The Last of Us - Edge has given this a [10] FYI - The Bear and Badger

hylian_elf

They used quite a few of the motion actors from the game. I mean, Marlene is Marlene though which is cool.

b0r1s

I did think they nailed her likeness.

Edit - a bit like Serkis perhaps they should just be called actors.

Gamermike

Great series, waaaay better than I was expecting.

My one gripe... very few infected - obviously the episodes without them were great, but everything felt a bit too safe towards the end.

I look forward to season 2. Shit gets real.

yourfavouriteuncle

That was incredibly good. Almost ep 3 level and they nailed that ending.

hylian_elf

b0r1s wrote:

I did think they nailed her likeness. Edit - a bit like Serkis perhaps they should just be called actors.

Marlene? I meant that it’s the same actor for game and series. Reprising her role.

b0r1s

Yep what I meant was I was watching it thinking they have really matched the game character really well not even thinking she would have been modelled from the same actor.

hylian_elf

Ah gotcha. Yep, they did. Whole series is a triumph. And I was actually gonna give it a miss cos you know, game adaptation. Bad rep.

Kow

So that's that. 6/10 being generous. Bella Ramsey is great in it. Pedro Pascal is Pedro Pascal. Everyone else is forgettable. The zombie things were totally stupid and basically pointless to the whole story. There were a few good episodes and episodes with good scenes, but overall it seemed to meander toward the end with no sense of direction - I had no idea that they were getting to the end of any kind of journey until they were suddenly there. Special mention to episode 3 with Nick Offerman as a low point. We barely know the main characters and we cut away for a whole episode to tell a story with little to no bearing on the main characters? Surely that kind of thing is for an episode in season 2 at the earliest? Anyway, it was a disjointed mess but still entertaining enough that I made it to the end.

g.man

Hmmmm...
Well.
I found the finale somewhat disappointing. Again, the performances were majestic, but the plotting is just asinine. I dare say it all works just fine as a viddygame, but translated to television, so much of it really doesn't work for me, and just devalues all the good stuff in the show. The last couple of episodes have felt incredibly rushed as well, which hasn't helped things.
Joel going full Rambo in the hospital I think was directed as well as it could have been, but to someone who hasn't played the games, it felt ridiculous in the context of the show.
I'd go as far as to say that the entire hospital sequence just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Marlene conveniently popping back up for the climax was idiotic.
The doctors instantly diagnosing the situation with Ellie and having her prepped for immediate surgery. None of this stuff made any sense to me. It needed time to breathe and develop and it just wasn't given that.
Found the whole episode quite annoying really.
Thank God for Ramsey and Pascal, who throughout the series, really elevated some of the worst plotting I've seen in recent years. Their performances and chemistry have really been pure gold.
So, certainly not a disaster, and I have for obvious reasons enjoyed it overall, but it really did need a longer season and a couple of more re-writes on the screenplay to really make it shine.

b0r1s

Some fair observations there from someone who hasn’t played the game. I guess even though I’ve played the game once years ago I have the advantage of knowing what’s coming somewhat so it doesn’t feel badly paced.

Personally, I thought the hospital scene was excellent, but appreciate partially it could be because it contextualised my own actions playing the game.

The acting that got me right at the end, was Pascal’s talking too much which nailed that sense of someone knowingly guilty and trying to distract. Awkwardly brilliantly done I thought.

g.man

Yeah the writing for the main characters was brilliantly nuanced throughout the series, which just made the piss-poor plotting all the more jarring for me.

DrewMerson

ShabbyMcCrabby

I quite liked the show but was a little disappointed they didn't have a longer season so that it all could have time to breathe more.
If the end of this season was instead the end of season 2 or 3 then all those character choices would have had more impact.
One of most brilliant things the game does is present you with those scenarios after you've been with these characters and playing as Joel protecting Ellie for like 15 hours.

As well acted as it all was I do feel like it needed more time to really land it.

Hopefully the popularity of this season will give them the time and budget needed to make Part 2 work as it will need much more space for its themes

yourfavouriteuncle

I’m thinking budget played a part in all their plotting issues. They clearly go big for the first couple of episodes but then, bar the odd big set piece, it becomes a much smaller focus. I didn’t actually need more action but we certainly needed the relationship to develop more to get to the point at the end. I even think the big WINTER, SPRING splash screens you got in the game might have helped give more of a grounding but the series suffered from enforced brevity for the final two thirds. It’s been a hit, it’ll get a load of noms at all the big awards shows and so I think they’ll be given more leeway with running time and budget for the next lot.

