Kathleen saying “children die all the time” only to be mauled by a child clicker probably made me laugh harder than I should’ve.

Honestly the scene that broke my heart the most is where Ellie tried to heal Sam, she had absolutely no idea how vaccines/cures are supposed to work and yet still tried to save him. That made me ugly cry omg. And this is unrelated but when she was trapped in the car with that kid clicker, you can see Joel trembling. Despite him trying to stay detached, he was terrified for her. Pedro did a fantastic job at showing that.

Bella Ramsey is such an amazing actor, I don't know how people can still be mad about the casting. The horrified noise they made when Henry shot himself was devastating

I loved the focus on familial love, especially brotherly love. I loved a Jewish doctor hiding targeted people in an attic. I loved a deaf actor playing a deaf character, and the ASL requiring you to focus on Sam's precious face and acting. It was all so good

OH MY GOD. Perry saying "Run, don't look back." is like Kathleen's brother saying "What happened to me... Please forgive them." and she didn't do what she was told BOTH TIMES which ends up badly for her!! Perfect storytelling!!

That girl clicker said:🥷🤸🧟‍♀️ And then the bloater said to Perry:💆

what got me about the shot of sam after he died was. the game has gotten a fair bit of flack for killing off most/all of their POC characters in incredibly violent ways that we have to either actively participate in or see very graphically and here in the show. they didn't show his body, they didn't make us look at a black boy laying there shot. It feels like they're actually listening to criticism and changing things which is just wild and amazing

the little whimper that Ellie gives when sam gets shot will literally haunt me forever Bella is fucking crushing it

You can tell how Ellie changes at the end of the episode, she's angry and sad and now wants to go west to find the doctors as fast as possible to hopefully make a cure since she felt helpless to save Sam

I loved the way Ellie tried to 'fix' the situation. It is such a 'kid logic' moment for her: I am immune, that's in my blood, they told me they are gonna use it to make a cure, so putting my blood on a bite will cure someone. That coupled with the way teenagers will be like 'i know how the world works cause I'm old and grown up now' made her not tell anyone. Idk that was some really good writing, hoping joel and Ellie will have a discussion about it when 'the cure' comes up again.

Kathleen simply saying "kids die all the time" and then getting killed by an infected child was so morbidly poetic.

I listened to the podcast and it was BRUTAL to realise that Sam is still aware/conscious when he's infected! The show already established from the beginning (old lady at the start) that cordyceps repairs people's disabilities. So the fact that Sam can't hear Ellie call his name when he's sitting with his back to her shows that the infection hasn't completely taken over and he's still in there. 😭😭😭

Surprised Julien didn't notice a moment when Henry is at a window and there's an orange band of color outside that lines up with his reflection, going across his eyes (his own orange mask).

Little detail I noticed! So my father was in the military for a long time and they trained him to write in all caps for uniformity. I noticed that Ellie writes in all caps and that just shines a little light on her past. I thought it was a beautiful detail!

That child Clicker was so terrifying. I actually physically recoiled when she climbed in the van after Ellie. Also when she jumped on Kathleen I was shocked but also kinda impressed lol. She did a literal jump scare. 💀

I saw the child clicker as a hint towards the underground daycare, that she could have easily been one of the children who was protected once upon a time

I would watch an entire channel of Julien analyzing television shows. He’s so perceptive and empathetic. I just finished Arcane and I can’t help but wonder what Julien would think about it.

Ellie taking the lead at the end of the episode is a way to show that she wants to make sure what happened to Sam and Henry never happens again. Tess’s “save who you can” suddenly meant something to Ellie.

i don’t know if you caught it up after he painted the mask onto sam, When henry looks out the window the reflection of the building kinda makes a mask over his face, and i thought it was supposed to symbolize how henry’s had to mature and put on this facade at such an early age cause it all started when he was a kid and deep down he’s just like Sam, he’s scared too, but he’s tryna put on his brave hero facade for his little brother.

