The Last Of Us HBO TV Show |OT| Discussion (Spoilers)

Sircaw

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Weak dig but try again. I was quoting myself because i was responding to something Dodkrake said about Chernbyl. Try to follow along or not at all.

anyways Dodkrake, I'm not going to shy away from the fact that homophobes were review bombing the gay episodes, like duh we know this. But my opinions do not come from chud reviewers on these weird sites, but from reading fairly liberal places that also have a problem with the pacing and lack of action in the show.



I would say I love dramas, name any HBO drama that has came out in recent years besides that one and I'd see some merit to all of them. Station eleven I liked as well. I just don't think TLOU or Chernobyl was that well done. The hyperbole of that last line is one that's spilled over to this show, about it being the best thing ever made. Again I don't listen to "review sites" or "professional critics" to determine the quality of something, which seems to be why I differ from the consensus that Chernobyl is the best thing ever.
Sure it was(y)

Someone lost their sense of humor.

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Darth Vader

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anyways Dodkrake, I'm not going to shy away from the fact that homophobes were review bombing the gay episodes, like duh we know this. But my opinions do not come from chud reviewers on these weird sites, but from reading fairly liberal places that also have a problem with the pacing and lack of action in the show.

That's a fair criticism, even if I don't agree with it.

I would say I love dramas, name any HBO drama that has came out in recent years besides that one and I'd see some merit to all of them. Station eleven I liked as well. I just don't think TLOU or Chernobyl was that well done. The hyperbole of that last line is one that's spilled over to this show, about it being the best thing ever made. Again I don't listen to "review sites" or "professional critics" to determine the quality of something, which seems to be why I differ from the consensus that Chernobyl is the best thing ever.

Please point out where I said it's the best thing ever made. What I said was that it's objectively one of the best series of all time. I can list a bunch of shows I liked more that didn't get many accolades. From a cinematic standpoint, that series is damn near perfect as a Drama. Hell, I don't like The Godfather and can still confidently say it's one of the best movies ever made. I think the biggest issue is that people were expecting the game completely mirrored on their TV and are not getting it. That's it.

Which is sad because the game also focused on character development while also showing the tension and threat of the post apocalypse in humans and infected, and wasn't all high action or infected horde killing. Their can be a balance and this show has just tilted into one direction, high drama, without actually being that great at it.

The series does that as well by reinforcing infected as an even bigger threat though. Even in Episode 7, when Ellie leaves Riley and then decides to go back, you can feel the tension of "oh shit, infected are going to jump here, deviate from the game". They didn't, but the tension was there.

We've had:
  • Joel killed a man with his bare fists
  • Clickers are an actual threat
  • A horde that gets blown to smithereens
  • A second horde completely overruns the guys that overthrew FEDRA, showing they are powerless against the infected
  • A "new type" of a child infected that is just horrible
  • The bloater is an indestructible killing machine, essentially a bullet sponge that rips people apart
  • Joel broke someone's neck because they threatened his existence
  • Ellie and Riley are attacked by a Stalker, which in the game is pretty much a harmless annoyance and in the show can overpower a couple of people easily
How is the above not enough action for the series? Again, this is a Drama. In a Drama you don't want loads of action, you want action that furthers the story. If you abuse it, it stops being a drama altogether, it loses its value.

Are some decisions questionable? Absolutely. Are they justifiable? Yes. Do you need to like them? No. Are they objectively bad or even mediocre? Also no.

Edit - This damn discussion made me remember Fringe, one of my favourite series of all time.
 
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KiryuRealty

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Where it’s at.
Okay, okay.... try and get back to being as non-political as possible.

I consider the point of contention above resolved......

On topic;

Have enough infected been killed? Is there enough action? ..... I have not watched the series at all yet but I'd like to know if you expected more action.
Cause I have heard that many people wanted more of that.
Druckmann and Mazin have discussed at length in the official podcast that the action is used to punctuate the story, it isn’t the focus of the story.

Basically, there’s less action than the game, but that’s because a TV show engages the audience differently than a game does, and they wanted to make a great show, not a second-by-second direct copy of the game.
 
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Sircaw

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That was an entirely separate response. But yeah, there's absolutely no homophobia driving scores for this show:
  • Episode 1: 9.2 average, 95.5k reviews, 1⭐ reviews are 1.8% of the total
  • Episode 2: 9.1 average, 88.1k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 1.9% of the total
  • Episode 3: 8.0 average, 201k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 26.3% of the total
  • Episode 4: 8.4 average, 55.4k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 3.3% of the total
  • Episode 5: 9.5 average, 58.9k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 1.3% of the total
  • Episode 6: 9.0 average, 36.8k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 1.7% of the total
  • Episode 7: 7.5 average, 30.4k reviews, 1 ⭐ reviews are 13.8% of the total
As you can see above, the only episodes that deviate from ~2 to 3~ 1 ⭐ reviews are those that feature gay romance. It must be a massive coincidence and not at all related to people being homophobic.

