My Mom's Basement - EPISODE 423 - THE LAST OF US SEASON 2 EPISODE 2

Episode Date: April 22, 2025

Robbie, Clem, and KFC recap the shocking second episode of 'The Last of Us' Season 2. #TheLastOfUs #TheLastOfUsHBO **************************************** My Mom's Basement is a weekly podcast hosted by Robbie Fox, started in March 2019, to discuss movies, music, comic books, wrestling, mixed martial arts, and more with his friends and idols alike! Subscribe on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-moms-basement/id1457255205 Follow Robbie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatrobbiefox Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobbieBarstool My Mom's Basement Merchandise: https://store.barstoolsports.com/collections/my-moms-basementYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/mymomsbasement

Hey My Mom's Basement listeners, you can find our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Real quick, before we get into this episode, I just wanted to give a major spoiler warning for The Last of Us, episode 2 of season 2. We didn't give a spoiler warning in the episode, but we talk about spoilers almost right away, so if you're not interested in those spoilers, not the video for you. So if you're not interested in those spoilers not the video for you Hello and welcome to my mom's basement and a very special last of us only

Edition of my mom's basement special guest KFC if you're watching on YouTube you could see him down below We were gonna pair this with the Andor season premiere, which is three episodes tonight So we're gonna have a lot to talk about there. We really have a lot to talk about here We said it deserves its own episode. And we wanted to bring on an expert in Kevin Klantz. If you watched the rundown, you know he is a last of us aficionado and that he's played both games. Dave couldn't understand that which was hysterical. Thank you for joining us once again. Thanks for hopping back in the basement with us.

Bro, I'm so honored. I that was the most old man shit that Dave has ever said, not understanding that a TV show was a video game, when he said, what do you mean? Video games, whatever you do is what happens, like in Pac-Man. Oh my god. I was waiting for him to be like, how can a video game have a storyline? It's like Pong.

The ball just goes back and forth. But even more concerning than that, I had to explain the video game to him. I explained that I play video games. And then we did the WrestleMania segment and I talked about wrestling. And he was like, video games and wrestling? Like what a fucking loser you are. And he goes, I didn't know that about you. I'm like, you don loser you are and he goes I didn't know that about you like you don't know anything about me I'm like he was like I didn't know you were a basement boy I'm like listen I'm not on the show but I belong to the max I didn't even I know there's no world where days that were gonna be like yeah video games are cool but I I don't know man there's a whole

lot of us out there who like wrestling and like video games and like comic books and all that so I'm happy to be where I where I've embraced rather than shunned this big funnel. Well we know the centerpiece of every basement is the couch and you're infamously couch Clancy and what do you do on the couch? You play video games, you watch wrestling, it's not just like we just don't watch sports in the basement or on the couch we fucking do dirty shit and it's mainstream. Like it's everything our parents said was like gonna rot our brains. It's now the center of the world and you're a parent. So now you're getting ready for your generation.

Your kids are going to now be doing this. You're going to get into with them, right? Yeah, you know what I learned actually is everything operates on 30 years cycles because of people having kids. So it's like I got back into video games because of Keegan I probably watch more wrestling with him like you know you kind of you live vicariously through them and vice-versa so it all makes sense that like Whether you're watching sports or movies or video games or wrestling or cards like what we do here is consume pop culture and do

Content I was like that's what the job is what you fucking talked about Dave It's crazy, and it wasn't only like the video game, the actual like playing of the video game, Dave didn't understand. He didn't realize The Last of Us was a video game till this week. And when you brought up that it is one of the top selling like biggest video games of our generation, maybe of all time, he was like, no, there's just no chance. I've heard of Grand Theft Auto. I haven't heard of this. It's like, well, but you have heard of this cause Pedro Pascal starring in a show about it, dude. Did you think HBO would create a television show

and then go hire the A-list guy for a video game that's not popular, man? I had to explain to him cinematic scenes. He didn't know that there is just a storyline that unfolds. It was absolutely crazy. I was just happy to even get to talk about it on the rundown. I feel like television, we're in a really good spot right now to the point that I feel like I've been almost hyping a lot of stuff up.

I really thought that Paradise has some all time episodes. I even think the premiere, there's a show on Apple TV called Dope Thief, where the premiere was like a movie. And I think we're in a really good spot where people are like making episodes of TV that are epic, that are mini movies. And I almost wish I had not been talking about those other ones. I wish I had saved my bullets so that people would really feel me when I say this. That episode of The Last of Us is one of the best episodes of TV in the last ten years. It was a masterpiece.

The only way I could like, because I think we're all in the same boat, maybe less so, Kevin, because you played the game, but I'm sure you had the same reaction when it happens in the game. You kind of just stare up at the ceiling. It's like after The Red Wedding where I'm just playing through all the events and I'm just like, and I said this about The Red Wedding, I think it is very apt. Watching like those Game of Thrones episodes where you had a big character die or like this episode, it's like watching one of your teams be in a

playoff game and lose, but you didn't even know the playoff game was scheduled that day. And it just happened. It's like, Oh no Giants are in right now. Single elimination. They're down 20. It's over. You just like, what?

