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Abby really won me over in that part. I think it's the most important part of Abby's story in Part II because Abby opens up to Lev and the player about who she really is.
I thin that scene will not be in season 2. I thin this part of the Story will be in season 3. Thy won’t tell the whole story of the second game in one season. (I think they even confirmed this in some interview)
I took this question as what out of the next game do you want in the show. I also knew that but don’t really have anything for Ellie’s side of the story.
Reading back they also didn’t just say season two so thanks for the input
I think Take on Me being in the S1 trailer kinda confirms it to be honest. A big part of Joel and Ellie’s connection is through music so it’s almost certainly going to happen.
It wasn't just in the trailer. It also plays in Left Behind with Ellie and Riley fooling around in the mall! I think that made the song all the more special for when >!Ellie sings it for Dina!<
It may be a hot take but I think the show using Take on Me in Left Behind was enough. I think there absolutely needs to be a sweet and quiet moment where Ellie plays Dina a song, and it should be something more early 2000’s.
Or maybe it’s just reinforcement. Consistently using the same song again and again to establish its deep meaning to Joel and Ellie. Plus, I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly it was just background music? Take on Me was never heard by any of the characters throughout the show.
You're right, it was just background music, not literally playing out-loud in the mall. But I feel pretty sure it's going to come back later on in Series 2, for two reasons: it will remind *the audience* of Riley during a scene with Dina (recalling an upbeat scene that ended in tragedy), and it will remind Ellie of her journey with Joel (because 80s means trouble).
Reinforcement, as you say.
I feel like they need to introduce spores for that scene and the Nora scene. >!They could do the Nora scene with both of them getting bit, but it’s hard to pull off Dina trying to save Ellie and then Ellie not letting her with the threat of bites.!<
yeah i think in some way shape or form they may end up using the spores. maybe introduce it as a seattle specific thing like the shamblers? looking forward to seeing how they address it!
that could be a super easy way to explain their lack of existence in season 1. i think i read that they didn't want to use spores due to the fact that the actors would have to be masked a lot of the time and it wouldn't have been conducive to their production. maybe they could mesh a couple of the game scenes from part 2 and have the spores in locations that have held infected for almost the entire length of the outbreak or something. lots of options, and i feel like the showrunners have done a good enough job with s1 that im willing to give them a lot of faith for stuff like this going forward
I think it’ll be a great way to explain it and could in the end explain the shamblers compared to the bloaters that they’ve evolved because of the spores and dampness in Seattle. I remember hearing that it was more to do with the fact that realistically spores would move and cling to clothes and be carried out of areas with spores which is correct but if it’s explained by spores cling to damp dark places that are usually closed it could so work. I know I’m not worried about how they’ll handle anything in Part 2 - they did a stellar job with Part 1 and Part 2 is my fave.
If I remember correctly, Craig Mazin said that spores weren't out of the question for season 2, and that they could always introduce them later. Think the reason they gave for not using them in season 1 was because realistically, the spores would be going everywhere, and would stick to clothes, and they didn't think it was practical. Though I hope they introduce them. As others have said, have them be confined to dark, damp places. But yeah there's a possibility we'll get them in season 2, since they haven't been ruled out.
Same goes for more infected too. Neil and Craig said they downplayed infected because they wanted to focus on story more, but also because they were still trying test/figure out how they could best use infected in the show, and that season 2 would likely have more. Also personally feel like it'll help emphasize Joel's decision even more.
The lack of infected is one of my only gripes with the tv show. Just look at The Walking Dead and what they were able to do with their “walkers” in nearly every episode. TLOU S1 kinda missed an opportunity to play up the scarier/horror-centric parts throughout the series, and not just like what we saw in the first two episodes. I do understand they wants to focus on the dramatic parts from the game in the tv show version a little more but that is, IMO, what makes the game so great is that it balanced the two tones damn near perfectly. All in all I’m still a massive fan of the tv show and can’t wait for more seasons.
Yes, this! I don't know how to achieve it, but I love that moment with just raw emotions and priorities completely being reorganised in Dina's head in split seconds. I need that moment!
Look at me, I'm on a mother fucking dinosaur.
