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No Heroes Here: The Last of Us Season 2 and the Pain of Perspective

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I knew The Last of Us Season 2 would hurt. I played the game. I was there. Seeing it come to life on screen brought a whole new kind of ache. The show stayed loyal to the story, for the most part, but made a few bold shifts: some that softened the edges, and some that made the emotional fallout feel even more raw. Still, as much as I liked the show, the game hit harder. There’s something about holding the controller, about being Ellie. It makes the weight of her choices sit differently. In the show, I watched her unravel. In the game, I helped her do it. I pressed the buttons. I made her swing the bat. I heard the sounds and didn’t look away. That’s a different kind of heartbreak. A different kind of guilt. And it’s the kind of storytelling that doesn’t just show you grief. It makes you feel responsible for it. One moment that really made that difference clear was the Nora scene. In the game, chasing her through the hospital, dragging her down into that cordyceps-infested basement… ...
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Pretty Little Liars: 15 Years Later and Still Not Over It

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Back in the day, Pretty Little Liars wasn’t just a show. It was an event. Tuesday nights meant canceling plans, gathering around the TV, and diving headfirst into the latest round of secrets, lies, and chaos in Rosewood. It meant live tweeting, intense text messages trying to figure out who A was this time, and trying to keep quiet around friends who hadn't seen the latest episode yet. Even though our theories were wrong most of time, that didn’t stop us from speculating like our lives depended on it.  Fifteen years later, I still think about this show way more than I should. Spencer was always my favorite. She was intelligent, anxious, and driven to a fault. She was the one who tried to stay two steps ahead of everything and everyone. Watching her slowly unravel and rebuild season after season was weirdly comforting. Emily was a close second favorite of mine. She brought something different to the group: a quiet strength, emotional depth, and representation we didn’t see much on ...
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Facing the Void: Yelena's Return and the Emotional Weight of the Thunderbolts*

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Marvel’s Thunderbolts* arrives with something we haven’t felt in a while - emotional stakes that bite. This isn’t another save-the-world-from-a-sky-beam flick. It’s personal. It’s messy. And at the center of it all is Yelena Belova. Photo: Disney/Marvel Her return isn’t just a fan service. It’s a reckoning. The Yelena we meet here is more frayed, more haunted. She’s still witty and deadly, but there’s something heavier in her eyes. That weight is what makes Thunderbolts* hit harder than expected.  The most unexpected and quite devastating part of the film is her encounter with Bob - aka “The Void.” While comic fans know Bob as a minor, often comedic figure, here he’s something else entirely: a living metaphor for emptiness, trauma, and the parts of ourselves we bury. Bob doesn’t exist to crack jokes or lighten the mood. He exists to reflect Yelena’s pain back at herself. The way they interact together is less about battle scenes and more about emotional exposure. It’s rare for a ...
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Growing Pains, New Emotions: Why Inside Out 2 Hit Me Harder Than I Expected

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Photo: Disney/Pixar When I walked into  Inside Out 2  last year, I was expecting a charming Pixar sequel, maybe a few laughs, maybe a soft emotional punch at the end. What I didn’t expect was to feel seen. The first  Inside Out  was about protecting the people you love. In the first film, Joy and Sadness learned to coexist in order to help Riley hold onto her childhood identity. It was brilliant, heartwarming, and felt complete. However,  Inside Out 2  dives into something messier, something painfully familiar. It grapples with the abrupt storm of adolescence and the desperate need to figure out who you’re supposed to become. Inside Out 2  introduces us to a now-teenage Riley and four new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. Each one felt uncomfortably close to home. As someone in my very late twenties still trying to navigate  identity, career, and belonging... watching Riley wrestle with anxiety and the fear of disappointing others...
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