The Last of Us - HBO Spoilers See warning in post #1

trashcan · 27-01-2023 8:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120163865#Comment_120163865

Yeah, like I said she’s terrific in the role.

nudain · 28-01-2023 7:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120166593#Comment_120166593

2 eps in and enjoying it so far. It does seem like a curious choice to adapt a game that has such a divisive second arc though.

Sudden Valley · 28-01-2023 10:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120170640#Comment_120170640

Divisive but also very successful in terms of sales.

mrcheez · 30-01-2023 4:09pm

Wow... just wow... best episode yet.

Just masterful and worthy of a short-standalone film. I love the world-building in this.

Had me tearing up too.

BKtje · 30-01-2023 6:14pm

Think I caught the flu or something at the end, terrible sore throat.

Penn · 30-01-2023 6:15pm

Absolutely beautiful episode. Just sublime all round.

CastorTroy · 30-01-2023 7:46pm

Honestly, I'll admit it was an excellent piece of television but it wasn't a good episode of The Last of Us.

Maybe if it came later or not at all. It just halted the momentum coming from episode 2. A whole episode about characters we never met and won't see again.

I know Bill is in the game around this point but since they changed that whole part anyway, why do this? Maybe if it was a spin-off like Tales From the Last of Us or something.

If they wanted to dedicate an episode to a couple, how about the history of Joel and Tess? Though maybe we'll get glimpses of that like we got here.

I mean they basically spent over an hour doing what was done in a lot less time in the beginning of Up.😃.....😟

Dial Hard · 30-01-2023 7:48pm

I loved it. Absolutely beautiful episode of TV.

nudain · 30-01-2023 7:57pm

That was a lovely bit of tv. Joel looking at the un-watered flowers when they arrived at the house. The open window framing the car driving away.

Slydice · 30-01-2023 8:21pm

3: Well. That all made sense. Glad I caught that bit in the first episode..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114364#Comment_120114364

Still though..

Resupply and on the road. I think the one bit that caught me by surprise was Ellie taking the gun. The episode vibe had me thinking she might leave it.

Penn · 30-01-2023 8:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179220#Comment_120179220

I think it served a few different purposes; started to show life outside the QZs (including the ideas of raiders), allowed a bit of breathing room after a very action-heavy Episode 2, gave us some background on why FEDRA aren't necessarily the good guys, and also got confirmation on how the infection spread so quickly.

As for spending pretty much the whole episode with Bill and Frank, we see an incredibly loving relationship still being able to blossom in this new world, but also showing that Joel was never able to form that with Tess even though Joel and Tess were quite similar to Bill and Frank, because Bill was always closed off but was able to change for Frank, but Joel stayed closed off from Tess. The letter Bill left for Joel was also obviously very important.

It was a very interesting departure from the game, but I think it was well worth doing. That section of the game was also very action-heavy and rushed. That's always going to be the challenge of translating the game to TV; the gameplay for the game is wholly centered around combat and puzzle solving, but too much action in the show becomes boring and has diminishing returns. So they're finding where they can to replace gameplay/action with far more detailed stories for side characters which will affect Joel & Ellie going forward.

CastorTroy · 30-01-2023 8:34pm

Flour theory confirmed now. Though think he said that's how it's believed to have spread, rather than commit to it.

yerwanthere123 · 30-01-2023 9:00pm

I'm watching this with no knowledge whatsoever of the game. Enjoyed the first two episodes, thought the second was better than the first.

Haven't read through the thread yet so don't know what the general consensus is, but I actually find the 2003 scenes the more interesting ones so far. I hope they're explored in a bit more detail later.

johnny_ultimate · 30-01-2023 9:13pm

Given my main complaint about the show so far has been that it’s hewed way too close to the game, for better and worse… kudos to the creative team on that excellent episode. It to me is an example of what a good adaptation is - taking ideas and characters from an existing work, but reshaping them into a form more befitting of the medium it’s being adapted to. I’m sure they could’ve easily adapted the Bill section of the game into a more straightforward facsimile - but here I think they take better advantage of an episode and non-interactive medium to tell a self-contained story in a way that would probably have seen a bit awkward shoved into the middle of a video game (although obviously Left Behind shows a more intimate, smaller story can be told within the confines of a modern AAA video game).

