The Last of Us Season 2 reviews are starting to come out

Tiago Rodrigues said:
Why is everyone so focused on the game? The TV show is mainly done to attract new audiences...and it doesn't have to be a carbon copy of it.

We've been over Ellie's casting on season one...what did you all expected?
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Yeah, I don't care as much about the likeness as a lot of other people. I care if someone can act and portray the character. I mean, Maria is black in the show, they couldn't have cast a character any more different. Pedro Pascal is Latino and Joel in the games wasn't. You don't hear people going off about those choices, only Ellie. Bella just looks weird I think so people like to pile on. And yes, her killing baddies isn't gonna look believable. Let's be real, it wouldn't for most young actresses either. A lot of people are saying Devers should've been Ellie. She's a tiny little thing too. You telling me she'd be believable killing infected but Bella wouldn't? They're the same size.

If people don't like Bella's acting, that's fine, but the appearance thing is lame IMO.
 
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Strategize said:
Try watching the show unmuted next time, they clearly say he's holding back.
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I probably missed that.

But why would anyone hold back once they know the triangle is locked in and working? It was taking her long enough to get it going so he had plenty of time.

Honestly I was very on the fence about watching this season at all and that scene gave me the excuse to just quit out and do something better with my time. Doubt I'm going to miss much TBH
 
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ElFenomeno said:
Would you cast Steve Buscemi as Superman? The apperance criticism is valid IMO. For me, she is awful in every department. Huge miscast.
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I don't think that's an appropriate comparison. Superman is a toned, jacked specimen of a being. Ellie in the games' build is not that much different from Bella Ramsey. Normal looking teenage girl. Not nearly as big of a gap between Superman and Steve Buscemi.
 
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DragoonKain said:
I don't think that's an appropriate comparison. Superman is a toned, jacked specimen of a being. Ellie in the games' build is not that much different from Bella Ramsey. Normal looking teenage girl. Not nearly as big of a gap between Superman and Steve Buscemi.
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Are you serious ? Normal looking teenage girl ? Go back to resetera sir
 
Watched it last night.
The miscasting of Ellie just sticks out more when you have her around other actors. She is a fine actor but not Ellie by a longshot.
ruth-buzzi-laugh-in.jpg
 
Maddoxswe said:
Are you serious ? Normal looking teenage girl ? Go back to resetera sir
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Her build is. Her face is a little weird, but like I said, who cares. Maria in the show looks way more different than Maria in the game but no one is complaining about that.
 
RCX said:
I probably missed that.

But why would anyone hold back once they know the triangle is locked in and working? It was taking her long enough to get it going so he had plenty of time.

Honestly I was very on the fence about watching this season at all and that scene gave me the excuse to just quit out and do something better with my time. Doubt I'm going to miss much TBH
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You don't realize how much that says about you. It's a lot more than what it says about the show.

He was holding back early in the training and he got caught in the triangle, which can happen to anyone, especially if they're not expecting it. He was specifically holding back because Jesse didn't want to get in trouble with Joel. Even holding back he bloodied her face and probably avoided slamming her to the ground when he had the opportunity to, because he probably felt like he had already gone too far. It's difficult to beat someone while finding the right balance in holding back if they have any measure of skill.

The purpose of the scene is to paint a picture of the dynamic between characters. The guys and their respect/fear of Joel, Ellie's relationship with Joel, and how people treat her because of Joel. It goes further to explain why she might rebel against the treatment, especially given what she knows about what happened in Utah and what her purpose is in Jackson. She's already immune to infection, so that already makes her reckless and overconfident. That overconfidence gets tested in this very episode.

It's great writing, but to you, you saw Ellie beat this massive guy and makes him tap out. You feel like that guy would have kicked your ass, so you think the show is saying Ellie (and more importantly Bella Ramsey) could kick your ass too, so you feel emasculated, which makes you angry, leading you to say you're not going to watch this.

That you missed everything the scene was trying to communicate says that you're not able to process information very well, especially once you make your mind to block things out. That's not a great trait. I'd recommend you work on that in life. Not just for a TV show, but because it's going to hold you back in life.
 
Reasons I give the episode a 7-7.5/10

The Good
Thought Pedro killed it in this episode. His scenes with Dina, Gail, Ellie are absolute gold.

Catherine O'Hara absolutely kills it in her scene with Pedro.

