The Last of Us: The Show!

[Stevie]

10 minutes ago, Moz said:

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But maybe the idea is that there's some tiny semblance of humanity in there (he was recently turned, still had half his face) and the human understood she was infected and wanted to make it painless. It doesn't really track with anything else we know though. If she's already infected, why bother in the first place? Maybe because infected have a connection to each other, and he felt weirdly connected to her as both a human and an infected, so he opted to show affection in a way which combines the two. And she was infected enough that she consented, feeling a strange pull to him too. I'm not sure I got what they were going for there other than "gross!" Hopefully there's a podcast explaining what they were going for.

 

 

 

Spoiler

Granny was tonguing her daughter in the first episode, but not her husband. I think it’s just to make it gross rather that serving a function.

 

[NecroMorrius]

I know I'm listening to it now 

[NecroMorrius]

6 minutes ago, Stevie said:

 

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Granny was tonguing her daughter in the first episode, but not her husband. I think it’s just to make it gross rather that serving a function.

 

 

I thought it was her neck but hard to tell for sure on a rewatch

[Majora]

They do explain the kiss in the podcast

 

Spoiler

Something like what would the infected do if the other person wasn't actually putting up a fight, the best thing to do would be to not tear them to shreds as a host. Interesting idea but not sure I totally bought either the concept or the execution. Doubt we'll see it again and it felt a bit more like something intended to be a talking point.

 

 

[Stevie]

8 minutes ago, Moz said:

 

I thought it was her neck but hard to tell for sure on a rewatch

I just had a look. It looks like it’s neck or possibly the ear. 

[NecroMorrius]

51 minutes ago, Majora said:

They do explain the kiss in the podcast

 

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Something like what would the infected do if the other person wasn't actually putting up a fight, the best thing to do would be to not tear them to shreds as a host. Interesting idea but not sure I totally bought either the concept or the execution. Doubt we'll see it again and it felt a bit more like something intended to be a talking point.

 

 

 

In that case, it's probably just a bit of flavour to add some interest to them and give them more depth than the average zombie. Fair enough.

 

Spoiler

There’s another behind the scenes thing where Torv says the scene didn’t play out as she expected at all, and laughs about it. I sort of got the impression she was maybe a bit embarrassed and confused about it or didn’t like it that much, her laugh seems a bit forced and distanced. But probably reading too much into it. Still, it might explain why I couldn’t get a read on what was going through Tess’s mind - Torv didn’t know. If that’s the case, that’s a failure of direction on set.

 

 

[makkuwata]

I really hope the pre-credits next week is just Bill and Frank doing some shopping in a Home Depot when shit goes down and they have to Dead Rising their way out.

[cassidy]

That was a strong and confident hr of TV. 

[Vespa Alex]

Is this getting much advertising and attention for mainstream non-gaming audiences?

[NecroMorrius]

10 minutes ago, Vespa Alex said:

Is this getting much advertising and attention for mainstream non-gaming audiences?

It’s extremely popular right across the board and doing huge numbers for HBO. 

[AI]

Did I spot a cameo of Neil Druckmann towards the end of that episode?

Spoiler

Dead guy being turned over. Definitely looked like him.

 

Kiss thing was odd. Was she paralysed/being controlled by the infection to let it happen?

 

Also, one grenade would have sufficed at the end to blow the place up. Give a couple to Joel and Ellie surely?

 

I know the whole zombie thing is a backdrop to the show, but I'm still confused what caused it all to kick off in the space of a day like Order 66. Did everyone eat a dodgy batch of Shredded Wheat that morning?

 

Anyway, still a good adaptation and enjoying it.

 

[Gabzy]

That chicken sandwich looked fucking delicious. Screw the jerky

[SuperCapes]

6 hours ago, Popo said:

The cinematography of this show is incredible. They’ve completely captured the lighting and texture of that world perfectly. Consistently impressive. 
 

Great episode, too. When I said earlier in the thread that I was keen to find out what they meant about the tentacles, well, now I’m thinking ignorance is bliss. 🤢

 

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The choice of having the infected connect through what is effectively a kiss is quite interesting. Grim, but interesting. I wonder if they’re going in an ‘infection is love’ direction with the cordycepts. That to be part of the mycelia network is to be in rapturous bliss. Or - even worse - a way to grow and reproduce?

 

 

Whilst I am enjoying it greatly, the cinematography is the one part that lets it down for me. I think the physical sets are incredible, and sometimes the sweeping vistas are impressive. Often though the colours are saturated to within an inch of their life, and between the fast paced camera cuts are some really poorly framed takes. 

 

There are a few too many shots where the screen is divided evenly. Characters in the middle of the screen, or two characters split perfectly apart. 

 

That's not to say the whole thing is a mess. Their is a few scenes which I thought were striking, and moved really well.

