themothwhisperer

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Abby & Tris | GINNY & GEORGIA (2021–)

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Abby & Tris | 3.09 It's Time for My Solo GINNY & GEORGIA (2021–)

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Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it; those who do are doomed to scream into the void and then cry themselves to sleep

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watchluke

[themothwhisperer]

things I'm fond of:

vampires as a metaphor for surviving a trauma but becoming "different" because of it: control and vulnerability

werewolves as a metaphor for having something inside you that everyone else hates and fears: repression and release

ghosts as a metaphor for the pain, suffering, and anger of past generations: revenge and healing

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I’ve done it twin. I’ve turned us into spectral deer. Twin run they are hunting us twin.

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Yellowjackets is pretty heavy-handed in showing Shauna as the first to comfort others in season 1. Shes the first to comfort not just Jackie but Tai, Javi, Mari, Lottie, like, it's not subtle. This is not the story of someone who never truly cared. If anything, it's the story of someone who cared too much. Shauna cared so deeply and never let herself believe she was cared for in return, always doing what the others couldn't because someone had to, and it broke her. This is about how villains can be made of people who had the potential for incredible goodness, under the right circumstances, because evil isn't something humans are, it's something we do.

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My happy babies :,)

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Learn to let go, it will be okay

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greta thunberg, liam cunningham, rima hassan, and everyone else on that ship, thank you, and i hope you succeed. i really hope you succeed. you know what you are risking, and i wish for you to come back safely, having done what you set out to do.

[themothwhisperer]

People really only understand what they want to understand. Just because Abby was clearly written as competent doesn’t mean Ellie is, as a result, incompetent. Like how does that even make sense? Why would these things automatically be mutual causation? How is that the only logical conclusion?

Okay, yes, Abby is more skilled. That’s for sure. She’s more prepared and more trained. She was actively working on herself both physically and mentally for years. Even though she’s not as muscular as she was in the game, her abilities are displayed clearly. She’s part of a military group in which she most certainly went through some high level training for firearms handling and close combat, amongst many other things. She understands all the inner works required to be a good soldier because that’s exactly what she is. Another thing to consider is the fact that Abby is older than Ellie. If I’m not mistaken, in the game it’s only about a year or two, but it could be more in the show. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was in her mid twenties. Regardless, a few years make an astronomical difference if we consider Ellie is only 19 years old. It’s extremely different in terms of maturity and developed psychological toolset. Especially if we consider their learning experiences and the type of communities they respectively evolved in. For Abby it was rigid, inculcating strict and solid ideologies. She’s a fighter and she knows what being at war is like. She understands all of those concepts already.

I also wish to highlight the fact that she’s probably an above average soldier. We all heard what Isaac said about her in the finale. She’s special for the WLF. That’s another aspect reinforcing the idea that, yes, she is insanely proficient at what she does. Therefore, it’s normal for Ellie to be inferior in this regard specifically.

When it comes to Ellie, she’s young and it’s in her character to be very impulsive. She’s not known to be strategic and calculated. She acts on her emotions and she doesn’t have all the knowledge Abby has. Not to the same degree at least. Another very massive aspect to consider is the fact that she never got the chance to be ready for this. Joel dying was a tragedy nobody could expect. Ellie barely took the time to process and she was already on the road with Dina and Shimmer. Completely unprepared and fully unaware of what she was getting into with the situation already occurring in Seattle. On the other side, Abby took a considerable amount of time to get ready for her revenge. She got to her target with a very structured approach. Also, just keep in mind that the Jackson community is not an army-like faction (as opposed to the WLF). Jackson is all about survival and protection. It’s all regular people contributing to the collective prosperity with their own strengths and abilities. Whether it’s cooking, gardening, healing others, building, guarding the gates, going on patrols to protect or whatever else, they are not as familiar and as regularly exposed to human versus human violence. They mostly fight off infected.

So no, Ellie is not incompetent. She’s not stupid either. She just doesn’t know better. She’s going through the biggest hardships of her life and she’s not ready. But it’s too late now, she went too far. She must deal with what she doesn’t know and do her best. As an audience, it’s normal to feel that too.

Abby is exceptionally competent, that is true.

But it doesn’t change the fact that Ellie is very resourceful considering everything. Give her some credit.

[themothwhisperer]

escape

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Ariela Barer as Mel is literally what I’m most excited for about Season 3. Her performance was mesmerizing, even if it was just a couple of minutes. I’m so ready to fall in love with this character.