Can I just thank you for doing these? Many years ago my best friend and I would wait every week for an episode of a show to come on, we'd watch in silence, and then discuss the show after. He was big into direction, cinematography, lighting, acting... He taught me so much about how to really love movies/ TV. TLOU is definitely a game we would've played and a show we would've watched together and had so many incredible talks about. So thank you for talking about it and loving it the way my friend did. I miss him dearly and it means a lot.

i might be alone on this but i actually prefer when there’s no music during his presentation? i LOVE that julien does these but it feels more personal/interesting when it’s just him talking. thank you for uploading these!

TLOU2 spoilers -I loved how perfect of a parallel Kathleen was to Ellie and Abby in the second game. It feels like a way to ease the viewers into the themes of tlou part 2. Kathleen is devoted to her revenge as Ellie and Abby are, both Kathleen and Ellie know that they shouldn’t cause destruction and they both ended badly (Kathleen dying obviously and Ellie ending up alone). I thought this storytelling was amazing and really gives everyone a little showcase for the main theme of revenge and suffering coming in the second season

I thought the Kathleen character and her inability to empathize with Henry protecting his brother at all costs was to show how vital empathy is in this world. Human beings will always fail against their most pertinent enemy if they can’t come together and that requires being able to see yourself in every other person you encounter. Now that I’m typing all this out I feel like it may be a instance for Ellie to look back on during her own blinding revenge urge in part 2. But for now I think it’s maybe meant for Joel to be able to acknowledge all the bad things he did to survive and Kathleen was a way to show him just how corrupting power over others can be.

i was so conflicted about my feelings towards Kathleen because I hate what she was doing to henry and sam but she's literally a parallel to joel and ellie. (spoilers) their motives are the same. Kathleen obsessively hunting down henry for revenge is literally all of tlou2 with ellie and abby, and when she was saying how she knows that it isn't what her brother would want but then doing it anyway is the same as joel taking ellie away from the fireflies

The way that looking back (literally and metaphorically) is what killed her. The fact that a "rat" escaped to the sewers. That he was looking away from Ellie when she woke up cause he can't HEAR so he wouldn't attack. T^T

Ellie's scream when Henry died absolutely ripped through my soul. Like, it wasn't an actor's scream, it wasn't anything that someone usually makes when they're asked to scream in shock or whatever. It was a pure guttural scream of unexpected terror, the kind that you don't even realise you're capable of making until it's forcing it's way out of you. And it fucking shook me, just broke me and threw my heart against the wall.

Julien censoring Abby’s name in the one slide had me dying 😂

Seeing joel and henry look out of kc you can really see how young henry is dude... he's making all these tough decisions but he's still just so young

They need to give Bella awards for that scene!! It was so well done and made me cry so much!! You could see the shock, sadness and fear on her face

Wow, the evolution of these presentations has been nothing but amazing :') This episode was fantastic; Bella, Pedro, Lamar, and Keivonn were absolutely amazing and their performances ripped my heart out and round-house kicked me into the grave. Can't wait to experience more pain this Sunday!!

Honestly, the little girl that played the clicker was so scary.

Something that really shook me about this episode was the sound that Ellie made when Henry shot himself. It was just so....raw and real...like I imagine that would be the exact sound I would make if I'd just witnessed something like that. And I think it's a moment that could so easily have been over acted, but Bella did SUCH an amazing job with it and it was so devastatingly believable all because of that one sound!

