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Druckmann and The Last of Us Part II cowriter Halley Gross have stated that they had been extra expressly involved with utilizing the sport to extra typically discover “the cycle of violence.” The affiliation between the WLF-Seraphite battle and the Israel-Palestine battle, nevertheless, nonetheless lingers—and never with out motive, as the sport’s depiction of its warring factions appeared to map fairly nicely onto the state of affairs within the West Bank on the time it was launched.
Because HBO’s The Last of Us is adapting The Last of Us Part II throughout a couple of season, it’s inconceivable to know the way or if it can alter this side of the sport’s story because it continues. The recreation is constructed round a giant, daring pivot, the place gamers abruptly change to Abby’s perspective for its second half, attending to know the WLF. Abby additionally will get a unique perspective on the Seraphites than Ellie, all within the curiosity of humanizing each aspect of the sport’s battle. Whether or not the sport efficiently pulls this off is a particularly subjective query, and it will likely be fascinating to look at it play out in a brand new medium. Mazin, Druckmann, and Gross all have their work lower out for them.
In the temporary glimpse we get of them to begin, the Seraphites on the present seem extraordinarily trustworthy to the way in which they’re offered within the recreation, with their handmade ponchos and facial scarring. The necessary factor to remove is that they’ve been in an extended battle of attrition with the Washington Liberation Front—the WLF—for management of what was Seattle. Which implies that Ellie is on a collision course with each factions, now that she’s left on a mission to search out and kill Abby.
Ellie’s storyline this episode is essentially authentic to the present, as she takes time to soak up and course of the horror of “Through the Valley.” We choose up three months after the occasions of that devastating hour. In considered one of final week’s extra fascinating departures from the sport, Jackson suffered a devastating assault on the similar time that Joel was murdered—which implies that this week, The Last of Us could make it clear that Ellie isn’t the one individual on this universe to endure main loss. That level could appear unsubtle, however it’s an necessary factor to emphasize if The Last of Us needs to proceed to face aside from The Walking Dead—its closest pop-cultural comparability, and an instance of the kind of nihilism postapocalyptic tales can devolve into.
With all that in thoughts, it turns into simpler to understand on a regular basis this week’s episode takes to indicate Jackson’s efforts to rebuild and get well—and the way the neighborhood is responding to its angriest member. When Ellie seems earlier than the Jackson city council and proposes that they kind a posse to search out justice for Joel, they flip her down. No one, after all, believes Ellie will accept that reply—not Tommy (Gabriel Luna) or Gail (Catherine O’Hara), who’ve a dialog about whether or not Ellie has been influenced by Joel’s rage on the world or is solely a kindred spirit to him. And positively not Dina (Isabela Merced), who, fairly than watching Ellie journey off half-cocked, has spent the final three months doing all of the analysis she is aware of her good friend received’t—studying in regards to the WLF, planning a route to search out them, pluckily insisting on accompanying her.
It’s actually price pausing for a second and celebrating simply how nice Merced is within the function of Dina. Not simply because she brings a wholesome quantity of spunk to an in any other case fairly dour present, however for the way in which she lingers even between chipper moments. Dina is making a tough determination for the sake of affection, and hoping that her help will get by to Ellie at a time when nothing else will.
And if that doesn’t work quickly, they each could be in dire bother. After a solemn cease at Joel’s grave, the place Ellie leaves a couple of espresso beans in tribute—the 2013 online game took a second to emphasize that espresso is principally gone post-pandemic, and Joel actually missed it—the 2 make it to Seattle very quickly in any respect. And unbeknownst to them, they’re gravely mistaken in regards to the WLF. It’s not restricted to Abby’s small group. It’s a complete rattling military.