The Last of Us: The Show!

[DeciderVT]

Sorry if this has been asked before but now that it's over... are there any spoilers for the second game in the series?

[Zio]

5 minutes ago, DeciderVT said:

Sorry if this has been asked before but now that it's over... are there any spoilers for the second game in the series?

 

No, it followed the plot of the first game extremely closely and nothing about Last Of Us Part II was given away.

[DeciderVT]

30 minutes ago, Zio said:

 

No, it followed the plot of the first game extremely closely and nothing about Last Of Us Part II was given away.

 

Thank you!

[BossSaru]

3 hours ago, mexos said:

I still think Druckman should have been brave enough to hand his baby over to someone else completely to reinterpret the material for a different medium.

 

I agree, but it is a catch-22. If the result had been underwhelming then I would have been moaning in this thread that they should have not strayed so far from the game.

 

The frustration is that episode 3, which is the wildest detour from the source, was outstanding largely because (IMO) they could do some things that would have not worked so well in the game. Just imagine if they had taken such liberties with the rest of the material!

 

  

1 hour ago, Zio said:

No, it followed the plot of the first game extremely closely and nothing about Last Of Us Part II was given away.

 

In fact, someone who watched the show could now pick up the second game and start it, having not played Part 1, without missing any beats from the story. But they would be mad to do so.

[Zio]

Since binging the show with my girlfriend last weekend, I've actually been wondering if my familiarity with the game was actually a slight impediment to my enjoyment of it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved the show, I thought it was fantastic - but it nagged at me all the way through that I already knew what was going to happen. For my girlfriend, each moment was a complete surprise, but it wasn't at all for me of course.

 

Like most people, my favourite part of it was episode 3, and absolutely that was because it was a beautifully told little mini-story in it's own right. But also it was something new that hadn't really been explored in depth in the game.

[Pete]

Finished, it did fizzle out a little by the end and I felt they telegraphed what was coming a bit too clearly in episodes three and four. I think the ending of episode eight had much more impact, but I guess it's hard to end these in a satisfying way. Is that how the game ends?

 

Really enjoyed it and was never bored, at it's best it was incredible so I guess it's a little frustrating it couldn't hit those notes more consistently.

[makkuwata]

I took a look back at my spoilered expectations for the final episode.

 

On 06/03/2023 at 13:05, makkuwata said:

So we have to hit

 

- A moment of Joel being the chipper one and Ellie being distant. Maybe actually have him promising to teach her guitar.

 

- The giraffe scene. People would riot. And we need “It can’t have been for nothing.”

 

- How many people will he kill? He only needs to take out the Doc and Marlene - I think “You’d just come after her” is important - But it’s going to be hard realistically to get away from a group big enough for a viable medical operation without getting messier.

 

- Then you need the promise and the ‘I know you know I know you’re lying’ look.

 

And actually make it work and payoff emotionally as a send off for the whole season.

They pretty much kept it as lean as possible, hitting each beat and adding the suicide attempt story as a bonus.
 

I feel like the game hits harder as you have to live through each moment in real time. I remember feeling genuinely upset and uncomfortable with Ellie’s change in disposition at the start of the chapter.
 

I was immensely satisfied with the ending of the game, and for the show I just hoped they would do it justice.

[JPL]

8 hours ago, BossSaru said:

In fact, someone who watched the show could now pick up the second game and start it, having not played Part 1, without missing any beats from the story. But they would be mad to do so.

If someone played the second game after only watching Part 1, they’d be like “where the fuck have all these infected appeared from!”

[NecroMorrius]

Just to warn people, I went on Youtube yesterday to see if there was any Last Of Us Part I PC footage (I think I typed "last of us pc") and about 75% of the hits were brazen unambiguous spoilers for the second game. Bloody Pewdiepie etc.

[makkuwata]

People who managed to play the second game completely blind are like unicorns due to the massive leaks ahead of release. Watching season 2 blind will be impossible now that the show is a huge success.

[Kevvy Metal]

3 minutes ago, makkuwata said:

People who managed to play the second game completely blind are like unicorns due to the massive leaks ahead of release. Watching season 2 blind will be impossible now that the show is a huge success.

 

I played the second game going in completely blind. It was pretty easy, not being stricken with a desire to actually google the leak. 

[makkuwata]

I watch more YouTube than anything else these days and have found it impossible to show any interest on the platform and not be spoiled.

[mikeyl]

Had 2 spoiled in here because some crybaby was whinging on about men’s rights or something. I’m still furious

[Hawklord]

1 hour ago, makkuwata said:

People who managed to play the second game completely blind are like unicorns due to the massive leaks ahead of release. Watching season 2 blind will be impossible now that the show is a huge success.

