HBO Max The Last Of Us review (SPOILERS!)
- Thread starter FakeSympathy
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So episode 6 sees the show following the game more closely again, but there wasn’t anything that really detracts from stamping its own legitimacy on the IP. The carbon copied parts were done well, and it makes sense that Joel’s incident was changed up a bit (IIRC in the game he fell off a balcony onto a glass shard or rebar or something, which might’ve been too extreme for TV drama). I’m glad they did a time jump after Jackson to keep things moving, which makes sense since the game was also divided into seasons.
Will be interesting to see how they handle Ellie’s going solo for a while.
Will be interesting to see how they handle Ellie’s going solo for a while.
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Episode 6 was a mixed bag.
Most-ish I liked, but specifically the final 10 minutes were not great. It gives a good amount of time to being in Jackson and Joel and Ellie's building confrontation, but still not quite enough, though the university was just totally rushed. Gave some major 'Grandpa Simpson walking into a burlesque' vibes.
The real flub here is that this was THE episode that was supposed to cement the relationship between Joel and Ellie equally to the game, and it didn't. This Joel and Ellie are simply different, so going for a similar emotional climax/growth scene from the game with this different Joel and Ellie is going to feel... different, and just not as impactful. Show Joel is not as much of a stubborn mule who needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to opening up, and show Ellie is written too quippy to have those sincere moments where she's actually trying to connect with him.
It actually gave me a better appreciation for the ranch scene from the game. The cutscene were Ellie asks Joel if Tommy told him where the lab is is her asking 'we're going to go together, you're not gonna leave me with him, right?' Joel's response of 'we'll talk about it later' tells her that, yes, he is going to leave her. Ellie knows by now that she can't actually discuss things with Joel or talk things out when he's stubbornly put his foot down, so she grabs a horse and runs off. Not because she wants to run away, but because she knows it's the only way to get Joel steamed enough to force a confrontation and really get him to talk to her. This is absent from the show, because Joel goes to find Ellie on his own, so his "turn" just doesn't hit as well, if at all.
I liked the scene where Maria casually mentions Sarah to Ellie and that she was Joel's daughter. And I quite liked how Jackson looked. In TLoU2 it barely feels like we get to enjoy the coziness of this place before we're already out of there, so getting to spend some more time there in the show was a welcome surprise. Also, don't know if Dina was teased there in the scene where Ellie gripes to some girl on the other end of the dining area what she's looking at.
Joel crying and breaking down; don't hate it, but I don't really like it either. I know it's a different Joel, but it still feels too early, and it doesn't feel earned yet.
And the university was done dirty. Even the interior set dressing was limp as fuck - that main hall looked so fucking cheaply realized. A bunch of gurneys and a few tipped over waste baskets, wow, how delapitated. Spent all their money on realistic CGI monkeys, I guess.
Most-ish I liked, but specifically the final 10 minutes were not great. It gives a good amount of time to being in Jackson and Joel and Ellie's building confrontation, but still not quite enough, though the university was just totally rushed. Gave some major 'Grandpa Simpson walking into a burlesque' vibes.
The real flub here is that this was THE episode that was supposed to cement the relationship between Joel and Ellie equally to the game, and it didn't. This Joel and Ellie are simply different, so going for a similar emotional climax/growth scene from the game with this different Joel and Ellie is going to feel... different, and just not as impactful. Show Joel is not as much of a stubborn mule who needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to opening up, and show Ellie is written too quippy to have those sincere moments where she's actually trying to connect with him.
It actually gave me a better appreciation for the ranch scene from the game. The cutscene were Ellie asks Joel if Tommy told him where the lab is is her asking 'we're going to go together, you're not gonna leave me with him, right?' Joel's response of 'we'll talk about it later' tells her that, yes, he is going to leave her. Ellie knows by now that she can't actually discuss things with Joel or talk things out when he's stubbornly put his foot down, so she grabs a horse and runs off. Not because she wants to run away, but because she knows it's the only way to get Joel steamed enough to force a confrontation and really get him to talk to her. This is absent from the show, because Joel goes to find Ellie on his own, so his "turn" just doesn't hit as well, if at all.
