'The Last of Us' HBO Series

[carrrnuttt]

I’m sure there are many more stories like this from others who hadn’t yet played the games. This show is going to be a huge boost for the series and the brand at large. Hopefully those on high will finally see that it is worth investing resources into top talent and taking games more seriously. Just a shame one of my biggest favourites Uncharted was thrown in to the fire just beforehand.

Not to mention the boost it will give to Uncharted, Spider-Man, and GoW on PS5, a few of the games I wished had made the jump to Xbox. People like me no longer have an excuse not to try and grab those, time permitting.

 

[Iceman]

Not to mention the boost it will give to Uncharted, Spider-Man, and GoW on PS5, a few of the games I wished had made the jump to Xbox. People like me no longer have an excuse not to try and grab those, time permitting.

Yeah, as an X-box guy also, those mentioned above and Horizon are my favourites (GoW my no.1). They better get the GoW show right too! Just can't fathom how they had one team working on Uncharted while another was prepping this show. Must have been very different messages sent to those 2 camps lol.

 

[squeekness]

Good. She's been fantastic.

 

[Slick]

It’s begun.

Edit: Twitter link was unavailable so posted YouTube clip.

 

[carrrnuttt]

It’s begun.

Edit: Twitter link was unavailable so posted YouTube clip.

That looked better than any episode of FTWD.

 

[squeekness]

"Why are all pages stuck together?" Oh, Ellie.....

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Not as good as the last three episodes IMO, but I really loved all the bonding scenes between Joel and Ellie in this episode and the fact that it was mostly through bad, corny jokes which were actually pretty funny.

After how dour the last episode was a bit of levity is a nice change of pace for this show, because you know more bad stuff is just around the corner and it was cool seeing Melanie Lynskey in this.

I really enjoyed her performance in Yellowjackets.

 

[Luigi]

Yeah, weakest episode so far. Felt very rushed.

Spoiler

Not idea why they had to change it to Kansas City.

 

[squeekness]

Not as good as the last three episodes IMO, but I really loved all the bonding scenes between Joel and Ellie in this episode and the fact that it was mostly through bad, corny jokes which were actually pretty funny.

After how dour the last episode was a bit of levity is a nice change of pace for this show, because you know more bad stuff is just around the corner and it was cool seeing Melanie Lynskey in this.

I really enjoyed her performance in Yellowjackets.

Lynskey is fast becoming a favorite of mine. She was fantastic in Yellowjackets.

 

[Kane52630]

Episode 5 will be released this Friday.

 

[Iceman]

Episode 5 will be released this Friday.

Good to know. Makes sense to screen it ahead of time, and anyway happy to get it earlier.

 

[squeekness]

Good to know. Makes sense to screen it ahead of time, and anyway happy to get it earlier.

Me, too. I'll be tuning in.

 

[Iceman]

Accidentally put on episode 1 by mistake instead of 4, and couldn’t help rewatching that amazing intro. Seriously such an awesome way to launch the show.

 

[squeekness]

Accidentally put on episode 1 by mistake instead of 4, and couldn’t help rewatching that amazing intro. Seriously such an awesome way to launch the show.

They've done things very well from my perspective as a non gamer. I love the music and I love Ellie to bits. Such a great casting.

 

[Persona]

Episode 4 was pretty weak.

 

[Teelie]

Watching 4 right now and I wouldn't call it weak. Pacing is slower and they are doing more bonding between Joel and Ellie which is good character building.

It also sets Ellie on the path she needs to be for the later arc(s), especially season 2.

 

[Iceman]

Watching 4 right now and I wouldn't call it weak. Pacing is slower and they are doing more bonding between Joel and Ellie which is good character building.

It also sets Ellie on the path she needs to be for the later arc(s), especially season 2.

Yeah, I’m halfway through and sometimes shows need a break from the maximum intensity level. The relationship between Joel and Ellie needs time to develop too for everything to have more impact in future. As he mentions, she’s “cargo” for now lol, rather than family like Tess was.

 

[Slick]

I love it.

 

[NotNickFury]

So apparently that conversation about the magazine was ripped right from the games?

I need to find a good playthrough of this game to watch when the season ends. I did like Joel teaching Ellie how to properly hold a gun.

 

[obredaan]

So apparently that conversation about the magazine was ripped right from the games?

I need to find a good playthrough of this game to watch when the season ends. I did like Joel teaching Ellie how to properly hold a gun.

I geeked so hard when they threw that line in.

Little easter egg for the game, the naked man on the cover of the magazine in the game is actually Joel.

 

[Prison Mike]

For anyone who complained that episode 3 was slow, episode 4 really amped up the action!

 

[Kane52630]

So apparently that conversation about the magazine was ripped right from the games?

 

[Drizzle]

It was definitely the "least best" episode of the bunch so far but I thought there was still a lot to enjoy. If anything it ended a bit abruptly and could have been 10 minutes longer.

A LOT of fan service in those first couple of minutes with the joke book and Bill's magazine. I was expecting the part with the magazine because it's one of the only real moments of levity in the game but the joke book was something that they didn't even need to include but I'm so happy that they did.

I also caught a couple of nods to Part II:

Spoiler

Ellie (erroneously) calling coffee "burnt ****" is a line that's lifted directly from Part II when she's exploring Seattle with Dina.

The other one is more of a stretch but when Joel is in the shootout after the truck crash and kills the one guy, his friend runs over to check his pulse and angrily curses out Joel. I don't recall seeing the AI enemies doing much of this in the first game but this is a common occurrence all through Part II which is why that specific detail reminded me of it.

I'm curious to see more of Melanie Lynskey's character and her group. I like how they made her a figurehead to really flesh out that group since they're only an obstacle for Joel and Ellie in the game. Lynskey's always been very underrated IMO so I'm excited to see her do more villainous stuff in the next episode. Also what I didn't realize at first but discovered in the "Inside the Episode" was that the bearded guy in the Kansas City group played Tommy in the games. I thought something about him seemed familiar but I'm really loving that they've given roles to most of the actors in the game.

Spoiler

Not idea why they had to change it to Kansas City.

In the grand scheme of things whether it's Pittsburgh or Kansas City is irrelevant to the story. They likely just changed it to have Joel and Ellie cover more ground.

Episode 5 will be released this Friday.

I saw the message pop up at the beginning of the episode and I had to rewind to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Pretty awesome of them to drop it on Friday night. Part of me wonders if they'll do the same for when the Oscars are on but I doubt it because that's the finale and the Oscars aren't as big of a ratings threat as the Super Bowl.

 

[Kane52630]

I thought the episode overall was a good pit stop and it's main goal is to have bonding time with Joel and Ellie.

Looking through how much time we have left for the season, I can only imagine it going this way:

Spoiler: Game Spoilers

Episode 5 is going to show us the entire arch of Joel/Ellie and Henry and Sam in a shorten way and they're finally gonna show us the bloater.

Episode 6 is going to reunite Joel with Tommy and introduce Maria and possibly take us to the University of Colorado

Episode 7 is probably going to be similar to episode 3 where we get the Ellie and Riley flashback with Joel being injured in and Ellie finding medicine.

Episode 8 is the cannibal episode in winter

Episode 9 is the highway underpass horde and of course the big hospital scene ending.

 

[squeekness]

EW on Melanie Lynksey