yessssssssssss
i got worried when they brought in ellie conscious cause like, part of what made the ending of the first game work is that NO ONE asked ellie.
marlene talks about how it would be what ellie would want, but didnt actually give her a chance to voice that and, added for the show, it echoes the hypocrisy and the pain of kathleen yelling at henry about believing the world revolves around his brother while she literally hunted him down for hers.
it's the "no one giving ellie a choice" - it doesn't matter if she would agree with you, cause you knocked her tf out before you could even give her a chance to breathe.
joel did the same, but the difference is, if joel did talk to ellie, he would've let her. he wouldn't survive it, but he would've let her.
but if marlene was wrong about ellie? and ellie WOULDNT agree to it? i don't know that i think marlene would respect that. which i like about her character, it makes her dynamic and a good mirror AND foil for joel.
of course, this is speculation. because she didn't actually give ellie a choice.
and neither did joel. "i thought you deserved a choice" bullshit with ellie and tommy but not when it comes to the greater meaning to your painful journey.
i love it. i love the complexity and the nuance and the complicated love that exists in all of it, the undercurrent of it all.
because while i agree ellie would probably undergo the surgery, i still think, if she puts her impressive emotional intelligence to the forefront, she'll understand if she did, it would mean the end of joel. and i think that fact would make her hesitate at the bare minimum or say no at the max.
of course, this is hypothetical, since no one actually asked her - which is what helps make this ending work.
anyway, ashley johnson giving birth to ellie in every way has me sobbing.
13 notes
·
View notes