Mixed
Isabela Merced (Dina) is getting a lot of praise, probably because of her looks, but I felt that she's delivered her lines significantly worse than in the game, especially the scene at the dance.

I think she has good chemistry with Bella Ramsey, especially when she goes to get her before the patrol and during the patrol, but I thought the scene at the dance was rushed and the delivery of the lines about thinking that they should be terrified of her, felt forced, like it was all one take. Even Bella who generally has good line delivery didn't seem half as good as Ashley Johnson in this scene, in telling her that she smelled bad. When they eventually kiss, it comes across as pretty random.

Merced had a great scene with Pedro, though as mentioned before.


The Bad
Rutina Wesley is probably the worst actor in the show and she's not doing a great job with Maria. It was a problem in season 1 and it's a problem so far in Season 2. I liked her on True Blood, but either her delivery or what they're asking her to do isn't great. It's a hard role to play for sure, but I'd probably give her a D+. Just seems like everything is forced with her.

The introduction to Team Abby just seemed really poorly written and acted for most of it. I think Kaitlyn Dever carries most of this, but the discourse just felt stunted. Especially when they're talking about why Joel might have done what he did or Abby saying they should have followed after him immediately, despite the character knowing they didn't have a way to follow him. It seemed like they were stuck with an explanation of why they didn't go after him and they chose to do an exposition dump to explain it, but it made Abby sound stupid.

Not only is Team Abby a bit wooden, but a lot of the actors that fill up the Jackson crew seem beyond wooden and you'd kind of expect everyone that HBO casts who has speaking lines should be a pretty good actor and maybe they are, and maybe it's just poorly written dialogue. It's hard to tell.

Some of the lines in the game get cut and not in ways that makes scenes better. When Ellie is talking to Jesse, she first says that they'll be back together in two weeks, and then he said no, but then asks if she said something, and then Ellie changes it to 1 week. I thought this was important dialogue and its shortened for no reason, but it's important to understanding that Ellie doesn't think she has a shot with Dina and is convinced she is getting back with Jesse.

Obviously, the second game starts of slower than the first game, but I think there's a lot of risk that viewers may tune out with a less than dramatic opening episode. I think that's why they reoriented the grocery store scene that's supposed to happen later and fit it into this episode. It was great to see Rebecca Ferguson involved in this too in a cameo as the Stalker infected. It sets up for some difficulties for pacing in episode 2 as I think it might not ramp up heavily until Episode 3. I think that's also why they've added this idea of the cordycep network growing in the roots to give more action in episode 2 than there would otherwise be and to change how Team Abby meets Joel.
 
jumpship said:
Look at the development time increase over the decades wish we could go back to 1-2 year 90's dev times. As announcements go we have Intergalactic Heretic project and a strongly rumoured AAA also in development. Factions 2 should have released by now too. RIP.

Other than Neil, no ND staff are part of the film crew for the TV show, they're cooking up new games.

Will start season 2 tonight :)
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PS1 = 4 games in 4 years ( 1 game per year )
PS2 = 4 games in 5 years ( 1.25 game per year )
PS3 = 4 games in 7 years ( 1,74 games per year )
PS4 = 3 games in 7 years ( 2.33 games per year )
PS5 = 0 games in 5 years ( 0 games per year )

tell me more about the increase in development time and how this excuse ND of releasing 0 ( ZERO ) games in 5 years ? we always had new games in a spam of 2 years MAX, back them teams were smaller and yet we had way more releases.

"As announcements go" i dont care, i dont play announcements and Intergalactic ll be 2026 minimum, making this 6 years without any ND game released in PS5 life cycle.

once Neil became the boss, ND stoped in time, old ND would've been release at least 2 games by now.
 
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Lokaum D+ said:
PS1 = 4 games in 4 years ( 1 game per year )
PS2 = 4 games in 5 years ( 1.25 game per year )
PS3 = 4 games in 7 years ( 1,74 games per year )
PS4 = 4 games in 7 years ( 1.74 games per year )
PS5 = 0 games in 5 years ( 0 games per year )

tell me more about the increase in development time and how this excuse ND of releasing 0 ( ZERO ) games in 5 years ? we always had new games in a spam of 2 years MAX, back them teams were smaller and yet we had way more releases.

