• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

HBO Original | The Last of Us | Part 1 OT | Endure & Survive

Robb

Member
Another slow episode, this one was kind of a drag, still better than Ep3. But an hour of nothing happening until the last 10 minutes doesn’t really do it for me.

The pacing of the show in general is really dragging it down for me. I’m not sure if there’s a single episode outside of the first one I’d sit through again. I guess this isn’t really for me given people on here seem to be loving it.

Hoping the final episodes turn things up a bit.
 
Last edited:
Another slow episode, this one was kind of a drag, still better than Ep3. But an hour of nothing happening until the last 10 minutes doesn’t really do it for me.

The pacing of the show in general is really dragging it down for me. I’m not sure if there’s a single episode outside of the first one I’d sit through again. I guess this isn’t really for me given people on here seem to be loving it.

Hoping the final episodes turn things up a bit.
I made it half way through episode 5 then bailed. I'm good.
 

Eiknarf

Member
So far the two romantic episodes were same-sex flashbacks:
episode 3 male/male
and
episode 7 female/female.

Are there any male/female relationships in a post apocalyptic world?

J/K

Both flashback eps were written and done very well. But people (maybe rightfully) complained (not me) that episode 3 was “an hour flashback of two dead characters that only served as a way to show a 2 minute scene of Joel and Ellie getting a vehicle and some guns”

It was not an attack on there being a gay relationship. It was an attack on spending an hour on ANY relationship that wasn’t Joel and Ellie. Even if the flashback was of a male and female, what was the point? Especially being Bill is dead.

I told em, “Yes, the point of the episode was so that Joel can have a vehicle and some weapons”
 
Last edited:

Robb

Member
I made it half way through episode 5 then bailed. I'm good.
I can get that, I’ve still enjoyed it quite a bit though and the production value is fantastic imo.

I can appreciate a lot of episodes in isolation, it’s just that they don’t move things forward enough imo and are very slow. To me Ep3 was a fantastic short film, but a horrible episode of the show - for example.

I’ll watch the remaining episodes for sure, but I’m hoping they step things up.
 
Last edited:

apowhungo

Member
the pacing of this show is kind of killing me. loved episode 3 but really don't know if we needed another FULL episode dedicated to left behind. kathleen got what, an episode and a half? david's going to be lucky to get that much? I guess my point is if you're going to dive head first into the love stories then give us the real gruesome violence to balance it out... like the game. I guess they're saving that for season 2 and that's on purpose but gimme the gnar now.

Paul Rudd Reaction GIF


(I'll eat my shorts if we get a saving private ryan-esque slow stabby death for david but I think they'll pussy out)

Stabbing Season 3 GIF by Paramount+
 

Kerotan

Member
It was good don't get me wrong, but when the show does not have that many episodes, I don't really think they can do the rest in like (?) 90 minutes. I just want more of that core story. I started to really like Pedro and how he really "become the Joel" in last episode (I mean as an actor). And yeah. Still this shows is like 9/10, but I am getting anxious about the remaining footage length, maybe because I want more.

Chernobyl and just 5 episodes sucked too. BTW
Chernobyl is almost perfect. 5 episodes didn't effect it. What a show.
 

RaduN

Member
Enjoyable episode 6. Good dynamic, fairly good script, good set, actors did good, liked it.

Extremely shitty episode 7. Boring, horribly paced, boring again, crappy script, crappy acting. They try way, way too hard to make these little kids edgy and cool, especially Ellie and they fail misserably each time.
Ironically, so far this show has been the best when the main characters are not in it: episode 3.
 

SlimySnake

The Contrarian
This one little scene at the end almost broke me. It was perfect with that soundtrack about to hit the crescendo. What a beautiful, perfect addition to the show; I wish it was in the game.

6lCNIPd.jpg
It’s funny how on the nose this show is compared to the game. Not saying this wasn’t a good moment but the game holds back this moment until after she kills David and he calls her kiddo for the first time, hugs her and holds her face in his hands.

They can still nail that moment in the show but i liked there irony in how Joel finally shows her love when she’s all but lost her innocence.
 
Last edited:

twilo99

Member
Binged all of it yesterday

Episodes 1-6 solid 8/10

Episode 7 solid 6/10 weak acting and the writing was top cringe.

Stick to the game!
 
At this point I like the show but realized it won’t live up to the original game due to the bar being set so high. Most of the big emotional scenes hit harder in the game and I’m not a fan of some things they changed. Made me appreciate how talented the voice actors are in the game even more. Troy and Ashley gave us performances that won’t be topped by HBO.
 

