"Future Days" (The Last of Us S2E1) Listener Feedback + News

[00:00:00] Hmm? Ah! Hmm. Podcastica!

[00:00:38] Hey Zenheads, welcome to the podcast. I'm Jason. And I'm Ben. And I'm Eric. And this is The Cast of Us Episode 634. And on this episode, we're going through your feedback for The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1, Future Days. Future Days, and we'll have some news too. And the first bit of news is coming from Ben Beck, who's about to tell us what he thought of the episode.

[00:01:03] Yeah, you know, since I wasn't able to make it for the premiere, I purposely did not listen to the episode you and Eric recorded because I wanted to, I didn't want any of my thoughts to be influenced by anything that you guys said. So after this- We hated it, so go ahead. Okay, that's good. Just kidding. We loved it. No, I thought it was a really strong start to the season. I really liked the fact that I was completely sold on Abby from the moment I was. When I saw her.

[00:01:32] Yeah. I had no reservations about her playing that part. I, just from the acting alone, I completely bought into her playing that character. Same. I'd never really seen Caitlin Deaver in anything that I can remember either. And she's gotten a lot of buzz lately and I could see why right away. Yeah. Yeah, it was just from that opening scene with her. I was sold on Caitlin from the announcement, but just seeing her in action now playing Abby, I was completely on board.

[00:02:03] And in regards to everything else, I like Catherine O'Hara's character so far. It's, she's very, it's, I like the fact that I, it took me a minute to realize the connection that she has to the story. Even though she is a completely new character, she is connected to the story in a way that we haven't really talked about. And I kind of, it clicked as I was watching what that connection was.

[00:02:31] Uh, so I'm really intrigued to see what they're going to do with her character because it's such a new character. But as far as the main gist of it with Ellie and Joel, I like seeing a lot of like the teenage angst that's coming from Ellie and the, the complicated, we're seeing Joel have to deal with something that he at one point convinced himself. He was never going to have to because of the loss of his own daughter. And now he's going through it with Ellie anyway.

[00:03:01] Yeah, that's right. That's what makes this even harder for him. Cause yeah, he's, he's, I think that's one reason why he's trying. He, I mean, I already said this on the podcast that he didn't want to tell Ellie the truth because he's afraid he'll lose her if he does, but not telling her is actually what's causing him to lose her.

[00:03:20] But what you just added is it's especially hard for him. Cause that's like his core wound of having to sit there while he saw his daughter gun down and he never wants anything like that to happen again. That's the whole reason why he didn't even want to get attached to Ellie in the first place. And then he did get attached and now he's having to kind of go through it again.

[00:03:38] So yeah, I mean, it was, it was something that, you know, we didn't really talk about it last season, but him saving Ellie at the end was because he didn't want to have to go through what he had already gone through with his own daughter and losing someone he was very close to. He'll kill a thousand people before he has to go through that. Yeah. Yeah. So, so sounds like you liked it though, huh? I did. I thought it was a really strong start and I'm really,

[00:04:03] really looking forward to seeing where they're going to go and how far they're going to get with this season. Yeah. Only seven episodes. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, let me, I'm going to get into just a little bit of news and then we'll get into some feedback. So first off with the news, a variety reports that the first episode of the second season reached 5.3 million viewers, which marks a 13% increase from the season one premiere,

[00:04:31] which hit 4.7 in January, 2023. That's from the HBO cable channel plus streams on max. And they said the season one finale had 8.2 million. And then after 90 days of delayed viewing post season, the last of us ended up with a season average of 32 million views per episode, which sounded really high to me, but that's what variety said. So it's a, it's a hit. You know,

[00:05:01] I mean, viewing numbers these days compared to just to sound like the old man here, back in the day when there was just three networks and we all had that shared collective experience of watching things when it was like, Oh, a hundred and something million. Watch this episode. It's always funny. I don't really know what constitutes a really huge viewership anymore. I know. I mean, these days it seems like if you have even a couple million that that's viable to keep a series going. Yeah. But, um,

[00:05:31] like 10 or 12 is, is a huge hit now. Whereas before that kind of a show would get canceled. I sometimes, sometimes, well, and that's, that's the point I was going to make. I sometimes think the networks don't even know what constitutes a hit anymore because you'll see shows that are getting on a regular basis, three to 5 million views a week, which nowadays with every, with as many streaming services as there are and as much as there is to watch, in my opinion is good numbers,

[00:06:00] but networks are still canceling these shows because they don't think the viewership is high enough. Yeah. Well, stop creating 1500 streaming services. Your numbers will be higher. I know there. I, the latest count, there's, uh, 24,037 scripted shows. No, I'm just, I thought you were going to say streaming services. It wouldn't surprise me. No, either, either one of those. I'm like, yeah, okay. Yeah, that seems about right. Uh, next thing. Um, I don't,

[00:06:28] I know a lot of people don't care that much about reviewers, but I kind of like to look at the rotten tomato scores just to get an idea of how something's being received. Season one of the last of us has a 96% average among critics with 487 reviews. And the critics consensus says retaining the most addictive aspects of its beloved source material, while digging deeper into the story. The last of us is binge worthy TV that ranks among the all time greatest video game adaptations and paired with the critics score.

[00:06:58] They also have an audience score because people come in and give their own reviews. And that is 88% with 10,000 plus ratings. So pretty good. So season two so far after one episode, although critics, I think saw, I don't know how many, but a handful, um, has a 96% average as well with 96 reviews in so far. And the consensus says grabbing onto thorny moral questions with the bare hands.

[00:07:24] The last of us second season is a challenging expansion that retains its predecessors, superb performances and bare similitude. So that's, that's cool. I like that. That's promising. Audience score on the second season, however, is a 58% with 500 plus ratings. And I can't say I'm surprised because anytime a show veers into an area where people think that someone's trying to push a progressive agenda,

[00:07:53] then it gets review bombed. And, um, there's, I've noticed lately cause I've been getting back into the last of us over the last couple of months, getting ready for the season that there's just recently this, for some reason, this groundswell of, I would say assholery about Bella Ramsey as a bad choice for Ellie. Uh, that was there for season one though. It was, but it's just been cleaned up a bit. Like now when I go to Reddit, Oh, it's horrible. That's all you see. Yeah.

[00:08:22] And it's just really vicious too. Like cruel. And, by the way, stay away from the last of us to subreddit. That's the one. Yeah. That is a toxic cesspool of nonsense that nobody that gets shunned. Those are not fans. Those are, it keeps sending me emails. I can't, I got to figure out how to get rid of that. The other one, just the last of us, those are decent. Those are okay.

[00:08:46] And right now they just did a breakdown that there was more posts about people not complaining about, please do not complain about Bella than any posts complaining about Bella. So, but I've seen it on Facebook and other places too. People are ugly. I, and I, I saw a clip actually earlier today. I was watching a, an interview, just a YouTube clip that Bella Ramsey was on the Jeffrey Ross show over in the UK. And some of the comments in there were actually,

[00:09:14] I was pleasantly surprised at how great some of the comments were towards Bella Ramsey. Like one of the comments in particular was like, I don't get all the hatred that this person is getting because when you watch clips like this, she is incredibly charming. Yeah. Yeah. they're great. And you can, there, there are so many people screaming that from the rooftops that they are an amazing actor and it is great. She, they, they are amazing as Ellie. And so many people are very happy,

[00:09:41] but it just sucks that there's such a loud contingent of ghastly ghouls out there just saying terrible things. Yeah. It sucks, you know, because they're the loudest ones. And, you know, it's okay if you think that Bella isn't, you know, it's okay to criticize acting, but it's just getting so vicious. And I personally think Bill is great, but, um, I just think, uh, you know,

[00:10:06] I think the country is more and more polarized and a lot of people feel judgmental about anything they see as having this progressive agenda. And that means representation, which can mean characters of different ethnicities, different sexuality, and who look different than typical Hollywood types. And personally, I think representation is amazing. It's great. And just from a common sense perspective, like not because I'm any particular political persuasion, but I just think it's crazy to think that all stories should be about the exact same kinds of people.

