The Last of Us Part II (PS4, June 19, 2020) Video Game • Page 64

I legitimately want to throw a bag of bricks of Craig and Neil.

 

So, as someone who hasn’t played the game (I did watch it but details are fuzzy), what changed in how tonight was presented on the show?

 

How much time do you have, haha.

EDIT: To actually answer your question instead of being a jerk, they combined two scenes into one. There was a scene that happens much earlier in the game where Ellie returns to Salt Lake and confronts Joel about his actions. Then, as the final scene of the game, they have the heart-to-heart scene on the porch. Joel never says “I love you” in the game, but it is heavily implied, and a lot of both scenes exact dialogue was used - with the exception of the insertion of the lessons he learned from his father, something which was entirely new for the TV adaptation.

 

The hat bit will be the final flashback. They freaking showed the dinos in the making of.

 

Yeah, I’ll say I don’t know if I like that Ellie found out (explicitly) and said she wanted to try to forgive him, all in the same conversation. Really don’t see how they give us a comparable scene to end the series with.

 

Rather than ending on the “reunion,” they’ll end on touring the dinosaurs and maybe even ending on the brontosaurus (is that the name still? I don’t know) to mirror the giraffe scene to end on a much happier note. That’s my theory now.

 

I just don’t see that being as impactful as their final conversation/the bittersweetness of Ellie telling him she wants to try to forgive him.

 

I think it’s safe to say that by the end of Season 3 we may be so far removed from what happens in the game, an entirely new scene may be shot.

 

I’d agree not as impactful as it won’t reveal any new information. That’s true. But I think going to that moment at Ellie’s lowest point of losing everything, it’s a memory that she will cling to for motivation to go on.

I mean, it’s clear we will see the Dino stuff, but I could be wrong about when. Although, if not then, when would it make sense to move to and what is shown at the end? I’m not sure.

I think it’s safe to say the Eugene scene takes the place of the attempted trip to the music store flashback. Given how tonight went, the Salt Lake flashback is pointless to show.

edit: Salt Lake flashback not only pointless but obviously contradict what we just saw haha

 

Santa Barbara, for all we know could be S4 and next season is JUST Abby POV and that would put the end of the show.......4 years at least from now. Do you really expect TV audiences to remember S2 that many years back and the importance of the porch? Druckmann himself did this episode, I think he out of everyone else is more than capable of translating the story from a game audience to TV audiences.

 

I think it is fair to hold off, especially in the age of streaming - anyone that invested in the show may rewatch past seasons to get geared up after a long layoff, and even if they didn’t, the “Previously on…” could give them enough context to jog their memory.

I think the scene fit well now, but it’s a little bit of robbing Peter to pay Paul in my eyes, because now they have to come up with a way to reconcile why Ellie spares Abby in the end - but as you said, that is years away at this point, so that is a tomorrow problem! Plus I would trust Neil with my life, so if this is what he decided to do, then I am sure he had those discussions internally and they probably have some plans in place.

This episode overall was incredible, and I think non-game viewers will go crazy over it!

EDIT: Via Alan Sepinwall:

 

Why do they need a new way to reconcile Ellie not killing Abby?

 

Thematically they won’t need it, I just mean they won’t have the porch scene to help drive that home. I still think they can accomplish something similar with flashes back to Ellie and Joel, but it may not carry the same emotional weight of this scene.

 

I think the flash to happy Joel is enough to understand Ellie sparing Abby.

 

I mean, playing that fight, it’s pretty clear how severely fucked it all is.

 

Either you're give the general audience too much credit or I have zero faith in them lol. I think that we, as mega fans because we're dispositioned to the game beforehand, we would be the type of people to do a rewatch to get back in the mood, whereas I think the general audience felt like this was "that HBO Max show with Pedro Pascal and plant zombies" and will now know it as "that HBO Max show that killed Pedro Pascal and plant zombies". Their attention spans aren't the longest, their memory won't do them any favors to see a 5 second clip of the porch in 4 years to remind them.

Hm interesting interview. I do think we'll end the episode with the theater, BUT we'll get a post/mid credits scene where we get a preview cliffhanger of Young Abby. That way the general audience has questions and it won't be a COMPLETE shock when S3 opens from Abby's POV.

 

I disagree on it being a mid/post credit scene. But I do think we cut to black on the “we let you live, and you wasted it!” Then a quick few seconds of Abby waking up at the stadium or whatever other base, with the Seattle Day One title card, and that’s where we leave it for season 3. Gives a cliffhanger, but also prepares general audiences for Abby leading season 3.

 

since this Ellie didn't go all the way to Salt Lake and back on her own, maybe it's more believable that she'd try to leave Jackson a bit unprepared, hence Dina being all Dora with the map and stuff. probably weird to think of that now, but that's what crossed my mind when i was watching the porch scene.

speaking of the porch scene, to quote Abby...
"Oh my god Lev Neil, NOW?!"
i was so not emotionally prepared for that in this episode.

but yeah, aside from the later episodes constantly retroactively fixing minor missteps and addressing gripes i've had with earlier episodes (or at least trying to--i'm still not a fan of "you're gay i'm not"), i'm really enjoying this season, all the things it's added, and all the things it's kept the same.

 

What an episode but whaaaat why did they use that final scene now!? Wtffff

 

Is there a chance we got this final scene now because they’re not planning on bringing Pedro back at all in future seasons?

 

He’s got one more scene.

 

If you read the quote @wheneyeawoke included from the Rolling Stone article, Neil says why they used it now.

 

Craig in a new interview

https://collider.com/the-last-of-us-series-length-season-3-showrunner-craig-mazin/

 

Okay now I’m certain season 3 will be only Abby’s part of Seattle, with season 4 being the Farm and Santa Barbara. Both seasons will certainly flesh things out a lot.

Although now it makes me a little bummed that they did Ellie’s Seattle portion in only 3 episodes.