Ellie's scream in the show after... Henry exists stage left broke something in me omg. In the game she just says "oh my god" but the SCREAM IN THE SHOW

Perry really said “so no head?” 😀

kathleen's character feels like foreshadowing of who ellie might become like in TLOU 2

i like how they changed who the sniper was and how joel handled it, because it shows how well they translated these critical moments from stages in a game into scenes that impact you purely through story. instead of a rogue sniper dude, it was an old man working for kathleen. and you could tell that joel didn’t want to shoot that old man; how even though the man had clearly ratted them out already, joel still basically begged for him to not go for his gun, revealing more vulnerability than he’d probably like to in that moment with the shaky way his voice came out. because no matter how gruff he acts you know that every death he’s caused weighs heavy on his soul. his plea is so desperate and broken while still communicating his unflinching conviction to go through with it if he had to, because he has people relying on him now and he can’t let them down. i cried when he had to shoot the old man because you could tell it was like a gut punch to him, another unnecessary death for the sake of survival, but he wasn’t allowed to linger on it. before ellie he’d built up a layer of armor, justifying survival at any means necessary over those 20 years, but caring about her (and allowing himself to care about sam and henry for a short time as well) has been peeling those layers away - the negative side effect being that now each new death, even a stranger’s, hurts a little bit more.

this episode also showed ellie's empathetic side since the past few eps have been showing how much homicidal curiosity she has-- its nice that they got to show she actually does have a heart and isnt angsty 247

spoilers- i love the scene where she tries to save sam with her blood. i think it’s going to add really nice context for when eventually ellie find out that joel saved her life for the cure. it really shows how badly she wants her blood to be the cure. it really it going to add a nice layer to her rage.

Sams death absolutely shattered me, I wish we got more of them and I saw it coming but it was such a shock. 😢

I love the part when Henry said "you might not be her father, but you were someone's." I never played the game (so I don't really know what will happen next) but it's been really interesting to see the individual moments where Joel purposely looks out/cares for Ellie. That dialogue, and then Joel covering Ellie during the sniper scene, really brought it all together.

The fact that they now have the foresight to plant these seeds for the future is great. It makes that set up for the end of this season and all of next season so much more satisfying. Because despite how chaotic the show gets and though you never know how things are going to play out exactly, one thing will remain a constant and that is the theme of love and vengeance. What you’re willing to do, how far are you willing to go and what you’re willing to sacrifice for it.

I love how Pedro plays Joel as dissociated and traumatised, compared to the game Joel who is much more angry. It really hits me in such a visceral emotional place. When he couldn't shoot the child clicker in time and it got into the car with Ellie you could see the trauma all over Joel's face as he was desperately trying to control his trembling and do something before it's too late. Then Bella's Ellie is such an excellent embodiment of a child who grew up in this violent, unbelievably dangerous world who doesn't have the luxury of processing anything or allowing themselves to feel how scared they are all the time. There are just these incredible moments, like Ellie's reaction to Henry's death, where we catch a glimpse of her young animalistic fear that's usually hidden under the brave, funny persona that she uses to convince herself to keep going. Absolutely phenomenal acting.

I was kinda sad their story was so short, I feel like we got so much info with Bill and Frank but Sam and Henry felt rushed, just my only little complaint with it. Also the actors were so good

My jaw absolutely dropped when all the infected came out of the hole in the ground I wasn't ready or expecting it to happen

I literally cried for an hour after watching this episode. It's been a long time since a show broke me like this.

i knew what was coming and it still shattered my heart

my TLOU routine is now: watch the episode ✅ then anxiously wait for julien to cover the episode & watch the recap ✅

this episode was so well done. Henry and Sam's story was a little different but it worked. they kept it mostly the same, the storytelling was phenomenal, and it ended the same as it did in the game. the build up to Sam turning was different but it made it even more heartbreaking when everything went down. i sobbed so much even after the episode ended. we knew it was happening but we still weren't ready for it.

JULIEN! idk if you've noticed this and pointed it out yet, but i noticed that in the episodes with tess, she's wearing a green and red combo (green jacket, red shirt). later on (after her death) in the more recent episodes, ellie is wearing that exact combination.

