Yeah Joel and Ellie’s final conversation is heartbreaking, mainly because you know that so much was left unsaid and they’d never get to fully reconnect again. 😭😭😭
Yeah and it recontextualises his death as not "you took Joel from me" but "you made the last thing I ever said to him be 'i don't think I can forgive you' and making him cry" and her not having the change to say she loves him
Yeah, the "but I'm willing to try" was the last thing said - not "I don't think I can forgive you". That was hopeful. In my mind, reliving that memory is what allowed Ellie to finally get over her guilt and why she left Abby live.
She also probably regretted not starting to try to forgive him before though. And maybe she also realized that she actually didn’t want to die in that hospital, and she actually wasn’t supposed to, especially by how much she fought for her life both in Seattle and in Santa Barbara.
I agree with the first part. I think it really finally sunk in how much time was wasted, holding onto her anger and shutting Joel out.
I think she might be starting to understand the last part, but she’s not quite there yet.
When I got to that part the first time, it hit so hard. But I was also pissed at the leakers. When they showed the final fight with Abby, they had cut that part out. And that's really the difference maker in the whole story. Without it, it doesn't have anywhere near the impact it has with it.
I managed to stay spoiler free. I never caught up with the hate and the leaks. I went in blind. Hell, i didn't even know Joel's incident in the beginning.
It's funny. I was on the fence about buying the game and I very rarely pre-order a game. I heard about the leaks, and while I'd been assuming Joel was going to die, I was curious if the narrative they were spinning had merit. But it became very obvious the hate and nastiness was deliberately being steered and people were being misled by the leakers.
It actually convinced me to pre-order the game. Playing through it, I was even more convinced the leakers had an agenda, and not one I agreed with. And I'm speaking as an evangelical Christian! So glad I played it. Such an amazing story. What I find weird is how it keeps drawing me back. Both parts 1 & 2. As rare as it is for me to pre-order a game, it's even more rare for me to replay a game, especially a story based game. I really enjoyed Spiderman, the Horizon and God of War games, but I've never replayed them. But I've replayed P1 three times and P2 twice and I'm already thinking of when to start the third. Probably this fall when yard work is less.
I finished the game around 2 weeks ago and what sticks out to me the most about that flashback is that final shot of Joel. The shot focuses on him, the swell of music and how he looks like a man who’s found salvation, who’s hopeful and it just broke me.
Unpopular opinion: it's simultaneously moving and unsatisfying for me
I lost my dad right after graduating from college so losing that ability to form an adult relationship with a parent is very relatable.
But I inconveniently keep asking myself: Have they never discussed or argued about this in 2 years? Are they trying to say that Ellie never demanded any details? Ellie? ELLIE WILLIAMS? Joel would give her all the space she needs, for sure, and willingly be the scapegoat for all her big feelings and she probably knows she could never pick a safer target for her "hate." But this can't be a new exchange, especially since they've apparently been discreet enough about their estrangement that Ellie snapping at Joel in public is noteworthy even to Maria. They've obviously been speaking in civil terms when seen by others. I can kinda allow for Ellie doing absolutely no reflection on the position Joel found himself in, being a traumatized teenager taking him for granted, but OTOH it seems like quite a long time to stay so resolutely uncurious. I also think Tommy would have sat her down at some point and told her how Sarah was murdered for the supposed greater good
But this conversation is written like the entire subject has been embargoed since she turned her horse away from SLC. It wouldn't have to be written very different to fix that impression to make it clear that this is ground they've covered, but Ellie feels differently now. Even if she's just tired of being angry at him and realizes she'll always love and need him (said in their avoidant way).
Which would have fixed my other nitpick: no particular in-universe reason for Ellie to make this overture at this exact time. The timing is just to make it hurt more.
So I am moved by some of it, will probably be a sobbing mess when Bella and Pedro get their hands on it, but it rings false for me in some ways, and I feel the manipulativeness of the timing. (The timing in-universe, not in the story structure, that's a whole 'nother topic.)
in no particular order
Sarah's death
Abby's dream where she sees her father alive after saving Lev and Yara
Joel's death
Ellie's final flashback + her kneeling in the ocean
Sam and Henry's death
first time I EVER played these games was back in 2022. Sam and Henry's deaths hit me like a freight train.
Then when it just said "Fall" and went to the next part of the game, I had to take a break. It was a lot to process.
