Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 1:35 am
Episode 3 - holy shit. That was fantastic, start to finish.
Yeah - it felt like I was watching a movie. Made most (all?) of the Walking Dead episodes that tried to do something similar thematically seem totally amateur. I hope that episode gets an award because it really was amazing.
I didn’t want that episode to end. It was so well done and I could have watched an entire season of those two together. The official Podcast provides some great insight into the show and game plus it drops right after the episode airs so I listen to it in bed.
Spoiler:
The actor that played Frank is the manager of The White Lotus Season 1. I thought he looked familiar but couldn’t place him.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:42 pm
by rittchard
Daveman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 11:28 am
Having played the game, I was annoyed that Joel looted an assault rifle when the game forces you to keep the starting pistol at that point. Also,
Spoiler:
I wondered why they didn't put on masks in the sewers, especially when they found the fungal corpse, and my son said he read somewhere that the producers decided they didn't want actors in gas masks for lengthy scenes so they've cut out that part of the lore.
Spoiler:
I didn’t see anyone address this but I think it was more explicitly laid out in Ep 3. People had already guessed they had changed the spread mechanism to flour after Ep 1, and Joel confirmed it this ep. If you recall in Ep 1, Joel and Ellie keep avoiding flour products like pancakes and cookies “coincidentally” and thus were spared. I was still really surprised when he tells her about the initial spread and how it happened basically over one weekend. That’s hardcore to imagine.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:49 pm
by telcta
I’m probably one of the few people here that haven’t played the game. I hope I’m not shortchanging my experience not playing it but damn, this show is good and I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes. I did read season two is already greenlit.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:37 pm
by Smoove_B
I haven't played it either and I'm anxiously awaiting it to arrive on Steam in March. I know it's not going to be a 1:1 experience, but it's a game I've wanted to play for years regardless. Watching the show has been great so far.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:40 pm
by Kurth
Watched all three episodes last night. Having played (and loved) both Last Of Us games, I'm getting such incredible feelings of dejavu watching this show. Above all else, I think that's a huge testament to what an immersive experience the games offered. Years after I finished those games, I still remember the look and feel and experience of being in some of those environments. The Bostonian Museum was especially strong for that.
And the shows are just hitting it out of the park. So freaking good.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:45 pm
by hepcat
I’m loving the show, but I’m not IN love with the show.
It’s wonderfully acted, beautifully shot, and includes Nick Offerman (it’s scientifically proven he increases the quality of anything he appears in by up to 60 percent or more). But at the end of the day, it’s all a story I’ve seen way too many times. Maybe years of The Walking Dead has dampened my enthusiasm for any story with mindless masses of undead/infected enemies and scrappy survivors trying to survive, but I don’t find myself looking forward to this as much as something like Legion, Doom Patrol, Raised by Wolves or other shows that would actually surprise me with its stories.
Like I said, I’m enjoying it. But I don’t consider it must see tv I have to consume as soon as/soon after it airs.
Although it may just take me time to accept another post apocalypse show.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:03 pm
by Smoove_B
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:45 pm
Although it may just take me time to accept another post apocalypse show.
Did you watch Station Eleven? We had a thread here about it and I was quite nervous to see it given the topic. It was fantastic and maybe something that can pull you out of your funk with these shows. I totally get the burnout but last night's episode of The Last of Us was on a different level.
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:45 pm
Although it may just take me time to accept another post apocalypse show.
Did you watch Station Eleven? We had a thread here about it and I was quite nervous to see it given the topic. It was fantastic and maybe something that can pull you out of your funk with these shows. I totally get the burnout but last night's episode of The Last of Us was on a different level.
That is next on my list! I heard good things but was avoiding it because the subject matter was a little too close to reality (must be doubly so for you, Smoove). But then I read Sea of Tranquility, written by the same author that wrote the book the Station Eleven show is based on, and that pushed me over the edge. Definitely going to watch this now.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:11 pm
by Smoove_B
It was so good and uplifting. Would recommend. The only other show I've watched during the pandemic that I also found made me actually feel good was Dispatches from Elsewhere. No monsters or deadly viruses are involved.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:47 pm
by hepcat
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:45 pm
Although it may just take me time to accept another post apocalypse show.
One hour later….
….that may have been one of the most beautiful and moving hour of television I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:08 pm
by Smoove_B
Ah, I thought you'd already watched Ep3 and were still like "Eh, not feeling it." Glad to hear you're caught up.
Every good love story should include a flame thrower. That's all I'm gonna say.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:36 pm
by Exodor
Kurth wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:05 pm
Sea of Tranquility, written by the same author that wrote the book the Station Eleven show is based on, and that pushed me over the edge.
