The Last of Us: The Show!

[Cheeko]

18 hours ago, drmick said:

 

As someone who knows absolutely nothing about the games, and with the letter from the game posted above- I feel like there is something important missing from this episode that those have played the game are able to appreciate, but that the producers haven't really spelt out for complete noobs. I had the same issue with the Harry Potter movies too.

I think you're convincing yourself this is the case, I haven't played the game either, but that was a really fantastic episode and everything you need is right there.

 

My concern with this series was that I really wanted to watch it, but:-

A) I'd watched most of Walking Dead and so I've seen how, once the outbreak has happened you're then just in the 'the monsters aren't the scary thing anymore, it's the people' loop and it's just finding idyllic communities and then all is not what it first seemed.

 

B) I watched a lot of Walking Dead on a phone / ipad because it's just really gruesome so my wife doesn't really get so much enjoyment out of that, just a lot of stress.

 

The first two episodes, whilst well made, were on that path and the third was my last 'wait and see' and boy did they smash it. Not only an hour of great entertainment, but also world building that gives so much context around the central storyline. The second episode in particular, just variations on building types, ooh cool, an abandoned hotel with a flooded reception, ooh a museum. But the buildings and locations are meaningless, just vfx artists painting weeds, not 20 years of history since the outbreak. But now we have a house where they walk in the front door and we've seen a whole lifetime, and what it's taken for that truck to still be there and running well, what people had to do to make it work in this world.

The overall central arc? Well it shows an angle on how Joel has lived his time, how he's struggled to get on with and be close to good people, people that are a lot like he is. But there's a lot of respect there that he earns from people, even those that are open about not liking him. Gives us so much more context for his relationship with the girl too. Showing her view of this world, reading the letter with a kind of disdain, 'who cares about these dead guys from the house' sorta approach, if she'd just picked up that letter and read it at the start of the episode you'd probably be more siding with her, watching her break the hand off a grandfather clock and not give a shit. But instead you're like ffs kid, stop being a dick and have some damn respect.

 

Lastly, there's a reason why storytelling is so timeless and human, it's how we communicate and learn things from other people that we maybe haven't directly experienced ourselves. Why are you watching a made up show about mushroom zombies? Is it really to see if they get a battery or not?

[Davros sock drawer]

Just started watching this myself and it’s really very good isn’t it? Episode 3 was just wonderful. 

[Darren]

We’ve just caught up with episode 3, and have to agree with all the gushing praise. I’ve not played the games so went in expecting a fairly standard but entertaining zombie fest. I definitely wasn’t expecting anything like that episode, which was one of the most touching stories I’ve ever seen. The moment at the piano where Frank asks Bill who the girl was, and Bill says there was never a girl, and Frank tentatively puts his hand on Bill’s shoulder was just brilliant, a masterpiece of economical writing and pitch perfect acting. Not what you expect from a genre show based on a game!

[Stevie]

Episode 4: I thought it was a very weak episode. You can argue it introduces characters and that’s fine, but I found myself playing with my phone during most of it. 

 

Spoiler

The moment Ellie picked up the gun at the end of episode 3 I knew she would use it to save Joel. Lazy writing!

 

[fragglerock]

Generally I like a bit of show don't tell and not having things spelled out, but this felt like it assumed a bit too much that maybe game players will understand.

 

Pretty thin feeling after the depth of last week.

 

[makkuwata]

They definitely needed to start allowing Joel to lighten up a bit and bond with Ellie this episode, but it wasn’t framed around much.

 

My strongest memory from the game for the time covered was getting lost in a bookstore beside the abandoned FEDRA checkpoint. Tho I think in the game it was Pittsburg rather than Kansas city. Really weird episode. I figured the cliffhanger moment would be end of act 1.

 

I wonder how far in advance they knew Ep5 would air early due to the Super Bowl.

[Iain]

Episode 5 is being shown by HBO on Friday due to the Super Bowl on Sunday. Sky confirm they are showing it at 2am Saturday morning so on NOW TV Saturday as well.

[spanx]

Yeah felt like a bit of a lull after the emotional gut punch of ep3 but i still really enjoyed ep4, nice developing relationship between Joel and Ellie. Definitely felt like a set up for something episode though

[Thor]

I enjoyed that episode, it again stuck closely to the game, but had enough new stuff to keep feeling new, if you know what I mean. 

[Popo]

Two thumbs up from me. Any episode of TV is going to look pedestrian after last week’s, and yes it’s a bit more trad, but it was still tense and exciting. 
 

Spoiler

The plaintive cries of your man for him mam as Joel killed him in cold blood was chilling. 

 

Although - continuity error between the show and the game:

 

Spoiler

Ellie crawls on the floor, when we all know crawling was introduced in Part 2. 

