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    The Last of Us | A few portraits of Abby

    January 02, 2021

    The Last of Us | A few portraits of Abby

    A few portraits of Abby

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 11:05 AM PST

    Part II loves Joel and is actually extremely sympathetic to what he did at the end of part I. (Long)

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 02:29 AM PST

    Up until very recently I've had a rather cynical view of Joel and his actions / motivations at the end of the first game, and I always thought that both games matched up with that. It's only after watching ArTorr's amazing video The Unmistakable Humanity of The Last of Us: Part II (which you should all watch) and replaying both games in a row recently that I've come to a revelation. The Last of Us Part II re-contextualises what Joel did from a seemingly selfish act to a selfless one (at the very least from his perspective,) and that was always the intention of part 1 too.

    In part 1, Joel's need to protect Ellie seemed to be selfish. After Sarah died his number one priority in life became avoiding feeling that kind of pain ever again and his solution to that was to detach himself from other people out of fear of the pain of them dying on him. It's why he drove his brother away, why he was so distant with Tess and didn't reciprocate her very clear feelings towards him and it's why he resisted his attachment to Ellie for so long. By the time he gets to the dam his resistance has failed, however. He has fallen in love with her, and that's why he tries to pass her off to Tommy, because he knows that if she dies on him, it's going to destroy him inside the way it did when he lost Sarah. He needs to be rid of her, for himself, to avoid that pain.

    After hashing things out at the farmhouse Joel realises that parting ways with Ellie now would be just as painful as her dying on him so he decides to take her the rest of the way. After this he finds a new solution: just do not let her die under any circumstances, do anything to avoid that kind of pain, keep her alive at any cost, even at the cost of a vaccine that could potentially save the world, and even at the cost of what she wants.

    Originally I thought that was why Joel saved her at the end. I thought that his need to avoid the pain of losing Ellie the way he lost Sarah was more important to him than the entire human race and more important to him than what Ellie wanted to do. I think that is the way that Ellie saw it too, it was the source of all her survivor's guilt and all her frustration and anger at him. My confusion and Ellie's confusion were the same.

    It's only recently that I realised that there is a point in the first game where Joel's need to protect Ellie stops being about him and starts being about her and the potential good she could do in the world. Not just one point, at many times in the story Joel witnesses Ellie's compassion, but I think the real kicker is in Winter. After Joel is gravely injured and on the brink of death, Ellie stays with him, even though, as she has clearly demonstrated to us and Joel by this point, she does not need him to protect her and take her the rest of the way. She saves his life, nurtures him back to health and puts herself at great risk to stay with him not because she needs him but because she loves him. That selfless love and compassion is something so rare in Joel's world and something so much more valuable than a vaccine. Joel knows that the world needs Ellie alive, not just him, and that's why he saves her. Ellie's journey in part II is her journey to understand that and to get back those parts of herself that she lost after Joel's death.

    As Ellie has Abby's head under the water and is about to kill her she thinks of a moment with Joel, a moment that we find out later was the time when the kinder, gentler, more loving, more trusting, better Joel that he has become in part II still proudly tells Ellie that if the lord had given him a second chance at that moment he would do it all over again. When she thinks of this moment, she finally understands what that meant, that what Joel did for her was not an act of selfishness, but an act of pure love for her and an acknowledgement that the potential good that she (and her generation) could do in the world is infinitely more valuable than a vaccine. He knew that even though a vaccine could rid the world of the infected and save many lives, it could never save humanity from itself. Humanity is the true monster in this world, with all of its ego and apathy and ignorance, values that they inherited from the previous generation (Seth's generation) before the apocalypse even happened. Joel saw that darkness. He even saw it in himself. Ellie saw this darkness too, in Seattle, in the Wolves and Scars, in Abby and most importantly in herself, just like Joel. That's why she spares Abby, because she finally knows that killing her and giving in to that darkness would forsake the great potential that Joel saw in her. I think through witnessing Abby's compassion for Lev on that beach she saw that potential in her too.

    In the end Ellie is left with nothing but the love that Joel gave her and she heads out to fulfil the potential that not only Joel but her mother Anna saw in her. In the letter from Ellie's mother in part I, Anna says:

    "I'm not going to lie, this is a pretty messed up world. It won't be easy. The thing you always have to remember is that life is worth living!

