"Last of US" HBO mini-series

[Andrew NDB]

(based on the video game series)

Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel:

https://www.darkhorizons.com/pedro-pascal-is-joel-in-hbos-last-of-us/?fbclid=IwAR0hovlSguIX9t5qPX8Khq8uYym36epk6gK8wauj R3cS6OUQrqJgns7u1mU

And earlier today Ellie was cast:
https://nordic.ign.com/news/43588/hbos-last-of-us-show-casts-game-of-thrones-star-as-ellie

Bella Ramsey, also from GoT.

I loved Bella Ramsey in GoT, but she doesn't seem the part. Neither does Pedro.

[Andrew NDB]

So it premiered yesterday. Decent. Though it seems like the only reason they got rid of spores (the infected now have tendrils that come out of their mouth and go into the mouths of the victims instead) was so Pedro wouldn't have to wear a gas mask even part of the time.

Pedro did a fine job and it works. Bella Ramsey is a great actress but -- and this sounds horrible -- she kind of has like a light dusting of "down syndrome face." They didn't need to get a lookalike from the game but I dunno. Not this.

[CyberCubed]

Haven't watched it yet but I don't know why they purposely chose an actress that looks absolutely *nothing* like Ellie at all. I mean is it really that hard to find a real life girl who looks very similar to Ellie? It almost seems like they purposely went with an actress with the exact opposite look. It really takes me out of it looking at the trailers and this doesn't seem like the same Ellie I played and protected in two games.

[Andrew NDB]

Here are the others who were up for the part and auditioned:

https://en.as.com/meristation_en/2023/01/06/news/1673026654_936782.html

Damn, I didn't know Kiernan Shipka tried out. A few years ago would have been better, though, as she's looking pretty adult now.

Looks like Kaitlyn Dever had the part for a while but lost it due to COVID delays and aging out. She was a pretty good ringer for Ellie!

[Coola Yagami]

Apparently Bella is 19, so I guess she has that Tom Holland/Zandaya thing where she's stuck looking like a kid.

Yeah, appearance-wise she's a horrible choice. From that article you showed us, the girl on the bottom middle of that grid flat out is Ellie come to life. But eh, you know Hollywood. The article is kissing Bella's ass and acting like 'omg, looks just like Ellie came to life' when no... no she doesn't.



But let's be honest. This is current year. We kinda have to give up on people even trying to get characters looking right. This proves that race-swapping isn't the only way one can horribly miscast someone.



Bella Ramsey is a great actress but -- and this sounds horrible -- she kind of has like a light dusting of "down syndrome face."

I mean....

[Andrew NDB]

Nico Parker, who played Joel's now-black daughter, addresses the "toxic fandom":

https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/16/the-last-of-us-nico-parker-addresses-toxic-fandom-amid-race-row-18111773/

[Coola Yagami]

Nico Parker, who played Joel's now-black daughter, addresses the "toxic fandom":

https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/16/the-last-of-us-nico-parker-addresses-toxic-fandom-amid-race-row-18111773/

They just can't help themselves.

[ChosenOne]

"Innovative in its inclusiveness"? The first game had one black character... Pretty ridiculous point to make a mountain out of a molehill. Nico was so damn good in the role, maybe even the best in the episode... Just take the win and move on.

[Sumac]

Tis idiots seriously act like before them, all characters were White and Straight.

It doesn't matter that Black characters were in the movies even back in the beginning of 20th century, nah, its all doesn't count. Ignorance of this retards is seriously astonishing, not to mention degrading to people who ACTUALLY accomplished something in the past, when Racism and Sexism were the norm, unlike nowadays.

But who cares about old Black actors, who were pioneers in the movies and White people who, despite common ideology at the time, helped them? Nah, doesn't count, hadn't happened. Its all starts now with our generation!!

****ing clowns.

[Coola Yagami]

"Innovative in its inclusiveness"? The first game had one black character... Pretty ridiculous point to make a mountain out of a molehill. Nico was so damn good in the role, maybe even the best in the episode... Just take the win and move on.

Naw, they'll continue to grandstand and virtue signal. They can't help themselves. They don't even see the actress as a person, just her skin color. Just a prop to wave around.

[ChosenOne]

Tis idiots seriously act like before them, all characters were White and Straight.

It doesn't matter that Black characters were in the movies even back in the beginning of 20th century, nah, its all doesn't count. Ignorance of this retards is seriously astonishing, not to mention degrading to people who ACTUALLY accomplished something in the past, when Racism and Sexism were the norm, unlike nowadays.

But who cares about old Black actors, who were pioneers in the movies and White people who, despite common ideology at the time, helped them? Nah, doesn't count, hadn't happened. Its all starts now with our generation!!

****ing clowns.

Remember what they tried to do to Gone With the Wind? Hattie did more for the cause than all of them together ever will, I could watch a whole other 3+ hour movie of just her playing that character... And it’s almost like they resent her for it. Utterly insane, these people.

[Sumac]

Remember what they tried to do to Gone With the Wind? Hattie did more for the cause than all of them together ever will, I could watch a whole other 3+ hour movie of just her playing that character... And it’s almost like they resent her for it. Utterly insane, these people.
Those idiots squeal about "culture appropriation", but they are the biggest appropriators of everything else, especially achievements of other people.

[Andrew NDB]

"Innovative in its inclusiveness"? The first game had one black character...

I count 4. Marlene, Henry & Sam, plus the little black girl who Ellie fell in love with in the prelude chapter Neil retconned in (which made the other co-creator walk away from the franchise because she didn't create Ellie as a lesbian but Neil really, reallt wanted that).

It's interesting, also, in the new Last of Us Part I game. I'm looking at the side-by-sides of this version compared to the remastered version from years ago. They've actually gone through and race-swapped some of the Fedra guards. Just on a cursory glance, a black Fedra guy and an Asian Fedra guy are BOTH white guys now. Fancy that!

[ChosenOne]

I count 4. Marlene, Henry & Sam, plus the little black girl who Ellie fell in love with in the prelude chapter Neil retconned in (which made the other co-creator walk away from the franchise because she didn't create Ellie as a lesbian).

How could I forget Henry and Sam? Gonna be heartbreaking to watch that in live action. You're quite right, though. Please ignore my previous statement.

[Turo602]

I count 4. Marlene, Henry & Sam, plus the little black girl who Ellie fell in love with in the prelude chapter Neil retconned in (which made the other co-creator walk away from the franchise because she didn't create Ellie as a lesbian but Neil really, reallt wanted that).

That's complete bullsh*t. Neil Druckmann was the creative director and writer for The Last of Us. He created Ellie and went in that direction for her. I have no idea who you're referring to, but co-director Bruce Straley didn't leave Naughty Dog until he was done with Uncharted 4 due to Naughty Dog's horrible crunch culture.

[Andrew NDB]

I missed this entirely:

https://dailyhive.com/calgary/the-last-of-us-hbo-alberta-casting

So they're changing Sam to be deaf. Gotta check that box, now.

