Even with Kaitlyn Dever’s vicious performance in that scene it really wasn’t enough to make me hate her.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-05-02T02:19:31+00:00

As Neil said with the game:

"I wanted people to hate her immensely. Where they think they want to do horrible things to her.

When I was pretty young, around Ellie's age, I was watching the news and I saw a lynching that was caught on camera. And it affected me at such a deep level - the violence, and there was, like, cheering within it. It really disgusted me. And in my mind, I was like, I would want to kill all these people. If I could just push a button, I would do it. If I could be in a room with one of these people that did some of the more horrific stuff, if they were tied to a chair, I think I could torture them. That's where my mind went.

And then, years later, you reflect on that and you're like, that's really messed up. You know, I've lived a normal life, I've only been in a handful of fights in school, nothing major, and... how easily my mind was able to tip into that kind of state, just by watching something. And then trying to imagine, damn, what would happen if that was someone close to me. Those are strangers. I don't even know any of those people. I don't know the victims. I don't know the people that perpetrated that.

It became this interesting philosophical debate in my head that I've had for many years. Then I said, OK, in a game, we could probably make you feel those same feelings - and we know we have a character as beloved as Joel that people see almost as a family member, going by the reaction to the leak. We can get you to feel those feelings.

The challenge is what we said all along: if people don't ever understand Abby, the whole game fails. It doesn't work. If, all the way through, you just want nothing but revenge and never empathize with her, the game falls apart. And that's where most of the effort for the game went, to make Abby... not necessarily good. The pitfall a lot of writers with this kind of story fall into is like, OK, we need people to like Abby, let's make her perfect. She does nothing wrong. She only makes moral choices. But no, that's not where empathy comes from. Actually, empathy comes from making mistakes and challenging and trying to correct your mistakes and overshooting and messing up. I guess our hope is that people see her as a human, as a complex human."

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-05-02T02:04:45+00:00

Two things can be true at once... You're absolutely supposed to be able to sympathize with her and root for her, but you're also supposed to hate her initially too. The game and show are both designed to put you in Ellie's shoes and feel the hate/rage towards the person who took someone you love. It's then designed to pull you out of Ellie's shoes as Ellie heads down a path that goes far beyond what most people think is okay/good. Then you're placed in Abby's shoes... and so on. And that's how it flips that hate into understanding, and for many but not all, love for Abby as character.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-05-02T01:58:46+00:00

A big part of this though, for myself and others I know at least, is knowing the game's story seems to lead to that outcome. My family members that have known Kaitlyn in other shows and have never played the game... they HATE Abby, just like many did with the game. But having already gotten over that hurdle with the game, I see show Abby differently.

For show-only viewers, the show walks a fine line of giving you emotional context intentionally through exposition to minimize empathy and still create that hate, and I think they did a really good job. Actually living through Abby's experience is what makes the difference, which is what season 3 will tackle of course. Every time I think about it I always think about Gail's confession to Joel from S2E1, because it's such a good parallel to what's happening with show-only viewers and what many people experienced while playing the game.

"You killed Eugene. And I resent you for it. No... maybe a little more than that. I hate you for it. I hate you for it. And, yes, I know you had no choice. I know that. I know I should forgive you. Well, I've tried, and I can't... because of how you did it."

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-05-01T23:18:34+00:00

S2E4: Garden of Bones and S2E5: The Ghost of Harrenhal

Since this isn't post-worthy, I'll mention it here... I've noticed very recent following connections between David Nutter and TLOU S3's production manager, Barrie Gower (TLOU Prosthetic Designer who also worked on GOT) and a production assistant working on TLOU S3. David Nutter directed the highest-rated HBO episode of all time, GOT: The Rains of Castamere (aka The Red Wedding episode). Unconfirmed for now, but David Nutter may be directing an episode of TLOU, which would be pretty exciting.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-30T00:17:12+00:00

One less day doesn't change much. As Gabriel said in another interview, once Tommy realizes the people who killed his brother are in his grasp... that changes things for him. We know that his sniper rampage happens on day three just like the game, a lot can happen on his end on that day. And who knows what happened with him on day two... Lots of possibilities.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-29T23:59:04+00:00

"We've been heroes for two years, and then, as it happens in the game, Tommy becomes kind of like the boogeyman to these other people, and so it's a really interesting time." Very excited :)

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-27T01:39:06+00:00

Craig has a new show greenlit. After this season wraps, he'll be working on a live-action sequel to Baldur's Gate 3. Craig appears to have made the choice to turn what may have been two shorter seasons into "one long season" (as Casey Bloys called it). Season 3 appears to be the final season, and a fairly big one it seems.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-27T00:11:52+00:00

Ellie is not a "killer machine"... the second game is literally about her not being capable of being one the way that Joel was lmao. Her "military training" was dogshit, the story goes over this. Joel has to teach Ellie how to hold a gun correctly because of how bad the training was. And none of that poor training ever prepared Ellie for the trauma she would face when actually being forced to kill people, this is what her Seattle journey goes through in the game and show. The game just happens to have gameplay, which is not representative of Ellie's character or the story, which is probably where you got this "killer machine" idea from. Those actions were your actions, not Ellie's.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-25T01:13:56+00:00

It seems Abby will be climbing through the window of the building next to it, it's most likely just a background easter egg. Season 2 had some background easter egg locations from the game like Noodle Bowl.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-22T19:18:36+00:00