[00:10:35] I think we should, all types of people should be able to watch shows and movies and occasionally think, Hey, look, there's someone who's more like me, um, where I, I know this could be controversial on the left, but where I do agree sometimes is when there's a type of person shown who maybe doesn't make sense for the story. And then it can take me out of it if it feels inorganic or forced, but I just can't stand it when people have the knee jerk reaction of, Oh, if there's a gay person or a black person or a person who I don't like how they look, then, then it sucks.

[00:11:05] I think that's stupid and offensive. So the good thing about this show is that those folks are also represented on this show. Yeah. That's right. We got to see those folks represented as well. And that just pisses people off too. They're thinking, look, representation matters. We agree, man. We agree. Right. There's my guy. But I, you know, I think it's good just to sometimes just say, forget about any kind of political persuasion and just let's talk reasonably.

[00:11:35] This is a love story in part about gay characters. Many people are gay. It's fine. Let's watch that. It's great to see that Margot Robbie exists. I like watching her movies, but not everyone has to look like Margot Robbie. There's all different kinds of people in the world. It's okay to have stories about any of them. It's fine. Yeah. So that's, that's, and my biggest piece of advice to any of the people that have a problem with it is change the channel. Turn it off. Yeah. You don't like it. Turn it off. Anyone's like, Oh, they're forcing their agenda down my throat. No, they're not. No, they're not.

[00:12:10] Okay. Next, uh, Esquire talked with Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. They said, what was the energy like when you arrived on set for season two? Bella Ramsey said there was sort of a fresh energy and excitement around it, which is really good. We had a good time. It was hard, hard work as it always is, but the connections that you make with people on set just get you through. Pedro Pascal said, Bella was there before I got to the set for season two and was steering the ship. So it felt really seamless for me. I got to do a scene first with you and it was like getting right back to it. Really? Um, Ramsey said,

[00:12:40] I love it when you came back on set. I missed you. Esquire asked, was there any trick to cheering each other up after shooting a hard dramatic scene together? Ramsey said, that's the thing that comes most naturally to us. I think Pedro Pascal. Yes, that's true. We have fun. Even the darkest moments for our characters, sometimes during the takes, he said, yeah, we've got a giggle problem. We call it corpsing in the UK here. It's a giggle issue or breaking. We break character and it becomes this horrifyingly contagious sensation.

[00:13:09] Like your body is a prisoner to laughter in a way, the more tense it gets, the more anxious you get. And Ramsey said, and the funnier it gets. And Pascal said, yeah, it's horrible. I don't even want to hear your voice get into the pitch that happens. And then it just said that Bella Ramsey laughed and he goes, there we go. It gets into this high pitch and then there's no turning back. And they said, that reminds me of your Saturday night live sketches, Pedro, when the actors were simply unable to get through their scenes without breaking out in laughter.

[00:13:38] And he said, I just want to say that even in that circumstance, I didn't start it. Bella Ramsey says, come on, you can't keep putting it on someone else. Pascal. I'm going to have to, I'm literally going to pull up examples because there are receipts out there. Ramsey says, and I'll pull up opposing examples. Pascal. I don't think you'll be able to Ramsey. I don't know what world you're living in. They're cute. They're there. I love the relationship that the two of them have. Yes. They asked,

[00:14:05] what are some qualities in each other's characters that you really admire? Bella Ramsey said, I admire Joel's fierce protection. Sometimes it's actually detrimental, but for the most part, it's very admirable how much you love and care and protect and are so selfless. It's tricky because it can also be selfish. You're doing it to protect yourself from pain. Pascal says, and building principles based on what his ultimate needs are. Ramsey says, okay, here's what I actually admire. How much Joel knows about things. He can just build and do contracting. He knows about siphoning gas,

[00:14:34] fixing tires and cars. That is what I admire. All the practical skills you have. Pascal says, I admire how smart Ellie is. She's the kind of person that is the smartest person in any room. And I feel the same way about you, Bella Ramsey. That's nice. You know, every time we're in an interview, I can't get over how eloquent you are. You say things in such a beautiful way that makes so much sense. What else do you admire about me? He said, you understand everything that has been communicated or said. There's no, I don't know what you mean.

[00:15:03] There's always this empathic way about you. Let's be real. You're smarter than me. You will get higher test scores, period. I'm not even trying to kiss your ass. I'm telling you the truth. You can't really get away with anything with Ellie or Bella. It's really nice. No news there, but I just like that. They're always complimenting each other. You know, they say that there's receipts for the giggle fits and everything. And it made me realize there's no blooper reel or anything from season one out there.

[00:15:32] Is there that we have that? We haven't seen. I can't remember seeing that. There should be. Yes. It's always funny to see bloopers from like horror and drama, like serious shows. Yeah. Uh, this is the last one. Cosmopolitan talked with Isabella Merced who played Dina and young Missy, Missy, who played Jesse. They said, um, Isabella, can you talk a bit about Dina's positivity in the midst of everything that's going on?

[00:16:01] What do you think that still drives her? She said, I think I infused a lot of myself into the character. I found a good balance between me and Shannon Woodward's groundwork. That's the voice actors who played Dina in the game. The thing about funny people is they don't know they're funny most of the time. And I think just by channeling my authentic reaction to what I probably, I would do in an apocalyptic situation is kind of what you're getting in a way. I would just do things and Craig would just start laughing. And I'd be like, what are you laughing at? He's like, you just did something really funny. I'm like, okay, great, cool. I guess I'm the clown. And that is my role.

[00:16:32] Um, they said the final scene in the first episode is so identical to the one in the game. It's a little wild to see what was it like on set. They're talking about the dance. Okay. I was like the pipe. I don't remember that in the game. Isabel Merced, do you feel like says, do you feel like in retrospect as though it was just one of those magical cinematic days where everything went right? It was beautifully sparkling rain outside. We were in a church that was cozy. We would go off set after we were filming and serenade each other with our guitars, Bella young. And I,

[00:17:02] there was so much preciousness to that filming process that I used to think maybe it won't translate, but I think it translated in the moment. And the, and the beginning as it was in the game was so cinematic and vulnerable and magical. So it was like everything aligned so beautifully. And young Mazzito said, you're right. That was very cool set of days when we were shooting there. That was pretty early on, but there was always a guitar in the green room and we would pass it around sharing our songs. Isabel Merced says, we took Gustavo's guitar. Gustavo Santalaya is the composer.

[00:17:31] We didn't know it was his guitar because he wasn't on set yet. We were the ones playing it. And then they were like, where the fuck is Gustavo's guitar? Like he's the guy who's supposed to be on camera in a single shot playing his tune. Young Mazzito says, I remember Craig's reaction. I was like, I'm sorry. I took the guitar. That's pretty funny. They took Gustavo's guitar. All right. Let's get into some listener feedback. Click, click.

[00:18:00] I'm a zombie guy. That's all the feedback we got. No, I'm just kidding. Thanks everybody. So how about Ben? You want to go first? Sure. First piece of feedback comes from Terry from Huntington Beach. Uh, did I just see Lady Liana Mormont make out with Dora the Explorer? I have one question. Where's Swiper? Uh, all kidding aside, what a great first episode,

[00:18:30] but I better see some infected get lit up by a flamethrower this season. I had no clue that was Dora the Explorer. The only time I'd seen, uh, the only time I realized I'd seen Isabella Merced had was in alien Romulus. So, uh, I didn't realize that's her, which was, was very funny. I didn't know it until right now. Yeah. Yeah. And they'd mean either, uh, next one comes from Monica McGuire, little confused on why Ellie is so mad at Joel. She's 19.

[00:18:59] So teenage mad at everything should be over. She believed Joel. When he said he promised nothing happened regarding the fireflies. Oh, but she'll be mad at him considering the scenes regarding Abby. I didn't realize this firefighter killing count was that many. She's saying he will be mad at him. Oh yeah. But she will be mad at him when she finds out how many. Yeah. No, I, I don't, I don't agree with this. I, I mean, um, she did. I don't think she really believed Joel in her heart. She didn't look like it. She's like, all right.

