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

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327129#Comment_120327129

How long is it after the outbreak 20 years?

People would hoard, crops would rot etc. There aren't loads of infected because they are mostly in really remote areas?

The big city they were in has (well had..) cleared the infected underground?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120326597#Comment_120326597

Problem would be resources are going to draw survivors together which means you are probably in a constant danger and scrounge mode.

QZ probably offers a steady life at least. Unless you get a really bad one.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327143#Comment_120327143

They've told us infected are a persistant problem but they don't show it and the world kind of breaks down then.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327183#Comment_120327183

Scarcity of resources originated with infected making getting them dangerous, that's not shown to be the case.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327207#Comment_120327207

I doubt there would be much left after 20 years.

Even when there are resources can you use them. Not a hope I can turn that deer into venison and cook it without a hob.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327235#Comment_120327235

I mean more like the reason they don't have farms or factories that are out in the middle of nowhere is the threat of infected which doesn't look like much of a threat in the series.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327338#Comment_120327338

Who said it was because of the infected ?

I think that's something you have assumed.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327402#Comment_120327402

Then what is it because of?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327653#Comment_120327653

The other humans are what makes it dangerous now.

Most infected expend themselves after a year or two.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327851#Comment_120327851

Joel said some last a month or two and some have been around since the beginning.

If the infected aren't a threat there's no reason for the QZs. FEDRA would be better off setting up areas like Jackson so people can start farming again in relative safety. The lack of infected threat is a huge mis-step.

ULMarc

And there's no reason FEDRA couldn't be collecting the TV license either.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327937#Comment_120327937

How would FEDRA keep control if they said it was safe ?

They might have farms somewhere for all we know. Some QZs might have closed up and went native. There could be Jacksons all over the place.

We only know what Joel knows and he is an unreliable narrator.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327034#Comment_120327034

Is that one of those invisible blizzards?

The easier explanation is that there were only 7/8 men in the group to begin with, as shown on screen. Joel and Ellie had accounted for 6 of them by that point, there weren't too many left to get into further fights. Ellie also comes out a back door and we get a narrow camera view of her and Joel heading off towards the lake, its very plausible the remaining cultists were all around the other side of the building staring at the flames.

They could easily have shown the women and children standing around outside the burning building, but since these were already shown to be downtrodden members of a small cult its easy to believe they weren't a threat.

And if they aren't a threat then why show them at all, it would only detract from the moment between Joel and Ellie, the moment which I assume was the entire point of the episode to begin with.

Gamergurll

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120327937#Comment_120327937

FEDRA were corrupt and let the power go to their heads and the interest of the citizens weren't really important so this is not something they would have done :) In game the QZ's had slums where people would barter ration cards, there was even a booth selling cooked rats because there was no food. FEDRA members were also known for violence and rape. A resistance group like the fireflies got hold for a reason. A lot of this is explained in game a lot better though and I think that's one of my issues with the series, so much is not explained properly, although did Kathleen's group not discuss FEDRA, that's why Henry was wanted for giving them info? Sorry I can't remember it too well!

It's similar to yesterdays episode with the fire and I've seen so many ask why no one came running to it, but in the game its pretty obvious why. I hate writing paragraphs explaining everything though I feel like I'm being a know it all 😂

silverharp

Decent episode but didnt really buy the cannibal setup, in a previous episode they showed a large herd of Bison, Ellie goes out and basically trips over a deer, no plausible backstory for a possible shortage , the group didnt look that big , 20 or so?

The final episode is only 42 min and they havnt built up anything for a finale, it looks like they did use the show well enough.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120326597#Comment_120326597

Or why the areas inside the QZ's are so bad.

One slight problem with the TV show is that in the world it presents, humanity should be far, far further along in recovery than they are shown to be.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328087#Comment_120328087

how so? essentially humanity has lost the ability to manufacture anything post 16h century

Zero-Cool

Another great episode but from a gamers view, it felt a bit rushed. That whole story arc could have been across 2 episodes but then The Walking Dead could have spread it across 6-8 so i prefer rushed to dragged out. Excellent performance from Bella, roll on the finale!

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328122#Comment_120328122

Why exactly has humanity lost that ability? The show certainly doesn't show that.

I'm not getting into a detailed explanation of the progress civilisation would make during 20 years after such an event, but it certainly wouldn't still be sitting in **** quarantine zones scratching about for rations.

