I love all of the small but important bonding moments we get in the show. We get multiple significant bonding moments every episode—I got you baby girl, it wasn’t time that did it, you deserve a choice, diarrhea is hereditary, etc.—but also so many tiny little things that make me so 😭❤️

Ellie asking Joel if they’re gonna be okay. Joel answering her questions about the outbreak. Joking together about music. Helping Ellie up when she falls. Ellie laying on him on the horse and in the basement. Joel asking for puns because he knows it makes Ellie happy. Letting her get some rest in the car. Telling her he knows it’s scary on the wooden plank. Chef Boyardee. So, so many more.

It’s one of those things that makes TLOU so good, and something that is missing in so many other shows. The fact that we have multiple times an episode where we slow down and get to see our characters talk and bond and grow just a bit closer. The show would work without it, but it adds so much to their relationship and makes us fall in love with the characters in a really rare and special way.

I made a thing…

I always try never to compare Pedro and Bella’s performances with Ashley and Troy’s.

That isn’t to say I don’t compare performances in general, or that I don’t have character choices that prefer in one version over the other, because I absolutely do. I just think that in this specific instance, the comparison of ‘X did better acting than Y’ is nonsensical and reductive of both parties. Both versions of TLOU have absolutely stellar performances, but they aren’t the same kind of performances!

In gaming, the actors have to be more exaggerated in order to get emotion across, since mocap doesn’t allow for the kind of subtle emotion that video does. You can’t tell what someone’s thinking by the look in their eyes or the way they hold their bodies without it being more exaggerated. But being more exaggerated doesn’t mean being more expressive. Pedro and Bella are both truly fantastic subtle actors, who act more with their eyes than most Hollywood stars do with their whole bodies. That’s just as expressive, it’s just a different kind of expressive. Acting with your eyes and with the subtle ways you hold your body just isn’t possible in video games yet.

If you took Ashley and Troy’s performances in TLOU game and stuck them 1:1 in a live action show, they would seem out of place and over-acted. That’s good! That’s how it’s supposed to be, because mocap and v/o acting are different from live-action, in-front-of-camera acting. Ashley and Troy are also incredible tv actors, but video game acting isn’t tv acting!

My point is that not is comparing these specific sets of actor’s performance useless and unnecessarily antagonistic, it’s also nonsensical. They both gave stellar performances, each pair delivering all-time-great acting specifically tailored for their respective mediums, and that deserves our respect and admiration, not useless manufactured competition.

Analyzing the new trailer instead of doing schoolwork because it’s more important than my future.

HBO logo on blurry backgrounds… oooooh, it gets me so hyped.

”David? I knew a David once. He was a weird little queer boy.”

“Seems like we’re talking about different David’s, then…”

Catherine O’Hara is a therapist/Jackson resident confirmed! No sneaky editing here!

They love each other so much😭 Can’t wait to see this guitar lesson❤️❤️

Gah, this scene is gonna break me😭❤️ also holy heck this set design!

I think this person is Ellie, since you can see the fur on the hood of the jacket. The person next to her on the lighter horse is most likely Dina, then.

The porch scene😭 also I’m not sure how anyone can think Bella doesn’t look 19 in this, because the weariness of our little Ellie is absolutely heartbreaking💔

“Don’t mind me, just washing the blood off my knife knife”

I believe this scene is during the infected attack, since they’re wearing the same clothes.

Also, this isn’t Tommy’s eye injury, I don’t think. However, because of Maria’s eggplant jacket we can see that it’s her in this scene:

Maria’s favorite is eggplant purple confirmed??

This is the scene from the promo shots that were released. You can tell because of the setting and Ellie’s outfit.

Abby mourning her dad. So psyched to see Kaitlyn Dever, watch Dopesick if you haven’t!

Craig Mazin: Oh, you wanted more infected did you? Huh? *spits* Fuck you! I’m the boss! Here’s your fucking infected!

Pretty sure the gun is Joel’s… hahahaha I’m gonna die hahahaha

Going back to the first horsey picture, this is probably Dina and Ellie, with Dina on the lighter horse.

First close-up look of the Scars!! Wooooooo!!

Well this is terrifyingly AWESOME

I just love Ellie’s little hair curl here

Tortured Seraphite and Jeffrey Wright looking incredibly scary. Love it.

This is the infected attack on Jackson, probably. Same type of walls and the snowy environment.

🎵Scars burning alive, you know how I fee-ee-eel🎵

It’s September, take your damn Santa hat off, dead-boy. Also, this is the train sequence for sure. At least that’s what I got judging from the red lighting and… the fact they’re in a train…

I think this is Joel, judging from the general physique and facial hair. Also BELLA STOP YOU’RE GONNA KILL ME!!

Joel loves his coffee❤️

Can we as a fandom PLEASE learn to use #anti?

I feel like every time I want to just read jokes or peoples analysis’ or see cute fanart, I’m absolutely bombarded with vitriol for the show, the actors, the changes, etc.

I realize I can’t stop this behavior, but I would like to distance myself from it, and unfortunately I can’t do that just myself. I just want to enjoy my favorite show in peace, without every online space being full of unavoidable hate.

So, I’m begging you…

“I hate how they changed Bill’s storyline” wow, fascinating, tag it #anti tlou hbo

“They should recast Bella Ramsey” well that’s certainly an opinion, and may I just add… tag it #anti bella ramsey

“The show is worse than the games in every way and I hate the show so much adijnfokdcm” hm, I see, #anti tlou hbo

If your first thought is “but all I’m doing is providing good faith criticism!” Or “I don’t hate Bella Ramsey, I just wish they cast someone else!” I don’t care. Tag it #tlou hbo crit or #bella ramsey crit if you’re unwilling to tag it #anti. You’re smart, you know full well when you should be tagging things like that. I don’t want your justifications, I just want to be able to look at #the last of us on tumblr and have good time.

I’ve seen people ask where they’re going in this shot at the end of episode 8…

…but this actually makes sense.

Considering they didn’t kill all the Silver Lakers in the show, they’re probably weary of raiders. Going to the water’s edge not only means that they don’t have to worry about being ambushed from one side, but it also obscures the sound of their footsteps with the water.

…God, I fucking love this show.

My Top 5 Shots of Every Episode of TLOU

Episode 9

TW: Gore

My Top 5 Shots From Every Ep of TLOU

Episode 8

TW: Gore, David (blegh)

My Top 5 Shots From Every Ep of TLOU

Episode 7

My Favorite Shots in Every Ep of TLOU

Episode 6

My Top 5 Shots From Every Ep of TLOU

Episode 5

TW: Gore

My Top 5 Shots in Every Episode of TLOU

Episode 4

TW: Guns

TLOU s2 first look (in video form) came out, and HOLY FUCK IT’S INCREDIBLE!! But you guys know me… you know how I am… let’s analyze this sucker.

Spoiler for tlou part 2

My Top 5 Shots in Every Episode of TLOU

Episode 3

TW: Mass grave

My Top 5 Shots In Every Episode of TLOU

Episode 2

My Top 5 Shots in Every Episode of TLOU

Episode 1

TW: Guns, creepy imagery

In ep 9 of TLOU when Ellie wakes up in car after Joel kills the fireflies, her hair is kinda splayed out over her head on the car seat.

…if she was just put down normally, her hair wouldn’t been at least partly under her head, which means Joel fucking readjusted her hair to make her more comfortable after he massacred a hospital!

Good god this show will never leave my brain…