I liked the scene where Maria casually mentions Sarah to Ellie and that she was Joel's daughter. And I quite liked how Jackson looked. In TLoU2 it barely feels like we get to enjoy the coziness of this place before we're already out of there, so getting to spend some more time there in the show was a welcome surprise. Also, don't know if Dina was teased there in the scene where Ellie gripes to some girl on the other end of the dining area what she's looking at.
Joel crying and breaking down; don't hate it, but I don't really like it either. I know it's a different Joel, but it still feels too early, and it doesn't feel earned yet.
And the university was done dirty. Even the interior set dressing was limp as fuck - that main hall looked so fucking cheaply realized. A bunch of gurneys and a few tipped over waste baskets, wow, how delapitated. Spent all their money on realistic CGI monkeys, I guess.
I don't have much to say about episode 6. It was fine, though it felt like there was less of a theme and more things just happening. 7.5/10
I wonder how much of the episode was actually filmed on location as it didn't look very familiar to me. The campus looked like the university, but I've only ever seen it once. It's always weird when shows remind of being out there. Very mixed feelings about it. I can tell you thats about the safest place to be in an apocalypse. Even in places like Cody or jackson you could get up at 8am to go get coffee and it would be a literal ghost town, especially out of season. I would not be overly concerned about going to Cody despite what they say in the show. Yeah there would definitely be infected, but its literally like 10k people in the entire area. The problem is that it's a high desert so growing crops is kind of difficult. In the current political climate...I just don't know how believable I find that town functioning all hunky-dory. Like dudes out there will shoot you at bars over sports arguments. Maybe 20 years of not seeing people might settle folks down idk.
I wonder how much of the episode was actually filmed on location as it didn't look very familiar to me. The campus looked like the university, but I've only ever seen it once. It's always weird when shows remind of being out there. Very mixed feelings about it. I can tell you thats about the safest place to be in an apocalypse. Even in places like Cody or jackson you could get up at 8am to go get coffee and it would be a literal ghost town, especially out of season. I would not be overly concerned about going to Cody despite what they say in the show. Yeah there would definitely be infected, but its literally like 10k people in the entire area. The problem is that it's a high desert so growing crops is kind of difficult. In the current political climate...I just don't know how believable I find that town functioning all hunky-dory. Like dudes out there will shoot you at bars over sports arguments. Maybe 20 years of not seeing people might settle folks down idk.
Not really, Buffy The Vampire Slayer had Cordelia Chase fall through a rotten staircase and be impaled by rebar and that was about 20-something years ago. There are ways they could of done it without upsetting people and with better effects too.
May work for Buffy, but here they gotta have realism, which is a vital aspect in a zombie fungus people show!
By the way, I don't know if this was done knowingly, and obviously a panic attack - which is what is implied that Joel is having - isn't the same as a heart attack, but the initial concept of TLoU was Joel being a cop who suffered from a heart condition that would on occasion play up, and then Ellie'd have to take over the gameplay. I don't know if this was just a neat coincidence or if they were making an obscure reference.
Rather than avoiding extremeness, I think it was done out of a need for brevity.
They wanted to fit Joel getting injured in this episode, having an elaborate chase set piece with Joel falling on rebarb or something would have cut way too much into the running time of the episode. A couple of raiders that walk by, one of which manages to shank Joel? Now that can be done in under 5 minutes.
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Finally got to watch the latest last night and I appreciated how they're pacing the episodes, with a mostly moving-the-pieces-around-the-chess-board kind of plot and a bit of chill in between the brothers' horrific death from last episode and what will sure to be a grueling survivalist recovery period with injured Joel and desperate Ellie.