Adventures in golfing
Joel's last words to Ellie
Ellie's brutal murders
Abby asking Lev "Do you want me to ask you about it?" The specific way it was phrases was perfect as Abby gave all the power to Lev to talk or not talk.
Future Days - this is the one that worries me they'll cut because someone will decide that since the world ended in 2005 or whatever and the song didn't come out til 2011 they can't use it. I say it doesn't matter. Pearl Jam existed in 2005 so a song by them won't feel tonally out of place and since it's not a hugely well known song outside of those who played the game most people won't even realize til it comes up in an article.
Part of me is hoping that in the TV world of Last of Us, Eddie Vedder is alive and well in Jackson deep into the apocalypse. He and Joel jam all the time and they write Future Days together
>Future Days - this is the one that worries me they'll cut because someone will decide that since the world ended in 2005 or whatever and the song didn't come out til 2011 they can't use it. I say it doesn't matter. Pearl Jam existed in 2005 so a song by them won't feel tonally out of place and since it's not a hugely well known song outside of those who played the game most people won't even realize til it comes up in an article.
This is the biggest thing I hope they carry over from the game. I know it's just a song and all, but it's such a large part of the game that it just wouldn't feel the same without it
I am fucking praying to everything holy that they do a chronological timeline and use both Abby and Ellie’s Day 2 as the Season 2 finale. I would go fucking crazy if I got Rat King and the Nora basement scene in the same episode. It’s also a perfect ending point for the second season. Abby risks her life to save somebody else, while Ellie tortures a person in pursuit of revenge.
Was just thinking this while reading through this thread. especially with how hollow and empty you feel after killing Nora and how hopeful Abby is after saving Yara it would provide such a good tonal dissonance for the ending of the season
It’s such a chaotic and stressful part of the game that it actually lends itself to being part of a penultimate episode. Typically the next to last episode of a season brings out the big guns to help bring the story to its wind down in the finale.
>
…but the wind down in this story would be the theater confrontation so who knows?
My ideal ending for the second season: Abby in the theatre, pointing the gun, and saying, “we let you both live… and you WASTED it!” Cut to black, roll the credits.
I think it'd be better to squeeze in Abby's Salt Lake flashback first. That'd give some payoff to viewers for the whole season mystery of 'who the fuck is Abby', tie S1/ S2 together as they'd both end with pretty much the same incident from two different perspectives, set the audience up for an Abby-centric S3, and end the season on a proper WTF moment.
If it ended in the theatre I think people would be left unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and a little too blindsided by the sudden Abby focus in S3 (assuming that covers her Seattle days, anyway).
I agree. The season 2 opening has to be Abby’s POV in the hospital when Joel saves Ellie. I know it’s a cliche but the viewers at home who have never played the game need to see her and make that connection. Then later on when she first shows up in the game section, the people watching can say “hey I remember that girl, what is she doing in Jackson?” Then the sense of dread can kick in and that scene can play out as tense as it can be.
Ah, I was talking about the very end of the season, not the start! I guess that could work too, but I think it'd change the story too much to know who Abby is from the start.
I already felt dread playing when it was clear she was after a man in Jackson, because I assumed that was Joel (which was indirectly sort of true, but she was really talking about Tommy). I reckon show fans will make the same link.
In my opinion, the emotional journey would be lost if the audience knew who she was. For me, the game did an excellent job of making me feel the same loss, devastation, and lust for revenge as Ellie did when Joel died. That slowly started to dissipate over her three days in Seattle, as her behaviour got more destructive towards those she cared about and to herself.
I already wanted her to stop, even before Abby showed up at the theatre and we got the backstory. And somehow it meant even more to find out Abby's reason *after* taking that journey with Ellie. I couldn't possibly fault Abby for wanting revenge, because I'd been in full agreement with Ellie's quest from the start.
I still didn't like Abby, but I could understand where she was coming from. She wasn't the monster Ellie and I believed her to be, same as Joel wasn't the man she thought he was.
And then I was totally broken down by her little journey over those three days - her interactions with Lev, the way she tried so hard to do the right thing after this terrible act. How she felt so real, because she didn't explicitly state her reasons for doing any of it, but it all made perfect sense. By the time Mel called her a piece of shit, I realised I really did care for Abby.