For me it was the scene with Henry, the night before when he speaks with Ellie about if there is a person trapped inside the infected still to when he turns and his brother has to kill him and himself
Since using the death scene is cheating imo lol... I have to say that it's Ellie's reaction to the truth of what Joel did.
All the other Joel and Ellie scenes have at least a tinge of hope or closure or something (like the porch scene at the end). But this one is just sad.
Just seeing her heart BREAK in that moment, seeing that bond and trust that they had built utterly SHATTER in that moment, seeing Joel struggle to get the words out (at first) because he KNOWS that they'll be over after this... It all just bums me the fuck out lol
For me it was travelling through the sewers, the message "they didn't suffer" still haunts me ten years later. The way it was written and the sheets over all those kids is burned into my mind.
I think when I was playing the Remastered version on my PS4 I never saw the >!sheets/tarps covering the bodies of the kids.!< It wasn’t until playing the Remake on PS5 that I actually saw them. It broke me.
I believe there’s no saddest thing in the two games than Ellie watching Joel being killed. At that moment she is completely helpless and unable to do anything but watch the person she loves the most get murdered, just like that. Watching her beg and struggle, desperately trying to prevent the inevitable is just so painful, to the point that no matter how many times I watch this sequence, I always feel the same kind of punch in the stomach as the first time I did.
Honestly the writers did an amazing job with this scene, cause you feel just as bad as Ellie does cause it’s uncanny to watch Joel, a character you both love, get brutally killed
Honestly it was so visceral. The gaping hole in his head, her body going limp. It reminded me of negans intro on the walking dead, you kept expecting someone to rush in and save them
the last cutscene/flashback with joel and ellie on the porch
the reveal that ellie was actually ready to try and forgive joel and that that chance was literally ripped right out of their hands the next day is just so heartbreaking and tragic
also, joel holding back his tears when he says "i'd like that".... it hits right in the feels
the museum scene because it just hurts me so bad about what could’ve been
confrontation scene because man the look on Joel’s face
honourable mention is the one where Joel defends Ellie and the porch scene (😭)
The deviation the show had from Bill and Frank's story in the game really made me realize that Frank's death was the saddest part of the game for me. The lack of closure is a huge theme in this series and it's heartbreaking but so realistic in an apocalypse scenario
I don't know, it's between:
"Don't do this to me, baby girl. Come on..."
"You're right. You're not my daughter... and I sure as he'll ain't your dad. And we are going our seperate ways."
"He tried to... he tried to..."
"Joel fucking get up!"
"I don't want to lose you."
"I'll go back. But we're done."
"Dad!"
"You're a piece of shit, Abby."
"You were defending yourself. You did nothing wrong."
*Abby putting her jacket around a traumatised Lev.
"We've got a family. She doesn't get to be more important than that."
"Just take him..."
"I don't know if I can forgive you... but I'd like to try."
ellie and abby fighting both times
like in the first fight, when dina comes in and lev has to stop abby from killing her
and in their second fight, it always makes me so sad because i love them both so much that i just want them to stop
That hit me hard because I'm a guitar player. And because Joel gave her the guitar and taught her how to play. Abby along with Ellie's need for vengeance took everything from her. It's so damn sad.
“You killed my friends” scene in the theatre was heartbreaking. There are so many sad scenes, but this line was memorable. Especially after you learn more about Nora, Owen and especially Mel (and the dog).
The porch scene/flashback during >!Ellie’s fight with Abby.!< It broke my heart when I realized this was literally the night before >!Joel’s!< death. Like… they never got to reconnect and mend their relationship. Ellie’s “…But I’d like to try.” made me tear up SO BADLY. She wanted to have that relationship again but the chance to get it back was taken from her. Just thinking about this scene makes my heart ache. 😭
I'd say the final scene between Ellie and Joel.
Having Joel die is one thing, knowing that they had only just taken the first step towards repairing their relationship made it devastating.
This was not the fucking saddest scene. The saddest scene was seeing Abby and Lev being captured and turned into slaves. I'm team Abbby all the way. Fuck Ellie and her neverending need for revenge.
I mean, Abby isn't perfect. She was a prominent member of a heavily militaristic society for years and was happy to help eradicate and torture the Seraphites until one was mildly nice to her. Not to mention her years-long search for Joel is like Ellie's search for Abby.