[00:19:27] But also when you're 19, I mean, that's like right in the middle of identity formation and pushing for independence, figuring out who you are apart from your caregivers, uh, that can come with frustration, moodiness, pulling away. Well, and we have five years, uh, in between. So we, we still don't know everything that's happened in between those five years. So I'm sure there, we may find out why there's a, she's so teenage mad about everything. I mean,

[00:19:56] also like I kind of said this already last time, but she's been through trauma, loss, survivors, guilt. Now she's got Joel hovering over her trying to be her protector, but he made this choice that took away her agency. And, uh, that combination of like real world developmental psychology plus post-apocalyptic trauma makes it seem totally, I mean, I'm not your best friend when you're 14 experience. What happened with David happened to her. And to be fair,

[00:20:26] this is five years later. We don't know a lot of what happened between their, with their relationship in between. I mean, we know some shit went down because we get the whole thing with Catherine Harris character. Like you killed my husband. Okay. When did that happen? And why did that happen? So there's a lot that we don't know yet as to why Ellie is still acting this way towards Joel. I think even the, what we do know, I think the point of the episode was that he's been keeping this to himself this whole time.

[00:20:55] And it's just festered like a rot. That's why the part of the reason why they had the therapist scene where she's like, you're hiding something and you need to be brave and talk about it because otherwise it's this, I, she didn't say this, but I can't remember what she said exactly, but that was the point. This is the barrier that's keeping you from connecting to Ellie and she's resentful about what happened, but you're not talking it through. So it's just getting worse and worse. You know, I, that's, I felt like that was like kind of what the episode was saying.

[00:21:25] Thank you, Monica. That definitely got a, got us talking, but I mean, I looked it up Monica just cause I was like, Oh, maybe she's right. But this one, a psychological, what is he? He's a psychologist and a researcher on emerging adulthood. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett said emerging adulthood is a distinct developmental period between adolescence and adulthood. Approximately ages 18 to 25 characterized by identity, exploration, instability, and self-focus. So I don't know. I think 19 is still fair game for acting like,

[00:21:55] yeah. As I said in the last episode, as a parent of a 19 year old, there is nothing surprising about this. I mean, and, and who's to say like, yes, maybe in the real world and modern days by 19, you should be through that teenage angst, but this is post apocalypse. Yeah. I mean, I don't think it is like that in the modern world either, but yeah, the apocalypse makes it worse. Yeah. Worse. You can be teenage angsty until you're 23 in the post apocalyptic. Yeah. And that age just keeps getting older by the way. Exactly.

[00:22:25] Then you're off of your parents insurance. Right. Back in the like gilded age, you were working in the mines at 12 years old. So you didn't have 12 years old. Black love. Uh, Jeffrey a says, if you buy a plot of land in a cemetery, is there like a code that requires you to get something better than two branches of a tree shaped into a cross? I'm just thinking that if I were in a zombie slash fungi apocalypse, I'd at least get some two by four,

[00:22:54] sand them down really nicely and maybe add some finishing to it. Make my cross look really nice. There are branches. Weren't they two by fours? I thought they were. I mean, not that they were that ornate or anything, but I figured there, there are pieces of pallet, you know, yeah, pallets. Yeah, exactly. Planks with firefly penance hung over them. Yeah. All right. We got a call from Greg. Hello, Jason and Lucy. Uh, all right. So last of us, season two, episode one.

[00:23:25] Uh, I don't know what the deal is, but maybe it's, I've been playing too much video games, but I feel like each of the characters are literally, they look like they're out of the video games. I, I just, I'm just super confused because it, I don't know if it was, I was buzzed when I was watching it. And so it looked like a video game or what, but,

[00:23:55] uh, I have not played the video game. Um, and I am absolutely loving the story so far. Uh, I love the evolution. It seems like it makes sense. The number of years into the apocalypse that the cordyceps would, uh, tend to evolve and figure out how they can figure out how to spread better. Um, but anyway, like, uh, loving the acting.

[00:24:25] The only thing that's throwing me is what looks like CGI, but maybe it's not. I don't know. Anyway, this is Greg. Talk to you later. Bye. I don't know. It's hard to say because we don't, we are, I don't know what's what I mean. We, yeah, we don't know. Cause we played the game. I was just picturing Greg sitting there watching it like stoned out of his mind or whatever. And then, and then Mario walks on the screen, you know, and Mario and Luigi, the plumbers are here. Yeah. My, my first thought was, you know,

[00:24:55] I hear really good things about micro dosing too. It's, um, but to be serious, I don't, yeah, I don't know. I don't know, Greg, it doesn't. Um, that's one thing I was wondering is would people think, but I was more thinking that certain situations might seem gamey. Like when, um, Ellie picked up the bottle or something like that, not like just the actual aesthetic look of it. Cause I don't, I don't, I don't see that, but I don't know.

[00:25:23] I am trying to think about what scenes he might be referring to. Ben, I'm sorry. No, no, it's, it's totally fine. I think it's more, if it's what I'm thinking, like what he's saying, like they look like, I think he's saying like, they look so much like video game characters. Like it's, it's kick, it kind of takes him out of it. He hasn't even played the game though. Yeah. And that's kind of where I was a little confused. Uncanny Valley, but, but I, I think the producers just did that good of a job of making these guys look like their counterparts from the game.

[00:25:54] I mean, like I, like I said earlier about being sold on Abby from the moment I saw her, it was literally the moment Caitlin diver, diver turns around as Abby. I'm like, yeah, that's Abby. Like didn't need to see all the muscles. Like that's Abby. Maybe he means Pedro Pascal is so incredibly handsome that he just looks unreal. Yeah. He must be CGI. He's got high resolution. All right. Moving on with our feedback. This one comes from Pake Allen. Uh,

[00:26:24] lots of direct references and similarities to the game, which put me right back there. The whole scene with that fucking stalker. I hear you, Pake. Seriously. Uh, my anxiety was high. Just watching that scene. Uh, I hate them. Uh, I hate them so much. Just immediate flashbacks of the intense anxiety of dealing with those bastards, but not a lot of feedback because it mostly would just be spoilery. Thinking of all the characters, stories, and locations.

[00:26:51] I'm so excited to see this season ready for this ride. I love it because my notes for that, you know, were fuck. I hate dealing with those things in the game. And then when we talked about it with Eric, he's like, yeah, me too. And then Pake wrote in saying, Oh, everybody. I guess it's universal. Yeah, it is universal. They, they made it, they made one hell of a good, uh, a good, uh, enemy in the game. Even, even like I said,

[00:27:18] like I'm in the middle of doing my first replay of the game since the game came out. And so all of that is fresh in my head right now. Yeah. And when Ellie's saying, it's like, it feels like Ellie's playing the game. Cause she's like, just come out and come at me. God damn it. Love it. All right. Next one from Mark McBurnie. Very good opening episode to the season. Sadly, I didn't get to do my replay of the game before I started it. Like I wanted my favorite scene was the stalker.

[00:27:47] That creepy little fucker looked great on the screen. I can't remember if she got bit in the game, but cutting the wound to cover it up was a great touch. The music on point again. Druckmann must be a Nirvana fan as he had one of their songs in this as well as in one of the trailers. Ellie also has a Pearl Jam poster in her room, which is cool nod to when Joel plays a guitar for Ellie in the game. Nice to see Abby in a few short scenes and looking forward to seeing more of her as the season progresses.

