Television The Last of Us - TV Series HBO | NO GAME REFERENCES OR SPOILERS | Receives 24 Emmy nominations

Really enjoying the show so far. Never played the game but the episodes have been pretty good at introducing the atmosphere and the characters.

I actually think that the last episode was the best one so far, not sure how people are so against it.
 
It was stunning.

The vibe for some reason really reminded me of some of the character specific episodes of The Leftovers. The cinematography and music in particular. And they tended to not really progress the overall plot much either.
 
Yeah that was really superb, a very lovely and well acted short story almost.

Continues to deliver.
 
That was a great watch. Absolutely brilliantly done whether the story resonated or not.

I'm not bothering to look back on opinions about it in here or elsewhere though. Not after a story about how humanity doesn't always suck anyway :lol:
 
Gotta admit it was hard to shake the image of Frank shitting in a suitcase of out my head after The White Lotus.
 
Loved that episode. Part of me was wanting to see Joel and Ellie’s plot advanced, but that was just a wonderfully told story. It fleshes out the world to see the ways people have been getting on after the world fell apart.
 
Damn that was a powerful episode and worthy of Max Richter, unlike that Leftovers tripe.
 
Sure wish I could find a torrent of episode 3 so I could report it to the relevant authorities...
 
Oh I see.

What was that point of this episode? I mean there were sounds and images and a general sense of time passing but I'm the sort of person that puts ketchup on every meal I eat and has a gaping chasm where you would have what some people might call a soul.
 
There's a lot of little visual touches that take me straight back to playing the game, but I have no idea what I am and am not allowed to say in this thread so I'll leave the specifics.

Wonderful episode. Didn't go the way I expected it to, and was ultimately just filler, but if this is shaping up to be a show where even the filler episodes are of that quality, then we are really in for a treat here.

(Well I say we. I mean normal people, not the ones who can't allow themselves to enjoy anything)
 
I mean, it was a lovely and beautiful episode of television (mostly thanks to some impeccable acting and solid directing)

But it was also a bit pointless.

But then... Does that matter?
 
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Annihilate Now! said:
I mean, it was a lovely and beautiful episode of television.

But it was also a bit pointless.

But then... Does that matter?
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To people new to TLOU I can see it being a bit excessive to dedicate an entire episode to expanding the back story of these two. So I can only imagine they did it for the fans, which is a shame that it didn't land for some.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I just don’t get criticisms like this. Not every scene or episode needs to be all about moving the plot forward.
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Yep and he's pretty much missed the point of the episode anyway.... the second it reads 'Tess' on the letter, and Tess died for Ellie. He ends the episodes just slightly less cold towards to her due to the episode as a whole, Joel literally says he's the same as Bill at the dinner table. The whole filler stuff to see how they got a car criticism seems well off.
 
I wouldn’t say it was pointless at all. We got some backstory on Joel and Tess and a lot of information about how it all started. And they got the battery they needed. We also got a lot of Joel and Ellie “bonding” at the start and end. Pointless would be if you could just skip the episode and not lose out on anything which you definitely couldn’t do for this.
 
Mockney said:
I mean, it wasn’t. If anything the letter at the end spells out its thematic point a little too literally.
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You could probably achieve the same with a 5/10 minute backstory (which is what most shows would probably do I guess), might be slightly less impactful but gets the same message/themes across.

I'm not complaining though. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
You could probably achieve the same with a 5/10 minute backstory (which is what most shows would probably do I guess), might be slightly less impactful but gets the same message/themes across.
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Of course, but then, why even make a TV show? Just release a bullet point synopsis and we can all get to the end, chop chop!

not complaining though. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Indeed. It was lovely.
 
If you’re desperate for the plot to move forward there was a serious bit of character development for Joel. He had already seen a bit of kindred spirit in Bill. A bad ass motherfecker survivalist. But what’s the point of surviving if you’re not doing it for the benefit of anyone else? After Tess dying he was on a bit of a nihilist tip but that letter was an important reminder to get his shit together and take his role as protector seriously again. Not for Tess though. For Ellie.

But who cares about fecking plot development when you’ve got a perfectly formed mini drama that manages to pack a serious emotional punch into an hour of telly? I was in bits when he served that same meal again. Beautifully acted, perfectly cast and a gem of song to finish with.

Side note. An actor’s career is so weird. The guy who plays Frank has been in nothing of note basically ever and suddenly he lands two of the best roles any actor could hope for, right on top of one another. The really mad thing about it is that he was already cast in this show while shooting White Lotus. So the two aren’t connected. Crazy.
 
@Pogue Mahone He’s also the best thing in the uneven Chippendales dark comedy drama on Disney with Kamil Nanjiani… though he’s also quickly becoming the gay Sean Bean
 
Rooney in Paris said:
It really, really wasn't pointless.
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It was a bit, but that's OK!

Not in the sense that it doesn't fit the themes, or that its a waste of time... But more that the main bulk of the episode doesn't move the story along, and predominantly gives you a character study into people who will not affect the story going forward. It gives glimpses of what this world is now like true, but pretty much every episode will do that.

So yeah, a little bit pointless, but who cares? When it's done as well as this, it's great.


Pogue Mahone said:
But who cares about fecking plot development when you’ve got a perfectly formed mini drama that manages to pack a serious emotional punch into an hour of telly? I was in bits when he served that same meal again. Beautifully acted, perfectly cast and a gem of song to finish with.
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Or basically this.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Not in the sense that it doesn't fit the themes, or that its a waste of time... But more that the main bulk of the episode doesn't move the story along, and predominantly gives you a character study into people who will not affect the story going forward. It gives glimpses of what this world is now like true, but pretty much every episode will do that.
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I think we have very different definitions of what pointless means.
 
Fully Fledged said:
It just seemed like a filler episode. We haven't got enough content to fill the series so lets make an episode about Bill and Frank.
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Also they’re answering every question people might have. Without the need for prequels or spin-offs.

What did Joel do for 20 years? Damn that needs a prequel. Not by the looks of things..

Who’s this Bill guy is he an ex army, how did he live so well , what’s his story? Damn we need a spin off about him. All answered.

How did the virus start, from where, what was the immediate aftermath… we really need a prequel. Not really, already getting answered
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Been wallowing in reviews of that episode (as you do) and discovered a bit of a mad fact. Same-sex marriage wasn't legal in Massachusetts until 2004, which means the wedding they gave themselves would never have been recognised by the state they lived in :(
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Didn’t they get hitched in 2020s timeline ?
 
Annihilate Now! said:
I mean, it was a lovely and beautiful episode of television (mostly thanks to some impeccable acting and solid directing)

But it was also a bit pointless.

But then... Does that matter?
Click to expand...

It gave a huge amount of context to the whole show. Gave a sense of the time that had passed since it started, showed that zombies were far from the only threat, showed why they were travelling rather than holing up somewhere, showed how the loss of Tess (on top of his daughter's death) affected Joel in a way that fits his charatter (didn't break down in teary exposition) and it also advanced the relationship between Joel and Ellie. Plus the actual love story was very well done. Probably a brave choice to spend so long on a side story even though it helped massively with avoiding each episode being a run from or fight with zombies ior baddies. I'd say they nailed it. Very good TV indeed.
 
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