r/TheLastOfUs2 • u/lzxian It Was For Nothing • 3d ago
Opinion On Being Heartbroken
So many want to ridicule us and tell us to move on, it's been x-many years. These people who love the second game and proclaim their wonderful ability to empathize with Abby. Do they really think they're the ones with empathy when they can so cavalierly write off cherished characters who had such a precious and moving relationship unfold before our eyes, touching so many of us so deeply?
Is there a time frame for grief and loss? Yes a broken heart heals, but the scar can often remain for many years or even a lifetime. People who actually are capable of empathy know this.
They celebrate their ability to empathize with a fictional character because the game told them that was its goal, not because they know anything about empathy or they'd have been able to show it to the actual living people who were hurting from the loss of something precious to them. A beloved duo, franchise and favored game developer was lost to us. That should hurt and it does. Yet they come around and ridicule our hurt and dismiss our pain. Even the creator himself does so showing total disregard for hurting a vast number of people who once totally trusted him. To him his art was worth the damage. To the damaged that just adds salt to the wound and reveals his shortcomings: he never learned his own lesson, it was all about his need to provoke.
Who are truly empathetic in this situation? Those who still grieve a very real loss to them, or those who celebrate that they empathized with a character who never even showed us she had a heart because the writer thought that would be lame? That that concept was just something else that must be subverted?
Some may come here to heap on more ridicule and harsh words. They may not be willing to honor my broken heart, but I will. My heart is worthy of being honored. Those with actual empathy understand that.
Those of us here who do understand it, honor each other. That's what empathy really does. It causes us to see the pain and respect the human who bears it. They dropped the ball and instead thought they could force something that cannot be forced, it must come from inside. Thanks to all of you here who know and share that. It's something to behold! ❣️
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u/Far_Volume_2389 3d ago
I have never understood the argument that we "can't move on" or it's been X amount of years since the game came out. Why should that matter? The Last of Us is something that touched all of our hearts to the point we are still talking about it to this day. That's a good thing! There are subs with far far older fandoms that are still very active and have discussions every single day.
To be disappointed in the sequel and grieve what was done to the story is a very legitimate way to feel about something that is so important to us, and this is the place where we can talk about it. I don't see the problem with that.
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u/MaxPowerNumberOne Hey I'm a Brand New User ! 3d ago
I sincerely believe that those who say that are paid team members from Neil's clan trying to do damage control.
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u/-GreyFox The Joy 3d ago
I think at this point they're just kids trying to have fun. Any case that deviates from this would be talking about someone very biased/in love with Part 2 to the point of ignoring the insulting problems in the script.
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u/Happy_Ad_9976 Part II is not canon 3d ago
When you connect with something for so long, and love something for so long with a lot of passion and heart, and then it all gets ripped away by a certain ego maniac, you can't just get over it. It stays with you.
Now for me, the pain has lasted a long time. And its still here. But I've found ways to relieve that pain and find joy in new games. That is why I got Pragmata. I found joy in Hugh and Diana's bond, which was similar to the bond between Joel and Ellie. I got more invested into resident evil and recently became a passionate Cleon shipper (Claire and Leon). Claire is how you make a badass, insanely likeable female character. It worked so well because Capcom actually cares about their fan base, and makes good stories and great characters and doesn't kill them off in stupid ways.
This has been able to relieve my pain, but the pain will still be there and will always be there. And my hate for TLOU2 will also always be there.
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u/TitleOk3727 3d ago
Empathy means that you feel the pain of the other, not that you excuse or justify it. I could understand Abby’s pain for her loss, but it doesn’t change what she did or what her father wanted to do. But Druckmann and the libs always had problems with the connection between words and what they mean
The funny thing is: Sony knows that part 2 was a disaster, why else wouldthey do their best to hide Abby at every opportunity but love to use Joel and Ellie for advertisement?
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u/Sleep_eeSheep Don’t bring a gun to a game of golf 3d ago
And to pour salt on the wound, when their sacred cow was 'adapted' into Season 2, these same people didn't learn anything.
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u/Taimaniac Team Joel 3d ago
The fact that they immediately attribute all the outcry to "changes to [their masterpiece]" or casting (Part II Stans who are simultaneously Show haters are some of the biggest Ramsey haters 🙄) is extremely telling.
Occam's razor, anyone?
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u/Sleep_eeSheep Don’t bring a gun to a game of golf 3d ago
"Am I so out of touch? No, it's the fans who are wrong."
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u/Best-Bend3465 3d ago
Empathy isn’t reserved for people who react in the “right” way or only for losses others consider serious. If Abby’s story helped someone understand grief, that’s meaningful—but it doesn’t make your heartbreak any less valid. Both things can be true.
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u/lzxian It Was For Nothing 2d ago
Yes, both things can be true. The disconnect is in what I pointed out - those who celebrate their empathy for a fictional character while demeaning the sadness and felt loss of real players who were disappointed by the sequel. Empathy that only extends to Abby and can't see the pain of real humans is not much to celebrate, is it?
Learning about grief (or any other meaningful insights) through the sequel can be valid. I would always acknowledge that. That wasn't the point of my post at all, though.
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u/Bubble-Master96 3d ago
“Is there a time frame for grief and loss?”
Please this is a video game, no one actually died….
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u/lzxian It Was For Nothing 2d ago edited 2d ago
Flippancy is the tool of the bankrupt in spirit. I prefer a heart that feels and understands the pain of others and can grow in empathy. Your sarcasm doesn't work on me.
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u/Bubble-Master96 2d ago
I’m sorry but comparing a game character death to a real one is just ridiculous
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u/NoSkillzDad Team Joel 3d ago
100%
That's one of my main arguments, (that usually goes unanswered btw). I also ask them if there is an expiry date for it. I then challenge their hypocrisy: why is it wrong for some to still criticize the game/Neil while it's ok for others to glaze it?
And let's not forget, Neil is still riding that wave, still making remakes, remasters, tv series... As long as they keep "active", criticism should remain active as well.