[Andrew NDB]

The latest episode is getting "unanimous" praise from critics. What is it? Well, it's the Bill part of the story.

Except Joel and Ellie never even run into him in the present and he's dead before the episode begins. In the game you run into Bill, get caught up in one of his traps (in one of the game's most memorable sequences) and there's a lot of great back and forth between Bill and Ellie and at the end of the "mission" you find Frank, who Bill suspiciously and repeatedly mentions was his "partner" in the game (which I KNEW they would zero in on in the show), has hung himself and left a hate letter for Bill. In this, all of that is out the window and it's just an hour spent on Bill and Frank's love story in the past before they killed themselves. Meaning there is no point to this episode but to jerk some tears and virtue signal. Bill doesn't assist Ellie's journey because they never even meet now, or can ever meet.

Totally stupid, totally transparent.

[IMJ]

The show has been very watchable so far, but it has a lot of time and a lot of space to jump the shark. I'm just going to watch it as long as it's entertaining and as soon as it starts with the bull$#!(, I'll just stop.

[oldmanwinters]

So I never actually played the game/games or watched any of the show, but I've seen some folks take issue that the series romanticizes assisted suicide. Any legitimacy to that?

[Andrew NDB]

So I never actually played the game/games or watched any of the show, but I've seen some folks take issue that the series romanticizes assisted suicide. Any legitimacy to that?

This latest episode, yes. Literally romanticizes it.

Bill helps Frank kill himself and then takes the same poison himself to die. Frank tells him, "That's the most romantic thing I've ever seen."

[oldmanwinters]

This latest episode, yes. Literally romanticizes it.

Bill helps Frank kill himself and then takes the same poison himself to die. Frank tells him, "That's the most romantic thing I've ever seen."

Geez, somebody buy that poor guy a dvd of Pixar’s UP or something.

[CyberCubed]

So I never actually played the game/games or watched any of the show, but I've seen some folks take issue that the series romanticizes assisted suicide. Any legitimacy to that?

If you have a PS4 or PS5 I'd advise to just play the games. They're basically a modern take on Resident Evil, with third person shooting and some puzzle elements but they're more story driven with high production values.

[oldmanwinters]

If you have a PS4 or PS5 I'd advise to just play the games. They're basically a modern take on Resident Evil, with third person shooting and some puzzle elements but they're more story driven with high production values.

I do own the original on PS3, just not the dedication to really dig into it.

[Dpooly84]

I'm really enjoy this series, but didn't care for this episode. Episode 3 doesn't seem like the episode to throw away on characters that have no effect on the story. I don't have any problems with the homosexuality, it just seems like a big nothing of an episode. Also why does Hollywood seem to think that gays and women will be the ones to survive a zombie apocalypse? I'm not saying they can't but Hollywood seems to think that gays and women will just be running **** if the world falls apart and natural selection says different.

[Andrew NDB]

I'm really enjoy this series, but didn't care for this episode. Episode 3 doesn't seem like the episode to throw away on characters that have no effect on the story.

A bunch of people right now are going around saying, "This is the best piece of TV I've seen in years" about the episode but C'MON. It was well acted and staged and all but it didn't do anything to further Joel or Ellie's journeys. They took a whole sequence in the game that actually advanced both characters (mostly Ellie) and decided to actually completely change it to where it has nothing to do with them.

[Dpooly84]

A bunch of people right now are going around saying, "This is the best piece of TV I've seen in years" about the episode but C'MON. It was well acted and staged and all but it didn't do anything to further Joel or Ellie's journeys. They took a whole sequence in the game that actually advanced both characters (mostly Ellie) and decided to actually completely change it to where it has nothing to do with them.

That's my only problem, it literally did nothing to progress the story. What's the point? Love will prevail? Isn't that the point of the whole series?

[Andrew NDB]

That's my only problem, it literally did nothing to progress the story. What's the point? Love will prevail?

And barring that, hey, let's join the Suicide Squad.

Separately, they made such a big thing about Bill's combat preparedness and training (as they should)... yet raiders finally come and his strategy is to stand in the middle of an open street, standing still and just shooting at them?

[Dpooly84]

It just didn't fit.

[ChosenOne]

That's my only problem, it literally did nothing to progress the story. What's the point? Love will prevail? Isn't that the point of the whole series?

Rewatch the last five minutes, this episode shifted Joel's focus towards becoming Ellie's protector at all costs. It's quite a big deal in retrospect, considering their relationship thus far. Plus, it'll nab the show an Emmy or two, which isn't too shabby either.

[IMJ]

yet raiders finally come and his strategy is to stand in the middle of an open street, standing still and just shooting at them?

That was the first thing I said when that scene played out and the boyfriend goes out looking for him.

I'm like - "he's got an entire block of houses, retaining wall and other cover but he's standing in the middle of the open street while firing with a scoped rifle nonetheless. He could've been in his upper bedroom window, ten feet back from the glass in a corner with that scope and never been seen while firing. My guess is that the writers needed him injured for the sole purpose of conveying that Joel had become a trusted person in their lives when Bill gives him the "Joel will take care of you speech".

It was a solid episode. The newest excuse for liberal media and award shows to do a messy jerk-off on each other while grunting and screaming "stunning and brave! Stunning and brave!"

[Bahamut810]

I agree with both sides of this argument.

Should the show be more centered on our beloved protagonists?
Yes.
Was Episode 3 good?
Yes. Very good. I felt feels, and normally I don't feel feels.

Both can be right. I only think there are two other characters that this may happened to in the series where they take focus away from Joel and Elly and that probably wont happen till later on. The Firefly lady and another guy who is...the cult leader

[IMJ]

I agree with both sides of this argument.

Should the show be more centered on our beloved protagonists?
Yes.
Was Episode 3 good?
Yes. Very good. I felt feels, and normally I don't feel feels.

Both can be right. I only think there are two other characters that this may happened to in the series where they take focus away from Joel and Elly and that probably wont happen till later on. The Firefly lady and another guy who is...the cult leader

Were those two guys in the game? I've never played the game, but I know that it's a liberal social-justice jerk-off fest when it comes to character design and counter-culture this or that....

I thought the episode was solid, but it was so cliche that it bordered on melodrama as for the feels part. It lacked tact and awareness for caricature, but it was still able to make you feel for and have respect for the two guys for sure.

[Andrew NDB]

Were those two guys in the game?

Bill was a big part of the game, joining Joel and Ellie on their journey for a decent portion of it. At the end of it we met Frank, but he'd already hung himself and left a hate note for Bill that basically he was sick of him. Bill referred to him a few times as having been his "partner" so the seed was planted early on that they may or may not have been gay lovers.

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So, yes... radically different than what the episode did.

[AquaParade]

Episode 3 has some beautiful moments but was too painful and slow for me. I don’t need that many quiet, depressing, drawn out moments in a row to drive the point home.