    Find your purpose and fight for it.

    I see so much strength in you. I know you'll turn out to be the woman you're meant to be.

    Forever... your loving mother

    Anna

    Make me proud, Ellie!"

    Joel has become Anna in a way. This isn't the only time these games have made a connection between these two. In 'Marlene's recorder 2' from the first game, Marlene is 'talking' to Anna and she tells her:

    "They asked me to kill the smuggler. I'm not about to kill the one man in this facility that might understand the weight of this choice. Maybe he can forgive me. Oh, I miss you, Anna. Your daughter will be with you soon."

    Marlene knows that Anna is not around to offer her permission or forgiveness for what she's about to do to Ellie, and she also knows that Joel is the closest thing that Ellie has to Anna. That's why she doesn't just shoot him in that garage and take Ellie by force. She needs to convince Joel of her point of view because she needs his permission and forgiveness as a proxy for Anna's. Maybe that's why after Joel shoots her, Marlene stops begging for Joel to give Ellie back and only begs for her own life. Maybe her failure to convince Joel and his violent rejection of what she was proposing convinced her that Joel was right. Maybe she wouldn't have "just come after her." Heartbreakingly this doesn't come across to Joel and he kills her.

    In a way, Joel's death, the consequences for what he did to Abby's dad, is the sacrifice that he made for Ellie and (at the very least from his perspective) the whole world. This harkens back to Anna too. In the prequel comic 'American Dreams' Marlene says to Ellie:

    "When the time is right, I'll tell you all about her. Just know that she gave up everything to save you."

    In part II Joel and Ellie have swapped places. She is no longer the sacrifice. He is, and through her he can save the world, and she doesn't have to die for it.

    TL;DR: Joel saved Ellie not out of a selfish need to spare himself pain but out of his love for her and his knowledge that the good that she could do in the world is infinitely more valuable than a vaccine. Ellie's understanding of this is what keeps her from succumbing to the darkness in the end.

    Once again I have to urge you to watch ArTorr's video The Unmistakable Humanity of The Last of Us Part II because so much of what I've come to realize here was sparked by parts of this video to the point that I'm worried that I'm plagiarizing it, and there is so much more to discover about this game from it.

    submitted by /u/JupeJitsu
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    Ellie, I really don't think this is the appropriate time

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 04:58 PM PST

    The Shambler I painted

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 11:56 AM PST

    Ellie from TLOU2 (I just got the game today so I can't wait to see where this game takes me)

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 09:37 PM PST

    Never felt such strong emotions playing any game, First time TLOU 1 and 2 player [SPOILERS]

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 09:19 PM PST

    I am really new to playstation ecosystem and TLOU games. I got the first game as a part of PS+ collection with my new PS5 and didn't really play it until recently. I played both games back to back so may be it is just my personal experience but I absolutely loved both of the games. I didn't really pay much attention to the trailers or spoilers so I walked into it blindly without anyone's opinion or spoilers.

    No game has ever made me feel such emotions so deeply that I cried, got sad, and straight up stopped playing the game because I could not deal with my emotions physically in real life. The game has amazing accessibility settings and gameplay mechanics, you can adjust the gameplay difficulty but you can't really adjust the game's difficulty which is grounded. Some times life sucks, people close to you die and you are left with nothing, that's how sometimes real life is and this game captures is so beautifully.

    In a post apocalyptical world it does not matter weather you're right or wrong, if you killed that many people someone was bound to kill you at some point. I thought one of the characters was going to die at the end of the first game but that did not happen and I was happy.

