The Unmistakable Humanity of The Last of Us: Part II

28:22 As Bill once said "At least the infected are predictable... It's the normal people that scare me ."

Everyone tries to put logic into Ellie’s decision. What they don’t understand is that when you are so hurt mentally you don’t act logically.

"The price of choosing empathy in an apathetic world". Perfect words.

I can't explain the complete feeling of emptiness and sadness I feel each time I finish this game. How lucky are we to be in this era of gaming!

Ellie didn't want to kill Abby because she killed Joel; she wanted to kill Abby because she took away the opportunity for Ellie to forgive Joel.

I think "The last of us" doesn't refer to a group of people, but the bit of humanity in each of us. The part in each of us that's left of us. The last bit of humanity in us.

I have now played this game three times. The first time, I was dissapointed and confused. The second time, I started to understood and appreciated the direction. The third time, it fucking clicked man. This is one of the most emotional, complex and beautiful yet horrifying pieces of media I've ever experienced. A true work of art.

i cried during tlou2, and i cried watching this. so many people HATE this game because like you said, it's messy, but it's meant to be. you explained this so well and in such detail that i found myself loving tlou2 even more than before. the way you summed it up as "we are playing as the horror" BLEW ME AWAY because you're right. some people have pointed out little glimmers in the final scene that hint at ellie's redemption: she has dina's bracelet again when she didn't during santa barbara, her hair is longer, she has a different shirt on. all little hints that could point she made it back to jackson, to love, to herself. god i can't wait for tlou3

ellie probably had so much, SO MUCH ptsd. she got so skinny. so skinny. she looks so different. she isn’t the old, fun, crazy ellie. Joel meant so much to her, and when he died, it changed her.

the moment abby kills joel and has that unsatisfied expression,, It reminds me of the lines that a character I adore once said. "I thought winning would be different"

Fighting Ellie was so intense and scary, you know how good she is, but you really get a sense of how terrifying she can be when you have to fight her.

"this is a horror movie and we're playing the horror" what a raw quote, gave me actual goosebumps holy fuck. im beyond thrilled to have found this review, not only because it's one of the rare positive ones but even more so because it's hauntingly poetic and shows such a profound understanding of the story and its themes. thank you so much for sharing this

Anyone ever think about how Ellie is where Joel was at the beginning of the last of us part 1? Alone and empty having run everyone close away. Exactly what she was most afraid of

I've seen countless video-essays about the last of us 2 and i can confidently say this is THE best out there, thank you

When I saw the close up of Ellies missing fingers right before she enters the house, I expected the house to be empty. The camera made it central. It seemed to me that the two missing fingers represented Dina and JJ. Can't see it otherwise. Then she was portrayed playing the guitar and failing to do so. The damage was done and it was permanent. She lost them and it suggests they are not meant to reunite.

The last of us is a perfect demonstration of moral grey area, how there’s no distinctly villainous characters in the series and also how each of the main characters is driven by multifaceted events of pain and loss which plays on the idea that reality is never black and white and that it’s always darker and more complex than we’d like to think

Just amazing man. The part where Abby goes against Ellie in the theater was horrifying. Made me realize how dangerous and unpredictable Ellie is. Reminded me of Dina saying "I think they should be terrified of you". It was true.

You went crazy on this video bro. Brought up so many things I didn't think about like the different generations and how this one was focused more on the generation that was born into this world. Thought I couldn't even appreciate the game any more and you went ahead and gave me that. Great video essay!

3:48 “Remember the man who took you to the museum? That might’ve been the happiest day of my life. I can’t let that man die for nothing.” I got chills. You nailed it with this video, and your descriptions of Ellie’s thought process are so immersive and convincing it felt like I was playing the game all over again.