Maybe this is why I like movies more than television series. You don’t have time to draw stuff out like this.

And I’m not talking about stories being “slow”. I like slow. “2001” is one of my favorite films.

I’m still into the show, I just didn’t need quite that much of Bill.

[IMJ]

Episode 3 has some beautiful moments but was too painful and slow for me. I don’t need that many quiet, depressing, drawn out moments in a row to drive the point home.

Maybe this is why I like movies more than television series. You don’t have time to draw stuff out like this.

And I’m not talking about stories being “slow”. I like slow. “2001” is one of my favorite films.

I’m still into the show, I just didn’t need quite that much of Bill.

Well you know... you've always got Swamp Thing coming to slowly move around a swamp and then slowly go back into the water after softly radiating some green swamp energy into the world. So you can look forward to that. There will even be a scene where a flower slowly opens up and you can watch the pedals. It will be nice - you won't have to take your lithium that day!

:lol::lol:

:teek:

[AquaParade]

Well you know... you've always got Swamp Thing coming to slowly move around a swamp and then slowly go back into the water after softly radiating some green swamp energy into the world. So you can look forward to that.

:lol::lol:

:teek:

“The Brave and the Bold” is a Batman movie set in the DCU.

In case you stilllll don’t get it.

[Dpooly84]

Cbm is saying the episode 3 is being review bombed lol no people just didn't like it. Why is it every time people don't like something they claim review bombing?

[ChosenOne]

Who didn’t like it? Everyone I've seen discuss/react to it or talked about it with loved it.

[Bahamut810]

Who didn’t like it? Everyone I've seen discuss/react to it or talked about it with loved it.

I have seen *very* few people say they didnt like it. Most of the dislike I have seen was about how it took focus away from Ellie and Joel by a long shot and offered a fluff piece which is completely understandable.

[Dpooly84]

I have seen *very* few people say they didnt like it. Most of the dislike I have seen was about how it took focus away from Ellie and Joel by a long shot and offered a fluff piece which is completely understandable.

That part. It was a very stunning and brave and I guess beautiful love story but it halted the progression of the story for no reason

[ChosenOne]

I have seen *very* few people say they didnt like it. Most of the dislike I have seen was about how it took focus away from Ellie and Joel by a long shot and offered a fluff piece which is completely understandable.

Ironic, considering how the last few minutes of the episode show us Joel taking his first steps towards becoming Ellie's protector and surrogate father.

[Andrew NDB]

Bella Ramsey bonded with Pedro Pascal over her "gender journey."

https://www.cbr.com/the-last-of-us-pedro-pascal-bella-ramsey-gender/

[ChosenOne]

Bella Ramsey bonded with Pedro Pascal over her "gender journey."

https://www.cbr.com/the-last-of-us-pedro-pascal-bella-ramsey-gender/

What a confused young lady.

[IMJ]

Anybody that refers to your average mundane undertakings as a "journey" has perceptual issues to begin with.

Normally operating people just work-out as part of life, manage it, increase their skills, etc. People who can't comprehend fundamentals of something do the absolute deep-dive and call it a "journey" because they were so far gone in the first place that they had to have some transformative seeking of the mundane information.

It's thick-rimmed glasses, coffee-house, turtle-neck-sweater style sophistication. These people didn't learn anything in a 4 year "journey" through college, but they call looking at the knot between their legs a "Journey".

[ChosenOne]

That's not sophistication, that’s just fooling oneself. And no one else.

[IMJ]

That's not sophistication, that’s just fooling oneself. And no one else.

Exactly. Except for the rest of the cross-section of the population who cites Psuedo-Journey's over mundane nonsense. They get fooled. :lol:

[Andrew NDB]

Is it not creepy at all that a 45 year old man aspired to be some kind of a "gender guide" for a 17 year old (when she was filming) girl?

[IMJ]

Is it not creepy at all that a 45 year old man aspired to be some kind of a "gender guide" for a 17 year old (when she was filming) girl?

Because there are like at least 2 points of SJW bull#@!( involved, they won't claim "grooming" this time.

[ChosenOne]

I wonder if this will be another Ellen Page situation... Bill Ramsey, maybe? Kinda funny considering Page originally inspired Ellie.

[Andrew NDB]

I wonder if this will be another Ellen Page situation... Bill Ramsey, maybe? Kinda funny considering Page originally inspired Ellie.

And then they'll have Ellie become a transgender man in the middle of the Last of Us II storyline (just like they did in the Umbrella Academy) and it'll be hailed as a bold and brave change, like how episode 3 was this season.

[ChosenOne]

And then they'll have Ellie become a transgender man in the middle of the Last of Us II storyline (just like they did in the Umbrella Academy) and it'll be hailed as a bold and brave change, like how episode 3 was this season.

Well, now we know where she reattached that finger Abby bit off...

[Andrew NDB]

wtf... Bella Ramsey used "chest blockers" (basically, to flatten her boobs) during the whole shoot? Because she didn't want to show her body. What? You're an actress. Your literal JOB is to put your body in front of the camera.

https://www.indiewire.com/2023/02/bella-ramsey-wore-chest-binder-the-last-of-us-1234809418/

[Coola Yagami]

I think it's because Ellie is still a kid, so Bell has to hide her boobs to look more like a kid.

What's weird is that this is obviously to make her look more like Ellie and yet she's trying to treat this as some sort of gender sexuality thing.

That would be like if the Punky Brewster girl strapped hers down cause of gender issues.

[ChosenOne]

And on that note, something I'm curious about: when do you guys suppose season 2 will enter production, given how Bella is still a tad too young/short/baby-faced/what-have-you to convincingly portray Part II Ellie?

[AquaParade]

I think it's because Ellie is still a kid, so Bell has to hide her boobs to look more like a kid.

What's weird is that this is obviously to make her look more like Ellie and yet she's trying to treat this as some sort of gender sexuality thing.

That would be like if the Punky Brewster girl strapped hers down cause of gender issues.

Totally. “How can I use this to further my activism?”

[ChosenOne]

I wish someone would explain to these weirdos that all the mutilation and make-believe in the world still won't change their DNA. Trust the science, y'all.

[Sumac]

I've heard actor was taking pills to make his dick soft, so it won't stand out in his tight costume, but it was in the 60s. Actress taking pills for her boobs to stay small is...ahem...rather strange to say the least.
Can't costumers do something about said issue?

[Andrew NDB]

And on that note, something I'm curious about: when do you guys suppose season 2 will enter production, given how Bella is still a tad too young/short/baby-faced/what-have-you to convincingly portray Part II Ellie?

Well, she was 17 when she shot it and would be at least 20 by the time it's time to shoot season 2. And Ellie was 14 in the first game and 19 in part 2, no? But Bella Ramsey has got that Tom Holland thing (with a Down Syndrome twist) going on to where she's probably going to look the way she looks now for... many years to come. So she's probably as LOU2 Ellie now as she's ever going to get.

