when you stop looking for the light | Scene Analysis - The Last of Us Part II
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- Please enjoy this in-depth scene analysis of this short but poignant scene from The Last of Us Part II.
This video contains mature subject matter, is intended only for adults, and was created for educational purposes only. This is my own interpretation of the scene based on multiple playthroughs and hundreds of gameplay hours, my experience as a writer/director, and listening to interviews with/commentary by the creators of the game.
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla and Mac Quayle.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
01:39 - Context
05:24 - Given Circumstances
14:44 - Desired Outcomes
15:38 - Subtext
23:33 - Look for the Light - Hry
EXCELLENT recap of Abby's journey. Her Day 2 Seattle feels like a literal representation of the themes of "light" and "darkness", as she first must ASCEND to light (sky bridge), before then plunging into the darkness of the infested hotel, and eventually "ground zero" of the hospital, finally to find light again after the Rat King fight. Brilliantly symbolic.
There's SO much rich symbolism in the landscapes and environments of TLOU2; the creators really made amazing use of rainy, stormy Seattle for this. All these scenes of characters crossing these foggy or watery liminal, transitional spaces, like crossing the Dead Marshes to enter Mordor, or crossing the river Styx to enter the underworld - following their quests into places where their very souls will be weighed and tested, and where they will find either damnation, or deliverance. Death and rebirth. Remember who they are, or lose themselves entirely.
One of my favorite scenes in this game is right after Yara dies Abby tells Lev “you’re my people”. I have always loved that line.
Pretty shallow
Man, this line hit me like a truck: "Young Abby also needed someone to love her and accept her and take care of her." And what she got was Isaac. Oof.
Something I've been thinking about lately is something that I think you alluded to in places in this video without necessarily spelling it out - the way that Lev and Yara are catalysts in Abby not just reexamining herself and who she's become, but also reevaluating her relationship to the Fireflies. As you've pointed out, she rejects them as she grows more deeply entrenched in the WLF - they were naive, they failed, they were weak, their grand ideals got her father killed. But Lev and Yara are, for Abby, a walking talking example of people who know perfectly well that their philosophy has been taken and misused, twisted, brought to an even more extremist place that is rapidly barreling towards catastrophe. But all the same, the two of them are able to hold onto the spiritual tenets that nourish them. Guide them. They've held onto the light in the dark.
I also love the use of Alice in the, "They're just kids," scene. Part of the reason the dogs' deaths are so sad in TLOU2 is that players can recognise that the dogs are true innocents. They might seem like terrifying monsters when they're attacking you, but they don't hate; they don't commit cruelty; they're just doing what they were taught to do. Alice represents that in this scene. Lev and Yara are that. As you've said: just kids, who were born into a conflict they didn't choose. And Abby herself wasn't any older than Yara when, orphaned and rudderless and dealing with the dissolution of her entire community and worldview, she was recruited into Isaac's forever war. Abby, too, was just a kid. Alice is symbolic of all their innocence in this scene. But then, she also serves as a juxtaposition against Abby and Owen as they are now. Alice is a true innocent in the sense that she can lick Lev's hand and let him pet her, and go right back to killing Seraphites if she were commanded to do so the next day (RIP Alice), without ever understanding that contradiction. But Abby and Owen can't. They're no longer innocent. They've seen the other side. They can no longer believe that they're just doing what they were taught to do. They're not kids anymore. And it's time to make a choice.
beautifully put❤ thanks for sharing your thoughts, I completely agree!
Good LORD that's beautifully written. The more I see videos like this and comments like yours, the more I realize that this game is actually a test of self-reflection. If you played this entire game and are angry or disappointed that Ellie didn't just kill Abby at the end, it says a lot of the kind of person you are mentally and emotionally. You would rather carry on the cycle of violence, of bloodshed, of hate than trying to move on. They fail to realize that in their hatred of Abby's character, they have actually become LIKE Abby in the beginning of the game. But to those that can see that there are layers of nuance, depth and redemption for these characters, well then maybe there's some humanity to root for still.
