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

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491366#Comment_123491366

Its the exact same as The Walking Dead post-Glenn's death.

TWD had a less severe drop as at least the ensemble cast and characters still kept things somewhat steady quality-wise in the aftermath.

TLOU just had to go all in on Bella/Ellie after Pedro/Joel left. That is a dramatic downgrade even if you like Bella/TV Ellie, and she wasn't exactly well recieved before Pedro/Joel left.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491683#Comment_123491683

In fairness, a lot of gamers (myself included) feel the same way, and felt that way when it happened in the game too. In the game it wasn't as bad because you could keep playing. Killed the flow of the game for a while, but at least you knew it'd pick up again. With the show, it's going to be two years until there's any kind of resolution to it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491683#Comment_123491683

I enjoyed season 2 overall, especially episode 6 which I felt was a standout episode.

But the season finale did feel like it was over too quickly and could have been extended over two episodes. I didn't really get the point of Ellie's interaction with the Scars, but maybe that will come clear in the next season.

I will however say that imo I think Bella Ramsey is an outstanding young actress, and I'm willing to die on that hill. Given some of the complaints I've read about her casting, I'm glad I get to enjoy the show and her performance for what it is, without everything being coloured by game Ellie. ✌️

MOR316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491366#Comment_123491366

Trust me…
A lot of us who played the game had similar issues with the story. It's just the non gamers who are watching the TV are having similar issues.

The only difference was, most of us who played the game rooted for Ellie as that character wasn't written the way Bella Ramsey's is.

I won't spoil it, but there was a point in the game (for me at least) where something is said on a recording and it makes the whole thing just bullshit.

And…If they include that in any part of the TV show, I feel it's goodnight and sweet dreams from the audience

Exclamation Marc

I enjoyed that season quite a lot with episodes 2 and 6 the standouts. All of the main actors from Bella Ramsey to Young Mazino to Gabriel Luna are playing a blinder.

My only big complaint is that this should have been a longer season to include both halves of the story or the next season should have been filmed back-to-back for the next part to come soon. The upcoming gap could be fatal to the series' popularity. It reminds me of the ongoing gap between Stranger Things last and upcoming season (over 3 years) which has absolutely killed the momentum it had.

My minor complaints around pacing and writing are nearly all down to the paltry episode count and far too many shortcuts have been taken to get the main story beats out. If they were determined to split the seasons, there could have been two or more episodes to flesh out some stuff to give it more gravity, perspective and grounding.

As a gamer and a huge fan of the game, I know how the story pans out and I know that Season 3 will be a banger with some incredible stories. The little things that are currently hard to link to ongoing events do pan out. But man... that wait makes the cliffhanger insanely frustrating.

MfMan

Wonder will Dina be on mat. leave and have childcare support in S3?

Nigzcurran

There are an awful amount of gobshites in this thread. Absolute neanderthals stuck in the last century who would be better off just watching reruns of the A team

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123492695#Comment_123492695

Or Dallas, sounds like that was the pinnacle of tv for some. Wasn't that full of non stop action, none of the drama, character development nonsense, when men were men and women were just objects, the good old days.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123492856#Comment_123492856

Maybe in Season 3 Ellie will open a shower door and Pedro Pascal will be there. Asks her if she's ready to go out on her first patrol, and that they better stick with Eugene and make sure nothing happens to him. Then we can have a big action scene where Joel, Ellie and Eugene fight off the infected together, guns a-blazin'.

Toranaga

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123492695#Comment_123492695

I think there are some of that group that you find more prevalent in other corners of the internet.

As I said previously I played the game a couple of years after it came out and couldn't understand the controversy around it as I thought it was amazing and probably the best I've ever played all in. That was after a somewhat lukewarm feeling towards the first one (obviously great but not at the level many said)

I think they have fumbled some of Ellie's story but not because of Bella Ramsey or even a lot of the dialogue that is being jumped on online. It's the pacing of it. Obviously scenes aren't going to last as long as the game but going from here to here with no time spent on the journey is later Game of Thrones level mistakes. The episodes that have worked the best in the whole series are where they give the requisite time to relationships. Flashback episodes.

They gave good time to Ellie and Dinah and to Jesse in this one but we don't get any real backstory of Abby's crew which you do pick up a little of in the game which means that even though the blanks are going to be filled in there's no real emotional resonance. Ellie's character is different and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing but it's inconsistent which is a bad thing. Trying to make her look hell bent on revenge moments after looking to save some random Scar is just trying to have your cake and eat it.

As said above, more episodes would have helped.

Zero-Cool

Comparison here showing the similarity between game and tv show for the final scene. I didn't get why the show has Ellie begging no no no when she was just surrendering herself in order to save Tommy.

https://twitter.com/DomTheBombYT/status/1927828425827360865?t=ltJqwcnfZ-kaDFnF1ooDqg&s=19

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491780#Comment_123491780

Yeah she's amazing, the Internet is full of weird people

MOR316

Jesus Christ..

Some people don't like the show and now it's "Waaaaaah you don't like what I like so you're stuck in the stone age. Waaaaahh"

People are literally allowed to like and dislike things. Pathetic

Apothic_Red

If I knew what I know now I would have binned off that entire season.