Cupatay

g.man wrote:

Hmmm
Marlene conveniently popping back up for the climax was idiotic.
The doctors instantly diagnosing the situation with Ellie and having her prepped for immediate surgery. None of this stuff made any sense to me. It needed time to breathe and develop and it just wasn't given that.

As much as I enjoyed it, I did raise an eyebrow at this. Especially the instant diagnosis in the time Joel was knocked out. I think it comes down to a time issue. Must do because it did feel rushed. There was enough there for another hour over those last 2 episodes.

JMW

An issue I have is that Joel is such a (damaged) murderer by the end that you can easily imagine him killing Ellie in an argument - I’m not sure if that’s the intent because I only started the 2nd game and haven’t gone back to it, but given that it’s from a game & you play him, I assume you’re supposed to still feel he’s heroic. Fair play if not.

hylian_elf

Game vs Tv makes a difference. I don’t like TV Joel. As a spectator, and without having more time to gel with him, I think he’s a cunt. But in the game, as I’m Joel, I feel like I’m doing what I need to do, what I want to do and it’s all fine. Alllllll fine. Kill ‘em all.

Kow

The hospital murderathon seemed to be a nod to the game. Problem is it's one of those really dumb video game things, mowing down enemies, and even dumber on a tv show.

EvilRedEye

The UK broadcast of the finale on Sky Atlantic beat the Love Island finale apparently.

DrewMerson

AndCallMeCharlie

The birth of Ellie was laugh out loud bad.

No doubt there will be a slew of tv adaptations of video games after the ratings success. Yet this series has underlined what a bad idea it is - best case (best suited game converted by stellar TV people) is a fine but flawed show.

poprock

One thing I haven’t seen anyone mention yet is how episodic the show felt. First couple of episodes aside, where the world was established, each episode told a distinct short story. I liked that about it.

But that also gave me false hope for a tidy ending. I thought they were going to wrap it up with either a win or a tragedy. But no, we got an ambiguous next step on a journey and a pointer towards a changed relationship between the two leads.

ChopperByrne

Definitely needed something to show the time lapse.

March...

June...

Or something like 107 days since leaving the Boston QZ.

For the viewer it all felt like it was maybe a week or two, instead of months.

It felt very GoT S8 in terms of pacing. Just magically teleport characters where they need to be.

If yer one was going to be there anyway, why didn't she just take Ellie?

First half of the season was great, but it dipped in quality by the end.

Cupatay

ChopperByrne wrote:

If yer one was going to be there anyway, why didn't she just take Ellie?

I think that was the plan initially but then she got shot/injured and she also has a massive target on her back being the leader so it was more risky. Joel is a smuggler by trade and a cold one at that. Seemed the safest way to transport Ellie I'd guess.

Marlene was always gonna try and make it there too being the leader and all.

ChopperByrne

I don't even remember her getting shot.

I assumed that Joel was going to save her, but die in the attempt, but nope, status quo it is.

Dark Soldier

I've only done the first 4, will go back to it at some point but not feeling compelled to at all tbh.

Cupatay

I thought the vast majority loved the story in the game and in particular the ending. I think changing the ending would be a terrible idea. Just more time was all it needed for me.

@chop - first episode when she hands Ellie to Joel, Marlene is injured and her friend has lost her ear. They were blowing all kinds of shit up to distract FEDRA whilst they made their escape with Ellie.

AndCallMeCharlie

ChopperByrne wrote:

Definitely needed something to show the time lapse. March... June... Or something like 107 days since leaving the Boston QZ. For the viewer it all felt like it was maybe a week or two, instead of months. It felt very GoT S8 in terms of pacing. Just magically teleport characters where they need to be. If yer one was going to be there anyway, why didn't she just take Ellie? First half of the season was great, but it dipped in quality by the end.

GoT S8 is an excellent comparison, the quality of the prediction just emphasises the illogical plot in both

Minkymu

I enjoyed the finale. Having never played the game Joels actions seemed completely logical, he loves her like s daughter and he has realised he has inadvertently delivered her to her death.

Like him i would kill anyone in my way to save my 'daughter'

Selfish but understandable. I wish they had paced it out a bit better, the carnage was too brief to get a sense of the odds.

Great series.

yourfavouriteuncle

I just don’t think there was enough in the show as a whole that showed him seeing her as a surrogate daughter. You feel the need to protect her in the game - even if that’s only by way of spending so much fucking time ushering her around the place but here without those extended periods of peril, it all felt far more contrived. I enjoyed the show a lot, the two leads were great but there just wasn’t enough development between the two of them.

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