As “cliche” as this may sound .. but hearing someone who’s also played this game and loved this game like me .. take this level of depth same as I have .. kinda gives me HOPE for humanity .. as funny as that sounds lol
But the fact we can see the complexities and nuances of how this game reflects life and our OWN journeys really shows how the medium of gaming has transcended just “playing” some games now are a “experience… and I really love the way you dive into your perspective of your experience ! Please keep making more of these kinds of videos
One scene that would be great to anaylse is the 'you're a piece of Sh*t Abby' with Mel and Abby's remorse trying to find her own humanity again.
Yet this is an incridible deep dive into Abby and Owen's relationship. Their relationship was one of my favourite parts of the story, I felt so much for Owen, his hopefulness, creativity, desire to live and longing for initmacy and how he tries to bring back the old Abby. I also struggle to forgive Ellie for killing Owen but I most feel like Owen's spirit of hope lives on through Abby.
Yes! I just commented the same thing I feel like that would be a great scene to do a deep dive on. Also I agree I feel like in terms of humanness owen was my favorite character he added a lot and I kinna felt for him.
The overlapping audios of when Abby is stood over Joel's body that was phenomenal along with the rest of the video. Different yet slightly related note: something that I think about on a semi regular basis is that lev didn't want to save Abby initially that came from Yarra
I love Yara so much. She exudes a lot of sweetness.
I'd really appreciate it if you analyzed the, "I know it's a mess, but we can still choose to be happy" scene. It's beautiful.
It's no coincidence that in Abby's nightmare she finds Yara and Lev strung up in the operation room, she clearly relates to them and is this dream what finally allows her humanity to come through again.
God, this game as whole was such a jounery when i first experienced it. Neil has a way to immerse you into this world, to feel the anger, the want, the hope and all the inbetween with these characters. You too have a poetic way to explain the intricacies of these characters and it makes me so happy to hear you speak. Abby had grown on me throughout the game and I fell in love with her journey to the light.
That ending montage is bringing me tears great job! 😭😭
the scene of lev on the way up to the sky bridge is maybe my favorite string of in-game dialogue in the entire series. such a succinct speech that is both extremely compassionate and instructive. i also love how it’s tied in with the seraphite faith with the quote at the end, but the lessons from it are invaluable for anyone in their life when they feel how abby did in that moment
Really glad to see someone diving in to give the writing in this game the praise it deserves. I sometimes think that the push by hollywood to make characters “more realistic” tends to fall flat, especially in tv and movies because they are usually so short. Characters should be used to create a narrative that moves the audience in some way, and so characters in tv and movies can never feel “realistic enough” because they must serve a narrative in a very limited amount of time. In short, real people are tedious and do not make good characters, and trying too hard to emulate real life people can create this strange middle ground where characters almost seem self aware, dishing out irony for laughs at every possible turn (think, every show that came out on disney plus) all for the sake of pleasing some imaginary critic that would call the characters unrealistic if they failed to acknowledge the absurdity of their circumstances in some way. Basically, endlessly pursuing realism in characters creates stories that cannot be taken seriously. HOWEVER, I think TLOU as a series has shown very well how ‘writing for realism’ can actually support a narrative- so long as that narrative is at least 20 hours long. I would not say that TLOU is a very realistic story by any means, it is still a stretch to say that any person in an apocalypse scenario would risk life and limb in pursuit of revenge, but i guess we’re in no position to argue the point from the safety of modern day. After all, it’s not like they have youtube essays to distract themselves with, so whose to say that people wouldn’t devote themselves to pursuing revenge? Not me. Anyway, TLDR, NaughtyDog manages to make the characters in this series feel ‘realistic’ without making them overly ironic or selfaware, and i think their ability to master this more ‘realistic’ style of storytelling is the reason why TLOU2 was the most controversial game in history. They just succeeded in doing something completely new.
