One Thing I Loved About The Show Was The Subtle Symbolism. Im Pretty Sure In Every Episode There Was

One thing I loved about the show was the subtle symbolism. I’m pretty sure in every episode there was at least one scene where Joel was standing in the dark and then there was light shining on Ellie.

woah! I noticed it at the beginning, but not throughout! I know in ep2, they had a scene where Ellie was fully basked in light, Tess was right in the middle of being basked and being in the dark, and Joel was completely in the dark. that screenshot means so very much to me. gonna have to rewatch it again, aw, shucks!

but yes, I love the subtle symbolism, too! like the butterfly flying over Ellie in ep2 for Sarah? chefs kiss. I wonder if they're gonna have moths scattered throughout the next seasons for Ellie? cause they did plenty of wolves and mooses (I want to call them meese lmao) in the second game for Joel. I wonder if they'd do moths. also for Abby? would she get any subtle symbolism, or is it the wolves for her? I do not know

woah I have liked 2500 posts on here O.O that is so many

I’ve always felt off about Joel and Ellie’s relationship in part 2 and you guys are making me realize why😫. She really does just continue on in Jackson and doesn’t seemed bothered by him not being in her life.

Throughout the game we can read about her falling for Cat and getting a tattoo. We then see her and Dina get together, and her friendship with Jessie. We never see/hear/read about her missing Joel. All of the flashbacks (besides birthday) show her being distant and pushing him away. Then she cuts him off and there’s a gap in their lives we don’t see.

And it’s all building up a lot of anger within her (cue her snapping at him at the bar) but I feel that the writers really failed at expressing her pain with the estrangement. The flashbacks all show Joel trying to be a caring father figure but Ellie just kinda feels like more a friend/acquaintance?

It’s obvious she regrets all of it after he dies, but from the viewer’s perspective she cuts him off and is fine with that for two years.

I definitely agree with you when you say the hbo versions feel like more of a father/daughter relationship.

Sorry I didn’t mean for this to be so long lol

we shake hands, anon!

it's so bonkers to me that we get to see/read everything else happening in her life, but we don't see anything about her missing joel. she has to miss him a little bit, though, right? cause she traveled across the freaking country with him. there's no way she doesn't miss him at all

I agree! I do feel the writers dropped the ball a bit with not showing any of her emotions, cause there has to be some. and we do get to see joel still trying to be a father figure for her, but we get nothing from her? I feel we missed a lot cause when did her stance change from "possible father figure" to "he can be a friend and that's it"?? please don't actually answer that lmao, but still, how did we get from point a to point e with their relationship??

I really, really hope they change some things to better fit show joel and ellie, cause I cannot see things playing out the exact same way. I've already theorized a bit with what they can do for the hospital flashback. in the show, she didn't get her backpack back and that has her whole life in it. she can go back to the hospital to get it and oh, no, she's found out what actually happened. I never understood why she went back in the game, but maybe it was to figure out if joel was lying to her. it just seems a long way to go to get an answer, you know?

you're totally fine, anon!

I hope they add more of Ellie and Tommy’s relationship (pre-golf).

Were they friends? Did he step back into an uncle roll? Did they drift apart as she drifted apart from Joel? Or did Joel make him keep tabs on Ellie during those two years?

I’ve always wondered if Tommy knew about the estrangement. I imagine he did, but he never mentioned it all. It kinda seemed like Mariah didn’t know about it, she tried to talk to Ellie about the bar incident the morning after and it gave off the impression that she didn’t know anything was wrong with them

anon, I want you to know that when I read this, I had just finished a fic where there was a bunch of Tommy and Ellie bonding, so I do wholeheartedly agree. also I thank you for calling That pre-golf :)

but yes, I agree! I seriously hope Tommy gets back into his uncle roll! he was so good to Sarah from the little bits we got in the show, and we know Ellie is sassy. mans would have a BLAST sassing the shit out of Joel with her. I just know it. I really hope we get more of them in the show, I love show Tommy with my whole heart, I would LOVE to see him and Ellie bond :D