[00:28:16] Ellie also had a in utero. I was just going to say that. Yep. That album was in her room on a shelf. Sure. I know he's a Pearl Jam fan because the song future days is Pearl Jam. And then I think he's, he's gotten to know them a little bit because he's used their music. I think there was another Pearl Jam song in season one, actually of the last of us. But if you're a Pearl Jam fan, I got to think you're probably a Nirvana fan too. Matt King said it was a strong start,

[00:28:46] but would like to have seen more of Joel involved. Not too many likable characters at the moment. Ellie's acting like a brat at times, perhaps with her superpower, but at least Dina seems to be a bit more interesting. Just to refresh my memory, not a spoiler as it was from season, the season one finale where all the crosses in the opening scene for fireflies killed in Joel's end of season rampage, or could some of those in the hospital have not been fireflies. So it's taken five years for Abby and her remaining fireflies to have found

[00:29:15] Joel's compound. I think as far as we know, everyone in the hospital was a firefly, right? Yeah. I think yes to the, all of the above. Yeah. And those questions. Yeah. It's taken Ellie five years. I mean, one thing we didn't mention, I just wanted to go back to something Mark, uh, mentioned was, uh, uh, Abby cutting the, the bite to cover it up. We didn't talk about that when you and I talked to it. That was, that was an interesting little touch. Uh, we did talk about it, but you were drinking. So yeah. Oh, okay.

[00:29:45] That makes sense. I, I did think that was really smart on Ellie's part. I mean, you know, she's got the bite on her arm that she covered with a tattoo. It's, you can't cover up constantly with tattoos, especially there. So that's one way to do it. It's just make it look like a different kind of wound than a bite. A bottle. Like bottle. Yeah. Yeah. What the hell happened there? I was just cutting myself. Shaving. That's not funny.

[00:30:13] She got scratched when she fell through the ceiling of the supermarket. Oh, there we go. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. Landed on rebar. All right. Here's a call from a new caller, Elijah. Hey, Jason and crew. My name is Elijah. I'm from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. I am a first time caller. I actually only started listening to your podcast about a year ago.

[00:30:37] I just wanted to kind of find a new way to re-experience the walking dead. And I started with your podcast. I have been watching every episode from the first episode. And I've only gotten to about episode 344. Now is the episode I'm on.

[00:30:58] And I have not skipped ahead in any episodes until today when I started to watch The Last of Us season two, episode one. I was very relieved to hear that Jason and Eric are still on the podcast, still doing their thing as hosts. After what, 15 years, it was, you know, a little nerve wracking knowing that so much can change,

[00:31:25] but it's glad to hear that you guys are still going. Now there's so much to say, but so little time, but my thoughts for episode one of season two were pretty positive. I really liked the episode. It, I think this show does a really good job at adding in new material while still, you know, drawing back from the original games. Um, I,

[00:31:52] I think it was great watching the show and, you know, there was enough there where you don't know what's coming next. You don't know what's going to really happen for the most part. But when you do get those scenes that are right out the game, it's, it's, it's really a surprise and a delight. And so that, I think that episode did really good with that. Um, and I'm really excited to see what they do with the next episode. Uh,

[00:32:22] it looks like they're probably only going to cover about, I would say half of the game just by the pace of that first episode. Um, I think that this season is really going to do half the game in the next season would do the other half if I had to guess, but other than that, great episode, great listening to you guys. Uh, now I have to kind of stick with the old walking dead episodes while simultaneously watching your coverage on the last of us. So, I mean, it's more to listen to. So I'm excited.

[00:32:52] Keep it up. Jason, that's got to make you feel great when you still get people who are admitting to being first time like listeners and contact. Absolutely. We do. They trickle in and it does. It's really fun to talk to people who are just finding us now. And it was great to hear from you, Elijah. And, uh, I, here's a little wrinkle about a year ago. my, so Karen, uh,

[00:33:20] kind of petered out after the Negan years and she's still, you know, we're still great friends. She'll come on every once in a while, but Lucy became my new cohost and, and Lucy's amazing. And she's, uh, she's just so fun and really insightful. And we started a walking dead rewatch about a year, a year and a half ago now. And so we went back to the pilot and, um, we're podcasting about each episode from the perspective of having seen the whole thing. And that's really fun too. So I don't know if you might want to skip ahead and dip into some of those too,

[00:33:49] but that's just maybe a little too, too much. Um, also, I think this might be the first time we've ever had anyone call or say they called from St. Thomas. So that's pretty cool. I just was there. Very cool. It's just like six months ago. And, uh, about how far, you know, into the game this season will get, they've said, basically they've said it'll be either two or three seasons. So you're right. It's either half or maybe one third of the game. I, I,

[00:34:18] I've been thinking about where we're going to end on the season. I, I'll save that for later. And that's game talk, game talk. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Uh, okay. This next one comes from Colin from Iowa. Uh, they're doing Joel dirty already this season. He's estranged from Ellie. He's going to therapy. He gets shunned for standing up for her at the new year celebration. Who is this guy? Me? Great episode though.

[00:34:47] I haven't played any of the games, but I'm in the loop. The introduction of the intelligent infected is a touch. Ellie and Dina making out with, fantastic. Not in that way. And more of a Yas queen way. I feel like I just did Yas queen incredibly dirty in the way I just did. Uh, that was good. That was good. I felt really embarrassed for them because I'm not a public affection connoisseur. If I may, uh, I'm glad Joel stepped in cause knowing Ellie, she'd have stabbed the guy.

[00:35:16] Keep doing what you're doing. Podcastica. Peace and love. Good to hear from you, Colin. That's funny. And also I just, I, uh, I realized I felt a little bit of a secondhand awesomeness from what Elijah was talking about, about as far as like you and I going back all the way with the last. Oh, Yeah. 15 years and all that good stuff. And I'm like, damn. Yeah, that's cool. So I know we have a, you're, you're going to say, we have a legacy. I was just going to say, Colin, you know, saying they're doing Joel dirty and everything.

[00:35:44] And I've been talking a lot about how I can understand, um, Ellie and how she feels. But the point of this season, this game, this, you know, covering this game is to get into the perspectives of people on different sides. And I can also understand Joel. It's like, fuck man, I saved your life. I'm just trying to do my damn best. And everybody's on my case. You know, I can understand that too. For sure. Especially as a father. Yeah.

[00:36:14] And that's, that's always the click. I almost said the clicker. That's the kicker with this, isn't it? I mean, I, I, I feel like the outskirt because I'm not a father, but I'd be damned if any of my cats ever treated me the same way Ellie is treating. They'd be out of here. They'd be gone. On the street. Meow, meow, meow. Next email is from Matthew Tyndall. I really enjoyed the premiere for the most part, but I really disliked Ellie.

[00:36:43] I loved Bella Ramsey in season one. And even though it's visually weird, since she doesn't look like she's grown up, I was never with the people calling for her to be recast. I didn't even have a problem with the actress, but the writing and the directing is really ruining her character so far. She is still acting like a 14 year old. People keep acting like 19 is an acceptable age to act the way she does, let alone in a post-apocalyptic world. In the game,

[00:37:09] you could see that Joel was being overbearing because she was portrayed as mature and competent. It's hard to make that same argument with him trying to take her off patrols when they show her immediately proving him right. I'm assuming once things happen that she'll get more serious, but I really don't like how they started her character out. I mean, I was annoyed that Dina and Ellie just ignored everything and ran right into danger. Yeah. I mean, they're, they're just,

[00:37:40] they're, they're very full of themselves. That's for sure. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's another thing. This, um, this psychologist I was quoting, he says also, and I know this is true when you're an adolescent, you have this sort of optimism and this, uh, feeling a lot of times that you think you're going to be able to achieve your goals and that you're kind of invulnerable. So that fits too, you know? Well, I think there's also an argument that could be made as well that, you know, pre season one, Ellie was very on her own.

[00:38:09] She had to defend herself. She had to be overly cautious because of a lot of things. She's now had five plus years of protection of somebody looking out for her. And I think that's kind of allowed her mentally to kind of, almost let herself go a little bit and be a little bit more reckless because she has people behind her now. So whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, uh, that's yet to be determined. But I, I think that could be a reason why they are doing this with their character now.