I loved Sea of Tranquility so much - maybe even more than the book of Station Eleven (which is one of the few times where the book is inferior to the adaptation mostly because of a relationship tweak that even the author wishes she included in the original) but I just finished The Glass Hotel and I did not enjoy it nearly as much.
This has been your unrequested edition of "Exodor gives his opinions of Emily St. Mandel's novels"
I heard a lot of praise of this episode of TLoU before it aired (Sepinwall could barely contain his excitement about it) and it was all justified. One of the best episodes of TV I've ever seen and I can't wait for the rest of the season.
[HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:20 am
by Zarathud
hepcat wrote:
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:45 pm
Although it may just take me time to accept another post apocalypse show.
One hour later….
….that may have been one of the most beautiful and moving hour of television I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
Good. I was going to have to test you for becoming soulless. I cried so much. Incredibly well done. Nothing else in the season is likely to compare. Just so perfect.
Wish the family would watch episode three, but they’re all afraid of the stuff in the first two episodes.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:34 am
by Octavious
I liked it much better than the original story. Both make perfect sense in the context of their mediums. My daughter was in tears. I was just more surprised than anything and also I'm dead inside. This show has certainly exceeded my expectations.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:54 am
by Kraken
I'm not watching this yet, but this made me smile:
Yeah, that's Canada. 10 miles west of Boston is still flatland. Maybe this is the same team that made Fallout 4.
I've never been to Boston or Massachusetts and I also found that to be unbelievable. I imagine anywhere within 10 miles of Boston is suburban and not remote mountains.
Yeah, that's Canada. 10 miles west of Boston is still flatland. Maybe this is the same team that made Fallout 4.
I've never been to Boston or Massachusetts and I also found that to be unbelievable. I imagine anywhere within 10 miles of Boston is suburban and not remote mountains.
I laughed since approximately ten miles west of Boston is Waltham which definitely doesn’t look like the wilds of Vermont. Being in Lexington which is north of Waltham I would have enjoyed living close to such a cool area as depicted in The Last of Us and it would be a nice place for a Boston OO gathering.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 12:29 pm
by Jaymann
You have to think it was a joke. If they were trying to be real they could have at least said 50 miles.
Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 1:35 am
Episode 3 - holy shit. That was fantastic, start to finish.
Yeah - it felt like I was watching a movie. Made most (all?) of the Walking Dead episodes that tried to do something similar thematically seem totally amateur. I hope that episode gets an award because it really was amazing.
Yeah, both leads (for this ep) deserve an Emmy nod, IMO.
I liked this summary:
This.
Spoiler:
This wasn't just unusual for a "zombie show." It was one of the best love stories I've seen on TV in a good while.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:29 pm
by hepcat
There is zero chance that neither of them get an Emmy nod for that episode. One or both most definitely will.
Offerman's awkward timidity when finally connecting with another human being was a master class in acting.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 1:25 pm
by Zaxxon
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:09 pm
by rittchard
Some days I think I'm living in an alternate reality, the response to this episode has been amazing...
Spoiler:
Just in case someone hasn't seen or read about it yet...
As a gay man from an older generation, it's just simply amazing and sometimes fascinating to see not just such a moving portrayal of an older gay male couple, but to see it (almost) universally accepted and enjoyed by so many people has been incredible. I keep waiting to see someone/anyone say something, not necessarily even disparaging, but make any sort of fuss about this featuring a gay couple. But it never comes, at least not in any form that I would have expected. It's such a non-issue it almost feels like an issue for me, I guess because I'm just so used to it.
I did see one comment by a gay fan reminding the younger crowd on TikTok that since the apocalypse portion is set in 2003, both of these men would have (like me) been in a situation where they likely believed most of their life there could never be an option to be "married" or find someone to spend the rest of their lives with. So that just gives it yet another layer in the Last Day scene.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:39 pm
by Holman
rittchard wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:09 pm
Some days I think I'm living in an alternate reality, the response to this episode has been amazing...
Spoiler:
Just in case someone hasn't seen or read about it yet...
As a gay man from an older generation, it's just simply amazing and sometimes fascinating to see not just such a moving portrayal of an older gay male couple, but to see it (almost) universally accepted and enjoyed by so many people has been incredible. I keep waiting to see someone/anyone say something, not necessarily even disparaging, but make any sort of fuss about this featuring a gay couple. But it never comes, at least not in any form that I would have expected. It's such a non-issue it almost feels like an issue for me, I guess because I'm just so used to it.
I did see one comment by a gay fan reminding the younger crowd on TikTok that since the apocalypse portion is set in 2003, both of these men would have (like me) been in a situation where they likely believed most of their life there could never be an option to be "married" or find someone to spend the rest of their lives with. So that just gives it yet another layer in the Last Day scene.
