Let's Watch: TLOU S2E5...again!
Added 2025-05-16 16:00:16 +0000 UTCAlright, here we go. Take 2! Time to relive the scary moments and creepy fungi zombies...yay.
Also, Patreon didn't notify me that my video storage was getting full so I'm unable to post the video here until I get the additional storage request approved 🫠 I'm really going through it with the tech issues this week, huh? Haha
For now, here is the unlisted YouTube link. As always, thank you for your support. Until the next one, take care and stay golden :)
LINK: https://youtu.be/sCnh3dS2U40
Original Series: The Last of Us
Comments
The image of people becoming infected by spores, and then becoming a part of the environment to help propagate the spores with their body … terrifying stuff
Daniel McGuinness
2025-05-19 22:52:59 +0000 UTCI personally can't wait until the next episode of TME!
Mister Lou
2025-05-18 05:29:02 +0000 UTCI wouldn't worry about Shimmer.... I had horses for decades. Go out and check on em' once a month or so and they'll be fine. They're great at taking care of themselves.... (sarcasm of course). I think it's kind of funny how horses just have a way of disappearing in the show :).
Robert
2025-05-17 20:02:31 +0000 UTCLove your reactions... I bet the fresh reaction to this ep was a doozie lol. A couple things… Nora wasn’t trying to go down. She was trying t get to the other side of the elevator on the same floor (double exit out to another side). Though it sounded like you eluded to this when it happened, just later I thought I heard a comment about she shouldn't have gone down there... When it fell she had no choice but to go into B2, or be shot. I’m sure had Ellie been taken out by the MLF guys, she would have simply climbed the ladder out of the shaft... or tried to anyway, her own people probably would have sealed her in. As far as Ellie being “the immune girl”Noa didn't know. They cover that at the opening of the first episode when they are standing around the Firefly graves. So yeah, Nora was in a bit of shock to see she was real. Awesome scene! Manny-“Why would he do this” Nora-“I heard rumors... it was some kid he took that was supposedly…” Mel-“-that wasn’t true” Manny-“Supposedly what? Mel-“Something NOT true, because it isn’t possible” (think she knew and is lying... her and Abby probably knew). Nora-“No, probably not, and even if it were true it doesn’t fucking matter anyway, not without…” Owen- “Enough...”
Robert
2025-05-17 19:42:11 +0000 UTCThe only thing I would have liked is for Ellie to say, “Tell me where Abby is and only you and her die. Otherwise I’m going to have to do this to (name) and then (other name), till I get to her.” But I know her blood lust was running high. But that might have been the only way she got an answer. It also mimicked the opening torture scene in the kitchen to a small extent.
Gavinmc
2025-05-17 18:25:37 +0000 UTC🙄 all your criticisms are reaching bullshit cause you’re predisposed to hate this because of the perceived ‘wokeness’ you’re seeing in it. Why are you even watching? Go do something you enjoy. Even mentioning the dad joke again, that clearly broke your anti-woke mind. It was a harmless joke, which is completely in line with Ellie’s character. Don’t be such a snowflake.