I don't think I could have imagined a better edited and scripted video about a deep dive into individual scenes of this masterpiece, you nailed everything and it's nice to see someone who views this game as I do, keep it up, plz 🙏
im literally sobbing this is so good
Thoroughly enjoying your analyses of TLOU2, and this was just as excellent as the last. One of the biggest hurdles to get past to properly engage with and understand Abby is to let go of the inherent (and intended) bias we have towards "our side" - primarily Joel, Ellie, and Tommy - and unfortunately, not everyone is capable of that. Fully agree with your point about how Abby's body language, micro-expressions etc. are crucial to understanding her character and her journey/arc, in fact, one of my favourite moments in the game is carried by Laura Bailey's excellent face-acting(?): when we see Joel's death with the focus being on Abby this time, most would understandably be interested in finally hearing what the Salt Lake Crew were talking about, thus causing them completely missing the perfect storm of emotions painted across Abby's face.
There is literally not a single scene I would rather see you analyze than Ellie leaving Dina & J.J in the Farm. The most misunderstood scene (and chapter) of the game IMO.
I am absolutely loving your longform analysis videos, I could listen to you talk about TLOU all day! Thank you 😁
Watching your analysis of these scene of Abby has given me a better appreciation of Abby as a character and Laura Bailey's performance of her. Thank you for sharing I'm excited to see more
I’ve been watching your analysis videos and you are soo good at explaining the characters thought process, their reasonings, and just how the story works together. Your analysis makes it easier for my smol brain to digest and understand the story better! Def excited to see more from you! ☺️
This is so well written and explained
Please continue to discover and explain other parts of the game.
and also try for some movie scenes too
your way of explaining subtext and analysing scenes is really great :)
Keep up the good work :)
love from India :)
I absolutely love the tribalism theme of this game! It's such a huge thing and I rarely see anyone talk about it. There's so much more to this story than just 'revenge bad'
You break this down so beautifully. You made me smile today. Thank you
Excelent video 🙌🏼 really few people get to understand this amazing story, even though it may be hard to get it at first…
Love your videos! Never stop making them pleeeease
Brand new sub! I love content like this and I’d be happy to get more of such in the future :)
what an absolutely beautiful analysis, jude. you never miss. i adore your videos. your ability to convey such a deep understanding and love for these characters and their stories, your thoughtfulness, and the effort you put into these videos/tiktoks is so appreciated. i could listen to your thoughts on this series endlessly 💕🌿 keep up the amazing work!
i've watched all three of your analyses, and these are incredible and so well understanding of the true depth of this game. so many people dismiss it because they either can't or refuse to grapple with its themes and characters. keep up the good work!
Your way of explaining and dissecting scenes is wonderful. The intros always get me hooked, I desperately await for your next videos. Keep up the amazing work!
I loveeee your analysis videos!!! ❤❤❤
Just finished watching all your analysis videos on TLOU II, loving them!
Very thoughtful analysis on some of the deeper themes in the game. Looking forward to the next video
i’m loving this series!! keep it up!!!!
A wonderful video. Thank you!
Absolutely loving your videos! I am a fellow writer and last of us enthusiast but dang I gotta say the amount of detail you put in is unparalleled! Would love to see an analysis on Ellie's flashbacks with Joel maybe? Keep up the amazing work!!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Having watched through all the commentary videos. I need more. They're fantastic.
A small detail when Jesse says to Ellie you come from the east. When giving directions to find Joel and Tommy It actually is a reference bcoz Ellie is the light. Her name meaning is light. And the fireflies says that whenever in darkness look for the light. It means Ellie is the light and the cure. In this whole game Ellie is the light. She is the immune girl she is the cure. So when Jesse was giving directions and he told Ellie to go to east direction it is like the sun rises in the east and she is that light Unfortunately it was over there😢 Even in HBO series when Joel, Ellie Tess were eating Ellie was highlighted under the sunlight and many times in the game and series she has been referred to the light.
I love this! Very well explained and I finally understand after all these years
this was amazing! id really love some sort of analysis on left behind although i’m not entirely sure what specifically, the dlc has such a special place in my heart and when you put riley’s line in there it got me,😭 amazing job can’t wait for more!