[ChosenOne]

Well, she was 17 when she shot it and would be at least 20 by the time it's time to shoot season 2. And Ellie was 14 in the first game and 19 in part 2, no? But Bella Ramsey has got that Tom Holland thing (with a Down Syndrome twist) going on to where she's probably going to look the way she looks now for... many years to come. So she's probably as LOU2 Ellie now as she's ever going to get.

So wrong, yet so right.

Part I Ellie is easy and believable, Part II Ellie as she looks right now... With the hand-to-hand fighting and the making out and the baby... Not so much. Don't know how it'll look/work if she doesn't physically mature just a little bit more.

[Andrew NDB]

With the hand-to-hand fighting and the making out and the baby... Not so much.

c7pGtlGxvS8

[ChosenOne]

c7pGtlGxvS8

... And the freefalling, and the improper gun handling, and (apparently) the binge-drinking...

This is pure gold.

[Coola Yagami]

Apparently the general consensus is that everyone loved the latest episode but the showrunners are still trying to make up some nonexistent 'homophobic backlash' to continue to virtue signal.

[ChosenOne]

Apparently the general consensus is that everyone loved the latest episode but the showrunners are still trying to make up some nonexistent 'homophobic backlash' to continue to virtue signal.

It was a weaker episode, not gonna lie. They all have been since episode 3. Still good in absolute terms as per HBO standards but comparatively underwhelming, which is what'll happen when you make one of a season's first few episodes so well that it outshines all the rest.

Mind you, the show beautifully conveys the game's plot, emotions, characterizations, feel and visual atmosphere, but it's lacking the interactiveness of it all to prop up the rest, and it shows.

Fortunately season 2 won't feel like such a slog.

[Andrew NDB]

Last episode was weak. And it cut out two of the best things from the game: the harrowing dash through the mall to escape like 30 infected and Ellie getting the medicine for Joel in the helicopter in the snowy mall in the present. Also the back and forth jumping in time between the two scenarios.

[IMJ]

c7pGtlGxvS8

:lol::lol: WTF!

[Andrew NDB]

C14U36fPgOE

I just skimmed over the latest episode. Jeeze. The whole David part of the game, where he slowly earns Ellie's trust as they have to defend themselves against a horde of Clickers and even a couple of Bloaters? Not a SINGLE Clicker in the whole episode and no Bloaters. And here we are on the 2nd to last episode!

[Andrew NDB]

So Katy O'Brian (from Ant-Man 3) will probably be playing Abbie:

https://dab57h0r8ahff.cloudfront.net/606033/uploads/570128f0-aeb9-11ed-84ca-53e7d335a9fd_1200_630.jpeg

The big question is... since the actress is a lesbian, will they have her act straight (Abbie is straight in the game) or will they go ahead and just make the character lesbian, too?

[ChosenOne]

So Katy O'Brian (from Ant-Man 3) will probably be playing Abbie:

https://dab57h0r8ahff.cloudfront.net/606033/uploads/570128f0-aeb9-11ed-84ca-53e7d335a9fd_1200_630.jpeg

The big question is... since the actress is a lesbian, will they have her act straight (Abbie is straight in the game) or will they go ahead and just make the character lesbian, too?

Is there a source?

[Andrew NDB]

Is there a source?

I've just got a pretty good feeling. Her rise in Ant-Man 3 and Mandalorian happening right when they're casting a near impossible to find female body type in the acting scene at the right age, face even kinda looks like Abbie's (way more than Bella Ramsey's face resembles Ellie's, that's for sure)...

[CyberCubed]

The series as a whole was good for what it was but disappointing for anyone who played the game. There were barely any infected so you don't feel like Joel and Ellie struggled to survive all this time. Likewise since so many eps didn't focus on Joel and Ellie together you didn't feel the father/daughter bonding like in the games. It all just felt very rushed and artificial.

I really am just shocked how few infected were in the show they pretty much disappeared after the black Brothers died.

[IMJ]

I watched it - it was entertaining enough but certainly not as great as the current "hype-from-lack-of-options-or-boredom".

I think viewers are suffering big-time from "Marvel-itis" with this show, much like how "Iron Man 3 is the best Marvel movie yet!" It was really a mediocre "zombie" show punctuated by some interesting character interactions.

[CyberCubed]

If the games didn't exist and this was just some new zombie show it definitely wouldn't be as praised. It's just because it's one of the few relatively good videogame adaptions with good acting.

The problem is how much they cut from the games and lack of infected encountere so Joel and Ellie feeling like parent and daughter feels forced in the show. Definitely not the same feeling I got from playing the game.

[Andrew NDB]

Again, the David stuff in the game. In the game you and David encounter a gauntlet of clickers (like probably 20-30 of them) and infected and even Bloaters. So I'm figuring, "Well, it's a TV show. Probably there will be a lot less clickers" in this part.

Not even one clicker! Not even a trace of a single infected. Insane.

And there's also little touches. Joel isn't allowed to be stoic, but rather gets panic attacks now. And in the game Joel busting in and hugging her is what snaps her out of her cleavering David to little bits, a really touching moment. Gone. Rather than letting him be fatherly there he just casually meets up with her outside when she's done hacking him up.

[ChosenOne]

I mean, I wouldn’t get too close to a bloody and screeching teenage girl with a meat cleaver either...

[CyberCubed]

Honestly this is one of those times a 9 episode season felt too short. It felt like we needed another 5-6 episodes just dealing with infected/clickers, etc.

Also sad they cut out some areas from the game, like when they got to the school gymnasium and the first bloater boss fight appears. Or all those underground areas in the sewers where you have to turn on the electricity and escape rooms filled with infected, all that stuff was absent in the show. They really need a few episodes JUST dealing with the infected.

The way the show was written, it didn't even look like an apocalypse. They were walking freely on the highway with no danger at all.

[member_removed]

I felt the whole David/Pedo/Cannibal arc was raced through.

Absolutely needed more time, either as an extended episode or a two 45 minute ones.

Really needed David to earn Ellie's trust. A few clickers chasing them in the abandoned building would have been nice.

I did like that David had the young girls dressed like religious puritans (or modern day Morman polygamists).

The "We'll burry your father in the spring, the grounds too hard" was a nice touch.

[Andrew NDB]

6n7FP1sTkS0

Well, what do you know. Just as they're heading into casting for Last of Us season 2 (which adapts the first part of Last of Us Part II), the actress who leant her body and face to the game as the part of Dina suddenly comes out as "very gay."

[Coola Yagami]

rofl.... everybody is gay nowadays. This forum might have the last few remaining straight people left on the whole planet.

[ChosenOne]

This forum might have the last few remaining straight people left on the whole planet.

Not me, chief.

Besides, everyone's bi, some just haven't figured it out yet.

[CyberCubed]

rofl.... everybody is gay nowadays. This forum might have the last few remaining straight people left on the whole planet.