Offerman and Bartlett were both excellent - and kudos again to the set designers who do a good post apocalyptic set.

If I have one small criticism, it’s that I think maybe it would’ve worked better if we jumped straight to Bill rather than having the Joel and Ellie section at the start - the jump backwards in time felt a tad awkward. But in general I think that was the best episode to date, and exactly the kind of thing I’d like to see the show do more of as it progresses. I don’t want to just see a 1:1 version of a story I’ve already experienced - I want to see something that riffs and builds on that solid core, while still remaining true to the tone and overarching story of the original. I think this did an excellent job in that regard.

tony1980 · 30-01-2023 9:26pm

On the Nature of Daylight was perfect for that scene!

mcburns07 · 30-01-2023 9:35pm

Waiting for Sky to upload the UHD version 🥲 doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen tonight.

digiman · 30-01-2023 9:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179704#Comment_120179704

How long does it take them usually? I normally watched it a few days after it aired and was annoyed to see that there was no UHD and Dolby Atmos for the episode today

ohnonotgmail · 30-01-2023 9:45pm

A most unexpected episode but utterly fantastic.

fritzelly · 30-01-2023 9:53pm

I don't get how this show has such a high rating - is it just the game players ramping it up?

First episode not bad, second pretty dull and the "monsters" looked pretty ridiculous to me, third episode a love story where nothing happens - I mean it's only the third episode and it's off on a completely different tangent with a loose tie in to other characters

I don't get this show and where it's supposed to be going but then I've never played the games

el Fenomeno · 30-01-2023 10:11pm

Really enjoyed that, but I found it a bit silly that for all his planning and prepping, Bill's response to the raiders trying to breach the perimeter was to stand out in the open with no cover whatsoever, with a bolt action rifle...

I couldn't get my head around that. Seemed a bit lazy.

mcburns07 · 30-01-2023 10:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179743#Comment_120179743

Usually there Tues early. Sky said on social media it would be available at 9 due to technical issues, never happened.

GottaGetGatt · 30-01-2023 10:18pm

Having played the games,How they’ve expanded the World building from it is superb tbh. The show has used the time in between cutscenes you’d be otherwise playing to expand the storylines and I couldn’t fault it.

BruteStock · 30-01-2023 10:19pm

That was the best role of Nick Offerman's career playing the right-wing conservative Bill. Don't know the actor who played Frank but he was great in this episode as well. Straying from the source material can actually work when done right. The big change was Ellie and Bill never meeting. Ellie's feisty curiosity clashing with Bills easily irritable demeanor were good moments in the game and would've worked in the show too. Taking those interactions out had to be replaced with something good , if not better, and I think they achieved that. Its also good to know Mazin is willing to change stuff , because season 2 if following the sequel could do with a lot of changing. .lol

BruteStock · 30-01-2023 10:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179900#Comment_120179900

I think his booby traps made him feel safe and he was just trying to finish them off as they burned up

KilOit · 30-01-2023 10:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179939#Comment_120179939

Check out White Lotus season 1 if you want to see more of the actor playing Frank, fantastic stuff, how he isn't a household name yet is beyond me

Sudden Valley · 30-01-2023 10:26pm

I must admit I cant remember much of the game but I have read they changed alot of Bill's plot in the show and that his part of the game was more action orientated. I'm not sure why they ditched this in the show- just seemed a bit unusual for a third episode.

kerplun k · 30-01-2023 10:31pm

Enjoyable episode. I like when TV shows do this, plonk you out of the main story and have a stand alone episode, Damon Lindelof does this quite a bit and I always enjoy the surprise, even better when it’s executed this well.

Again my mind is going back to the game. I vaguely remember the Bill character, and think the end result here was the same as the game, but with a completely different set up.

I wonder will the show at some point completely diverge from the game. Story wise, it’s aligned itself very close to the same story beats as the game.

it’s the only thing really holding me back from fully enjoying this. Very much feels like watching a film after you’ve read the book or vice versa. I know the story so feels somewhat redundant.

Evade · 30-01-2023 10:33pm

It was good but kind of out of place and I think I preferred the Bill portion of the game overall. The Bill and Ellie back and forth in the game was good, but then the Ellie in the series doesn't seem to be as snarky either so...