The Last of Us Season 2 Review

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In the words of Céline Dion, I'm
alive.

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Tell them that, not me.
I'm alive.

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Oh, and I'm also Derek, and
that's Noah.

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And you're listening to a bite
of where we are talking about

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basically the conclusion of
Season 2 of The Last of Us.

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Yeah, we're finally back.
We took a little hiatus.

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Derek unfortunately had some
very scary health issues that

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came out of nowhere.
Almost died.

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Yeah, right before 40.
We celebrated his 40th this past

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weekend, so, you know, why not?
I made it, Yeah, that's the

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important part.
If you would like to know kind

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of the full story, our Patreon
members kind of know about it

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'cause we've been updating them
a little bit, but on our

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socials, so the bearded duo and
stuff like that, we've shared

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it.
Derek kind of laid it all out

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there.
The.

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TLDR version of it though is
that I have a stent in my heart,

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but if you want the whole story.
Go to our socials.

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Yeah.
But in that time, the rest of

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the season of The Last of Us
happened.

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And so we're here today to kind
of just do a general thought

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about the rest of the season.
We're not going episode by

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episode.
We're not breaking it down by

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that way.
We're just going to kind of

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throw our thoughts out there
about yeah.

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Kind of like a season 2 review,
if you will.

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Love when it rhymes.
We have two things that are

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doing that, Doctor Who and The
Last of Us.

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We're kind of doing both of
them.

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So we will be having a Doctor
Who season 2 or wrap up episode

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as well.
Yeah.

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Oh, and the life of Chuck.
Oh, we got to see that.

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I got to talk to Karen Gillan.
Bucket list item checked.

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So look out for that.
That will also be coming out in

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the next week.
So we're back.

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We're back.
Yes, spoilers.

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Lots of spoilers ahead.
Lots and lots of spoilers.

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So let us officially take a bite
of The Last of Us Season 2.

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So let's just jump right in.
Thoughts.

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Our final bite into The Last of
Us thoughts.

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So we we missed a few episodes,
right?

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And in those episodes there was
a big flashback episode and we

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got the conclusion of the season
that then we'll lead into day

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one and Abby's perspective,
right?

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We knew that this season was
gonna be split from Abby being

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in Season 3, and we have Ellie
in Season 2.

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And Dina, I would say I think
she's equally a part of this

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perspective.
I think it's not as good as the

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first season, and I don't mean
to kind of start in a negative,

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but that's just really what I
left this season feeling.

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The second game is bigger, it's
more complex, there's a lot of

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nuances, and for me, it really
hinged on the writing and

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structure, and it could make him
break it.

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And I feel like it's just like,
it didn't really get over that

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hump for me.
But saying that, performances,

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music, everything was there from
the first season, right?

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Yeah.
I think this season in a way

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felt kind of like BJ and AJ
before Joel and after Joel,

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right?
And so I think that was a big

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turning point for our characters
here.

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Obviously one of them isn't
alive anymore.

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We've covered that already, but.
You know, we can always talk

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about him.
Yeah, that's true.

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Whenever we can, we talk about
Pedro Pascal.

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But my and I, and I don't know
how that worked necessarily.

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And I know that's a part of the
game.

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And so one of the things that I
was wondering is as a person who

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played the game right, and I
agree, I didn't think that the

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season was as strong as the
first season.

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And I'm almost wondering, like
the the first season did a

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really great job of taking a
video game and creating and

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making it into a show.
Do you think that because that

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second game was so large and so
complex, it made it more

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difficult for them to do that
and therefore that's why this

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might have faltered a little
bit?

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No, I don't think the length of
the game was the issue.

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I think it was them not
committing to going and doing

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what the game did.
And by that I mean it seems like

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they were too scared to go full
into the darkness.

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I mean, I surprisingly, Part 2
is so much darker.

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You, you learn a lot about grief
and what that means and stuff,

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but it's so much darker than the
first one because you have Ellie

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setting out for revenge and you
have Abby doing the same thing.

