*shakes You* Joel's Choice Had Nothing To Do With The Logistics Of The Cure. Homeboy Was Not Sitting

*shakes you* joel's choice had nothing to do with the logistics of the cure. homeboy was not sitting there weighing the statistical probably of the fireflies creating a cure or crunching the numbers of how they'd distribute it. he did not care abt any of that shit; his babygirl was in danger and acted accordingly.

likewise, ellie being so hurt by joel's decision was abt him lying to her and essentially telling her, little miss survivor's guilt, that her immunity meant nothing, that riley and tess and sam and henry's deaths meant nothing.

its so boring when ppl try to reduce joel's decision down to logic: "well the cure was impossible, ergo he was right". like no, that's not why he did anything. you might've been thinking abt that in retrospect but joel's character sure as hell wasn't

#same energy

I have been reduced to near tears over ep. 3 for a multitude of reasons, but let me ramble specifically about Bill and Frank's story and how, despite how radical the changes are, it still fulfills the same general purpose as the game and teaches Joel and Ellie what they needed to be taught. Just from a different angle

More than anything, The Last of Us is about companionship and love. Each new character introduction and story is about showing the possible outcomes and consequences (both positive and negative) of allowing yourself to get attached to others.

Game Bill's story presents the negative consequences: resentment, grief, and loss.

But HBO Bill and Frank presents the positive consequences: love, trust, and (most important to Joel) purpose.

Both ultimately serve the same general purpose in teaching Joel and Ellie a lesson about companionship and do so well! Two sides of the same coin! It's great and I'm crying so much don't mind me.

It's also just a textbook case of what a good adaptation should do. It builds on an untouched storyline. It utilizes arguably the biggest benefit of television as a passive storytelling medium (the ability of the film camera to better focus on nonplayer characters for extended periods of time without having to justify itself with gameplay) and runs wild with it! It's so fucking good.

fair enough!

tlou ep. 6 first impressions

abt to walk into the sea with a pocket full of rocks over last night’s tlou ep.  (spoilers below for the show up to ep6 but not the end of the game below. tdlr: godamn was this ep. fucking gr8)

i was so worried about the argument scene bc it’s one of if not the most important bit in the game for joel and ellie but godamn they did it justice and then some. “do you give a shit about me or not?” “of course i do.” no hesitation on either of their parts — yes he loves her and that’s the fucking issue. putting ashley johnson’s improvised push in the script was *chefs kiss*. it also totally works w/ how much more pent-up anger and frustration they gave ellie in the show. the og “you are treading on some might thin ice” line will def. be sorely missed but pedro’s simple and abrupt “no” the moment ellie tries to bring up sarah sent chills up my spine godbless.

and where tf do i begin w/ joel’s monoglue to tommy? pedro pascal u beautiful bastard u. go get that fucking emmy man. the argument scene is abt how joel is ellie’s safety, but his monolouge is about how ellie is joel’s weakness. how her relying on him scares the shit out of him. as far as joel’s concerned failing people is the only thing he’s good for. he failed sarah and he failed tess; why the hell wouldn’t he end up failing ellie? and he know’s that anything happening to her will kill him. he’s desprate and pleading and fucking crying dawgggggg.

i love love love how they did the ending scene for jackson. zero hesitation on ellie’s part to go with him. “you’ve got a right to choose-” “let’s go.” “okay.” its so fucking good and such gr* foreshadowing.

literally the only issue i’ve got off the top of my head is how quick the college segment went by. the ending with joel getting impaled and him and ellie exploring the college felt a little rushed, but def. not to the extent that it ruins to ep or even really bring it down all that much just bc everything before was so gr8.

sorry i’m rambling but this one is def. one of my favorites in the whole show so far.

*shakes you* joel's choice had nothing to do with the logistics of the cure or the competency of the fireflies. homeboy was not sitting there weighing the statistical probability of the fireflies creating a cure or crunching the numbers of how they'd distribute it. he did not care abt any of that shit!! it was a purely emotional decision based on his love for ellie and that's the point!! god himself could've come down and told him that the cure would've worked and everything would've gone back to pre-cordyceps society and HE STILL WOULD'VE KILLED EVERY SINGLE FIREFLY IN THAT HOSPITAL. just for two more years with ellie! cause he loves her!!

likewise, ellie's anger at him is so much more than "he killed a bunch of ppl :(" he's the only person she's never trusted (minus riley) and he lied to her abt the most important thing in her life. he essentially told her, little miss survivor's guilt, that her immunity meant nothing, that riley and tess and sam and henry's deaths meant nothing. everything she went through, and she didn't deserve the truth.

its so boring when ppl try to reduce joel's decision down to logic when the whole point is that it's an illogical from an outside utilitarian point of view, but bc we know joel's perspective we're inclined to justify him. "well the cure was impossible, ergo he was right". like no, that's not why he did anything. you might've been thinking abt that in retrospect but joel's character sure as hell wasn't