The show has clearly shown that outside of the old cities it is very, very possible to sustain a good quality of life. Communities such as Jackson would be everywhere, and as they grow a system of government would coalesce around them.

It would basically be like the wild west for 20 years, but the danger of indians didn't stop the railroads being built. All the knowledge is there, progress would have been made, and I say that because nothing on the screen showed me any reason that it wouldn't.

Its also why the vaccine is a bit of a white elephant, humanity in the show doesn't need a vaccine to grow again, though it would speed things up. Ellie isn't going to save the world no matter what happens. The world would do just fine if it got on with things.

Evade

Game FEDRA had the excuse of we need to be authoritarian because the infected are making it so dangerous outside the QZs and a lot of people accepted that trade. People have no reason to stay in QZs in the series. FEDRA might not want them to leave for reasons but smugglers like Joel have no real issues getting in and out. Kansas City QZ makes even less sense since FEDRA seemed to have cleared out the local infected people could have just left. It undermines the Fireflies too. In the game they want to overthrow the QZ governments and take over to make people freer. In the series they could start setting up their own QZ type areas and get people to come because it's not that dangerous outside.

facehugger99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120325598#Comment_120325598

It's not a contradiction, it's called pacing.

Spending so much time on back and side stories means they are having to rush through the main storyline.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328223#Comment_120328223

they wouldnt be able to make new electronic equipment for example and all the preexisting stuff would be wearing out by now, I smirk every time they use a torch. The smaller agriculturally based groups seem about the height of it. Living in the cities seems like a bad idea because they would crumble overtime and they wouldnt be pleasant to live in.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328223#Comment_120328223

Yes we the viewer know that it's safe. Do the people in the QZ know ?

Joel never seems to have gotten much further than Franks recently and he was shocked by Jackson.

FEDRA have long since stopped giving a sht about rebuilding humanity. Those walls are just a way to preserve the dictatorship.

Penn

I think the infected are still considered a large threat, but they're just not rambling aimlessly out in open spaces. The reason people sneak out of the QZs would be to scavenge for supplies etc, which would involve going into and searching buildings, probably in populated areas, where there is more risk of then encountering an infected. Especially look at the amount of infected which were just outside the Boston QZ that Joel, ELlie & Tess had to try get around in Episode 2.

A big part of the reason FEDRA kill people who were found to have left the QZ is because if they're sneaking in & out, which means there's more risk someone could have been infected, sneak back into the QZ (past their infection check), and then the infection could overrun the QZ.

We've already seen like in Kansas where FEDRA had mostly contained the infected and locked them underground at the QZ, but as soon as that containment was opened, the infected absolutely tore through all of Kathleen's soldiers easily. Likewise 20 years after the outbreak people would have cleared out small areas/towns such as the resort in this episode in order to make their own settlements.

There's still a huge threat outside the QZs, but it's as much from humans as it is from infected. Infected are just easier to take into account because there's a logic to what they do and how they act. People like Joel who regularly leave the QZ understand where they're likely to be, how to avoid them etc. Humans are a bigger danger because you don't know who to trust or what they'll do. I think the show has leant less on using the infected for action bits because it has more impact when they are used. They're always a looming threat in the background.

Lot of you are overlooking just how sparsely populated middle america is.

Yeah they should have built up the inflected threat more but, as I said early days, their misstep was a 9 episode season.

There was no time for slow paced horror, everything needs to move on to the next story beat

pc7

Non gamer and have really enjoyed the whole ride, it’s a great story. Like others I can’t believe it’s only got one episode left, they really could have had another few to make it more balanced.

This weeks was brill, I did choke up when he called her ‘baby girl’

Great show, 8/10 for me.

FortuneChip

Given they've only nine episodes, I think they've used too much time on Left Behind and not enough on David's arc. In hindsight, they could have combined both stories into a two-episode arc, with recurring flashbacks to her time with Riley as she spent more time with David. Left Behind was a good story, but it was a bit long, especially within the constraints of a 9-episode season.

But look, we got what we got. I just personally would have enjoyed more from David.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328989#Comment_120328989

..

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120329039#Comment_120329039

The preacher, the leader of the group in this week's episode.

MarkR

The guy who was "murdered" by Joel, his wife (short dark hair) reminded me a lot of one of the main characters from the second game. Coincidental it seems.