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So obviously this whole thing's
about revenge, we said it many,

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many times.
Even the show said it too many

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times.
Like really guys, it's about

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revenge but also feel bad about
it.

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But what I what I mean by that
is like in a particular scene I

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think is the best way to
describe this is when Ellie

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finds Owen and Mel in the show,
Ellie accidentally kills Mel,

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inadvertently killing the child
that she has right and killing

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Owen because Owen was going to
shoot her.

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So it was more like a
self-defense thing.

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In the game a similar ish thing
happens but it's more with

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knives and guns, right?
And Ellie proactively slash,

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kind of defends herself, kills
Owen and also kills Mel.

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So it wasn't like it was an
accident.

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And the reason why I point this
out is because that's where I

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was really like, they are so
scared to show Ellie doing

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something with intent of sending
out to do her mission, right?

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We saw what she did to Nora,
which I think is, you know,

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brutal and stuff like that.
But then when we get to this

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other stuff, I'm like, why are
you so scared?

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And it's that's why I think like
that's a big part that was

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missing because I think we
needed to see Ellie develop in

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some type of way to go down the
spiral, which is the entire

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point of her arc.
And we didn't get.

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That so it really wasn't the
complexity of the game, it was

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more the the feel of the game
and the sort of depths that the

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game went to.
Well, right.

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And what took our character,
Ellie, where she went?

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And I feel like we didn't get
that almost the beginning of the

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season to the end of the season,
Ellie didn't change at all.

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There was no character
development.

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Oh I I don't want to say
development, but like as far as

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where her character should be
for this story, nothing really

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changed.
I have to say that that scene

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with Owen and Mel, I, I was
like, if she has to give this

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woman AC section and then has to
carry a, a newborn baby around

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with her.
I'm like, this show has

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officially jumped the shark.
So I was glad that that didn't

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happen.
But you know, it's interesting

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that you say like you, you feel
like they didn't go there

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because I mean, I, I understand
what you're saying, but what's

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what's something that's been
sticking with me so much is that

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there was so much violence in
this second season and a lot of

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like torturous violence even in
how Joel died and how Nora was

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killed.
I almost felt like by the end of

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the season, I was numb to it.
Even with the season ending with

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Jesse, who's like our every man,
who's our guy for the good

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getting shot in the head, in the
face.

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I was kind of like, whoa.
And I see the thing it's like in

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the game, I hate saying that.
I feel like I've said it a lot,

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but you know, you're you're
playing through the story and

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obviously it's a game, right?
You have to go through levels

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and you have to do things and
there has to be enemies.

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So there's infected and wolves,
whatever.

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So you're you're murdering a
bunch of people on the way.

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And so I think what was a weird
disconnect and I, I think from

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people that did play the game
and I have heard from people

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that didn't play the game and
watching this, is that like

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while it was violent in some of
those areas, a lot of the

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situations with violence, it's
like Ellie wasn't necessarily

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enacting them.
And she didn't really get out of

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those situations or overcome
them herself.

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It was always somebody helping
her, somebody saving her.

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And again, this is like the
biggest tick for me for this

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season was the writing of Ellie.
I don't think Bella Ramsey

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fantastic.
They are great actor and I don't

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think this is a fault to them.
I think it was the writing.

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They made Ellie completely
incompetent in this season,

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which I thought was a weird
choice.

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Like maybe make her that way
leading up to Joel's death and

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then or no, maybe in the first
episode because then we get the

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five years later.
So then after that she needs to

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grow a little bit.
And then even after Joel's

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death, but it didn't really
happen, and we have Dina here

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kind of being the smartest and
being like, no, you can't just

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walk into the wolf's territory.
We have to make a plan.

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You don't know how to
triangulate on a map.

