Ep. 15: "Nature is Healing, WE are The Last of Us" (TLOU Part I w/ Becca Rowland)

Craft your med-kits and molotov cocktails, because we’re tackling a big game on our list this week! We’re joined by our dear friend, Chicago-based actress Becca Rowland, to talk about Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (Part 1!)

Widely considered by many to be one of the best video game narratives of all time, this post-apocalyptic action-adventure game explores the relationship between Joel & Ellie, two strangers who become surrogate father/daughter figures for each other as they journey across a version of America decimated by..... a deadly pandemic that turns people into fungus zombies. (Look, sorry we keep talking about the panorama on the pod but it’s impossible not to draw some comparisons with this one.)

While there’s no way for us to cover everything this game has to say in one episode, we try our best to talk about the important stuff, the gay stuff, and the important gay stuff-- most notably Ellie! the game’s co-protagonist who has become a landmark queer character & a paragon of sorts for queer representation in video games. This is a deeply beloved game which famously received a sequel last year! So we hope you enjoy our discussion on the first half of this saga.

TIMESTAMPS for ~SPOILERS~

Left Behind  DLC Spoilers: 48:00-49:20, 54:04-54:26
Ending of the game Discussion: 59:52 - 01:10:03

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Follow Becca Rowland on Instagram and Twitter, and check out her D&D stream on twitch.tv/stopdropandrolldnd

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Eric Solis:
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Laurence Turner-Cordova:
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Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Nick Adams (@stickartams)

Special thanks to our patron, Blueberri Mary <3

ARTICLES mentioned this week:

LGBT+ representation in an ultraviolent dystopia by Hannah Ryan
Virtual Intimacy and Queer Confrontations in The Last of Us: Left Behind by Michael Paramo

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"The Last Of Us" by Gustavo Santaolalla
"All Gone (Seasons)" by Gustavo Santaolalla
"Wanda's Cunty Vision" by Ocean Kelly