jamie jones
2025-05-17 13:11:31 +0000 UTCFor starters, I appreciate Natalie's honesty about what happened with her original reaction video, and I think she did a commendable job for her second reaction. I WISH I could've enjoyed Ellie's dark side turn more -- and seen more of Nora's torture -- but it was too abrupt. It's the same problem as Daenerys' villain turn in the second-to-last episode of Game of Thrones. Ellie's characterization after Joel's death is completely different in Season 2 compared to TLOU2 game... until she splits off from Dina and Jesse, then she transforms into a Murder Ninja. She goes from listing the best bands in alphabetical order with Dina, to the music store guitar scene, to finger-banging Dina, to declaring she's going to be the "dad" to Dina's baby... to methodically hunting down Nora and (presumably) murdering her off-screen. One of these things is NOT like the others! That isn't a character arc, that's character whiplash. It's so frustrating because someone CHOSE to make a truncated Season 2 of TLOU with only 7 episodes, instead of at least 9, like the first season, or HBO's traditional 10-episode seasons. We already know that there's going to be a Season 3 because someone, the showrunners and/or HBO, CHOSE to split TLOU2 into two seasons (possibly three). I won't spoil it for people unfamiliar with the second game, but we're expecting a POV switch in Season 3, which is why TLOU2 is split into 2 shortened seasons. IF the show wasn't in such a rush to get to the Season 2 finale, there'd be plenty of time to give Ellie a proper character arc, and depict her having to kill more Wolves and Scars to reach Abby and her goons, growing harder, angrier, and more violent with each kill. The show also pussed out with the guard dogs because they don't want to portray Ellie negatively, whereas Joel was DEMONIZED, tortured, and murdered because he saved Ellie from being killed by Maureen, Abby's doctor daddy, and the Fireflies. But apparently no one else is willing to call out the show's blatantly sexist double standard: Man killing people = BAD. Woman killing men = GOOD. This is reinforced by the contrast between the Ellie vs. Nora interrogation/torture scene in this episode compared to the Abby vs. Joel torture/murder scene in episode 2. In this episode, Nora TALKS to Ellie and explains why Abby killed Joel -- despite that not happening in the game! Whereas in episode 2, Joel silently laid on the ground why Abby monologued about her poor dead daddy for 5 minutes until Joel finally told her to shut up and get it over with because he couldn't take her BITCHING AND WHINING any longer. See the difference? The MAN wasn't allowed to defend himself or explain his past actions because the WRITERS judged him to be guilty of wronging a woman -- 2 women, technically. In post-MeToo Hollywood, taking away a woman's agency is UNFORGIVABLE. And a man killing a daughter's morally bankrupt doctor daddy justifies him being beaten to death with a golf club. On the same subject as Ellie's lack of character development was the music hall scene. In the game, that was a heartbreaking scene of Ellie trying to play the song that Joel taught her, but it was too emotionally painful for her to get through it. In this episode, she plays the guitar for 10-15 seconds, barely long enough for fans of the game to recognize the song. I wouldn't be surprised if the scene was cut short because Bella Ramsy couldn't emote as well as the scene from the game. Either way, that scene fell flat and failed to serve as the emotional bridge to make Ellie's dark side turn believable and resonate properly. WHY couldn't they just give us a few more episodes this season... and RECAST a better actress as Ellie!? The 5 year time jump was the perfect excuse to recast -- especially since Bella Ramsy basically looks the same as she did in Season 1 (aside from the arm tattoo). In contrast, in TLOU2 game, Ellie is visibly older, taller, and in better shape than the first game, making her Murder Ninja transformation more believable. That doesn't mean this episode was all bad. Aside from lacking the epic action scene from last episode, overall, this episode was better. The disembowelment scene that properly introduced the evil Scars was well done, although it was lame that Ellie didn't kill any of the Scars to escape from them. Most of the warehouse scene versus the Smart Infected was well done, but I didn't like Jesse's deus ex machina moment. I also disliked how Jesse glossed over how he and Tommy managed to track them down, especially the part about Dina inexplicably leaving the map behind for anyone to find. WTF!? It's like they're trying to ruin Dina's character after they did such a great job initially, compared to her terrible depiction in the game. I'm