u/-GreyFox

The Last of Us: Part II Major Problems

Okay, yes. This post is going to be very, very long. I'll try to be as concise as possible, but that won't make it short. I'm sorry to say it, but you can skip it and get on with your life, not hard feelings.

Secondly, this post complements what we saw in "The Last of Us: Part 2 A Poorly Written Story," so you'd better keep that series in mind. And there will be more coming soon, yet I don't know how many, or when yet.

Index

Introduction

1. The Last of Us (2013)

a. Text and Subtext

b. The Duplicity of Life

c. Subtext vs Marlene, Joel, and Tommy

d. The Cabin

e. The Lie

f. The Beauty of Subtext

2. The Last of Us: Part II and The Subtext

a. The Cabin, Joel and Neil

b. The Last of Us: Part II Opening

c. The Dam

d. Inorganic Reactions

e. Lack of Subtext

f. The Theater

g. The Beach

h. The Hotel

i. The F.O.B

3. State the Obvious

4. Closing

INTRODUCTION

McKee talks about how the story you wrote, the one you poured so much effort and work into, should amaze you every time you read it. The idea behind these words is that the same thing should happen to your audience. And this is what happens to me every time I replay or watch scenes from The Last of Us (2013), for example:

1. THE LAST OF US (2013)

Beat

>HOMETOWN
[Setting: Texas. Joel walks into his house late at night, on the phone.]

>Joel: Tommy, I-...Tommy. Tommy, listen to me. He's the contractor, okay? I
can't lose this job. I understand... Let's talk about this in the
morning, okay? We'll talk about it in the morning. Alright, goodnight.

>[He turns on the light, waking his daughter on the couch.]

>Sarah: Hey.
Joel: Scoot.
Sarah: Fun day at work, huh?

It's brief and concise; the audience immediately understands the type of work Joel does, the financial problems he faces, and his character when he avoids his daughter's question/comment.

The scenes reveal intelligence; someone took the time to consider what to put on screen to make it work in conjunction with organic dialogue that, as such, says much more than it initially appears.

>Joel: What are you still doing up? It's late.
Sarah: Oh crud. What time is it?
Joel: It's way past your bedtime.
Sarah: But it's still today.
Joel: Honey, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this.
[She gets out a small gift box from nearby.]
Sarah: Here.
Joel: What's this?
Sarah: Your birthday.
[He opens it.]
Sarah: You kept complaining about your broken watch... So I figured, you know.
You like it?
Joel: Honey, this is...
Sarah: What?
Joel: It's nice, but I-...I think it's stuck. It's not...
Sarah: What? No, no, no, no.
[She sees he's just kidding her.]
Sarah: Oh, ha, ha.
Joel: Where did you get the money for this?
Sarah: Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs.
Joel: Oh, good. You can start helping out with the mortgage then.
Sarah: Stsh - yeah, you wish.
[Joel watches TV for awhile, then carries Sarah to bed.]
Joel: Goodnight, baby girl.

The most beautiful thing about The Last of Us (2013) is, of course, the relationship between Joel and Ellie blossoming in a decaying world; there's no question about that. But there's more beauty to be found in this script if you take the time to look for it.

When we look at this scene, we see Joel on one hand, worried about his financial future, obviously thinking about his daughter's well-being (though he doesn't discuss it with her), and on the other hand, Sarah, who is aware of the economic situation but at the same time firmly believes that having her father is all she needs. It is this attitude of a daughter who loves her father that restores Joel's lost spirit; it is this beautiful feeling that makes Joel exhale that tender/famous "Baby Girl."

The beauty in all of this is that nothing is said directly, but rather it works on a second level. Subtext.

>“To find out why a scene fails, the whole must be broken into its parts. An analysis begins, therefore, by separating the scene’s text from its subtext.” - Robert McKee -

a. Text and Subtext

>“Text means the sensory surface of a work of art. In film it’s the images onscreen and the soundtrack of dialogue, music, and sound effects. What we see. What we hear. What people say. What people do. Subtext is the life under that surface—thoughts and feelings both known and unknown, hidden by behavior.” - Robert McKee -

b. The Duplicity of Life

It's the very nature of the craft; every element you put on screen has meaning. This can be a help or a problem if you don't know how to use it. Subtext can hide ulterior motives, malevolent plans, but also something you don't want to talk about: recognition, friendship, honor, respect, or the honest feeling of affection between a father and daughter.