Why? No, no. You didn't realize you had fucking front row seats to that game. You didn't even realize. And you didn't realize you had fucking front row seats to that game? You didn't even realize? Yeah, you just lost the Super Bowl and you thought it was week two. Yeah. I mean, it's the first time I've ever, I've never read the book before a movie or TV show.

I've never played the game. This is the first time I've ever been on this side of it. And I was... Gun to my head, million dollar bet. No way is HBO going to follow the timeline and kill their golden goose. You hire Pedro Pascal for a reason. I almost wouldn't have blamed them. I give them immense props for sticking to the story, going with canon and not straying. But if they said, come on, we're not,

we can't kill Vandral Pascal. We're gonna get five more episodes out of him. I would have said, understood. I wouldn't have even given you a hard time. But the fact that they were willing to do it like that makes me take the show really a lot more serious. I've been watching it every week through the lens of the video game.

And I pretty much watch it for, did they do the same thing as the game or did they stray? That's just my entire consumption so far. And then the way that episode started to unfold, I was reminded I'm watching an HBO 9 p.m. Sunday night show. This is a real fucking show. And when the, when the avalanche of zombies started, I was like, oh, wait a minute, this is some epic television.

And then they combined it. They easily could have done the Joel episode and had a classic, and then done the battle episodes and had a classic. Probably could have stretched that out into three, to be honest. Uh, and they said, fuck it, let's go for one, you know, viral water cooler type show. And I think that's the smart move because as nice as it probably is to stretch it out, having one episode like this that goes viral and everyone talks about it,

I think does more for your show than stretching out three, like good episodes, having one great one. Oh, because the stakes are raised for the whole season now. Now it's like everything is like, oh my God, everything after this. Last week when we did the draft or maybe it's the week before, whatever it was, we were talking about Last of Us a little bit beforehand and you told me you were like there's no way they're following the same thing. Is that what you meant? Yes, yes. I didn't want to like, I didn't want to say there's no way they killed Joel,

but I was just like there's, can't they're not gonna do that there's not gonna do that and and then when You know, it's unfolding the way the game does I was thinking they're still gonna drag this out and then she shoots him in the leg with the gun and That you're fucked if that happens you you know what I mean? In that world, you get a shotgun blast to the leg, you're either never walking again, or dying from infection, or whatever it is. Does that happen in the game too?

Is this all play out like it did exactly in the game? The only difference is she bashes his head with a club and doesn't stab him. Like the final blow is just a nine iron to the fucking skull. But everything else is identical. nine iron to the fucking skull, but everything else is is identical not identical because they just for whatever reason they Tommy and Joel are together not Dina and Joel so they just kind of mixed and matched who was on patrol

So that was a little different but the shooting of him and like the holding him down and then the vicious beating and then Ellie Ellie coming in and seeing it all that's that was all totally exactly the same and How far into the second game is this like are you like an hour into the second game and not even know it's quick the so blast of us two you play as Ellie and Abby and The very first thing opens up your Abby you play like she's walking through the snow and they overlook the city and they're like there it is then you go to then you go to Ellie and there's some like sad awkward father daughter interactions and then I got to start

one yes so they kind of you know they did it they did it pretty like accurate to the timeline so and then you go accurate to the timeline. And then you go on to the rest of the game, you play as Ellie. The second game is, I think, 50 hours long. You play a whole game as Ellie, and then you play a whole game as Abby. And I remember, once you switched over to Abby, I was like, oh, they're gonna give you a couple chapters

from this point of view. And it just kept going and going and going. And I think some people actually think it's a little too much, but I'll say this. If they're able to do what they do in the video game on the television show, it will be one of the greatest achievements in TV history because I Know right now I said is Abby an anti-hero or a villain and a lot of people like what the fuck you talking about? She's a she's not only a villain. She's a super villain. She's the worst. I hate the person

I hate the actress like and I said I feel you I've been there I went through all these emotions during the game and what unfolds makes you change your mind and People like no way it's gonna happen and I will say when you're you know, when you play as someone in a video game you become There they're the good guy. You're that you're playing as them So you you naturally start to like think of them as the hero It's a little different to watch a TV show and start to like a character So I think it's going to be a taller task. But if they do it, like just imagine if there's a world where you don't feel that way about Abby right now. It feels impossible, right? So, but they

they do some shit where you start to go, oh, I got it. I got it. At least see it from our point of view. Can you imagine if like Thrones, you're like, you know what Joffrey like I kind of Yeah And murdered all those people yeah, like not so and that's what I consider like for this actress I'm like she is now Joffrey to I mean definitely Dave Dave's like I just I want to kill the actress and I'm like Dave I don't know if we can say this I said to my wife as this episode ended I go the only thing I care about for the rest of this series is that she fucking dies.

That's all I care about. But imagine a world. Like I know you probably can't even fathom it, but think about how good... That's why people call The Last of Us a masterpiece, because they really do this thing of Ellie and Abby are kind of the same you know there yeah like I hate her I'm with you Clem but I can fathom a world already because it's like yeah yeah they were trying to I mean from their point of view they were level they were trying to save the world and like a mass shooter came in and tried to stop it and we killed one on the monologue 18 people in the monologue about a doctor unarmed

like you didn't even look at him like all of that shit I was like oh fuck I could see where this is going I don't think this is going well for Joel, but at the same point Abby was 19 She had to fucking look at her dad's brains on the floor like all of that. I was like goddamn I think I kind of get it now. I will say she She takes it to an extreme with like the torture basically yeah you know I don't think you ever really forgive her for what she does to Joel but there's just other circumstances where you view her

differently as oh there goes the light as not a total a total villain it's very I don't want to give too many. I feel like I maybe have already said too much, but it's very Breaking Bad, Heisenberg, Nazi-esque, where like he's the bad guy, but if you introduce a bad or bad guy, you start to sympathize, you know? So, but again, it's a lot. The game is so dense.

