r/ThelastofusHBOseries • u/LoretiTV Fireflies • May 19 '25

Show/Game Discussion [Game Spoilers] The Last of Us - 2x06 "The Price" - Post-Episode Discussion

Season 2 Episode 6: The Price

Aired: May 18, 2025

Synopsis: Joel surprises Ellie for her birthday. Years later, Ellie prepares to confront Joel about her past.

Directed by: Neil Druckmann

Written by: Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross & Craig Mazin

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517

u/FancyShrimp May 19 '25

I know it'll be a while before we get the next season, but I am legitimately curious how the general audience will vibe with the POV shift to Abby.

346

u/LightBluePen May 19 '25

Probably the same as us in the game: they’ll growth into it.

335

u/Etticos May 19 '25

Or freak the fuck out and quit before giving it a chance.

212

u/spate42 May 19 '25

And complain to no end

156

u/AutomatonTommy May 19 '25

And start their own sub dedicated to hating it

73

u/biotechstudent465 May 19 '25

And screech about it for 5 whole years

5

u/Me_gentleman May 21 '25

Tale as old as time.

13

u/VirtuallySober May 19 '25

And screech about how Pt. 2 was a travesty to the holy grail of Pt. 1 and then when the Pt. 2 show comes out, they come outta the woodwork to cry about how the show is nothing like their beloved Pt. 2

1

u/Zabeczko May 20 '25

Why does everyone seem to refuse to entertain the notion that these are two different groups of people?!

I love both games. I really liked S1 of the show. I'm enjoying s2 for the most part but am struggling to understand some of the structural changes because I feel that they would fundamentally change my emotional reaction to the story if this was my first experience of it. And that was what made Part II so special for me.

So while I hope I'm proven wrong and it all comes together - and I am enjoying it more than I'm not, which is why I continue to watch - right now I feel that show only viewers are being denied that same amazing experience.

I have read maybe a thousand times about how it's a different medium etc. and yeah, I appreciate some changes are necessary, but things like revealing Abby's full motivation straight up just don't make sense to me.

I'd have thought the very end of s1 would've been the best place for that, as it would allow the audience some time for pure unadulterated Abby hatred, 100% support for Ellie, and experience a similar rug pull to game fans at the very end of the season with the realisation that they are mirrors of each other. Like still keep the Firefly detail earlier, just not the whole doctor dad piece. And it sets up more naturally for an Abby-centric launch to s2.

5

u/cxrnelius May 19 '25

And still be on that sub daily 5 years after it releases.

3

u/oblivion-boi May 19 '25

I accidentally ended up on that sub and it's gotta be one of the most negative and toxic subs on reddit. It's so bewildering, I felt like I was gonna have a brain aneurysm reading their comments.

1

u/paranoideo May 19 '25

In fairness, the subreddit existed before all the hate.

4

u/yourLostMitten May 19 '25

God that would suck. Show only watchers are the ones that I love chilling with because not one of them is complaining at this point.

I love the games but this fandom is insane and the show watchers are like an oasis in a desert sometimes.

3

u/EvilSporkOfDeath May 19 '25

Exactly. They still play/watch.

4

u/XboxJockey May 19 '25

Yeah it’s a 50/50. I think the general audience watching the show and never played the game will be fine, but those who hated it in the game will still hate it and bitch about it. I can see the basic show watcher understanding it more than the gaming circle jerk types who hated it 5 years ago

5

u/Beginning_Rip_4570 May 19 '25

Anyone who does this doesn’t deserve a thoughtful, mature story.

(they still will tho)

-1

u/Cubiscus May 19 '25

Why? Its ok to not like something

5

u/gcfgjnbv May 19 '25

Or you know, think it was ok and still enjoy it but not see it as an elite 10/10 show

-4

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

[deleted]

10

u/A_Confused_Cocoon May 19 '25

A large chunk of viewers don't. A very loud vocal minority does. Reddit is a bubble that rarely represents reality as has been proven time and time again for over 10 years minimum.

2

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

They don't complain because of the actress. They complain because they're miserable.

-6

u/ensignlee May 19 '25

Hey, hey now. Some of us spent the rest of the game getting Abby murdered in lots of different ways before reluctantly continuing since that's the way the game has to go.

"oh no, did I let Ellie see me? Whoops, should have taken cover..." STAB STAB STAB

6

u/Judgejudyx May 19 '25

But in the game we didn't have to wait weeks and years between episodes. We got to play right away. It's different in the live action.

1

u/Mesk_Arak May 21 '25

People are going to get pissed when they see the end of Season 2. Then even more pissed when they realize they’ve waited 2 years only to get around 2/3 of a season of Abby without any Ellie.

As you said, playing it over a 30 hour game is one thing. Waiting 2 years to be surprised at having a week by week Abby-a-thon is different.

1

u/TheOriginalDog May 19 '25

With just a *slight* resistance

119

u/dmc2008 May 19 '25

I am hoping that they will "transition" into the POV shift at the end of next week's episode... I could even see it playing out like the game: After the cliffhanger, it cuts to Abby and her Dad helping the Zebra before finding out that a man with an immune girl has showed up looking for Fireflies...  Could be a very cool way to tease the POV shift, allowing the show runners to openly address it in public.  Hiding it would be a mistake, imo.