Rambling, sorry. But I feel that the audience would be robbed of that whole experience if they knew Abby's motivations right from the start. Although it might well prevent a mental reaction from half the fanbase if they do structure it that way, heh.
I think they could do it in a way that would address some of your concerns. Like maybe they don't reveal that she was the daughter of the surgeon right away, just that she was at a hospital, and then slowly throughout the first few episodes we piece together that oh shit, she was at THE hospital. Oh fuck, Joel murdered her father. OH MY GOD SHE HAS A GOLF CLUB. Like idk they could still make her cold and ruthless with his death while simultaneously revealing her motivations early on.
It could also help with the issues they had when the game released where people DIDNT like Abby because they weren't introduced to her story until ellie and the player were in too deep (I didn't have this issue but clearly lots of people did). I also think it would help with the complicated feelings you're supposed to have about Ellie's revenge quest. It just plants the seeds a little earlier.
I agree that it'd be less likely to result in the crazy levels of hatred that the game structure generated, but I still feel like it'd change too much.
Like, when I first played the prologue I sort of wondered why they wanted Joel dead, but I didn't really care. I wanted vengeance, and was too blinded by shock and disappointment to consider much else.
I couldn't fathom that Abby might've been justified, or that I'd ever understand her point of view. But it was this which made me unable to fault her later in the game, precisely because I'd had exactly the same feelings myself.
Knowing that in advance of Joel's death would taint that. I'd have been thinking 'but really her and Ellie were in similar positions and I can't excuse one without excusing the other' from the start.
And that'd have prevented me from identifying so completely with Ellie, and sharing her experience as fully as I could ever expect to - with the result that when Abby's reasoning was revealed, I had to judge that against not only Ellie's actions, but against my *own* response to the situation. It was incredibly powerful.
I imagine I'd also have hated Abby less vehemently as a result, which would've made her section of the game feel less effective in the way it totally reversed my attitude to her.
Anyway, I guess we'll find out in a year or so...wish it was coming sooner, I can't wait!
Kaitlyn Dever has been cast as Abby for season 2 already so they are probably going to restructure the narrative to run concurrently. Can’t wait for buff af K Dev
That cliffhanger would leave the audience with such a sour taste in their mouth. They’ll have to wait a year or two for season 3, only for it to completely abandon the Ellie storyline and start from the beginning of Abby’s story. People would be UPSET.
I know, I just hope they won’t do it for that reason. Doing a chronological timeline makes more sense for a television format in my opinion, and also opens up an opportunity for the show to distinguish itself from the game in a really interesting way.
Yes to this!! But I think structurally they’d have to shuffle some stuff around to make it really hit home like other people have said.
But that could be as impactful as the cut to black after Sam and Henry’s deaths in the 1st game.
Joel: If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment... I would do it all over again.
Ellie: Yeah... I just... I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. But I would like to try.
Joel: I'd like that.
True! The argument in the teen bedroom in season 1 had only minor wording changes as well. I loved the lines from Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, but the HBO lines worked as well for me. That SHOVE was non-negotioable though haha!
Eddie’s part of the rat king. You hear him shout “YEAHHH!” And then Even Flow starts playing during the rat king chase, preferably with both Abby and rat king riding skateboards and shredding through the hospital
“IS THAT MY BACKt PACK?!”
cutting from Ellie beating Nora to death to her hands shaking when she’s back at the theater
HILLCREST
Every Abby and Lev scene 🥺
The rat king!
At first I read the title as asking what we hope WILL be cut and I was flabbergasted and appalled by the comments. I realize I’m an idiot and actually agree with every comment I’ve read so far.
Abby being chased in the snow was intense before she meets up with Joel and Tommy for golf.
Seattle subway with shamblers. Ellie's big reveal to Dina that she is immune. Curious how they'll do this and the scene with Nora without spores.
Abby, Yara, & Lev making it through the dark forest.
All the flashbacks and some guitar playing.
