#TLOU episode 5 spoilers

[readerconfused]

if you hear someone crying it's me

THE LAST OF US | 1x05 & 1x08

[sauerkrauted]

i really like how they showed Joel's ptsd in this episode. When the ringing started and he had to lean on something i was instantly like "ah thats an anxiety attack" because thats exactly what happens to me. Love that Joel is allowed to have emotions and struggles and not be a stoic manly man all the time.

[sapphireshelle91]

Ok, now that I am have recovered from watching Episode 5 of TLoU -  That’s a straight up lie, I haven’t recovered. Again, like with Sarah, I knew the thing that happens at the end of episode 5 was coming, I knew, I knew, I thought I was emotionally prepared, and then the thing happened and I was bawling - ANYWAY, putting the emotional damage aside... and (small-ish) SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5: Endure and Survive Was anyone else caught completely off guard by the little girl Clicker? I mean, we know kids can be infected (we saw in the timeskip in ep1 and you know, um, *coughsamcough*), but because we never saw any kids as runners (again *coughsamcough* but he was very new and yeah...), clickers so on in the game (or in the first 4 episode) my brain sort of came up with the theory that kids, once they became infected - because they’re kids and their bodys are so much smaller. And I’m talking about babies to maybe pre/mid-teens who get infected - that they succumb quicker to the fungus, and they just kinda skipped all the different stages and maybe not quiet immediately - because again we do see newly infected kids in both the game and the show - but in a pretty short about of time, if they’re not killed, they instead just turn into spore patches. Or something along those lines. So yeah, I was not expecting to see a little girl clicker. But once I got over the shock of her, I was actually really pleased that the show kinda answered the question/s that I’ve been curious about since the game first came out, which was “What happens to infected kids? Do they become clickers, or do they just fall to the ground and become new spore fungus patches?” So yeah, I’m glad the show showed a kid Clicker, even though it was also absolutely devastating to see a kid-Clicker I also might have *SPOILERS* cheered when the kid Clicker got a certain antagonist. I might have straight up cackled and then felt immediately queasy because boy, deaths in TLoU are brutal even when we don’t see the gore (which thank you, I don’t need that in my life). Anyway, this show has gone and once again, blown past all my previous expectations for any given episode, I am once again left shattered and an emotional wreck from an episode and also deeply satisfied because this is a damn fine show.

[sb25p]

Warning: THE LAST OF US SPOILERS: EPISODE 5!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED EP 5, PLEASE SCROLL PAST!!!!!

Also this an essay!! 🥴 tbh I write these more for myself than anything else…my Tumblr is my mf journal.

I normally don’t like to write posts that involve spoilers for current series/movies etc but TLOU episode 5 affected me in such a powerful way, I feel like I just need to vent it for a min.

Can we talk about the final scene? How hopeful Ellie is when she wakes up only to find out Sam has unfortunately become infected. Sam then attacking Ellie for Joel and Henry to realise what’s happening and Henry to raise the gun to Joel.

The actor, Lamar Johnson, absolutely killed that role (no pun intended…too soon?)

Like we see his face go from confused to protective yet terrified, shocked, panicked, regretful, devastated, remorseful, angry and numb.

I could go on and on about the diversity of emotions that Lamar portrayed in that moment to capture the reaction of Henry losing Sam. The one person he loves more than anything and has sacrificed everything for only to lose at what he believes to be his own hands but as we know is due to being infected.

It was never Henry’s fault. Henry didn’t kill Sam. Sam was already dead. The infection took him. Henry actually saved Ellie from being harmed by Sam. He’s still a hero regardless of what he’s done. He continued to protect others but without Sam, what is his purpose? Sam to Henry is purpose. He always has been. Now that Sam is gone, Henry doesn’t feel any purpose and ultimately that causes him to take his own life without any hesitation.

Then we have the other parallel of Pedro Pascal in that situation playing the role of Joel Miller.

We see Joel (not for the first time) jumping in ultimately to protect Ellie. He’s terrified. He’s seeing her at risk and scared and she’s calling out to him in that moment for help.

Joel talks earlier to Henry about being relied on. He says that it’s easier for kids because no one is relying on them but that’s not really true is it? Because although Sam relied on Henry for protection, Henry relied on Sam for purpose. He loved him. He lived for him because he had Sam by his side.

What really got me in that moment after Henry shoots Sam, is Joel. The way his face turns into a realisation. An understanding.

It doesn’t happen right away.

I feel if you watch Joel’s face just after Sam dies, he’s asking for the gun because he’s afraid Henry will turn on the both of them, pin a blame on them maybe that Sam got infected because of them but when Henry says “what did I do?” You can see that Joel’s face falls. He goes from appearing assertive and protective of Ellie to becoming understanding and gentle towards Henry.

I think that is because Joel recognises that feeling all too well. It’s not hard to think that Joel would have had a time after Sarah’s death where he must have thought that life wasn’t worth living anymore. That his purpose in life has been ripped from him so abruptly and if his sole purpose now is merely to survive, what kind of life does he have anyway?

It’s why I always saw Joel to be one of the strongest characters in the whole of the TLOU universe. He was a father to an only child who was taken from him during the time the world was falling apart anyway. Not only was his own beautiful little world ended in that split second, the one he shared with his daughter, the whole planet was being ripped apart.