Roni

Member
Joel is not exactly gonna slaughter the Fireflies, he'll definitely kill a bunch, but the ending will be closer to 28 Days Later: he'll set the infected loose on the hospital. That will be the brunt of their losses.
 
Last edited:

Madflavor

Member
I feel like this show might be doomed once they adapt Part 2. Like it won't be cancelled or anything, but I can see viewership falling off. TLOU2 doesn't have as many high note moments as TLOU1, and it also lacks that mainstream appeal. It's going to be a metric ton of dialogue and slow scenes, half of which are going to be from characters that the audience will hate. This isn't going to be like Game of Thrones when Ned or Robb died, because you still had a lot of other great characters and storylines to follow.

Not to mention it's going to open up Pandora's Box again, and the culture wars surrounding Part 2 will be back in full swing. I'm not looking forward to it. I might actually not bother watching. I was hoping that the adaptation of Part 1 would be so good it would surpass the game, and then maybe I'd be interested in the idea of a better version of Part 2. But so far while I like the show a lot, it's not better than the game. One thing's for sure. In 2-3 year when Season 2 is out, it's going to be a hateful and miserable experience all around.
 

WoJ

Member
The more I watch of this show the less I like it. And it's not even like episodes are bad per sae. Individually I think all the episodes are good. But outside of the first two I don't think they are doing a particularly good job of getting to the end point of the first game. They aren't really making me believe Joel has the bond with Ellie he develops in the game. And that is the end game. That's what makes the narrative work.

I don't find Joel and Ellie's bond as believable in the show as I did in the game. Episode 3 was a wasted opportunity to start building that bond by having Joel and Ellie navigate through Bill's town. There could have been interactions there where Joel saved Ellie from the infected and also defended her from Bill when Ellie and Bill bantered. I know everyone loves that episode, but when you factor in the last episode was Left Behind, we didn't need two full episodes dedicated to side stories. Left Behind makes sense because its about Ellie. Bill and Frank is just there. I know people will quickly jump to "bUt Da LeTtEr 2 JoEl"...but they could have accomplished that other ways that are more effective at moving the core story forward and building a bond between Joel and Ellie. Plus with the way this show has played out, Joel didn't give two shits about Ellie in episode 3. So getting that letter is largely meaningless.

I think the stuff in KC was mostly good but I think it would have including the encounter where Joel let's Ellie use the rifle to snipe raiders from the catwalk. I think that's an important scene in the game that helps translate the building trust between Joel and Ellie. They have done some other things to do this, but I think that Sniper scene would have been a good add.

I also think they should have integrated going through the dorm at university into the show. That would have been another really great moment that could have been adapted to TV. You could have had them have to go through together and have Joel stick his neck out for Ellie in a way to help show the build of the bind between them.

I thought the Left Behind episode was good and I appreciated its faithfulness to the game. I'd have maybe done more going back and forth between present day Ellie and past Ellie. Maybe have her search nearby houses for supplies for Joel instead of the mall. I feel like 2 or 3 cuts to present day Ellie while showing the Left Behind story would have worked better.

I don't know. I don't hate it. They are true enough to the source material. I just think the game does what the TV show is trying to do way better.
 

Madflavor

Member
The more I watch of this show the less I like it. And it's not even like episodes are bad per sae. Individually I think all the episodes are good. But outside of the first two I don't think they are doing a particularly good job of getting to the end point of the first game. They aren't really making me believe Joel has the bond with Ellie he develops in the game. And that is the end game. That's what makes the narrative work.

That's how I feel.
 

WoJ

Member
I feel like this show might be doomed once they adapt Part 2. Like it won't be cancelled or anything, but I can see viewership falling off. TLOU2 doesn't have as many high note moments as TLOU1, and it also lacks that mainstream appeal. It's going to be a metric ton of dialogue and slow scenes, half of which are going to be from characters that the audience will hate. This isn't going to be like Game of Thrones when Ned or Robb died, because you still had a lot of other great characters and storylines to follow.

Not to mention it's going to open up Pandora's Box again, and the culture wars surrounding Part 2 will be back in full swing. I'm not looking forward to it. I might actually not bother watching. I was hoping that the adaptation of Part 1 would be so good it would surpass the game, and then maybe I'd be interested in the idea of a better version of Part 2. But so far while I like the show a lot, it's not better than the game. One thing's for sure. In 2-3 year when Season 2 is out, it's going to be a hateful and miserable experience all around.
Quoted for truth. This right here.
 
Last edited:

Fox Mulder

Member
Another slow episode, this one was kind of a drag, still better than Ep3. But an hour of nothing happening until the last 10 minutes doesn’t really do it for me.

The pacing of the show in general is really dragging it down for me. I’m not sure if there’s a single episode outside of the first one I’d sit through again. I guess this isn’t really for me given people on here seem to be loving it.