 

I am enjoying it though, and because we want more my wife and I are just going to wait and binge the whole thing. I find myself checking the time too often and being disheartened by knowing there is only 10 minutes, or 5 minutes left. I want 8 hours left! 

 

Spoiler

The Clicker tackling Joel was perfection, and Joel reloading whilst hiding was great.

 

Two sensational uses of lighting, audio and framing. 

 

[Bucky]

Everything is so adroitly done.  I'm watching with my wife who is captivated by it all and she has zero knowledge/awareness of the game and it's characters.

 

It's an impossible comparison to make, but I'm more sure who is getting the most out of it.

[wullie]

Spoiler

I thought nothing would be worse than the death animation from the game that cuts out just at the last split second, but the show goes and introduces the old hairy tongue smooch.

 

[NecroMorrius]

Spoilers maybe Wullie. Here’s some stuff about that moment I found online. 
 

Spoiler

“We were already talking about tendrils coming out and we were asking these philosophical questions, ‘Why are infected people violent? If the point is to spread the fungus, why do they need to be violent?’ We landed on that they don’t. They’re violent because we resist, but what if you don’t? What does it look like if you just stand perfectly still and let them do this to you?” Mazin posited.

 

“Then we landed on this nightmare fuel. It’s disturbing and it’s violative. I think it’s very primal in the way it invades your own body. To use an overused word, it’s triggering. It’s a remarkable combination of Neil’s direction, Anna Torv’s acting when there isn’t obviously anything there and our visual effects department doing this gorgeous work to make it all come together and feel real and terrible.”

“We’ve left the quarantine zone and that led to this other version where she’s giving an opening to escape to Joel and Ellie by blowing up a bunch of infected. Because we’re cruel to the characters we love so much, it felt like she knows she’s done for, and then the lighter doesn’t work, and we take her all the way to the edge of horror before we finally give her an out.”

 

Spoiler

So, they’ve thought about it. I’m just not sure it worked entirely for me. I couldn’t get a handle on the consent element. Torv said she thought it would be slower and “more magnetic”. Am I triggered? 

 

[jonamok]

Well, that was awesome. Again though the pre-titles sequence (like the talk show last week) was by far the best bit. Genuinely unsettling.

[wullie]

54 minutes ago, Moz said:

Spoilers maybe Wullie. Here’s some stuff about that moment I found online. 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

“We were already talking about tendrils coming out and we were asking these philosophical questions, ‘Why are infected people violent? If the point is to spread the fungus, why do they need to be violent?’ We landed on that they don’t. They’re violent because we resist, but what if you don’t? What does it look like if you just stand perfectly still and let them do this to you?” Mazin posited.

 

“Then we landed on this nightmare fuel. It’s disturbing and it’s violative. I think it’s very primal in the way it invades your own body. To use an overused word, it’s triggering. It’s a remarkable combination of Neil’s direction, Anna Torv’s acting when there isn’t obviously anything there and our visual effects department doing this gorgeous work to make it all come together and feel real and terrible.”

“We’ve left the quarantine zone and that led to this other version where she’s giving an opening to escape to Joel and Ellie by blowing up a bunch of infected. Because we’re cruel to the characters we love so much, it felt like she knows she’s done for, and then the lighter doesn’t work, and we take her all the way to the edge of horror before we finally give her an out.”

 

  Reveal hidden contents

So, they’ve thought about it. I’m just not sure it worked entirely for me. I couldn’t get a handle on the consent element. Torv said she thought it would be slower and “more magnetic”. Am I triggered? 

 

Sorry you're right, edited it now

[Capwn]

Found it amusing when they go through the door and loads of debris falls behind, blocking off the previous area.

[sofasurfer]

Loved the episode but the one thing that bugged me was

Spoiler

Tess trying to use a lighter to ignite the fuel. I know it's for dramatic purposes but she had just tipped a load of grenades onto the floor. Wouldn't it be easier to just go out in that old cliche of pulling the pin on one of those and setting the rest off? Same result and no worries about a faulty Zippo. I suppose we wouldn't get that 'kiss' from the infected though.

Waiting a week per episode is painful, but at least it gives me a chance to watch the episode again after listening to the podcast.

[Hanzo the Razor]

I loved the first episode.

 

Spoiler

This was OK but it was veering into ponderous Walking Dead territory. Worryingly this early on.

 

 

[SpagMasterSwift]

Only two episodes in, but this just isn't sitting right with me yet. I kinda wish they'd not included so much of the videogame stuff, or at least been more subtle about its inclusion, as it takes me out of it immediately. Worse still, they evoke the game so successfully that it's stopping me from buying into Bella as Ellie - who, no matter how good a performance she gives, just doesn't have the right face (yeah I said it!). I'm finding it jarring between the horror (which is decent but needs to go harder) and the comedy (stepping on the hand broke the tension of that scene), the sets looking fake, not because they don't have the budget, but they are trying to look like the game. The lighting in the room with the sandwich was a prime example of this. Its just starting to feel a little bit like a missed opportunity...but its early doors and I'm all for a standout episode that'll pull me all the way in. 