glad that Season 2 decided to include the Infected Spores. I liked this episode's introductory scene to establish the existence of the airborne spores, and it being paid off at the end of the episode with Ellie finding the Spore Breathers. The set and creature design were phenomenal. Ellie's confrontation with Nora was a mixed bag because Bella Ramsy's 1000-yard-stare is just not believable. Again, her dark side turn was terribly rushed, but when she transforms into the unblinking T1000, it's more cringey than menacing. Worse was Ellie's baffling admission that she knew that Joel killed all the Fireflies to save her. Again, Nora didn't explain what Joel did in the game, so Ellie never said "I know" -- which should've been a HUGE REVELATION. Instead, Ellie didn't care, robbing it of all its emotional impact. Then Ellie mirrors what Abby did to Joel by beating on Nora's leg, but her torture scene is cut short... because Nora is a "woman" (a bald, fugly one, but a woman nonetheless) and the show isn't willing to depict the female protagonist's cruelty to another woman. Instead, the show pulls another emotional WHIPLASH by cutting to what is either a flashback or Ellie's imaginary "happy place" where Joel is still alive. Season 2 is so frustrating because the technical aspects are as great as the first season, but the pacing and characterization are rushed, I hate the simplistic revenge story instead of Ellie survivor's guilt story we should've gotten, and the lead actress continually demonstrates that she can't carry the show after its heart was ripped out in episode 2. For most of Ellie's journey to and through Seattle, she isn't depicted as being emotionally traumatized from witnessing Joel's brutal murder; she's laughing and having fun with Dina, playing the guitar and singing, and hooking up with Dina and happily declaring she's going to be a "dad." Then she suddenly transforms into a Revenge Robot. After Joel's death, Season 2 has had NOTHING as dramatic or emotionally traumatizing as the Bill and Frank episode; or the tragic fate of Henry and Sam; or emotional as Ellie telling Joel she's not his daughter, then her being devastated when he's critically wounded; or heart-warming as the flashback to Ellie and Riley in the mall; or as crazy as Ellie killing the cannibal leader and uplifting as Joel saying "I've got you, baby-girl" to Ellie. Natalie's emotional reactions to those events from Season 1 are WHY we watch her reaction videos! I don't understand how ANYONE can claim Season 2 holds a candle to the drama and emotional resonance of Season 1.
Rod Reavern
2025-05-17 05:55:59 +0000 UTCWhat did they change? I played the game at launch so I only really remember the big story beats.
Kevin Farrell
2025-05-17 04:00:47 +0000 UTCFantastic reaction & re-recording! Kudos to Mazin, the writing team, & Naughty Dog for adjusting some of the story lines to avoid any controversy. But then again, some of the hardcore gamers would probably disagree. Also an Awesome Soundtrack for E5 since I'm a die-hard Pearl Jam fan LOL! End credit song is "Present Tense" and Ellie was about to sing "Future Days" but abruptly stopped. Both songs by PJ.
Alan Felicia
2025-05-17 03:11:41 +0000 UTCYou mean episode 5?
Joshua Hickman
2025-05-17 02:48:52 +0000 UTCHi Nat, thanks for re-recording the reaction for us.. With regards to Ellie loving music, I did see an interview with Bella Ramsey and she said she hopes to release some music of her own in the future as she has a load of songs ready..
Baggie Mark
2025-05-16 17:47:05 +0000 UTCWould have been fun if you kept the original recording and just ADR all your reactions. 😄
Brian
2025-05-16 16:32:25 +0000 UTCWhat’s up nat? You mean episode 5?
Liilu Korneliussen
2025-05-16 16:14:21 +0000 UTCWelp, take 3 and change the title
Chen
2025-05-16 16:11:54 +0000 UTCHappy Funky Fungi Friday Nat 😆 You've probably had enough tech issues to last you a lifetime this week. Don't throw anything heavy in my direction, but I'm guessing this should be Ep.5? Looking forward to seeing what you made of this episode 2nd time around 😬😊 "Feel Her Love.... Again" 🤣 You did a great job of giving us your reaction the second time Nat. You definitely need to have guts to face those Seraphites 😅 The spores have been a part of The Last of Us story since the first game. They are inside most of the buildings where there are infected. I'm guessing they just didn't want their actors wearing gas masks constantly so they removed that element of the outbreak from the show. Thanks for your video today Nat. Your hair is looking awesome. Have a great weekend catching up with your family and friends 💛
Darryl Low
2025-05-16 16:05:11 +0000 UTCYeah prolly mislabel.
MJ Eid
2025-05-16 16:04:56 +0000 UTCEpisode 5 right?
Jock
2025-05-16 16:03:37 +0000 UTC