Ellie and Abby are both imperfect characters in a flawed world.
I mean the whole section of part 2 from the farmhouse on is brutal. Her flashback with the baby in the barn, Dina begging Ellie not to leave because they’re a family, finding Abby on the beach all emaciated with her braid cut off, the sheer brutality of the last fight, Ellie giving up and sobbing in the ocean, Ellie trying to play the guitar with her missing fingers, her flashback to her and Joel’s last conversation.
I don’t even know how to pick one when the games make me cry every 20 minutes.
Sarah’s Death, then shortly after Tess, then shortly after Frank/Bill’s scene, Henry and Sam, the story of Ish, the Kids under the blanket inside the sewer, Ellie begging Joel to wake up cuz she can’t do this alone (after he gets stabbed at the University), taking Ellie out of the hospital, the scene at the ranch during Tommy’s sequence. Plus all the notes, are really heartbreaking sometimes.
I managed to avoid spoilers for both games until Part 1 came out on PS5 and I wanted to play the game before watching the adaptation.
Sarah's death really caught me off guard the first time around because I didn't know there was a time jump after the opening scenes. Henry and Sam made me put my controller down for a minute because I have a younger brother myself and I don't know what I would have done. Although I had a strong suspicion Joel wasn't going to survive Part 2, I didn't know when it would happen, nor how brutal it would be. I think one of the saddest moments for me was when Ellie told Abby "I can't let you leave," or something to that effect. By that time, I was just ready for these characters to stop hurting each other and find something to live for other than revenge.
If we are talking the last of us it would have to be Abby after she got knabbed. She lost all that weight which resulted in her BEAUTIFUL MUSCULAR arms vanishing. This by far is one of the saddest things in gaming character history.
That final flashback and Ellie’s final fight with Abby. I was just bawling and I remember audibly saying “please no” when I had to fight Abby. She wasn’t a villain to me anymore, she was another protagonist with a life of her own and seeing how far Ellie had fallen into her guilt and grief just killed me. Seeing that flashback and especially that final shot of Joel killed me.
He looked like a man who was hopeful again, like a man who had found salvation and knowing that Ellie and him never got anything more than that in their final conversation re-contextualized Ellie’s entire story. So to realize that she remembered that there and absolutely break down on that beach and fulfill her deepest fear in that moment was just heartbreaking.
When ellie and jj are in the barn and ellie has the flashback with the staircase, honestly it was so horrible I felt like I was going to have a panic attack 😭
Right before the death scene, Henry and Sam were becoming my favorite characters.
Imagine my surprise when it was revealed Sam had gotten infected. Right after, I had slowly felt sadness and dread for the next scene to come.
They did not have to be treated that dirty.
The scene with Sam and Henry death scene and the scene where Joel tells Ellie she’s not his daughter will make me cry no matter how many times I see them.
Ellie killing Mel and Abby and Ellie’s final fight. They were these surreal moments that made me think “Ellie what the hell are you doing?” I can’t find the appropriate words to get into a deep analysis. But what I will say is these scenes highlighted very well the overall theme of the cycle of revenge and its negative effects.
The museum flashback hit me so so hard. Partly because you know it’s all going to be shattered and partly because I lost my dad young and it made me miss him so much.
The scene in the first game when they arrive at triage. Ellie says "I can't imagine losing someone like that, losing everything you know. I'm sorry Joel." The tone of voice really make the lines hit hard.
I’d distinguish between cut scenes and playable ones in TLOU 2. Cut scene for me is when Ellie sees Joel.. ahem… go golfing. Playable has to be when Ellie comes back to the empty farmhouse.
“Everyone I have ever cared for has either died or left me. Everyone fucking except for you! So don’t tell me I would be safer with someone else, because the truth is I would just be more scared”
The giraffe scene is sad, particularly the second time through the game knowing what will happen, and knowing that you have to make the choice to exit the scene. Joel and Ellie will sit there all night until you touch the controller. In a sense you choose to take them to path at the hospital
I haven't seen any/many mentions of both of Abby's big losses (first, of her father in flashback, and then with Owen in the second half). It's possible that the emotional weight is negated with the way it plays out in the narrative for Part II. But I think the power of the vocal performances in both, and the extremely visceral (understandable physical and emotional) reaction is very, very sad to me.
