Tlou Ep 8 - Tumblr Posts

Hello, can I interest you in joining my religion? Every Thursday night we watch Joel Miller scream “WHAT TOWN”… that’s it. That’s the religion…

Something ‘When We Are in Need…’ does SO well is that throughout the whole episode you have the same reactions, and feel the same things as Ellie.

It starts and she’s hungry and Joel’s really sick and it makes you, the viewer, scared for Joel and scared for Ellie, too.

Then she goes hunting and finds the deer and then she meets David, and it’s suspicious and you don’t trust him, then they start to talk and it’s a good time and you almost start to have fun and then…

“James put the gun down.”

Right along with Ellie you think: Oh fuck. Shit just got real.

I watched a video essay on how they were able to accomplish this setup and turn, and it’s really just an incredible feat of writing, directing, and acting.

Then you and her are desperate to heal up Joel, and feel that sad sort of warmth as she cuddles up to him.

Then the Silver Lakers come back and Joel’s helpless and still you feel the same thing as Ellie through the whole sequence, you feel the same worry for Joel and the same intensity. Then she gets taken down and right along with her you think ‘uh-oh’.

The next scene with Ellie is when she wakes up in the cage, and once again it all applies. You, along with Ellie, are super wary of David and are desperate to escape. To get out of there.

Then you see the ear at the same time as Ellie. Even if you already suspected the cannibalism from the earlier scene with the stew, you still have that same disgusted reaction of ‘oh god are they gonna eat her?!’.

Then he takes her hand, and you have that same awful, shuddering realization. Even if you were like me and immediately were like “this guy is definitely bad”, you still get that confirmation, and the you still absolutely have that ‘oh fuck’ moment.

Then she breaks his finger, and just like her you have that moment of victory, before once again it all comes crashing down.

Then through the ‘I’m infected’ and restaurant fire fight your heart is pounding and you’re barely breathing. It’s intense and scary and then he’s on top of Ellie and I don’t think any piece of media has ever gotten me more scared.

Then she starts hacking at his face with the cleaver, and that scene is… indescribable, honestly.

Ellie stumbles out of the burning building and you just feel shocked.

Joel comes up behind her and her pulse jumps momentarily, and then you see it’s Joel and just like Ellie you’re so so glad he’s here. And his ‘I gotchu baby girl’ is in my opinion the most comforting, sad, cathartic moment on television.

The way that we’ve been in Ellie’s shoes the whole episode, with her rather than watching from the outside, makes that final moment so much more impactful. We’ve been through hell with Ellie, and now we get that comfort too. It’s absolutely brilliant filmmaking, and was such a good way to play it for maximum emotional ‘oomf’.

It’s also why I sorta disagree with many of pacing complaints about that episode, because if it was too extended or had unnecessary action scenes it would’ve lost those “shared feelings”.

Also, I know not everyone felt this way watching the episode, especially people who played the games because they already knew what was going to happen, meaning that they couldn’t have those heel turns and realizations that put you so well in Ellie’s head. (I have a different post about this general effect).

But I think it was very intentional, and for people who it worked for it was some of the most impactful, incredible tv, period.

everything about the shot of joel and sarah is so tender, given the circumstances. joel just murdered someone for the first time out of defense and he’s holding her face so gently to reassure her of it, that they’re going to be okay. and the way that she’s holding his arms too, ever so gently but enough to just maintain contact, to know that he’s there, to hold on to him in these moments of fear. his state is intense, but he’s not showing any fear or sign of wavering. he has to be strong for her, it’s what she needs to see.

the shot of joel and ellie is so… desperate. he’s holding her face in the same way as the first shot, but you can tell it’s firmer by the way ellie’s ear and cheek are slightly squished. he’s working hard to steady her, but it’s not overly forceful. she’s grabbing on to his jacket, and once again it’s not a forceful grip but it’s just enough to know that he’s there. and his stare. there is fear and concern written all over it. he’s not hiding anything anymore. he’s showing her what she needs to see, albeit not intentionally. he’s someone who cares deeply for her and was and is concerned about her. he’s desperate for her to see that he is there in that moment and he is there for her, in the way an adult should be. in the way she deserves someone to be.

i’m just in awe at how the shots are so similar but so different and so appropriate to who these people are with each other. it’s parallels 101 but i just think the execution was phenomenal down to the little details and i wanted to appreciate that.

to get even more specific to the father-daughterisms of the shot of joel and ellie: i know joel has had that coat for many episodes and ellie’s been wearing that sweatshirt for who knows how long but i just think that the fact that the colors/tones are so similar that they’re almost matching is so, almost like, family-photo-esque? the way people will wear something similar but different in family portraits to show coordination but also differentiate. they’re not trying to show joel and ellie as being the same, but rather as being connected to each other, being family. i don’t know if that’s intentional but it’s how i see this. the second father-daughterism is the blood on both of their hands. the blood on joel’s hand is slightly older so it blends in a little more with ellie, but it’s still visible. but the blood on ellie’s hands is still fresh and sticks out more. both are a testament to their relationship to violence. the blood on joel’s hands which are holding ellie, show the purpose of his violence, to get back to ellie. but the blood on ellie’s hands that are moreso just clinging to him, clinging to something, because she was fighting for her life. her violence was for survival. yes, the blood was there because how could they not be covered in blood, but it can mean so much more if you choose to see it that way. these two birds of a feather, these beings so different yet so similar with this connection that runs so much deeper than they even know. i just think that depicting their relationship and its intricacies in these subtle ways is so powerful

how it started

how it’s going