Most women being bisexual or lesbian has been a thing for decades. It's ok when women do it.

[Andrew NDB]

There's not really any such thing (that I've seen) as a bisexual man, though. Just a man who's on the fast track to becoming fully gay.

[Coola Yagami]

There's not really any such thing (that I've seen) as a bisexual man, though. Just a man who's on the fast track to becoming fully gay.

But what about men that have had boyfriends but now have a girlfriend and they actively have sex?

[Andrew NDB]

But what about men that have had boyfriends but now have a girlfriend and they actively have sex?

I'm not saying that's impossible but... man, that's got to be rare.

[Coola Yagami]

I'm not saying that's impossible but... man, that's got to be rare.

Don't people have orgies where the guy is doing as much things to a woman as another man is doing to them?

[ChosenOne]

A hole is a hole. *shrugs*

[Coola Yagami]

A hole is a hole. *shrugs*

I'd rather for the one with 3 holes and boobs.

[ChosenOne]

I'd rather for the one with 3 holes and boobs.

Yeah, love 'em too and those are included in the whole bi thing. :D

[Sumac]

This actress didn't get the memo - Gays and Lesbians are old news.

You need to be either battle helicopter or trans to get pity party and attention.

[Coola Yagami]

This actress didn't get the memo - Gays and Lesbians are old news.

You need to be either battle helicopter or trans to get pity party and attention.

I mean... to be honest, yeah. Gay is like, sooooo last year. Now it's all about transpeople. Hell, Pride 2023 was pretty much TransPride. Screw the LGB, it was all T.

[ChosenOne]

I mean... to be honest, yeah. Gay is like, sooooo last year. Now it's all about transpeople. Hell, Pride 2023 was pretty much TransPride. Screw the LGB, it was all T.

They should just start wearing rainbow hoodies and call themselves the TTT.

[Coola Yagami]

They should just start wearing rainbow hoodies and call themselves the TTT.

Who gave you spoilers for next year's pride??

[Dpooly84]

Who gave you spoilers for next year's pride??

He's planning it himself, lmao

[Andrew NDB]

So it is Kaitlyn Dever, who is neither tall (she's 5'2") nor muscular, for Abby.

https://ew.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-casts-abby-kaitlyn-dever-pivotal-game-character-8405815?utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_entertain mentweekly&utm_content=manual&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=659d7bd8f6fd5e000110f029&fbclid=IwAR0iN5V6pQlHi-87-eF1i592UZWMbwd5PNx6e3Kxk9gKXGrZ2K_QPZHGnwI

Kaitlyn Dever was actually in the running for Ellie in season 1.

[Sumac]

A rare case, where character from an adaption of a video game might end up being prettier than a character from a game.

[Andrew NDB]

A rare case, where character from an adaption of a video game might end up being prettier than a character from a game.

And who would think that the Abby actress would look way more like Ellie than the Ellie actress? So weird.

I wonder if this is kind an attempt, knowing how Abby was received with polarizing results in the game, to make her more sympathetic on the show? If Abby is a cute chick that's nearly the height and stature of Ellie herself, idk. It might work in that way.

[XERO]

So it is Kaitlyn Dever, who is neither tall (she's 5'2") nor muscular, for Abby.

https://ew.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-casts-abby-kaitlyn-dever-pivotal-game-character-8405815?utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_entertain mentweekly&utm_content=manual&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=659d7bd8f6fd5e000110f029&fbclid=IwAR0iN5V6pQlHi-87-eF1i592UZWMbwd5PNx6e3Kxk9gKXGrZ2K_QPZHGnwI

Kaitlyn Dever was actually in the running for Ellie in season 1.

Coincidental that she was Nate's daughter Cassie in the fourth Uncharted game.

Keeping it in the Naughty Dog family, I see.

[CyberCubed]

Weird she needs to get some muscles to have her believably play Abby. Are we supposed to believe she will kill Joel? She looks like a girly girl, not the muscular brute that Abby is in the games

[Monty Mole]

Weird she needs to get some muscles to have her believably play Abby. Are we supposed to believe she will kill Joel? She looks like a girly girl, not the muscular brute that Abby is in the games

If it's accurate to the game, I don't see how it can't work. It's not like she killed him 1v1, she deadass kills him like a coward.

[Andrew NDB]

If it's accurate to the game, I don't see how it can't work. It's not like she killed him 1v1, she deadass kills him like a coward.

Yeah, she bashes his skull in while everyone's held at gunpoint by her buddies. Where the muscles come in is more with her dealing with some of the HUGE bad guys later on, sometimes without weapons. Ellie couldn't do that.

DvfLqDmiPRI

[CyberCubed]

Nah, the thing is Abby was designed to be muscular and bigger than Ellie for the story. That's why when Ellie and Abby fight each other for the first time in the theater (going from memory here as I think that was the first time), it's why you have to play stealth as Ellie and attack Abby from behind, because if you just run up to her Abby can knock Ellie down like a ragdoll.

Abby is supposed to be the opposite of Ellie, where she's physically stronger and more imposing. This casting makes them look more or less the same and she also looks too girly. Game Abby had that fat brute face look to her.

[The Inventive Donatello]

A rare case, where character from an adaption of a video game might end up being prettier than a character from a game.

Never heard of the actress but she is indeed very pretty, in a girl next door sort of way. And that's always appreciated.

First season was good.

[Andrew NDB]

The girl who played game Abby's face didn't have a "fat brute face."

ZgMFaC5vtkA

[Sumac]

Abby is supposed to be the opposite of Ellie, where she's physically stronger and more imposing. This casting makes them look more or less the same and she also looks too girly. Game Abby had that fat brute face look to her.
I guess, its an attempt to appeal to regular people, since masculine brute Abby won't be popular with people, especially knowing her role in the story.

This way they can attract coomers and fangirls to root for her, purely, because, she has a pretty face.

[XERO]

The girl who played game Abby's face didn't have a "fat brute face."

ZgMFaC5vtkA

I had subbed to her channel back then. One of the sweetest people. It's a damn shame people sent threats to her and the voice actress in the original game.

[Andrew NDB]

I had subbed to her channel back then. One of the sweetest people. It's a damn shame people sent threats to her and the voice actress in the original game.

What, over like Instagram or Twitter or something? Meh. Not sad.

[XERO]

What, over like Instagram or Twitter or something? Meh. Not sad.

Didn't say "sad", just a shame.

[CyberCubed]

Abby starts off as a villain since she kills Joel and you don't know why at the beginning so the player is supposed to identify with Ellie and want to kill her. Then you learn Abby isn't really that bad and Ellie would do the same thing in her shoes so you realize they're both the same. It's just that we're given a bad first impression on Abby on purpose because they want us to see how we change as we play as her later in the game.

I'm not sure how they can handle that in a TV show. Especially with Abby being more "attractive here."

[Andrew NDB]

I'm not sure how they can handle that in a TV show. Especially with Abby being more "attractive here."