Hoping the final episodes turn things up a bit.

It was the dlc and fits where they are in the story. It just feels like weird pacing because they already did another episode for a gay relationship earlier in the season and there’s just two episodes to wrap everything up.

The whole point is connecting with Joel and Ellie and the game just it does way better. I don’t like how they’re flying through everything as the infected, raiders, and military are barely in the show. People love the show and it’s good, but feels like it could be way better too.
 
Last edited:

Hugare

Member
But outside of the first two I don't think they are doing a particularly good job of getting to the end point of the first game. They aren't really making me believe Joel has the bond with Ellie he develops in the game. And that is the end game. That's what makes the narrative work.
This right here

I dont mind them changing stuff (loved episode 3), but they had to nail their relationship. And they didnt.

I wasnt feeling shit throughout but I thought that maybe I felt that way because I experienced the game what, 7 times since 2013?

But my mom and sister feel the same way. They rushed the development of their relationship.

Pascal's Joel was too cold for too much time with Ellie. The bulk of their relationship growth wasnt shown on camera.

Suddenly they were caring for each other during the last 2 episodes. Felt unnatural.

Its something hard to pull off, because the game develops their relationship during many hours of gameplay.

But they werent successful translating that to the show. So no emotional beat landed so far with me.
 
Joel is not exactly gonna slaughter the Fireflies, he'll definitely kill a bunch, but the ending will be closer to 28 Days Later: he'll set the infected loose on the hospital. That will be the brunt of their losses.
Man, I hope you're not right. Best case scenario they've been holding out on gruesome violence to have it be more effective for the ending, but I'm not holding my breath.
 

Roni

Member
Man, I hope you're not right. Best case scenario they've been holding out on gruesome violence to have it be more effective for the ending, but I'm not holding my breath.
Given what I've seen, it's the only option that seems feasible. He's not gonna John Wick them from what they've established in the series...
 

Stooky

Member
The more I watch of this show the less I like it. And it's not even like episodes are bad per sae. Individually I think all the episodes are good. But outside of the first two I don't think they are doing a particularly good job of getting to the end point of the first game. They aren't really making me believe Joel has the bond with Ellie he develops in the game. And that is the end game. That's what makes the narrative work.

I don't find Joel and Ellie's bond as believable in the show as I did in the game. Episode 3 was a wasted opportunity to start building that bond by having Joel and Ellie navigate through Bill's town. There could have been interactions there where Joel saved Ellie from the infected and also defended her from Bill when Ellie and Bill bantered. I know everyone loves that episode, but when you factor in the last episode was Left Behind, we didn't need two full episodes dedicated to side stories. Left Behind makes sense because its about Ellie. Bill and Frank is just there. I know people will quickly jump to "bUt Da LeTtEr 2 JoEl"...but they could have accomplished that other ways that are more effective at moving the core story forward and building a bond between Joel and Ellie. Plus with the way this show has played out, Joel didn't give two shits about Ellie in episode 3. So getting that letter is largely meaningless.

I think the stuff in KC was mostly good but I think it would have including the encounter where Joel let's Ellie use the rifle to snipe raiders from the catwalk. I think that's an important scene in the game that helps translate the building trust between Joel and Ellie. They have done some other things to do this, but I think that Sniper scene would have been a good add.

I also think they should have integrated going through the dorm at university into the show. That would have been another really great moment that could have been adapted to TV. You could have had them have to go through together and have Joel stick his neck out for Ellie in a way to help show the build of the bind between them.

I thought the Left Behind episode was good and I appreciated its faithfulness to the game. I'd have maybe done more going back and forth between present day Ellie and past Ellie. Maybe have her search nearby houses for supplies for Joel instead of the mall. I feel like 2 or 3 cuts to present day Ellie while showing the Left Behind story would have worked better.

I don't know. I don't hate it. They are true enough to the source material. I just think the game does what the TV show is trying to do way better.
Nah…they pulled out the nuggets from the game and distilled it what works for TV and the masses. What you’re suggesting isn’t enough vs time and cost it would take to make. Just would have made a few gamers happy. Majority of people love show they are on the right track. You always have the game to get those moments.
 
Last edited:

Lunarorbit

Member
Nah…they pulled out the nuggets from the game and distilled it what works for TV and the masses. What you’re suggesting isn’t enough vs time and cost it would take to make. Just would have made a few gamers happy. Majority of people love show they are on the right track. You always have the game to get those moments.
I gotta agree with W WoJ on this one. Those scenes that are removed take a huge gamble on the viewer just going along with their relationship. Especially the Bill scenes.