I played 1 & 2 completely blind. Started 1 at Xmas and finished 2 just before the show started. I'm good at ignoring spoilers for stuff I haven't played/watched  

[p1nseeker]

On 20/03/2023 at 18:49, Popo said:

Kermode and Mayo absolutely loved this. So much so they’ve done a podcast episode about it. Simon in particular is gushing with enthusiasm. 

 

Where is this podcast? I can't seem to find it.

[Pob]

7 minutes ago, p1nseeker said:

 

Where is this podcast? I can't seem to find it.

 

It's behind a paywall. I signed up for a free week via the iOS Podcast app.

[p1nseeker]

Is there any way to listen if you don't have an Apple device?

[Jammy]

We’re getting through this at the moment. I’ve never played the game so went in completely blind. Just watched the

 

Spoiler

Henry/Sam episode. The juxtaposition of bleakness and adrenalin was brilliantly done. My wife cried a lot.

 

Between this and Chernobyl, Craig Mazin has put out two fantastic bits of work.

[Dirty Harry Potter]

As much as I loved Series 1 - I really hope Drunkman doesn't get bogged down in Series 2 - as I want him to put all his energy into creating The Last of Us: Part 3.

 

Video Games are the priority here. And as good as the TV show is - I enjoyed this MUCH more as a game, than I did a TV series.

 

[ScouserInExile]

I thought this was excellent throughout. Well paced, great acting, a constant feeling of foreboding and threat.

 

And I know nothing of the games, so it was all new to me.

[Uncle Nasty]

Couldn't get to the end of this, think we bailed about three episodes before the finale. So little payoff for what felt like a boring slog. I felt like I was in that episode of Peep Show at the theatre - "we could be at home watching Heat"

 

As well as the acting and story being weak/tedious, the visuals were a big disappointment - I expected to at least be blown away by the environments and setting but nothing stood out as being particularly impressive or creative. As was said before, the clickers just aren't a convincing or aesthetically cool enemy.

 

If the game hadn't been so well regarded this series would've sunk without trace. I think people are reading more into it than is actually there.

 

Dull.

[catinthehat]

Unlucky dude, I thought it was ace.

[Mogster]

53 minutes ago, Uncle Nasty said:

 

If the game hadn't been so well regarded this series would've sunk without trace. I think people are reading more into it than is actually there.

I think the show has reached a far wider audience than the game, by all accounts.

[JohnC]

People who have played the game keep second guessing the reaction of people who have not played the game and getting it wrong.

[Chadruharazzeb]

1 hour ago, Uncle Nasty said:

So little payoff for what felt like a boring slog.

 

How do you know what the payoff was if you didn't finish it? 

[Chadruharazzeb]

1 hour ago, Uncle Nasty said:

As well as the acting and story being weak/tedious, the visuals were a big disappointment

 

And this is just the ravings of a lunatic. 

[ScouserInExile]

32 minutes ago, Mogster said:

I think the show has reached a far wider audience than the game, by all accounts.

As I said a couple of posts up, I know nothing of the game and still wanted to watch this. And I really enjoyed it.

 

There were some bits, especially in the first few episodes, where it felt like scenes were structured like a game. Other than that I don't think you'd know it was based on a game, if you weren't told. I thought it built the world really well and didn't feel like I was missing anything from having no prior knowledge.

 

The only visuals I could complain about were some of the zombies. And I would say that this was linked to the "game structure" above. There was a definite set of "mid game boss" zombies that felt a bit out of place and I don't think looked great as a result. Other than that, all the scenery was great, I thought, both in cities and out in the countryside. 

 

I just thought it was great start to finish. The lack of zombies all the time made it a bit scarier, IMO. There was the constant background threat, keeping you on edge the whole time. Plus, it showed people as scarier than monsters.

 

Something I thought was really good was when it showed that people that were killed by the main characters were, well, people and not just nameless mooks. That worked really well.

[Stevie]

Not the mind controlling one, but it’s a first

 

 

Paratracheal abscess by plant fungus Chondrostereum purpureum- first case report of human infection

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753923000106

[Grobbelboy]

There’s a nice 30 mins docu on HBO Max since a couple of days, worth a watch. 

[Zio]

19 hours ago, Stevie said:

Not the mind controlling one, but it’s a first

 

 

Paratracheal abscess by plant fungus Chondrostereum purpureum- first case report of human infection

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753923000106

 

I'm sure most, if not all, people here already know this, but Cordyceps is a completely real thing. It just only infects and zombifies insects. It's been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, so is apparently non-toxic to humans, but a total shit if you're an ant.