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[begotten]

At this point I really do think Bella Ramsey was a bad choice for Ellie.

I've kind of accepted this rendition of Ellie when it comes to her looks and how she delivers her lines, particularly the humor. She is good for the most part.

Although I've genuinely cringed at times when she's gotten serious or raised her voice because of the actual acting itself. I'm not sure how she's going to go pulling off TLOU2s' more vicious Ellie.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I finally got around to watching the episode AFTER skimming through this thread. I don't get the pacing complaints - is that the new buzz critique?

When I replay TLOU I usually dread this part of the game because it's too long. The deer hunt at the start. The area with the Bloater fight. Running around as Ellie with impaired vision. BORING.

Thought this episode did an awesome job of remixing this whole section and making it perfect length for television, whilst basically achieving the same outcome as the game.

Was surprised at how good David was, before the show started I thought he'd be the hardest to pull off.

Imagine an in-game model of the TV version with Nolans' voice. Would be genuinely scary.

Gotta find something to complain about.

 

[Punished Miku]

At this point I really do think Bella Ramsey was a bad choice for Ellie. She is very stiff. She was good for what was asked of her in GoT but that was very one note. And she is till playing that note here and it isn't good.

https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-recurring-actors-and-actresses-on-shows-2015-6

I still don't have a great explanation for why they do this, whether its financial or just convenience. It's in literally everything. Watched Chernobyl and it had like 4 people I spotted from GOT. The House of the Dragon king was also in some Stephen King show I watched on HBO.

They're usually good, but they seem to almost limit their casting choices to people they've already worked with. I don't know if they have them on some kind of longer contract or what. Definitely seems to affect their casting somewhat. Neither of the leads are good fit, but I think they must have signed up for multi-show contracts before appearing on GOT.

Movie studios do the same thing, which is how you end up with bizarre shit like Tom Holland in Uncharted.

 

[adamsapple]

I both agree and disagree with the people saying that they don't like how faithful to the game the show is (especially in the last 2 episodes).

On one hand, it's great to see those things realized on screen and at least it ensures less/lack of fan-outrage for changing pivotal story beats from the game.

On the other hand, my favorite episode of the show has been the one where it completely diverged from the games event.

 

[AJUMP23]

https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-recurring-actors-and-actresses-on-shows-2015-6

I still don't have a great explanation for why they do this, whether its financial or just convenience. It's in literally everything. Watched Chernobyl and it had like 4 people I spotted from GOT. The House of the Dragon king was also in some Stephen King show I watched on HBO.

They're usually good, but they seem to almost limit their casting choices to people they've already worked with. I don't know if they have them on some kind of longer contract or what. Definitely seems to affect their casting somewhat.

Once you have a relationship it is easy to go with someone you know and what you are getting then to find talent else where. People like the familiar. I mean Disney also uses the same people over and over too especially for their TV stuff.

It is a safe choice, so you make safe choices where you can to mitigate risk.

 

[begotten]

https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-recurring-actors-and-actresses-on-shows-2015-6

I still don't have a great explanation for why they do this, whether its financial or just convenience.

It's because of connections and relationships. This isn't new but casuals are noticing it because of HBO now.

Its been happening in film for a very long time. Directors have their favorites; David Lynch uses Kyle MacLachlan a lot, Scorcese uses De Niro and DiCaprio. Elvis Presley was an MGM guy, more recently Tom Holland looks like a Sony guy. It goes on.

 

[Punished Miku]

It's because of connections and relationships. This isn't new but casuals are noticing it because of HBO now.

Its been happening in film for a very long time. Directors have their favorites; David Lynch uses Kyle MacLachlan a lot, Scorcese uses De Niro and DiCaprio. Elvis Presley was an MGM guy, more recently Tom Holland looks like a Sony guy. It goes on.

I bet they got them for cheap. Want to be on GOT? Sign a multi-show deal. Pascal was mostly unknown prior to that role. Same with Tom Holland and Spider Man. They are cashing in, whether they fit the role or not. I can't blame them, smart business. But the casting sticks out more than usual when they're playing an existing character and don't resemble them that much. In most HBO stuff you wouldn't really notice as they're original characters. Same reason Holland stuck out so much in Uncharted.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

It's turned out to be a vehicle for agenda driven nonsense

First episode was good, second was okay, from there on, agenda nonsense.