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It was just so bizarre to me
where I'm like, we don't have to

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write her this way.
And meanwhile, like, if you

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think about it, we were in a way
told that Ellie is actually a

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really great scout, right?
She's so young, she's going out.

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They can sort of trust her with
some things.

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I mean, she's hot headed and
goes off the rails.

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But once her and Dina start
their journey to Seattle, it all

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completely falls apart.
Yeah, yeah, I think that three

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month jump was a big detriment
to the season as well, because

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nothing really changed with
Ellie.

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We got one screaming scene with
us to deal with this grief and

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we didn't really see it with the
other characters.

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I think that like there was
weird rushing in sections that

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shouldn't have had rushing, but
it would have benefit the season

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a little bit for us to sit with
that grief and for Ellie to

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change a little bit.
Because in prior to that, she's

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like joking.
And you know, the scene with

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Dina at the the Mart where she
meets the soccer for the first

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time, like they're like, you
know, they're joking, but she

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still does that even after
Joel's death.

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So it was almost like it would
have been more impactful if,

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like, Dina made a joke and Ellie
didn't really laugh because, I

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don't know, her character
changed in a certain way.

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That's just it.
It's a weird writing thing, but

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I just felt like it could have
used more.

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I it almost felt like, you know,
with Joel now being out of the

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picture, that was one of the
things that I was thinking so

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much is what is the Last of Us
without Joel?

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And instead of Ellie then having
to become her own adult, right,

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she kind of just became a
bumbling fool bent on revenge,

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right?
Making like really silly

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decisions.
And, and one of the things that

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you had mentioned before of how
Ellie kind of really didn't get

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herself out of situations
sometimes.

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And in that last episode, there
was a whole scene that I was

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just kind of wondering why it
needed to happen.

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And maybe you can shine some
light on this to me.

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So she is, she gets in a boat
and she's going to the aquarium,

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right?
Because that's where she

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believes Abby is the.
Whale and wheel.

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Yes, And then a wave comes, she
gets washed ashore.

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She's taken captive by the Sarah
fight, she's almost has her

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entrails taken out, and then
there's a big boom and then she

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escapes again.
She's back on the boat.

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And while it was scary to see
how evil that little girl was,

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did we necessarily need that
scene?

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It just felt like a really weird
bump in the road that was

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written in because maybe it
happened in the game.

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Yeah, well, there's, well, a lot
more to the Seraphights.

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And, you know, the game is split
between Abby and Ellie's

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perspective.
And when we get to Abby's

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perspective, I feel like there's
going to be a lot more

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Seraphight action.
But they needed to remind us

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it's a season finale.
Like, hey, the Seraphights are

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here.
Just like that weird interaction

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with Isaac and being like,
where's Abby?

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Are you in love with her?
It was such a weird thing of us.

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Like, oh, we have to get
reminded that these people still

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exist.
Yeah.

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I mean, I I don't think it
needed to happen.

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I just think it was raising
stakes, but that that was one of

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the biggest scenes were like in
my head.

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I'm like, she kind of got out of
it from another circumstance,

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00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,440
which I think is fine, but for
it to happen a lot.

225
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:43,680
And then also Ellie without Dina
in this, just as she wouldn't

226
00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:47,200
have survived as long, which is
again, fine, but we have to have

227
00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,120
our main character living
through all of this being an

228
00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:54,400
apocalypse baby.
She has to be like competent in

229
00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,680
some things.
Like she really wanted to go

230
00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:01,480
scouting and Joel taught her how
to do all of that, but then she

231
00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:02,840
wanted to just hurry up and do
it.

232
00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:04,400
So it's like, did you learn
anything?

233
00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,880
And that's not the character
they wrote her like that.

234
00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,640
But I think like what you're
talking about was that was like

235
00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,400
a structural thing, which kind
of that's like my second big

236
00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,200
thing with the season is just
structurally, I think it was a

237
00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:21,120
mess.
I I think having the flashback

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00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,000
episode, the price, while it's a
fantastic and beautiful episode,

239
00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:26,720
it shouldn't have been where it
was.

