The Last of Us: Factions 2 - Some call it a Boat Bedroom, Others Call it a Wharf

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Last of Us: Factions 2 - Some call it a Boat Bedroom, Others Call it a Wharf

lurker2006: Jul 30, 2019

Excited to tee off this thread.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2020 08:40

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 23:23

lurker2006: Jul 30, 2019

Fans posted:

I think a lot of the trouble with the sequel people have is down to all the effort that�s been spent to try find a way to say that Joel was right to do what he did at the end of the first game. Be it �It wouldn�t have worked� or deciding that the apocalypse isn�t that bad or the Fireflies would have somehow refused to actually distribute a cure.

It�s just way more interesting to me if Joel actually did kill Humanity�s last hope for a cure and certainly what the game seemed to be saying. Deciding it wouldn�t have worked isn�t really supported by anything but a desire to let him off from a fairly horrible act and once you�ve decided Joel didn�t actually do anything wrong the sequel is just not on the same page as you anymore because everyone in the game who knows what he did definitely does think that it was pretty loving monstrous.

It's not necessarily that what Joel did wasn't wrong, it's that it wasn't monstrous or demented by the standards of an average person with paternal instinct. For all the backstory that plays into Joel being a broken, traumatized individual does it actually inform his decision in a way that's unique from another parent? Would another father have given up their child on the spot without resorting to violence? What we're left with in the sequel is him being bludgeoned to death for failing to meet an unreasonable standard. In order for it to have worked I think there needed to be another aggravating factor that just wasn't there, a bar that he should have been expected to clear, Ellie actually giving her consent and Joel denying it comes to mind.

lurker2006 fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Jul 7, 2020

# ¿ Jul 7, 2020 17:21

lurker2006: Jul 30, 2019

Sycophantry posted:

After finishing it, I spent a lot of time wondering how heavily my reaction to the game was influenced by losing my own dad a few years ago. (Being careful with the spoiler tag here so it's not obvious what happens in the plot.)

There were two parts where I really felt it. The first was in Abby's section, where she has the nightmare about seeing her dad in the surgery room, then later on when she has the same dream but when she walks in there, her dad is standing there and smiling. (I think, I'm remembering a small moment from nearly two weeks ago.)

The second part was the very last flashback cutscene with Ellie and Joel, when Ellie says she'd like to try forgiving him. I still spend a lot of time wishing I hadn't had periods when I wouldn't see or speak to my dad when I was younger. That last scene did make me tear up a little, just because it brought me back to that.

I don't know whether I like the game so much (and I'm willing to look over it's shortcomings) because it brought that reaction out of me. Once I knew why Abby killed Joel and what that obsession had done to her I didn't find it hard to emphasise.

There's still just a mental block I have with the entire situation, your dad was about to slice open a 14 year old and someone stopped him, I feel for the loss and all but any sense of rightful vengeance is completely lost on me knowing that fact.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2020 01:53

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Last of Us: Factions 2 - Some call it a Boat Bedroom, Others Call it a Wharf