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

Dial Hard

I genuinely don't know what some people want from this show at this point. I've never understood why people hate-watch anything, but TLoU seems to have reached some kind of inflection point for it. It's bizarre.

Sudden Valley

I dont see alot of hate watching comments, just a number saying season 2 is not as good as season 1. I want to see how the show ends even if I think the quality in general has dropped. The last episode was very good though.

Toranaga

No matter what they put on the screen there was going to be a sub section that hated it. I didn't get a PS until the 5 and went back and played TLOU and Part 2 when I did. Post all the backlash so was expecting not to like it.

I would say it's probably the best game I've played and liked it much more than the first. Maybe that was due to when/how I played them.

Is the show as good as the game story wise? Not really, but I'm really enjoying it and think they've made some good changes as well as what I have issues with.

siblers

Without Joel/Pedro, it just feels like the soul has been ripped out of the show. ( As excellent as Bella is in the role)

Watching episodes 6 just emphasises how vital he is.

It was a terrible decision in the game but at least it had really good gameplay interacting with the story to keep things interesting, but on the show, there's just not enough strength in the story or in depth in the supporting cast.

Its still watchable and has some very good scenes but I'm just not all that interested in what's actually happening post Joel ( I felt the same in the game)

Can't really criticise the show too much though. Was a bit of a lose lose situation either way

trashcan

Just caught up on the last episode, and I thought it was incredible. Both leads were outstanding, and the porch scene was incredibly moving. Who was the guy who was the guy who played Joel’s father ? He looked very familiar but I couldn’t place him. Was he in Narcos maybe ?

Just on Ellie telling Gail what had happened with her husband, I think she let her anger with Joel overcome her. Joel was obviously trying the save the wife’s feelings. Someone made the point earlier that they were surprised that Joel confirmed that the Fireflies could have made a cure. I agree. My recollection is that what pushed him over the edge was that they were going to kill Ellie, with absolutely no guarantee that this would have led to a cure. Maybe my recollection is off.

Melodeon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123485573#Comment_123485573

That was Tony Dalton. Probably best known for the character of Lalo Salamanca in Better Call Saul.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123485692#Comment_123485692

Of course ! Knew I recognised the face.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123485573#Comment_123485573

It was more ambiguous in the game as to whether or not a cure would have worked, but either way the outcome was always going to be the same; Joel killed them all to save Ellie regardless of whether a cure would have been possible or not.

MOR316

Watched the finale…

Awfully written! Pacing all over the place! They have destroyed the character of Ellie. Dever as Abby nails it though! Thought it was the VA from the game at first.

EagererBeaver

Yeah I thought the pacing was a touch all over the place as well. The final theatre scene was well done though.

Given previous discussions, there were some creative changes there that I don't really see the value of. No map lying on the ground…

I disagree with all the criticism of Bella Ramsey as she's surely only playing the character the way she's told to. However I feel they've strayed too far from game Ellie at this stage. The way she holds the gun, the way she trembles, the way her voice shakes etc are all a bit too far off. They basically have her as a scared, incompetent kid.

Suspect there'll be plenty of yapping from non game players when the entire next season switches to Abby and we presumably only learn how she found them in the finale.

jj880

Last week's episode was always going to be a tough act to follow. Have to agree all a bit rushed for the finale but its setup nicely for Abby's story now.

Penn

They did a decent enough job with the finale. Could have done without Ellie's boat crash, the Scars just leaving her, and then she gets back in the boat and carries on. Really added nothing. Other than that I've no real complaints.

The biggest issue is as I feared when I heard they were splitting the second game into two seasons. You end up leaving this series completely unfulfilled and on a huge cliffhanger, and then because it's HBO, it'll be two years before we get Season 3.

The split in the story worked okay in the game because you could keep playing and a few hours later you get through Abby's three days and back to the theatre, but two years... I'm really not sure it was the best call. All those moments like the random distant explosions, but this time seeing it from Abby's perspective and seeing what caused it... not going to get the benefit or memory of them in two years.

Guy who played Jesse did a great job though. I barely remember anything about him from the game but I thought they really lifted his character in the show.

EagererBeaver

I really enjoyed the season overall but I felt there were a few dodgy decisions that didn't quite pay off. Ellie had Nora in her sights mere minutes after nearly dying in the park in Ep. 5. Take us through the hospital a bit. Then in the finale, Ellie capsizing and being captured, then having immediate access to Mel and Owen seemed…unnecessary. At least we see her working her way through the aquarium to an extent, although why it was in some back room rather than the big open exhibit I'm not sure.

Have read a number of reviews that said that the whole season at times felt like an extended trailer for what's to come, which I largely agree with.

CiaranW

Did Ellie up on Seraphite island!?

I’ve really enjoyed the series but that part annoyed me. Surely that would’ve taken hours to wash up on that shore…..