[00:38:39] But man, it is annoying when you're in a situation like that, that you need to be on point, you know, because lives are at stake. So, yeah, I think people are forgetting really how young, 19 really is. Yeah. Me too. I mean, it's, and also 2025, 19, I'm telling you, it's different than 1990, 19. It just, it just is. What's a 20, 29 post-apocalyptic 19. Even that's what we're dealing.

[00:39:10] Exactly. I don't know. I don't know. All right. Here's a call from Alma. Hello, podcast. This is Alma. I was just coming in here to give my two cents about the last of us. Uh, season two, episode one. Um, so far, so good. It started off good. I liked the new additions that Abby character and her crew seem pretty solid. And of course, Dina, whoo, scene stealer Dina. She's,

[00:39:40] she's really good. I really liked that actress. Um, the only thing I'm not liking is how, um, Ellie's treating Joel. Um, you know, as yeah, we know he's not her parent and yes, I know she, it was her choice, but, um, I'm with Joel. I'm with Joel on this. And I don't think,

[00:40:09] I think he did what he needed to do, um, to keep her safe and alive. Um, I just hope she, um, forgives him and is grateful that later on, um, for that choice. Um, but yeah, I, I think they did really good. Bella Ramsey seems to have aged well for this time jump. Uh, you know,

[00:40:37] my son and I had a little conversation about, um, the game and he's like, mom, you need to play the game. I'm like, no dude, I'm not a gamer, but mom, I just know that they're going to mess up this season. Do, do, do, you know, there's a time jump and the actress that they have playing Ellie is, very young looking. And I just don't, I don't know how they're going to do it, but you know what? I have faith in, um, Bella Ramsey. She's,

[00:41:06] she's a rock star. I just love her. And, um, so far so good. I think they, wow. The first episode, it was already, I didn't expect the time jump to come so soon. Um, but she's killing it. And, um, wow. Um, as far as, um, another good part that I really liked in the episode, probably my favorite part was, um,

[00:41:33] Joel talking to Gail and Gail's response. Um, wow. That, um, really floored me, left me with my jaw dropped, what she said to him. and I look forward to seeing what all happened because I, we honestly, I didn't know there was a Eugene. I don't remember a Eugene being mentioned in season one. So, um, I, I look forward to seeing that story. All right, guys.

[00:42:03] Can't wait to listen to the cast and I'll catch you guys later. Bye. Alma. I don't think they mentioned Eugene in season one. No, that's a new, so we're, we're going to see what happened with that. I'm sure. But I think you should, uh, make sure your stunt, your son stays off. What was the Reddit subreddit? Last of us, the last of us to stay off of that one. Stay off of that one. You know, I gotta say, I'm,

[00:42:31] I'm pleasantly surprised to see how many people are angrily responding to Bella's treatment of Joel. Uh, it's like the, don't treat our Joel like this. You know, he went through hell to get to, to save you. I think it also speaks to the age demographic of this podcast. That could be awesome. Okay. Yeah. Maybe.

[00:43:01] I definitely think the internet zaddy has a lot to do with it though. Yeah. Yeah. I guess you're right. Yeah. People are very protective of Pedro. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of funny. I'm, I'm really appreciating that. I think it's fantastic. You know, it's cool. I mean, and if, of what they've done with Joel in this is, uh, any indication as to how Pedro will look in the future with the grays and the longer hair, he is going to be the internet zaddy for a while. Uh, all right. Moving on. This one comes from Wyman Owen. Uh, hello, Jason and Lucy.

[00:43:31] Uh, I'm so glad to be back conversing with y'all again. Let's go. The last of us. Lucy will be here. I think next episode, by the way, she'll be rotating in. well, I didn't need to get shot in the face. Um, this was an amazing start to season two, the cold open with Abby. I don't even remember if she was mentioned by name. Uh, actually I don't think she was. She was. Oh, she was mentioned in that scene. Okay. Uh, the cold open with Abby's crew was so smart.

[00:44:01] Enter the new peeps right away. Dina and Jesse. Fantastic. Lots of game bits in there. Uh, which I thought were well-placed and Catherine O'Hara, such a great ad. I hope we see more of her going forward. My only negative thing I have is the scene at the supermarket after Ellie falls through the floor. The parts before with her and Dina doing amazing mind work made me chuckle. But when Ellie falls, I felt they took too long to build up to the infected stalker encounter.

[00:44:30] It seemed like it was almost 10 minutes of her slowly walking around the obstacles. Once she got there, it was fine. Just felt slow at that point. The pacing was good. Definitely hit some gate, uh, great game moments. The dance, the shooting with Tommy. I think there was, or it was a Gustavo Santana lookalike on guitar. No, it was him. It was that him on the guitar. Okay. Yeah. And I enjoyed that. They ended the episode with Abby's group.

[00:44:57] Caitlin Deaver did amazing and she didn't, she really didn't do much. Lots of story to unfold in the upcoming, in the coming episodes. I just wonder how many times I'll rewatch this one before next Sunday. And let's face it. I probably won't even call in because I'd like to get my thoughts in order right after the episode to share here while still fresh. I feel if I tried a voice memo thing, it would be a hot mess. So this is what you get with me. Long-winded thoughts with no organization. Uh,

[00:45:27] till next week, here's a pun for you. I decided to host a party in space. Now I just have to plan it. You have a cricket sound of it. Yeah, I'm just kidding. You know, I, I gotta say, Wyman, that was great. Thanks, Wyman. You mentioned that, you know, the, the pacing with Ellie after she drops, watch it a second time. It's not that long. It's actually pretty quick. That,

[00:45:56] that was just the, the genuine tension. I think making it longer. Cause I watched it a second time. Oh yeah, there it is. It didn't seem that long, but I, I mean, it's all subjective. We all have our opinions. I loved it mostly because my wife was sitting next to me, freaking out and putting her hands over her eyes. So she, it was really good getting her, you know, that's always the best. I've been, I've been on this kick lately. I fall into holes on YouTube of watching reaction videos of people like watching movies or television shows for the first time.

[00:46:26] And there's somebody that I follow who just did a reaction to this episode and watching her reaction to that scene as well, all the way up to the point where the stalker jumps out, like seeing her gasp and everything like it's, it's, it's just fun to watch. I honestly thought you were about ready to say you fall through holes in the ceiling. I'm like, Oh damn it. I missed an opportunity with that. All right. Next email here is from Alan Tai. Hello, the cast of us,

[00:46:56] Alan from Atlanta, providing feedback for the first time. I found your podcast during season one of the last of us, and I found your coverage to be intriguing, engaging, entertaining, and informative. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do a rewatch of the walking, dead. It went back and listened to every, the walking dead cast episode. Hi, Karen, miss your voice and laughs, dude. These are some dedicated folks coming in here and listening to this stuff. Yeah.

[00:47:23] I'm hoping that we'll be able to get Karen come on for one of these feedback episodes, by the way. That'd be great. Moving on. I was an avid fan of the walking dead when it first aired, like most other walking dead fans. I stopped watching after the Glenn incident. So I never watched season eight and beyond until now I started with season one. And after each episode, I'll find the corresponding podcast episode. It took about 13 months to get through all 11 seasons, but it was well worth it. Looking forward to your continued coverage of your rewatch. Wow.

[00:47:53] Thanks, Alan. That's dedication. It's pretty cool. I watched season one of the last of us about five times through. Wow. I then played the game part one, and I'm almost done and look forward to playing part two. This is my new favorite show, and I hope it doesn't slow down. Regarding season two, episode one, I really enjoyed this episode. There were high expectations given the two year gap between seasons, but it lived up to the expectations. I hope Joel and Ellie will make up,

[00:48:21] but he's hiding this big secret. And I think that's going to cause a lot of friction between them two. I like Dina's character, and I hope she survives the entire season. I hope she and Ellie's friendship isn't ruined based on that first kiss. Ellie needs her and cannot lose her like she lost Riley. The Abby character seems intense and out for blood, but she had to call Joel handsome first. Indeed. Indeed. Also, is it just me,

[00:48:49] or did Tommy and Maria's son, I didn't catch his name, Benji, I believe, Benjamin, I'm guessing, remind you of RJ, Rick and Michonne's son. Yep. Wait, I'm sorry. Rick and Michonne had a child? Okay, never mind. That's a whole other thing. Hopefully, he will get more lines than RJ did. Anyways, thank you. He did remind you of RJ. Yeah, that's funny. Okay, anyways, thank you for your amazing coverage, and keep up the good work. Here is a haiku. Oh, this is going deep.