This was actually a case where there really was a lot of unfair blowback to Abby's appearance, even long before the game came out and long after. "She looks like a man!" "She's so ugly!" and so on. Well, this removes that component from the equation entirely for the show, for better or worse. Now instead of "She looks like a man!" AND "How dare she kill Joel! I hate her!" now there is at least just the latter. I guess that's the math here, idk.

[Andrew NDB]

Dina has been cast. It's Isabela Merced, who played Dora in the Dora movie and was the troublesome little girl in Sicario 2.

https://ew.com/the-last-of-us-casts-dina-isabela-merced-8425006#:~:text=Isabela%20Merced%20will%20play%20D ina,Last%20of%20Us'%20season%202.&text=Fans%20speculated%20that%20we%20might,arrive% 20in%20the%20Jackson%2C%20Wyo.

https://i.ibb.co/j4ZmsWs/7b6603968d7e497faa1dbe1c7f7463e3-lg.jpg

Guess they're going fairly "pretty" with Abby and Dina. Odd that they would take a role (Dina) away from what is definitively an Israeli/Jewish part (https://www.youtube.com/@velvettigress)... oh wait, no, that actually checks out perfectly with these people. :lol:

[CyberCubed]

It's weird they changed Dina from a Jewish girl to a hispanic one, you'd think they would want some Jewish representation. There's a part in the game you go to a Jewish temple and Dina explains to Ellie about the torah and the Jewish religion a bit in there. I doubt the war in Israel has anything to do with this since this is America and Jewish people born here have nothing to do with Israeli Jews.

[Sumac]

It's weird they changed Dina from a Jewish girl to a hispanic one, you'd think they would want some Jewish representation. There's a part in the game you go to a Jewish temple and Dina explains to Ellie about the torah and the Jewish religion a bit in there. I doubt the war in Israel has anything to do with this since this is America and Jewish people born here have nothing to do with Israeli Jews.
Try to explain to SJWs. They are attacking American Jews, as if they are somehow responsible for whatever their country is doing. Which kind of ironic, how SJWs love to evoke Nazis every time.

[Andrew NDB]

Try to explain to SJWs. They are attacking American Jews, as if they are somehow responsible for whatever their country is doing. Which kind of ironic, how SJWs love to evoke Nazis every time.

Israel, America, it all falls under "the west." "The west" is evil and colonial and so on.

And yeesh. I'm assuming we won't have the scene from Last of Us II where Dina explains to Ellie what a synagogue is.

[Sumac]

Israel, America, it all falls under "the west." "The west" is evil and colonial and so on.
Irony that all of those concepts were created and used by Soviet Communists to take control over world, who are developed their nonsense evil ideology from Western teachings.
Its like modern commies can't really comprehend that they will basically destroy their world, which will be dominated by feral tribes of terrorists and totalitarian ruthless dictators without any concept of humanity.

If I was more cruel person, I'd say, let them win and die in the ditch like it had happened with most devoted communists.
But since I am too compassionate even about useless idiots and their innocent families and friends, I don't want them to win and rip what they are trying to sow.

[XERO]

So, we're doin' this again?

Wasn't the Disney thread enough?

[Andrew NDB]

So season 2 premiered a couple days ago.

There's a big, pretty obvious and obnoxious lecture in this first episode about how open borders are great and how Joel is evil for thinking they should do anything but just let anyone that wants into the town. The Ellie actress is not believable at all, especially aged up 5 years. She's playing up "bratty" and it's only making things much worse.

Other than that, fairly faithful to the beginning bits of Last of Us Part II. And you can already tell they are going to sloooooow walk killing off Joel. If they even do it at all.

[XERO]

Dina is adorable, but that's expected. Haha.

Solid start to the new season.

[Andrew NDB]

I guess I was wrong.

They killed Joel in episode 2. Though I guess there's footage out there from further in the season of Joel recuperating in a hospital bed of some kind? Idk.

[CyberCubed]

Haven't watched Season 2 as I'm waiting for it to end before I binge it. But I hear they nailed Joel's death scene, which is the most important moment.

[Andrew NDB]

Haven't watched Season 2 as I'm waiting for it to end before I binge it. But I hear they nailed Joel's death scene, which is the most important moment.

I've only peeked at it myself so far, but I'm hearing a lot of people say that while visually they nailed it, it was devoid of a lot of the emotion from the scene in the game. Also, Joel's brother isn't there so he just misses that whole thing.

[Roseangelo]

I haven't played either game, but the last episode was a bit of a bummer. Just kinda left us feeling, "Well... that happened."

[CyberCubed]

I imagine the build up is better in the game either way. Like at the end of the first game, you're playing as Joel carrying an unconscious Ellie running out of the hospital where those Firefly guys were trying to operate her and kill her. Since you're in control of Joel you feel more attached to what's happening. When the Season 1 finale aired you don't feel the same sense of urgency because the actor is doing it.

[Andrew NDB]

And they change the "shock" of Joel's death. In the show, you meet Abby and she tells the audience right off the bat in the first scene that she's looking for Joel and is out to kill him. In the game you have no idea she's looking for Joel or wants to kill him until she does.

[CyberCubed]

Strange change. The other thing is in the games, Ellie is more attractive and Abby is kinda ugly. In the show it seems the opposite, as the actress playing Abby is much more attractive than Ellie. So in the games you're made to hate Abby (at least at the beginning), but I wonder if show watchers will feel the same.

I still think Ellie was grossly miscast in this show. She really looks nothing like Ellie. Couldn't they have found another Ellen Page look-a-like to play Ellie.

[Andrew NDB]

Grossly miscast. We all loved her as the fiery little sprite in Game of Thrones, but this is something else entirely. There's no way that was their best option as Ellie. In fact, we know it wasn't. Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus) was up for the part originally:

https://i.ibb.co/KjzCtrCC/CW-04041.jpg

[Andrew NDB]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/bella-ramsey-the-last-of-us-interview-ellie-season-2-1236195178/

Bella Ramsey on demanding a "green rider" be signed on her productions to save the environment, how she wants to smash Hollywood hierarchy, and how she didn't want to bother putting on any muscle for season 2 because that would make her look "computer generated."

[Coola Yagami]

I think the hard part about Bella being well... ugly.. is that every time someone brings up that she's too ugly to play Ellie, everyone tries to turn it around and say people are just mad because they can't whack it to Ellie. That's disgusting. She's a kid in the game. No one is saying (hopefully) that she's attractive in that type of way, but she's also doesn't look like a down syndrome goblin either.

It would be like casting some fat ugly deformed kid to play Richie Rich in some new movie (assuming they even keep him white). People will complain because Richie Rich is supposed to look like a regular clean cut kid and not some fatass. Saying Richie shouldn't be cast by some ugly actor doesn't mean people want to bang Richie Rich.