[themothwhisperer]

the way mel’s death was actually so sad in the show, her repeatedly asking “is it out…?” while she dies is the saddest fucking thing i’ve ever seen, she knew she was gonna die and she trusted the girl that shot both her and the baby’s father to get her baby out so it wouldn’t die with her, she reassured ellie that she was doing a good job while ellie panicked, she just wanted her baby to live

[themothwhisperer]

Amongst the actually intelligent criticism I read about The Last of Us Season 2, there is a comment that emerges a lot. It’s based on the idea that the game makes revenge very easy to fall into as the player. The acts of violence are, in a way, easier to accept and fully commit to (initially, with Ellie’s POV at least). This all justifies Ellie a lot more in Part II since the whole journey is validated and solidified. It obviously collapses with time, but at first we are totally following Ellie’s plan, no question asked.

On the other side, Season 2 sort of makes things very shaky early on. The characters are generally more uncertain about what’s happening (starting in Jackson). Abby is presented under a clearer light from the very beginning. Ellie is more flawed in a way, leaving room for other characters to shine and breathe alongside her. Ellie is also more emotional and clueless (in my opinion, this is more realistic since 19 y/o kids are usually quite immature still). There are some contradictions that make us doubt Ellie’s actions and motives on a regular basis. As an audience, we feel super unsure with every step and every decision that is taken.

So I do agree with the criticism. It’s entirely true that the game places revenge at the center. We fall into the trap. Being intimately invested with the controller in hands, it is a great decision to be hit in the face later on with the lessons on the endless cycle of violence. It makes us feel bad with the things we kind of also did as active players. I get that.

But here, with a TV show, we are a passive audience. For very obvious reasons, Ellie cannot embark into the mad bloodbath she is committed to in the game as a way to elevate her rage; it would simply be completely unrealistic for one human being to kill so many trained people without taking any significant damage whatsoever. So no, that’s obviously not working. From the start, they had to make Ellie feel more human, more relatable and more realistic. And surprise, surprise! A real human being is flawed and ridden with weaknesses. Especially a very young one who’s wounded with trauma. That’s Ellie.

And it’s actually a realistic portrayal for a young adult that sincerely doesn’t know how to deal with an extreme and uniquely tragic situation. Bella Ramsey is doing a wonderful job at presenting that complexity. In the game, sometimes it felt like Ellie was born ready for this moment. The creators are actually trying to fix some issues that were unfortunately misunderstood by some people. By balancing both Ellie and Abby. Because the other massive aspect to consider about this story is how they share the main role. Part II is about BOTH Ellie and Abby. We need to doubt Ellie to a certain degree and to see some truth in Abby’s journey as we discover who she truly is. As players, we had once again the controller in hands and some people insisted on hating Abby even when the credits were rolling at the very end. Some people never got the point of this entire story anyways! In my opinion, they’re also changing things up for that exact reason.

Ellie does react weirdly. She’s wrong sometimes and she’s not as confident as she was in the game. But so what? Does she have to be? Is it that much of an issue how she shared the spotlight with Dina for a while? How she needs that support? Is it unfair for Jesse to accuse her of all their misery? Are her motivations wrong? Who is selfish and who is not? Who is the better person? All valid questions. Every character is far from perfect, just like real humans. People fuck up and pay for it. This is what The Last of Us is all about. Being cruel and seeking violence will always have a cost. She’s a kid and this is enormous. This loss, this pain, it’s all bigger than her. It goes beyond her comprehension and sense of logic. Of course, she will fuck up and nothing about it is going to be pretty. Mel’s death being the cherry on top for me. Absolutely atrocious and tragic. Much more impactful than it was in the game. It’s a point of no return for the audience and it definitely breaks something in Ellie too. THIS is what happens when the choice is revenge over forgiveness. THIS is what happens when the actions aim to harm. THIS is what happens when rage is blinding. Things can get out of hand really quickly.

All of this to say that I don’t hate the fact that the revenge is not as justified in the show. That it all feels more useless and stupid. Because it is! There is no trophy at the end of the line. This is a fight that cannot be won. The mistakes are bleeding through already. Nobody will feel better whether they exit at the other end of the tunnel or not. The desperation is palpable. Abby will feel the consequences too. It’s fair play here. No one is entirely wrong or right. There is no character to hate or love unconditionally here. This is a very human learning experience about forgiveness, love, helplessness, mistakes and pain.

[themothwhisperer]

these two were the highlight of the season