[00:49:18] This is a Walking Dead deep cut right here. Walking Dead cast deep cut. Fungi's quiet creep, a bond forged in loss and pain, survive, love, and dream. Ah, that was incredible. That, that does bring me back. Wow. that was beautiful. And, I, yeah, in fact, I think that hopefully that will spur other people to write in their last of us haiku. We would love that. Right, that was great. That'd be cool. Yeah.

[00:49:48] And for those who don't know, when I just said it was a deep cut, that was something that Jason and Karen, way back in the day for the Walking Dead cast in the beginning, would implore various listeners to write in their own haikus. We got many a zombie haiku. Yeah, that's great. He just presented his receipt that he has actually gone back and listened to those early episodes. Indeed. All right, now we have one more call from Sam. Hi, Jason and Lucy. It's Sam, season two.

[00:50:18] I thought this episode was okay until I saw the after show. And then it made me really like the show as a starter episode. I think it's setting the table for us for what seems like going to be a lot of action-packed episodes coming up. A lot of threats are collapsing into that town real fast. I like that it was showing the consequences for Joel and everyone else about his choice that he took last season to save Ellie.

[00:50:45] And I know that there's discussion whether or not Joel did the right thing. And like the creator said, it's about perspective this season. And I think that's a really interesting way to do it because did Joel do the right thing for himself? Yeah. He's a father. You know, he sees her as his daughter. Yes. Did he do the right thing for Ellie? Unknown because he still hasn't told her the truth, which makes me suspect. Like,

[00:51:15] come on. Like, why, why wouldn't you tell her the truth? And she was 14 last season, not four. So she does get bodily autonomy to decide what she wants to do. And I think that's why he's still keeping the secret from her. And do you do the right thing for the rest of the world? No. I don't, I don't think anyone can really disagree with that because it might've been a long shot,

[00:51:44] but it was the only shot they had of, you know, using Ellie's brain to make a vaccine or a cure. It was a chance. So, you know, it's just kind of closing the door on a chance has repercussions. And the therapist played by Catherine O'Hara was so funny to me because she, to me, she'll always be the mom on Schitt's Creek. So it was really weird to see her do therapy and like the serious role. But then she started drinking the whiskey and I was like, Oh, there's Moira Rose.

[00:52:13] This is how Moira Rose would do therapy. Just make her accent a little more unusual. And I liked a little Easter egg for us. Schitt's Creek fans that her husband's name was Eugene and the actor who played her husband on Schitt's Creek was also named Eugene, Eugene Levy. Um, yeah, I don't think she was so bad for a TV therapist in an apocalypse. I mean, would, would we do therapy on someone today who had killed a member of our family? Oh,

[00:52:42] that's very unethical. And, you know, in this situation, the last of us, I'd imagine beggars can't be choosers. So as the creator said, like a therapist would be really good in this situation. Yes. Thank you, sir. I feel seen. Um, and yeah, it's probably really tough. I don't know how you navigate that. Um, but yeah, I thought you did pretty well. I mean, that girl waited five sessions and alcohol before naming the elephant in the room.

[00:53:10] I probably would have done a session one. Cause that's such a huge thing. Um, and I get where she's coming from. There is this theory in psychology where we are more likely to feel comfortable or even obligated to share our vulnerability when someone else shares theirs. It's not my go-to as a therapist. I find it kind of manipulative and I just, it doesn't fit with my style. Um, but it's not, it's not a bad thing though. It is something that, that people use in therapy. It's just not my go-to.

[00:53:41] Um, I am very blunt like her though, of like, when she closed the notebook, I was like, yes, thank you. She's right. He's hiding something. And like the creator said, he's talking to her about the problem he wants to address, not the problem he needs to address. And that's kind of our role as a therapist, like to call out the BS, because if everything was fine, you wouldn't be in therapy. So like, let's talk about this. And it turns out it is all connected. His issues with Ellie, like, yes, she's finding herself. She's still a teenager,

[00:54:10] but that's a big thing between them. And she knows it. Ellie knows it. Um, Ellie's rebellious attitude is a little less adorable than a 19 year old for me. I think it's just going to take a few more episodes for me to get onto the Ellie train again. Cause she's one of my all time favorite characters. It's just, you know, I don't think ever hurting Pedro Pascal's feelings is going to feel good for me. So, um, it just, it would fit with the teenager's reactions. I mean, her prefrontal cortex hasn't been fully developed and won't be for another six years. So I get it.

[00:54:39] It's, you know, it's hard because it's with her life experience. You think she'd be a little bit more careful with bringing people into these situations. Like she did at that warehouse. She's not being smart about it. And Ellie's smart. She's being reckless. And she thinks it's bravery. Like if Dina had fallen in there, it would have been Ellie's fault that she would have gotten attacked. And they try to remediate that by later on the episode, them saying, well, Joel and his brother would have gone in. Well, I don't think that's smart either. Like,

[00:55:09] you have a whole bunch of people. Like I wasn't cat going in or them being like, you need to come with us. Um, to that effect, the stalker, they make fucking hurt human noises to lure people in now. And they're smart. Holy fuck. That gave me such creeps. So I'm super looking forward to the podcast. Can't wait to hear what you guys have to say. Interesting point about luring in, uh, people with hurt sounds. Well, well, first off, I'm really glad you called in Sam,

[00:55:38] especially giving your therapist viewpoint. Yeah. Based on this episode. That's pretty cool. But, uh, uh, I'm not sure that's sort of some like tactic. I think because the runners who are just less developed, infected, they're moaning because they're in pain. I think, I think they're just in pain. I think it was like, Oh God,

[00:56:11] this sucks. Like Joel did the right thing because she didn't have a choice. She was on the table, unconscious about to be killed. She had no autonomy right then. So he preserved her chance to live and make more choices. And I know it's not as simple as that, but for me, that's really what it comes down to. Anything else to say about the call? No. Okay. No, that was pretty cool. All right. Let's move along to some stuff. That's a little more game oriented.

[00:56:37] There will be some pretty big spoilers in this segment that will most likely also be show spoilers. Not like our last podcast where we kind of avoided that kind of thing. You just talked about little similarities between the game and that episode. This one, we'll talk more about some big plot points. So if you don't want to hear that, if you haven't played the games and you're like spoilers, then you should probably just end the podcast right now. And thanks for listening. Yeah. And after these emails, I do have a,

[00:57:05] just want to throw out some ideas about where I think it might end for this season. Yeah. Okay. That's great. Yeah. We'll have that talk. That'd be cool. So first, uh, no, and I was just going to say, I, the only note I had on Sam's voicemail, I, I didn't want to give it then I'll give it now. Now that we're in the, okay. So we're in the spoilery part. Yeah. Here we go. You've been warned. If you're just like listening in the background, turn it off. Um, she mentioned the, the Schitt's Creek nom, uh, nod with Eugene being named as her husband.

[00:57:35] I think that's purely coincidental. Oh, me too. Yeah. Yeah. Cause it was not, yeah, it's not a nod to Schitt's Creek. Is Eugene Levy her husband in Schitt's Creek? In Schitt's Creek. Yes. The only way that's not coincidental is if they're like, okay, we need someone to play, uh, Eugene's wife, the therapist. Oh, let's get a Catherine O'Hare cause she's married to Eugene Levy in Schitt's Creek. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And it worked. I think it's, you know, it's a, it's purely coincidence that that, that that happened.