"As announcements go" i dont care, i dont play announcements and Intergalactic ll be 2026 minimum, making this 6 years without any ND game released in PS5 life cycle.

once Neil became the boss, ND stoped in time, old ND would've been release at least 2 games by now.
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Don't forget Factions 2 was in development but cancelled and at least 2 AAA single player games far in development. Dev times are just much longer It is what it is.
 
jumpship said:
Don't forget Factions 2 was in development but cancelled and at least 2 AAA single player games far in development. Dev times are just much longer It is what it is.
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I have that guy on ignore for a reason.

For some reason, he is counting TLOU Remastered on PS4 but not TLOUP1 remake on PS5 or Legacy of Thieves or TLOUP2 Remastered

The scope and scale of Naughty Dog's games got bigger, so of course they're going to take more time to develop.

Pretty sure that Uncharted 4 outsold all the Jak and Daxter games combined. If Naughty Dog re-used assets like other companies, yeah they would pump out games faster too. They probably could have built TLOUP3 on top of TLOU2's engine and assets and pumped something out in 3-4 years.
 
Lokaum D+ said:
PS1 = 4 games in 4 years ( 1 game per year )
PS2 = 4 games in 5 years ( 1.25 game per year )
PS3 = 4 games in 7 years ( 1,74 games per year )
PS4 = 4 games in 7 years ( 1.74 games per year )
PS5 = 0 games in 5 years ( 0 games per year )

tell me more about the increase in development time and how this excuse ND of releasing 0 ( ZERO ) games in 5 years ? we always had new games in a spam of 2 years MAX, back them teams were smaller and yet we had way more releases.

"As announcements go" i dont care, i dont play announcements and Intergalactic ll be 2026 minimum, making this 6 years without any ND game released in PS5 life cycle.

once Neil became the boss, ND stoped in time, old ND would've been release at least 2 games by now.
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What are those 4 PS4 games? I can only count Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 as full titles. (so half of the ones from the PS3 era and first generation without a nw IP). We also got a smaller title with The Lost Legacy which was DLC at first...what's the other one? If we're counting with remasters on PS4 then for sure we should count them on PS5.

Also those 4 PS3 games got A LOT of people leaving the company, which was still happening in the early stages of the PS4 era like Amy Hennig, Bruce Straley and LOTS of members from the studio were drained after each release. It was not an easy task to release one game every 2 years.

About the PS5 era...they had a game close to be complete that got cancelled. Why are we pretending Factions never happened and the studio wasn't working on it for years and years?
 
Tiago Rodrigues said:
What are those 4 PS4 games? I can only count Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 as full titles. (so half of the ones from the PS3 era and first generation without a nw IP). We also got a smaller title with The Lost Legacy which was DLC at first...what's the other one? If we're counting with remasters on PS4 then for sure we should count them on PS5.

Also those 4 PS3 games got A LOT of people leaving the company, which was still happening in the early stages of the PS4 era like Amy Hennig, Bruce Straley and LOTS of members from the studio were drained after each release. It was not an easy task to release one game every 2 years.

About the PS5 era...they had a game close to be complete that got cancelled. Why are we pretending Factions never happened and the studio wasn't working on it for years and years?
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yeah, 3 games since Lost Legacy was a stand alone i ll not count as a DLC, but yeah, 3 games in 7 years ( 2.3 games per year ).

About ppl leaving the company or smaller team to do games, its not my problem, i m not a shareholder, i m a costumer and as a paying costumer i ll criticize if i see something i dont like.

They had only Factions ( another TLOU experience ) that didn't have a single trailer, like i said, i dont play announcements, why are u guys defending ND ??? 6 years without a release, why defend poor management ?
jumpship said:
Don't forget Factions 2 was in development but cancelled and at least 2 AAA single player games far in development. Dev times are just much longer It is what it is.
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Why this isnt a problem for Eastern devs ? look at Capcom from 2020 to 2025

- MHwilds
- Dragons Dogma 2
- Exoprimal
- Street Fighter 6
- Resident Evil 4
- MH Rise/Sunbreak
- Rsident Evil Village

Why are you guys making so much excuse to ND is beyond me.
 
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Lokaum D+ said:
yeah, 3 games since Lost Legacy was a stand alone i ll not count as a DLC, but yeah, 3 games in 7 years ( 2.3 games per year ).

About ppl leaving the company or smaller team to do games, its not my problem, i m not a shareholder, i m a costumer and as a paying costumer i ll criticize if i see something i dont like.

