The Last of Us — How to write beautiful subtext

when thinking or talking about subtext this specific scene from Crazy Stupid Love always comes to mind [Music] hey Cal hey hey oh I just uh I got the report on the end of year financials good okay good good really great you killed this uh quarter okay yeah seriously all right okay seriously who told you that Emily and I are again divorced if you're getting a divorce yeah Amy heard you crying in the bathroom we all thought it was cancer oh thank God man yeah just by our relationship on the surface his boss is happy because his Warrior of cancer isn't true and Cal is going to live but under this surface he is truly celebrating the fact that his employee is not going to die and therefore can continue to be useful to the company it could have been cancer buddy everyone is just a divorce he does not care about cows feelings he only cares about his productivity this toxic and morbid relationship with his workplace is one of the reasons Cal is having a divorce in the first place text is what lays underneath what we see and hear the text when two characters are talking about something they are truly talking about something else most of the time just like in real life characters are afraid in pain or simply embarrassed to say what they really think or want spoiler warning for episode 6 of The Last of Us I said I might find you here in Ken the beautiful dialogue monologue between Joel and his brother Tommy carries an equally beautiful and Rich subtext jaw and loads on Tommy his worries and his fears his ride to the university is it a suicide mission tells him how he isn't the man he used to be that age has gotten to him five years ago I would have destroyed him she had to shoot him to save me Ellie is immune and needs someone younger and stronger to bring her to destination Joel has gotten weaker with the years he's scared that he'll get Ellie killed and asks Tommy to take his place and bring her to the fireflies that's the best shot the world has to obtain a vaccine from her and defeat the infected you're younger than me you're still strong you said it yourself you'll come back you have to take her the subtext of this monologue is Rich with Joel's true feelings is not the cold-blooded killer he used to be because of the feelings he has developed for Ellie he now has something to lose the stakes are raised he is scared scared to fail Ellie like he failed his daughter Sarah to repeat his past mistakes this is the fear that paralyzes him when things are about to go badly for Ellie he rather leave her in Tommy's care than risk failing her thus repeating the same mistakes of his former self in this second opportunity life gave him to be the best version of himself Tommy you're the only one I trust if anyone else sees those bites on her what's under her skin shooter [Music] thank you for watching check out my videos for more video essays on screenwriting or subscribe for future content

Channel: The Italian Screenwriter

Views: 1,880

Keywords: The last of us, Pedro pascal, bella Ramsey, hbo, hbomax, tv, screenwriting, screenplay, television, tv show, tv series, Show, America, USA, film, cinema, art, Joel, Joel miller, Ellie, vintage, beauty, Craig mazin, Neil druckmann, story, analysis, film school, video essay, Video game, videogame, PlayStation

Id: hRDdn29FQ3M

Length: 3min 48sec (228 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 27 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/m_whitehouse]

Solid 8.5/10 so far. There’s changes I’ve loved and changes I thought were totally unnecessary. There’s been something that’s sort of niggled me in each episode, never anything major but enough to make me go “Ugh why’d they do that?” A few character choices, incidental stuff that didn’t matter but took me out of the world. But overall, the best game adaptation we’ve had, if marred a little by the trappings of game comparisons.

[u/Write416]

Episodes 1x03 to 1x05 were excellent. 1x02 was solid. The rest have been tepid at best. It's a good, compelling show that's quite uneven so far, masterfully well-executed in terms of production.

It's definitely far better storytelling than the story-specific parts of the game (cut scenes and the like), but that's not saying much. The straight up story from the game wouldn't qualify as more than a mediocre movie at best. That's not a dis. It's a different medium. It's the combination of gameplay and a story that's far better than the video game norm that makes the game so exceptional and beloved. But "made them even better" is a low bar.

[u/pants6789]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/10p0n27/the_last_of_us_is_a_masterclass_is_screenwriting/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[u/PiccilooPete]

I think it’s an interesting case of the show being better at world building and the game being better at character. It’s enjoyable, but I feel as though it doesn’t handle the character relationships as well and it has me a bit concerned for the second season. The stakes don’t feel strong for me, but that may just be a result of having played the game several times. The Joel and Ellie dynamic hasn’t been landing and so, even though I know what happens, I think the climax isn’t quite going to land it. That, and if they follow Part II closely then that big death ahead won’t be all too impactful. Although I do hope they do it differently. I wasn’t a fan of the story direction in Part II. Lastly, there are moments where it feels like a $50m show and other moments where it feels like a poc. Regardless, I’ll continue watching. Oh, I’ll say it’s been enjoyable watching with my fiancé, who hasn’t played the game, as I get to see those first time to reactions. It also might be painful as I probably comment too much 😅

[u/BobRobot77]

6/10

Enjoyed the game better.

[u/Spiritual_Staff8078]

this was the weakest episode in my opinion. it felt too jumpy and uninteresting to hold my attention. the complete opposite of the gay couple episode.

As someone who does not like horror movies it also felt too scary for too long. I felt for 20 minutes in a row that a jump scare could happen at any second lol.

[u/OatmealSchmoatmeal]

The show has been pretty great. I really don’t think it’s as hard a writing job adapting existing material though. If they had thought this all up out of thin air I’d be more impressed.