[00:58:04] I like the pairing in the mighty wind. Eugene, Catherine. Yeah. All those movies are so good. All the, all those guest movies are great. Absolutely. So the verge talked with Craig Mason and Neil Druckmann. They asked why the show established Abby's firefly status and her motives from the beginning, unlike in the game where we don't really learn why she did what she does until you start playing her halfway through the game. And, um, Craig Mason says, when we put out the last of us part two,

[00:58:33] you have the entire story and you decide how you want to pace it out here. We're putting out episodes week by week, which are roughly an hour long. If we were to wait as much as we did in the game to reveal certain things, our viewers might have to wait a very, very long time longer than we were comfortable with. So that's a little opaque, but I think he's saying you didn't have had to watch a whole season of Ellie before you found out why Abby did what she did or something like that. Right? I think so. Yeah. I mean, I think that's exactly what he's saying. I mean, it's, it's why,

[00:59:03] what Ben even mentioned at the beginning of this podcast, which was all of the events, uh, of this, uh, this first episode happened before the beginning of the game, right? Everything that we saw today or in this episode was all flashbacks from the game. That's right. Yeah. So the game itself has not even, it's more linear. Yeah. It's more linear. And even the party and all that, all this stuff didn't happen until way later in the game. Yeah. So,

[00:59:32] and it happens the night before the game started. The, yeah. The opening of the game is literally discussing everything that just happened in this episode. Yeah. With Seth and the confrontation and then the party and the kiss and everything. And it's going to be Jesse waking Ellie up. Come on, wake up. And she's going to get up and have to go out there. We're going to have to get a snowball fight. There are certain things that are going to have to happen beforehand. Um, and, and, you know, one of those things at the beginning was we did get to meet Abby in that,

[01:00:01] that opening section of the game. So it's not like it's no, we don't have the, the motivations, uh, in the game at this point necessarily, but we still don't have Abby's main motivation in the show. Yeah. We don't have her me, but we kind of get that she cared about the people who died, but we don't know. Of course, of course. Spoiler. The doctor was her father. Well, but as far as we know in the show though, it's still just fireflies. And even in the game, if I recall correctly, I think you do know that they are fireflies and they're looking,

[01:00:31] for somebody. so it kind of, you kind of know. Yeah, I do think you can. And I think it's been blown up a little bit bigger that, that like, Oh my God, we know so much about Abby. No, we don't. We know she's a firefly who's angry and wants, we know she wants to kill Joel specifically. Well,. Slowly. But no, because when she meets Joel and Joel and Tommy save her life in the game, and then she leads them to the house with all the other, her friends.

[01:01:01] And then she starts turns on him. That was a surprise. We didn't know. She cared about Joel at that point. But I feel like there was some conversation with everybody ahead of time. We, we met them before. And then, cause Owen leads her like, here, I want to show you something. You just played it, Ben. I was just going to chime in. Um, as, as someone like, I literally just played this scene last week. She says him. She never says Joel by name. Okay. Okay. So you might suspect given that you're playing a game about Joel.

[01:01:31] We, we know that they're searching for someone in particular. We don't know who. Yeah. I mean, I think it was meant to be a surprise in the game and, um, and that's very different than the show, you know? Fair enough. Absolutely. Yes. It is spelled out very explicitly in the show. Yeah. Oh, but she says Joel by name. He's trying to kill Joel. Yeah. And you don't know that cause it or Joe, he's good looking. Maybe it's a different guy. Um, at the end of the season, there's going to be some dude named Joe coming out all handsome. All handsome.

[01:02:01] Yeah. I hate you. Uh, Neil Druckmann said in that same article, we were able to keep certain things in mystery for much longer because you were playing as Abby, trying to keep her alive, fighting the infected. We didn't have that in the show. So we needed something else through drama, through backstory to get you to sympathize with her. That's where we pulled certain events up in the story in terms of when we reveal them. And I think that's, there's truth to that, but I also think they're probably worried if they just had some random person

[01:02:29] suddenly kill Joel, it might cause people to stop watching where they're trying to sort of prepare us for it. You know, maybe, I don't know. That's just speculation. People are going to freak the fuck out. I know. Oh, they're going to riot. They're going to riot when it happens. We're going to hear about it too. Yeah, we are. Oh boy. We've been waiting for this for two years. Everybody really, since we are talking about it now,

[01:02:58] the seal is broken. Do you think it's going to happen at the end of this next episode? Or the lead up to it? It seems pretty close given that Abby's right there at, at Jackson. She's right there. You know, there's a horde that's going to be happening. It's, it's, it's been, it's been funny because I, as I'm watching promos for like, even after this episode, when they did the promo for the rest of the season and such, there's not a lot of Joel in it.

[01:03:29] No. So I'm, I'm almost convinced it's going to happen this season. It's just a matter of when. Oh, oh no. I think it's going to happen this next episode. I mean, I'm wondering whether it's, I mean, with Abby right there or the beginning of three, it's, I think it's, it's gotta be within the next two episodes. Yeah. I think so. Unless they throw some weird curve ball where it's flashbacks and, you know, side quests. Well, so I hear all this, right here, all this rumbling. That's episode two is the big one. Okay. People are going to want to pay attention to. I,

[01:03:58] I feel pretty good gut react, good feeling that episode six will probably be the flashback with the museum. Okay. Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, episode two. Yeah. You have to pay close attention or you may miss Joel's head being bludgeoned by a golf club. A golf club. It's subtle. I'm just waiting. No, no, no. I'm just going to say, I'm just waiting for like the voicemails or the, or the feedback that like, it would have been better if it was a driver,

[01:04:27] but she did it with a seven iron. Yeah. Oh no, no. Actually, what I think is going to happen is Abby's going to rear up the club and then a dumpster is going to appear over Joel's head, protecting. Oh God. She'll be whacking the dumpster. All right. Let's get into some feedback that is a little bit more game related. First one comes from Matthew Tyndall, who we heard from before. He says, they never really say in the game, but I always got the impression that Eugene was the one who told the fireflies where Joel

[01:04:57] was since Eugene was a firefly. So my called shot is that Gail called them because of whatever happened between Joel and Eugene. That's interesting. I don't know if we really found out in the game, how Abby found, I, maybe we did, but yeah, they do mention it. I think very briefly at one point, but we didn't. Oh, one thing we didn't mention that we did hear about Isaac. Isaac's name shows up at the very beginning. So that was nice. And we know we're going to get Isaac this season. Jeffrey, right. Yeah. We're going to get that.

[01:05:27] Is, is Eugene the character that's being played by Joey pants in the one off this season? Yeah. Okay. No, Josh McDermott. I'm just kidding. I made that joke last time. Billy Barty. Yes. Joey Pantalone. Okay. Yeah. By the way, Joe, Josh, since you just mentioned him real quick, Josh McDermott is in the suits spinoff right now. Yeah. How is he really fucking good in it? Oh, really? Okay. That's cool. Even the mail. They're really good in it. Is he just playing the same character? Uh, to a degree. No,

[01:05:57] not as, not from, not as Eugene from, but I mean, does he have any range or is it similar? Yeah. He's, he's really good. He's a really, he's really showing. He's a really strong actor in it. Nice. Yeah. Glad to hear that. Billy Thompson says, hello, hello. Hope you guys are well. Yeah, I'm well. God, I love this show. Giraffes and that guitar right from the opening scene just instantly takes me back in. The way it goes more in depth in different areas from the game is just brilliant. For example,

[01:06:24] seeing Abby and the fireflies just a few days after what happened from my memory. We don't see this in the game. And damn, I want one of those firefly pendants. You could probably go on. Oh, you can get them. Yeah. Oh, they make them. Yeah. Unbelievable scene between Joel and Gail, how Pascal portrays the battle Joel's having within himself. But that stare is incredible. Joel killed Eugene and that didn't happen in the game. I'm guessing he was infected because Gail said he had to do it,

[01:06:51] but it's an interesting deviation from the game and can't wait to see maybe more of what happened. Me too. Totally, man. I just love seeing all this stuff from the games like Tommy and Ellie sniping clickers in the mountains, which is a mission for those of you that didn't play the game where Tommy teaches Ellie to use a sniper and happens two years earlier. Yeah, we talked about that a little bit on the podcast. Ellie climbing on the truck that is conveniently parked in front of the garage and not in it. Laugh emoji.