Even from those screen shots I put in my post above (The one where Toons quoted me thinking i want.. 13 year old kids to show breasts, somehow. Utterly missing the point..) is showing more agendas telling kids it's 'okay' to wear 'binders', oh and p.s, GAY is great..

Just agenda trash.

The whole things a piss take wrapped in 2023 nonsense.

Is the agenda in the room with you right now?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Is the agenda in the room with you right now?

No, I watch good shows

 

[HarryKS]

Am I the only one who finds the show a bit boring?

 

[MALpractice311]

Much like last week's episode, viewed on its own, I liked it. There were a few changes from the game, but I felt most of them were roughly equivalent. The only change I didn't like was the very end. Joel found Ellie outside, so he didn't get to see what happened to her, which I think he should have for him to have that emotional reaction. Also, nitpicky pothole, none of the townsfolk saw the massive building on fire in the middle of the day, came running over to investigate or put it out, and discovered Joel and Ellie casually walking away?

As to the series as a whole, I'm mostly enjoying it, but I have two issues.

First, I just feel there have been some pacing issues. Some story arcs have been given more time than deserved and some given less than deserved. Example, Kansas City with Sam and Henry and Kathleen was almost two full episodes, but I really feel like it could've been one and this week's episode should have been the two parter because of how traumatizing it's sure to be for Ellie and for establishing Joel fully committing to Ellie as her foster father. Also, i hate to say it, but the Left Behind and Bill/Frank stories could have been shorter and incorporated more of the present day stories. I think most viewers would've gotten the point in 30 minutes rather than 60 (Bill/Frank = there is still happiness to be found in this world, Ellie/Riley = Ellie has suffered loss and won't allow it to happen again).

My second major issue is the relative lack of zombies and violence. I'm not expecting every episode to be a bloodbath, but have we seen any major zombie activity since Kansas City? What about all these massive raiding parties that are allegedly roaming around? Have Joel and Ellie not encountered any since then? If so, it seems like the Apocalypse is starting to wrap up. I was just hoping for a bit more action in this series.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Yeah I prefer it when they're just sitting quietly. That's much more entertaining.

Or you know, react normally. I don’t think anyone is bawling watching the show in real life.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

This is how I feel too, it feels like a lot of complaints are from people that seemingly don't understand that an adaptation isn't going to be a 1:1 copy.

It doesn’t have to be a 1:1 copy but it has to be better - otherwise what’s the point?

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Am I the only one who finds the show a bit boring?

No, it is a bit boring. I always said that without the gameplay TLoU’s story is very simple - too simple for a show.

 

[tmlDan]

Or you know, react normally. I don’t think anyone is bawling watching the show in real life.

Are you kidding, its only this thread that i see people acting like it brings out no emotions.

Everyone on other forums, post show recaps, other social media talk about how they bawled in almost every episode or their roommates did who watch with them.

I feel like people who don't like it still watch it just to talk shit, you know what you can do? fuck off, don't watch it, and go do something else. You're not obligated to watch something you don't like, I've dropped many popular shows that weren't for me.

 

[AJUMP23]

Are you kidding, its only this thread that i see people acting like it brings out no emotions.

Everyone on other forums, post show recaps, other social media talk about how they bawled in almost every episode or their roommates did who watch with them.

I feel like people who don't like it still watch it just to talk shit, you know what you can do? fuck off, don't watch it, and go do something else. You're not obligated to watch something you don't like, I've dropped many popular shows that weren't for me.

I don't think the show is that emotionally interesting. I played the game so I know what will happen, nothing is new. Joel and Tess were the only interesting characters. (i did like the two brothers) Tommy was good too, but he was only in briefly. Ellie is unlikable. In the game I think she showed a lot of growth through the course of the game. In this show every interaction shows very little growth. The only thing we have seen is Joel trusting he more because she can have a gun now.

The show is fine, but it isn't groundbreaking or emotionally interesting.