There's so much more that could be done. I actually heard rumors that they were gonna break game two into two seasons. And that's why I didn't think they were going to kill him. That's why I didn't think they were going to kill him. I thought they would do that at the end of this season. As a big cliffhanger. Right, and they went for it.

But there's like two two other like groups and like a whole storyline with abby and a lot of shit where and what will be really interesting in the game abby is preposterously jacked we talked about that last week yeah oh my god she looks like a roided up attitude era wrestler so when she's beating up Joel and fighting, it's almost like it's kind of like a guy versus a guy. It's believable. And you still feel bad for her. If this girl who's a regular-sized girl, if she goes through what Abby goes through, you're gonna feel for her because it's gonna be, you're watching this little girl who's gonna get like horrible shit happens to her. So I can see how they will pull it off

I could also see a world where there are people who like I don't give a fuck you killed my you know The father figure you killed Joel like I hate Pedro too You know like the video game is a little animated character, and we got to know him in the first game or whatever This is Pedro Pascal. He might be the most lovable man in America. You killed Mando. You killed Mr. Fantastic. You killed Oberyn Martell. You killed all those guys along with Joel who, again, and that's the most interesting part of all this is that in Abby's world, Joel is like worse than Hitler. He, humanity's last hope. He shot in the head and took this girl. Could have saved millions or whatever's left of humanity. Joel in our world though, is the good guy, the guy

who's trying to do the right thing. And you know, it's like, there's just someone out there. I can't put my finger on it. That like, everyone always gives so much shit to me just trying to do the right thing. Right? You got to be watching on YouTube to see the giant infinity gauntlet on Clem's hands during that monologue. Now Clem, I did wanna ask you, I checked in with you last week on how Sienna handled the episode.

Did Sienna watch this week with you? She watched this week with me. And I'll be honest with you, as you say that, I just realized that she got to see like, the really like gruesome, you know, where the fingers tapping, he's so fucked up I was numb from like I didn't I was in my own world at that point so I forgot I was watching it next to my 10 year old daughter but she's she's played the game she kind of knew of this she knew it was

coming so it's just yeah in that way it was kind of wait Sienna's played the game she played the first one she just goes on her own world she's like that's a hard game though. She gave up. She's there. She couldn't do it. I said, I can't go ahead because I'm watching the show. So we kind of just left it at that. But she like watched the YouTube of the entire playing through, you know, yeah. Well, the game is great in that. And actually, my one critique of the episode ties into this. The game is very real for as far as we can imagine in this post-apocalyptic world. The game is about like you get a gun and you have like two bullets until you find two more bullets. And like you got can find all

like that in the game the battles I was gonna ask that yeah you're not you're not fucking throwing barrels and shooting them and do no none of that happens. There is a scene Abby's running through the snow and there's like a horde of of infected that chase her and that's when she's going through that fence and the fence is coming in awesome that that is almost verbatim from the game and then Joel shoots the guy right in the head and there's ringing in the ears And he's like give me your hand get up. That's all right from the game but the battle does not happen at all and the battle I felt was a little like

Hollywood II well It's just again in the game if there's one or two infected around you're fucked. It's crazy There's one or two infected around. You're fucked. It's crazy. So for a horde to be running through your city, and it's like, it was like a human battle. Like you two are paired up over here fighting, while I'm fighting these people over there,

and they just like kind of kill everybody, and then the battle ends. Like in this world, it's usually, if there's infected anywhere, you're totally fucked. So that felt like Departure from just like the way you know they do zombies differently in different. Yeah series don't call them zombies No, no, that's the effect call them zombies on this show yeah I think what the last of a show has been great at is some things are seen for seen word for word

Plot for plot from the game, and then there's other stuff that's not in a good way, and that was this. Those battles where I know it's obvious, it's easy, it's an easy comparison because you're talking about zombies in the snow. It's Game of Thrones, but everybody watching that was thinking about Game of Thrones, hard home. I put it up there with Blackwater Bay, Castle Black, Battle of the Bastards. They're doing it daytime. You could see everything. No. So it's just like bright white lights over everything. I loved how video game even though this maybe wasn't in the video game how video gamey it felt where it's like, okay, we got to do barrels first, shoot the barrels. We have a plan. Now when they come in, Tommy grabs the fucking flamethrower pack and the giant like boss one comes in and stuff Yeah that like it's not

Seen for seen but like there is the flamethrower and you do fight the bloater even the way the bloater died It keeps coming at you until you like drain its health and then it falls and you're like you almost died Those things are real but but the like the storming of the city and all that it was it was all all just like what you said before like they could have stretched this out they could have done it differently but to say we're not just going to rely on the Joel Abbey scene at the end to carry this episode like we're going to make a start to finish every second you're enthralled you're captivated it was like crazy because I feel like already like that scene where Abby's crawling and the fence crushed in like I almost forgot

about that in my mind already because of what happens at the end of the episode but that was like as good of zombies are almost getting me seen as we get in anything any zombie movie The Walking Dead The Last of Us and this does make me feel like I was such a Walking Dead fan for the first few seasons. It hits that itch in the absolute perfect way you want it to. Where you're like, yeah, anyone can get it at this point. Like you don't know what's going to happen next. You don't know who's going to die.