Episodes 5 and 6 helped
 

saintjules

Member
Episode 7 was decent. I find it interesting with all the name brands being everywhere. Some sponsorships I guess.

Two more episodes to go. Let's see how Troy does.
 

Eiknarf

Member
Episode 7 was decent. I find it interesting with all the name brands being everywhere. Some sponsorships I guess.

Two more episodes to go. Let's see how Troy does.
And Ashley Johnson!! She has a cameo in one of these last two episodes
 
Last edited:

VulcanRaven

Member
‘The Last Of Us’ Hits First Billion-Minute Week On Nielsen U.S. Streaming Charts:
https://deadline.com/2023/03/the-la...tflix-disney-plus-ratings-nielsen-1235277471/

HBO’s The Last Of Us hit a milestone this week, notching its first billion-minute week since it debuted in January. With five episodes available, the post-apocalyptic series jumped 36% vs. the last interval to notch 1.2B minutes and fourth place overall. Nielsen streaming measurements only account for viewing on HBO Max, so these numbers don’t reflect any viewership on HBO’s linear channel (HBO hasn’t released updated viewership numbers for the series since Episode 4).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nielsen asserts that the audience profile for The Last Of Us is virtually identical to The Walking Dead, skewing younger and more male
 

Kev Kev

Member
I'm loving the show but Ellie's actress just can't act very well, or at least she isn't doing well with this particular part. That other girl they had in the mall episode wasn't much better. Everyone and everything else is top notch though. Looking forward to the final episodes of the season.
 

kittoo

Cretinously credulous
Yeah it's not that good. The actors are great, the production values are very high and it's usually not non-sensical like most zombie shows. But...it's so slow and doesn't really capture attention (apart from maybe first episode). Frankly it's plain boring. I am no longer excited about new episodes and probably will not stay with it for long.
 
Joel is not exactly gonna slaughter the Fireflies, he'll definitely kill a bunch, but the ending will be closer to 28 Days Later: he'll set the infected loose on the hospital. That will be the brunt of their losses.

He wont kill a bunch, he'll kill like 2 or 3 at the most.

The show keeps getting worse and worse, and as suspected nearing the end we've had 2 clicker encounters for a whoping total of 4/5 minutes of screentime. Imagine spending 10/12 hours doing makeup for such a low screentime.

Everyones performance apart from Tess is subpar, set design is rich in design but poorly executed, cinematography improved slightly but still lackluster and all over the place, anyway, a 5/10 at best.
 
Last edited:

VulcanRaven

Member
I'm loving the show but Ellie's actress just can't act very well, or at least she isn't doing well with this particular part. That other girl they had in the mall episode wasn't much better. Everyone and everything else is top notch though. Looking forward to the final episodes of the season.
I think Bella Ramsey is great Ellie. I wasn't sure during the first episode but now I think she is perfect for the role. She has been so good in the last 4 episodes.
 
Last edited:
I think this show is pretty good but let's be honest adapting TLOU was never hard. Post apocalyptic virus/zombie stories have been done since Romero. Or Twilight zone even.
 

VulcanRaven

Member
I have been watching many reaction videos of this. Its interesting to see what people who haven't played the game think.

This is a good one:
 
Last edited:

DarthPutin

Member
- I expected to be bored with teenage love shenanigans, and in the beginning I was, but then ended up quite riveted. It was a hoot seeing someone experience wonders of modern civilization as wonders that they are. Great acting job from both actresses, and people who think that BR has only two expressions needs their eyes check.

- The show is more of a drama than shooty-shooty bang-bang all the time. It's fine thing to want but it's not what it is. That said, I'd like another set-piece with advanced clickers, they are beautiful :messenger_smiling_hearts: , and I feel like it's the "meat" of the show which we got less than potatoes, however delicious they were.

- The show tries to position clickers as a real threat, where even one clicker poses danger to a group of people. There is less violence but the stakes are higher.

- If someone knows the game by heart, there will be inevitably certain distance from the show. Of course, many scenes can be better in the game since it's top notch quality and Troy Baker for example is famous voice actor for a reason. But regardless you aren't experiencing it with fresh eyes. I had same thing with GOT - I've reread ASOIAF many times, and even when the show was good and actors were doing bang up job, instead of worrying about characters or feeling like I am IN the story, I was worrying about certain lines or scenes getting in the show, or annoyed that lore was trampled with.

Character *dies dramatically*
Me *huh, they said the thing, yay!*
 
I never had that problem, I can seperate games TV/movie and books. They are all different mediums and never the twain shall meet.

A one on one perfect line by line set piece adaptation would have been excruciatingly boring anyway for those of us who already played the game, no?
 
Top Bottom