Episode 3 has 8 times more 1 ⭐ reviews when compared to episode 5 (the one that deviates the most from all of them except for Ep 3 and 7), Episode 7 has 4.2 times more 1 ⭐ reviews.

So please, don't try and whitewash what is obvious. And I'm not trying to shit on your or others criticism, but to say certain episodes are not being review bombed by homophobic dumbfucks is just ignoring reality.

Edit - as for Chernobyl being overrated, I think your problem is that you simply don't like dramas, and that's ok. Chernobyl is objectively one of the best tv series of all time.
~You have too much time on your hands.

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Papacheeks

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Weak dig but try again. I was quoting myself because i was responding to something Dodkrake said about Chernbyl. Try to follow along or not at all.

anyways Dodkrake, I'm not going to shy away from the fact that homophobes were review bombing the gay episodes, like duh we know this. But my opinions do not come from chud reviewers on these weird sites, but from reading fairly liberal places that also have a problem with the pacing and lack of action in the show.



I would say I love dramas, name any HBO drama that has came out in recent years besides that one and I'd see some merit to all of them. Station eleven I liked as well. I just don't think TLOU or Chernobyl was that well done. The hyperbole of that last line is one that's spilled over to this show, about it being the best thing ever made. Again I don't listen to "review sites" or "professional critics" to determine the quality of something, which seems to be why I differ from the consensus that Chernobyl is the best thing ever.



Which is sad because the game also focused on character development while also showing the tension and threat of the post apocalypse in humans and infected, and wasn't all high action or infected horde killing. Their can be a balance and this show has just tilted into one direction, high drama, without actually being that great at it.

Mare Of Easttown is easily one of the best new series I've watched on HBO.

Acting, Shots, to me is on par with Season 1 of True Detective but is a straight up murder mystery and also about drama within community.

Thats one you should watch, if you haven't already.
 

nongkris

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Mare Of Easttown is easily one of the best new series I've watched on HBO.

Acting, Shots, to me is on par with Season 1 of True Detective but is a straight up murder mystery and also about drama within community.

Thats one you should watch, if you haven't already.
Thanks for the recommendation! I've never heard of Mare of Easttown so I'll check it out.
 

Gediminas

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Mare Of Easttown is easily one of the best new series I've watched on HBO.

Acting, Shots, to me is on par with Season 1 of True Detective but is a straight up murder mystery and also about drama within community.

Thats one you should watch, if you haven't already.
yes, very good show. Kate Winslet (y)
 
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Darth Vader

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For people complaining about CGI...

Ellie's bite was CGI in the show. Damn perfect.
 

Darth Vader

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For those complaining about running times, here's gameplay of the section the next episode will be covering.


53 minutes (minus credits) seems plenty to cover this considering we don't have combat sections to contend with (for the most part).
 
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Swift_Star

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For those complaining about running times, here's gameplay of the section the next episode will be covering.


53 minutes (minus credits) seems plenty to cover this considering we don't have combat sections to contend with (for the most part).
And we won't have a "boss" fight.
 

nongkris

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For those complaining about running times, here's gameplay of the section the next episode will be covering.


53 minutes (minus credits) seems plenty to cover this considering we don't have combat sections to contend with (for the most part).
I'm interested to see the changes they make to David's character, is he still a cannibal, a p*do? The last one specifically was what made him so frightening, I know they implemented a religious cult angle so we'll see if they got rid of the other two aspects.
 
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Swift_Star

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I'm interested to see the changes they make to David's character, is he still a cannibal, a p*do? The last one specifically was what made him so frightening, I know they implemented a religious cult angle so we'll see if they got rid of the other two aspects.
I don't know if he will be a pedo, but cannibal? Definitely. But HBO is never shy to bring up controversial topics and characters. Hell, they kept the gay angels on His Dark Materials which riled a lot of people up.
So, I'm inclined to believe he will stay a cannibal and a pedo.
 

Alabtrosmyster

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anyways Dodkrake, I'm not going to shy away from the fact that homophobes were review bombing the gay episodes, like duh we know this. But my opinions do not come from chud reviewers on these weird sites, but from reading fairly liberal places that also have a problem with the pacing and lack of action in the show.
To be fair there are a bunch of people who will say they like them precisely because "they do so much for the gays" (someone I know IRL said this).

But, yes, we are not 14 (I am not anyway), we should not have our tastes be dictated by people who we like or dislike.
 

