The Last of Us Part 2 is soon to be adapted by the television show’s second season. Many fans wonder how this will play out. How closely will they stick to the source material? It just so happens that said source material is quite a controversial game. The Last of Us Part 2 came out over four years ago and is still one of the most contentious modern video games due to how many people believe its story failed. Of course, full story and gameplay spoilers ahead.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Existence
A big question that many people posited when this sequel was announced was if it even needed to be made. The Last of Us Part 2 takes place four years after the first game. Four years is a long time for these characters who live in a post-apocalypse, but especially for Ellie, the main protagonist of the game who has done a lot of growing up since we last saw her. But in that first game, it ended quite definitively. Joel lies to Ellie about the potential cure, thus saving Ellie’s life, and the audience just holds onto that, questioning how things would go after. It isn’t a story that is in dire need of further elaboration.
The story of this game sets out to tell a tale about the nature of revenge. Particularly, the cycle of revenge, violence, and learning to forgive. These are all good themes on the surface admittedly. These themes can coincide together and even relate to each other if properly done. The thing is, that is not what happens with the themes of this particular story. The biggest problem is how these themes are all set up. The inciting event for this story is the death of Joel, the protagonist from the first game. Yes, the inciting event. This element of the story leaked before the game’s release, and soured so many fans before the game even came out.
Joel’s Fate
On one hand, it is a very risky and subversive writing decision to kill off the main character of the previous game. But this is easily the biggest problem of the game. Joel’s death could have been done well if it was done in a way that was more respectful of the character. Joel gets beaten to death with a golf club, by Abby, a girl whose father was killed by Joel while he was saving Ellie. Yes, one can argue this death was understandable, but is this the most satisfying way to tell this story?
Killing Joel in the first couple hours of the game? No. Joel was far from a saint. In that first game, he kills, maims, and tortures many people. On one hand, you could argue the apocalypse has forced him into turning into a cold, brutal killer. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, especially with a viral outbreak. But the beauty of that first game is that yes, Joel is a terrible person, but he grows to love and care about another person, Ellie. He looks at her like his own daughter, and that is why while he is a terrible person, the audience can’t help but love him and understand him.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Weak Themes
This whole game is about Ellie seeking revenge on Abby. She kills all of her friends in an attempt to kill her. So what happens at the end? Ellie has Abby and is almost going to kill her. She is so close to doing so. After all this time, Ellie and Abby have killed tons of the other person’s friends and family. In the final moments of the game, Ellie is about to end it, but then she gets a vision of Joel and hesitates.
She lets Abby go. She remembers a time when she told Joel that she would try to forgive him for lying to her. This is what causes her to spare Abby. Ellie comes to this conclusion after killing hundreds of people, by the way. Also after cutting off all ties to her loved ones in pursuit of revenge. These themes feel very flimsy, and not appropriate to the story. This leaves the entire experience feeling very empty and unsatisfying. While The Last of Us Part 2’s story certainly tried some risky things, it did not pan out well for the characters, and even the fans.
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