HBO: The Last of Us

[chrisstbh]

I still can't figure out how they "root" the facial hair on custom pieces like this. It baffles me when its well done.

Doesn't look very good here imo, especially the sideburns

 

[Mr.E]

I imagine the "patchy" look is harder to apply, but that certainly looks better than what I could do.

 

[chrisstbh]

 

[ironwez20]

It could have been worse but I honestly don’t think it gives the same energy as the games. I really tried to look at it as it’s own thing but it’s really hard lol

 

[karamazov80]

I thought the episode last night was really good in several respects (it was effectively, emotionally impactful), but agree with the criticism that they were seemingly rushing through a sub-plot that could have had more time to breathe. Though I haven't played it, I thought it was pretty surprising that the showrunners are trying to get through the first entire game in one season, and pacing issues may be inevitable at that point.

 

[BladeS]

I've been very happy with the show so far other than a few things here or there, but I honestly think this show would have strongly benefited from being two seasons for game 1. You could add more zombie/clicker encounters, add more relationship building with characters (Joel and Ellie), more character development, more locations from the game. I'm not sure why they crammed it all into one season for something so well known.

With that said, I do feel that many of you are suffering from the, "The book is better" mentality of this show. The original version of everything is almost always better than an adaptation. That's why it's being adapted, because the original medium was so impactful that it warranted re-creation.

 

[Asta]

The game is better, but the show is still good. In fact better than expected given the trend.

Episode eight felt close to the game, and the ending had the pay off in the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

But with only one episode left it feels as though we missed out on a lot that would've been good to see enacted by Pedro and Bella.

 

[R_R_X]

I've been very happy with the show so far other than a few things here or there, but I honestly think this show would have strongly benefited from being two seasons for game 1. You could add more zombie/clicker encounters, add more relationship building with characters (Joel and Ellie), more character development, more locations from the game. I'm not sure why they crammed it all into one season for something so well known.

With that said, I do feel that many of you are suffering from the, "The book is better" mentality of this show. The original version of everything is almost always better than an adaptation. That's why it's being adapted, because the original medium was so impactful that it warranted re-creation.

As much as I love LoTR by Tolkien I'd be lying if I said I prefer reading the books over watching the trilogy, I also believe most of Stephen King's movie adaptations are miles better than his books.

It's true I was always skeptical of the show but it's because I consider video games to be a cinematic medium that provide a deeper connection and immersion than movies can, to me it's why direct adaptations of games have never worked and can never surpass the source material but shows like Cyberpunk Edgerunners can elevate the themes and world of the original story even further because they're not tied to what's already been done, I had always hoped that the show could've been an original story set in the universe of TLOU, we could've had the show Bill story told through original characters, we could've explored other areas in the universe as well as different themes but as it stands the show just feels stupidly rushed to be able to capture the true essence of the story and the characters of Joel and Ellie.

Sure, beloved books and comics being adapted to live action can be a treat to see but beloved video games are an entirely different animal especially the story driven ones like The Last of Us with beautiful performances, shot composition, locations, perfectly placed soundtrack, intense and horrifying encounters with infected and so much more, to me the show feels less like an adaptation more like one of those remakes that never live up to the original source material.

 

[R_R_X]

The game is better, but the show is still good. In fact better than expected given the trend.

Episode eight felt close to the game, and the ending had the pay off in the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

But with only one episode left it feels as though we missed out on a lot that would've been good to see enacted by Pedro and Bella.

I think it mainly comes down to Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann not viewing the first season as the main story but as a prequel to Part 2, in their interviews it's clear they are way more excited and invested in the story that comes after this first season.

They've talked about how they will expand it over two seasons or more and how they wrote a lot of stuff into the first season that will serve the story they tell later on, but unfortunately in rushing to get to that part they failed in properly utilizing the hours they had to tell the first chapter by taking the focus away from Joel and Ellie way too many times, even cutting important moments like Sarah's picture which completed Joel's arc of acceptance and mourning.

