when you stop looking for the light | Scene Analysis - The Last of Us Part II

they're just kids I know what happened to [Music] us maybe we stopped looking for the light Maybe God damn that's so that's a [Music] lot welcome back to my scene study Series where I analyze and discuss scene in The Last of Us Part Two in order to deepen our understanding of its story as well as certain facets of Storytelling in general today I'll be discussing the scene we just watched which takes place at the end of aby's second day in Seattle this is one of my favorite scenes in the game because despite only containing around 10 lines of dialogue and only five within the core scene itself its Rich subtext says so much about aby's Journey as well as the overarching themes of the entire game before we dive into the scene itself some context is needed so let's take stock of pertinent things that have happened in the story chronologically by the time this scene [Music] begins when Abby set off to find Owen in the middle of Seattle day one she had no idea that she would end the day with an entirely new Quest never mind that the quest would involve two runaway seraphite kids at this point in aby's emotional Journey she has been back in Seattle for about 6 weeks following the murder of Miller who killed her father at the end of The Last of Us Part One she isn't on speaking terms with Owen her former boyfriend and things are tense between her and his current girlfriend Mel too Abby isn't dealing with any of the feelings that she has been experiencing since that fateful day in Jackson feelings of numbness guilt confusion and shame she hasn't been sleeping either still plagued by Nightmares of the day her father died despite the fact that he has now been Avenged and has been wearing herself out out physically in order to sleep without dreaming when she learned that Owen went missing on patrol Abby was quick to disobey direct orders from Isaac the ruthless leader of the wlf and set off alone across seraphite and infected fill territory to find him at the Seattle Aquarium on her way though she was captured by seraphites in one of their nests and strung up by her neck in preparation to be freed it was then that two seraphite kids Lev and Yara appeared having been pursued by their own people for reasons yet unknown and worked with Abby to free her and escape the Hostile seraphites and infected in the area the older sibling Yara received a shattered arm as punishment for fleeing the seraphites and harboring her brother Lev whom they call an apostate after the three of them got to safety Abby set yara's arm and told the siblings her name warning them of their location being in a heavy traffic area Abby set off into the night once again to find Owen Abby found him on his docked boat at the aquarium and they had a tense confrontation about their relationship if you'd like an in-depth analysis of this scene it's already up on my channel the fight turned into sex which becomes one more thing that Abby feels guilty for because Owen is still dating their friend Mel with whom he is also expecting a baby the next day Abby set off to find L and Yara because she felt guilty about leaving them behind finding Yara in bad shape Abby carried her back to the aquarium hoping that Owen would have some medical supplies on hand fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it Owen's girlfriend Mel had shown up in the meantime Abby convinced Mel who was a nurse to examine yara's arm when Mel determined that Yara has compartment syndrome which could lead to gang greine if the limb does not get amputated Abby volunteered to travel to the wlf occupied Hospital on the other side of town to get the necessary medical supplies so Mel could perform the surgery wary of the seraphite squads in the area Lev offered to accompany AB on the journey and take her through a seraphite shortcut via what he called Sky Bridges these Sky Bridges turned out to be constructed out of a fallen crane near the top of a skyscraper and Abby who is acrophobic had to face her worst fear by Crossing them after almost falling to their deaths and having to fight their way through an infested Hotel Abby and Lev finally arrived at the Lake Hill Hospital there Abby was detained by the wlf because she had been reported as awal since the previous day with the help of her friend Nora Abby is escaped and descended into the depths of the hospital to search for supplies there she encountered a monstrosity called the Rat King an amalgamation of infected people trapped in the hospital during the initial outbreak after fighting her way out Abby and Lev stole a wlf boat and made their way back to the aquarium with the medical supplies acquired the scene takes place outside the operating room while Mel performs the amputation surgery on [Music] Yara in storytelling the given circumstances are everything that has happened to the characters immediately prior to a scene which informs and influences their motivations and actions in this case relevant given circumstances include this conversation Abby had with Manny and Mel while on route to the fob on day one God remember when we could pass through this area without getting jumped by scars getting nostalgic about the truth easier days huh too easy we let our guard down and they strung up an entire Squad that was in retaliation to us shooting those kids okay but those kids attacked our guys what would you do I don't know not riddle them with bullets I'd rather save our people many they're kids it's not their fault not our fault either those deaths are on them okay this conversation goes to show how deeply the WF xenophobia has been indoctrinated