 

[SpagMasterSwift]

Spoiler

The gang member calling out when they found their killed mate made me lol

 

[Thor]

2 minutes ago, Popo said:

Although - continuity error between the show and the game:

That tickled me.

[El Geet]

Thought Episode 4 was really good. Didn’t have the same cheap look as the first couple of episodes and Joel and Ellie’s relationship is blossoming.

Spoiler

The guy pleading for his life felt quite realistic and was pretty harrowing!

Both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are bloody good actors.

 

[Jamie John]

Yeah, I enjoyed episode 4 as well. It seems very much like a two-parter, whereas episodes 1-3 seemed quite discrete and self-contained. The conversation at the end made me smile.

 

Spoiler

Kathleen was an interesting character: quite mumsy and unassuming on the surface - certainly not your typical post-apocalyptic Negan-like warlord - but then sociopathic enough to straight up murder that doctor.

 

And what do we reckon about the big ol' bulge she and beardy bodyguard find? I reckon it's a big fungus root that's about to burst out to the surface and start infecting everyone, or perhaps something to do with the 

Spoiler

bloater enemies

 

from the game.

 

Speaking of the game, we haven't had that set-piece yet where Joel 

Spoiler

gets stuck in the flooded basement with the clickers and has to turn the generator on, making a load of noise. Given the setting (a big abandoned office block) I reckon episode 5 might incorporate that somehow. 

 

 

And if I look as good as Joel when I get to 56 then I'll consider myself very lucky.

[sofasurfer]

7 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Yeah, I enjoyed episode 4 as well. It seems very much like a two-parter, whereas episodes 1-3 seemed quite discrete and self-contained. The conversation at the end made me smile.

 

  Hide contents

Kathleen was an interesting character: quite mumsy and unassuming on the surface - certainly not your typical post-apocalyptic Negan-like warlord - but then sociopathic enough to straight up murder that doctor.

 

And what do we reckon about the big ol' bulge she and beardy bodyguard find? I reckon it's a big fungus root that's about to burst out to the surface and start infecting everyone, or perhaps something to do with the 

  Hide contents

bloater enemies

 

from the game.

 

Speaking of the game, we haven't had that set-piece yet where Joel 

  Hide contents

gets stuck in the flooded basement with the clickers and has to turn the generator on, making a load of noise. Given the setting (a big abandoned office block) I reckon episode 5 might incorporate that somehow. 

 

 

And if I look as good as Joel when I get to 56 then I'll consider myself very lucky.

There was a scene in the trailer that showed 

Spoiler

a massive creature coming out of the ground, so I’m guessing it’s that.

As for the episode, loved it but it really wasn’t long enough. They could have expanded the run time and I’d be happy.

[El Geet]

9 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Yeah, I enjoyed episode 4 as well. It seems very much like a two-parter, whereas episodes 1-3 seemed quite discrete and self-contained. The conversation at the end made me smile.

 

  Hide contents

Kathleen was an interesting character: quite mumsy and unassuming on the surface - certainly not your typical post-apocalyptic Negan-like warlord - but then sociopathic enough to straight up murder that doctor.

 

And what do we reckon about the big ol' bulge she and beardy bodyguard find? I reckon it's a big fungus root that's about to burst out to the surface and start infecting everyone, or perhaps something to do with the 

  Hide contents

bloater enemies

 

from the game.

 

Speaking of the game, we haven't had that set-piece yet where Joel 

  Hide contents

gets stuck in the flooded basement with the clickers and has to turn the generator on, making a load of noise. Given the setting (a big abandoned office block) I reckon episode 5 might incorporate that somehow. 

 

 

And if I look as good as Joel when I get to 56 then I'll consider myself very lucky.

Spoiler

Apparently there’s a bigger enemy in TLOU Part 2. Only started playing it recently so haven’t got to it yet. Think it’s that. 

Kathleen is quite good at that slightly scary steely mum thing. Started watching Yellowjackets the other day and she seems to be playing a similar character in that. Slightly annoying that they seem to be ignoring some mega infected for the sake of a personal vendetta. TV show logic. 

[Darren]

Yeah that was really good, another character focused episode like last weeks but this time about the main characters. Their relationship is developing very nicely.

 

I presume “send Ellie through a hole in the wall to open the door from the other side” is something that happens every five minutes in the game like it did here?

[Rorschach]

Loved the latest ep. Not sure it was my favourite so far, but it had the most stuff that I was hoping the TV show would bring, if that makes sense?

 

Bella Ramsey's Ellie starting to show a bit more warmth and personality. Trying to get a rise out of Joel and not in just a "oh it's a child in a TV show we have to make them cheeky and loveable" but in a way that's believeable for a teenager, more out a wish to avoid boredom / awkwardness.