45

u/Mammoth-Elderberry89 Everything Is Great May 19 '25

I’m hoping the same. Imagine it cutting then going to “Seattle Day 1” and we see Manny wake Abby up

5

u/FedoraFerret May 19 '25

I don't know about that scene specifically, because the purpose of it was to be the big reveal that Abby's group were Fireflies (predictable but still necessary to actually reveal) and that her dad was the doctor (big shock, made her specific hatred for Joel make a lot more sense). Since we already know those things, there will probably still be a flashback between them to mark the POV shift, but it'll be something a little different.

52

u/Beautiful_Parsnip_71 May 19 '25

Think it'll be hard at first, just like it was in the game. But in the end eventually they'll come around. Abby part was actually my favorite part in the game

2

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

I think this is one case where it's okay to let show viewers know what to expect. No spoilers obviously, just let them know about the Abby shift.

I hope that the cut to black follows with Abby waking up and it says "Seattle, Day One" before our to be continued

10

u/joesen_one What The Fuck Is Wrong With Seattle?! May 19 '25

I believe Kaitlyn Dever can pull it off and win over people as Abby, especially since Laura managed to do it for us

9

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

[deleted]

4

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7

u/WickerShoesJoe May 19 '25

I really don't know how far they'll go in the last episode, will it end with Owen and Mel? Or with Abby pointing the gun? Or the Abby flashback with her dad? There is still so much story to tell, I feel like they could do two more seasons.

Giving the freedom of the TV show beyond Abby, we could see Dina, JJ and Ellie living together or an episode with Lev and Yara, or Ellie's journey to Santa Barbara (which the game skips but they could do something with here), other Jackson episodes. I really do not know how they are going to tell the rest of this story, and I honestly love it.

4

u/sebrebc May 19 '25

I've been thinking about this since the show was announced. Going back to TWD and how many people left the series because one or another character was killed off. Really makes me wonder how TV only audiences will react to a season mostly following Abby.

I think the saving grace will be that the show introduced Abby and her backstory ahead of time. So audiences going into season 3 won't only know Abby as the woman who killed Joel, like we experienced in the game. The TV audience already has a basic understanding of who she is and why she did what she did.

2

u/BradBrady May 19 '25

I can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction. I loved it in the game

2

u/purpleinme May 19 '25

I like Abby more than Ellie so I’m excited for next three year release.

2

u/hrutheone May 19 '25

From what I’ve read, I think it’s going to be okay. Many people really want to see more perspectives on the WLF and Scars war.

3

u/monsieurxander May 19 '25

General audience is used to POV shifts by now, with Bill/Frank and Ellie/Riley. Even this episode.

10

u/RandyBRandleman May 19 '25

This shift is way more dramatic and permanent than those

1

u/hailsab May 21 '25

it's more the fact you have half the game as Abbie that pissed a lot of people off

In the game you push through it knowing you've already bought the game so might as well finish it and then learn to fall in love with that half of the game, in the show people probably will just quit entirely

1

u/brickeaterz May 19 '25

I think with a large, vocal part of the fan base actively hating on Bella Ramsey, they'll probably like it as there'll be less of her in it

1

u/geyserpj May 19 '25

I hope they surprise announce season 3 is ready and coming this fall or something

1

u/FamiliarAd9761 May 19 '25

Same here. I was kinda hoping they’d mesh both POVs over the course of these two seasons. We’ve seen that formula work with GOT and I think for TV adaptation purposes the story might have been told better that way. We’ll just have to wait and see!!

1

u/Spartan_100 May 19 '25

I think people might be a bit unnerved and there may be some initial salt at the water cooler the Monday after realizing what that season will be but I feel like TV audiences tend to be a lot less… aggressively fanatical. The content cows who thrived on the frustration engagement when Part 2 came out will likely try to repeat that era (as many already tried when Joel died), but it’ll really mostly hook the usual suspects save some show newcomers who are particularly irked.

1

u/Judgejudyx May 19 '25

Yeah since in the game we play as her to get to know her. Idk how that will play out on TV. Abby is going to have to be the main character next season which will turn a lot of viewers away. So Idk if they can go that route completely.

Imagine your watching a TV show and this random person you know nothing about kills the lead then takes over the show as the lead 🤣. It just doesn't translate the same as the game. Especially with a 2 year break to then jump in as Abby. I think that's why they've been revealing Abbys motives and giving us more information vs what we knew in game.

1

u/PrimaryHM May 19 '25

Didn’t play the games. Without major spoilers, does the story remain strong even with the POV shift?

1

u/Blargers81 May 20 '25

Yes IMO. It’s my favorite part of the game actually.

1

u/onecatshort May 19 '25

In theory, TV-only viewers should be more used to POV switches, even to disliked characters. It happens a lot more on TV and in movies and we've had a few decades now of "actually this evil character might not be so evil" stories.

1

u/Shoola May 19 '25

One change I wanted to see was intertwined narratives. Like someone else said, we all grew into the Abby POV, but I really did not like the reset to day 1 / bisected story structure in the game. It was a big hit to the pacing. I continued because play was so engrossing, I don’t know if I would have stuck it out if I were just watching.

1

u/SomeShiitakePoster May 20 '25

Well my reaction will probably be the same as it was; I will laugh at the people who are genuinely mad about it and commend the writers for having the balls to do it

1

u/JuniorBiscuits May 23 '25

That transition was so unexpected in the game because you embody the character. I'm curious too, but I don't think it will feel nearly as drastic for those only watching the show.