Season 3 would want to be a quick turnaround.

trashcan

I enjoyed the episode, though I take the point that a lot of it seemed to happen too quickly. Not sure I really want to sit through a whole season of Abbey’s story, as I really couldn’t give a **** about her, and hope she does screaming. She better not have killed Ellie. If it gets back to that point and that’s what happens, I won’t be a happy bunny. ( No spoilers please). Interesting the praise the actress playing Abbey is getting for her part, compared to the regular sniping at Bella Ramsey, when she’s had very little screen time in comparison, and Bella has been superb. As for the criticism of Ellie being scared and shaking etc, I don’t think that’s unrealistic given what she’s been through. Ok, it may have been different in the game, but for those of us who haven’t played it, it doesn’t really matter

appledrop

God almighty 20 minutes in and I'm bored 😴 🥱

Zero-Cool

That could have stretched this to 8 episodes, felt like the finale was really rushed. The Mel scene was brutal and the way they added having her trying to get Ellie to cut out the baby, Jaysus. I just read writing for season 3 is wrapping up and they'll begin filming in a few months. It's gonna be a year to a year and a half before we get season 3 and as much as i want to see Abby's story, it's gonna be a long wait.

CastorTroy

Was strange how we saw Isaac seemingly coming from the direction of the aquarium yet we had the scene earlier saying they didn't know where Owen was. So were he and the others somewhere else?

appledrop

An absolute pile of crap, bye bye won't be watching you ever again.

EagererBeaver

Don't think there was any suggestion they were coming from the aquarium.

MOR316

None of it made any sense.

How did Abby find them? How did Jesse find them? Ellie would never tell Dina or anyone what Joel did. What was the point of Ellie in a boat washing up on the island and then to have no signs of hypothermia or lost gear? Ellie wanting to save a stranger (the kid) but Joel's actions were horrific? Ellie screaming "No No No" at the end is not something she'd do. Scars leaving Ellie even though she never went to the island in the first place (in the game) just wasted time. "Are you in love with her?" line was horrendous. It's all about revenge on Abby and the only time I got it this season was when she ditched going for Tommy in favour of it. Dina washing Ellie's back from the bruises... Where did they come from? Why is her face and clothes immaculate?

I honestly cannot see how she gets to Santa Barbara from here. They have ruined the character. The story was the pits in the game, but this TV adaptation is making it look like a masterpiece.

I honestly can't see how the viewer, who never played the game, would have the appetite to wait for another season of this.

Which is a shame from Kaitlyn Dever's POV. She nails Abby's mannerisms and voice and emotions

Just awful writing, pacing and storytelling in my opinion

EagererBeaver

One thing btw. I reckon anyone who's played the game was wondering how the Abby scene would work given there are some crucial elements of her story we haven't seen in the show yet. Think there's room for the camera to pan to the right when facing Abby...

Bluewolf

This series lost me when in a war zone and you’re trying to lie low in a theatre their first instincts were to turn on ALL THE LIGHTS!

MOR316

Deleted

Toranaga

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123488813#Comment_123488813

The story in the game was a masterpiece.

The Ellie in the show is not the Ellie in the game. If you want game Ellie, play the game. This is a more sympathetic Ellie and I'm not sure the point about wanting to save a pregnant woman's baby immediately after accidentally killing her.

They explained in great detail how Jesse found them and considering the whole next season will likely be based around Abby I'd say your questions on that front will be answered.

yerwanthere123

So finally caught up and watched all seven episodes over the course of the last week. Series one set the bar so high that it was always gonna be difficult to follow, but series 2 really did feel subpar.

I know the series only covered half of the second game, but it really felt like half a series. Think they'd have been better off making a longer series and covering the entire game, but maybe that wouldn't have been possible. I don't know, I've never played any of the games.

So overall series two was enjoyable, but felt short, unsatisfying and way below the quality of series one.

J Mysterio

What I thought was awful was how Ellie abandoned Jesse and Tommy in favour of hunting Abby, but then 10 minutes later Jesse says something to the effect of 'you would go through hell for me were I in danger', and she is like 'yes'.

Downlinz

As a game player the writing in the second game that's reflected in the second season is absolutely all over the place and don't let others gaslight you into thinking otherwise.

When you realise the director Druckmann is a Zionist Israeli settler in the West Bank who based the Wolves and the Scars on conflicts in the West Bank based on his personal experience it'll start to make a lot more sense for the depictions and why the characters keep trying to justify the unnecessary violence over and over.

It's quite widely speculated that the first TLOU game and first season was storyboarded by Amy Hennig, the Uncharted director and who was the lead writer at Naughty Dog at the time. So if you're feeling the second season of the show felt very different to the first in general direction it was also shared by the gamers as well.

brianc27

thought season two had 3 really good episodes and the rest where just ok, i think this season suffered from being so short, just felt very rushed in parts, i don't get the complete hate for it either, its perfectly watchable. I'm a massive fan of the game, actually prefer the second game over the first, there are interactions the game handles much better than the show imo but i try not to compare too much. I think this second season might be looked upon more positively when its all wrapped up next season (or maybe the season after)

Lip Out

Season finale was tripe as was the whole season apart from episode 6 which was very good.

Standout line for me amoung the woke bull was "I'm going to be a dad" 🤦