240
00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,440
We have what, 7 episodes this
season, which don't get me

241
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,120
started on the streaming, the
shortness of seasons.

242
00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:37,520
I think that should have been
the first episode of the season

243
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,040
then leading into everything and
then Joel passing away because

244
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,560
it was just such a weird place
to put it.

245
00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,800
I don't know how they wanted us
to feel about Ellie and Abby.

246
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,200
They kind of told us how we're
supposed to feel, but took out

247
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,400
all of us getting there
ourselves.

248
00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,720
It was, it was almost like they
thought that we were supposed to

249
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,600
be shocked that Ellie knew what
he did, right?

250
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,840
Because that's where it left off
with Nora, where she's like, I

251
00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,560
know.
And then it was like, oh,

252
00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:09,400
flashback episode.
We, we got told it too many

253
00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,560
times, you know, and the thing,
the reason why it works so well

254
00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:16,160
in the game is because you go
through everything.

255
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,040
You go through everything to
then realize that not only did

256
00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:25,120
Joel never know why Abby killed
him, but also you find out that

257
00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:31,200
Abby took away Joel from Ellie
being able to reconcile that

258
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,160
relationship and Joel took away
Ellie's ability to save the

259
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,320
human race.
So there's a lot of taking from

260
00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,040
Ellie, and that's why she goes
on this path.

261
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,520
So for them to kind of be like,
this is what you're supposed to

262
00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:43,640
feel about this.
You're supposed to sympathize

263
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,200
with Abby right away.
I feel like it's weird.

264
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,960
It's a weird, it was just a
weird thing to do.

265
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,960
Like structurally, like we
didn't need that beginning scene

266
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,520
with Abby.
We're getting a whole season of

267
00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,040
her.
So like, I don't know.

268
00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,760
But Caitlin Deaver, I'm I'm
still on the Abbey boat with

269
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,000
her.
I still think she's fantastic.

270
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,640
And you know, one of my qualms
about the season is that we

271
00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:05,920
actually didn't get enough
Caitlin Deaver.

272
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:10,080
I thought, right, we're we, we
follow Ellie and Dina into

273
00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,400
Seattle and they're witnessing
this war between the Seraphytes

274
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,240
and the and the wolves, which
really has absolutely nothing to

275
00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:18,960
do with them.
And I understand that they're

276
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,480
looking for Abby, and that's
part of the journey.

277
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,040
But they run into it.
But not to see Abby at all.

278
00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,440
You know, I felt like we could
have used time to have just a

279
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,760
little bit of Abby sprinkled in
there.

280
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,680
I.
Almost and I I agree but I also

281
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,360
disagree only in that I think we
got too much of Abby in the

282
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,720
beginning with us being like
they killed my father.

283
00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,600
Weird for us to know that right
away.

284
00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:50,440
Her monologuing for like 7-8
minutes before killing Joel too

285
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:52,160
much.
I think it would have been more

286
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:57,880
effective for literally her to
get Joel, kill him and then

287
00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,240
bounce and then the next thing
we see is what we saw at the end

288
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,360
of Seattle day one.
Then it's Abby's perspective.

289
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:06,720
That's it.
You know, I, I just think that

290
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,000
would have been more effective
of, like, not telling us how

291
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,440
we're supposed to feel about
this, not giving us the answers

292
00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,240
to things and just being like,
sitting with this emotion and

293
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,520
being like, well, I'm here with
Ellie, like, yeah, these people

294
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,080
are bad.
And then slowly finding out, oh,

295
00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,280
these people aren't bad.
Yeah, Joel did the bad decision.

296
00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:25,920
Yeah.
You know, I, I just think that

297
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,080
that would have been more
effective because then I think

298
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,680
it just makes us be like, I, I
guess I'm supposed to root for

299
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,120
both of them.
Totally.

