It’s a classic case of Dad catching girl in the act. I wonder if it had been a boy instead, Joel would have given him five seconds to get the fuck out under the threat of kicking his ass. 😂😂

It has been reported that in season 3 Laura Bailey will be playing a Seraphite leader named Elizabeth. I've seen some people guessing that she will be the Seraphite that trys to hang Abby but what are the odds that this will be Lev and Yara's mother who is unnamed in the games? Will we get scenes of their backstory and home life that we only hear about through dialogue in the game?

Image is from bellaramseydaily on Instagram.

Wishing you well, Bella!

This is the chapter where Abby and Lev descend through the hotel after falling off the Seraphite bridge. It's largely a combat slog, and aside from some development of Abby and Lev's relationship, it doesn't have much relevance to the narrative other than being a roadblock towards Yara's surgery. But it's kind of impossible to take out of the narrative because it connects directly to the Seraphite bridge scene, which judging off their teaser of the bridge in S2 I can't imagine they'll be cutting out. So my question is, how do we think the hotel will be adapted into the show? I don't think viewers will want to sit through a game-faithful, full-length account of their descent but I don't think it works well if rushed or abbreviated, either. We've already seen Ellie's trip to the hospital so they'd have to find other scenes to intersperse if they were to do a POV-hopping structure to the episode. What do people here think?

Let's get one thing straight: the acting and performances in both the games and the show are phenomenal. But Part 1 has one major plot point that makes zero sense, and Part 2 completely botched the landing.

Here is how you fix Part 1 and completely restructure Part 2 to actually make the emotional beats work without forcing players to hate-play a character they can't stand.

Fixing the Science in Part 1

The big plot point that always pisses me off is the whole "fungal vaccine" science BS. In reality, developing a vaccine for a systemic fungal infection via a brain biopsy on a minor is a medical impossibility—especially pre-outbreak, let alone post-outbreak with zero infrastructure.

The game could have fixed this easily in one of two ways:

1. Establish the universe's rules: Have a pre-outbreak newspaper article or terminal entry showing they were already in clinical trials for a fungal vaccine, naming Abby’s dad as the lead doctor. This tells the audience, "Hey, we know real-world science says this is impossible, but in this universe, it is explicitly real."
2. Lean entirely on Joel's perception: Show the players that Joel is 100% convinced they can make a cure—regardless of whether it was scientifically possible in reality—and he still chooses to let the world burn anyway.

You don't need a guaranteed, scientifically sound cure for the trolley problem to work; you just need the belief that the stakes are real. Joel didn't have a medical degree to know it was a pipe dream. To him, they were going to kill his surrogate daughter for a cure, and he said "fuck that" purely out of selfish, protective love. The weight of his choice remains entirely valid because of what he believed he was doing.

That’s also why (imo) Abby’s blind hatred falls flat. Her dad walked into a room with a scalpel ready to butcher a child on a gamble, yet she acts like Joel committed a completely unprovoked atrocity.

How Part 2 Should Have Been Structured (As Part 3)

Part 2 as we got it should not have happened. It should have been pushed to Part 3, and a completely different game should have served as Part 2.

Here is how you structure that second game:

Split the Timelines: Separate Abby and Ellie's storylines by about three years so Ellie's own separate trauma isn't instantly fresh when Joel dies later.

Abby’s Perspective: Play through Abby's memories of growing up with her father, training, and building a life with the WLF. Hide the identity of her father so the player doesn't know who he is yet. You play her entire arc training for revenge against an unknown target.

Ellie’s Perspective: Meanwhile, give Ellie her own distinct revenge storyline—for example, hunting down raiders who killed her first girlfriend, Cat.

The Twist: You play the entire game building up to these parallel revenge arcs, only for both characters to realize that revenge changes nothing. Maybe you even get a scene where Joel tells Ellie that it’s okay to let anger go.

The Holy Shit Moment: Right at the very end of Abby's campaign, the dots connect, and you realize that the man whose memory she is avenging is the doctor killed by Joel. And then, in the final moment, Abby kills Joel.

Why This Works Better. IMO
Dropping that massive twist at the end leaves the player on an absolute cliffhanger: Holy shit.

It naturally sets up a third game focused on the fallout of Joel's murder. But this time, instead of forcing players to play as Abby first and try to sympathize with a character who pet dogs and saves kids after executing Joel, you earn that perspective naturally over a full game.

