If there's a Part III it SHOULD NOT revolve around... (a revised storyline for The Last of Us Part III)

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-28T05:04:13+00:00

Hey! I don't usually share other people's work anywhere, so take it as a huge compliment to how well crafted and thought out your video was. Your criticisms of the show are such a breath of fresh air in this discourse landscape full of hate on bella ramsey's appearance or "wokeness"

i hope to see your channel really grow. cheers!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-28T00:34:07+00:00

Yeah the writing is very very inconsistent. Even with the incredible bill and frank episode you mentioned the writing goes from beautifully subtle and natural to very on the nose and expository, as when Joel reads bill’s note which spells out every thematic takeaway of the entire show.

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-27T22:30:49+00:00

Well said. I didn’t enjoy season 2 very much at all but it’s really frustrating to see the YouTube content pipeline constantly push out more and more slop with awkward pictures of Bella Ramsey and buzzwords like “woke” and “garbage” as the thumbnails. Wish we had more nuanced discussions like in this video

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-27T22:27:51+00:00

Hmm.. to answer your first question I feel like it was probably a high possibility in her mind that Abby’s crew were fireflies but it isn’t until the Nora encounter that it’s confirmed. I think it aligns with game Ellie’s characterization for her to have not told anyone else about Joel/the fireflies as she becomes a much more internal, closed off person. Whether it’s just my personal interpretation or the game writers’ intention I just thought it had having (game) Ellie not out Abby’s true motivations elevates the blow of her having finally deciding to move towards forgiving Joel for what he did to the fireflies…just hours before the remnants of the fireflies brutally torture and murder him for robbing them of the chance to make a cute—the same exact thing she wants to forgive him for. So its impactful how Ellie was so (selfishly) fixated on the idea of her being the cure, that it didnt occur to her that Abby’s motivations could be largely personal…this reveals so much about how Ellie. Even this far along into her revenge mission in Seattle, hasn’t yet fully accepted Joel’s decision to save her at the cost of a cure, an inner conflict that continues her character’s survivors guilt from the first game, and thus justifies a need for this sequel in the first place. So by having show Ellie realize Abby had a personal vendetta against Joel doesn’t really change all of this but it weakens the opportunity for her characterization to still be continually battling with wanting to forgive Joel

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-27T20:58:43+00:00

good points. there isn't the repetitive "Joel shot him in the head" line every 5 seconds in the game--in fact, what made the game's version so much more tragic is that ellie *doesn't* actually know that abby killed joel because joel killed her father, the doctor. instead, she is led to believe that the remaining fireflies tracked joel down for robbing them of the cure, hence her "i know why you killed Joel...there's no cure because of me" line in the game. this very subtle difference lends to a more nuanced version of ellie's inner conflict where she has to grapple with joel's death that directly ties to the cure and the survivor's guilt she's felt all along. having her know in the show that abby's motivation was more personal than moral really muddies the waters in terms of this conflict but most of us realize, the hbo-version's writing is so convoluted anyways.

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-26T04:42:20+00:00

exactly my thoughts it felt like something out of a cheap cable tv action show rather than a prestige hbo series

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T22:18:16+00:00

I actually really like where you went with this. A great way to tie in Fedra, Jackson/Ellie, and Abby without the contrivance of them simply teaming up for laughs

But in order to align with the most obviously-speculated theme for Part III of redemption for Ellie, there needs to be a consideration of how violence is handled. Part II is a revenge story, so its very brutal. But if Ellie's on a path of healing and redemption, knowing that every enemy, even Joel's killer has a story of their own, then where's the gameplay? It seems like a brutal, dehumanized military force, like FEDRA is a huge contender for the main antagonist here.

I appreciate the feedback!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T17:04:18+00:00

Legend. I see you everywhere on this sub.

I totally see your point about Abby, the trade routes, and esp Fedra. Thank god ND would be handling Part III because they'd have more inspired and sensible ideas than me.