[IMJ]

everyone tries to turn it around and say people are just mad because they can't whack it to Ellie. That's disgusting. She's a kid in the game. No one is saying (hopefully) that she's attractive in that type of way, but she's also doesn't look like a down syndrome goblin either

That's the way of weak people, dude. When they can't maintain the through-line they instead resort to disconnected verbal-judo, or shaming tactics that don't maintain a shred of truth. And peasant-thinkers around them get fixated on it and jump in and before you know it you have the Salem Witch Hunts.

The people society should be gaining up on are those guys who make the "whack it to Ellie" comments. Not the people having the discussion at-large.

[Coola Yagami]

That's the way of weak people, dude. When they can't maintain the through-line they instead resort to disconnected verbal-judo, or shaming tactics that don't maintain a shred of truth. And peasant-thinkers around them get fixated on it and jump in and before you know it you have the Salem Witch Hunts.

The people society should be gaining up on are those guys who make the "whack it to Ellie" comments. Not the people having the discussion at-large.

And that's the thing. Unless I'm in the wrong place, no one complaining about Bella being too ugly to portray Ellie are calling her hot. They're just stating facts that looks wise Ellie was horribly miscast. It all the woke defenders and 'every woman is beautiful' types throwing those kinds of accusations out there.

Now they're starting to troll saying they want to portray the MCU Rogue cause they know it'll 'piss off the chuds'.

[IMJ]

Now they're starting to troll saying they want to portray the MCU Rogue cause they know it'll 'piss off the chuds'.

Yeah I've seen that - was involved in a discussion elsewhere about it. The headline read "Fans WANT This Rogue Casting!" My reply was simply "No one wants this casting beyond a few people who are saying it for strange psychology". Most people just "liked" the post but you can imagine there was the reply here or there discussing how I was operating on "hate". :lol:

"hate". Because I challenged the fake narrative that people were calling for a poor casting choice. "hate".

And then you have other people who post it and say things like "just going to leave this here for the haters to freak out over". Which of course isn't even remotely rational from any position.

[Andrew NDB]

The headline read "Fans WANT This Rogue Casting!" My reply was simply "No one wants this casting

And the people making these posts and sharing them all over social media know it. It's the whole thing. Similar ones: "True fans demand Star Wars: Acolyte Season 2," "Why Discovery is the Best Star Trek Show," and so on. Because then they get a million laughing and angry face emojis from people, people start sharing them because of how on-its-face ridiculous they are, and it fuels the algorithm.

[IMJ]

They really believe they are "getting people" with that nonsense, and they maintain the posture in denial that most people actually react to the provocation itself rather than reacting to content of the provocation.

[CyberCubed]

people are just mad because they can't whack it to Ellie. That's disgusting. She's a kid in the game..

In the games, Ellie is only a kid in the first game where she's 14. In The Last of Us Part II she's 19 years old. In the second game she was more or less married to Dina with the Asian kid until Dina took off at the end of the game.

[Andrew NDB]

In the games, Ellie is only a kid in the first game where she's 14. In The Last of Us Part II she's 19 years old.

But still, unless the assumption is the game player has never played the first one, they will have been through the whole first adventure with Ellie, all seen through the fatherly "eyes" of Joel. While it's not immoral to sexually look at Ellie in part 2, since she's 19 in that one... it's pretty damn dubious at that point.

On the other hand, you're free and clear to "whack it" to Abby. :)

[CyberCubed]

It's a shame a third game is a way off because Naughty Dog decided to make that sci-fi Intergalactic Heretic game next. They're probably kicking themselves due to the huge success of the HBO show and they're going to run out of story content after next season finishes the second game. And I doubt they'll have the show continue without a third game to follow because then it'd become its own thing.

I also assume if they make a Last of Us Part III there will be another timeskip and Ellie will be in either her late 20's or early 30's.

[Andrew NDB]

It's a shame a third game is a way off because Naughty Dog decided to make that sci-fi Intergalactic Heretic game next. They're probably kicking themselves due to the huge success of the HBO show and they're going to run out of story content after next season finishes the second game. And I doubt they'll have the show continue without a third game to follow because then it'd become its own thing.

I also assume if they make a Last of Us Part III there will be another timeskip and Ellie will be in either her late 20's or early 30's.

If Neil Druckmann is to be believed, a Last of Us Part III is "not guaranteed." And elsewhere he's also suggested that maybe he'd just use the show to "wrap up" whatever he might have wrapped up in a third game.

[Andrew NDB]

Just saw episode 4. OVERALL a pretty decent episode that's fairly adaptive of the early parts of Last of Us II, with a new origin story for Isaac that actually was pretty chilling.

Two things:

* Wow, they took the WLF radio station bit that was like a harrowing engagement over the course of an hour or two, combined it with the sewer/subway sequence which was ALSO like a harrowing hour or so in the game, and made it all like a 10 minute thing. Obviously things need to be compressed, but these are pretty iconic scenes from the game... there's not a ton of these left.

* Yeesh. Dina and Ellie in the theater. "I'm pregnant." "What?!" And then they immediately start making out and having sex. wtf? "OMG, I'm pregnant with my boyfriend's baby... I feel like cheating on him sexually RIGHT NOW!" "LET'S GOOOO!!!" They're going for triumphant but it just feels wrong and makes everybody involved seem bad. And they barely give the actual father an afterthought. "We're going to have a baby, Dina!" And then they're so excited and then barely remember, "Oh yeah. And so-and-so is going to be a dad, too. Huh." Very murky and icky stuff they're treading in here. This was done a lot more sensibly in the game.

Also, it's pretty funny... as soon as Pedro leaves the show and his character is killed, suddenly there's air particles like from the games like there was always supposed to be and they'll need gas masks in the next episode. Like with Pedro, we need to see his face... but if it's just Bella Ramsey, we need to cover up her face ASAP!

[IMJ]

I watched the first two episodes of season 2 and I'm not even going to download it to watch it. Just done. :roll:

[ToTheNines]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GqjysDIbkAAK1Wf?format=jpg&name=medium

[CyberCubed]

Started watching Season 2, I'm surprised they revealed Abby's motivations right away whereas in the game you don't know why she killed Joel for awhile and are meant to hate her at first. Almost seems the writers made Abby too sympathetic from the start, whereas in the game it was a slow burn till you got more into her story.

Joel's death scene was handled well, I'm surprised at how "zombie like" they made the Infested, like in the show they're no different than most generic zombie movies/shows. There was also no attack on the town of Jacksonville in the games if I remember right?

Also Dina is much hotter in the show than the games. In the games she's just a generic Jewish girl modeled after her real life actress, in the show she looks like a super model? Is she even Jewish? I'm generally surprised, usually the series cast purposely uglier people than the game version (like Ellie herself lol), but Dina they went the opposite direction and went with a girl who is clearly going to age into a 10/10.

[Andrew NDB]

They definitely deliberately made Dina not Jewish and that actress is 100% Hispanic, not Jewish at all. I wonder what world event and political shift on college campuses happened in the past couple of years that could have "made" them do that...