By the time Part II heads to the epilogue, we're prepared for the catharsis coming. But I think the shock of Ellie's two big losses next to Abby's is *collective* instead of comparative. That's not to suggest any supporting characters aren't effective or impactful. I just want to propose the other options for emotional moments...
The last flashback of tlou 2 and Ellie realising that she can't play the guitar anymore at the end, also her leaving the guitar. Actually gut wrenching
I would vote for pellies memory of the porch scene when she finally realizes Joel was only doing what he was best at that moment.
And she never got a chance to return the favor
It's straightforward and there's not much to say about it, but Sarah's death. Just a brutal, unfair, cruel thing to happen that breaks a man's soul forever. He can learn to love a child again, but he can never be the same.
Definitely the Sam and Henry scene. I had to put down the game when it suddenly switched to the next chapter with them in Wyoming. It was too sudden of a change I had to sit and contemplate for like 5 min.
1) Sarah's death.
2) Joel lying to Ellie at the end of part 1. No matter how many times I play it. Breaks my heart every single time. The shutter in his voice. His hesitation. Him holding onto/rubbing his watch. The look in his eyes. It was heartbreaking to me.
3) When Ellie and Joel have their final talk in Part 2. Where he say if he could do it all over again he wouldn't change a thing. Him avoiding eye contact. The verge of tears. The softness in his voice. Everything leading up right before he says what he says was and is perfect. Not gonna lie this game tore me apart. Sorry for the rambling.
A lot of the ones I find sad have already been mentioned and this wasn’t a scene as such but I bawled my eyes out when Ellie killed Alice. She was the goodest girl 😢💔
The way this played out in the game was amazing and sad, about how Ellie got flashbacks from all the good times she had With Joel, Wishing how she could go back to those times.
"Everybody I love has either died or left me. Everyone - fucking except for you!". I think it's even more heartbreaking in retrospect considering where their relationship went in part 2 and Joel's fate.
When Joel was dying and Ellie was begging Abby not to kill him, this scene hits me. Because during a flashback, Ellie says to Joel, "I won't be able to forgive you, but I would like to try." And during gameplay, I think in the beginning, Ellie says to Dina she wants to watch a movie with Joel, hinting she is trying to get back with him. Basically, Joel died thinking Ellie hated him while Ellie was trying to forgive him. ❤️
I hated Tommy’s ending. It crushed me to see him end up like that. Honorable mention for Henry and Sam
Also Ik this will be unpopular but I was DEEPLY disappointed that Ellie let Abby go
Unironically the last flashback went hard. Dunno if it was sad, but gave you a sense of the raw emotion that Joel felt that day with the fireflies.
Yeah Joel and Ellie’s final conversation is heartbreaking, mainly because you know that so much was left unsaid and they’d never get to fully reconnect again. 😭😭😭
Yeah and it recontextualises his death as not "you took Joel from me" but "you made the last thing I ever said to him be 'i don't think I can forgive you' and making him cry" and her not having the change to say she loves him
“…but I’m willing to try” That’s when Joel broke. He was awash with a mix of relief, happiness, and…he missed her.
Yeah, the "but I'm willing to try" was the last thing said - not "I don't think I can forgive you". That was hopeful. In my mind, reliving that memory is what allowed Ellie to finally get over her guilt and why she left Abby live.
She also probably regretted not starting to try to forgive him before though. And maybe she also realized that she actually didn’t want to die in that hospital, and she actually wasn’t supposed to, especially by how much she fought for her life both in Seattle and in Santa Barbara.
When she said "I'd like to try", to me, that is that first step. It wasn't complete by any means. Edit: but I agree with everything else you said
I agree with the first part. I think it really finally sunk in how much time was wasted, holding onto her anger and shutting Joel out. I think she might be starting to understand the last part, but she’s not quite there yet.
Exactly
Im tearing up right now. Man this game fucked me up hard. I love it.
When I got to that part the first time, it hit so hard. But I was also pissed at the leakers. When they showed the final fight with Abby, they had cut that part out. And that's really the difference maker in the whole story. Without it, it doesn't have anywhere near the impact it has with it.
I managed to stay spoiler free. I never caught up with the hate and the leaks. I went in blind. Hell, i didn't even know Joel's incident in the beginning.
