Horror 'The Last of Us' HBO Series

[Snow Queen]

Can someone explain to me this HotD'ing idea? This has been thrown around a lot and it almost never comes with any further explanation. I don't watch it and from what I gather online, HotD S02 seems to have scaled down its scope and was otherwise inert in terms of moving the plot along. All indications money was reined in as it didn't really take off in the way GOT did [because of the way GOT ended created hesitancy amongst the general audience]

I wouldn't say TLOU S02 suffers from this. If anything, they're moving a lot faster than I expected them too and it's coming across like they're teleporting down a Greatest Hits list. I also played the game across a long stretch of time. I would've played Ellie's portion sometime Fall 2022. What was so precious about Hillcrest besides the car chase that wasn't accomplished by the Warehouse/Jesse Save?

My understanding is House of Dragons had one or two episodes abruptly slashed because HBO is curtailing budgets. That's what it refers to. This season's length. Not being cut so late in production, but still a byproduct of HBO starting to tighten the purse strings.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

Got it. I had assumed TLOU's shorter S02 was a result of the production strikes, meeting production timelines (ie filming in the snow), and Ellie's portion of the game being yielding an earlier stopping point.

 

[DCDAVE]

Not sure what else to ask of this: Spore debilitated them like they did Nora and keep them "alive" like all the other infected, except here they're just absorbed by the surrounding wall lining to keep producing spores.

I just like the side stories. The beginning of the WLF organization just seems interesting. I wouldn’t even mind an episode about the profit in season 3. I really enjoy the world of the last of us. Wouldn’t mind a game outside of Elle.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Good episode but things are moving way too fast for me. For one, I feel like we have barely got to know Jesse before Abby inevitably kills at the end of the season.

And for two, getting to Nora seemed to take significant effort in the game, it didn't really seem too here, especially once Ellie was alone. I also feel like them cutting 2 of Abby's friends was a bit much. It should have been just one of them if they had to cut anything.

It feels like next week is going to an episode full of flashbacks, with the finale being The Aquarium followed by an ending scene of Abby getting to the Theatre, killing Jesse and severely injuring Tommy.

If so then Tommy has also been given the shaft this season in some ways. A lot of ways even since episode 2.

For every change they have made that's been good I feel they have made a bad one each time.

 

[Drizzle]

Got it. I had assumed TLOU's shorter S02 was a result of the production strikes, meeting production timelines (ie filming in the snow), and Ellie's portion of the game being yielding an earlier stopping point.

Snow beat me to it but yeah, I was referring to budget. Regardless of where one stands on how the show has been adapting Part II, the story is at least progressing unlike HOTD S2 which basically felt like kicking the ball back and forth at midfield at the halfway point rather than kicking it down the field.

 

[DCDAVE]

Just started playing Last of Us 2 remastered and I am on the patrol mission with Elle and Dina. The game characters are much more skilled while the show makes them more grounded. Kaitlyn has Abby’s personality to a tee. Overall the show has done a great job of giving us the environment of the game in a grounded realistic way. I do wonder if the show critics would like a more imposing Abby and an athletic slender looking Elle like the game.

 

[psylockolussus]

Spoiler

I was wondering why Ellie didn't get to kill any of the fireflies before they got to the theater. The particular scene in the 2nd game in which there were 2 Fireflies and Ellie's hands were tied and Dina was being strangled was hardcore. It looks like Nora is the Firefly to be killed in this show.

i wonder if they are gonna condense all Joel flashbacks in the next episode, as I remember there 3 separate Joel flashbacks before Ellie sees Abby again.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Flashbacks or not, it is good to see Pascal again.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Probably not a great sign that this was easily the season's best episode but at least it was rather good.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Can someone explain to me this HotD'ing idea? This has been thrown around a lot and it almost never comes with any further explanation. I don't watch it and from what I gather online, HotD S02 seems to have scaled down its scope and was otherwise inert in terms of moving the plot along. All indications money was reined in as it didn't really take off in the way GOT did [because of the way GOT ended created hesitancy amongst the general audience]

I wouldn't say TLOU S02 suffers from this. If anything, they're moving a lot faster than I expected them too and it's coming across like they're teleporting down a Greatest Hits list. I also played the game across a long stretch of time. I would've played Ellie's portion sometime Fall 2022. What was so precious about Hillcrest besides the car chase that wasn't accomplished by the Warehouse/Jesse Save?

I wouldn't say it's like HotD. It's more like GoT, especially later GoT.

As for HotD, it was a success. They got their budget slashed because Zaslav is a ghoul.

 

[squeekness]

‘Last of Us’ Director Neil Druckmann on the Twists, Deaths, and Controversies of “The Price”

The game maker directed episode six of season two. He walks through its nuanced exploration of justice vs. forgiveness—and how Joe Pantoliano made his sequence even more devastating.

www.vanityfair.com

‘The Last of Us’ Reunites Joel and Ellie—and Reveals What Really Happened to Eugene

Season two does its version of season one’s standout episode “Long, Long Time,” with mixed results.

www.vanityfair.com

A Departure From the Video Game Reframes Joel and Ellie's Relationship in The Last of Us Season 2

Episode 6 of the show's second season expands a video game character's backstory to flesh out Joel and Ellie's relationship.

time.com

 

[Snow Queen]

You could really feel the difference in writing staff this episode. My biggest issue in the show so far is how often it feels like it's holding my hand and exposition where it should be emotion. This one took a step back there and the changes and different perspectives shown I thought made for an enjoyable twist on the familiar.