I love that last comment you made. I didn't think about that detail at the time.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:02 pm
by Sudy
You know... we know how Bill and Frank's story starts and ends. But they should do a spin-off series of everything that came between! 20 years is a long time. Maybe some backstory told in flashback too. It would be The Last of Us's Better Call Saul.
Edit: Apparently the director floated the idea as well, but it sounded like he was just musing.
But I guess it would more than likely cheapen the episode's impact and fail to meet expectations like most other spin-offs.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:11 am
by Chraolic
Sudy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:02 pm
You know... we know how Bill and Frank's story starts and ends. But they should do a spin-off series of everything that came between! 20 years is a long time. Maybe some backstory told in flashback too. It would be The Last of Us's Better Call Saul.
Edit: Apparently the director floated the idea as well, but it sounded like he was just musing.
But I guess it would more than likely cheapen the episode's impact and fail to meet expectations like most other spin-offs.
I'm not sure I'd want to watch a full season of just them sitting in their house. I enjoyed the glimpse into their life together, and it was fantastically well acted, but sometimes less really is more.
One thing I thought of though, the gun that was traded for the strawberries pretty much has to be the revolver Joel is carrying, right? It seems to be in almost absurdly good nick for being 20 years after the breakdown of civilization.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:15 am
by hepcat
I would, however, watch a full season of Nick Offerman giggling.
Spoiler:
On a side note: I was thinking about how this episode has received almost universal acclaim in a world that seems at times to be sliding back into the dark ages of intolerance. I think choosing to portray Frank and Bill as a homosexual couple not defined by the act of sex, but by the depth of their commitment to each other, was the key. I'm not saying they shouldn't include the fact that they're sexual beings. But too many shows focus on that alone, and they seem to avoid the simple fact that EVERYONE is capable of a truly meaningful, classically romantic relationship...not just straight people.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:22 pm
by Sudy
Chraolic wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:11 am
I'm not sure I'd want to watch a full season of just them sitting in their house. I enjoyed the glimpse into their life together, and it was fantastically well acted, but sometimes less really is more.
Yeah, it seemed like less of a good idea this morning to me than it did last night. It's been mentioned that we may see them in flashback again in the main series though.
I think a short miniseries might work however, though there's no need for it. And I'd hate to see them manufacture "exciting" events that don't fit with Bill and Frank's established narrative. However, we only got the highlights of their lives together. Who's to say raiders didn't attack more than once? What occurred while Bill was nursed back to health, and how did Frank's illness arise? Perhaps Bill and/or Frank ventured outside the town for an adventure or two. Perhaps they split up at one point. What was Bill's relationship with his mother like? Etc.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:40 pm
by Zaxxon
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:44 pm
by Sudy
Stupid regional blocks... what's in the video?
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:54 pm
by Zaxxon
Sudy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:44 pm
Stupid regional blocks... what's in the video?
HBO's next game adaptation starring Pedro Pascal: Mario Kart.
Sudy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:44 pm
Stupid regional blocks... what's in the video?
HBO's next game adaptation starring Pedro Pascal: Mario Kart.
Or at least SNL's take on the above.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:35 pm
by Jaymann
At least they admitted that gasoline degrades over time, but then hand waived it away.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:51 pm
by Smoove_B
I'm quite curious where this is all going after last night's episode. I was also surprised to see Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, Togetherness, tons of other stuff) in the show. I hope she doesn't follow the same path as the other recently introduced famous people.
Also, as an FYI, HBO decided not to mess with the SuperBowl and so they're airing Ep5 on Friday night instead.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:16 pm
by Isgrimnur
Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:51 pm
Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, Togetherness, tons of other stuff)
Rose from 2.5 Men.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:08 am
by Scraper
Jaymann wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:35 pm
At least they admitted that gasoline degrades over time, but then hand waived it away.
Yeah the answer to bad gasoline is not to simply use more bad gasoline as the show implied. That stuff either wont work or worse it can actually ruin engines. BUT it's a tv show so .
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 11:39 am
by Smoove_B
Watched Ep5 last night and all I have is one word - Jesus.
This show isn't pulling any punches, eh?
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 1:50 pm
by Jaymann
I was falling asleep until the
Spoiler:
horde scene. Also the debut of the big bruiser, sweet.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 4:43 pm
by coopasonic
Damn... this show. They really know how to get to me.
Re: [HBO Max] The Last of Us [SPOILERS]
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:05 pm
by Smoove_B
I wasn't sure about the clicker girl - if it was creative filming and perhaps CGI, but no - apparently it was a real person - an insanely talented 9 year old. In an episode full of shocking moments, she definitely stood out. Creepy as hell!
Yeah, that's Canada. 10 miles west of Boston is still flatland. Maybe this is the same team that made Fallout 4.
.