It's funny. I was on the fence about buying the game and I very rarely pre-order a game. I heard about the leaks, and while I'd been assuming Joel was going to die, I was curious if the narrative they were spinning had merit. But it became very obvious the hate and nastiness was deliberately being steered and people were being misled by the leakers. It actually convinced me to pre-order the game. Playing through it, I was even more convinced the leakers had an agenda, and not one I agreed with. And I'm speaking as an evangelical Christian! So glad I played it. Such an amazing story. What I find weird is how it keeps drawing me back. Both parts 1 & 2. As rare as it is for me to pre-order a game, it's even more rare for me to replay a game, especially a story based game. I really enjoyed Spiderman, the Horizon and God of War games, but I've never replayed them. But I've replayed P1 three times and P2 twice and I'm already thinking of when to start the third. Probably this fall when yard work is less.
lol you missed the most important part of the quote…
That's one of the things that hit me the hardest is that they never told each other they loved each other to my knowledge
That's what I was going to say
I finished the game around 2 weeks ago and what sticks out to me the most about that flashback is that final shot of Joel. The shot focuses on him, the swell of music and how he looks like a man who’s found salvation, who’s hopeful and it just broke me.
That one hit me hard. The weight of everything that had happened and how they’d grown together all came crashing down then.
Unpopular opinion: it's simultaneously moving and unsatisfying for me I lost my dad right after graduating from college so losing that ability to form an adult relationship with a parent is very relatable. But I inconveniently keep asking myself: Have they never discussed or argued about this in 2 years? Are they trying to say that Ellie never demanded any details? Ellie? ELLIE WILLIAMS? Joel would give her all the space she needs, for sure, and willingly be the scapegoat for all her big feelings and she probably knows she could never pick a safer target for her "hate." But this can't be a new exchange, especially since they've apparently been discreet enough about their estrangement that Ellie snapping at Joel in public is noteworthy even to Maria. They've obviously been speaking in civil terms when seen by others. I can kinda allow for Ellie doing absolutely no reflection on the position Joel found himself in, being a traumatized teenager taking him for granted, but OTOH it seems like quite a long time to stay so resolutely uncurious. I also think Tommy would have sat her down at some point and told her how Sarah was murdered for the supposed greater good But this conversation is written like the entire subject has been embargoed since she turned her horse away from SLC. It wouldn't have to be written very different to fix that impression to make it clear that this is ground they've covered, but Ellie feels differently now. Even if she's just tired of being angry at him and realizes she'll always love and need him (said in their avoidant way). Which would have fixed my other nitpick: no particular in-universe reason for Ellie to make this overture at this exact time. The timing is just to make it hurt more. So I am moved by some of it, will probably be a sobbing mess when Bella and Pedro get their hands on it, but it rings false for me in some ways, and I feel the manipulativeness of the timing. (The timing in-universe, not in the story structure, that's a whole 'nother topic.)
”please stop, please don’t do this.”
Watching that was probably one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I’ve ever watched in media. Like I was crying and angry right along with Ellie
same😭
in no particular order Sarah's death Abby's dream where she sees her father alive after saving Lev and Yara Joel's death Ellie's final flashback + her kneeling in the ocean Sam and Henry's death
sam and henry was the worst for me
Sam and Henry’s death is what hardened my soul and taught me to love nothing in this franchise.
first time I EVER played these games was back in 2022. Sam and Henry's deaths hit me like a freight train. Then when it just said "Fall" and went to the next part of the game, I had to take a break. It was a lot to process.
"I would do it all over again"
For me it was the scene with Henry, the night before when he speaks with Ellie about if there is a person trapped inside the infected still to when he turns and his brother has to kill him and himself
The little guy is Sam, Henry shoots him
*Sam
Since using the death scene is cheating imo lol... I have to say that it's Ellie's reaction to the truth of what Joel did. All the other Joel and Ellie scenes have at least a tinge of hope or closure or something (like the porch scene at the end). But this one is just sad. Just seeing her heart BREAK in that moment, seeing that bond and trust that they had built utterly SHATTER in that moment, seeing Joel struggle to get the words out (at first) because he KNOWS that they'll be over after this... It all just bums me the fuck out lol
"...but I would like to try..." had me doing the ugly face.
“Go, just take him”
That's it for me too. All that effort - pain - death. Just to learn to let go.
For me it was travelling through the sewers, the message "they didn't suffer" still haunts me ten years later. The way it was written and the sheets over all those kids is burned into my mind.