It is crazy how much this world loves zombie stuff. It just hits every time. Like some are good,, good summer not you know summer better than others but they all are popular enough and yeah that was like that was you know whether you're a World War Z guy or a 28 Days Later guy or a White Walkers guy whatever like they they they could have had they could have ended it with the zombies running towards the city and it's like yeah we'll see you next time for the battle they could have ended it when Joel when Abby says

and this is Joel that's a moment the looks they get there when when Ellie shows up and you're like oh she's gonna go in there and save him, end it there. They had at least three episodes and they just said, fuck it, we're going for all of it. I really give them credit, because there's probably a world where it's smarter to break it up. And maybe as much as I love that they put it all into one episode, like you said,

you're already forgetting some pivotal moments that maybe if you stress them out, you know, we'd be doing an episode just about Ellie, Abby running through the fence. And now that's like 10th on the list. So I really give them credit for making one ultra episode, mini movie and not pulling any punches. You know, that is, that takes balls.

I will say this, there is a concern. I don't think there's a concern because I think these shows that they're very serious about this show and they're doing it the right way and so that tells me that the show runners, the producers, the writers are all cooking. But there's a lot of people out there who are like, I don't want to watch this anymore because I think there's a lot of people who don't like the casting of Ellie and I think some people have a problem with Abby as well. And the show, it's gonna go at the game is heavily Abby and Ellie there Tommy is I think gonna be a bigger role I think they're establishing some more people in the TV show than did in the video game the video game is strictly Abby and Ellie

like that's it so if you don't like them and you're a Joel guy you might it I don't know I'm sure there's the Mates V.O. people going, we better be fucking right on this one, because we really risked it, you know? Do they, I don't know if they do this in the game, but could they bring Joel back in flashbacks? They've been talking so much about how he had to put Eugene down in these five years. Yeah.

I don't think there's any flashbacks, maybe like one or two here and there. She plays the guitar. She has these memories of him. I think there's gonna have to be some Joel flashbacks. I can't, this can't really be the end of it. I don't know, I don't know why they would establish a great actress like Katherine O'Hara as his therapist, to then have him no longer be in therapy. Just for that one scene, yeah.

Yeah, so I think you'll probably see what happened with Eugene. And you'll see him here and there. But I you know, I do think it's curtains for him. And it's now the Ellie show the I mean, Ellie in the game in game two, Ellie is a fucking badass. She is like Abby's this jack bitch. But it's like Abby versus Ellie they are even matched because Ellie is just a killer and a savvy like survivor and all that shit

revenge on the brain and you like she is like not to be fucked with and I don't know if Bella Ramsey conveys that you know like we'll see maybe she kills it But I she sorted it at the end when she was given that I'm fucking I'm gonna fucking kill you Yeah, I also I think Bella Ramsey's great in the role. I don't have any issues with her I did hear her accent come out as she was screaming like oh no don't whatever what yeah You heard the British come out a little bit and I was like, oh shit I'm sure it's hard to keep an accent as you're screaming, crying, like, right, gut wrenching screams. But would you I don't have an issue with her. And I thought Abby was awesome, too. I think Abby, they did a good job of making

instead of Abby being this like physically imposing. She was like tapped in the fucking head. Crazy. I read about the actress. Unfortunately, I believe had to like bury her mom like three days before she Seen wow that's crazy. Well that probably all the better you're thinking about like you've lost a parent I mean absolutely like the emotion that the almost like Deadness the numbness that was coming through in that real life had to play a fact. Well, I Loved when Joel was like shut up and get it over with already.

Cuz Mike German's round style. Yeah, she was about to talk and let me die in peace kinda. Yeah, our boy heavy spoilers have this line when she's in that dream and she sees herself going to see her dad and she looks at the current Abby and she goes I don't know who you are and I guess that's because that Abby that is hasn't seen her dad yet is innocent, a good person. And this other one is so twisted by revenge that she's just become this other person.

And people are getting at me, like, again, I blogged how, the other reason I thought it was like a Game of Thrones penultimate is because it wasn't just the battle. It was the battle plus like the drama that plays out with Joel. You put it together and it's like the reverse penultimate the second way We hope yeah, what what are people getting at you for first?

People were I had people who are upset that like oh she's jacked in the game But she's not jacked or this actress isn't Abby and I'm like listen This is like Gamora being told about Cheers. I don't know what the video game is I've never played it, you know, and I do not care about the video guy. I'm happy It's awesome and I'd love to play it when it, and I do not care about the video game. I'm happy. It's awesome. And I'd love to play it when it's done. But it's like the books with Game of Thrones. I can't do anything about it. And Kev, is it kind of weird being on this side of it? Where you have to you have to not be like, game, did this one better?