I watched 1923 as well and the show gets silly in the end. The couple trying to get back to the US have such terrible "luck" that it becomes a farce by the final incidents.

 

[Eiknarf]

Are you kidding, its only this thread that i see people acting like it brings out no emotions.

Everyone on other forums, post show recaps, other social media talk about how they bawled in almost every episode or their roommates did who watch with them.

I feel like people who don't like it still watch it just to talk shit, you know what you can do? fuck off, don't watch it, and go do something else. You're not obligated to watch something you don't like, I've dropped many popular shows that weren't for me.

Well to be fair, they have just as much of a right to trash the show as we do to praise it

I love, love, love the game
And I like, like, like the show
But if everyone in here agreed, it’d be kinda boring, right? I kinda like reading both sides: the love and the hate of this show

 

[Punished Miku]

But if everyone in here agreed, it’d be kinda boring, right? I kinda like reading both sides: the love and the hate of this show

Yeah, as long as people are able to explain their opinions in detail and seem honest, I'm fine with literally any opinion. I don't know why people even want to get on a forum to just hear what they already think. Every thread would consist of an OP, and then 1 post after it that agreed and said "yep."

 

[hemo memo]

He was great. At this point I really do think Bella Ramsey was a bad choice for Ellie. She is very stiff. She was good for what was asked of her in GoT but that was very one note. And she is till playing that note here and it isn't good.

Yeah. That last scene in the episode I felt nothing from her side. Yet, Pedro line gave me the chills. Why not Sadie Sink or Millie Bobby Brown for Ellie? Too expensive?

 

[tmlDan]

Well to be fair, they have just as much of a right to trash the show as we do to praise it

I love, love, love the game
And I like, like, like the show
But if everyone in here agreed, it’d be kinda boring, right? I kinda like reading both sides: the love and the hate of this show

You have a right, but its pretty pathetic to continue wasting an hour a week on something you don't like just to say outlandish crap.

I am not here saying everyone is wrong in their own opinion, but saying its dogshit and coming here every week is nonsense.

 

[EN250]

It doesn’t have to be a 1:1 copy but it has to be better - otherwise what’s the point?

Could never be better tho, for example just compare EP4 vs the game, the budget isn't there and that's why we didn't get a bus smashing the pick up in the ambush at Kansas City and the whole confrontation was so tiny in comparison

The show is way more slow, every character is weaker, guess to be realistic and the infected are few and far between, also character development is sped up

 

[Deleted member 1159]

RE: not enough action

Constant zombie action/chase sequences get stale much faster than tense, character-focused drama. If the show was constant zombie fighting, it would be so easy to just zone out during every episode. I got bored in the clicker fight in episode 2. The KC fight was cool given the spectacle of it all but you can’t have that every week or it’ll feel like a marvel movie. The tense character interactions between David and Ellie, or Joel fucking up the kill squad, were much better than any kind of zombie action we could’ve gotten in this ep imo. And the sounds of cracking/clicking in the Ellie hunting scene still evokes the tension of the looming threat.

There’s a place for both Alien and Aliens in this world, but the show leaning toward the former makes it far more interesting than constant action.

 

[hemo memo]

RE: not enough action

Constant zombie action/chase sequences get stale much faster than tense, character-focused drama. If the show was constant zombie fighting, it would be so easy to just zone out during every episode. I got bored in the clicker fight in episode 2. The KC fight was cool given the spectacle of it all but you can’t have that every week or it’ll feel like a marvel movie. The tense character interactions between David and Ellie, or Joel fucking up the kill squad, were much better than any kind of zombie action we could’ve gotten in this ep imo. And the sounds of cracking/clicking in the Ellie hunting scene still evokes the tension of the looming threat.

There’s a place for both Alien and Aliens in this world, but the show leaning toward the former makes it far more interesting than constant action.