I think when I was playing the Remastered version on my PS4 I never saw the >!sheets/tarps covering the bodies of the kids.!< It wasn’t until playing the Remake on PS5 that I actually saw them. It broke me.
Aw man, that hurts. For me what made it worse was Ellies hope that they got out and Joel just knowing
This one kills me
'Take on me' in the abandoned music shop in Seattle.
I believe there’s no saddest thing in the two games than Ellie watching Joel being killed. At that moment she is completely helpless and unable to do anything but watch the person she loves the most get murdered, just like that. Watching her beg and struggle, desperately trying to prevent the inevitable is just so painful, to the point that no matter how many times I watch this sequence, I always feel the same kind of punch in the stomach as the first time I did. Honestly the writers did an amazing job with this scene, cause you feel just as bad as Ellie does cause it’s uncanny to watch Joel, a character you both love, get brutally killed
Honestly it was so visceral. The gaping hole in his head, her body going limp. It reminded me of negans intro on the walking dead, you kept expecting someone to rush in and save them
Poor Glenn.. that really pissed me off more than anything else in TWD.
This part hurt
Ellie realizing Mel was pregnant was rough
the last cutscene/flashback with joel and ellie on the porch the reveal that ellie was actually ready to try and forgive joel and that that chance was literally ripped right out of their hands the next day is just so heartbreaking and tragic also, joel holding back his tears when he says "i'd like that".... it hits right in the feels
Bro, hardest 10 mins in gaming history. Even as an old fuck who lost many loved ones over past 1-2 decades, that still stunned me.
the museum scene because it just hurts me so bad about what could’ve been confrontation scene because man the look on Joel’s face honourable mention is the one where Joel defends Ellie and the porch scene (😭)
The deviation the show had from Bill and Frank's story in the game really made me realize that Frank's death was the saddest part of the game for me. The lack of closure is a huge theme in this series and it's heartbreaking but so realistic in an apocalypse scenario
I don't know, it's between: "Don't do this to me, baby girl. Come on..." "You're right. You're not my daughter... and I sure as he'll ain't your dad. And we are going our seperate ways." "He tried to... he tried to..." "Joel fucking get up!" "I don't want to lose you." "I'll go back. But we're done." "Dad!" "You're a piece of shit, Abby." "You were defending yourself. You did nothing wrong." *Abby putting her jacket around a traumatised Lev. "We've got a family. She doesn't get to be more important than that." "Just take him..." "I don't know if I can forgive you... but I'd like to try."
I can’t place “I don’t want to lose you”. Which bit is that from?
Ellie says it to Dina after torturing Nora. It's in that sweet/sad scene in the theatre's dressing rooms.
I always get choked up when I see an abandoned PlayStation console 😢
ellie and abby fighting both times like in the first fight, when dina comes in and lev has to stop abby from killing her and in their second fight, it always makes me so sad because i love them both so much that i just want them to stop
When Abby went looking for her dad and she saw his corpse.
The house before Ellie left or the final flashback when Ellie went back to the farmhouse.
When Ellie couldn’t play the guitar after Abby bit her fingers off
That hit me hard because I'm a guitar player. And because Joel gave her the guitar and taught her how to play. Abby along with Ellie's need for vengeance took everything from her. It's so damn sad.
It was mostly Ellie’s need for revenge that severed her last connection to Joel. Abby only fought after Ellie threatened levs life
“You killed my friends” scene in the theatre was heartbreaking. There are so many sad scenes, but this line was memorable. Especially after you learn more about Nora, Owen and especially Mel (and the dog).
The porch scene/flashback during >!Ellie’s fight with Abby.!< It broke my heart when I realized this was literally the night before >!Joel’s!< death. Like… they never got to reconnect and mend their relationship. Ellie’s “…But I’d like to try.” made me tear up SO BADLY. She wanted to have that relationship again but the chance to get it back was taken from her. Just thinking about this scene makes my heart ache. 😭
And honorable mention to the birthday flashback. Freaking LOVED that one.
I'd say the final scene between Ellie and Joel. Having Joel die is one thing, knowing that they had only just taken the first step towards repairing their relationship made it devastating.
This was not the fucking saddest scene. The saddest scene was seeing Abby and Lev being captured and turned into slaves. I'm team Abbby all the way. Fuck Ellie and her neverending need for revenge.