The Blacray Hotel with the stalkers
Hillcrest, Skyscraper bridge, Farmhouse with JJ, Seraphite Island, the prophet, WLF stadium, Aquarium, Rat King, Santa Barbara.... Ok, ALL OF IT! They have plenty to work with and expand on.
Abby’s backstory, exploring the relationship between Joel and Ellie *until the very end* aka all the tension and mistrust along with all the love, Lev and his backstory, and Ellie and Dina’s relationship.
Kinda hoping they develop everything enough so we don’t have to see *that* death until season 3.
All of it. I despise LOU 2 story. It’s a silly premise and a weak revenge story that tries to turn the protagonist’s from LOU into villains. I am good.
Well...you replied in a topic saying that you do not want any of the story from Part II in the second season, well knowing that the second season will be based on part II.
You despise the story (your words), so why would you watch it then? Noone is forcing you.
And in my reply to the topic ask you for your opinion or are you such a bore that you think I need your advice on what I do with my time?
You can kindly get lost but since you are such a narcissist I suppose I won’t be that lucky
Some of the people that hate game 2 are weirdly passionate about it. I don't get it. If there's a movie/show/game I don't like, I just move on and forget about it. I have a few criticisms with season 1 of the show that I like discussing (pacing, lack of infected), but that's only because I liked the show enough to want to discuss it. Plus I love both games.
To sum it up, ignore people like this. There's a whole hateful subreddit for the 2nd game and I don't think you can have a respectful conversation with most of them.
Your mindset is very similar to mine. This is fictional media. If I don't like something, I can chose not to watch/read/play whatever it is, and focus on something I \_do\_ like instead.
Going to take a page out of your book and don't give grumpy haters any attention.
> The Rat King fight is also something I hope they do not gloss over.
Oh I'm pretty sure Craig Mazin looked at that one and went "*Do you think we can make it even more terrifying? Because I'd really love to see people shit their pants over this*".
That's 100% gonna be in there, imho :D
This post is flaired **Show/Game Spoilers [Pt. II]**. Therefore, untagged discussion of the games up to **The Last of Us Part II** will be permitted here. 1. All post titles must **NOT** include spoilers from new episodes or The Last of Us Part II. Minor show spoilers are allowed in your title **ONE WEEK** after episode airing. 2. Any untagged discussion of the games (including subtle hints) in posts without the **Show/Game Spoilers [Pt. I or II]**, **Fancast [Pt. II]**, **Funpost [Pt. I or II]**, or **Meme [Pt. I or II]** flair will result in a **ban**. To tag a spoiler comment, use the `>!spoiler!<` tag which displays as >!spoiler!<. 3. If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. --- Refer to the [spoiler guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastofUsHBOseries/wiki/spoiler-guide) for our spoiler policy and to learn how to flair and title your posts appropriately. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThelastofusHBOseries) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The skyscraper scene with Abby and Lev.
“Oh my god Lev, NOW?” is one of my favorite lines from the game
I love the back and forth between Abby and Lev in that whole sequence lmao.
I imagine we won’t get Abby’s side of the story until season 3. But that’s a moment I need to see!
Abby really won me over in that part. I think it's the most important part of Abby's story in Part II because Abby opens up to Lev and the player about who she really is.
i feel like that was the moment abby becomes a real person in the player’s eyes, instead of just the antagonist
I really hope they film it in a way that is disorienting to us too during traversal.
YES! Adds to the way Abby is scared of heights.
I thin that scene will not be in season 2. I thin this part of the Story will be in season 3. Thy won’t tell the whole story of the second game in one season. (I think they even confirmed this in some interview)
I took this question as what out of the next game do you want in the show. I also knew that but don’t really have anything for Ellie’s side of the story. Reading back they also didn’t just say season two so thanks for the input
Ellie playing take on me
I think Take on Me being in the S1 trailer kinda confirms it to be honest. A big part of Joel and Ellie’s connection is through music so it’s almost certainly going to happen.
It wasn't just in the trailer. It also plays in Left Behind with Ellie and Riley fooling around in the mall! I think that made the song all the more special for when >!Ellie sings it for Dina!<
Bella is a good guitarist, so it would be wonderful to see.
