the last of us

Some stray thoughts on The Last of Us finale

(spoilers ahead, obviously)

I see a lot of people saying “It doesn’t really matter that the science behind killing Ellie to create a vaccine makes no sense, you’ve just got to accept that that’s how science works in this world.” But it does matter! Because anyone presented with the choice Joel was presented with – keeping your daughter alive or creating a vaccine that could save millions – you would ask about said vaccine! You would demand to know every bit of the science and whether the makers of this potential vaccine really, REALLY thought they could save even a small portion of humanity by ripping upon your daughter’s brain. And in this case, the Fireflies clearly don’t know every bit of the science they’re willing to sacrifice a child for. Jumping straight to “let’s cut her brain out” is MAD.

Ellie deserved a choice! Heck, Joel outright says this in episode 6, nice bit of foreshadowing there-

And I think Ellie would absolutely have chosen to die for a shot at saving the world. But it would’ve been for nothing. In Joel’s mind I’m sure he thinks he sacrificed the whole world for Ellie and he’d do so again, but from an outside perspective, the world was beyond saving. The only real way out was to rebuild.

Some of my favourite fanart of “Long Long Time”

It has been almost 2 weeks since The Last of Us “Long Long Time” aired and I AM STILL NOT OKAY. God, it absolutely shattered me (in a good way) so I’ve been liking every damn piece of Bill/Frank fanart that’s crossed any of my dashboards, my gosh it’s all so well done and I’m so glad that episode has become so beloved in the space of less than a month!

Here’s my favourites, get ready to cry or perhaps happy-cry:

Oh my gosh, this one makes me think of Animal Crossing, what an AU that would be:

This one absolutely ruined me:

I think this one might be my favourite of all the favourites. God, it’s beautiful:

shroom with a view

God, The Last Of Us puts fear in me like nothing else. The opening scene from the second episode of the show has been haunting me all day and caused me to google “science behind the last of us” “can mushrooms really do that shit” etc more than once.

Oh good, someone put it on YouTube. INCREDIBLE scene, amazing acting, absolutely terrifying in its realism. (Of course a scientist would act like that. Of course you would go home to be with your family.) Maybe living through a pandemic gives you a different perspective on these things. I’m gonna get a mushroom pizza because my thinking now is “might as well eat them before they eat you.”

the cast of us

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are playing Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us!

It’s kinda amusing to me that two of the most beloved characters from Game of Thrones have now ended up together on a (hopefully) better show. And I love how Pedro Pascal is now cornering the “gruff father figure who must escort a special child to somewhere” market.

Also in vaguely related news Gina Carano got fired from The Mandalorian after Disney finally had enough of her bullshit! Man Pascal is having A GOOD DAY today.

The Last of Us II

I have not EXPERIENCED Last of Us II, but I have SEEN it via my husband playing it, and that’s more than enough to form an opinion on it right? Right…? Honestly, I liked it. I did not like the gratuitous violence and the pointless deaths of sympathic characters but I appreciated the story it was trying to tell.

I also appreciate that it included LGBT characters (and they all live.) I gather people are trying to review-bomb the game based on that and that makes me so sad. This on the other hand makes me so happy:

I also love that it’s one of the most accessible games ever by all accounts. That’s something I have the privilege of never really thinking much about until now.

I think those two things alone justify its existence and hopefully a good place in videogame history.

The Last of Us Series, Based on Horror Video Game, In the Works at HBO — TVLine

Just when HBO finally cleaned out all those White Walkers, it’s about to be hit with a zombie infestation.

The Last of Us Series, Based on Horror Video Game, In the Works at HBO — TVLine

I’ve been going AAAAAH!! over this announcement for the past couple days. Honestly I actually want this more than I want Last of Us 2.

I don’t know who I want to play Joel, but I do know who I want to play Ellie:

Kaitlyn Dever of Unbelievable. I think she’d do an amazing job.

ellenripleys:

“In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie is now 19 and has found a semblance of peace and normality living in Jackson. She’s had a chance to be a teenager and forge lasting relationships. When that peace is disrupted by a violent act, Ellie is thrust into a brutal journey of retribution, fueled by a need to bring those that have wronged her to justice, pushing her to her very limits.”

— The Last of Us Part II Synopsis (x)