I mean, Abby isn't perfect. She was a prominent member of a heavily militaristic society for years and was happy to help eradicate and torture the Seraphites until one was mildly nice to her. Not to mention her years-long search for Joel is like Ellie's search for Abby. Ellie and Abby are both imperfect characters in a flawed world.
I mean the whole section of part 2 from the farmhouse on is brutal. Her flashback with the baby in the barn, Dina begging Ellie not to leave because they’re a family, finding Abby on the beach all emaciated with her braid cut off, the sheer brutality of the last fight, Ellie giving up and sobbing in the ocean, Ellie trying to play the guitar with her missing fingers, her flashback to her and Joel’s last conversation.
I don’t even know how to pick one when the games make me cry every 20 minutes. Sarah’s Death, then shortly after Tess, then shortly after Frank/Bill’s scene, Henry and Sam, the story of Ish, the Kids under the blanket inside the sewer, Ellie begging Joel to wake up cuz she can’t do this alone (after he gets stabbed at the University), taking Ellie out of the hospital, the scene at the ranch during Tommy’s sequence. Plus all the notes, are really heartbreaking sometimes.
I managed to avoid spoilers for both games until Part 1 came out on PS5 and I wanted to play the game before watching the adaptation. Sarah's death really caught me off guard the first time around because I didn't know there was a time jump after the opening scenes. Henry and Sam made me put my controller down for a minute because I have a younger brother myself and I don't know what I would have done. Although I had a strong suspicion Joel wasn't going to survive Part 2, I didn't know when it would happen, nor how brutal it would be. I think one of the saddest moments for me was when Ellie told Abby "I can't let you leave," or something to that effect. By that time, I was just ready for these characters to stop hurting each other and find something to live for other than revenge.
This is not a sad scene, its a beautiful scene.
If we are talking the last of us it would have to be Abby after she got knabbed. She lost all that weight which resulted in her BEAUTIFUL MUSCULAR arms vanishing. This by far is one of the saddest things in gaming character history.
I cried in the last flashback with Ellie and Joel
"I don't think I can ever forgive you for that, but I'd like to try"....
That final flashback and Ellie’s final fight with Abby. I was just bawling and I remember audibly saying “please no” when I had to fight Abby. She wasn’t a villain to me anymore, she was another protagonist with a life of her own and seeing how far Ellie had fallen into her guilt and grief just killed me. Seeing that flashback and especially that final shot of Joel killed me. He looked like a man who was hopeful again, like a man who had found salvation and knowing that Ellie and him never got anything more than that in their final conversation re-contextualized Ellie’s entire story. So to realize that she remembered that there and absolutely break down on that beach and fulfill her deepest fear in that moment was just heartbreaking.
When ellie and jj are in the barn and ellie has the flashback with the staircase, honestly it was so horrible I felt like I was going to have a panic attack 😭
Right before the death scene, Henry and Sam were becoming my favorite characters. Imagine my surprise when it was revealed Sam had gotten infected. Right after, I had slowly felt sadness and dread for the next scene to come. They did not have to be treated that dirty.
Sarah’s death and Henry’s death
The scene with Sam and Henry death scene and the scene where Joel tells Ellie she’s not his daughter will make me cry no matter how many times I see them.
Ellie killing Mel and Abby and Ellie’s final fight. They were these surreal moments that made me think “Ellie what the hell are you doing?” I can’t find the appropriate words to get into a deep analysis. But what I will say is these scenes highlighted very well the overall theme of the cycle of revenge and its negative effects.
The museum flashback hit me so so hard. Partly because you know it’s all going to be shattered and partly because I lost my dad young and it made me miss him so much.
The last talk
The ending flashback of pt2 for me. I get teary every damn time.
The scene in the first game when they arrive at triage. Ellie says "I can't imagine losing someone like that, losing everything you know. I'm sorry Joel." The tone of voice really make the lines hit hard.
Joel’s death by a landslide
I’d distinguish between cut scenes and playable ones in TLOU 2. Cut scene for me is when Ellie sees Joel.. ahem… go golfing. Playable has to be when Ellie comes back to the empty farmhouse.
When Joel says that you can never truly break free from the past, right before the hospital chapter
“Everyone I have ever cared for has either died or left me. Everyone fucking except for you! So don’t tell me I would be safer with someone else, because the truth is I would just be more scared”
That to me was the best part of both games so fuckin cool
Aftermath from Abby and Ellie’s fight got me having goosebumps emptiness and almost tears.