Spoiler

Joey Pants looking out at the water like:

 

[Spider-Fan]

Definitely best episode of season so far. I think the show has been more up tempo this season than last so far, and I am glad we slowed down and had a great character focused episode

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Yeah this was definitely one of my favorite episodes of the season. The acting in this was absolutely superb especially in that last scene between Joel and Ellie.

I actually love a good, slower paced character building episode especially when it's done really well like this and it was a nice breather coming off the last episode and going into the finale.

Spoiler

Also Tony Dalton and Joe Pantolianos camoes really took me by surprise but both of them pretty much killed it in the little screentime they had.

 

[Snow Queen]

"You don't own anything, Joel."
Real picture of Ellie:

 

[DCDAVE]

Joel and Tommy as children with a police officer father in the state of Texas. Yeah they gonna know a thing or two about the belt and corporal punishment. That opening scene was an absolute excellent way to show Tommy and Joel’s relationship growing up.

Bella has the child Elle down to a tee. The museum scene is like watching someone play the video game. It’s so pivotal to understanding Joel and Elle’s relationship beyond the first game. The actually had a father-daughter relationship for at least a few years in Jackson.

Joel killing Eugene was heartbreaking. He had no choice there was no way he would make it back to Jackson without turning. Joel always makes the tough decisions except when he saved Elle from the fireflies.

Elle telling Gale what happened to Eugene was not cool. Like I said earlier there was no way Eugene would have made it back too Jackson without turning. I get Elle has questions but man if Eugene turns when he is close to Jackson, all hell breaks loose.

What an ending to the best episode of the season. Joel basically telling Elle her future and hoping she will make a different decision than him or his father. You guys have not seen anything yet.

 

[Drizzle]

Well, that episode did indeed put me through the wringer as expected.

That final scene broke me even more than Joel's death did. Pedro and Bella were tremendous in that moment.

Ellie's birthday at the museum was adapted perfectly from the game.

The Tony Dalton cameo as Joel's dad was totally unexpected but it was a good scene that provided a solid callback at the end.

The only thing I wasn't sure of was how Joel dealt with the Eugene situation. It wasn't totally out of character but I thought it was a pretty cold thing for post-Part 1 Joel to do. But I did find that little change from the game interesting where that was why Ellie was upset with Joel with it becoming a catalyst for her getting the truth about the Fireflies out of him.

 

[Stringer]

I appreciate the subtlety and discomfort the game was going for on the porch conversation. Even in our last moments we don't state our feelings perfectly, but I think the show handled it better. I'm glad Joel and Ellie put it all out there in the end which makes it seem like a true mending of their relationship. It's going to make for an interesting series finale now with Joel's last words about parenting.

 

[Drizzle]

Probably not a great sign that this was easily the season's best episode but at least it was rather good.

You could really feel the difference in writing staff this episode.

I wonder why.



While I don't think Mazin's writing this season has been as amateur hour as Benioff and Weiss were for the final season of Game of Thrones, but it's pretty clear that at least when it comes to this season and adapting the second game the help he's getting from Druckmann and Gross is a boost. I'm happy that they also co-wrote the finale.

 

[Kane52630]

I really enjoyed the episode and the changes/condensing they made... which makes some of the flashbacks from the show seem better thought out in some ways than the game. Ellie finding out how Joel lied was better here, and Joey Pants did a great job. Still would have loved to see them actually show us the Adam/Sidney scene.

It's the best they've written Ellie in a while, and it just makes the previous few episodes stick out even more with her attitude and how she's been written. This show is still soft around the edges compared to the game and suffers from too much hand-holding, but this ep was better than I was expecting.

 

[Drizzle]

I just realized that Ellie has a Matrix poster on her bedroom wall with Joey Pants in all his Cypher glory.

 

[Kane52630]

I just realized that Ellie has a Matrix poster on her bedroom wall with Joey Pants in all his Cypher glory.

View attachment 133811

This goes back to my "does Seth Rogen exist in The Studio" theory.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

Well, there you have it. According to Mazin's Collider interview today, their intentions are to cover Part II across three seasons, unless they wear out their welcome.

 

[Drizzle]

This goes back to my "does Seth Rogen exist in The Studio" theory.

My headcanon for those things always goes to "the actors exist in the universe, the characters just happen to look like them." Like in Endgame when Tony calls Thor "Lebowski", confirming that Jeff Bridges is a person in the MCU and Obadiah Stane just looked like him.

Well, there you have it. According to Mazin's Collider interview today, their intentions are to cover Part II across three seasons, unless they wear out their welcome.

With the way they've been rushing through Ellie's time in Seattle I was starting to think they'd only do one more season but with 10 episodes to cover the remainder of the game. As it is we're probably looking at two more 7-episode seasons, or possibly fewer since they'd probably be able to fit the remainder of the story into less than 14 episodes.

Still, with two more seasons that at least gives promise that they'll go all out with the budget for the Rat King and Seraphite Island.

 

[Snow Queen]

Still, with two more seasons that at least gives promise that they'll go all out with the budget for the Rat King and Seraphite Island.

Super curious about the latter because it looks like maybe Ellie gets caught up in it? I mean I've been wrong with a million guesses, but the teaser sure makes it look like she ends up getting swept up in the assault and caught while looking for a boat. Curious if they have her meet Isaac or if he's off somewhere else in that footage.