>“Nothing is what it seems. This principle calls for the screen-writer’s constant awareness of the duplicity of life, his recognition that everything exists on at least two levels, and that, therefore, he must write a simultaneous duality: First, he must create a verbal description of the sensory surface of life, sight and sound, activity and talk. Second, he must create the inner world of conscious and unconscious desire, action and reaction, impulse and id, genetic and experiential imperatives. As in reality, so in fiction: He must veil the truth with a living mask, the actual thoughts and feelings of characters behind their saying and doing.” - Robert McKee -

c. Subtext vs Marlene, Joel, and Tommy

The story gets a little complicated because trafficking a little girl isn't a good thing, so the question is: How do you have your protagonist traffic a little girl without turning him into that kind of person? After all, that's not the direction you want to take your protagonist in this story.

>[Setting: Quarantine Zone – The Docks – Back room of a warehouse.]
Ellie: Bullshit! I'm not going with him.
Marlene: Ellie...
Ellie: How do you know them?
Marlene: I was close with his brother, Tommy. Said if I was ever in a jam I
could rely on him.
Joel: Was that before or after he left your little militia group?
Marlene: He left you too. He was a good man.
Tess: Look, just take her to the north tunnel and wait for me there.
Joel: Jesus Christ.
Tess: She's just cargo, Joel.
Ellie: Marlene…
Marlene: No more talking. You'll be fine. Now go with him.

Neil and Bruce decide that Joel should refuse this job, only accepting it as a show of camaraderie and respect for Tess. While Tess seems to embrace Jerry's motto, meaning "You do what you need to do to get it done," Joel demonstrates that he hasn't yet crossed that threshold or embraced that ideology.

Then Tommy's name appears, who rejects the lifestyle of both (The Fireflies and Joel), but is able to continue recommending his brother, meaning that, despite the problems they may have had, Joel still has his heart on the right side.

There's a lot of subtext to read, especially regarding Marlene, who was initially looking for Robert, whose reputation and personality are very different from Tommy's or Joel's. Was Marlene really willing to leave Ellie, a child she supposedly loves, with a character like Robert? Later, the writers explain in Marlene's diary that it was a desperate decision after the whole operation spiraled out of control.

d. The Cabin

The subtext is clear: there will be no further conversation. Ellie isn't stupid, and she decides to escape. But this escape has at least two reasons. This is an Ellie who wonders if Joel loves her enough to come looking for her, or if she was just "contraband" all this time. And this is also an Ellie who fights for what she loves. Ellie is trying to break down the wall Joel has built over these past 20 years.

>[Setting Jackson’s Dam]
[Ellie and Joel watch them argue.]

>Ellie: Hey, what's that all about? Does that have anything to do with me?
Joel: We'll talk about it later.
Ellie: Did he tell you where the lab is?
Joel: We'll talk about it later.
Ellie: Later... Right.

On Joel's side, it's not that he hasn't grown fond of Ellie, but rather that he doesn't believe this world is a place to have a daughter. The values ​​that made it possible to sustain a family have been lost, and that's why his attitude changes when he first sees Jackson. Now he can offer Ellie the life she's been searching for. All of this is subtext.

e. The Lie

I suppose at this point you've realized the direction I'm taking. And I've already talked about this a bit, but here we go again:

Beat

>[Outside of Jackson]
[They climb to find a vista of Jackson in all its springtime glory.]

>Joel: Wow. Look down there. Just a little bit further now. Shit. Here, I got
you. Gimme your hand.[He helps her up the ledge.]
Joel: Alright, come on.
Ellie: Hey, wait. Back in Boston -- back when I was bitten -- I wasn't alone.
My best friend was there. And she got bit too. We didn't know what to
do. So...she says "Let's just wait it out. Y'know, we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together." I'm still waiting for my turn.
Joel: Ellie--
Ellie: Her name was Riley and she was the first to die. And then it was Tess.
And then Sam.
Joel: None of that is on you.

Joel rushes to respond to what at first appears to be Ellie falling into Survivors Guilt, as this is what the text shows, but we must not forget the subtext.

>Ellie: No, you don't understand.

Ellie quickly dismisses that idea with this response: No. That's not it.

>Joel: I struggled for a long time with survivin'. And you-- No matter what,
you keep finding something to fight for. Now, I know that's not what you
want to hear right now, but it's--

Joel continues to believe it's survivor's guilt, but it isn't. Ellie knows Joel lied with good intentions, and she explains her motivation. She tries to explain to Joel why she pushed so hard during this journey. Ellie believes she owes it to Riley, and she doesn't want to die knowing she could have helped create a vaccine.

>Ellie: Swear to me. Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies
is true.

The subtext in this dialogue is simple. What would Ellie do if she knew Joel was lying to her? She would run away to find the truth. This is Ellie telling Joel, “I know you’re lying to me, but I need to know there was no way to create a vaccine so I can have peace of mind, because that’s what I owe Riley.” Ellie is seeking closure to her “Want,” echoing John Truby’s concept of “Wants and Needs”—what a character “wants” versus what the character truly “needs.”