300
00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,440
You know, totally.
And it even seems like at the

301
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:39,480
end of the season that Abby is
not necessarily where she

302
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,280
thought she would be or she's
not really surrounded by the

303
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,080
people she thought she was
surrounded by.

304
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,160
So it is weird that we are going
to kind of be with her at the

305
00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,440
beginning of next season.
There is a lot that happens.

306
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,280
So I, I am curious how they're
going to mesh it together.

307
00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,680
And I'm almost wondering if I
think there's a fourth season.

308
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,400
I think they had said maybe I
could be wrong, but like the

309
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,320
conclusion is going to be the
fourth season with both of them.

310
00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,560
So I'm I'm I am curious of like
how much of Ellie we're going to

311
00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,800
see because we're going back to
day one, which structurally I

312
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:14,400
think that's fine.
It works.

313
00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,440
But I guess yeah, we'll see.
Are we going to have so much

314
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,720
Abby in that one, which there's
a lot that happens.

315
00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,400
Well, I'm just.
Going to say maybe shame on me,

316
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,560
but like, I could probably use a
little less.

317
00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:29,040
Ellie could probably use.
I mean, I love Dina, but she

318
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,040
kind of got sidelined in the
last couple episodes.

319
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,000
She was just in the theater.
I mean, granted, she got an

320
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,440
arrow through the leg and then
she found out that Ellie was a

321
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,680
complete liar, but it was kind
of like, oh, Dina, who we love

322
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,600
so much, kind of just turned
into a helpless person.

323
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,360
Yeah, I mean, I think they they
need, they had to do that.

324
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,440
And I put that in quotes because
the ending was really like, how

325
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,440
are we going to get Ellie to the
point where she needs to get

326
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,160
before we pick up on Abby, which
is unfortunate.

327
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,480
And then they really made us
love Jesse, like, right at the

328
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,640
end just to kill him, which I
think is like The Walking Dead

329
00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,520
syndrome.
I that's I they think there's a

330
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,720
better example.
But like in Walking Dead, you

331
00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:11,319
always knew when somebody was
going to die.

332
00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,079
When it's like, oh, we're
getting a lot of this person out

333
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,040
of nowhere.
Yeah.

334
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,680
And there's like, they're like
on stage and they're like, you

335
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,400
know what?
We have come to a common

336
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,200
understanding of each other.
I guess we're just a yin and a

337
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,880
Yang situation.
Shake on it, you know.

338
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:30,080
Well, and that I think it was a
weird place to leave Ellie or a

339
00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,800
bringer to because she right in
that the the auditorium with

340
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,320
Jessie, she was going to leave
because of what she did to Mel

341
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,560
and Owen, which I'm not saying
she shouldn't feel a certain way

342
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:42,600
about that.
She should.

343
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,480
But I don't know.
It's just such a awkward.

344
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:53,360
We're not the the scene in town
hall when all of these strangers

345
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:58,520
are literally telling us what
the theme of the story is and

346
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,640
then constantly making us not
want to be on that ride, but

347
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,600
then dragging us along with it.
I think it's so weird.

348
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,720
And I think for Ellie to come to
that conclusion at the stage

349
00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,480
with Jesse, it's like, what did
you think this?

350
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,720
Like, no, you're supposed to
like, you're not supposed to

351
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,160
lose sight of this vision here.
Like, yeah, there should be some

352
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,360
internal conflict, but like, I
don't think you've done enough

353
00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:22,960
yet.
Yeah.

354
00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,480
What are you actually doing in
this?

355
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,120
Totally.
You know, I'm, I'm, I don't mean

356
00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:30,600
to be like so negative.
I think I cuz I just so I'm so

357
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,000
passionate and I love this story
so much that I just wanted it to

358
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,720
be the the like the first season
again and maybe the story was a

359
00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,880
little too ambitious.
And it's, and that's what I was

360
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,080
just going to say, that I felt
like things just got too big.

