The Last of Us

I had an idea for TLOU 3.

My last idea for TLOU 2 was that the game ends with Ellie definitively killing Abby, taking Lev with her, and on the boat ride back Lev wakes up and asks what happened to Abby. Ellie then gets put into a position that mirrors Joel's at the end of the last game as they approach Ellie's house, Ellie realizing that she's all alone now with Tommy and Dina both leaving her in anger, and decides to lie to Lev about Abby's murder just to not be alone, trying back to Ellie admitting that her greatest fear is ending up alone.

TLOU 3, as I'm listening to a Youtuber describe how they think the story, whatever form it may take, will have to be "connected" to Ellie and Joel somehow, will have a new character. A character who is connected to Joel, one of those people who were on the opposite of Joel when he and Tommy did some raids. Years later the child or relative or survivor thereof meets Ellie and Lev...

...and has no idea who they are or about their connection to Joel. But we're seeing the other side of Joel's influence through their flashbacks.

We're spoonfed breadcrumbs about Joel and Tommy's earlier days because TLOU fans are thirsty for more Joel, and the connection to new character isn't clear until a little later. By the time we find out Ellie has already dropped several Clementine-esque hints about knowing a "guy named Joel who was basically her surrogate dad." Some massive zombie and bandit-filled adventure later, the new character finally puts together who Joel is and who Ellie is in relation to him. The game ends with them in an ambigious position of deciding whether or not to take their revenge on Ellie, since Joel is no longer with us. Though I think, for the sake of not retreading old beats, end on a more optimistic note. The first game ended on a hard lie to preserve a relationship. The hypothetical second game ended on a hard lie to preserve a relationship. The third game ends on the preservation of a relationship despite a hard truth, New Character being fully aware of Ellie's history even if the latter isn't. By this point so much time has passed and Ellie has saved New Character's life so many times the truth isn't as bitter.

Two cents.

Now, let me tell you about TLOU 4...

Edited by FOFD on Mar 16th 2021 at 10:04:39 AM

Is that the one where Ellie lives her dream and goes to space? Because that has to happen.

I admit, my third game would just be Ellie as a badass wandering gunslinger with a specially made pistol.

Saving the day, taking names.

And maybe actually also illustrating the world recovering as people adapt.

I know it’s late to post this, but whenever I still see a discourse happening over the sequel, I want to show them this video.

Edited by Technomancer02 on Mar 17th 2021 at 11:27:34 AM

"Doug Walker"

No thanks, bub.

(4)

...

Okay then let me tell you about TLOU 5 where Ellie slays the jabberwocky and becomes queen of Narnia.

Edited by FOFD on Mar 17th 2021 at 5:53:35 AM

Ghostbusters 2016 had some really harsh criticism both valid and invalid.

Sure. Stil don't like Doug Walker anymore.

It's ao explicitly against forum rules to drop links and videos without elaboration or summarization.

The whole thing with whether or not Joel did the right thing or not is not helped by the fact there are no vaccines for any kind of fungal infections in current day (Keeping in mind we a a few years ahead of when the Cordyceps infection began in real life, thus having access to a few more medical finds and discoveries than then.) When remembering the current medical tech we have now, the resources we have, and the training and we STILL don't have a vaccine for ANT fungal infection. So.........Kinda hard to disagree with Joel's actions at the end. Not to mention they REALLY should have taken blood samples and brain biopsies BEFORE attempting to carve Ellie open like a Christmas Goose. And any attempts by the writers to go "Oh no, they can in this setting." is kinda goofy given the setting is supposed to be realistic, as even Cordyceps is a real thing (Only all strains only affect a specific species of bug each.) and thus said claim only comes off as disingenuous. Either your setting is based on realism or it isn't. At least, that's all my opinion.

I never took the game as saying "killing Ellie would have resulted in a vaccine", only that the Fireflies believed the possibility of one was worth doing it.

I figured vaccine was shorthand for, "Figure out why Ellie's infection is benign and asymptomatic."

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Mar 17th 2021 at 10:40:20 AM

Sorry for not including a summary, but the reason I (reluctantly) shared Nostalgia Critic's ghostbuster video was that he tackled a theme of fandom discourse and hate that was extremely controversial. Sure, his criticisms were often harsh and often Accentuate the Negative, but you gotta give him props for showing the danger of fandom rivalry and Broken Base. This is obviously related to the current (I hope not) situation regarding the TLOU 2's divisiveness and the Fan Dumb it spawned.

Say what you want about Nostalgia Critic, but you have to give him points for making that video so relatable to this game.

The line I thought really struck with me was

"Yeah. You can do that. You can still believe in equal rights and think this movie sucks. You can still love the original and think this one is great. By God, you can have such a variety of different thoughts that you might actually be considered a UNIQUE HUMAN BEING!"

Edited by Technomancer02 on Mar 18th 2021 at 6:47:16 AM

They did take blood samples from Ellie. They even noted that the blood samples grew cordyceps when put in fungal-media. Its one reason people see the Fireflies as so utterly incompetent. They wanted to cut Ellie open instead of even attempting to just grow more of the cordyceps she's infected with from her blood and testing that on animals.

Edited by doineedaname on Mar 18th 2021 at 9:51:08 AM

It's almost as if a paramilitary group with a long list of war crimes and terrible deeds may not be the best at science.

I think we're supposed to that the Fireflies at face value for this, and assume that yes, they can actually make a vaccine.

Making the Fireflies incompetent completely ruins the narrative that Joel was being selfish, and considered his own desire to protect his new family as more important than both saving humanity and Ellie's own agency. It makes Joel actually the hero, when he isn't supposed to be.

Also, I really cannot buy any argument that the Fireflies methods of making a vaccine is impossible when the cordyceps as presented in the game is also impossible. I will accept fantastical solutions to fantastical problems.

I think Word of God is that it wouldn't have worked but that's not what Joel was thinking about or Ellie.

Does it? Joel doesn't know whether they're competent or not, so it's actually completely irrelevant to how that choice reflects on his morality.

I don't think Joel cared much as to what the odds of success was, that they would kill Ellie to attempt it was all that matter to him. That he would have done the exact same thing if there was a 0% chance of it working or a 100% chance that it's working is the key thing here.

Yes.

It matters to FANS but it doesn't matter to JOEL.

That's the thing. Yeah, Joel would have done the same regardless does paint him as gray..........the problem arises however, when everything points to their plan having no chance of working including REAL medical science, then it kinda makes that point irrelevant. With this information given to the audience, his choice being morally gray is kinda invalidated. If the context is Joel acting on emotion, or with the information in question given to him WITHOUT his emotions being present, and the choice by said character is the same for different reasons, what other way to paint Joel's choice is there? He made the right choice period, he just did it for the wrong reasons.

I'm going to have to second this

Another problem arises when the game wants to say the Fireflies had a chance with how FEDRA sacrificing the few to save the many has...not really achieved anything. And not only have they barely managed to keep things going but the game outright has Ellie call killing the few to save the many a shitty to do in relation to them.

But the Fireflies doing it is a good thing though.

Edited by doineedaname on Mar 19th 2021 at 8:57:15 AM

Also that

Joel had his daughter murdered in his arms as part of a “sacrifice the few for the many” attempt that ended up an absolute wash, so I do understand his... distaste for the idea...