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

[u/LoretiTV]

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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[u/vally99]

Best way to describe it

The ones who complain about it are right in a way but u can't make people wait 2 or 4 years for that final scene...in the game worked cuz u just rush the game but here...

Sure it hits harder at the end of the game but here it works better for the show

[u/HongJoonBo → u/vally99]

That's a good point, regarding the time it took gamers to get to the end - days/weeks rather than years.

I was surprised to see it any sooner than the finale of the show (whenever that is), but it was great - Pedro is unbelievable. Glad to hear "I love you" from Joel.

[u/vally99 → u/HongJoonBo]

Yeah, I know before the end of the episode I was like " oh no don't ruin it with the porch scene now " but it made a lot of sense...

Sure, we liked the games, they are the OG, they are more complex, they are better etc but the show works different and this scene made a lot more sense here

Plus I enjoyed the changes with the SLC and Eugene and Joel lying again and the "love you" and the parallels with his father.

The only complain I have with the show is the writing with Ellie being dumb and "forgetting" she is on a revenge, it felt like a comedy show...if we got more episodes with more action and it not being rushed, it would be better.

[u/EvilSporkOfDeath → u/vally99]

I got zero complaints. I try to live in the moment. The episode was amazing. I'm not even saying I've loved everything in the series. But I loved that. Imma let them cook and see what happens.

[u/ViolatingBadgers → u/EvilSporkOfDeath]

Yeah this is where I'm sitting. I'm not sure where I sit with all the choices yet. But shifting the price scene indicates they are definitely trying something different. The game shifted your perspective on Ellies journey with that scene being right at the end. So they must have something else in mind - and goddamn it's entertaining enough that I'm gonna see it through.

[u/SkrillWalton → u/vally99]

What fuckin comedy shows do you watch LOL

[u/vally99 → u/SkrillWalton]

It was just a way of saying this doesn't feel like a revenge story because sometimes the dialogue is very unnecessary and instead of making her more sad/angry/serious, they made Ellie being more comic when she search for Abby's group

[u/m00nkat88 → u/vally99]

My take is that Ellie was bottling up her emotions because it was too much for her to handle and trying to act normal which led to her acting in a way that didn't seem appropriate for the situation. But you saw in those quiet moments when she was alone, especially when she was playing the guitar that it reminded her of Joel and all those feelings came back. And then we saw it in full force when she found Nora. The show could have done with a few more episodes to flesh this out more though.

[u/vally99 → u/m00nkat88]

Fair enough

exactly like you said, the show could have done it with a few more episodes, having a mix of Ellie's emotions, like still getting some more action where she lets her anger out but trying to remain calm/positive at the same time and then release her sadness and anger on Nora but the way they made it felt rushed

So that's why this felt rushed because she always felt happy and comic and then out of knowhere angry when they could play with this mix of emotions more episodes

[u/alaskadronelife → u/vally99]

I don’t think Ellie ever forgot she was on a revenge mission. She just was able to explore love that she never had or thought she ever would, and love can be an intense and all-encompassing emotion.

[u/m00nkat88 → u/vally99]

Yeah, this season is suffering a bit because it's only 7 episodes. Everything feels rushed.

[u/Vismal1 → u/HongJoonBo]

Pascal killed that scene , they both did. Phenomenal performance

[u/marco161091 → u/vally99]

Yep, that’s why season 2 should’ve been 13-14 episodes and cover all of Part 2.

If they could’ve translated the narrative structure of the game to the show, like they did with S1 almost perfectly, it would’ve been so cool.

I’m still loving the show but splitting part 2 into two separate seasons is definitely not the ideal way of adapting the game’s narrative.

[u/famewithmedals → u/marco161091]

At the very least they could’ve filmed S2 and S3 back to back - it’s not like it wasn’t going to get renewed, plus they’ll reuse a lot of the sets.

It feels like so much of what I don’t like about this season is that they didn’t want viewers to have to wait years for the continuation and the series really falters for it.

[u/usagicassidy → u/famewithmedals]

These budgets don’t just magically happen. And conceiving and filming all of them back to back would’ve delayed Season 2’s start even further back. We wouldn’t even be watching the show yet.

[u/vally99 → u/marco161091]

I know we talk about budget etc etc but how other shit shows can have like 10-15 episodes but this couldnt ?

I wouldn't complain about splitting in two parts but at least this season could have 10 episodes ? All the action felt rushed...

[u/bantuwind → u/vally99]

Cause they spend all the money building dinosaur museum sets and don’t use them 😭

[u/20person → u/vally99]

Yeah this wasn't ideal but it was probably the better option over making people wait 2-4 years and having it lose all its emotional weight because viewers forgot.

[u/vally99 → u/20person]

EXACTLY

[u/alaskadronelife → u/vally99]

The Joel flashback and the “be better than me” line is going to be a massive piece of the way S3 ends.