into Abby and Manny the top soldiers they've been conditioned to view the seraphites as inhuman and not even the children are innocent for the crimes they perceive the seraphites to have committed against them this lack of compassion startles Mel who herself is carrying a child and may be wondering what this world has in store for them if the seraphites hold the same views against the wlf children which as it turns out they do it's also impossible to analyze the scene without acknowledging the conversation Abby had with Owen the night before on his boat where he tried to get her to see how far she has strayed from the hopeful and empathetic girl she was when she was a firefly after being unable to kill an old seraphite man Owen faced his own crisis of circumstance and told Abby he is going to go find the fireflies much to her dismay Abby rejected the fireflies and by extension Owen because in her mind the fireflies failed and by wlf standards failure means weakness and at that point Abby could not wrestle with her own failures and weaknesses then there was the conversation Abby had with Owen earlier that morning where Abby was unable to give him an answer as to why she was going to Such Great Lengths to save these seraphite kids why are you doing this it's possible that at that point she didn't yet know why but was merely following her gut instinct after her disturbing nightmare from the previous night she wasn't able to give Lev an answer when he asked later that day either my ears are ringing if that's the worst of it we got off lucky maybe it wasn't luck maybe it was some wolves in God I've heard them pray well I don't if I'm going to die I'm going to die for me then what are you doing here why did you come back for us guilt of what you don't ow us anything I just needed to light and load a bit other important and more immediate given circumstances include the entirety of aby's Journey to and from the wlf hospital during which time she bonded with Lev at first a tense companionship born out of a necessity Lev and Abby slowly began to open up to each other over the course of the trip what the hell did you do I shaved my head they want to kill a little boy because he shaved his head I wasn't allowed it's a rule I broke it jeez so why'd you do it I don't know pretty punk rock are you punk rock I get the impression you you don't follow most rules I guess so by virtue of working with someone who was supposed to be her enemy aby's formerly black and white perception of the conflict between the seraphites and the wlf is beginning to expand and leave room for nuance Lev humanized the seraphites by explaining their Origins and imparting some of the prophet's wisdom on to Abby during a moment of need can I give you some advice oh my God just think about the good parts to feel the good parts yeah like you run faster you're more focused [ __ ] you don't feel pain as much every bad feeling your palms sweating your heart racing they're all signs you're actually [Music] stronger so when you feel afraid you should think about how your body is getting ready for what's coming only when weak may I carry my true strength throughout the trip Lev challenged aby's Prejudice towards the seraphites demonstrating to her that not all seraphites think alike I wonder if your Prophet had any idea what she was starting she saved dozens of people in ways no one can explain she blew up trucks and killed some soldiers not that hard to explain have you read her writings skimmed some you'd benefit from it sure if this conversation sounds familiar it's because it's nearly the same one she had with Owen at the aquarium 3 years ago only this time Abby is on the other side of it I just don't understand how anybody willingly joins the scars why not because they're an insane cult that's why well in the qzs people would refer to the fireflies as terrorists Fanatics we were naive you weren't fanatical we blew up checkpoints and assassinated soldiers it's not the same these two conversations perfectly encapsulate one of the game's prevalent themes which is tribalism they demonstrate people's tendency to show bias in favor of things they understand over things they don't and to justify their own actions while condemning others when in reality everyone is doing what they think is right with the information they have this notion is exacerbated in the world of The Last of Us where everyone is disconnected from The World At Large with no internet news or even a postage system to keep them informed of other perspectives and ways of life people in this world only tend to understand whatever environment they find themselves in whether from birth or by circumstance Abby like most young people born post outbreak is very influenced by her immediate surroundings she was presumably raised within the ranks of the fireflies and embraced their ideals now that she has been with the wlf for several years she has embodied their xenophobic and ruthless way of life how long you been using that thing my bow since forever you're good with it you should have have seen Yara why did they do that to her we can be cruel my mom would say that about wolves well she wasn't wrong her time with love has opened her eyes to A New Perspective and the idea that not everything is as clearcut as the wlf and maybe even the fireflies made things out to be so you like this Prophet even though her followers want to kill you in her name she wouldn't want any of this her writings don't have violence in them you should tell that to your people we weren't stoning or hanging people until after she died they're taking her words and twisting them read the text okay Lev also asked