Yeah, I, the first time I've ever been this guy, and I always made fun of the book is better people. I hated them. But I think it's the opposite. I think this show is doing the perfect. Sometimes there are things that are literally scene for scene and I go on the Leo meme. I go ah that's that's from this episode that's from this chapter and then this stuff that they're departing is good. It's like I don't really care for the Catherine O'Hara thing. She's awesome. I just don't maybe maybe that that storyline pans out. I just didn't think it was necessary. So there's some things but like the battles were sick. I don't think there's anybody alive who was

as jacked as Abby was like I just don't think that's a feasible thing. She's cartoonish in the video games. So you know those people people are we'd a part of the game oh very little bit that seemed like that like two episodes now they're talking weed so much there was uh there's a room that's like you're at one point you're in that room where they're growing it there eugene is like mentioned in the game he's not like an important thing i think you're gonna you're gonna dive into that and. I was actually wondering if there's a way that Eugene ties into like a bigger storyline. Didn't they do that with Bill and Frank last season? Like they were that wasn't a big part of the game, but Frank, your bill, one of them was in a little bit.

So they expanded on that. Yeah. Nick Offerman's character is in it. They allude to the fact that he had like a gay lover, but he used in a chapter with him, he gets you a bunch of weapons, you fight some infected and he sends you on your way. And that's really yeah. And they turn that into like a mass cinema. Yeah, one of the best episodes of TV like ever. So you know, who knows, they're probably, you know, you're probably thinking like, we want to get into the mind of Joel. Well, how do we do that? Let's do some therapy. So that that's there. I think they're doing a like

pretty perfect job of Satisfying game viewers game players and then giving viewers like a better TV experience And if you're complaining about it, otherwise, you're just a you just want to complain like you're trying to be a, I played the video game and you didn't, and I have like more information than you. I also think, and I could be dead wrong, and that's like, I wrote a blog just about it coming back and it was like, oh, I can't stay in the way of these two actors.

Like I'm sure they probably have political views that some people aren't going to agree with. Oh, that's like all political. Oh yeah, yeah, very much so, Bella, and then I think even Pedro for sure. So with all that, it's like I could just tune that out. I will say I could see how Ellie is different in the game just from what I've seen to Bella and like Lady Mormont was awesome in Thrones, right?

That's kind of what put her on our radar, but it's a different character than how you're explaining Ellie. But I mean, this is her chance. The worst part is you talked about accents Bob when they did the interview with the Abbey character or the Abbey actress and I found out she is her chance. The worst part is you talked about accents, Bob, when they did the interview with the Abbey character or the Abbey actress, and I found out she wasn't British, I was like, God damn it, why couldn't they have the one person that everyone hates?

And isn't Joffrey American too? I think he's American. Is he? He was in Batman Begins, so it makes sense. He was probably like, I don't know if he filmed that overseas actually. Oh, that's right, I forgot about Batman Begins. Oh no, he's Irish, he's Irish, I just looked it up.

All right. And he's retired, good for him, he was so hated. I mean that's right. I forgot about Batman. Oh, no, he's Irish. He's Irish. I just looked at him All right, and he's retired good for him. He was so hated I mean he got like the Dave's of the world of being like we want to kill the actual actor And he's like yeah, I'm all good on that. I Think maybe they wrote that Katherine O'Harris seen when someone overheard Pedro say like, you know I could have one teardrop rolled down my face anytime. I got a black fucking a good, I saved her, you know, let him stand up with that teardrop. I think though the the the saving her is the great one because I really like and the way it's trained the relationship between Joel and Ellie because in the game they really lay it out there.

I think it's pretty established in the TV show. But in the game Ellie's like like I think you're lying to me And I think I could have saved the world and I think like I'm happy you kept me alive But I think I would have sacrificed myself. I think on the cost of humanity like yeah Yeah, and like and that's why it's a great but as a father and he's a father figure to her I'm not letting Shay die, but there's a- A father who already lost his daughter, you know? And now you have someone who is like, okay, it's not gonna fill that void,

but a little bit it is. But that's where- Yeah, you can't imagine that. I've seen people say like, this is one man, a violent man with a father complex who's, you know, and so you can see the other side of it. And that's why, I mean, that's why people call that video Game of Masterpiece. you know, and so you can see the other side of it. And that's why I mean, that's why people call that video game a masterpiece.

And really what what that unfolds is like a masterclass, an exercise in. Viewing like putting yourself in other people's shoes and being like, oh, OK. Well, when I watched you beat this guy down to the golf club, I thought you were fucking crazy, but I see what you went through. And I can see how you were you did become radicalized and you became you became violent and you know, I don't know. It's it if they pull it off I think it'll really be some of the best TV ever It's also just insane to me that Pedro Pascal was just in a show where doctors Kidnapped his baby to experiment on them and he walked in and fucking day