[01:07:18] Ellie's garage is so cool to see in live action. I always loved mooching around, looking at everything and Ellie pulling out her knife from the cabinet is straight out of the game. Yeah, I agree with all that. Super cool. Talking about stuff ripped from the game, Jesse looks so similar on par with how Glenn is ripped straight from the comics, in my opinion. Really great casting with that character. Ellie and Dean's relationship is brilliant. The way they joke around in such serious situations is hilarious.

[01:07:47] Fuck stalkers already. I heard they were going to be in this season, but I didn't know it would be this early on. I really enjoyed seeing a variation of infected zombies. That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying Dixon so much. And just like that, this show has a 100% record of making me tear up every episode. That O. Ellie just got me so bad. What moment was that? The dance. Oh yeah. O.

[01:08:17] Ellie. That's right. Well, sorry it's so long guys. Just this is my favorite game of all time. Plus I can't remember if I wrote in last season, so I'm getting it all out now. Thanks guys. Bye. Bye. I think when he says Dixon, he means the Daryl show, right? Cause yeah, there's some different types of walkers in that. Okay. Is that what it's called? Dixon or? It's called Daryl. Daryl Dixon. Oh, Daryl. Okay. Yeah. Lord, I know none of these things. Thanks Billy.

[01:08:47] Okay. So this next one is a little bit more spoiler for potential upcoming stuff in the show. Cause he heard some things, but it's not too bad. It's along the same lines of everything we've been talking about so far, but there's just some speculation about what might happen in upcoming episodes. Cool. And then I'll even throw up my idea for my last thing here. Cool. From Xavier. Hi guys. Xavier here. New listener from Montreal, Canada.

[01:09:14] I found you at the last of us pre season two chat episode, which was pretty delightful. Although I didn't agree with everything said, Joel's death is coming sooner than later. You guys are charming and make a very enjoyable confo to listen to. I'll cut to the chase. La press, a very reputable French language newspaper in Montreal, Quebec founded in 1884, no less published on Monday, a review of the first app of the last of us season two, which includes a few intriguing lines.

[01:09:41] What's interesting is that it seems like the journalist had access to the entirety of the second season. It makes a few kind of revealing remarks about it. The scenario for the second season of the last of us, once again, written by Craig Mays in Chernobyl is inspired by about half of the second part of the game released in 2020. The sixth episode out of seven offers both illuminating context and a breathing space, similar to that of the third installment, long, long time of the final season.

[01:10:08] Clearly the journalist Pascal LeBlanc has seen these episodes. Most importantly, we know episode six will be a flashback. Probably an emotional dive into the origin of one or multiple characters, a diversion of sorts. Will it be about Abby's backstory? Maybe Lev's and Yara's, maybe Eugene's or Isaac's. Side note, I wonder if by publishing they're threading close to breaking any embargoes signed before any early access to the season. I hope this was of use to you. Keep on the good work.

[01:10:38] Thanks, Xavier. That feels like it confirms my suspicion that episode six is going to be the museum. Hmm. I mean, and we do know, I mean, I have confirmation personally from people who have seen them, even though I reached out and tried to get them for us to the screeners of the entirety of season two are out there. Oh, really? People have seen the entirety of season two. wow. Okay. So yeah, you're right. Yeah. I was, I kept thinking, cause I've heard they're,

[01:11:06] they're going to have a Eugene backstory where we see what happened with him and Joel. But I think you're right, Eric, this is Joel taking younger Ellie to the dinosaur. It's her 16th birthday. Yeah. So it's kind of, I love that scene in the game. So good. Everybody loves that. I'm on a motherfucking dinosaur. Yeah. Yeah. How she guessed it. Is it dinosaurs? No more guesses. I mean, that's even when we get to find out that she learned how to swim. Yeah.

[01:11:35] Like there's just so many parts about that sequence that are just. Just one thing that's just great about it is. And I think it's going to function this way in the show too, that you have to see all of this just depressing shit. And then you get a nice little reprieve with that. And I like the way Xavier or this journalist put it, that it was, um, you want to say a diversion of sorts, you know, that, um, whatever it is he said, I don't remember here.

[01:12:05] I'm looking at breathing space, similar to that of the third installment long, long time. Yeah. So, yeah. So something like that, where we're going to get to this pinnacle of something. It's going to be like, we're ratcheting up the tension. We're going to drop down, see this emotional thing. We're going to get some of these answers to why Ellie is such a, uh, a prickly little, little cactus right now. Um, you know, so it's, it's, this is great. This is nice to hear. And this, so my idea about the way I've been thinking about how is this season going to end? Right. Yeah. Where are they going to, where's the cutoff point?

[01:12:35] And my first thought was, Oh, it's going to end big. It'll end with the Nora and, and rat king scene. Cause that happens at the exact same time in the hospital. But that's on the end of day two. Right. I'm like, Hmm, that's too late. That's, that's a little too far ahead. Yeah. I think it's too far. I think it's going to end at the end of day one where we're going to find out two things that Dean is pregnant and that'll be like, Oh fuck. And that's going to piss out Ellie off. Right. And then she storms out and does some stuff, uh, followed by, uh,

[01:13:03] Abby getting captured by the Seraphites. It would be an amazing way to introduce the Seraphites. Finally. Mm-hmm. Good cliffhanger. And get to see Yara and Lev at the very end of that. Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. That would, that's get me excited too. So, well, the cool thing is I think in some of these flashbacks, what we're going to see in season, their episodes three through six, right. Is we are going to see, uh, the Seattle, uh, Wolf compound, you know, with the,

[01:13:32] the gyms and all that great stuff, the, the stadium. We'll get to see. We're going to see Isaac. Yeah. Owen, Mel as a surgeon, all these great things that we, we know now. And it's, it's, I'm really now feel like I'm kind of excited about that. Cause I feel like we've been so focused on Jackson and all the Joel and Ellie stuff that I feel like we're, we kept thinking, the Abby stuff will come later. No, no, no. I think we're really going to get it now. And it's going to be this really great side by side of seeing the two of them and, and how, and this is the one thing that's so great with the game, how, yes,

[01:14:02] it all happens in these separate chunks, but the way the timelines interact and cross each other is so cool that we'll get to see that in the show. I think better again, uh, the fact that Ellie is down in the basement with Nora at the same time, Abby is there with the rat king. You can hear the rat king and the Ellie. Oh, you can actually hear it roaring. I didn't even know if I knew that. Okay, cool. Pay attention to that when I get now, when I get to that part. Yeah. When you're,

[01:14:30] when you're with Ellie and Nora, just listen and you'll hear at some point like, Oh, God damn it. Get away from me. Yeah. So cool. So yeah, this is getting me really excited. Yeah. All right. That is our show. Episode six 34. Thanks a lot for listening to everybody. Thanks, Eric and Ben. Good to talk to you guys about all this stuff. Uh, next will be the last of us season two, episode two,

[01:15:01] something. they don't, they're not giving the titles. Oh, I thought that was, I didn't realize that was a filler. I thought that was, might've actually been the title. Yeah. So did I, like somebody's going to go, look, something, something. No, uh, if you want to write in or leave us a voice message about it, you can find all of our contact information at the cast of us.com. And while you're there, please check out our other podcasts. Yeah.

[01:15:28] When is Greg and Veronica are coming to the end of their wheel of time season three coverage? And I know they've been getting more and more of a following. So if you're into that show, it'd be great to check them out on there. Yeah. I was, I was on that show in season one and I, I kind of had to back out just because time constraints, but, yeah, that was, Greg was a lot of fun to podcast with when it came to that show. Cause he's a massive, massive reader and fan of that series. Yeah. I love both those guys, Greg and Veronica. All right. That is our show. Thanks for listening.

[01:15:57] Don't get bit. Terry Myers.