361
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,360
Like, I almost wonder, like in
looking at the grand scheme of

362
00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:51,720
this season for our main
character, did we necessarily

363
00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,880
need WLF and the Seraphytes?
They were like these weird side

364
00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,720
stories and these people
torturing each other, popping up

365
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,480
left and right.
And I understand it shows the

366
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,440
brutality of the world that
they're living in, but how did

367
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,360
it actually affect Ellie?
Well, right.

368
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:10,000
And I think it was just more to
show like, there's other things

369
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,240
happening, right?
But I, I, I, I, I like that

370
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,760
thought.
Because what if we didn't really

371
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,000
see anything and we're just
literally in Ellie's

372
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,960
perspective, we don't see
anything else that she kind of

373
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:23,680
stumbles upon this stuff or
whatever.

374
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,120
And then we get all of that
stuff with Abby because that's

375
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:30,680
really Abby's story.
A lot of that does that, and

376
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,640
Ellie kind of just converges
into that.

377
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,040
So I think with that mindset, it
might have been more effective

378
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:41,160
if we didn't really get as much
as we did, or just bits and

379
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:42,960
pieces, right.
Because if you think about it,

380
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,240
we have this horrible torture
scene with Isaac.

381
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,920
We see kind of how ruthless
Isaac has become.

382
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,920
But yet in this season, Isaac
and Ellie have absolutely no

383
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,000
interaction.
You know who else who he doesn't

384
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,920
have interaction with Abby.
So it's like our two sort of

385
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:02,200
main characters in this season
and and as a structure.

386
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,280
I mean, I'm I'm I'm thinking
that it'll come to a head maybe

387
00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,200
next season, right.
But to introduce it all so early

388
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:12,920
for it to not mean anything to
Ellie's storyline in in this

389
00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,720
season felt like.
We're just throwing it in there

390
00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,080
because we need.
To I I think what this season

391
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,840
did, one of its really big
downfalls is it it told us a lot

392
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,440
and didn't show us.
I think I had said this a little

393
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,320
bit in some of the episodes when
we're doing episode episode, but

394
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,080
it's like it kind of oddly feels
hand holdy like.

395
00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,800
And that goes back to like just
my main point of like, you guys

396
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:38,880
were scared.
If you're going to do a story

397
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,360
like this, you have to lean into
it.

398
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:42,960
Noah said.
Make us think.

399
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,720
Make us think.
But also, like, don't give us

400
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:47,400
all the answers.
If we're supposed to have a

401
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,160
whole nother season with Abby,
let me figure that out.

402
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:52,680
Like, let me have those
decisions.

403
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,120
And I think what was really cool
about the first season is that

404
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,320
that was a complete story.
That was a complete arc, right?

405
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,240
Of course, it left off with
like, Ellie thinks that Joel's

406
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,680
lying.
He did lie, but it left it at

407
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,880
that, right?
And this one we're just left

408
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,000
with kind of, OK, so like, what
now?

409
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,480
Like, why?
Why are we here now?

410
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,520
Like, why, Why do I care about
Abby?

411
00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,640
And why do I care about this?
And, and back to your earlier

412
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,240
point, and especially speaking
about Abby, first of all, who I,

413
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,960
I, I would love to know who the
first one to ever write a

414
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,800
villain monologuing all of their
complete intent and plans going

415
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:29,960
forward, because that trend has
been trending hard.

416
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:35,320
But if, if she hadn't have done
that right, we we would have

417
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,640
been left wondering, who is this
person that killed Joel?

418
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,480
But then I think by the end of
the season, with us finding out

419
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,800
that Ellie knew what happened,
we might have been able, like

420
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,360
you said, to piece that together
for ourselves.

421
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,160
Or at least have questions,
right, right.

422
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,480
For them to be like, Joel killed
her dad.

423
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,800
It's like, oh, well, shit, that
sucks.

424
00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,640
Like, OK, yeah, I feel bad about
her.