But they were trying to make cloning for the Emperor, you know not save humanity So it's the same storyline, but essentially the doctors were bad in one of them Yep, but but I mean that a lot of these things are kind of like tropes or or themes that like you can always kind of hit upon the greater good and Sacrifice that's a kid in Fantastic Four 2 and they say Nathaniel Richards is like the key to it all and like Third thing where Pedro is gonna be like like what it's my kid, you know I think I'm onto something here. So we've been I've been saying for a few fucking episodes now dating back to last year that I think I'm starting to root for I'm starting to become team fungus

because humanity is so evil and Ron at score really we're going to learn that at its core the humans are the same as the fungus he's just doing whatever he can to keep his daughter and people alive just like the fungus is right that's what these you know all of these things always end up being the zombies are not what you have to fear the humans yeah that's always the theme and it's always a good one because it's true it's like you know everyone becomes selfish and violent and worries about their own. And that's, this is the ultimate, you know, on display here. The fungus in the pipes,

seemingly like communicating is also not in the game. And I think that's a good thing. I like that though, I think that's fun. I think that opens doors. Because when you're just an infected blood Thirsty flesh eating things there's not much depth to that but yeah, you know them being able to They're smarter. They're adapting they stalker. We can't get through this wall. Let's go to the other wall Let's follow the bloater the like the pipes tell you where to go

Whatever whatever that is and a lot of layers that are way better than just like if there's a zombie it's gonna try to eat your face but it's stupid it's relatively easy to kill all of it is better to add those wrinkles and even just to separate it from the game like the Walking Dead this did the same thing with the comics where it's like even people that played the game and are die-hard and know everything now have something new to look forward to, or to go, let's see what they do there.

And you know what was very interesting, I read an article from the Showrunners saying, for the viewer, the TV watchers, we wanted to like shock them, surprise them. And for the game people, we didn't want every episode to be, are they doing it today? Are they doing it this week? Is it gonna happen this week? They said they didn't wanna torment people, they didn't wanna tease it, they didn't want every episode to be, are they doing it today? Are they doing it this week? Is it going to happen this week?

They said they didn't want to torment people. They didn't want to tease it. They didn't want to milk it. So they just fucking did it. And I think that shows a lot that they're really thinking about it from like every angle. Cause I mean, I, I did truly, I was like, there's no way this is happening.

Like I kept saying to everyone, I was alluding to it. I wasn't saying it, but like there's no way they follow the timeline. And then they justuding to it. I wasn't saying it, but like there's no way they follow the timeline And then they just fucking when they showed the golf clubs that the way they like focused on them I was like all that must have been a moment. Oh you sick fuck Clem with that with the nine iron He's got over his shoulder But the way they did that I immediately was like oh no she must do it with a golf club It's about to happen like and I didn I didn't, I actually didn't think

Ellie was gonna save him. I kind of knew like once he was in there, I was like, I think they might be fucking killing Joel this week. I also, so I watched it late because I was at WrestleMania. Yeah. And I saw a couple of tweets that just said,

holy shit, Dave tweeted, holy shit, the last of us. So Clem texted me, oh, did you get a chance to watch it yet? I said no, but I know it's a big episode. I saw a couple holy shit tweet. I lost. Awesome. Lost the audio. Hear me again?

Yeah, I got you. So Clem wrote back. He goes, not really a big episode, but a lot of cool shots. And I was like, like, you dirt dog. Remembered like someone coming up from the snow. I legit in my mind thought like maybe this episode ends with like the bloaters fucking coming to the town and it's an oh shit.

We're fucked episode. So he kind of like unspoiled me and like took me off guard again. Yeah. And that's not that moment. I was like, I think Clem fucking betrayed me. I think. Hey, Bob. Boom, boom, boom. Yo.

Now, this is the question, Kev. Is that a, so is that like a good thing to do by unspoiling for him? I took his guard down. The anti-spoiler. Yeah, the anti-spoiler. I mean, well, I will say this. That show, episode two of season two,

I saw some asshole saying this was so predictable. And I was like, that is a wrong opinion. There is no wrong opinion, that is wrong. This was the most unpredictable thing maybe in the history of major television, no joke. That might not be for viewers viewers not for game players, obviously. So you probably were never going to be on guard for that anyway.

So I don't think you needed to anti-spoil him because he was never thinking that in the first place. But man, you probably experienced it more than like anybody did because you're not thinking any I was jetlagged. I got I literally got home like an hour later. I throw on the episode. I'm like, all right, let me catch up. Probably action packed. It's going to be awesome. Halfway through the episode. I was like, I don't think I want to be here anymore. I don't want to go home. The only thing I'll say is being a game guy. If I if I was just a TV viewer, I think I would have

cried. I think I would have been sobbing. I think it really was sick I like and I know that sounds so dramatic But like I just sat there in silence for ten minutes just being like what the fuck? The only thing I didn't like about the episode was that they had a little it should have just ended Ended right because they had I didn't- Oh, I didn't watch anything after. I couldn't watch anything after. Oh, it was a crazy shot of her laying on top of him. Yeah. And they said in the after show, they said they wanted it to be a big empty space

to like make you feel that they're all alone. And I think afterwards there was like someone like, I think they were at a grave maybe. I might be confused. Oh, do they ride away on the horses? Yeah. And they have the horses running behind them. That should have been nothing.