My one quibble was Joel and Tommy's agreement that Maria could not possibly understand escorting Ellie to her destination, making her seem unreasonable or something, and there was nothing in the show that supported that idea other than Tommy just saying there are "rules" or whatever. The actors did a great job of portraying them as a strong sympathetic likable couple yet that plot point runs contrary.
Other than that, it was great. I have forgotten about the game, which makes the show better, to enjoy as its own thing.
My one quibble was Joel and Tommy's agreement that Maria could not possibly understand escorting Ellie to her destination, making her seem unreasonable or something, and there was nothing in the show that supported that idea other than Tommy just saying there are "rules" or whatever. The actors did a great job of portraying them as a strong sympathetic likable couple yet that plot point runs contrary.
Other than that, it was great. I have forgotten about the game, which makes the show better, to enjoy as its own thing.
I really enjoyed this episode, this show feels it's getting better as it goes along. It no longer feels like just a live action recreation, but is expanding the world in ways suited for TV. Though I do wonder if it's once again down to the show being at its best when Joel and Ellie are interacting with other people, and this was the most populous place in the series so far. I liked how Joel's depiction is changed ever so slightly: in the game he seemed more just tired, but here he's actively cracking. And I actually think the show's justification for why he wanted to ditch Ellie on Tommy is way better. In the game it always felt a bit glossed over just how willing Joel was to part with Ellie, despite them going through so much together. Here it legitimately comes across that Joel feels like he's not up to it. I liked how clearly they established tension between Joel and Maria from the outset. I like how Tommy's actor sounds pretty much exactly like the character does in the game. And they also made Joel's injury at the university way more plausible.
The university segment could have definitely used more runtime. Even 5-10 minutes more would have been more effective. Here it feels somewhat tacked on, despite the pacing not really suffering that much for it. It leaves a "in and out, quick 10 minute adventure" vibe. But then again, what would that extended runtime consisted of? Them scrounging the university, and Joel telling Ellie about how the world used to be? That's like half the show already. Maybe this would have been the time to alter the events, so that the audience could legitimately be lead to believe that there were still some Fireflies present. Maybe they could have even met that one Firefly that shot himself in the head... though yet again, ending 2 episodes on suicide would just be stupid.
The things I didn't appreciate were 1. the wife at the beginning, who must have suffered from some serious medical issues to be that plump, 2. them leaving out one of the most impactful lines in the entire game ("You're treadin' on some mighty thin ice here") and 3. using the end credits music of the game as just music over a montage. It's a huge part of why the ending of the game is so memorable, the cut to black and those mournful notes start playing. But now they've already used it, so they're A) going to use it again which is obviously stupid, or 2) try to live up to the original with a new score, which is one hell of a bar to clear.
The university segment could have definitely used more runtime. Even 5-10 minutes more would have been more effective. Here it feels somewhat tacked on, despite the pacing not really suffering that much for it. It leaves a "in and out, quick 10 minute adventure" vibe. But then again, what would that extended runtime consisted of? Them scrounging the university, and Joel telling Ellie about how the world used to be? That's like half the show already. Maybe this would have been the time to alter the events, so that the audience could legitimately be lead to believe that there were still some Fireflies present. Maybe they could have even met that one Firefly that shot himself in the head... though yet again, ending 2 episodes on suicide would just be stupid.
The things I didn't appreciate were 1. the wife at the beginning, who must have suffered from some serious medical issues to be that plump, 2. them leaving out one of the most impactful lines in the entire game ("You're treadin' on some mighty thin ice here") and 3. using the end credits music of the game as just music over a montage. It's a huge part of why the ending of the game is so memorable, the cut to black and those mournful notes start playing. But now they've already used it, so they're A) going to use it again which is obviously stupid, or 2) try to live up to the original with a new score, which is one hell of a bar to clear.