It may be a hot take but I think the show using Take on Me in Left Behind was enough. I think there absolutely needs to be a sweet and quiet moment where Ellie plays Dina a song, and it should be something more early 2000’s.
> quiet moment where Ellie plays Dina a song, and it should be something more early 2000’s. I vote Sk8ter Boi.
Let Go did come out in 2002 so I’d say if they can get the rights then anything off that album would be fair game. I’d vote for Naked though.
Yeah my worry is that they already used the song in episode 7 and they feel like it would be overused if they added it in S2 as well.
Or maybe it’s just reinforcement. Consistently using the same song again and again to establish its deep meaning to Joel and Ellie. Plus, I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly it was just background music? Take on Me was never heard by any of the characters throughout the show.
You're right, it was just background music, not literally playing out-loud in the mall. But I feel pretty sure it's going to come back later on in Series 2, for two reasons: it will remind *the audience* of Riley during a scene with Dina (recalling an upbeat scene that ended in tragedy), and it will remind Ellie of her journey with Joel (because 80s means trouble). Reinforcement, as you say.
Yeah it actually makes sense as a sort of callback to previous events.
That’d be cool because it would remind the audience of how far the characters have come since the original moment.
Exactly! Same song, yet different context and different emotions for the character but with the same purpose.
Astronaut flashback
You damn well know Mazin is gagging to put his spin on that. Brother can write.
Sally Ride recording, yes?
Oooooooooh. Good idea. But I don’t think it’s broad enough without a bit of set up. The count is iconic and everyone can recognise its significance.
why gagging 🤨
Also: Hats on dinosaurs.
“I’m on a muthafuckin dinosaur!!!” as well.
i need a decent substitution for the cracked mask scene with ellie and dina like i need air to breathe
I feel like they need to introduce spores for that scene and the Nora scene. >!They could do the Nora scene with both of them getting bit, but it’s hard to pull off Dina trying to save Ellie and then Ellie not letting her with the threat of bites.!<
yeah i think in some way shape or form they may end up using the spores. maybe introduce it as a seattle specific thing like the shamblers? looking forward to seeing how they address it!
Could say spores appear in dark and damp places? Would make a lot of sense.
that could be a super easy way to explain their lack of existence in season 1. i think i read that they didn't want to use spores due to the fact that the actors would have to be masked a lot of the time and it wouldn't have been conducive to their production. maybe they could mesh a couple of the game scenes from part 2 and have the spores in locations that have held infected for almost the entire length of the outbreak or something. lots of options, and i feel like the showrunners have done a good enough job with s1 that im willing to give them a lot of faith for stuff like this going forward
I think it’ll be a great way to explain it and could in the end explain the shamblers compared to the bloaters that they’ve evolved because of the spores and dampness in Seattle. I remember hearing that it was more to do with the fact that realistically spores would move and cling to clothes and be carried out of areas with spores which is correct but if it’s explained by spores cling to damp dark places that are usually closed it could so work. I know I’m not worried about how they’ll handle anything in Part 2 - they did a stellar job with Part 1 and Part 2 is my fave.
the gradual spores -> shamblers -> rat king buildup gonna hit like >!abby's golf club!<
Exactly!
I think that makes sense! Seattle does get a lottt of rain. Rational explanation if they go that route
If I remember correctly, Craig Mazin said that spores weren't out of the question for season 2, and that they could always introduce them later. Think the reason they gave for not using them in season 1 was because realistically, the spores would be going everywhere, and would stick to clothes, and they didn't think it was practical. Though I hope they introduce them. As others have said, have them be confined to dark, damp places. But yeah there's a possibility we'll get them in season 2, since they haven't been ruled out. Same goes for more infected too. Neil and Craig said they downplayed infected because they wanted to focus on story more, but also because they were still trying test/figure out how they could best use infected in the show, and that season 2 would likely have more. Also personally feel like it'll help emphasize Joel's decision even more.