I imagine they were friends, maybe not like bestie level, but I imagine they would've been friends. mmm I could see both! I could see him drifting from Ellie once she cuts ties with Joel cause for all she knows, he's relaying stuff back to him. and I could see Joel asking him to keep tabs on her - if her and Tommy did stay close. but I don't imagine Tommy telling Joel everything. if there's something major happening with her, I could see him telling Joel. but if there's not, I could see him telling Joel she was doing just fine. if he ever got questioned, I imagine he'd just tell them they needed to work it out lmao

I also imagine he knew! 1, cause the guitar strings flashback made it seem like he knew something. the way he was telling Ellie she needed to talk to Joel, more than the "hi"s and "bye"s she was giving him, I think he knew at least a little bit. and 2, I feel it was pretty obvious to those who knew them? so, Tommy knows Joel and knows how he is with a kid, right? him all of a sudden not being seen in public with her (even if it is Ellie doing it, I know Joel wouldn't have pushed her, so he would've started avoiding her to a certain degree in public once they actual did drift)? red flags. something is up. and also with Joel confiding in Tommy about what really happened at the hospital? I can totally see him going to Tommy, trying to figure what's best for this kid. I don't think Maria knew and if she did, she knew how to not show it to everyone. but yeah, at the bar, she didn't seem to realize they were fighting, so I really don't think she knew about it. I think it was just Tommy tbh and maybe some of Ellie's friends?

What were thoughts on the show? Was there anything that you didn’t like about it? Were there things you liked more than the game?

I didn’t like the car crash in episode 4. It felt very low budget compared to the game. I was also sad they didn’t do the drowning scene in the finale. That was my all time favorite scene from the game

I have to say I'm very biased to the show as it was my first introduction to the franchise (and I watched it all in one go, which made a brain goblin move in)!

I personally love the show and how both Pedro and Bella portray Joel and Ellie. I love how they changed and added some things, too. I liked the car crash in the show? I don't know why, but I did. I think it was the aftermath of it? when Joel was telling Ellie to go to the hole in the wall, because they're not gonna hit you. it's just such good soup to me 🤌💋

after having watched a gameplay, I was a little disappointed they didn't show Ellie getting the gun how she did in the game? cause she saved Joel after his near drowning, and then he taught her how to use a gun, even if she sort of already knew. but I do love how they showed it in the show, too! the fact that it was Frank's gun, so an older gay giving a baby gay a gun. a way to protect herself. it's so poetic :) and then when Joel asked her if that was the first time she shot someone? I really do love both adaptations. and I get why they wouldn't do it the way they did it in the show, so that it wasn't a risk to the actors, you know?

I wasn't disappointed about Ellie’s drowning not making it in the show, tbh. it adds another level of grief? for what's about to come, and we would've missed her puns and Joel throwing himself behind her to protect her as best he could. I think the show handled the finale better, too, simply because you're not playing Joel? in the game, you have to kill all the fireflies. you can't progress the story if you don't. so you don't see anything wrong? idk how to explain this properly, but you have to kill everyone or else you die along with Ellie. in the show, though, you're not playing Joel. you get to watch it from someone else's perspective and realize that he also didn't have a choice. and the show made it more. sad and grief filled. if that makes any sense. so I think adding her drowning would've made it hurt that much more, you know? it also would've put the actors at risk, so I totally get why they didn't include it

