FIRST TIME WATCHING: TLOU S2E4
Added 2025-05-08 16:00:11 +0000 UTCAhhhh this episode was INTENSE! Already getting nervous about the fate of these two...
Also, apologies that the timer may differ for you. Unfortunately, Max likes to throw random ads in for different accounts and factors those ads into the timer for the episode. So it's hard to have it be accurate for everyone.
As always, thank you for your support. Until the next one, take care and stay golden :)
LINK: https://youtu.be/sjTUSphV0xU
Original Series: The Last of Us
Comments
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RabidMango
2025-05-29 02:20:35 +0000 UTCI appreciate Natalie's entertaining and authentic reaction to this episode, which makes it easier to justify continuing to watch this show. This episode was more entertaining than last week's, but was a real mixed bag. The opening was great, demonstrating ignorant FEDRA goons callously mocking the people they are oppressing, not even understanding why they refer to them as "Voters" and then getting their comeuppance. This is WHY I don't blindly "support the troops" or the police, because all "order enforcement" organizations are infested with goons like that who just enjoy hurting people and abusing the blanket immunity they're unjustly granted. Only their squad leader, Isaac, was old enough to remember the world before the collapse and the virtues of freedom and liberty, which is why he became disillusioned by FEDRA's autocracy and turned against them. Of course, flash forward a few years, and he's shown torturing a Scar prisoner, so I suppose TIME makes hypocrites out of everyone. As for Ellie and Dina... I'm enjoying HALF of their duo. Dina is a great character; written, cast, and acted far superior in the show than TLOU2 game. Whereas Ellie, more specifically Bella Ramsy, cannot carry the show on her own. There are obvious parallels between Ellie and Dina in Season 2 with Joel and Ellie in S1; for example, the scavenging scene at the beginning of the episode is very similar to S1 E3 when Joel was searching for his stash of supplies in the convenience store and Ellie dropped into the basement, right down to finding feminine hygiene products. The difference is that Dina wasn't being reckless or sadistic, which is a major reason why she is the more likeable character who I can empathize with. But in the first game, I never disliked Joel or Ellie. The problem is S2's mischaracterization of Ellie and Bella Ramsy's performance. Even the guitar scene didn't resonate as strongly compared to the game because Ashley Johnson is a far better singer than Bella Ramsy; Ashley should've dubbed over her singing, especially when she covered the entire song. UGH! It was excruciating! At least the action scenes were good -- if a little implausible. A 5-foot-tall, 100-pound woman spear tackling a man to the ground is so ADORABLY implausible -- as was his not shooting her dead the instant he saw her. Here's an applicable anecdote: When I worked at a marina, a young female co-worker tried to push me off the dock. Even though my back was to her and I wasn't prepared, she wasn't able to move me an inch. When I looked at her and asked, "What are you doing?" she immediately panicked and latched onto my leg, knowing she was going in the water but determined to take me with her. I managed to shake her off without falling into the water, but then a male co-worker grabbed me by the shirt collar, pulled me backwards off the opposite side of the dock and into the water. To be fair, he got me back after I shoved him into the water a minute earlier. The point is that the difference in the strength of an average man vs. an average woman is NO CONTEST. And BTW she was around 5'3", skinny but probably more than 100 pounds, and we were just horsing around after work. A life and death struggle would be even more lopsided. I suppose Dina's help to Ellie made the fight slightly more plausible... because a GUN is a force multiplier. If Ellie had just SHOT that guy while his back was turned (because he didn't clear the corners properly) the fight scene would've been fine. The other problem with that action scene was WHY did Ellie and Dina drop into the subway train? It seemed like all but one of the Infected couldn't climb on top of the train, and they ultimately ended back on the top anyway, so it just seemed contrived to make them go inside a train full of corpses -- which could've been Infected for all they knew. The "revelation" was... mid. Again, Isabela Merced was giving it the intensity and pathos the scene warranted, but Bella Ramsy phoned it in. The dialogue felt so stilted, because in that situation Ellie should be telling Dina that she knows her and trusts her and she wouldn't lie about something like that, even to save her own life. Instead, she was, "Please don't shoot me. Just WAIT and see." Except that plan requires Dina to stay awake the entire time watching to see if Ellie turns, while Ellie just gets to sleep. That's so selfish. It would've made more sense for Ellie to spend the whole time opening up and telling Dina the truth about her backstory, and forge a legitimate bond with her. NOPE. Just