Part 2 might not have worked for a large group of people but it's undeniable that it managed to get strong emotions out of everyone and that was because of how perfectly executed the story in the first game is and how Joel and Ellie both have full character arcs that complement each other resulting in one of the most iconic and beloved character duos in the history of video games, Part 2 could only expand and retroactively build off the seeds that were left in there and it mainly used the bond between the two to build it's story while the show is more focused on making sure the first season is now tailored to fit what comes after and not what it's supposed to be.

Spoiler

Also let's be honest there's no way they're keeping Pascal around for more than one season after what comes next, he is in high demand at the moment and he's barely apart of his biggest show mostly doing voice over work for his stunt double, a a lot of people have watched the show only for him and I feel like a lot of them won't stick around once he exits.

 

[jedijim3002]

The show is ok. Never really got into the game. It reminds me of the way walking dead kind of phased out zombie activity towards its later seasons but this show is doing it in the first season. Would like to see more “zombie” activity. Too much focus on characters and their backstory and not enough on their current struggles against an infected world. For an action video game adaptation it’s pretty boring. Actors are good. Effects are good. Dialogue is decent. Just needs more cow bell.

 

[ironwez20]

The game is better, but the show is still good. In fact better than expected given the trend.

Episode eight felt close to the game, and the ending had the pay off in the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

But with only one episode left it feels as though we missed out on a lot that would've been good to see enacted by Pedro and Bella.

That’s why I feel like episode 3 was kinda a mistake. I mean could care less about the story but that episode should have been dedicated to the relationship between Joel and Ellie. Now it feels so out of place and it went on for too long. It should have atleast been wrapped up in like 20 min

 

[Mr.E]

Watching this latest episode really seemed to emphasize the lack of chemistry between the two leads. This is just my opinion, the show isn't bad, but it isn't a home run by any stretch. Its fine, not amazing. I don't know, I'm just not buying into the whole relationship bonding between Joel and Ellie at this point.

 

[Mandible]

As we near the end it's safe to say the show is average, at best. This attitude of "in comparison to other adaptions" is a weak excuse; it works or it doesn't, with or without the source material is irrelevant, regardless of the medium.

So forgetting the source material and focusing on what has been delivered - if I was being generous, there has been 3 really good episodes and the rest have just meandered along. There hasn't been one excellent episode, and only a moment or two that reached any great heights. The "world" is vapid and without any real threats. There were bizarre holes throughout the story and too much focus on irrelevant material that in no way has enhanced the overall show/world/characters. As much as everyone loved episode 3 with Bill, how has it changed the course of the story or characters? It hasn't... compare that to any one of GOT many moments, that are integral moments to propel the story forward and cannot exist without those moments (the Red Wedding, as an example) - and it's chalk and cheese.

As a whole series, it will not be revered and remembered - and yet (coming back to the source material), it could have been done far better in the same 9 episode time frame with more focus and better writing. The most recent ep (8) has the highest view count so far (8.1m) and was the closet to the source material - yet eps 5-7 didn't rate well. As the game has sold near 25 million copies, maybe the primary viewer group are the people that played the game?

Saying all that, if these two clowns (show runners) have been doing interviews where it's clear that they're more excited about the "Part II" adaption, then that explains everything. You can't build a skyscraper on a weak foundation.

(And Part II won't work anyway - it's "The Last Jedi" of video games. It sold way less than half of the original, and completely divided the fan base. Good luck with that...)

 

[ironwez20]

Yikes. I hope they aren’t excited about the second part. Story wise it’s very weak and plain bad. It destroys what made the first good. Good luck trying to win over people with the story decisions they made. Lol

 

[JAWS]

There's zombie's in this zombie show at some point, right?

I think it’s an attempt not to be just like walking dead. Which is refreshing. I like the two leads so much in good with it.

Yikes. I hope they aren’t excited about the second part. Story wise it’s very weak and plain bad. It destroys what made the first good. Good luck trying to win over people with the story decisions they made. Lol

Yeah I know some of those plot points

Wonder if this show would follow the walking dead path of completely changing major plot points.

 

[e30ernest]

I enjoyed this episode. Again, I have not played the game so I cannot compare it to how the story was told in another medium. I thought this was good though. The whole

Spoiler

cannibalism

thing though was very predictable and I knew right away that

Spoiler

this group of people were connected to the man Joel killed

.