I think another example of the protector thing is that throughout the episode (i think) Ellie started feeling like sams protector. With her shooting the truck and then obviously at the end 😢 also Kathleen talks about justice but i think she has justice and revenge mixed up. Justice was them taking over Fedra cause that was her brothers wish. Her going after Henry was purely for her to get revenge. Phenomenal episode

I 'm an old fart so I didn't play the game but I'm watching you to get insight into the differences (if any) between game and show. the acting is outstanding: I'm kinda glad I didn't play the game so i can just appreciate the show for what it is.

10:17 I loved their new friendship so much!! It was so cute 🥹🥹💜💜

i’ve been refreshing my feed all day waiting for this one, love you julien and love your analysis of this 🖤🖤🖤

what i really loved was how they kept talking about henry as this horrible man and we create this image in our mind of who is is and this horrible thing he’s done but it turns out he is this kind-hearted person who just wants to save his little brother

omg the development over the sniper scene lowk mirroring the ellie and the rifle scene from the game???? at the beginning of the sniper scene joel and ellie have a whole thing where joel asks ellie to trust him and stay put while he takes out the sniper, and ellie hesitantly agrees;; and then during the infected scene ellie glances up at joel as a little "i trust you" moment before taking off running to save henry and sam. IT'S SOOOOO GOOOOOOD

did anyone else catch the shot when henry is looking out of the building across the street to joel and the orange shop sign is reflected across his eyes like sams masks

Now I need to watch this again, I was so busy being shocked all the time I felt I missed a lot of the little acting details that I love so much. Truly an episode you can get something new out of every rewatch

I wonder at what point Fedra was able to exile all the infected underground, because this could have been the first time that Sam had seen the infected. Not only were Henry and the resistance so caught off guard because they were ambushed by the infected, but because they probably haven’t had to deal with them in a while and honestly kind of forgot about them (which could also be why Kathleen was so easy to brush them off and deal with the breaking hole later).

Omg that scene when Henry is looking towards Sam and realizing what he has done and him and Ellie look at each other …. And Ellie’s gasp afterwards is what stuck with me😭

I also love how in this episode there's a little more telling about how the cordyceps works too. Sam is deaf, and after he turns, Ellie calls out for him while he's just sitting there. The cordyceps doesn't acknowledge her being there until she touches his shoulder, which really is telling about how the cordyceps doesn't like, just look for vibrations when sounds are made and it doesn't use it's *own* system for these types of detections. It uses whatever it's host uses, and if the host is deaf, then the cordyceps is too.

this is why i like watched julien’s analyses because i didn’t think twice about the shot where sam’s body is not there, but is kind of sort of still the subject . and now that i think ab it more that shit is crazy

I really appreciate the effort you’re putting into these breakdowns. So excited to continue watching with you and the dink fam !!

I just realized that the doctor said that about the tunnels so they don’t find Henry and Sam. The doctor probably knew of Henry and Sams plan to escape, and knew they’d go there eventually.

i LOVED that one shot where Henry was looking through the window because of the ambush-turned-shoot-out, and there was a reflection of red across the glass so it looked like he also had a mask like Sam's. SO GOOD!!

The evolution of the presentations is great

I absolutely love these little presentations and review on the last of us especially the snap shots of the game vs tv show I always get excited after the tv show to see Julian’s review

Bella Ramsey Is my ELLIE! She is the only one I can imagine portraying Ellie. I hate that people are trying bringing her down

One of the things I really liked about this episode is how Kathleen and Perry reminded me in a way of Owen and Abby. The way they portrayed the vicious toxic cycle of revenge that is a constant theme in this game, was outstanding. In a way it just foreshadowed those characters with Kathleen and Perry. Kathleen and Abby were both obsessed with revenge, no matter the cost, no matter the length or consequences it may bring, their priority was set on getting their revenge. Perry, in a way like Owen, understandood that sense of needing to get that revenge to move on and have closure *May be SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2*** but the difference is how Owen sort of tries to break that cycle and tries to show Abby that there could be another way. To me, both Perry and Owen, may not agree with the methods Abby and Kathleen are following but they support them. Another scene is when, after the Bloater pops up, you can see Joel's demeanor change into pure horror and desperation as he shakes with fear realizing that Ellie is down there and in danger. Then right before Joel leaves to get the snipper and he asks Ellie if she trusts him, you can see her sort of debating wondering if she really does. And then the scene where Ellie sees Sam and Henry trapped under the car and she looks up at where Joel is and she nods to herself as if saying "Joel has my back, he'll cover me, I trust him" and as if he's reading her mind, Ellie bolts towards Henry and Sam and Joel covers her as she runs. This scene was just beautiful and so tensing at the same time. Safe to say, another episode that made me cry my eyes out with the beauty of the story and characters. Can't wait to see what next week has in store.