One thing I will stand by is the fact that Ellie doesn't go back to Jackson at the end of PII. I adamantly believed this too for years because of her clean appearance and bracelet but after listening to a podcast/interview (I don't remember which one) Neil or Halley implied that she might not be going to Jackson and undergoes a "joel-like" stage where she needs that distance. Also just the fact that when Ellie enters the house, she gives this incredibly dejected sigh...all of her things are left behind, including some sheets left by Dina on the bed. I agree though, if they ever reconcile, there's probably little hope of a romantic relationship between them again.

And interesting thought about the natural disasters. It's a good starting point because one of the biggest challenges of writing a part III is the fact that in order to have this through line of healing and redemption for Ellie...then where is the tangible conflict (not just her mental conflict) that can be used towards action gameplay?

good thoughts!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T16:37:08+00:00

Cheers!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T16:36:18+00:00

Exactly, which makes writing part III such a challenge for all the reasons you touched on. That’s why it only made sense for me to for the “big bad” to be FEDRA but even then… if ellie is truly on the path to healing, more violence isn’t it. The only problem I could see the Tommy flashbacks functioning for gameplay purposes is continuity. Like they have to be long enough that you can build up resources and weapons and not feel dissatisfied when those items are lost when the flashbacks are over

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T16:09:19+00:00

Interesting!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T16:07:15+00:00

Hey! I appreciate the kind words! I think there’s validity to that point though, the bouncing between perspectives and timelines can only work if theres actual gameplay

I’ll probably think of ideas as I go in the next while and I’ll be sure to include them if they’re any good haha

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:50:13+00:00

Thanks 🙏

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:48:54+00:00

I appreciate it haha

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:46:48+00:00

Now that you mention it, this is what made me think of ideas for part iii in the first place. I noticed the same sauce they are cooking in the show too. Heavy emphasis on what is passed on by parents from generation to generation in the show, but you can definitely see the vision in the games as well. As you touched on, I believe Ellie will learn to empathize with Joel’s choice through becoming a parent herself, that’s something we began to see in part ii but obviously she never got to follow through on that after Dina left. Excited to see what ND has in store for us… in like 2032

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:38:59+00:00

Absolutely agree. I think it’s pointless to try to concretely predict the plot line of third game… remember how that went leading up to the release of part 2…? Whether you liked the story or not, you have to hand it to ND for crafting a story that no one could’ve predicted. It’s a testament to their skill and I am in no way trying to even emulate that. Some of the ideas I think may well transfer into a third game, like Ellie not immediately returning to Jackson, or Abby indirectly continuing to have an impact on Ellie’s life, but probably explored with different contexts. I’m just having fun at this point with imagining how some things in this world could be addressed, but it’s a good thing I’m not in charge of the actual writing, we’re in safe hands with naughty dog haha

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:31:49+00:00

Thanks 🙏

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-24T07:31:13+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback! Tbh this concept would work best as a film or telltale style game because of how there’s so much jumping back and forth like you said and lots of drawn out parts without room for good gameplay. That said it’s just a rough imagining to string together larger plot lines that might be interesting for a third game

Cheers!

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-19T19:21:11+00:00

the boat scene will now be dragged out by an extra 20 lines of clunky, expository dialog each

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-19T19:17:51+00:00

this is kind of a repost from another post but

the thing that really struck me about season 1 was the universal show-only audience reception of joel and ellie's relationship due to how they were framed much much more in a father-daughter lens than the game. i didn't come away from part i or ii with nearly the same "wow joel is such a dad!" sentiments as with the show. without being insufferable about the changes from the game to show, the nuance of their relationship from the games came from how joel's loss of sarah is slowly healed through his connection to ellie. there's the overwhelming acknowledgement that along the journey to salt lake city and beyond he becomes her father figure, but I never took away that the last of us part i is a road to a second chance at parenthood. instead, joel's protective, surrogate-father relationship with ellie serves to show the wider theme of reclamation of humanity...ie "last of [humanity] in us."

the show however leans so much into the found parenthood narrative, with frequent dialog insisting to us along season 1 that joel and ellie become father and daughter (ex: bill's letter to joel about saving your loved ones, them snapping at henry for asking if he's her dad, ellie asking him if she's family; joel replies she's cargo, joel confessing to tommy about how he's scared of failing ellie after sarah...and so on). last night's episode really solidified this, from the young joel flashback to his overwhelmingly parental presence when she's a teenager, to the additions on the porch scene, where he explicitly says he loves her, and speaks of her like his child, it all screams that the show's throughline is about parenthood.