Not having Joel suddenly need to depend on Ellie to drag him out of the university while still being in danger was a huge loss. Obviously Ellie's going to face some major problems on her own in either the following or the episode after that, but during that Joel will likely be unconcious. It's an important moment seeing Joel be helpless as a kitten, and relying on this child to get them away from men that are out for their blood, her needing to kill and taking hits to keep him safe, and for Joel to be fully concious in that moment.
Besides that, the university was basically the game allowing the player to really enjoy the new found kinship between Joel and Ellie after he finally decided to actually stay with her. A big reason why their confrontation in the show didn't do much for me is that it's played off as Joel not feeling physically fit rather than the last vestiges of the wall he built around himself screaming to not be broken down. So when it finally does it feels extremely satisfying seeing them on horseback together and enjoying eachothers company unreservedly. In the show this is relegated to a montage.
Episode 7: Left Behind
So if the title didn't give away the obvious, this episode is based on the first game's DLC of the same name. We get more on Ellie's backstory.
Turns out Ellie was in some sort of FEDRA training program, and we get the classic rebel-without-the-cause, high-potential-with-attitude type of person. It's actually interesting to see this additional backstory for Ellie, which adds some questions; How long she has been there, how many other kids are trained this way, or what happens to children who fail this program? All these questions are just swept under the rug. If it wasn't for the post-apocalyptic setting, I would say this would be a great set up for a military school story.
Riley shows up similar to how she did in the game. And she's pretty much 1:1 to her video game counterpart. She's snarky, knows how to keep up banter with Ellie, and seems tough as nails. This version of Riley seems more mature. Seems like the show has been doing great in that aspect; Accurate portrayal of the original characters, while adding their own spin to them.
They arrive at the mall, and again they nailed the set design here. The haunting, empty, ruined remains of civilization once filled with sounds of people having fun is great. Them being exciting for the most miniscule thing from the past is both sweet and sad at the same time. The activity sequence is a bit different. Instead of pretending to play the arcade game, they actually get to play the game. It's interesting to see they are playing Mortal Kombat 2 instead of the ficitional-game...within the game. No super soaker duel, tho.
Also in this version, Riley had to leave as she's been assigned to Atlanta by the orders of Fireflies. Again, they added a bit more backstory to the actions these characters take in the game. She and Ellie seems to have deeper relationship here. And then they kiss, which is pretty much reenactment from the game. They get attacked by infected, and it plays out the same way as it did in the game. The scene is actually just as emotional, as they wait for the inevitable.
It makes sense now she's bene learning to open up to others again. I'm sure she'll find love again, and not throw that away for revenge! /s
Overall, this was a great re-creation of the dlc, with some minor changes on the details.
So if the title didn't give away the obvious, this episode is based on the first game's DLC of the same name. We get more on Ellie's backstory.
Turns out Ellie was in some sort of FEDRA training program, and we get the classic rebel-without-the-cause, high-potential-with-attitude type of person. It's actually interesting to see this additional backstory for Ellie, which adds some questions; How long she has been there, how many other kids are trained this way, or what happens to children who fail this program? All these questions are just swept under the rug. If it wasn't for the post-apocalyptic setting, I would say this would be a great set up for a military school story.
Riley shows up similar to how she did in the game. And she's pretty much 1:1 to her video game counterpart. She's snarky, knows how to keep up banter with Ellie, and seems tough as nails. This version of Riley seems more mature. Seems like the show has been doing great in that aspect; Accurate portrayal of the original characters, while adding their own spin to them.
They arrive at the mall, and again they nailed the set design here. The haunting, empty, ruined remains of civilization once filled with sounds of people having fun is great. Them being exciting for the most miniscule thing from the past is both sweet and sad at the same time. The activity sequence is a bit different. Instead of pretending to play the arcade game, they actually get to play the game. It's interesting to see they are playing Mortal Kombat 2 instead of the ficitional-game...within the game. No super soaker duel, tho.
