The Last of Us Remake, Factions and HBO TV series - Catch All

Ok. Just finished watching. I’m a mess. That was superbly done.

Can someone remind me how the Left Behind DLC ended? I was actually surprised the flashback in the show ended where it did, because I thought we'd see more, but I wasn't sure how the game did it since it's been so long since I played it. Do we think we'll get more of the flashback in a later episode?

I think they already hit us with the emotional death on

Spoiler:

Sam

and left this one to the imagination...

I’m glad they left it to the imagination. They did the same in the game as far as I remember. You can surmise the rest.

beanman101283 wrote:

Can someone remind me how the Left Behind DLC ended? I was actually surprised the flashback in the show ended where it did, because I thought we'd see more, but I wasn't sure how the game did it since it's been so long since I played it. Do we think we'll get more of the flashback in a later episode?

Roughly in the same place, where she's able to close up the wound physically but lacking any items to deal with likely infections in the wound.

The soundtrack for season one has just been released.

Good episode! Intense and gross like that part in the game.

Good, intense, gross, but I rather hated how

Spoiler:

explicitly rapey they made David in the final confrontation. I just played that part in the remake, and he's a creep that reminded me strongly of the FLDS polygamists who are roughly in the area, but by the steakhouse, David pretty clearly just wants to kill Ellie.

I feel like that scene is intense and distressing enough without that embellishment.

Yeah, probably should explicitly say up front CW: attempted rape. Also, the other townsfolk were probably like, "Oh no, there's a fire. Guess there's nothing we can do about it."

Spoiler:

I thought David was exceptionally well done over all. That disconcerting calm and apparent reasonableness but, yes, I could have done without them being quite so overt with the attempted rape although it makes her sustained reaction more understandable.

I like that they retained the line, “Ellie is the little girl who broke your f*cking finger.”

I didn’t have a problem with no one reacting to the fire. It was spreading fast and all in that one room and my impression was that a lot of those people don’t go outside if they don’t have to.

I thought Troy was excellent. I believed that that man wasn’t getting enough to eat.

Yeah, David was quite well done, it was literally a matter of one line that I really think should have been struck.

I have some larger thoughts regarding a somewhat critical lack of "action," that I think really was a problem in episode 6, and was a bit of a lesser issue with how Joel just strolled into town in this episode, but I'll save that for when I can collate it more. For now it will suffice that I love what they've done with what a I consider a sacred text, and it's great that this story is reaching people I know who wouldn't engage with it otherwise, but like I expected, the original form remains superior.

Folks are suggesting Emma D’Arcy for Abby in part 2. I can see it.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/NjGRxf2.jpg)

I’m looking forward to seeing Abby in the show. The casting has been really good so far so I am optimistic.

Same. It’ll be interesting to see if they stick with the same structure. I suspect they’ll go for a slower build up. I think that was the original plan for the game but they decided they needed to get to the pivotal scene faster. They could take more time with the TV version.

I have faith either way.

I'm sure acting-wise they'd be good, but it's hard to determine D'Arcy's buffness level in all the gowns and such they have to wear on Hot D.

SpacePProtean wrote:

I'm sure acting-wise they'd be good, but it's hard to determine D'Arcy's buffness level in all the gowns and such they have to wear on Hot D.

I didn't make the HOTD connection until you mentioned it. No, she is not close to Abby buff but actors "seem" to have no problem getting jacked having access to the best trainers. In terms of her being the the right choice, I thought she was just OK on HOTD so I'm not sold. I'm saying that with the caveat that maybe the writers didn't give her too much to work with.

I'm more intrigued how they are going to make Bella Ramsey look a few years older. I didn't realize she is 19.

Sometimes I think Bella looks significantly older in promo material now. Another six months or a year could see them looking older still. At the end of the day though I think they’ll have to select any love interests and Abby to match how they look age wise at the time of filming (although there’s leeway to have Abby somewhat older I guess.)

When it’s down to just a matter of looking young teen vs older teen or early twenties, productions seem able to do a lot with costume and makeup so they can probably make adjustments if desired, I’m thinking. Bella Ramsey said they wore a chest binder most of the time filming season one for example.

Finally got around to watching Ep 8.

Jeebers creebers. Incredibly intense, well-acted, gripping drama and overall excellent in capturing an unsettling script.

But dear lord, this episode is as strong a reminder as any that there's no way in hell I could've gotten through the game. This show is already similar in my mind to Jessica Jones in that it's very well done strong work, but I cannot digest more than 1 episode of this at a time, because to do so is a cognitohazard.

I already know the outline & main plot beats of Part 2, and they're certainly making sure the seeds are planted for Neil D's Merry-Go-Round of Unconditional Hate & Vengeance™, so I don't know if I'll be as readily onboard when Season 2 rolls around. We'll see how I'm feeling after the finale this weekend.

EDIT: Also:

Spoiler:

Was there always an attempted rape inside an actively-burning building? (EDIT EDIT: Removed unnecessary digs)

TheMostRad wrote:

EDIT: Also:

No, there very much was not.

Every week between one episode and the next has passed slowly but the eight weeks from beginning to end have gone by like lightning.

Daaaaaamn! A cold opening with the biggest fan service you could imagine, but it actually kinda works?

Great finale. I think the game did a better job with Elle clearly doubting Joel at the end, but whatever.