425
00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:03,280
But the whole, I mean, what made
the story so great originally is

426
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,720
that you hate this person and
then you're starting to find out

427
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,440
like, oh, there literally is
another side to the story.

428
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,160
Oh, Ellie did kind of know
something like, so who's in the

429
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,160
wrong here?
I I like that kind of

430
00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,760
storytelling.
I like the ones where it's not

431
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,680
clear.
I don't I don't like being told

432
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,360
how to think about something,
especially when it comes to

433
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,240
movies in long formats of
storytelling.

434
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,560
But I think with the streaming
services of being like, you

435
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,000
know, you have to tell a story
in this certain amount of time,

436
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,360
it should be the opposite.
It should be let me tell the

437
00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:37,600
story in this amount of time,
not you have this much budget in

438
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,280
this many episodes.
So try to do something right.

439
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,960
I think it's just a complete
backwards now way of doing

440
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,720
television.
Yeah, and some things are kind

441
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,400
of out of the creator's hands
when it comes to studios and

442
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,440
things like that.
And so who knows what Max or

443
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,480
HBO, whatever the hell they're
calling themselves now.

444
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:58,520
I will say on a positive note, I
am glad that Jesse did update us

445
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,200
on Shimmer and that they're
fine.

446
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,400
They're just still hanging out
in the music store.

447
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,400
So I'm very glad about that.
Yes, me too.

448
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,280
So I guess final thoughts, if I
had to give it a rating out of

449
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:16,240
533, I I think 3 out of five.
God, that seems high.

450
00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,880
I'll give it 2.75 spores.
OK.

451
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:27,040
But high point, I loved all of
the evolution of the infected.

452
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,440
Oh yeah.
That shit was awesome.

453
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,440
Well and see like this show, it
still felt like the first show.

454
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,480
It did feel bigger, right, but
like it still felt like it.

455
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,040
It looked beautiful.
We got the amazing music, acting

456
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,000
is phenomenal.
It's just I I hope they learn

457
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,160
right and not learn, but maybe
just like maybe that didn't

458
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,520
really work.
So how can we make sure that we

459
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,400
tell the story and still come
out on the other side of like,

460
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,840
what are you trying to tell us?
They.

461
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,960
Definitely have an opportunity
here to take this season, which

462
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,440
we didn't love, maybe others
did, and make it a bridge from

463
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,840
one really stellar season to
another, yeah.

464
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,000
I mean, yeah, let us know.
Did you feel the same way?

465
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,160
Did you like it more?
Did you not like it as much?

466
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,120
Are we being too harsh on our
young heroes and lovers?

467
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,080
Perhaps.
I mean I I enjoyed myself but I

468
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,160
had bigger hopes.
I know it can be better.

469
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,280
Yeah, I would say I was.
I was more entertained by the

470
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,320
first half of the season than I
was by the second-half of the

471
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,360
season.
And put that that freaking the

472
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,800
price in the beginning.
Put it in the beginning.

473
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:34,040
Noah's going to release his cut
of this season.

474
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,960
It's just like that, like the
flashbacks, like we're supposed

475
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,480
to be happy for them to like,
progressively get Mike Moore

476
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:40,640
sad.
It was just like a weird

477
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,000
headspace to be in.
Anyway, Sorry.

478
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:44,560
Yeah.
Let's know what you thought and

479
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,840
then look out for episode on the
Season 2 of Doctor Who.

480
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:49,080
We have lots of thoughts on that
one.

481
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,600
And then the life of Chuck.
I will say, if you're debating

482
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,480
on seeing the life of Chuck, go
see it.

483
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,760
Go see it.
It's not horror.

484
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,440
So don't think because it's a
Mike Flanagan and Stephen King

485
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:01,600
work.
It's horror.

486
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,120
It's not.
So go watch it and then lookout

487
00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,120
for our review.
Thank you for being so patient.

488
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:08,040
Goodbye.