    When Joel died, I said to my TV, "I will find you and I will kill you Abby if you keep me alive". The motivation to take revenge was just as strong to me as it was to Ellie. In the beginning I played as Abby a bit and said "Even if you make me play as her I will still want to kill her". The lengthy gameplay, the number of enemies, infected and general brutality that we had to endure to get to Abby was wearing me off as a player. It felt tiring and I wanted to get to Abby as soon as possible. I felt what Ellie felt. At the end of Ellie's gameplay when I've killed almost all of Abby's friends but came back without killing Abby there was a scene with Dina and then I realized that living without your loved ones is a greater punishment than to be killed. Then Abby comes and kills Jesse and kills (at the time I thought it was a headshot) Tommy too, what we have left is Dina and JJ so it is the best thing to move on. At the farm I found myself at peace and I was happy with the ending but the game kept going. Now, I am pursuing a lead to kill Abby, to take revenge when I make the decision to leave Dina and JJ on their own, the person who loves us dearly. That part did not sit with me but as we progress in the story, instead of killing Abby we end up saving her, she and Lev don't look good physically, at this point I realized that Abby has been through enough, she has lost everyone she cares and she is just saving Lev. And being thought that much is enough punishment for her so to at the end I did not want to kill Abby and finally made peace with the outcome and it is when I realized that Joel did that same thing for Ellie and finally forgave him.

    With every step I was with Ellie, I felt what she was feeling or at least what ND wanted me to feel. I resonated with Ellie the most because in some ways we're alike. She says "everyone I've ever loved has either left or have died" and that kind of person is generally afraid of being close to people because they fear that they might lose them too which is what happens when she struggles with her feelings for Dina.

    I've never talked about a game, especially in this much detail except the last of us (and I have more to say!) and that tells something to me. ND really did a great job with this game, I was mostly sad and angry while playing it but it made me feel emotions so deep that I've never realized that a game can do that. At the end of the day it's just a game, not real life, there is no Ellie, there is no Joel. It's a game, a great game!

    What I learned from this game is: Don't let revenge and anger consume you, it will only drive you to the path of darkness and along the way you will lose a piece of yourself. Try to forgive your loved ones and spend your time being happy because you never know when shit is going hit the fan.

    submitted by /u/johntheripp3r
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    Out of all the memorable quotes we’ve gotten across both games, this one will always stick out to me the most and is something I’m going to remember for 2021. Happy New Years to this amazing community!

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 04:18 AM PST

    Pictures glitched during transfer, but it turned into a happy accident. Some more, than others.

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 04:33 PM PST

    Like father like daughter

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 12:06 AM PST

    Two phone wallpapers from The Seraphites section that I made. Enjoy them!

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 10:34 AM PST

    Lethal Abby

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 08:55 PM PST

    Happy New Year! Each one of us went through a journey as harrowing as Ellie's, so may 2021 be less of a clusterfuck than last year. I'm feeling extremely hopeful about the future today and I hope you guys are too. I also wanted to share some of my favorite shots I took these last couple months!

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 11:19 AM PST

    TLOU2 second playthrough.

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 05:16 PM PST

    Just finished it for a second time. Wow... It was way better than the first time. Story and gameplay wise. I don't know why, but it was the same with the original TLOU. I always enjoy more the second time around.

    My first playthrough was on normal difficulty to focus on the story.

    This time, I played on custom difficulty. Everything at Survivor except items and allies which were at hard. Should have done a full survivor or even grounded playthrough as I always ended up having plenty of ammo/explosives/med kits.

    I strongly encourage anyone to play this game a second time if it not already done. I'm sure you'll enjoy it more!

    submitted by /u/Jeremyfc11
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    Made this while listening to the soundtrack nostalgically. Any pointers? Seems a little muddied but I like it. What do you think? My version of a love letter to the game.

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 08:16 PM PST

    I have a crush in Ellie

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 08:27 PM PST

    i Have a crush on Ellie and i'm feel so stupid because she's a fictional character but to me she is very attractive. Am I mentally healthy?ahahahah

    submitted by /u/sarva420boy
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    The Truth | Art by me

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 08:27 AM PST

    "Wait, it's all forgiveness?" "Always has been"

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 05:33 PM PST

    EGM's interesting article on why The Last of Us Part II is their Game of the year

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 04:14 PM PST

    I finally got my first tattoo and I’m very happy with how it turned out :D I love both the games so much and I’m glad I’ll always have a part of the games with me

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 03:16 PM PST

    The Beach

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 11:05 AM PST

    Abby PhotoMode

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 07:12 PM PST

    Suspicion

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 10:44 AM PST

    Danar Worya, a naughty dog concept artist just posted this on Instagram.. it looks like something is in the works

    Posted: 01 Jan 2021 01:44 PM PST
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