Yeah, I don't like the way the clickers are handled in this. They made it so there's like a hive mind now, some overall force controlling them that lives in all of the fungus, even the little tendrils growing in the ground. I think the idea there was to make them LESS zombie-like, but it stinks. It's like adding the Borg Queen to the Borg.

[CyberCubed]

Also what was that scene with the kids playing baseball on the field about? I thought that was a flashback at first but apparently it wasn't because the therapist woman was talking about Joel? Where did all the snow on the mountain go? The town gets attacked and kids are playing baseball in a field with Joel's brother drinking a beer a couple months later? That wasn't even in the games so I don't know where that came from.

Abby's actress is pretty good so far, I think she's done great work with the character but as I said the show writers made the mistake of making her too sympathetic early on, they really should of waited till later like the game plot does. Without hating Abby at first the whole plot loses its impact.

A problem with Dina is she wears make-up, has her hair styled (?) and looks like she just walked out of a beauty salon. Aren't they all living in a post-apocalyptic future? Why aren't they all wearing dirty clothes, look run down (like Tess did in The Last of Us 1?), and look like they're starving for food? I know their towns are able to have some of this stuff like clothes, but Dina looks like she walked out of the 2020's from our world and is posting on instagram and tik tok her selfies rather than a girl living in a zombie universe. This goes for a lot of other characters too, how they all so well-groomed instead of constantly running low on supplies and wearing torn up clothing? Who is making clothes and where is the make up coming from?

[Andrew NDB]

The problem with Dina in the show is that she's almost exactly like Ellie in it, personality-wise. They have the same worldview, they agree on everything, they have the same sensibilities, which makes their interactions pretty bland vs. her interactions with someone like Joel.

[IMJ]

I can't believe you guys are still watching it even to complain about it. It's not even interesting enough to pirate the show to watch it.

[Andrew NDB]

I can't believe you guys are still watching it even to complain about it. It's not even interesting enough to pirate the show to watch it.

I mean, I've played through Last of Us Part II twice now. I'm sort of invested in the material at this point. For better or worse.

[CyberCubed]

I'm disappointed they're leaving out some of the iconic funny lines from the games. Like in the games when Dina says she's pregnant and Ellie looks at her surprised, Dina says, "Don't worry, it's not yours," in a sarcastic tone.

They also left out the "bigot sandwiches" line about the old man, and they didn't include the scene of Joel playing guitar for Ellie saying he would surely lose himself if something happened to her.

A lot of stuff is pretty rushed and Dina's role in the games is pretty minimal after Seattle. In the show it feels like she'll he a main character the whole way.

[Andrew NDB]

and they didn't include the scene of Joel playing guitar for Ellie saying he would surely lose himself if something happened to her.

It's there. The latest episode.

[CyberCubed]

So I'm now caught up, the last ep was good. I still don't really care for how some scenes are changed from the games losing some impact, but I knew this was never going to be a 1:1 adaption anyway. It's weird they're having Ellie get bit numerous times in the show, in the games she never did get bit again after the first one, right? And I don't remember, but I don't think Dina ever knew she was immune as the game was going on (until the timeskip at the end I guess).

Joel's father being one of the Salamenca's from Better Call Saul is funny. That old guy Joel shot wasn't in the games either from what I remember. I'm glad they kept the museum/spaceship scene.

Also Abby never appeared since the second episode? It's weird how she's been absent the whole season besides maybe the last ep, show audiences are barely going to know her. So Season 3 is probably going to be like 90% Abby and 10% Ellie, I don't know how they're going to pace this all to make it work. Especially since Season 3 won't air for another 1-2 years from now? These girls are going to age.

A lot of the WLF and Infested sequences from the games are really shortened or breezed through, I know we can't have an hour of Ellie just shooting people and zombies but man in the games you really felt like you had to survive.

[Andrew NDB]

And I don't remember, but I don't think Dina ever knew she was immune as the game was going on (until the timeskip at the end I guess).

If I recall, Ellie's gas mask gets broken in a heavy fungus place, Dina freaks out and Ellie just takes her mask off and explains she's immune. The show handles Dina's reaction to that a little more believably until she wants to have sex with her right away.

Joel's father being one of the Salamenca's from Better Call Saul is funny. That old guy Joel shot wasn't in the games either from what I remember.

It was a nice surprise. Though I'm not sure the message of the scene? I guess it's supposed to be, "I'm sorry I beat you and maybe your brother... but you'll be better"? Didn't seem like a necessary pause there. Joel's biological daughter dying in Joel's arms is enough pathos for us to understand why Joel wants to do super right by Ellie, plus the character is already dead and doesn't need added pathos now. If anything, they should have just given us a new scene with Joel and his daughter having daddy daughter time/lessons unless that actress had a radical growth spurt.

I'm glad they kept the museum/spaceship scene.

That was always going to be in there. They've always seemed very proud of all of that stuff.

A lot of the WLF and Infested sequences from the games are really shortened or breezed through, I know we can't have an hour of Ellie just shooting people and zombies but man in the games you really felt like you had to survive.

Yeah, they're leaning on Dina too much and I'm not getting that desperate sense of survival I did with Ellie's plight in the game. My guess is they'll saddle Abby as quickly as humanly possible with that trans man in season 3 and we won't get her as such either.

The big argument against that last scene with the "And if I had to do it all again, I WOULD!" is that it was super effective and honestly heart-breaking during the end of the game when injected into that final fight with Abby. And now it's wasted in this pile of other flashbacks in what will be the first of three seasons adapting the second game.

[CyberCubed]

Ah yeah, I forgot about that scene where Ellie's mask breaks and she gives it to Dina, I much prefer that over the show just having Ellie get bit yet again (this is the third time!). They pretty much ignored the spores in the show till the hospital basement scene. Feels like they try too hard to make Dina and Ellie a couple, in the games it felt like Dina was more into Jessie and slowly coming around to Ellie as a love interest. And the whole pregnancy reveal was handled much better in the games as a whole. If Jessie didn't get shot and killed in the games Dina might have stayed with him.

Still surprised at how little Abby appeared this season, they should of given her more scenes to remind the audience of her. TV show audiences really have no reason to be invested in her yet. Next season Ellie is probably going to get very little screentime as a result and it's going to make the whole show feel imbalanced.

[CyberCubed]

Well the last episode aired. They made some pretty strange changes from the games, even if it ended in the same spot. As most expected the season ended with Abby confronting Ellie in the theater holding Tommy at gunpoint and Jessie getting shot, and Season 3 will be Abby's side of the story starting back at Day 1.

Abby's actress really is better than Ellie's, the last scene with the expression on her face telling Ellie, "I let you live, and you WASTED it!" was just as good as the game. The season overall isn't as good as the games, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually am looking forward to Abby's story more now simply due to the actress. Curious how they'll handle the whole Lev/Sepharites story too that we only saw glimpses of here.

[Andrew NDB]

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