One of my favorite overall themes that tlou carries throughout the games, especially in tlou2 and the show, is that there are always two sides to every story, which means you're the good guy and the bad guy at the same time, depending on whose perspective you're looking at.

I look forward to these presentations every week!

are you not Pedro's long-lost younger brother? two chaotic Aries 'written by women' men with moustaches.

One thing that really stuck with me was the irony/foreshadowing in some of Kathleen's lines. Like Kathleen says something along the lines of "kids die" and "maybe Sam wasn't supposed to live" and in the end, she's right. We also get that message reinforced with the child clicker. Also, she spent her entire time on screen trying to kill a child (Sam bi-proxy) but is ultimately killed by a child. Genius!🤌🤌🤌

I wanted to add something about that "angelic" shot of kathleen julien likes at 9:40 ish- it kind of mirrors her image as a saviour of sorts to the people of the KC QZ, a glorified leader that saved them from FEDRA

I am rewatching this episode before the next one comes out and I just noticed the scene after Henry paints sams eye mask on, Henry looks out the window to see Joel and there’s a bright orange reflection on the window right over his eyes. They are both the super hero brothers that Sam drew. Just thought someone here might appreciate it if they didn’t notice it themselves

I have never cried as hard as I SOBBED after this episode. It actually broke me into a million pieces. It was beautiful. This show is making me think about life and my position in this world and what is truly important to me.

Honestly? I’m kinda glad they didn’t dive heavy into the whole “life underground” storyline in the game. The way we learn about the tragedy of the kids and those who tried to protect them in the game is heartbreaking but like. So smart. No one wants to watch that tragedy happen on screen, especially not when it’s so close to the brothers storyline itself. The genius idea to include the child clicker (while absolutely horrifying) was a great way to visually both call back to that part of the game for players and hint at the brutality of the story for the tv viewers without having to draw it out in detail. That kid clicker felt like just another incredibly smart and impactful choice by the team to bring this games story to its full potential as a tv show. Show “the last of us” in all our forms- those that made it, those that tried, those that never had the chance to try for themselves.

The most grounded scene was after they escaped the hoard and Kathleen. Henry is trembling while he’s eating in shock…it’s such a small detail but such a big impact that most actors don’t do. As a viewer you understand that he was trying to process and it was all adrenaline. Same with Joel watching Ellie in the car with that child clicker.

HAVE WE MOVED ONTO AN ACTUAL POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!? I LOVE THIS 🤣🥰

Julien there is this shot that i literally gasped at while watching, I was hoping you would catch it but you didnt. When henry is looking out the window above the door, the reflection of the building hes looking at gives him a orange mask over his eyes. Just like sam. Its amazing, go take a look.

The sign on the floor under Sam's body says "Assist handicapped people". Kinda interesting since Henry assisted Sam (being deaf) to the best if his ability. Could be a coincidence, idk.

