I thought the game was shite. I'm loving the series.

I quite liked the first game, loved the second game and currently reckon the series is 'well good so far'.

Minkymu wrote:

The Daddy wrote:

I haven’t played the game. I’m loving the series.

same

Also.

Episode 5 was my favourite yet

I wondered if anyone would have noticed that 2nd part of your spoiler.

Although it does say games writing is getting better if story is your thing.

I'm largely enjoying this series.
I've never played either of the games, and have actually managed to avoid spoilers for the first one for the last ten years, so I'm seeing the whole thing with fresh eyes.

I'm not a huge fan of Pascal. He's still on the naughty-step for his cringe inducing performance in WW84, and he gets a pass for The Mandalorian, largely because he has a bucket on his head in that, but credit where it's due, he's been good in this.

Bella Ramsey, on the other hand is an absolute fucking revelation. She was brilliant in her scenes in GoT, so I guess it shouldn't come as a great surprise, but her performance in this is an absolute masterclass in acting. How one so young can be so fucking good an actor leaves me speechless. She's an incredible talent, and she's basically carrying the whole thing for me.

So I have issues with much of the plotting which is incredibly cliche-ridden, and at times asinine to the point of being embarrassing, but the leads are so good together, that it keeps me watching.
I like all the people stuff, though the woman resistance leader didn't convince me in the slightest and was poorly written, but yeah, all the people stuff is generally great, but the silly monsters less so for me. I thought the big bloater thing in ep5 was really badly realised, and looked as if it had just blundered onset from the Resident Evil movie filming on an adjacent lot, and tbh, while the mutated zombie people is an interesting take on a very old threat, they just all seem a bit B-Movie for what is otherwise a great show.

I get that it's based on a video game full of monsters, but I'd have been happier if they'd played this aspect down even more than they have, and just made it more of a human drama that focussed primarily on the few survivors of the pandemic, because that's the area it shines the most in. It's a difficult thing to balance though, and it's not overly affecting my enjoyment of the series, but it's perhaps telling that my favourite episode so far has been Ep.4.

So. It's a good show, with good writing and direction, some mesmerising performances from the cast, but some B-Movie tropes and plotting that could have done with another coat of paint.

Well, it was quite spectacular I suppose, but... I'm just kind of in the minority of viewers in that for me the stuff that everyone else seems to think is padding (the character development) is the meat and potatoes of the show for me, whereas I'm not fussed with most of the action beats.
Have to say though, they've got a tough job adapting a videogame full of protracted stealth sections, endless violent combat, and silly monsters, and making it into a series largely grounded in reality that manages to be interesting.
When all is said and done, it's Joel and Ellie's bonding story, and once you've excised the gameplay sections that won't work as a show, that doesn't leave much for them to do, so I get why they are fleshing out other story beats as the show progresses, and I think they're doing a great job in that respect. I'm keeping abreast on what and how they've changed things from the game as the show progresses, and they've made some really smart decisions.

So, yeah, ultimately I really like it, but I always have that feeling in the back of my head when I'm watching, that for my money, it's being slightly hampered by the very different nature of the source material.
I'd probably feel differently though if I'd actually played the game.

Tbh G you’ve read it perfectly.  It’s not about zombies - well, it is but it’s secondary to the story of the two leads.  It’s the character development that’s key in this (and the game tbf).  Feel free to enjoy omg cool zombie men but they’re kinda secondary to the other stuff that going on.

Hard agree on Bella Ramsey too - she’s outstanding in this and nails the nuance. Pedro is in my good books for narcos and me not watching any of the nonsense fantasy sci-fi stuff he’s previously been involved with.

Aye great episode again.

Pleasantly tense.