Such a surprise this whole show was as someone who bought and dove into the game day 1.

Funny, I thought the show was so much clearer about Ellie doubting Joel. It's been a while since I played the game though.

I was surprised at how short the episode was, and I just looked up the runtime: 43 minutes. By far the shortest episode. I was expecting them to drag out the hospital stuff more.

The cold open was that familiar combination of utterly heartbreaking and oddly wonderful.

It was a short episode but I thought it worked well at that length. The ending:

Spoiler:

I particularly loved Ellie’s silences in between questions she subtly interrogated Joel were so effective. You knew the exact thought processes she was going through and the doubts she had. The pause between Joel’s lie and Ellie saying, “Ok,” was perfect.

I’m glad they kept in the fact that Ellie was making plans to be with Joel after the operation and that the Fireflies didn’t acquire her consent before putting her under (in a way an understandable decision.) Part of the tragedy of that ending for me is that, if they’d taken the extra step to talk Ellie through what was going to happen and Joel had time to process Ellie’s decision (the Fireflies needed her to say yes. No wasn’t an option) it might not have gone down the way it did.

The scene with Joel shooting his way through the hospital was less effective to watch than to play. I was in utter turmoil throughout that whole sequence; oscillating between needing to save humanity and Joel’s (and, by extension, my) inability to let Ellie die.

It’s coming to something when the companion podcast to the show you’ve been watching has you in tears. Entirely unrelated to Ashley being on the podcast of course.

Edit: During the podcast they reveal that there is another cameo from an actress reprising her role in the first game. Here’s Laura Bailey, legend that she is, taking her minor part very seriously.

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/cnW4PHB.jpg)

I happened to have watched it with a group of people new to the franchise I think my jaw was on the floor more than theirs.

Higgledy wrote:

The cold open was that familiar combination of utterly heartbreaking and oddly wonderful.

It was a short episode but I thought it worked well at that length. The ending:

Spoiler:

I particularly loved Ellie’s silences in between questions she subtly interrogated Joel were so effective. You knew the exact thought processes she was going through and the doubts she had. The pause between Joel’s lie and Ellie saying, “Ok,” was perfect.

I’m glad they kept in the fact that Ellie was making plans to be with Joel after the operation and that the Fireflies didn’t acquire her consent before putting her under (in a way an understandable decision.) Part of the tragedy of that ending for me is that, if they’d taken the extra step to talk Ellie through what was going to happen and Joel had time to process Ellie’s decision (the Fireflies needed her to say yes. No wasn’t an option) it might not have gone down the way it did.

The scene with Joel shooting his way through the hospital was less effective to watch than to play. I was in utter turmoil throughout that whole sequence; oscillating between needing to save humanity and Joel’s (and, by extension, my) inability to let Ellie die.

I was surprised how my reaction to the show was different to my reaction to the game.

Spoiler:

When I played the game, I had much more sympathy for Joel and his decision. I could see how his actions were justified. In the show I thought Joel was clearly in the wrong. I think part of that is I know what happens in TLOU part 2, but I think another part is the way violence is used in games versus movies and tv. In the game I had already killed so many people and killing is an essential part of the gameplay. In the show the killing was much more stark. Joel going through the hospital killing people made me think of videos of school shooters, just emotionless as they commit horrible acts of violence. I came out of the show seeing Joel as a bad person.

Spoiler:

It’s well worth listening to the last episode of the podcast even if you haven’t listened to the others. They go into the sequence in depth. Personally, I think Joel’s actions were intended to come across as a descent into darkness in the original game but, as you say, because that sequence is part of the gameplay and it is difficult and exciting, it obscured the immortality of his actions. Craig wrestled with the music choice for Joel’s rampage. Everything they tried was too exciting. What they went for in the end, one of the saddest piece’s Gustavo wrote for the game, felt right.

I think I knew that Joel was in the wrong even in the game but, having come to love Ellie as much as I had (Neil Druckmann has said that the ending doesn’t work if you don’t love Ellie by the end) and knowing his mental state I had sympathy for him as a character. I think Joel would have been ok with being killed by the first guards he met but, after having lost his daughter and likely blaming himself for her death all those years, he had to try to save Ellie.

One thing that Craig said sums it up. Joel is burning his own soul in order to save someone he loves.

IUMogg wrote:

I was surprised how my reaction to the show was different to my reaction to the game.

Spoiler:

When I played the game, I had much more sympathy for Joel and his decision. I could see how his actions were justified. In the show I thought Joel was clearly in the wrong. I think part of that is I know what happens in TLOU part 2, but I think another part is the way violence is used in games versus movies and tv. In the game I had already killed so many people and killing is an essential part of the gameplay. In the show the killing was much more stark. Joel going through the hospital killing people made me think of videos of school shooters, just emotionless as they commit horrible acts of violence. I came out of the show seeing Joel as a bad person.

It was the exact opposite for me- when it became clear where the story was going in the game and what they wanted me to do, it felt like a betrayal to both me as the player and the narrative structure of the game, and it pissed me off enough that I put it down and didn’t return to finish it for several weeks.
It’s possible that it’s just the passive nature of tv but IMO the show handles it much better. The ending absolutely ruined the entire experience of the game for me and I didn’t get over it until the added context of the second game (which I almost didn’t play until I heard about a certain spoiler in that story).