>[There's a short pause.]
Joel: I swear.
The brief pause of Joel, who suddenly understands that Ellie knows he lied to her, followed by an honest response in the form of a lie, "I swear." This is poetry.
Ellie: Okay.
[The credits roll. The end!]

Joel's arc closes, while Ellie's story remains open with that "Okay," as she still cannot understand the words of her mother (or Riley) who tries to explain to her that despite the horrors and suffering of this world, life is worth living.

f. The Beauty of The Subtext

The most beautiful thing about The Last of Us (2013), besides Joel and Ellie, is the subtext. As a writer, you should have a complete understanding of the subtext that your story creates. McKee clarified that you must write on two levels. And if you forget this, you can end up writing something very different from what you had in mind. This is Neil's problem.

2. THE LAST OF US: PART II AND THE SUBTEXT

While we see and understand the bond of love that unites Joel and Ellie, Neil is quick to demystify this. While Joel loves Ellie and adopts her as his surrogate daughter, Ellie appreciates Joel, but their relationship is more one of admiration. Joel is her mentor, someone from whom she can learn and acquire the tools she needs to survive in this world. This is one of the first elements Neil attacks in his "sequel" by having Ellie live in Joel's garage.

a. The Cabin, Joel and Neil

For Neil, the story has no subtext; everything the characters say is direct, and there is no subtext. Thus, the fight in the cabin is about Ellie being disappointed in her partner because she believed they made a great team, and a cold Joel who won't hesitate to lie to protect himself. This is the "setup" Neil believes he set up to get his payoff during the final conversation with Ellie and Joel's "I swear."

b. The Last of Us: Part II Opening

Beat

>[Setting: Small house outside Jackson]
[Joel sits in an old, ragged chair and wipes a metal butterfly on a guitar fingerboard. He talks to someone who is behind the scenes.]

>Joel: I don’t know what happened. I was supposed to take her to the Fireflies and walk away. You go halfway across the country with someone... She needed her immunity to mean somethin’. Maybe I was starting to buy into that whole... cure business. Maybe I just wanted to do right by her. And then we made it. We found the Fireflies. And because of her... They were actually going to make a cure. The only catch... it would kill her.

>[We jump to the events of the first game. Joel bursts into the operating room. The surgeon grabs the scalpel from the stand and threatens him.]

>Joel: Sweet Jesus.
Nurse: Doctor?
Surgeon: What are you doing in here? I won’t let you take her. This is our future, think of all the lives we’ll save.
[We return to the present. The man who is sitting opposite Joel is Tommy.]
Tommy: Jesus Christ, Joel. What’d you do?
Joel: I saved her.

>[We see the footage of a bloody hospital. There are many corpses everywhere.]

Compared to what we've seen before, I ask you: What is the subtext of this conversation? Joel is directly and openly stating what he thinks/feels/did.

>Joel: C’mon, baby girl. I gotcha. I gotcha.
[The siren is turned on.]

>Firefly: (via speaker) Cover the exits! Don’t let him get away!
Joel: Oh shit.

>[Joel grabs Ellie on a smoke and runs out of the operating room. We go back to the present.]

>Tommy: Goddamn. That’s... That’s a lot. What does Ellie know?
Joel: I told her they just ran some tests. I told her... her immunity meant nothin’.
Tommy: And she believed you?
Joel: Didn’t say otherwise.

If your answer is none, you're right. There's no subtext. This is Joel speaking directly and openly with his brother, who fully understands what his brother has done. Joel made "a deal" with Ellie, betrayed her, killed a lot of people, and lied to her about it. He lied to Ellie about what was most important to her. It's a lot of information that Tommy is receiving, and yet he doesn't argue about it; he simply lets his brother continue talking.

How would the real Tommy have reacted?

c. The Dam

Let's remember that not much time has passed since Joel visited Jackson, to find Tommy happy to see him again, but totally distrustful of the deals Joel might be involved in.

Beat

>[Setting: Jackson’s Dam]
Tommy: I haven't seen a Firefly in years.

>Joel: But you know where they are. Now I'm not asking for much, Tommy. I just
want some simple gear -- enough to set me on my way.
Tommy: What makes you think I'd do this for you?
Joel: This isn't for me, Tommy. This is for your damn cause.
Tommy: My cause is my family now. You ain't talking about some walk in the
park here.
Joel: Jesus, boy...have Maria get some of your born again friends to do it.
Tommy: They got families too.
Joel: Tommy, I need this*.*
Tommy: You want some gear, sure. But I ain't taking that girl off your hands.

This is Tommy, who doesn't trust his brother easily and doesn't want to get involved; this is how he pressures Joel to tell the truth. Tommy only decides to help once he understands what's really going on between Joel and Ellie.

d. Inorganic Reactions

In the first story, the moment when Joel feels compelled to ask his brother for help is carefully crafted, culminating in him saying, "Tommy, I need this."