You don’t want to turn the show into The Walking Dead with all the human drama either. It would have been more realistic if they hot attacked by infected like in the game. How many shot in the air did they shoot with how clickers can hear sound in an open area or all the noise.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

There’s a place for both Alien and Aliens in this world,

And this show is neither, it's more like Alie, because in that version of Alien, we would be following the other characters around, instead of giving Ripley the screen-time she needs, then kill off said characters off screen/in uneventful ways; also the alien would only be on screen for 2 minutes halfway through the movie and then it would just fuck off forever, leaving ripley to sleep in peace. The end.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

And this show is neither, it's more like Alie, because in that version of Alien, we would be following the other characters around, instead of giving Ripley the screen-time she needs, then kill off said characters off screen/in uneventful ways; also the alien would only be on screen for 2 minutes halfway through the movie and then it would just fuck off forever, leaving ripley to sleep in peace. The end.

Is the show really that much different from the game with spending time with side characters then moving on? You start off with Tess, she dies and you move on. Spend time with Bill, you move on and never see him again. Spend time with Henry and they die and you move on. Spend time with David and his people, you slaughter them then move on. The only real difference is Joel had one scene with Bill in episode 3 instead of having a whole zombie funhouse episode, and what we got was infinitely more interesting and compelling than trying to 1:1 adapt that chapter from the game.

The analogy I was making to Alien was the monster in Alien is barely on screen at all, which makes it much scarier than Aliens when they’re just getting mowed down left and right like bugs.

 

[apowhungo]

They cut out all the infected from the story, but fair enough: it's pretty clear they're on a budget with this series.

HBO's 'The Last of Us' TV Series May Be Among the Most Expensive Shows Ever Made

The highly-anticipated HBO show The Last of Us, adapted from the popular video game series, will reportedly exceed $10 million dollars per episode.

collider.com

Episode 8 was amazing but yeah, as a whole, a sprinkle of more infected would be nice. The violence really matched the game here though. Loved the Joel interrogation scene and holy shit the David boss fight!! Also the face this creepy fuck makes when he's dying is 11/10.

 

[Batiman]

Enjoying it so far but it does get boring at times. And I’m the type of person that enjoys slower stuff with some build up

 

[Madflavor]

If Episode 9 isn't a fucking bloobath, then I'll have to wonder if they blew all their budget on Episodes 1, 2 and the fight sequence in 5.

 

[Lasha]

Are you kidding, its only this thread that i see people acting like it brings out no emotions.

Everyone on other forums, post show recaps, other social media talk about how they bawled in almost every episode or their roommates did who watch with them.

I feel like people who don't like it still watch it just to talk shit, you know what you can do? fuck off, don't watch it, and go do something else. You're not obligated to watch something you don't like, I've dropped many popular shows that weren't for me.

My wife laughed at the end of this episode so I guess it supports your argument that people emote during the show.

 

[Nico_D]

That was a good episode, the restaurant scene followed the game pretty closely iirc.

But yeah, there's not many infected in the show. Then again, if the option is to have hordes of them, this is better. Bella Ramsey as Ellie has turned out far better than I expected, I think she is doing a terrific job.

 

[deriks]

I told before because was mostly a concern, but now is just proven: the show is competent. Good. I would watch even more times... But the game is way better even to watch only the cutscenes

They did right adapting Ellie and Joel with David and the others. How Ellie handle Joel's thing... My problem is when Joel is with the guys, and the show doesn't do justice and is kinda rushed in comparison with the game. Then comes the Ellie and David scene in the barn, and is also rushed, and why the fuck Joel appears waaaayyyy after the thing?! In the game he appears in the right place in the right moment. Not well directed scenes. I hope they do better in the final episode

 

[Mossybrew]

Fantastic episode. The whole series has been top notch so far, unlike some of you I have no complaints. I initially didn't like Ramsey for the role but she's totally turned my opinion around.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Man, they really did cut out the cordyceps from the show. Kind of a shame, but I guess it makes sense. The drama was always with the human characters.

 

[GymWolf]

Seeing some zombie action and joel dismantling mofos was the only reason to watch this thing for me but from the comments i think i can just ignore the serial entirely.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Is the show really that much different from the game with spending time with side characters then moving on?