It should have zoomed out. And then when it did end, they played no music. They just cut to the credits. That was well done. But I think it just should have ended and it should have let you sit there in your own sick. Just like like Red Wedding was just like, yeah, no music afterwards. Yeah. But as a game guy, once he got shot in the leg,

I was like, wow, they're doing it. And I'm looking around the room and everyone else I'm watching it with to be like Well, they reacting almost kind of like golf clubs say yeah Relishing this moment rather than if I had no idea was coming like when they in the game I think I was tearing up in the game when it happened because you know, you're like You don't think that's coming either when you're playing so it you know, it's hard to be emotional about it again So I think that's the either when you're playing. So it's hard to be emotional about it again. So I think that's the only thing that sucked about knowing it was coming was you don't feel like the full gravitas of it. But it is fun to be on the other side going, wait

to see what happens next. That's why I love this, like the people who are like, Ellie, Abby, Abby, Abby, this, Abby, that. I'm like, I'm, I was there too. I'm just telling you, and maybe you will, but just wait to see what unfolds, you know? Kev's one of those people where they're like, why are they

singing Reigns of Casper? What does that mean? He's just fucking rubbing his hands together like the bird man. Just getting ready. Oh. That's the perfect way to put

it. Like, I, when my wife was like, oh no! When, when, when she saw Joe was about to actually get the you know stick in the neck that I haven't heard that sound in her voice since Game of Thrones cooking and like you know season six and our beloved characters were dying so they brought that back and this actually takes me to my my next question so as soon as that happened I wanted to tweet I thought there were some pretty good memes from this episode. I think the I was gonna say the golf club on the ground was gonna be like

another Mets season about to begin or like Ellie just looking at him. That's what it feels like being a sports fan, right? But then it's also like I can't it's like it's not like Thrones where we were live tweeting Thrones as soon as it began. So it's like it kind of got that spoiler, grandfather law in. But I and it was also WrestleMania night which made it tough. But man, like if something crazy happens this week, we can't tweet it. I don't even know how to like what do you think it is live TV now it is a barrier.

I think we're I'm over a spoiler culture. I think a show like that. That's week to week when it airs, it's fair game. Like if it's something where like you binge it all the first day and you can spoil it for everyone, I wouldn't do that. But like, I don't know, unfollow me, do whatever. I'm here to talk about this shit.

And when something like that happens, we got to talk about it. I don't know. I wish there was an easier way to do spoiler tags on Twitter and or, you know, make your tweet blurred on the timeline. They should do like in Reddit where you can have the blacked out visible link. Yeah, you should do that in a way or like,

we need to invent like a new a new platform, a new social thing where it's like, you know, you follow these accounts and they only get on that. Yeah, yeah, figure it out. Blue sky or threads or whoever, you can only see certain tweets, because it the- the- the- the- the- the took it there, they did it, or they stuck to the storyline, the timeline, but I think it's all fair game, man. Like that's too important of a show. It's too big. And also everybody like there's 20 million people already know. That and like, I feel like it can't get bigger than this. Maybe it maybe it can. I you know, I don't know what's coming forward, but it's also like this. I feel like if anything is going to break that seal, it's this moment. And now for the rest of the season, it's also like this I feel like if anything is gonna break that seal it's this moment

and now for the rest of the season it's like okay this is fucking appointment viewing because we got a war to win with fucking abby in the mix right now I can't imagine even even if they throw some you know tv sauce into the mix where like they can come up with their own shit there's compelling stuff for sure. The game was great. There's a lot more that happens. There's nothing that even comes close to the death of Joel, which is a tough order.

I mean, Abby and Ellie taking out the whole cast and a murder suicide might not be bigger than this. Right. You know, like it's Pedro Pascal again, they killed Mando. They killed Mando this week. And I saw people saying like, well, this happened in Game of Thrones with Ned Stark. No, it didn't. That was not, Game of Thrones was not

Game of Thrones starring Sean Bean. Like it was, he was a name and he was in it. But Pedro Pascal was- Pedro Pascal was one of the main characters for sure, but we also had an ensemble cast. Yes. And it was not like, build up as his show. This is Pedro Pascal's show and they his show. This is yeah, Pedro

Pascal show and they fucking whacked him. I know we were all joking. We were like we're going to get Pedro overload. We're going to get the Mando movie. He's going to be in Last of Us. He's going to be in Fantastic Four. No, no, no. He showed up for fucking two days on set of Last of Us and he's all done with that work. Well, that's why it also makes sense when people are like, how could he do all this? Like, well, he wasn't doing one of them. That's a great point I hadn't even thought of. I hadn't even thought of that. How is the schedule not so packed because he's in The Last of Us 2?

I do think we'll see some flashbacks, but there's no way he has another, you know, seven or eight episodes of work in him. So yeah, that all makes sense in that regard. I can't, you know, if you're, you have seven episodes, like the bar is up here now. I don't know what you're going to do. And it's like, I actually am happy they didn't do an episode one because it would have been two, I want to say obvious, but it would have just been like, all right, and now we're here. And then it would have just had the drop. I feel like it's like a right set up boom to happens and it goes off guard I just think they're gonna probably just try to keep us off our feet