[sofasurfer]

Looking forward to episode 3 seeing as

 

Spoiler

it's an extended running time (80 minutes), has the introduction of possibly the game's best supporting character and looks great from this episode 3 trailer 

 

 

[yakumo]

Even though the whole apocalyptic end of the world done to death, people are the real monsters yadda yadda. It's really good, I really like Ellie alot she captures that energy and character from the game. 

[Fry Crayola]

I'm looking forward to next week's episode because...

 

Spoiler

as much as I've enjoyed the two so far, I've basically already watched them before. I've been more interested and captivated by pre-credits sequences in each episode where the material is completely new, so a whole episode of new material is right up my street.

 

The thing is, the game was already well acted, well directed, and hugely enjoyable to watch, but with the added bonus of being playable. So rather than having an adaptation which adds something (adding visuals to the source novel, or expanding on things in a TV series based on a film, etc.), this so far has mainly been about removing stuff. Removing that interactivity. It's motivating me to pick up the PC version of Part I so I can play through it all over again. People's mileage on that varies, but I loved the gameplay.

 

And it's a little hard to shift that. For an hour or so I'm still glued to the screen, but after that's over, I feel I want to pick up a pad and play it.

[Uncle Nasty]

Bit mixed after episode two.

 

Joel shifting that piece of furniture to exit the room was so gamey it was funny.

 

Ellie is annoying and too bratty. I know the character develops but I didn't really enjoy her screen time in episode two. Unconvincing.

 

Joel has zero charisma.

 

Not massively convinced that the clickers are a great enemy. They looked a bit silly.

 

I'll probably enjoy the making of and behind the scenes more than the actual episodes.

 

 

[Stevie]

1 hour ago, Uncle Nasty said:

 

Not massively convinced that the clickers are a great enemy. They looked a bit silly.

I share this sentiment. And judging by the trailer, the bloaters look even worse (but I could be wrong) I think that the palette the game uses is a bad choice for television. 
 

Look at the clothes. It looks like computer graphics. It doesn’t look real.

 

 

 

[Hanzo the Razor]

Every time they mention Marlene I'm expecting Boycie to turn up. Except he's dead.

[mexos]

13 hours ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

Only two episodes in, but this just isn't sitting right with me yet. I kinda wish they'd not included so much of the videogame stuff, or at least been more subtle about its inclusion, as it takes me out of it immediately. Worse still, they evoke the game so successfully that it's stopping me from buying into Bella as Ellie - who, no matter how good a performance she gives, just doesn't have the right face (yeah I said it!). I'm finding it jarring between the horror (which is decent but needs to go harder) and the comedy (stepping on the hand broke the tension of that scene), the sets looking fake, not because they don't have the budget, but they are trying to look like the game. The lighting in the room with the sandwich was a prime example of this. Its just starting to feel a little bit like a missed opportunity...but its early doors and I'm all for a standout episode that'll pull me all the way in. 

I feel similar, it’s just off for me. They’ve changed some things to try and make it work better as TV and to be honest they should have gone far further. The game specific sequences just feel shoehorned in and awkward. 
 

The acting is pretty wooden and I’m not convinced at all by the leads. Let’s see if they grow into it. I hope so. 

 

Less important but the look is just wrong. Something about it just looks really fake. They walk past a car that’s been there for 20 years and shit is grown all around it but the windows are barely dirty. Things like that just pull me out of the scene setting shots.
 

When they graded it they’ve kept it all looking too pristine. A darker, grimier look would have got round some of this imo. You could have made the clickers look and feel a lot more threatening. In a film like Aliens the tension comes a lot from what you don’t see. They don’t do that here. You see the full guy in the clicker suit. It’s just not scary. Those things shit me the fuck up in the game. 

Dare I say it maybe the problem could be Druckman. I wonder, maybe they needed to hand over the keys to someone else who didn’t create the original to interpret it in a way that fits this different medium better.

 

[El Geet]

I enjoyed this one more than the first episode but agree with some of the comments which also applied to the first episode: it’s just too faithful to the game to the detriment of the tv show. 
 

I mean having a city being completely impassable except through collapsing buildings was nothing but a gameplay requirement. I can suspend my disbelief but it seems slightly ridiculous to continue with that conceit for the tv show. 
 

I thought the action with the clickers was great but agree that the colour palette makes the clickers look, well, like a video game!

 

It’s quite telling that a few people (me included) felt the pre-collapse intro was the best bit. Feels a bit odd being quite negative when I’ve spent an enjoyable hour watching it but it is starting to feel like a missed opportunity to have really done the story justice on the different medium.