Always gonna be obsessed with tlou and I will watch any video related to it, so keep it coming!
Great job! I love that it's the perfect length for my commute... Don't love crying before work though 😅 This game is beautiful and your analyses are so thoughtful. Keep up the great work!
Again wonderful analysis. Had me tearing up. Such a rich understanding of the story and communicated eloquently. Unfortunately TLOU content on CZcams is saturated with dudebro takes on the bleakness of the story when it's really so much deeper than that and it's a story that really revolves around hope and humanity even when things are darkest. Love your breakdown. Beautiful 👏 and subscribed.
Keep it up, I'm hooked! 😄
Oh my god I think I found someone who thought about this game as much as I did. I didn't think that was ever going to happen lol Wonderful job, you have such a good understanding of this story.
I lovee TLOU2! Especially the part after the War between the Wolfs and the Scars, when Lev turns to Abby and says: "Now we truly are... The Last of Us"
this channel goated also ilysm
Great analysis!
These are so good!!!!
it's so wonderful to see a nuanced analysis of Abby and who she truly is a well-rounded character and not just blind hate by someone who doesnt care to understand her. i loved this video and this game so much!!! i cried
Enjoying this channel!
I LOVE THSES!! DO MORE ❤️
Very nice video! I recently found your channel and happy that I did. Since you asked for requests, I have a suggestion.
I’ve been interested in the comparison of Ellie and Lev’s individual “coming outs” so to speak. I never hear people bring up how Ellie is afraid to let Joel know she’s gay. It’s clear from her journal, Joel’s dialogue during the Finding Strings segment, and Ellie’s “I’m so stupid” in the last flashback that Ellie didn’t think Joel knew and thought he would have an issue with it.
Compared to Lev who did have the courage to come out vs far more obvious hate, to his biological mother, but she has the worst possible reaction.
I don’t know if there’s a video there, but the two have always drawn my attention and while Lev’s situation is clearly widely known, the Ellie/Joel side for some reason doesn’t get noticed as often.
Just a suggestion. The mirroring in the series is so spot on. Thanks.
Ooo seconding that I would love to see this analysis. Great idea.
I think Ellie's "I'm so stupid" line when Joel tells her "But you do like her [Dina]" was more about Ellie thinking that's she's stupid for giving herself hope that Dina would want to be with her and that Dina's kiss was actually genuine. She wants to deny to herself that Dina has feelings for her to avoid getting hurt. Like at the dance she also told Jesse that they're gonna get back together soon, even though, I think, Dina probably didn't tell Ellie anything or perhaps even told her she's not getting back with Jesse.
This whole scene just shows that Ellie doesn't think that people could care about her when she's alive, and that her life "would've only mattered" when she's dead.
But after this conversation I think she realizes that Joel wants her to be happy, so the next day she becomes more open to Dina, because he encouraged her. The second reason could be the way you said that he showed acceptance, like a 2 in 1 thing.
oh my god this video is amazing 😭 i’m gonna have to go play the game again
Abby is most likely my favourite character from entire franchise.
It's fantastic how you're peeling all the dramatic layers off the scenes which are hidden for many of us.
I would love to see and listen how you disassemble to the pieces TLoUpt1 scene in the ranch house when Joel and Tommy found Ellie after she fleed from the dam. Also maybe my favourite ones from TLoUpt2 - Ellie wants to hunt Nora solo (exchange with Dina in projector room and Dina's disbelief in Ellie) and another one after interrogating Nora, Ellie returning to the theatre with thousand-yard stare and Dina caring damaged (physically and psychically) Ellie.
A new video!
