,

@smokeyskeet1694 27 дней назад

Man I cried anytime I tried to have a conversation about this game for 6 months after it came out. It was one of my most intense hyperfixations. Now I just have a regular obsession with it.

@child.of.turmoil 29 дней назад

Absolutely beautiful summary. This is ultimately my most beloved game. There is truly no story, that I’ve ever played, which has gotten under my skin as tlou2. There is indeed no words to describe, how I felt whilst playing this game for the first time.

@AmandaRiu_1 29 дней назад

Another excellent video! Thank you for your high-quality and inspiring content. I love the these deep-dives - I learn something new each time and learn to appreciate the brilliance of this game at a whole new level. People are always astonished that I actually prefer TLOU2 over the first one. I loved the first one, it will always hold a special place in my heart, but it's hard to let go of the emotional ride TLOU2 took me on. It challenged me in so many ways. By the time Ellie was trying to drown Abby towards the end I was screaming at the TV and crying and wishing this insanity would just end! I'd never played a game like that before...that forced me into such emotional turmoil.

@DinaSupremacy 29 дней назад

LOVE this series, your way with words is just so good I can't stop listening to you lol

@gotthatthangonme6644 13 часов назад

This was a beautifully well told explanation of the story of The Last of Us

@dianatorrao 20 дней назад

Just found out your channel and binged watch almost all of your videos. They're increible! You talk about so many things I haven't notice, it makes the game even better. I love TLOU and i'm very excited to see what you still have to say

@masonhenry8312 8 дней назад

This is the best breakdown of this game’s theme if ever seen

@eleanorkim0390 24 дня назад

I am so glad you made a video about TLOU structure, it is so important!! THIS is the best analysis of the game I have ever seen. Its explained so clearly and really puts into perspective the tragic aspect of the story we are experiencing here. It is so hard for people to accept that a game wanted to portray TRAGEDY, the death of a protagonist, the complexity of human relationships, the sense of injustice. But its so tragically beautiful. This game has my heart.

@naghtel1228 28 дней назад

I accidentally found one of your videos one night, trying to find some review to play in the background while I would fall asleep, at first I was expecting much, “just another hate/criticism review of TLoU” I first thought, how wrong I was, but before I knew it was binging more and more. You have no idea how much of a fresh air it is to hear someone sing the praises of TLoUp2 deserves for the tragedy it, how it is about actions and consequences, about what we perceive as allies and enemies, about duty vs honor, about love and hate, …about revenge and forgiveness. A very human experience not many liked to watch because monkey brain does not like to feel antagonized or guilty for something they did wrong and always have the moral high ground, a lesson, in this modern era of cancel culture and the expectation for perfect and pristine behavior that young kids need to learn. People are just a complex mess, usually.

@naghtel1228 28 дней назад

Like, for people criticizing the game for not having a particularly happy ending for Ellie and not being able to forgive Abby and genuinely encouraging the chase all the way through, that right there is the point. To prove how biased and hypocritical the audience is and how much of a piece of shit they would be, just as Ellie and Abby were, and how hard it is to forgive to end the circle. Admittedly the execution to show it could have been better, but the message still stands

@7rykerfr____ Месяц назад

Macbeth mentioned.. I'm a happy man

@tlou_explained Месяц назад

I was initially gonna break down that plot as an example but figured more ppl would be familiar with R&J😅

@nklan7 29 дней назад

i binged all of your videos yesterday im so happy u uploaded a new one YIPEE i love your analyses so much

@jonathanslater5643 29 дней назад

Commenting and liking for the algorithm! Thank you for these videos, I'm so happy someone out there is doing real analyses on this game, its structure/themes, and how fans react to its content. There are so many low effort videos out there just lazily rehashing the same "controversy points", your channel is truly a breath of fresh air!

@williamstollery8326 5 дней назад

Absolutely fantastic video. I agree with almost everything you've said, except for one thing - you say that most stories now fit into a three act structure, rather than a 5 act structure. But I'd argue that if a story fits 3 acts then it *also* fits 5 acts, as 3 acts is just a lazier version of 5 act structure imo. Seriously though, always love your insight. So nice to see someone out there who truly GETS structure and how important it is to the art of storytelling!

@PatronOfTea 20 дней назад

Wow! Your think pieces take my breath away and are enriched with so much pathos! ✨ Please give us MORE! ❤

@any4448 29 дней назад

This is the type of obsession I'm talking about, like when I'm really obsessed with something these are the typa videos I must consume. Ur serving

@capteye6774 17 дней назад

its so interesting how peoples perspectives on the story negatively is essentially apart of the story in of itself too. You can choose to be like ellie and cut dina off when she tries to potentially show ellie the idea that the WLF may have motives for killing joel AKA. the player choosing to ignore abbys perspective in favour of “justice” for joel and needing revenge

@pennysticks 13 дней назад

Just wanted to say I absolutely appreciate the last three or four minutes of this analysis. It opened my eyes to that perspective of empathy and making your own choice to do so or not. I disagree about the rising action as it relates to end of Ellie Day 3 in Seattle transitioning into Abby Day 1 (and in many ways, the flashback that sits in between those two moments), because I feel that moment is better represented as a straight drop back down to zero on the line graph and makes a slower and arduous climb back up the rising action path, but I love looking at it as a five Act story and relating it to Shakespearian tragedies but with an (arguably) better resolution. Still a tragedy though - Ellie can never play Future Days as good after the ending moments of the game

@thecheck968 20 дней назад

I've sat with this game for a very long time, still trying to understand it. Or more so, trying to understand my feelings towards the game. The emphasis you placed on empathizing with a person you already hate reframes the game for me more than any other analysis I've heard on the game. And while I wouldn't say anyone comes out of the game hating Ellie, her character nearly proves the opposite. Anyways, I like Lev. He's the one light in this practice of emotional destitution we call a game.