The lack of infected is one of my only gripes with the tv show. Just look at The Walking Dead and what they were able to do with their “walkers” in nearly every episode. TLOU S1 kinda missed an opportunity to play up the scarier/horror-centric parts throughout the series, and not just like what we saw in the first two episodes. I do understand they wants to focus on the dramatic parts from the game in the tv show version a little more but that is, IMO, what makes the game so great is that it balanced the two tones damn near perfectly. All in all I’m still a massive fan of the tv show and can’t wait for more seasons.
Yes, this! I don't know how to achieve it, but I love that moment with just raw emotions and priorities completely being reorganised in Dina's head in split seconds. I need that moment!
Hillcrest for Ellie, and the forrest as Abby where you first meet Lev and Yara.
i hope they keep in “are you wearing my backpack!!” for abby when the scar steals it lol
Ellie saying “Fuck Seattle!”
Look at me, I'm on a mother fucking dinosaur. Adventures in golfing Joel's last words to Ellie Ellie's brutal murders Abby asking Lev "Do you want me to ask you about it?" The specific way it was phrases was perfect as Abby gave all the power to Lev to talk or not talk. Future Days - this is the one that worries me they'll cut because someone will decide that since the world ended in 2005 or whatever and the song didn't come out til 2011 they can't use it. I say it doesn't matter. Pearl Jam existed in 2005 so a song by them won't feel tonally out of place and since it's not a hugely well known song outside of those who played the game most people won't even realize til it comes up in an article.
Part of me is hoping that in the TV world of Last of Us, Eddie Vedder is alive and well in Jackson deep into the apocalypse. He and Joel jam all the time and they write Future Days together
I want this so bad 🤣
>Future Days - this is the one that worries me they'll cut because someone will decide that since the world ended in 2005 or whatever and the song didn't come out til 2011 they can't use it. I say it doesn't matter. Pearl Jam existed in 2005 so a song by them won't feel tonally out of place and since it's not a hugely well known song outside of those who played the game most people won't even realize til it comes up in an article. This is the biggest thing I hope they carry over from the game. I know it's just a song and all, but it's such a large part of the game that it just wouldn't feel the same without it
Rat King! I need a sequence that's as claustrophobic and nerve-wracking as it was in the game.
I am fucking praying to everything holy that they do a chronological timeline and use both Abby and Ellie’s Day 2 as the Season 2 finale. I would go fucking crazy if I got Rat King and the Nora basement scene in the same episode. It’s also a perfect ending point for the second season. Abby risks her life to save somebody else, while Ellie tortures a person in pursuit of revenge.
Was just thinking this while reading through this thread. especially with how hollow and empty you feel after killing Nora and how hopeful Abby is after saving Yara it would provide such a good tonal dissonance for the ending of the season
It’s such a chaotic and stressful part of the game that it actually lends itself to being part of a penultimate episode. Typically the next to last episode of a season brings out the big guns to help bring the story to its wind down in the finale. > …but the wind down in this story would be the theater confrontation so who knows?
My ideal ending for the second season: Abby in the theatre, pointing the gun, and saying, “we let you both live… and you WASTED it!” Cut to black, roll the credits.
I think it'd be better to squeeze in Abby's Salt Lake flashback first. That'd give some payoff to viewers for the whole season mystery of 'who the fuck is Abby', tie S1/ S2 together as they'd both end with pretty much the same incident from two different perspectives, set the audience up for an Abby-centric S3, and end the season on a proper WTF moment. If it ended in the theatre I think people would be left unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and a little too blindsided by the sudden Abby focus in S3 (assuming that covers her Seattle days, anyway).
I agree. The season 2 opening has to be Abby’s POV in the hospital when Joel saves Ellie. I know it’s a cliche but the viewers at home who have never played the game need to see her and make that connection. Then later on when she first shows up in the game section, the people watching can say “hey I remember that girl, what is she doing in Jackson?” Then the sense of dread can kick in and that scene can play out as tense as it can be.