Finally some good tlou2 analysis and not same grown man throwing a tantrum. 😫
2 weeks late to the vid but loved it to the very end
I’d like to mention that Abby stopping “looking for the light” can resonate with Ellie being “lost in the darkness” Ellie wasn’t a firefly yet that specific quote can resonate with her this is best parallel at least in my opinion about the two Ellie never had a dark time Joel even saying she has no idea what lost is was essentially true because of “Joel” Ellie likes to express while Joel shuts it in she may have felt lost but she didn’t know it until Joel died Joel was her light as so was Abby’s father however Ellie was always in the light while Abby the dark at least in part 2 and when Joel died Ellie fell in dark I loved this specific parallel because it also shows no good vs evil just human vs human survival of the fittest. Abby had her redemption and found her light now it’s just Ellie who stopped looking for it.
You should totally study the last of uss most misunderstood scene, you know the one "shes pregnant" "good"
Mel’s a nurse? I’m pretty sure she’s a doctor
Can you analysis the ending of the last of us part 2, I would love to hear your input btw I love your videos
Abby must be one of the most complicated characters that I have ever experienced. It’s quite beautiful actually.
Please make a video on Abby and Mel scene! Or just Abby Mel and Owen dynamic in general. I feel like there’s a lot there I also wanna know more about Mel if anyone has uncovered anything I didn’t catch lol.
👀✍🏼
You know what else is great about this game? The fact that I always have to remind myself that the characters are not real people. They are green screened movement performers and then digitally Frankenstein-ed parts of other people put together to make a single unique character. Yet they all look like they are real living people... blows my mind they're all fake.
Masterful game, perfection really
You did an excellent job with this analysis, and the ending montage was gorgeous. But I would like to correct something rather minor: In the beginning, you say that Abby's been back in Seattle following Joel's murder for around 6 weeks. But if you notice Mel's belly, she's not showing when they kill Joel, but very much is by the time she dies. So, I'd say Abby had killed Joel around four to seven months before Ellie and Dina follow her. Remember that Mel had just told Owen that she's pregnant (Owen says it when he shows Abby the view of Jackson), and you can begin seeing signs of pregnancy by the end of the first month - though of course, you don't start showing by the fourth month or so. Still, wonderful video!
Mel is about 5-6 months in Seattle, and if Jackson was six weeks before she'd be about 3-4 months which checks out imo. I made a timeline video on my TikTok while back where I figured it all out but I can't remember the details now lol, but it can't be that long because Dina is pregnant too. she and Jesse were broken up a week before the game starts, and most ppl start feeling symptoms between 5-6 weeks of pregnancy, which is how I got the six weeks estimation. also! Joel died on March second, six weeks later puts us at the end of April which matches the weather we see in Seattle😁
@@tlou_explained Really? 5-6 months? That belly looked pretty ready to me XD Ah, well. Great video!
@@alicenolfi2095 yeah if you compare it to a belly progression chart that's what it looks like to me, I'm def no pregnancy expert tho😅
@@tlou_explained Yeah, I get it XD I could be wrong, too.
Can you do an analysis on what all of the playing cards Ellie collects mean? 😊
"Abby's change was too quick" Did we play the same game?? Because it wasn't quick, it was slow, and subtle.
Brilliant video btw. :)
I agree but some people did complain that it was too quick because it happened over just three days compared to Joels change over several months. But Joel had been Joel for 20 years to Abby's four years. When we meet him, he's not wanting to change and he spends most of the game fighting against it. When he does reach the tipping point his change is also relatively quick. She spent four years obsessing over killing Joel as a way to end her pain and nightmares. Then it happened and it didn't solve anything. She's stuck in limbo now. Lost in the darkness so to speak. She much nearer to her tipping point than Joel was at the start of the first game. When Yara and Lev offer her some light she is much more ready to take it. Like you say, we can see subtle changes in her conversations and actions over the three days that are there if you look for them and I loved the way they did that.
Very well done.
Why do you think people hated this game so much?
Finding this channel that analyzes Abby playthrough is pretty good. I still find myself relating more to Joel and Ellie story. But I empathized with Abby. To lose your father in such a violent way and that trauma determines your adult life is quite burdensome.
Abby didn't become a fighter because she felt some great compel to help people but to strong enough to kill the person that killed her father.