@ScrampyGamesHD 22 дня назад

Currently on my first playthrough of Part 2 and have felt Abbys section could have benefited from being trimmed. But after watching this, you have definitely given me a new way to look at it. I'm definitely gonna be replaying the game with your video in mind.

@TheZooBoy111 24 дня назад

Just found your channel, subscribed because of this video! Fantastic video essay. TLOU Part II is my favorite game of all-time. With season 2 of the HBO show about to finish filming, it looks like the show will follow the game’s structure, and you’re absolutely right: it has to, or it’s a different story entirely! After initially despising Abby for what she did, she eventually became my favorite character in the entire series. Can’t wait to see this phenomenal story told in another way.

@BlueMatterMan 2 дня назад

I'd already come to the conclusion that the end was about forgiving Joel and finding Ellie's self worth, but I never really thought about how intentional it might be that we're not even supposed to like Abby. Great interpretation.

@FabulousFire 16 дней назад

Spoilers: The biggest issue, for me, is that the first climax point is cut short. I see 2 climaxes in this story: the first being the scene were Jessie is shot and everything falls apart, and the 2nd being the last scene in act 5 where Ellie is fighting Abby in the sea. There's something about the first climax that bothers me a lot. We play as Ellie for the first half of the story, and in the scene where Jessie is shot and we have our confrontation with Abby, the game stops. The tension drops like a bowling ball and the game itself restarts from Abby's POV. No fight, no resolution from the scene. I wanted to see the climax of this scene, and was left feeling empty... and now we had to go through most of Abby's story arch to get back to the point we were working so hard towards; The fight between Ellie and Abby. I do not find any enjoyment in the game's structure exactly because the first climax is cut short, and we have to work towards it again. I think the game would've been better if we had played as Ellie and Abby side by side. One or two missions as Ellie, and then Abby. We would even have had the same ironic knowledge, that we know where Abby is, and so and so, while playing as Ellie and vice versa. The tension of both story archs would've followed in one go, building and building and actually getting the climax from the confrontation between Ellie and Abby. Another argument; When we break into the Aquarium and kill the dog, we might have only felt regret from unaliving a good boy. This scene would've packed a much harder punch, had we gotten to know that good boy and build a relationship with him from Abby's story. I would've *loved* this version of the game.

@HeyBuddiesClips 29 дней назад

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 another banger! Don’t rush the videos for us, take your time and let us keep the franchise alive. We have a long wait for part 3 and it’s going to be a dry spell for a while. In terms of recording, maybe you could treat yourself to a pop filter for your mic! You should definitely splash out and celebrate the 20k landmark! There is so much time and effort and care in these videos, you deserve the audio to match the professionalism of the editing.

@tlou_explained 29 дней назад

I have a pop filter... maybe I need one of those screen ones instead of one that fits over the mic. also my cats love to play with it so maybe it doesn't work so great😅 it's definitely an element of my vids that I want to improve.

@spicytoast6890 12 дней назад

It took me about a year and a half to stop thinking about this game. Absole master piece.

@Zack-bl2gg 26 дней назад

I get where you’re going, but I don’t think that it’s a five act story. It’s more like two stories smashed together. There’s Ellie’s story, the rising action, then an immediate drop halfway through to tell another story. Then there’s the rising action for THAT story, and then the falling action. If it just had Ellie’s story, then yea, but Abby’s story just restarts the story structure, not continue the story structure. There’s not a twist, Abby’s story has nothing to do with Ellie’s story until the end. As some say; she was doin sidequests. The authors agree(not on the side quest part, just on the different stories). They purposely had them go on their own separate journeys because they were tired of “traditional” story structures. Problem is, it’s kind of hard to invent a new story structure… they’ve all been done before(we’ve only been making them for thousands of years)

@lilalaurenz_1771 Месяц назад

A banger like always, love these videos!

@jipillow1 20 дней назад

I just finished playing it for the first time. Its my favorite game of all time. Its a masterpiece

@etcetera662 29 дней назад

You make some of the best TLOU content out there. Love your deep dives!

@LightingInvoker Месяц назад

Top tier analysis, as usual! Great work! I was so confused and perplexed when we switch to Abby after Ellie D3!! Then when we see we're back in Salt Lake City and the fallout of Joel's escape and I was like "ohhhh shit", lol. It was hard to get used to playing Abbie, too. Her weapons were different and her gameplay mechanics felt different from Ellie, so that really put you on your back foot. When she encounters Tommy at the pier, I remember yelling at the tv, "GET HER TOMMY!!" lmfaoo!! But at the climax between Abby and Ellie (up until the cut scene) I was trying to take Ellie out. I think they absolutely made me empathize with her, which is great. Thanks for such a thorough and detailed analysis!

@rjramirez1434 28 дней назад

Recently played through this game and stumbled across this very poignant essay, had totally forgot about the five act structure with how common the three act structure is in today’s story telling. Keep up the great work, this channel is awesome!