her questions which forced her to reckon with her own violent past her own contribution to the losses the seraphites have suffered at the hands of the wlf and the impact this has had on their Community how many seraphites have you killed why curious I don't know is it true that Isaac took down the old card fedra yeah I hear he tortures people let's not talk about this now okay have you ever tortured people let's focus on getting out of here love even got her to change her vocabulary from scars the more derogatory term the wlf adopted for them to seraphites God damn it who is he I don't know isn't he a wolf there are thousands of us do you know every scar stop calling us scars sure scars built all this seraphites yeah I was going to say that Abby still demonstrated bursts of judgment though but Lev always came through with a matter of fness that Abby may have recognized in her younger self spores masks on I don't have one do you guys not believe in gas masks we were on the run during the climb up the skyscraper Lev intuited that Abby is afraid of heights and eventually opened up about his own fears as a way of connecting with her how are you not terrified of this and don't quote The Profit to me Heights Never Scared me what does Theo dogs so Abby and L have just returned from this perilous Journey facing literal hell and high water to get these medical supplies and are currently waiting outside the operating room while Mel performs this amputation surgery on [Music] Yara characters are always seeking something from their scene partner whether it be something tangible that the character wants or an answer to a more subconscious need in this scene Abby is struggling to answer the question that Owen and Lev both asked her earlier in the day why is she doing this why did she go back for those two kids why did she risk her life to get the medical supplies for Yara perhaps she is seeking an answer from Owen or maybe she's using him as a sounding board to try and put it into words herself Owen is probably wondering the same thing perhaps he has seen the change in Abby over the past 12 or so hours and is trying to determine whether he actually got through to her whether their encounter from the night before is the cause for her apparent change of heart and what that means for their relationship going forward this of course is exactly what Mel will accuse Abby of the following day but that's a scene for another video one of my favorite things about The Last of Us series is the writer's ability to get across the essence of what a scene is really about in as few lines of dialogue as possible this is partially due to the writer's talent but also because naughty dog has the technology to capture the actor's micro Expressions so that much of the storytelling can come through in their body language and facial performance capture now that we've covered the context given circumstances and desired outcomes of this scene we can analyze the dialogue from what the characters say to what they actually mean the underlying unspoken meaning to any line of dialogue is called subtext and in this game as well as any other piece of good dramatic writing the subtext is Rich and nuanced and is as essential to the story as the actual words being spoken aloud hey Alice hey you want to pet her that's okay yeah see during their Journey to the hospital Lev shared with Abby that he's afraid of dogs I think it's likely that love is afraid of dogs because the only ones he's encountered have been the train wargs owned by the wlf whose purpose is to sniff out and hunt down seraphites Abby introducing him to Alice and getting him to connect with her is aby's way of showing L the same lesson he taught her during their trip which is that not everyone on the opposite side is the same well done you can go see her now if you want is she going to be okay yeah I actually this line suggests that it may have been touch and go for a while maybe it's because yara's arm was in such terrible shape when she arrived at the aquarium maybe the surgery itself was difficult and I imagine it would be given the limited supplies and apparent lack of anesthetic the way Owen delivers this line suggests that he is pleasantly surprised and maybe even relieved by the outcome he also sounds tired and has likely been helping Mel with the surgery for however many hours the whole time wondering why on Earth they were doing it to begin with and thus a question unasked but there nonetheless hangs in the air between them why are we doing this hey they're just kids this is what I mean when I say naughty dog has the ability to rely on actor performances to get the subtext across you can see the deliberation on aby's face before she finally utters this line she's struggling to come up with words that could even begin to answer that unasked question question especially since she may not even understand the full magnitude of it yet but if there's one thing she knows for certain after her journey with love is that at the end of the day no matter the faction or the label Lev and Yara are just kids kids who have been rejected by their own tribe simply for expressing themselves kids with a point of view different from her own but not riddled with evil and ignorance like she believed all seraphites to be kids who for all they know have lost their family and their way of life kids who might in a way remind her of her younger self is he still in the [ __ ] building is it Abby Abby don't look Dad Dad no no young Abby also needed love and acceptance and someone to take care of her and though she was robbed of that maybe she's starting to realize that she can be that for Lev and Yara so