Alabtrosmyster

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I don't know if he will be a pedo, but cannibal? Definitely. But HBO is never shy to bring up controversial topics and characters. Hell, they kept the gay angels on His Dark Materials which riled a lot of people up.
So, I'm inclined to believe he will stay a cannibal and a pedo.
I think what they will change again is the scale of the locations (I'm talking about the resort, etc).

Aa far as running times, I think this is because so much for development is lost to the small talk that happens in the down time in the game? or maybe the third episode could have focused on something else and leave the romcom to the sideshow?

Obviously the adaptation should not have been 1:1, there are just way too many encounters, time searching for resources for upgrading skills and weapons in the game for it to make any sense as a TV show, it would not be fun. I just don't think that the show has good cinematography, it does not have that feel of "every frame is a painting" to it, just like a lot of TV shows, but so many these days do it right too. Look at modern shows like Rogue Heroes or For All Mankind (a lot of Apple TV shows actually) they all nail the mood in their shots, the lighting is just beautiful, etc. that show does not have that.

I read a text about science fiction from Isaac Asimov, he described the rules that good sci-fi worlds should have, one of them as coherence, their own logic should be coherent within the rules set by the world the story is in. So in the case of TLoU things like the truck being sucked into the ground after hitting a building make no sense, the cadaver falling through the floor after the girls take the alcool from him does not fit, just the way some of the debris are placed at times hits as "placed mess". This world is supposed to be grounded in reality, except for that small mushroom they made, they should have been more careful with these details, among many others.
 

KiryuRealty

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Where it’s at.
I think what they will change again is the scale of the locations (I'm talking about the resort, etc).

Aa far as running times, I think this is because so much for development is lost to the small talk that happens in the down time in the game? or maybe the third episode could have focused on something else and leave the romcom to the sideshow?

Obviously the adaptation should not have been 1:1, there are just way too many encounters, time searching for resources for upgrading skills and weapons in the game for it to make any sense as a TV show, it would not be fun. I just don't think that the show has good cinematography, it does not have that feel of "every frame is a painting" to it, just like a lot of TV shows, but so many these days do it right too. Look at modern shows like Rogue Heroes or For All Mankind (a lot of Apple TV shows actually) they all nail the mood in their shots, the lighting is just beautiful, etc. that show does not have that.

I read a text about science fiction from Isaac Asimov, he described the rules that good sci-fi worlds should have, one of them as coherence, their own logic should be coherent within the rules set by the world the story is in. So in the case of TLoU things like the truck being sucked into the ground after hitting a building make no sense, the cadaver falling through the floor after the girls take the alcool from him does not fit, just the way some of the debris are placed at times hits as "placed mess". This world is supposed to be grounded in reality, except for that small mushroom they made, they should have been more careful with these details, among many others.
The truck had a plow mounted to it and hitting the building caused the foundation to collapse, which caused a sinkhole that connected to the underground tunnels the infected were herded into.
 
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Sircaw

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So I just watched the last episode with Ellie and Riley and have to say I found the whole episode really disappointing.

Just for context, I rated the DLC of the last of us as one of the greatest DLCs out there only being superseded by only the old hunters(bloodborne) and Diablo2's (Throne of destruction.)

The DLCs above are 10/10

I have loved the series up to this point but this episode feels like a huge step back from the game.

To me, the relationship between the two does not come across as organic in any way possible, plus the forced rubbish of them adding techniques like zooming in on them holding hands is so forced by the directors had me seriously saying out aloud, are they afraid the audience can't spot two girls falling in love that they need to "no pun included " have to amplify that effect and lead us by the hand.

As for the masks and dancing on the table, I found it just plain cringy and a far cry from the game's interpretation of humor and youth.

Perhaps I set my expectations too high, but i have been looking forward to this episode the most, i am just very disappointed with it.
 
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Alabtrosmyster

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So I just watched the last episode with Ellie and Riley and have to say I found the whole episode really disappointing.

Just for context, I rated the DLC of the last of us as one of the greatest DLCs out there only being superseded by only the old hunters(bloodborne) and Diablo2's (Throne of destruction.)

The DLCs above are 10/10

I have loved the series up to this point but this episode feels like a huge step back from the game.

To me, the relationship between the two does not come across as organic in any way possible, plus the forced rubbish of them adding techniques like zooming in on them holding hands is so forced by the directors had me seriously saying out aloud, are they afraid the audience can't spot two girls falling in love that they need to "no pun included " have to amplify that effect and lead us by the hand.

As for the masks and dancing on the table, I found it just plain cringy and a far cry from the game's interpretation of humor and youth.

Perhaps I set my expectations too high, but i have been looking forward to this episode the most, i am just very disappointed with it.
To me the whole season after episode two felt something like that, disappointment after disappointment.

It started really well with the flashbacks that provided context to the story and slight changes that benefit the medium and story.

Then wtf.