 

We never got to see Joel and Ellie in the game set up camp, and call it quits for the night, right? Which is obviously going to be a big part of travelling across the country with someone. So seeing their inane natter as they're trying and failing to go to sleep... that's a big box checked off for me, in terms of things I hoped this would show. We never saw it in the game because I guess you can't really turn it into gameplay, and the game was relatively efficent in when it used cutscenes. I feel like these moments kind of felt like that famous piece of concept art (link) for the first game, with Joel and Ellie laughing around a fire. Really feels like this is an opportunity to fill in blanks in Ellie and Joel's journey, or at least this version of them, and without (hopefully, viewers who haven't played the game will be able to judge this better) veering into filler / fanservice territory. This is stuff that I've been imagining in my head for years, basically, and it's cool to see it being brought to life.

 

Spoilers for those who haven't played the first game:

 

Spoiler

Can definitely see examples of how they are making Joel "softer". He's opening up a bit more readily to Ellie, trying (and failing) to talk about the impact of violence, and responding in a much less dismissive way when asked if he's killed innocent people. Should make how this all ends all the more shocking.

 

[El Geet]

23 minutes ago, Darren said:

Yeah that was really good, another character focused episode like last weeks but this time about the main characters. Their relationship is developing very nicely.

 

I presume “send Ellie through a hole in the wall to open the door from the other side” is something that happens every five minutes in the game like it did here?

Yup. One of the main game mechanics for getting from A to B

Spoiler

and separating them at times

. 

[Oaf]

Hmm, got a bit of a Walking Dead vibe from that episode, and not in a good way.

[Uncle Nasty]

This is losing me. Dull episode. Feels empty. 

[Majora]

I didn't think it was a great episode either really. The early stuff with Joel and Ellie was enjoyable but once they introduced that new Kathleen character it started to lose me and there was an odd lack of suspense or fear considering they were balls deep in hostile territory being actively hunted by teams of men. I was more tense when they were in the woods to be honest. Just felt a bit too much like Ellie and Joel were chilling out with no real threat given the circumstances.

 

Some of the dialogue also struck me as a bit weak/clunky. Overall just wasn't as well-written nor as engaging as the first three episodes for me. Interested to see what they do with Sam and Henry next episode though.

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

Weakest episode so far, but it still whizzed by and made 45 minutes feel like 10. Seemed to borrow too much from the game (I swear the dialogue in the car was identical) but it moved the story along nicely enough, and I can't wait for the next.

[IR354Lifeqhybot]

Fucudjdu ex u m ohi a a I c udi fc ufk fc if

[Capwn]

Episode 1 - prologue 

Episode 2 - clickers

Episode 3 - bill

Episode 4 - mercenaries 

 

Episode 3 ended with a hint of the Joel/Ellie chemistry. Episode 4 is the one where it’s finally there, imo. The environment design was on-point.

 

 
 

 

[JohnC]

6 hours ago, Oaf said:

Hmm, got a bit of a Walking Dead vibe from that episode, and not in a good way.

I think the big difference is TWD would make a season or 3 out of that lot. This won't.

[BossSaru]

This week's episode was always going to be a bit of an anticlimax, following on from a movie-length character study of lovers in a post-collapse world. TBH it is a shame that the series feels the need to adhere closely to the game's plot, as some elements work better in a game setting but do not translate quite so well to the show, and have been covered to death in The Walking Dead and other post-collapse stories.

 

Of course, it is still very well done. Joel and Ellie are clearly softening towards each other (the joke book scenes, Joel upset at Ellie's lost innocence), and the show is slowly teasing out the type of person Joel has become following the loss of his daughter. Its just a shame that the game is providing the scripts rather than the inspiration for the show. I would have preferred Joel to have circumvented to city entirely rather than getting a facsimile of a depressing TWD community storyline. And while it makes sense for Season 2 to cover the second game, I think a season covering the timeline between the two games would have worked better.

[Brunceling]

The young guy Ellie shot - he started talking about his mom being nearby. That's Kathleen, right?

[Majora]

This episode actually added a fair bit that was new compared to the game, I just didn't think the new stuff they came up with was particularly good. 

 

Actually that's a little unfair, I liked the new scenes in the first half of the episode but most everything new in the second half fell flat for me. Maybe the next episode will help to make sense of it but right now my feeling is that I don't give a flying fuck about seeing more of Kathleen or understanding her character better.

 

The equivalent section in the game was very gameplay heavy but unlike Bill's Town, which was similarly gameplay heavy, I don't know that they've expanded on it in a particularly interesting way.

[Uncle Nasty]

The encounters are boring, whether it's the clickers, runners or fireflys, even the environmental discovery is dull. I don't feel any sense of dread, fear, excitement or fun during any of it. The characters are unlikeable and generic - stoic sensible dad and bratty kid. Ellie is annoying as fuck.

 

It takes itself so seriously but there's no payoff. The characters make stupid decisions that are never explained. The gamey elements are clumsy and too obvious.

 

Needs to get a lot better quickly.