I love how they added more to the show, too! like, getting the flashback from 1968, where the scientist explains that fungal infections have no cure, right off the bat? it's such 👨‍🍳🤌💋 to me. and then getting to watch Sarah in the beginning, so we feel closer to her? beautifully devastating. getting to see Ellie at the beginning, too? before she met Joel and Tess? I really enjoyed that. it also showed us a bit of how Marlene was as a person (the oh, really? was Riley a terrorist? I feel showed who she was. she wasn't in it for Ellie, or even Anna, she was in it for herself) which I feel was important. the entirety of episode 3? also beautifully devastating. the letter had the same effect that the conversation with Bill did (in the game), it just felt more positive? like, Bill was mad in the game, so that conversation felt a bit negative. the show, while literally being after their deaths, felt positive? I don't know why, it just did. and making Sam deaf? I think was really important, cause it showed that Sam still wanted to protect Ellie as best he could. he wouldn't have been able to hear her once she woke up, so he sat facing away from her to protect her. and the fact she tried to heal him, because she knew beforehand? I think really set up the finale. yes, vaccines need more than just blood, but taking that with the 1968 flashback? I think just reiterates that you can't make a cure for a fungal infection. also loved the differences in episode 6, when they found Jackson. well, when Jackson found them lmao I love how they portrayed it all? how we actually got to see Jackson this time, and we knew that the dam was fixed. the fact that Maria's pregnant? I'm hoping they change Tommy a bit because of that (don't like game Tommy because of what he did at the end of the second game). also that could help to heal Joel a little from losing Sarah. that might just be me being delusional because of fics, though. but also Joel getting stabbed instead of falling off a balcony? I don't know why, but that felt more fitting to the show? and I liked that they showed Ellie stitching him up (did miss the don't worry, I've done this before from her, though) along with him being conscious enough to try to shove her away to go back to Jackson. loved the entirety of episode 7, too! I really, really love how the mall was Ellie’s first time being there, so Riley was taking her on an adventure. and that the photo booth actually gave them the picture strip! I just love the seventh episode, man. I don't enjoy episode 8, simply because of what it's about? but I like the little changes they did for Joel yelling what town and Ellie yelling that she's the little girl who broke your fucking finger. truly felt like those came from deep within, you know? also the fact they added in that David's people were hunting?? disgusting, but it's the little details. I love how they opened episode 9 with Ellie being born. and I love how it was Ashley Johnson, that definitely did NOT get any tears out of me once I finished watching gameplays. definitely not. I loved the giraffe scene, too! you got to see Joel’s reaction to it!!! proud dad! although I think that smile was more Pedro and Bella, but it was still so so sweet and it's so important to me :] I loved the conversation they had on that traffic blocker (wtf is that actually called??), about how it wasn't time that did it. I think it also drove home what the ending was gonna be. I already talked about the hospital, but I do enjoy that they weren't underwater for that. it's the fact that Joel tried his damndest to protect Ellie as best he could when that bomb went off. he twisted around her, so that he'd take the brunt of it. I think the ending after that stayed mostly true to the game, so there are my thoughts :)

oh, I loved the mirroring they did, too! I think Craig? maybe Neil. someone said they mirrored scenes so you knew it was an adaptation, and that it would be a little bit different than the original. Joel holding his girls different ways in the show vs the game?? 🤌💋 Ellie and Joel in his apartment being mirrored??? 🤌💋 the what town scene also being mirrored??? and then what town being added??? 🤌💋 I believe there are more mirroring scenes, but these are what I remember. I just love the little details, man

sorry this was so long, anon, I just love the show so much. it's what introduced me to the last of us. after I finished it (in one sitting, by the way, because I didn't want to forget what happened between weeks/episodes), I found a gameplay of the first game and watched that. then we did the same with the dlc. I wanted to avoid the second game, as I loved going into the show blind, but alas, I saw too many spoilers :( no one tagged stuff, so I figured I should watch the gameplay before the whole game is spoiled for me. it was devastating and I live in constant fear for how they're gonna adapt it. not because it'll be bad, just because Pedro and Bella are such good actors that I KNOW it's gonna devast each and every single one of us. the yell/scream from Ellie at the end of episode 5 still lives in my head, much against my will, so I'm very worried about the ones we'll be getting in season 2 (or more? cause Craig said something about 4 seasons?)

Hiya

I was reading through some of your asks and I saw one person say it was out-of-character for Ellie to move into the garage, and I just want to give my 2 cents on why I personally disagree.

I think a lot of people tend to forget that Ellie has only known the FEDRA schools. Shes exclusively lived in dorms and had to be independent her whole life. So she’s never had a family or any domestic life. So it would pry be weird for her to move in with Joel and be a family unit like that. She doesn’t know what that is.

I would of loved if they did live together and been a father/daughter duo but i understand why that didn’t happen

hi!

I agree! I sometimes forget that she's only known fedra schools her whole life, too. it does make sense for her to move out so quickly now, even if it's not what we want :( I would have loved for them to stay together, but yeah, it makes sense why we didn't get it. I do wonder, though, if they're gonna change it for the show. since they have made joel and ellie different than in the game. I think she should still have the garage! I just wonder if they'll do it differently. but yes, I agree with you! it isn't too out of character for her to move out when she's known independency her whole life