The scene where ellie doesn't take that steak sandwich seth gives her...
Sam and Henry
When joel fell on the metal thing, I was pretty sad because I thought he died. Then, in the next game, he died.
Sam and Henry’s death fo sho
The last flashback of Part 2
The giraffe scene is sad, particularly the second time through the game knowing what will happen, and knowing that you have to make the choice to exit the scene. Joel and Ellie will sit there all night until you touch the controller. In a sense you choose to take them to path at the hospital
Everytime the guitar comes out I nearly start crying
“oh, baby girl…”
I haven't seen any/many mentions of both of Abby's big losses (first, of her father in flashback, and then with Owen in the second half). It's possible that the emotional weight is negated with the way it plays out in the narrative for Part II. But I think the power of the vocal performances in both, and the extremely visceral (understandable physical and emotional) reaction is very, very sad to me. By the time Part II heads to the epilogue, we're prepared for the catharsis coming. But I think the shock of Ellie's two big losses next to Abby's is *collective* instead of comparative. That's not to suggest any supporting characters aren't effective or impactful. I just want to propose the other options for emotional moments...
The last flashback of tlou 2 and Ellie realising that she can't play the guitar anymore at the end, also her leaving the guitar. Actually gut wrenching
I would vote for pellies memory of the porch scene when she finally realizes Joel was only doing what he was best at that moment. And she never got a chance to return the favor
How in the what did you get the characters to have skins in this scene
Arthur Morgan's death
Sam and Henry dying, Joel's death and the one when Ellie kills David
"... but I'd like to try" Ugh, like a gut punch every time!
How did u get them in these skins in this scene?
It's straightforward and there's not much to say about it, but Sarah's death. Just a brutal, unfair, cruel thing to happen that breaks a man's soul forever. He can learn to love a child again, but he can never be the same.
Definitely the Sam and Henry scene. I had to put down the game when it suddenly switched to the next chapter with them in Wyoming. It was too sudden of a change I had to sit and contemplate for like 5 min.
1) Sarah's death. 2) Joel lying to Ellie at the end of part 1. No matter how many times I play it. Breaks my heart every single time. The shutter in his voice. His hesitation. Him holding onto/rubbing his watch. The look in his eyes. It was heartbreaking to me. 3) When Ellie and Joel have their final talk in Part 2. Where he say if he could do it all over again he wouldn't change a thing. Him avoiding eye contact. The verge of tears. The softness in his voice. Everything leading up right before he says what he says was and is perfect. Not gonna lie this game tore me apart. Sorry for the rambling.
Abby breaking down seeing her dad was pretty brutal. Those screams were verrrrry realistic and you could really feel her pain
A lot of the ones I find sad have already been mentioned and this wasn’t a scene as such but I bawled my eyes out when Ellie killed Alice. She was the goodest girl 😢💔
Henry and Sam. There’s no other choice. I’m not an emotionally reactive person, but I felt every moment of that scene.
The way this played out in the game was amazing and sad, about how Ellie got flashbacks from all the good times she had With Joel, Wishing how she could go back to those times.
I'm not her
"Everybody I love has either died or left me. Everyone - fucking except for you!". I think it's even more heartbreaking in retrospect considering where their relationship went in part 2 and Joel's fate.
When Joel was dying and Ellie was begging Abby not to kill him, this scene hits me. Because during a flashback, Ellie says to Joel, "I won't be able to forgive you, but I would like to try." And during gameplay, I think in the beginning, Ellie says to Dina she wants to watch a movie with Joel, hinting she is trying to get back with him. Basically, Joel died thinking Ellie hated him while Ellie was trying to forgive him. ❤️
Maybe when Ellie murders a doggie, a pregnant woman and the baby daddy???
The moment when you accidentally die in the hospital and they take Ellie away i know its not cannon but its by far the saddest thing
Marston death at the end of RDR I literally put down the controller lit a smoke and took a sip of something powerful
r/lostredditors
I hated Tommy’s ending. It crushed me to see him end up like that. Honorable mention for Henry and Sam Also Ik this will be unpopular but I was DEEPLY disappointed that Ellie let Abby go
What?! Joel dies…? 💔
There’s only two games