that they don't need to endure what she did or Worse following her footsteps perhaps taking care of lean Yara can be her way to heal her own inner [Music] child they're just kids I know Owen is one step ahead of Abby on this journey rather than say I told you so because that would be unkind and obviously unappreciated by Abby whom he knows better than anyone he's validating her and watching her come to the same conclusion herself what happened to [Music] us when Joel attacked the Firefly Hospital the Salt Lake crew were also just kids whose lives were turned upside down overnight kids who had hope for the future and for Humanity kids who thought they were doing good in the world and believed in a cause bigger than themselves kids who were compassionate and kind what happened to us when did we lose sight of that hope when did we stop caring about the greater good and become so entrenched in this pointless Turf War when did we stop seeing people as people please stop please don't [Music] you could also replace every we in those questions with I and change us to me which is probably what she is actually asking but maybe she's not yet ready for the immense vulnerability of that question what happened to me by using the Royal we or us she can explore these Concepts in a way that feels more safe but Owen will understand nonetheless maybe we stop for the light this is a reference to the fireflies motto which was when you're lost in the darkness look for the light Owen is implying that they have been lost in the darkness now for years and stopped looking for the light the light in this case goes far beyond the meaning that the fireflies imbued in their slogan for the fireflies the light represented their desire to go back to a pre-outbreak way of life their aim was to cure the infection and restore order in society and reestablish the pre-outbreak government Owen and Abby having been born after the outbreak have no idea what that world looked like therefore don't possess the same longing to return to a life they never knew so for them the light that Owen is referring to could simply mean hope hope for Humanity to persevere to do good to endure and survive he's saying they were lost in the darkness of this Feud over land that was never their home the darkness of grief and despair and hatred and stopped hope oping for a better future for themselves or Humanity as a whole maybe they let go of any faith that such a thing was even possible essentially Owen is saying that they lost sight of who they really are [Music] maybe I'm going to go check on the girl okay as I I suggested earlier I think Owen has already come to this conclusion and now he's saying it to Abby in a way that is much more direct than what he tried to tell her the night before during their conversation on the boat Abby rejected the very notion of the fireflies despite the fact that she used to believe in them and her father once LED them Owen repurposing their slogan a saying of her father's to help Abby wrestle with what she's feeling is incredibly powerful and definitely hits home with her Owen's words have brought her closer to her father than she has felt in [Music] years I've seen some people say that this change in Abby happens too quickly but you have to remember that the Abby we meet at the beginning of the game isn't the real her that is an angry bitter resentful shell of her former self marred by rage and grief indoctrinated by the wlf at a young age with Isaac likely taking advantage of aby's anger to turn her into one of his top Soldiers Part of Owen's goal throughout the game is to get Abby to reconnect with her former self to bring her back towards the light unfortunately due to Owen being a constant reminder of the pain her former life ended with she was unable to acques to his proding Lev however is a new person in aby's life who doesn't know who she used to be and barely knows who she is now this is an opportunity perhaps for her to reinvent herself and start a new considering she embarked worked on this mission to save these kids because she saw them in her nightmare hanging in the same room she once discovered her father's body it's clear his subconscious is trying to tell her that there is a better way to heal and finally she's listening to it as I mentioned before the Firefly motto is extremely significant to the story beyond the reasons the fireflies themselves adopted it and is the motif for the overarching theme of the entire series someone's light is their reason for continuing on and fighting to survive in this brutal world all of the main characters are lost in the Darkness at the start of their Journeys and their stories are all about finding the light in some way whether it be taking care of a child or finally learning to forgive and let go I struggled for a long time with [Music] surviving no matter what you keep finding something to fight for we fight for every second we get to spend with each other whether it's 2 minutes or 2 days we don't give that up may her light guide us through the storm when you're lost in the darkness look for the light what's that something my dad used to say thank you so much for watching this video If you enjoyed it be sure to subscribe to my channel so you can be alerted with more analyses like this get posted and let me know in the comments which scene you'd like me to analyze next also follow me on Tik Tok as I'm a bit more active over there until next time endure and [Music] survive

Channel: TLOU Explained

Views: 16,384

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Id: EN92RXu3qEY

Length: 26min 18sec (1578 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 18 2024