They had only Factions ( another TLOU experience ) that didn't have a single trailer, like i said, i dont play announcements, why are u guys defending ND ??? 6 years without a release, why defend poor management ?
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Of course...context? Fuck that...
 
DragoonKain said:
Yeah, I don't care as much about the likeness as a lot of other people. I care if someone can act and portray the character. I mean, Maria is black in the show, they couldn't have cast a character any more different. Pedro Pascal is Latino and Joel in the games wasn't. You don't hear people going off about those choices, only Ellie. Bella just looks weird I think so people like to pile on. And yes, her killing baddies isn't gonna look believable. Let's be real, it wouldn't for most young actresses either. A lot of people are saying Devers should've been Ellie. She's a tiny little thing too. You telling me she'd be believable killing infected but Bella wouldn't? They're the same size.

If people don't like Bella's acting, that's fine, but the appearance thing is lame IMO.
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Devers may be small, but she looks more like a woman, which automatically makes her at least appear stronger than Bella who looks like a 9 year old.
 
okay, so, if you've actually played the games, does watching this series come off as feeling like you're participating in a ritual? because that's sorta what it sounds like...
 
I see a lot of people that equate complaining about Bella's looks = you're a creep why do you care if the character that's supposed to be 13/14 is ugly, but it actually is important (not factoring in that the actress is actually 20 or whatever, who cares).

Ellie is smarmy, sarcastic, aggressive, reject authority, etc. etc. -- think of a real life kid / teenage girl like that that you're around for whatever reason. The only way they get away with it is if they're cute or conventionally pretty, then those traits become endearing. If they're ugly, then they're just obnoxious and annoying. It's just how the world operates and always will, the looks of the character project their personality very differently.

Season 2 presents another big problem in that they hired a 20 year old actress who looks 13/14 for Season 1, who is now supposed to be quite a few years older narratively and more physically imposing but looks exactly the same since she's already an adult in real life.
 
touchfuzzy said:
I see a lot of people that equate complaining about Bella's looks = you're a creep why do you care if the character that's supposed to be 13/14 is ugly, but it actually is important (not factoring in that the actress is actually 20 or whatever, who cares).

Ellie is smarmy, sarcastic, aggressive, reject authority, etc. etc. -- think of a real life kid / teenage girl like that that you're around for whatever reason. The only way they get away with it is if they're cute or conventionally pretty, then those traits become endearing. If they're ugly, then they're just obnoxious and annoying. It's just how the world operates and always will, the looks of the character project their personality very differently.

Season 2 presents another big problem in that they hired a 20 year old actress who looks 13/14 for Season 1, who is now supposed to be quite a few years older narratively and more physically imposing but looks exactly the same since she's already an adult in real life.
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To me it's more that the actress is an adult, she just doesn't look like one. If that takes people out of it, I get it. But I found that to be an issue with the game. I never bought Ellie going around taking out droves of baddies. She's a freaking kid. It was weird. I know it's just a game, but for a game built on trying to be grounded, it did feel weird. So the show is just weird in a similar type of way. At least in the show, I don't think Ellie will be taking out entire buildings of enemies. She'll pick her battles far more carefully I'm guessing.

If they hold true to that, then how she looks to me becomes far less important. Is a non-factor? No. But not nearly a big enough deal for me to be put off from the show entirely like some people.

When you have people annoyed that the show isn't staying true to the game, when the game itself was pretty ridiculous(as detailed above and I didn't even mention how ridiculous and over the top Abby was in the game), then I can't get on board with those criticisms.
 
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touchfuzzy said:
I see a lot of people that equate complaining about Bella's looks = you're a creep why do you care if the character that's supposed to be 13/14 is ugly, but it actually is important (not factoring in that the actress is actually 20 or whatever, who cares).

Ellie is smarmy, sarcastic, aggressive, reject authority, etc. etc. -- think of a real life kid / teenage girl like that that you're around for whatever reason. The only way they get away with it is if they're cute or conventionally pretty, then those traits become endearing. If they're ugly, then they're just obnoxious and annoying. It's just how the world operates and always will, the looks of the character project their personality very differently.