I did love

Spoiler

the final showdown between David and Ellie and her reunion with Joel. Without any further context from the game, I think this was done really well

.

I do find the lack of zombies distracting though. I was hoping for a few more infected humans at least.

 

[𝘨⃨𝘭⃨𝘪⃨𝘵⃨𝘤⃨𝘩⃨10ᔦᔦ]

I think it mainly comes down to Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann not viewing the first season as the main story but as a prequel to Part 2, in their interviews it's clear they are way more excited and invested in the story that comes after this first season.

They've talked about how they will expand it over two seasons or more and how they wrote a lot of stuff into the first season that will serve the story they tell later on, but unfortunately in rushing to get to that part they failed in properly utilizing the hours they had to tell the first chapter by taking the focus away from Joel and Ellie way too many times, even cutting important moments like Sarah's picture which completed Joel's arc of acceptance and mourning.

Part 2 might not have worked for a large group of people but it's undeniable that it managed to get strong emotions out of everyone and that was because of how perfectly executed the story in the first game is and how Joel and Ellie both have full character arcs that complement each other resulting in one of the most iconic and beloved character duos in the history of video games, Part 2 could only expand and retroactively build off the seeds that were left in there and it mainly used the bond between the two to build it's story while the show is more focused on making sure the first season is now tailored to fit what comes after and not what it's supposed to be.

Spoiler

Also let's be honest there's no way they're keeping Pascal around for more than one season after what comes next, he is in high demand at the moment and he's barely apart of his biggest show mostly doing voice over work for his stunt double, a a lot of people have watched the show only for him and I feel like a lot of them won't stick around once he exits.

My guess is the reason Druckmann is more excited for Part II is because he wrote it, where as Part I was co-written (by much more talented writers imo). Part II was actually the original idea Druckmann was pushing for with Part I, but his co-writers didn't feel it was the story they wanted to go with. Thankfully.
I honestly don't know if I'll bother with season 2. Perhaps if I end up being super bored or something, I'll check it out.
I'm still having a hard time seeing Bella as Ellie though. Every now an then my brain goes "wait...who's that again?" It's like a watching a mannequin trying to act. No expression or emotion whatsoever. She's got a weird face. lol

 

[chrisstbh]

Troy Baker, one of the most prolific voice actors in gaming, really could have tried to not make himself sound like game Joel in this episode .

 

[Rayman]

I’ve been away from this thread since it stopped being fun a while ago. Still… here I am to share my thoughts after a while. Aaand…

I’m a little bit disapointed. I definitely don’t believe the show is a huge miss, I think it’s a huge success overall. But I do think it’s missed the mark compared to the game for one very specific reason: they messed up production. Either budget constraints (which, I mean… It’s a HUGE budget) or just rushed, bad production has left us without some needed bonding, and time to breath in the main characters. I won’t say they missed this or that from the game but they definitely missed what some key moments made us feel. I feel this story in the way it’s been told, with those imo, really good, world-building episodes as Ep3, needed at least 40-50 mins more to really sink in.

It’s become very apparent in this last episode how they’ve rushed things suddenly. It’s kind of bringing me back some GoT last season nightmares, although fortunately I don’t expect Ellie to kill a whole city in the next episode - even if’d be more and better justified than it was on GoT. I digress. What was I talking about?

Alright. HBO. They have a tendency to do this for some reason. They did the same thing with Sons of Anarchy ages ago in quite a few seasons actually. Even going back as far as The Wire.

The only thing I actually dislike is this “bad guy of the week” approach they seemed to confirm on this last episode. I don’t like when an episode starts with the bad guy. It’s 2023 already, even 4 year old kids know this trick already.

I’m not mad at any minute of what’s been shown, but TLoU seems a little soulless in the editing department and it’s a shame when everything else seems so stylized.

Now I gotta say what’s impressed me the most…Bella. She’s the boss. She’s been awesome from start to finish. From that psycho kid in the first episodes, which now makes more sense I’d say to this last chapter… spotless acting. Amazing work.

 

[Johnny Utah]

SoA was FX.