doze off and deal with it in the morning! Another problem was they recently fought WLF soldiers and a horde of Infected, crawled through debris and a train full of corpses, and Ellie was bitten on the arm, and they come out squeaky clean (not even sweaty) -- I mean, LOOK AT how clean Ellie's hands are when she's holding up her hands when Dina is pointing the gun at her. And then, Dina goes from thinking Ellie is infected to a love scene... and then they wake up later, FULLY CLOTHED, and Dina is concerned about morning breath, so they eat some jerky. It is so RUSHED, cringy, and contrived. I mean, the show depicts the two female leads with flawless hair and makeup, never dirty or dishevelled, but doesn't show anything during their love scene or afterward, in the same episode there was an unnecessarily naked dude being tortured. There is a baffling double-standard in this show, and it is deliberately antiseptic to "the male gaze". There are numerous depictions of lesbian love scenes in movies that are tasteful, passionate, and enticing: Carol, Loves Lies Bleeding, Black Swan, Bound, Disobedience. No one who has seen those movies would claim they were gratuitous or "sexploitative". Whereas in this episode, it was so tame and truncated, like they were afraid to show anything or didn't want to make the actresses "uncomfortable." Arguably worse was Ellie presumptuously saying "I'm going to be a dad" in the next scene. It was so CRINGE! From what I remember from the game, Ellie was upset that Dina endangered herself while pregnant because it compromised her revenge quest. I suppose they might be waiting until next episode to deal with that. Regardless, Ellie's shift from Revenge mode, to begging Dina not to kill her, to the love scene, and straight to Family mode was too much, too fast. This was the epitome of "Slow down, I need to time to process my emotions," whereas Ellie was bouncing from one extreme to another apparently in the span of a single day, and Bella Ramsy doesn't have the acting chops to pull it off. The main PROBLEM is that Season 2 is only 7 episodes, because this season has been split in half because HBO/MAX wants to prolong the show, like they did the last season of GoT (and Season 2 of HotD). If this season was a proper 10 episodes, there'd be plenty of time to develop the characters and let Ellie and Dina's relationship breathe for a minute, instead of "We finger-banged and now we're basically married with children." Gimme a f***ing break! Respect your audience and give us a full season, instead of cheaping out and rushing everything!
Rod Reavern
2025-05-09 22:06:12 +0000 UTCYeah it’s uncomfortable watching two women have an emotional moment together. If anything they showed to many angles of the dudes junk while he was getting tortured.
MJ Eid
2025-05-09 18:36:12 +0000 UTCIt's a silly nitpick I had. If I was 100% aware that someone was directly exposed to the deadliest contagion in human history I probably wouldn't immediately sleep with 'em. I don't care if she doesn't show symptoms. Typhoid Mary never had symptoms and spread everything. I enjoy the show and have no problem going with that's not an issue in this story. But I sure wouldn't be goin' after it at that time. :]
RabidMango
2025-05-09 01:09:43 +0000 UTCI hadn’t got around to watching this episode yet, so this was my first time blindly watching along for this series and damn… what an episode! 😅 I haven’t played the second game and I forgot how it was gonna keep ppl engaged after Joel’s death, but after watching this it’s clearly Ellie and Dina’s relationship. I’ve been overly nervous about some of the choices the writers made in the last few eps regarding Dina but that’s all gone because this was fantastic, Bella and Isabela’s chemistry is insane. They’re both doing such a good job 🥹 But also, using your unwashed hands to get your girl off on that nasty theatre floor… I hope you kept the Monistat, girl
Daniel McGuinness
2025-05-09 01:05:09 +0000 UTCIf I had one complaint I think they lingered on Ellie singing for way longer than they needed to.
Kevin Farrell
2025-05-09 00:26:06 +0000 UTCTo think this is the lowest rated episode in the entire series.
MJ Eid
2025-05-08 22:41:06 +0000 UTCBeef jerky, not ass jerky?
SilentBobFather
2025-05-08 20:44:07 +0000 UTCI just joined and subscribed because I was really looking forward to seeing Natalie’s reactions before they go up on YouTube. I absolutely love her content, but I have to be honest I’ve never been able to get into watch-alongs (and that’s not just with this channel). I’d love to stay subscribed, but since I’m not interested in watch-alongs, is there any chance the edited YouTube versions could be posted here early? I would love to stay, but if the only thing available is watch-alongs, I think I won’t stay on the Patreon.
Todd
2025-05-08 18:39:38 +0000 UTCGreat episode. So intense. Wish the season was longer but oh well, it’ll be worth the wait. Funny to watch all the trolls who hated the game come out with their pretyped ‘anti-woke’ criticisms written before the show aired trying to put the show down, yet most are enjoying it anyway.
jamie jones
2025-05-08 17:44:19 +0000 UTC