Yes it's quite a bit different, because joel/ellie are always center stage, in the show the focus has shifted away from them at almost every opportunity; the bill episode is the worst one because it was 70 minutes of fucking nothing, there was zero time spent with bill, zero chance to get some character development and bonding for joel/ellie, just a story about a couple living in a fucking paradise (relatively) for 20 years while there's a zombie apocalypse ravaging the world (of which we see nothing). They could've still told that story in 30 minutes tops and then spent the rest on giving joel/ellie the screen time they need/deserve; or better yet use the rest of the time for other episodes where all the action/conflict was cut, I mean they cut all of the conflict/struggle in the university and replaced it with some dumb surprise teleporting hobo stab.

Then there's all the time spent with kathleenwhogivesafuck, long ass Riley episode...

The analogy I was making to Alien was the monster in Alien is barely on screen at all, which makes it much scarier than Aliens when they’re just getting mowed down left and right like bugs.

The analogy is complete booty because the Alien is on screen for 4 expertly crafted minutes out of 117, paired with a masterful build up.
In this show the clickers have been given like what...5 minutes of mediocre screen time (thus far), out of 480, a complete and utter imbalance; it's a zombie apocalypse but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it.
It just seems like the show is extremely allergic to some action setpieces in general, like skipping the university struggle/escape entirely as said before.

 

[MALpractice311]

Seeing some zombie action and joel dismantling mofos was the only reason to watch this thing for me but from the comments i think i can just ignore the serial entirely.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain we've only had zombie action in 3 out of the 8 episodes so far for maybe a combined 15 minutes and it has been relatively mild. As to Joel dismantling dudes, there's been even less. Even the interrogation scene in this week's episode felt relatively neutered.

There really could be a better balance between the character drama and the violence of this supposedly post-Apocalyptic world. I feel like the show should have been more like 11 or 12 episodes to really give time for Joel and Ellie's relationship to naturally develop and to show the brutality of the world, post-cordyceps. Cramming everything into 9 episodes has just left those two issues feeling kind of surface level.

For me, the show is still a win, but it's like a B and I just see where some tweaks could have been made to turn it into an A.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

HBO's 'The Last of Us' TV Series May Be Among the Most Expensive Shows Ever Made

The highly-anticipated HBO show The Last of Us, adapted from the popular video game series, will reportedly exceed $10 million dollars per episode.

collider.com

Episode 8 was amazing but yeah, as a whole, a sprinkle of more infected would be nice. The violence really matched the game here though. Loved the Joel interrogation scene and holy shit the David boss fight!! Also the face this creepy fuck makes when he's dying is 11/10.

Yeah This show has ~100m budget and the action scenes still bad...
Just found out The Mandalorian has ~100m budget too and it looks amazing.
If the game is ~10, this show is around 8. Which is good but I was expected much more.

 

[killatopak]

Yeah This show has ~100m budget and the action scenes still bad...
Just found out The Mandalorian has ~100m budget too and it looks amazing.
If the game s is ~10, this show is around 8. Which is good but I was expected much more.

Probably a case between budgets allocated to cgi vs real sets. I dunno which one is better since I haven’t watched Mandalorian but seeing it’s SW, I highly suspect large amounts of CG use.

 

[Shakka43]

I just started watching the new episode and right away found something funny. Last week when one guy was asking why they race swapped Maria and it started a discussion of if it mattered or not. I was gonna say, I bet they don't race swap David, in fact they will probably making a pastor or some shit lol.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

There're few things I like in this episode more than the game version.
They showed most of the villagers don't know that they're eating human meat. The little girl ate her dead father and doesn't know about it. That's fucking messed up stuff. Fuck this David.
And his acting is really good too. This show has nailed every characters ,except Kathleen of course.
David didn't say :" You have no idea what I'm capable of?" blah blah . That line is just stupid and meaningless.
Ellie chopped David into tiny little pieces. Love that scene. Better than the game version.

Probably a case between budgets allocated to cgi vs real sets. I dunno which one is better since I haven’t watched Mandalorian but seeing it’s SW, I highly suspect large amounts of CG use.

That's maybe 1 reason. I'm totally fine with the set of Tlou show though. It's the action scene and the pacing are major complains from me.

 

[DForce]

I guess the final episode is going to show Marlene saving Ellie in the flashback right before Anna dies. In the game, Anna's note to Ellie is very important to Ellie's story and it really showed how hard the decision was for Marlene to make.