18:52 it forces you to focus on the pure horror of that realization and only see/feel the emotion and it’s incredibly impactful and overwhelming. Like, if you’ve experienced the game, you know what’s coming and yet that scene just punches you in the gut just as hard.

the way you first described kathleen in this video is exactly how ellie was in game in part II. the revenge obsession and people close to her are like "where does it end?". either that's some sick forshadowing for season 2 or a crazy coincidence man. i love these episode breakdown videos, julien!!!

what i also love about the final points Julien made about Joel processing and Ellie being the one to walk away, is that we can almost see that Joel is also processing FOR Ellie. He sees what she writes and he's sympathizing with her, and its the beginning of him prioritizing Ellie emotionally as person over Ellie as cargo. He's worried and sad for her that she's going through this and that its going to happen to them again inevitably because of the world they exist in. I also think it's awesome because I think as he's thinking of this, the two are like a mirror. Ellie and Joel are so much alike and he's realizing that also, like in the way you see yourself in your children. Fucking love this series so far.

The failings of all of these characters can be summed up by a line from that gorgeous third episode: "Love me the way I want you to." Kathleen did not respect her brother's wish for her to forgive the people that murdered him, Henry kept Sam alive by killing others just so he wouldn't be alone, similar to how Joel kept Ellie from helping with the cure because he himself would not be able to handle losing another daughter. The story is about what love actually is. It's not revenge missions, it's not killing in the name of, it's not stopping someone from making a sacrifice. Bill and Frank have already showed us what love truly is. God I love this series.

Julien Idk if you knew this but that child clicker is actually a famous child contortionist, so All that movement was natural for her and it makes it even more impressive

I love watching these bc I know nothing about the game, so getting to see the comparisons between the game and the show are rly fun

Hi julien!! just to let you know, the background music in the background was really distracting. Just having you talk w no background music in the previous vids made it a lot more relaxing and felt like a casual hangout. Of course you do you but just wanted to point that out!

i just need to say, cus that was something that really stuck with me, and i haven't seen many talk aboutit. when the zombies come up from the ground and everything goes to H. the way Ellie and Joel worked together for Ellie to survive ande help sam and Henry.. its was amazing. Joel could se when Ellie was thinking and wanted to do, and accepted it and made sure she would be okay. the horror in joels face when he saw the kid clicker crawl in to the car.. damn.. that whole scene was just Joel needing to let Ellie grow up and do what she needed to do, while he supported her, even when she was in the darkest time (in the van with the clicker) he needed to trust her and support her as good as possible from afare. it was amazing! the deepth of the meaning behind that.. dude.

assistive tech in the apocalypse makes my heart warm

Kathleen was so reminiscent of Madame Defarge in Dicken’s a Tale of Two Cities. Leader of the revolution, obsessed with revenge, and responsible for her own death. Also I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the writers drew inspiration from the events of Franco’s Spain and the Terror Blanco. Very common for neighbors to collaborate with the BSI secret police and inform on the neighbors.

The scene of Kathleen in between the windows is like a painting by Andrew Wyeth.

This episode airing early before the Superbowl has lead to the LONGEST week of waiting for the next one!!

Kathleen's character arc reminded me of Ellie's in The Last of Us: Part Two. That curse of having enough awareness of self to understand that violence begets violence and revenge will not fulfill yet finding oneself devoted completely to vengeance.

I thought it was really interesting that because Sam is deaf, even though he’s sitting up awake the fungus is dormant until Ellie touches him. it almost made me think that as long as he didn’t see you he would have just stayed there without attacking. 🥺

i love these videos a lot. just gotta say, nyx did a fantastic job on the art… holy shit!!!!!

Definitely been waiting for this one 🥹🥲

I noticed that Joel is super reluctant to help them and then it's only after he sees ellie laughing with sam and sees how happy she is with him that he agrees to help them. Correct me if I'm wrong but he may have even looked at his watch. I know he does after seeing them play soccer in the sewers but I think he does it here too.

Of all the episodes out so far I cried the hardest at this one. So freaking hard.

I thought the shot of Henry with the orange strip across his face from the window was great. It mirrored the paint on Sam's face.

bro i was able to make it through the episode 2 times without crying and julens got me crying with "someones erased the subject" ._. DINT HAVE TO DO EM LIKE THAT