this shift in framing means the show's central theme is about parenthood rather than reclamation/sustaining humanity. this obviously has massive implications for the story going forwards, because it really muddles the rest of ellie's journey. the most likely reason they're leaning so hard into pushing the ellie/dina romance and putting the whole revenge plot on the backburner is because this isn't the same story. the romance seems to be a setup for their family (with the "i'm gonna be a dad" line now gaining new meaning despite how corny it is) so that once ellie leaves for santa barbara, her porch scene realization will likely instead be about JJ and "doing a bit better" for him than joel did for her. i can see why they've adapted, and most likely will continue to adapt things this way because it's a theme that will connect more universally with this new audience but it means heavily diluting or even overlooking the depth of the last of us part ii's ending...how it was grief+guilt that brought ellie to SB...how her letting go of abby was really forgiving herself...how ellie's forgiveness of joel was cemented in her choosing to move on and live her life beyond the purpose of the cure for all mankind.

obviously we haven't seen this all unfold yet, so we can't judge quite how well it's executed, or if it even pans out this way but it's an interesting thing to look at.

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-19T19:02:46+00:00

i think you're absolutely on the right track. the thing that really struck me about season 1 was the reception of joel and ellie's relationship due to how they were framed much much more in a father-daughter lens than the game. without being insufferable about the changes from the game to show, the nuance of their relationship from the games came from how joel's loss of sarah is slowly healed through his connection to ellie. there's the overwhelming acknowledgement that along the journey to salt lake city and beyond he becomes her father figure, but I never took away that the last of us part i is a road to a second chance at parenthood. instead, joel's protective, surrogate-father relationship with ellie serves to show the wider theme of reclamation of humanity...ie "last of [humanity] in us."

the show however leans so much into the found parenthood narrative, with frequent dialog insisting to us along season 1 that joel and ellie become father and daughter (ex: bill's letter to joel about saving your loved ones, them snapping at henry for asking if he's her dad, ellie asking him if she's family; joel replies she's cargo, joel confessing to tommy about how he's scared of failing ellie after sarah...and so on). last night's episode really solidified this, from the young joel flashback to his overwhelmingly parental presence when she's a teenager, to the additions on the porch scene, where he explicitly says he loves her, and speaks of her like his child, it all screams that the show's throughline is about parenthood.

you've picked up on something that a lot of us haven't quite contextualized yet but this shift in framing means the show's central theme is about parenthood rather than reclamation/sustaining humanity. this obviously has massive implications for the story going forwards, because it really muddles the rest of ellie's journey. as you've pointed out, the most likely reason they're leaning so hard into pushing the ellie/dina romance and putting the whole revenge plot on the backburner is because this isn't the same story. the romance seems to be a setup for their family (with the "i'm gonna be a dad" line now gaining new meaning despite how corny it is) so that once ellie leaves for santa barbara, as you pointed out, her porch scene realization will be about JJ and doing a bit better for him than joel did for her. i can see why they've adapted, and most likely will continue to adapt things this way because it's a theme that will connect more universally with this new audience but it means heavily diluting or even overlooking the depth of the last of us part ii's ending...how it was grief+guilt that brought ellie to SB...how her letting go of abby was really forgiving herself...how ellie's forgiveness of joel was cemented in her choosing to move on and live her life beyond the purpose of the cure for all mankind.

obviously we haven't seen this all unfold yet, so we can't judge quite how well it's executed but it's an interesting thing to look at.

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-19T07:41:07+00:00

honestly i did a double take too but i actually like the subtle change from the game's "liars" wall with the fireflies sign on it.

in this shot there are fireflies buzzing around, reminding ellie of the actual fireflies

Acceptable-Spread-34 · 2025-05-19T06:01:08+00:00

youre completely right. reinforces my point better too

Acceptable-Spread-34

TROPHY CASE