 

[mitchman]

Why did they cut the infected part? Budget?

Because endless amount of infected does not work well in a TV-series, it becomes old pretty fast to the point of becoming boring and the impact of encounters are diminished.

 

[Bartski]

Good one. I took a lot of piss out of ginger David pre-release and he rocked. I really liked how they expanded on the context as opposed to just some bad guys eating people. Looking forward to the finale!

 

[MALpractice311]

Because endless amount of infected does not work well in a TV-series, it becomes old pretty fast to the point of becoming boring and the impact of encounters are diminished.

So the the next best solution is to have almost no infected? I don't think anyone is asking for nonstop infected, but the series could do with a tad more action. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.

 

[EN250]

Because endless amount of infected does not work well in a TV-series, it becomes old pretty fast to the point of becoming boring and the impact of encounters are diminished.

But they went the other extreme, showing no infected makes it so like there is nothing but fewer people in the whole world and that's it, I don't think people are asking for hordes every episode, but a bunch of non human enemies would make the difference, even more when the game has 4 varieties of the cordyceps mutation they could show in different situations

 

[SackUSMC27]

So the the next best solution is to have almost no infected? I don't think anyone is asking for nonstop infected, but the series could do with a tad more action. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.

After putting some thought into it, I actually love the fact that the Infected have been made less of a constant threat than in the video games. What a lot of people who are upset about the change seem to forget is just how much time has passed since Outbreak Day. In The Walking Dead, Rick wakes up from his coma barely two months after the outbreak begins; here, it has been 20 YEARS. That changes the story's focus from surviving the threat (as it was in TWD) to living a new normal in the world brought about by the threat. As we've seen, for some it was finding a loved one and living off the grid (Bill and Frank), while for others it's been attempting to rebuild civilization (FEDRA and the Fireflies, albeit with different philosophies guiding that pursuit). Fewer Infected is a direct result of that shift.

This is a world that has had two decades to figure out how to kill or corral the Infected and how to quarantine the survivors and prevent accidental exposure. This is not a world where everyone is infected and every dead person becomes an instant threat, so there is no risk of an entire settlement getting wiped out because one old guy had a heart attack in his sleep. The Infected are living people rendered feral by a fungal parasite. They are not dead people reanimated by a virus.

 

[DragoonKain]

I went back and watched the episode again and I don't dislike the ending as much as I originally thought. I still prefer the game, but to me I realized it's also the music choice they used in the show vs in the game. In the game they used the All Gone(Reunion) track, which is very emotional and in the show they used a generic "rage" track. I think the game's choice of music was much better because that part wasn't about rage. It was about pain. All of Ellie's pain through her entire life came out in that moment. From what happened with Riley to being bullied at FEDRA, and then here. She's been kicked around her whole life. And it finally came out. Years of pain. It was a sad moment, not a rage moment. The game captured that with the music of choice.

But I think the execution was done and I do understand why they chose to have Joel meet her outside. Them embracing in the middle of a burning building is a little cliched, plus David locked the doors, so for continuity's sake. I still think the show was emotional. Honestly, even with the preference of Joel greeting her in the game, if they merely switched tracks they used it would've been perfect. It was good, just wasn't perfect.

 

[hollams]

I believe they didn't want Joel to stop Ellie as to having a man saving a woman which they alluded to in the podcast. They want Ellie to be a self sufficient woman, maybe preparing for the 2nd season.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

So the the next best solution is to have almost no infected? I don't think anyone is asking for nonstop infected, but the series could do with a tad more action. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.

This is the only weird argument these people have, it's almost religious in that sense.
Nobody is asking for non stop, endless, constant, whatever tired nonsense justification; these arguments are literally jumping from one extreme to another, we've got 5 minutes of clickers in the past 480 minutes, yet when we point this out/complain, the response is always this bullshit about "CoNsTaNt zOmBiE AcTiOn sUcKs gUyS!"

Nobody is asking the last of us to be The Raid/Ong Bak version of a zombie outbreak, but there's definitely a way to reach a middle ground, and it's definitely not just gutting every action/encounter set piece in favour of human drama.

 

[xiskza]

The commie accounts I follow on twitter are loving the last couple of episodes