My husband is active duty. He does it because it's the best type of work for him. He is 11B infantry currently in an airborne unit. He didn't join over some great need to protect his fellow americans. That's the benefit of people who don't know him and don't even know he exists, gets if he deploys to war. He joined because he wanted a career to be proud of, that challenged him physically and mentally. He proved to himself that he has mental steelness to deal with army life, 6 years in and enlisted for another 5.
I see that type of steelness in Abby. The need to be part of something that mentally and physically will push you. She is a soldier through and through, but she is missing the other half. The reason to join. The motivation to get up every day, gear up, and march forward. She thought it was vengeance, for the death of her father. At the time, it seemed like a solid motivation. Even when she learns of Joel's name, got an idea who he was, she still didn't understand why he did it.
Joel didn't kill Abby's father out of malice, but to protect and save Ellie. Abby couldn't emphasize with that because she didn't have anyone to die for, to protect. If it's herself, like a soldier, you die for the glory of battle. If its someone you love, you die for them to ensure their future.
Abby comes full circle when she fights the rat king at Ground Zero. She finally finds her motivation, the reason to be a soldier, to be a warrior. There is no glory in death, just the agony.
Overall Abby is a well flush out character. I know some fans of the series hate her because she killed Joel. But Joel is a soldier also, every soldier, warrior knows you will someday pay for your violence. I see so much of Joel in Abby as well in Ellie. These characters are complex, suffer from truama, and at core just trying to survive and protect the ones they love.
your mind>>>>>> ok done commenting hope this boosts your engagement
Why did you delete the boat vid?
bc a bunch of petty people mass reported it until CZcams age-restricted and demonetized it👍🏼
@@tlou_explained Let me guess, perpetually enraged TLOU2 haters did this to silence you !?
@@matthecinephiliac3663 🎯
@@tlou_explained Jeez, don't these people have better things to do with their lives ? It's been FOUR YEARS already.
Would you conisder uploading in 4k in future?
I could certainly try! haha
👏👏👏👏
unpopular opinion: Abby storyline>Ellie storyline
Somewhat off-topic but the fact that Owen isn't a playable character in No Return is bullshit tbh
my theory is that thematically, Owen is the most pacifistic character in the game and we never see him actually fight. and they may not have had a bank of fighting animations for him as a result.
The latter part doesn't matter, as Abby's animations were re-used for the masculine No Return characters (Like Joel and Tommy and Manny) but the bit about it not making sense narratively for Owen to be in No Return is a good point. It would feel a little out of place to be running around burning people to death with a flamethrower as Owen, the pacifist lol. My problem with it is that Owen is someone I actually want to play as. Jesse and Manny are playable but I got almost no enjoyment out of playing as them because frankly I really didn't care much for them as characters. I get why they had to exist in the story but my god, are they bland as fuck lmao.@@tlou_explained
they also probably don't have a bank of Owen voice lines in combat scenarios either - maybe that's a better explanation than the animations haha.
I also wish we could play as Owen tbh, I don't dislike Manny or Jesse but he's definitely a more fleshed out character.
I'm not really a Jesse and Manny disliker as much as I am a Jesse and Manny indifferent-er. When they both died I felt like almost no emotions other than like, "Wow, Tommy's a badass."@@tlou_explained
IDK.... its a good video but the comparsion between the WLF and the scars always rubs me the wrong way... I don't think we can easily judge whats worse between a millitary and a cult, but from what we see about the scars they are batshit crazy and cannot be compared to the WLF. In my eyes its just a bad way from naughty dog to make us belive that all the people are the same way with each his own story and perspective' even though the scras are quite obviously the worst in the game.
I love that I get to see another perspective of it and not the critics that narrowed mind people use to analysis this masterpiece of story, part 1 was absolutely amazing, part2 is even better I’d say. can't wait to see how part 3 is going to unfold and play with my emotions again 🥲😄
How are your videos so good??? I don't understand.. just beautifully written 🥹🥹🥹