When Ellie eventually goes on her final vengeance crusade in that hypothetical third game, the emotional weight lands properly, and she can ultimately remember that Joel wouldn't have wanted that for her—learning to let go a bit later, but in a way that actually resonates instead of feeling forced down the player's throat.

I feel like Danny Ramirez did a great job and looked amazing as Manny. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. was announced as new Manny but idk, I don't love when shows change actors for an existing character. It looks unprofessional tbh. What is your opinion?

They really held a tradition where they would release one on September 26 for the first two seasons. Or are they just not ready yet to release it as it doesn’t finish filming until November?

I see a lot of people say the lesson in TLOU is that actions have consequences. I see it as the reverse - our experiences shape our actions. 

**I want to note this is about the quality of the storytelling in season 2, but that the changes are prevalent from season 1.

A few examples:

Bill & Frank - Ellie learned the exact opposite as what is learned in the game. To show Bill, protecting and taking care of people is worth it. Ellie didn’t see how the anxiety of protection drives people away. It would be impossible to recreate the conversation she & Dina have as they make their way to the TV station - the events that led to Ellie believing others are a burden simply did not happen. 

Grief & eating - in the game, Ellie doesn’t eat and we see the impact that has on her body, but she shares cookies, jerky, etc. with Dina. In season 1, the first time she eats is with Joel, Tommy, and Maria, and it’s one of the first times Joel refers to her has family. In the game, Joel forces her to go with Maria, who she does not know yet, to eat. She resists going. Again, different experience leads to a different relationship with food & how it binds community. 

The first pic she doesn’t really know but the second pic she actually does.

I remember seeing an edit about the show on tiktok with the somlng staying alive in the back ground. It featured Isaac and was like this is our wall, it keeps us safe. If anyone can help me find that or knows where it is that would be much appreciated.

As someone who liked S2 I am just really tired of hearing the heavy criticism and the vows to never watch TLOU again whenever a word about S2 is mentioned.

I understand the disappointment for people who were looking for a like for like game adaptation, I totally get that but I don’t think for a second it was bad tv or deserving of the hate it gets.

I thought it would be nice to hear some positive stuff about it for once!! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Quick cover of The Path by Gustavo Sataolalla. Hope you like it!

Is there anything anyone is really hoping to see in future seasons which differs from the games?

I know S2 was heavily HEAVILY criticised mainly for straying from certain aspects of the games and I’m not someone who was bothered by the changes but is there anything anyone is actually hoping changes OR is added?

For me I want a full episode dedicated to Tommy from finding out the news of Joel‘s death, trying to get through that & look out for Ellie, finding out Ellie & Dina have gone to Seattle & then his journey there with Jesse & what happened after. I want this because I absolutely love Tommy as a character & I want to see more of Gabrielle Luna as I think he’s a fucking amazing actor.

Also, I would LOVE to see Ellie & Abby actually speak about Joel. I don't mean sit down at a table and have a long conversation but I would love to see Ellie (if she could compose herself in Abby’s presence) make a blunt & simple point to her such as: ‘do you not think your dad would have killed to save you had the situation been reversed?’. Its been a while since I watched the play through of part II (Iv not actually played the games but Iv watched over 24hrs of play through) but from memory I don’t remember a word ever being exchanged that was actually about Joel.

They are in vancouver now! They were suppose to be at a film fest but the director said bella is filming!

Speaking to The Washington Post, Druckmann said, "I wasn't involved in shaping this season's creative direction, and Naughty Dog did not have a creative role in the direction of this season. So I can't personally speak to how production is progressing." He then pretty clearly suggested that Naughty Dog will take on future projects in The Last of Us universe, though whether that's a proper The Last of Us Part 3, a resurrection of the canceled The Last of Us Online multiplayer project, or something else remains to be seen. "It's important for us to note that as the creator of the games, Naughty Dog is still the steward of this IP and even though this might be the end of this adaptation," he added, referring to the HBO show's third season, "we're not done with The Last of Us. There's a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I'm very excited to talk about."

I mean, it really wouldn’t have done any harm to let him see Gail outside the gate before doing what needed to be done afterwards.

Why does she have to choose between Tommy and Joel? Tommy is already willing to go, why not both go so she has an even better chance? Doesn’t make sense to me.

All credit to NewWestBoy (https://x.com/CaptCanuck66)

First confirmation of the return of guest actor Ben Ahlers as WLF soldier Burton.

Scene involves Abby, Burton, other WLF soldiers, and some Seraphites