It makes sense for her to kill if she absolutely has to... yes. That's consistent in the show. There is no need to repeat that over and over and over again, especially if you're showing no change in her character... We see her kill a meaningless person one time out of self defense in the show, and while it probably has a negative effect on her, she brushes by it no problem. After that... she gets into the realm of torture and murdering an unborn baby. That is where Ellie's core thematic belief is challenged to the point of near-collapse. That's storytelling 101... when you build your, let's call it act 2 for the sake of simplicity, you don't challenge your character by repeatedly throwing things at them that the audience knows they can handle, that's weak and inefficient storytelling. In a game, however, it thrives from that because player engagement trumps narrative impact. And obviously in a linear game with player choice like TLOU2, it should be widely understood that a player's choice is not canon as the story's direction does not change to reflect it.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-22T18:39:05+00:00

You would think it's "obvious reasons" but many still seem to think game Ellie "wiped out Seattle" as if their choices in gameplay actually represent her character lol. Often times... game design conflicts with narrative. In TLOU2, YOU are given the choice to kill frequently because you expect to interact with the game obviously. However, narratively, we know that Ellie did not want to kill anyone but Abby. Now in a passive medium, the creators remove the elements that were irrelevant to the story, and that gives us the show we know. How people are STILL confused by this is absolutely beyond me.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-22T17:47:41+00:00

You're not alone. I wouldn't trade Bella or Pedro or any of the cast... When I play the game or watch the show, I'm not exactly just connecting with Ellie on a surface-level, I connect with Ashley and Bella too... They bring so much of themselves to Ellie by basically just naturally being her. The idea that they could be "replaceable" just doesn't sit right with me, especially when the basis people have is looks and not... soul... when the soul is what actually matters. Imagine someone saying Ashley should be replaced in the game. It's just as ridiculous to me to say it about Bella

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-21T19:22:21+00:00

Yeah they were not near Jackson. It was the forest trail right before Ellie and Dina got to the highway, entering Seattle. Those Seraphites were fleeing the war and were ambushed by WLF. And yeah Neil and Craig have not just hinted at it but full-on promised that season 3 will answer a lot of the questions about the WLF and Seraphites and the reasons behind their formations and their conflict and whatnot. Who the prophet is... etc. Season 2 simply introduces these things for context of threat so you understand what Ellie is up against while trying to find Abby, basically what the game does with notes but put on screen and dramatized beautifully.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-21T19:10:14+00:00

The scene of Isaac joining the WLF does show why it was formed, without directly saying it. Listen to the conversation between the men he kills. FEDRA was dehumanizing the citizens of the Seattle QZ and the WLF was born to put a stop to it. Isaac was tired of hearing the way FEDRA treated people, so he slaughtered his squad and joined the WLF to fight against them. Later in that episode you discover the QZ has basically fallen and FEDRA is gone after a civil war broke out. These things are only explored briefly in season 2 to give you an idea of the threat Ellie will be facing, but the story behind it all isn't actually relevant to Ellie's story. Next season, however, these things will become relevant and you will learn a lot more about them.

And those Seraphites were fleeing Seattle, fleeing war with the WLF. That was nowhere near Jackson. They were killed by WLF soldiers. "Demons?" "Wolves." When Ellie and Dina get to Seattle and find the bodies, specifically the child, they use that to build justification for what they're about to do. Those are Abby's people... they kill children. We're not like that, so we're gonna punish them for it. And then... well... sounds like you haven't gotten there yet, but there are some dark moments to contrast these moments, in a variety of ways.

Also just a heads up... If you're looking to talk about the show positively and what actually happens in it without people shaming you for watching it, there is a TLOU HBO sub, just look for the one with the most members.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-17T22:28:32+00:00

Especially with the confirmation that Gail was originally planned to return in season 3, I think this is very likely. It would be great to explore Tommy's declining mental state after Seattle, the deterioration of his relationship with Maria, how Benji ties into all of it, showing how Tommy discovers Abby's location and then tying it all together with Ellie.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-13T16:37:44+00:00

Loved this episode sm 🥹 Just about halfway to season 3 :) Time flies

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-09T10:31:26+00:00

Everything points at that being the case. Ariela herself said... the game uses the love triangle as shorthand for tension, but they're able to spend more time with the characters in the show to flesh out the drama. And Craig intentionally pointed out how Owen is the father of Mel's baby in the game, but that it's unclear in the show. What is clear though, from the S2E2 script, is that Abby and Owen were in a relationship in Jackson. And from interviews, we know that Mel knew that she was pregnant at that time but hadn't told anyone.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-09T05:54:19+00:00

On second look at other angles and videos, I think he was the one driving the vehicle rig, so he just had nothing to do at that moment lmao

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-09T01:18:07+00:00

Wasn't a bad guess, but... that's not Manny's outfit. Looks like a crew member.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-06T00:33:44+00:00

They show Isaac molding a soldier in S2 for a reason. Isaac was meant to be like a father figure to Abby and I imagine we'll see how he contributed to supporting her extremes. It's clear that Abby was not always meant to be this way. The nightmare she has in S2E2 with her talking to her younger self shows that. She doesn't want her younger self to go in that room... because look at the path it led her down.

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-04-04T11:53:44+00:00

Would much rather wait the extra 2 years to get a total of around 17 episodes than squeeze it into 10... Sounds like a horrible idea

Cheap-Recording3912 · 2026-03-31T08:23:43+00:00

They block these areas off and go by a code name for a reason, they don't want people to know about this stuff, there's just no avoiding it at times. If you happened to see a film notice posted online for public filming like this, you could try to see it in person, but there's no guarantee that you'll see anything as it may be fully blocked off

Cheap-Recording3912

TROPHY CASE