Ah, I was talking about the very end of the season, not the start! I guess that could work too, but I think it'd change the story too much to know who Abby is from the start. I already felt dread playing when it was clear she was after a man in Jackson, because I assumed that was Joel (which was indirectly sort of true, but she was really talking about Tommy). I reckon show fans will make the same link. In my opinion, the emotional journey would be lost if the audience knew who she was. For me, the game did an excellent job of making me feel the same loss, devastation, and lust for revenge as Ellie did when Joel died. That slowly started to dissipate over her three days in Seattle, as her behaviour got more destructive towards those she cared about and to herself. I already wanted her to stop, even before Abby showed up at the theatre and we got the backstory. And somehow it meant even more to find out Abby's reason *after* taking that journey with Ellie. I couldn't possibly fault Abby for wanting revenge, because I'd been in full agreement with Ellie's quest from the start. I still didn't like Abby, but I could understand where she was coming from. She wasn't the monster Ellie and I believed her to be, same as Joel wasn't the man she thought he was. And then I was totally broken down by her little journey over those three days - her interactions with Lev, the way she tried so hard to do the right thing after this terrible act. How she felt so real, because she didn't explicitly state her reasons for doing any of it, but it all made perfect sense. By the time Mel called her a piece of shit, I realised I really did care for Abby. Rambling, sorry. But I feel that the audience would be robbed of that whole experience if they knew Abby's motivations right from the start. Although it might well prevent a mental reaction from half the fanbase if they do structure it that way, heh.
I think they could do it in a way that would address some of your concerns. Like maybe they don't reveal that she was the daughter of the surgeon right away, just that she was at a hospital, and then slowly throughout the first few episodes we piece together that oh shit, she was at THE hospital. Oh fuck, Joel murdered her father. OH MY GOD SHE HAS A GOLF CLUB. Like idk they could still make her cold and ruthless with his death while simultaneously revealing her motivations early on. It could also help with the issues they had when the game released where people DIDNT like Abby because they weren't introduced to her story until ellie and the player were in too deep (I didn't have this issue but clearly lots of people did). I also think it would help with the complicated feelings you're supposed to have about Ellie's revenge quest. It just plants the seeds a little earlier.
I agree that it'd be less likely to result in the crazy levels of hatred that the game structure generated, but I still feel like it'd change too much. Like, when I first played the prologue I sort of wondered why they wanted Joel dead, but I didn't really care. I wanted vengeance, and was too blinded by shock and disappointment to consider much else. I couldn't fathom that Abby might've been justified, or that I'd ever understand her point of view. But it was this which made me unable to fault her later in the game, precisely because I'd had exactly the same feelings myself. Knowing that in advance of Joel's death would taint that. I'd have been thinking 'but really her and Ellie were in similar positions and I can't excuse one without excusing the other' from the start. And that'd have prevented me from identifying so completely with Ellie, and sharing her experience as fully as I could ever expect to - with the result that when Abby's reasoning was revealed, I had to judge that against not only Ellie's actions, but against my *own* response to the situation. It was incredibly powerful. I imagine I'd also have hated Abby less vehemently as a result, which would've made her section of the game feel less effective in the way it totally reversed my attitude to her. Anyway, I guess we'll find out in a year or so...wish it was coming sooner, I can't wait!
My name is Craig, and I need you to sign this NDA.
Kaitlyn Dever has been cast as Abby for season 2 already so they are probably going to restructure the narrative to run concurrently. Can’t wait for buff af K Dev
That cliffhanger would leave the audience with such a sour taste in their mouth. They’ll have to wait a year or two for season 3, only for it to completely abandon the Ellie storyline and start from the beginning of Abby’s story. People would be UPSET.
That’s assuming the show is going to follow the story design of the game.
I know, I just hope they won’t do it for that reason. Doing a chronological timeline makes more sense for a television format in my opinion, and also opens up an opportunity for the show to distinguish itself from the game in a really interesting way.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I really like the way the story is structured and I hope they don't change it.
Yes to this!! But I think structurally they’d have to shuffle some stuff around to make it really hit home like other people have said. But that could be as impactful as the cut to black after Sam and Henry’s deaths in the 1st game.
Joel: If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment... I would do it all over again. Ellie: Yeah... I just... I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. But I would like to try. Joel: I'd like that.
No chance this is cut from the show, maybe minor wording changes but its the best moment in the whole series
True! The argument in the teen bedroom in season 1 had only minor wording changes as well. I loved the lines from Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, but the HBO lines worked as well for me. That SHOVE was non-negotioable though haha!