In Part II, the moment that leads Joel to this act of sincerity, this act of confessing to his brother without pressure, lacks any prior setup.

In the first story, Joel conceals his motivations until he has no other choice but to reveal them. In the second story, he speaks openly with his brother.

e. Lack of Subtext

We quickly discovered Neil's writing style; the characters express themselves flatly and directly. This is how the first story should be read, as Joel confesses: he betrayed and lied to Ellie. There is no subtext to be read during the final dialogue of the first story.

The shadows surrounding the Fireflies' actions, the filthy hospital and operating room—all of that should be forgotten. There's no subtext to be read. They were going to create a cure, and Joel killed them because he wasn't willing to lose a daughter. Joel telling Marlene, "You keep telling yourself that bullshit," lacks subtext. The story is flat and straightforward.

>“An old Hollywood expression goes: “If the scene is about what the scene is about, you’re in deep shit.” It means writing “on the nose,” writing dialogue and activity in which a character’s deepest thoughts and feelings are expressed by what the character says and does—writing the subtext directly into the text.”
- Robert McKee -

f. The Theater

When we look at the most climactic moments of Part II, the subtext is nonexistent; the characters speak and act exactly as they are thinking. Flat and direct.

Beat

>[Setting Seattle]
[Theater}

>[At this moment Jesse and Ellie come out to the room. Abby kills Jesse, and Ellie hides behind the counter.]

>Ellie: I know why you killed Joel. He did what he did to save me. There’s no cure because of me. I’m the one that you want. Just let him go.

>Abby: You killed my friends... We let you both live... and you wasted it!

Flat and direct, without subtext. If you recall the conversation between David and Ellie, or the final dialogue between Joel and Marlene, even when Joel ends Marlene's life, and compare it to this, the theater scene becomes cheap melodrama.

g. The Beach

The complete interaction on the farm creates a weighty subtext: Ellie is beyond good and evil, and this time, she will kill Abby no matter the cost. All that subtext collapses during the final battle when Ellie decides to let Abby go.

h. The Hotel

During the final segment, Neil chooses to show Joel lying to Ellie once again, a completely unnecessary event. They should have simply shown Ellie escaping towards the hospital, just as she escaped the dam in Jackson. She won't allow Joel to lie to her again; she'll escape in search of answers. But aside from that, what's the subtext of this fight?

Joel's confession at the beginning of this... thing... creates the subtext of a Joel suffering from keeping such a dark secret and feeling forced to confess it to his brother, which would eventually lead Joel to tell Ellie the truth during this flashback. Not to mention that a Joel who speaks openly with his brother is completely out of character.

i. The F.O.B

Isaac talking to Abby: What is the subtext during this conversation? “Abby, you’re my best man and I need you. Please do this for me.” The entire previously constructed image of a sadistic, psychotic, paranoid, and unscrupulous character falls apart. Neil seems to have great difficulty creating and sustaining subtext.

3. STATE THE OBVIOUS

The constant hammering of how much Joel loves Ellie, evident throughout the first story, doesn't seem to be enough for Neil. He adds Joel playing guitar and singing, Ellie's birthday at the museum, saving her at the hotel, and of course, "I would do it all over again."

The most critical/climactic moment of this whole... thing... comes with the Porsche scene, during the conversation between Joel and Ellie. Again... subtext? What is it?

Joel is convinced he did the right thing because he loves Ellie, something firmly established during the first story. Ellie, on the other hand, seems to be struggling to understand this… for some reason. She speaks bluntly and directly: “You knew what I wanted, and you betrayed me,” demonstrating her inability to grasp why Joel would do this.

The Ellie we knew, the Ellie who could read Joel's mind, his heart, and the problems he was going through, is gone. Now we have this "Ellie" who can't read subtext. An Ellie who needs things told to her directly to understand what's happening, so she can begin to reconsider the situation.

4. CLOSING

We're getting dangerously close to the topic I want to address in the next post, so I don't see a better time to wrap this up. But there are two things I'd like you to take away.

1. The desire to revisit The Last of Us to discover that subtext you didn't know existed.
2. The importance of subtext and how much it enriches the narrative.

The Last of Us has some good moments, thanks to the actors, but regardless of the actors' skill, bad writing is and always will be bad writing.

>“Actors are not marionettes to mime gestures and mouth words. They’re artists who create with material from the subtext, not the text. An actor brings a character to life from the inside out, from unspoken, even unconscious thoughts and feelings out to a surface of behavior. The actors will say and do whatever the scene requires, but they find their sources for creation in the inner life. The scene above is unactable because it has no inner life, no subtext. It’s unactable because there’s nothing to act.” - Robert McKee -