What motivated him to keep on living? We could say Tommy but a parents love like Joel’s is so incredibly powerful. Even my own parents once said to me (and I’m one of four children) that if I ever took my own life, they couldn’t go on themselves without me. The true love of a parent is absolutely infinitely one of the most powerful things in this world. Pedro absolutely portrayed that emotion in the moment when he’s trying to talk Henry down. It’s like he’s mentally saying “look at me, I understand, PLEASE, I understand”. Joel knows they’re not at risk to Henry at that moment, Henry is at risk to himself.

Not only that but Joel asks Ellie if she’s okay shortly after Sam dies and even tries to go to her but is stopped by Henry raising the gun to him.

We see Joel becoming softer and more of a father figure to Ellie in this situation. His usual hardened expression drops when he has just witnessed a serious threat to Ellie’s life. He can see the distress in her. He’s just watched her bond with a child over a period of time that she clearly felt very strongly for very quickly. He also has strong feelings about Ellie watching others die due to the discussion he has with her when she shoots the man in the previous episode to protect Joel.

“You’re just a kid. You shouldn’t know what it means to…” to kill someone he means.

He doesn’t want her to witness this world. He wants to protect her from it and we’re seeing so much more of that in these newer episodes. The paternal feelings he’s developing for her are slowly but surely finding their way out into the open.

And finally the note that Ellie leaves on Sam’s grave.

“I’m sorry.”

We see Joel realising when he reads this, that this young girl feels a lot more than she’s giving out. That Joel is starting to come to terms with how much of a weight is sitting on Ellie’s shoulders by being treat like a possible cure. That the thought of her feeling as though it’s her fault that she couldn’t save Sam from infection, ultimately has Joel feeling even more responsible for ensuring she doesn’t feel that way and that she understands how important she is in herself rather than to the rest of the crumbling world.

I really look forward to seeing how their relationship develops. Particularly, how Joel’s feelings develop further towards Ellie. I also look forward to seeing more vulnerability from Ellie. Joel walks around with this hardened expression but Ellie doesn’t need to do anything like that. We know from how she admits to Sam that she fears being left alone, that she has a lot of emotion she is holding back. She needs that someone to be vulnerable with and I can’t wait for her to let it all go for Joel.

[boliv-jenta]

My ramblings on The Last of Us episode 5. Spoilers below:

We knew it was coming, but the addition of Ellie trying to save Sam? Heartbreaking. Their relationship serving as a reminder that Ellie is just a child herself was another blow.

The divergence from the game kept the tension up during the scene with Kathleen in the residential area. We knew Sam and Henry would likely still die but I wondered if they were just going to get shot. Maybe Sam would get himself killed by being Super Sam and trying to save one of the others.

We got another insight into how Joel navigates the world. He could have probably shot Kathleen while she was mid monologue, even with Perry keeping watch, but that would have just caused more problems than it solved. He's calm and methodical. He read Ellie's intentions and acting instantly. Pedro deserves all the awards for this, but the 'Please' to the old man in particular got me.

Bella was amazing as Ellie as always. Keivonn Woodard and Lamar Johnson were perfect as Sam and Henry. I love that Sam being deaf wasn't used as a plot device.

[fangirloverlode]

It’s SO fucking cool that the cast/crew learned sign language because of this though

[jasminedragoon]

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5

Okay so I'm feeling really bad for Ellie everything with Henry and Sam. It happened so fast. It still hasn't fully set in that Henry killed himself after killing San and I'm feeling even worse for Ellie. Like I really need to find some hurt/ comfort fics of Joel comforting Ellie because otherwise I think if he just continues as is she's going to become exactly like him. I know that doesn't happen in the games but please give my girl a hug she's been through so much trauma and just needs a father figure.

Also I loved the Kaiju zombie my guys charming. I'm wondering how that thing formed. My theory is that it's an advanced clicker or like a tree in a forest ecosystem the smaller zombies slowly add mass to this zombie to get the rest out from underground. The sheer way of the zombies everything from underground was so amazing to me it reminded me of the zombies movement in World War Z GOD ITS AMAZING I LOVE THIS SHOW anyways thanks for reading

[sapphireshelle91]

I knew what was coming... I knew how Henry and Sam’s story went. I’ve known how their story goes since 2013! I thought I was prepared, and yet, STILL, I was bawling at the first sign of what was to come and then, proceeded to curl up in a ball and sob for the last 10 minutes of the show.  Goddamm this show!!! It’s good (brilliant, heartbreaking) goddam show don’t get me wrong, but oh my god I have gotten so many bloody crying headaches from watching it (I thought I cried after episode 3, but oh no, oh boy no, was I wrong... no, nope, this episode wins, hands down, the ‘How badly can you make Shelle cry’ award.) god, I so badly wanted a different ending for them 

[readerconfused]

Can we talk about the karma that was Kathleen dying for a Clicker child after she said "children die all the time" to Henry?

Well, she was right in a way

[readerconfused]

Minor Spoilers The last of us - nothing sad either

Henry: where did you get food?

Ellie: Bill... He's dead

Ellie, darling... Sweetheart, don't talk like that it looks like you killed Bill and stole his food. It's not like Henry hasn't already chosen to trust you, but give the man context.

[fangirloverlode]

Oh god. Oh god. Oh my poor boys.

[fangirloverlode]

Oh god. Oh, I’m gonna puke. Oh sweet boy.

[fangirloverlode]

Oh they’re hugging god I’m gonna cry

[fangirloverlode]

He showed her. He showed her. And she tired to CURE HIM WITH HER BLOOD NOOOO

[fangirloverlode]

“I’m scared of ending up alone” oh god they did the thing no baby girl…

[fangirloverlode]

The way he just plonked down on the bed 😭 there’s no way Henry thought he was actually going to sleep