Like you said have Game of Thrones had literal like families kingdoms There was like eight Lannister or five Lannisters and eight fucking Starks and five Baratheons and there was all these people Like Seth the steak sandwich bigot is like the sixth most popular guy fucking Starks and five Baratheons. And there was all these people like Seth, the steak sandwich bigot is like the sixth most popular guy. It's crazy. The only thing I will say is I think it might have been smarter and I would have been really tempted as the show runner. If this episode ended with Joel, you zoom out,

and then the final scene are the zombies running towards the wall, you'd be like, oh, next episode we've got that. And now they're fucked, yeah. Yeah, and that would at least put a little bit of space between Joel dying and whatever comes next, where it's like, next episode we have this epic battle, and then episode four we're worried about getting back into the storyline but right like what the fuck is gonna i'm trying to think of anything in the game that like is but there's nothing that's like maybe it's just like next week without his presence you fucking feel that absence you feel him

missing and it's like maybe it's gonna depress us even more probably is the last of us yeah we did the gif of is it the brown skiff gift where the guys outside the stadium Clem or the video where he's like I hate you Factory sadness see Sunday. Yeah, that's the last of us I every you know like Tommy still has to find out right like there's you know, there's the Crony has to find out there's like fucking when Luke finds out when Hans gone, you know, yeah We got into some dark shit. I I'm just gonna put it on the pot I was like there like Tommy's gonna find out then he's gonna like his son's gonna be bitten and it's like let's just get really fucking dark right now you know like I feel like they're

gonna get dark because like there's people in the town who got bit right so yeah that was one thing I kind of missed but I guess at the end you see a Guard who was bitten and he hands his gun over and then you hear the gunshots I mean, I hate to be morbid but I think how they've shown that a little bit more that the townspeople had to kill each Other after they were bitten Yeah because the one thing I did feel like it felt like they won that battle and that there weren't many casualties and I bet there Were and they just didn't show it but like they should have showed like the city that they thought was safe And they thought they were gonna live out like got fucked up, you know

Yeah, like maybe let's stop doing therapy and worrying about that. Let's like fucking hand each other some guns We're not ready for therapy yet in this world. It's the last of us bro. This ain't you know, uh shrinking we're talking All right shrinking. We're talking. Alright, that's all I had. Anything else from you guys on on the last of us? The most most fucking sad shocking episode of the last of us ever. I just think that the abbey anti-hero versus villain argument which we have a lot in tv's is gonna cook more than people even can fathom. So be on the lookout for that again as someone

that does you know did fall in love with a big purple man that turned out, you know, had some controversial. Too big purple man. You have a type grimace. I do. That's true. That's true. That's true. I am very excited to see how it's going to happen. I'll go with an open mind. A couple notes I just had in the episode. Oh, by the way, Kev does all these, has his breakdown um and everything. I saw you had the like everything you need to know before season two. I blogged that with with our

stuff. So um check out all his stuff on his socials. He has the what's the name of the YouTube again? It's uh watch list is the uh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um the fact of being able to keep themselves warm in the snow that felt like cheating.

That was **** **** **** **** **** We lost you again, Bob. Uh check off. Check off flares and bells as soon as they're talking about flares and I knew we were cooked that **** Seth definitely spit in those things and it is I have no doubt in my mind. Uh

I it was such a fun episode when the Larry McTunsel **** gas mask came out and that was another great part forgotten about all of it and like the attack of Jackson like it that almost is forgotten because of just one golf club. It's up there with you know Blackwater and everything else for me and that was as good of a battle scene as you can get on television and I think for me the, the thing that really drove it home was Ellie going, listen, we have our shit, but it's Joel and Ellie, Ellie and Joel were together forever. And we're fine. I'm like, Oh, they never got a chance to make up. And they never, and you see that in the,

you know, she has a lot of guilt and everything in the game. Uh, when she's yelling like, get up, get up, Joel. It's like, Oh my God. And he tries to get up when she said that. the he puts his face on the ground because he's, you know, looks like he's dead, but he's not that the makeup guy said, he was like, this is the biggest moment I, my career. And if you look at the side by side of the game and the, they smashed it, it's identical. That's awesome. I also put in the notes, it's, it's like, this is a serious thing I wrote Joel's in a better place. Now, like what kind of show shouldn't be having you think

that at 10 o'clock on a Sunday, right? It's the Sunday no less. I don't think he's in a better place. This was a cruel world. He's with Sarah right now. Test is up there. Hopefully. the like Joel knows the things that he's done in this world and he pines he said what goes around comes around like this is gonna that's why he's like just do it you know like so I think even Joel can understand Abby a little bit the rest of the people should do I want to know if there's ever gonna be a time where I'm like Joel was actually the monster he was the big bad and he was like wicked they need to do a reverse angle and Joel's defying. Well listen I mean that is kind of the essence of the game. I mean that's what you're looking for. You know angle and- to find. Well listen I mean that is kind of the essence of the game so that you're looking for definitely

tune into the season because I think that's kind of what they try to do at least from Abby's perfect perspective. There we go Kevin thank you for joining us again check out Kevin Kevin's recaps every week he actually knows he's talking about game wise so he can make the comparisons that we go to him for to relay for you guys. So check those out and I guess see you next week. You know we'll see you with Andor but you know Andor hopefully give us some fucking

some happy premiere episodes please. We need them right now. Andor's gonna be a feral fucking lap call. I'm gonna be honest guys I'm not ready for Andor right now. I'm gonna give him a three. We're not the the the the the the the the the build them up, make you love them, then kill them. Three of them. Let's go. You're a factory of sadness. See you next Sunday.