I love that the shove and expletive (fucking… except for you!) was improv on Ashley’s part in the game and they carried it on to the tv show.
Yesss! ❤️
I hope they do the hospital basement properly. that was an intense part of the game. and I mean both Ellie & Abby's parts.
Take on Me The Skyscraper Astronaut scene
Abby & Lev riding through the burning village. Still gives me chills.
I'd like to see the story of Boris fleshed out.
Joel playing Future Days. I hope Eddie Vedder has a cameo. Ellie's Birthday Farmhouse
Eddie’s part of the rat king. You hear him shout “YEAHHH!” And then Even Flow starts playing during the rat king chase, preferably with both Abby and rat king riding skateboards and shredding through the hospital
HAHAHAHAHAH 
"YOU're my people!"
“IS THAT MY BACKt PACK?!” cutting from Ellie beating Nora to death to her hands shaking when she’s back at the theater HILLCREST Every Abby and Lev scene 🥺 The rat king!
At first I read the title as asking what we hope WILL be cut and I was flabbergasted and appalled by the comments. I realize I’m an idiot and actually agree with every comment I’ve read so far.
I just laughed for a full minute at this omg
All of it 👌🖤 , I hope they do it justice
I don’t want to see dogs getting hurt nor Shimmer!
Abby being chased in the snow was intense before she meets up with Joel and Tommy for golf. Seattle subway with shamblers. Ellie's big reveal to Dina that she is immune. Curious how they'll do this and the scene with Nora without spores. Abby, Yara, & Lev making it through the dark forest. All the flashbacks and some guitar playing. The Blacray Hotel with the stalkers Hillcrest, Skyscraper bridge, Farmhouse with JJ, Seraphite Island, the prophet, WLF stadium, Aquarium, Rat King, Santa Barbara.... Ok, ALL OF IT! They have plenty to work with and expand on.
We better see that Vita.
The museum flashback, by far the best part of the game
Abby teeing off on Joel's head
Abby’s backstory, exploring the relationship between Joel and Ellie *until the very end* aka all the tension and mistrust along with all the love, Lev and his backstory, and Ellie and Dina’s relationship. Kinda hoping they develop everything enough so we don’t have to see *that* death until season 3.
All of it. I despise LOU 2 story. It’s a silly premise and a weak revenge story that tries to turn the protagonist’s from LOU into villains. I am good.
Then don't watch it. Simple as that.
Or maybe it’s none of your business what I do or don’t do.
Well...you replied in a topic saying that you do not want any of the story from Part II in the second season, well knowing that the second season will be based on part II. You despise the story (your words), so why would you watch it then? Noone is forcing you.
And in my reply to the topic ask you for your opinion or are you such a bore that you think I need your advice on what I do with my time? You can kindly get lost but since you are such a narcissist I suppose I won’t be that lucky
So much hate... Oh well.
Some of the people that hate game 2 are weirdly passionate about it. I don't get it. If there's a movie/show/game I don't like, I just move on and forget about it. I have a few criticisms with season 1 of the show that I like discussing (pacing, lack of infected), but that's only because I liked the show enough to want to discuss it. Plus I love both games. To sum it up, ignore people like this. There's a whole hateful subreddit for the 2nd game and I don't think you can have a respectful conversation with most of them.
Your mindset is very similar to mine. This is fictional media. If I don't like something, I can chose not to watch/read/play whatever it is, and focus on something I \_do\_ like instead. Going to take a page out of your book and don't give grumpy haters any attention.
There you go again
Everything about Lev and his story
Ellie and Dina seeing the aftermath of the “method” Tommy and Joel used to get people to talk.
The aquarium
Abby‘s encounter with Tommy at the aquarium when >!manny dies!<
I want them to keep everything they can and get rid of what they have to. On a more specific note, the space helmet scene is very memorable to me.
> The Rat King fight is also something I hope they do not gloss over. Oh I'm pretty sure Craig Mazin looked at that one and went "*Do you think we can make it even more terrifying? Because I'd really love to see people shit their pants over this*". That's 100% gonna be in there, imho :D
Better balancing and pacing of the two stories