If you went into The Last of Us expecting a rollicking zombie shooter, you were probably disappointed. Instead, The Last of Us is a moving portrait of characters struggling against grief and alienation—and it doesn’t even have any zombies!
However, just because we have to dry our eyes and hug our loved ones after each episode, we can still have fun with the series. For instance, it’s turning out to be the source of some excellent memes!
In episode 6, Joel starts having anxiety attacks as he reluctantly grows closer to Ellie. The more Joel tries to protect her, the more his grief for his lost daughter Sarah starts to break through, and Joel has to periodically grab hold of something to support himself while the anxiety passes. (As someone who deals with anxiety attacks myself, I related hard.)
In the episode, the moments are a poignant reminder of how much Joel has lost, how hard he’s suppressing his grief, and how high the stakes are for him to keep Ellie safe. However, people on Twitter are also finding those moments very relatable.
Messing around for hours with deadlines looming, unable to pry a single word from my brain? Nah, couldn’t be me. Oh, wait, it is me, all the time.
Or how about that feeling you get when the things you love are suddenly vintage or retro?
Or when you’re forced to concede that people are complex, multifaceted little universes instead of the one-dimensional caricatures that we all love to hate? Oof.
Or when you’re just too nice over email??
I know you can relate to this gem:
I can think of a few examples from my own life. Like when I put my kids to bed, take my first full breath of the day, flop down on the couch, and hear one of them call, “Mom?”
Or when I see critics’ reviews of any Marvel movie:
Or when an article I toss off about an internet meme goes viral, while an essay I poured my heart into goes down like a lead balloon:
Oh, the pain. We feel you, Joel. You may be the last of us, but you’re also all of us.
(featured image: HBO Max)