Season 2 presents another big problem in that they hired a 20 year old actress who looks 13/14 for Season 1, who is now supposed to be quite a few years older narratively and more physically imposing but looks exactly the same since she's already an adult in real life.
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I think it's simple. Calling her ugly is insensitive, but because she's pushed in the awareness of millions of people on the internet, it's a given that her looks will be questioned in relation to the resemblance of the game character by people with varying opinions. She looks nothing like that character, so she will get criticized. No big deal as long as she's a competent actor; People will appreciate it, and welcome it. IF she's a competent actor.

Condemning insensitive opinions is a slippery slope.
 
Clear said:
Hang on. Did I check out midway through the first season or didn't it end roughly half way through the first game's story?

LOL. Guess I did... or was it really that unmemorable?
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Did the same without remembering. The first episode was hands down the best and actually great. I put up with several more filler episodes and must've just stopped giving a fuck.
 
From what I remember of the game I actually think the first episode was... good?

Cast is spot on, well, everyone except Ellie. She simply doesn't fit as Ellie.
 
Bert Big Balls said:
Seriously, the tards taking the piss out of Bella Ramsey's appearance are so fucking weird.
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You can bet many of those weirdos would be laugh out of the internet by their own group of haters if they post a picture of themselves, their parents, their wives or their children.
 
Watched the first 2 seasons last night. Somehow my partner wasn't spoiled about the golfing incident and she was shocked to say the least!

I have to say though great action. That hoarde scene was top notch.
 
Tommy in S2E2: "No matter what, never go to Main Street. For the sake of your lives".

Also Tommy in S2E2: Goes to stand in the middle of Main Street with a flamethrower next to another three guys against a horde of a thousand infected.

Genius writing.
 
As a huge fan of the games, the 2nd season of this show is fucking garbage. Everything that makes the story of the game good; the dialogue, the tension, the acting(!), it's all absent.

It's great to see the locales in the game recreated in the show, but that's about it. The casting is fucking awful, the story changes are awful, and the liberties taken only make everything worse. The game is, BY FAR, better than this show.

Ellie's happy she's gonna be a dad. :rolleyes:

I'm fucking out.

This shit's like Westworld. Watch the first season, then gtfo.
 
NomenNescio said:
Tommy in S2E2: "No matter what, never go to Main Street. For the sake of your lives".

Also Tommy in S2E2: Goes to stand in the middle of Main Street with a flamethrower next to another three guys against a horde of a thousand infected.

Genius writing.
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Fascinating how you misunderstood foreshadowing.

Yes, Tommy told OTHERS not to be on main street. Tommy inherently knows the danger that he's in, but it's a job someone has to do. Two of the flamethrower unit run away, but Tommy is not a coward, he's the first line of defense.

It's crazy to misunderstand something and then sarcastically call it genius writing...
 
Catphish said:
As a huge fan of the games, the 2nd season of this show is fucking garbage. Everything that makes the story of the game good; the dialogue, the tension, the acting(!), it's all absent.

It's great to see the locales in the game recreated in the show, but that's about it. The casting is fucking awful, the story changes are awful, and the liberties taken only make everything worse. The game is, BY FAR, better than this show.

Ellie's happy she's gonna be a dad. :rolleyes:

I'm fucking out.

This shit's like Westworld. Watch the first season, then gtfo.
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You're bumming me out man. I couldn't get my son to play the game, but he loved the first season of the show. I was hoping the second season would be good. :messenger_pensive:
 
rm082e said:
You're bumming me out man. I couldn't get my son to play the game, but he loved the first season of the show. I was hoping the second season would be good. :messenger_pensive:
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Oh, it's so fucking bad. I mean, if you've never played the games, maybe it's okay? But I just finished Part II Remastered on Friday and, let me tell you, the show does NOT do it justice. Not even close.
 
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Catphish said:
Oh, it's so fucking bad. I mean, if you've never played the games, maybe it's okay? But I just finished Part II Remastered on Friday and, let me tell you, the show does NOT do it justice. Not even close.
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Both games are in my top 10 of all time, so it sounds like I need to skip this. Hopefully my son just forgets about it amid all the other content out there. I don't want to sub to Max just to watch a disappointing show.
 
rm082e said:
You're bumming me out man. I couldn't get my son to play the game, but he loved the first season of the show. I was hoping the second season would be good. :messenger_pensive:
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If he loved season 1 and hasn't played the game, I don't see why he would hate season 2. Most complaints are from those who are comparing it with the game.
 
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