Troy Baker, who played Joel, spoke about working on the porch conversation scene, where the characters discuss Joel's decision to kill the scientists and deprive humanity of a chance to create a vaccine. According to the original script, the episode was supposed to take place at the very beginning, before Joel's murder by Abby and Ellie's subsequent revenge.
Later, Naughty Dog moved the scene to the end of the game, turning it into an emotional conclusion to the story. Baker only learned about the change after finishing work and believes that the new placement made the episode much stronger.
During motion capture filming, the team spent an entire day rehearsing gestures and glances. Initially, the conversation was supposed to end with a hug, but Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie, objected. In her opinion, after the events at the Fireflies hospital, the character was not yet ready for such intimacy, so the uncertainty and tension between the characters looked more natural.