A 2 hour fan edit that I could torrent would have sufficed, I spent the first half of the finale scrolling on my phone.

Do the producers think that the average Joe is going to sit around for 2 years to see what Abbie did on the corresponding 3 days, will be binned to memory.

I'm actually annoyed with myself for devoting 7 hours of my life to that total shite.

Sudden Valley

I think people attacking actors appearances are weird but I do think this season was a step down on last season. And waiting 2 years for next season for a cliff hanger to be resolved is beyond annoying.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123496287#Comment_123496287

When those tropes get rolled out its generally not a great indicator of the shows quality. It reeks of straw-clutching and desperately trying to silence any critique as some kind of "ism"

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123496287#Comment_123496287

People are obviously allowed to like and dislike things. The arguments being made, particularly as it relates to the "you're stuck in the stone age" side of things, is that disliking the show because there's too much talking and relationship stuff and not enough action, infected, apocalypse stuff simply means the show just isn't for you, because the show is about the characters and their relationships, not about action and some grand overarching mystery about finding a cure. Last season's story wasn't about curing the infection, it was about Joel & Ellie's relationship, their losses, their survivor's guilt, all leading to a place where Joel prevented the cure in order to save Ellie's life. Ellie's immunity, the cure… it's all just framing around the central story which is the characters themselves.

I think there are plenty of criticisms that can be levied at the show and characters even just in not achieving what the show is trying to achieve, and it's fine to dislike the show because of that. I enjoyed this season overall even though it was a big step down from last season and the finale had some dumbass moments, but overall the season had some great moments, scenes and character development.

But to dislike the show because it's not about the apocalypse, the cure, not enough action, too much relationship stuff… and seemingly wanting the show to be a "monster of the week" type of procedural show where people just fight infected and have little to no character arc. That's a fundamental misunderstanding of what the show is about and I don't think it's unfair to point that out.

I can dislike The Walking Dead because they don't evolve their characters, it's repetitive and bloated, the show spins its wheels for most of each season until a mid-season or season finale where something finally happens, they introduce new characters to kill off to avoid killing popular characters etc. I can't dislike The Walking Dead because there's not enough focus on the cause of the infection or trying to find a cure, because that's never been what the show was about.

EagererBeaver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123496287#Comment_123496287

Absolutely. And loads of people online are loser incel neckbeards. There were several people on here talking about how Isabella Merced was more attractive than the game version of Dinah and the reverse for Bella Ramsey and Ellie. Stop **** off over a bunch of computer generated polygons would be a good start.

Potatoeman

The game scores are interesting, the first one was given very high scores by critics and gamers but the sequel was given good reviews by critics and mixed average reviews by gamers.
The TV show seems to mirror this. Strange that critics can’t seem to acknowledge the stories flaws. There are some serious questionable decisions by characters that are just glossed over. If the story wasn’t about the relationships it is about I get the feeling critics wouldn’t be as generous.

Sudden Valley

Walking Dead certainly had its problems but the Scars Vs WLF storyline would not look out of place in it. Actually the scars look like they stepped out of the Mad Max series they are so goofy. Unfortunately with the only seven episodes we had too little of Abby and her crew to care about this season and will have too much of them next season. Pity couldn't have a flashback with them this season to flesh them out.

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123497283#Comment_123497283

User review scores are utterly worthless. Games get review bombed when they're deemed "woke" by the basement dwellers.

I'm not saying the game is for everyone as it has very understandable drawbacks for certain gamers but user scores on games are not indicative of anything.

Potatoeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123501533#Comment_123501533

Critic score are equally worthless in that case as they are influenced by their own biases. You’ll find that YouTube reviews from non mainstream producers have far more views as they resonated with viewers.

You can usually split the difference between both scores to get a more realistic average. Not as good or as bad as either side presents.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123502052#Comment_123502052

I think you miss the point. TLoU2 was review bombed. While i agree games are usually somewhere in the middle between the user reviews and critic reviews. It's not in this case.

Potatoeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123502297#Comment_123502297

It was review bombed by both sides, like Star Wars. Which always seems to be somewhere in between, not as good or as bad as the extremes say.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123502456#Comment_123502456

if it was review bombed on both sides, that destroys your own point

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123502456#Comment_123502456

It wasn't. And in any event, review bombing only applies to negative reviews.

Sudden Valley

I think the opposite of review bombing is reviewing padding. Giving undeserved 10s to counteract undeserved 1s. Anyway I think the show hasn't been good as last season but is still very watchable.

sammyjo90

I don't tend to over analyse tv shows so not gonna get into all of what has been nit picked buuuut... could not get over how Ellie just throws the 1M lumen torch on as she goes into and through the whole aquarium like she was going into an abandoned building and not one where she knows people are inside.

Sooooo unrealistic. 🙄 🤣

Raoul Duke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123504154#Comment_123504154

Yeah, and shining it through doors with glass before going through them. These small things do matter.

Brief_Lives

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123420714#Comment_123420714

you'll be pleased to see her this summer, playing Hawkgirl in the new Superman movie