Also in this version, Riley had to leave as she's been assigned to Atlanta by the orders of Fireflies. Again, they added a bit more backstory to the actions these characters take in the game. She and Ellie seems to have deeper relationship here. And then they kiss, which is pretty much reenactment from the game. They get attacked by infected, and it plays out the same way as it did in the game. The scene is actually just as emotional, as they wait for the inevitable.
It makes sense now she's bene learning to open up to others again. I'm sure she'll find love again, and not throw that away for revenge! /s
Overall, this was a great re-creation of the dlc, with some minor changes on the details.
I love this show, I love ellie, I love Mortal Kombat II. 10/10
I watched this episode this morning. As has been (mostly) the trend so far, this has been a very faithful adaption of the Left Behind story from the original game.
Which is to say that I thought it was fine. Left Behind has never really been my favourite story, because I find it to be mostly unnecessary.
Though if you are a fan of the Left Behind story, im sure you would be very happy.
If I had it my way, I think I would have preferred if they made the David/cannibal story a two-parter, or the hospital.
Which is to say that I thought it was fine. Left Behind has never really been my favourite story, because I find it to be mostly unnecessary.
Though if you are a fan of the Left Behind story, im sure you would be very happy.
If I had it my way, I think I would have preferred if they made the David/cannibal story a two-parter, or the hospital.
So Episode 7 was a whole bunch of nothing. Granted I'm not the biggest fan of the Left Behind DLC, but as it's told in the show it's even less engaging. And we still don't get to see Riley die, what the fuck?! Did Ellie leave her behind when she zombified, was she forced to kill her, what? Why did this obviously very important detail - that would give us insight to Ellie's character - get obscured yet again? Episode 4 even hinted at Ellie having (mercy) killed Riley, and we STILL did not get to see this moment.
The chemistry between Ellie and Riley isn't the best, certainly not as good as it was in the game, and the direction of this episode overall felt very lacking. It also ruins the tension that was in the game by sticking the DLC story right in between Joel getting mortally injured and Ellie being on her own hunting for food. In the game you're thrown into Ellie's shoes right after Joel falls unconcious off his horse, and then you're made to calmly hunt a deer while being left unsure of Joel's fate. It creates a strong motivation to continue on and wanting to know what happens next. Putting the DLC story first feels frivolous, hence why it's meant to be seen after the main story ended.
The chemistry between Ellie and Riley isn't the best, certainly not as good as it was in the game, and the direction of this episode overall felt very lacking. It also ruins the tension that was in the game by sticking the DLC story right in between Joel getting mortally injured and Ellie being on her own hunting for food. In the game you're thrown into Ellie's shoes right after Joel falls unconcious off his horse, and then you're made to calmly hunt a deer while being left unsure of Joel's fate. It creates a strong motivation to continue on and wanting to know what happens next. Putting the DLC story first feels frivolous, hence why it's meant to be seen after the main story ended.
That's actually the same as in the game. Riley goes to find Ellie, eventhough she'd be dead if she was caught by FEDRA, to have one more fun night before needing to leave Boston.
I enjoyed the episode enough for what it was, I'm just left wondering how they're going to wrap the story up in the last two episodes.
In any case, it's been a fun 7 weeks thusfar,
Are the last two episodes going to be longer than previous ones or are they going to rush through the cannibal and hospital story points?
In any case, it's been a fun 7 weeks thusfar,
Warner Bros. Discovery continues to lose money despite success of ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ | TechCrunch
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a net loss of $2.1 billion in Q4, despite the success of "The Last of Us" and “Hogwarts Legacy."
techcrunch.com
Warner Bros. Discovery continues to lose money despite success of ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ | TechCrunch
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a net loss of $2.1 billion in Q4, despite the success of "The Last of Us" and “Hogwarts Legacy."
May they bleed out profusely.
If there was a mercy killing, or a killing at all, they should have shown it.
As it is, I was left thinking the writers forgot: if they just stayed together waiting? Riley would have morphed and Ellie would have had to fight for her own life as she wouldn't morph.