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TV HBO's The Last of Us |ST| You know Ellie, we really are an ST subtitle [MARK SPOILERS]

Irene

Irene

Soar long!
Pronouns
She/Her
EHJNimj.jpg


GENERAL INFO
Release date: January 15 at 9PM ET
Number of episodes: 9
Episode airing day: Sundays
Directors: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann

CAST
Joel: Pedro Pascal
Ellie: Bella Ramsey
Tommy: Gabriel Luna
Tess: Anna Torv
Sarah: Nico Parker
Marlene: Merle Dandridge
Henry: Lamar Johnson
Riley: Storm Reid


TRAILERS







REVIEWS
www.cnet.com

HBO's 'The Last of Us' Is a Stunning Triumph of Video Game Adaptation

Joel and Ellie's dark odyssey, which started Sunday, is a journey you need to take.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com

www.ign.com

The Last of Us: Season 1 Review - IGN

HBO's The Last of Us is a stunning adaptation that should thrill newcomers and enrich those already familiar with Joel and Ellie's journey alike.
www.ign.com www.ign.com

time.com

Review: 'The Last of Us' Is Stunning—But Something’s Missing

HBO's adaptation of the beloved video game is gorgeous, poignant, and astonishingly well made but light on insight
time.com time.com

SPOILERS
Please mark spoilers for the episodes accordingly. When it comes to the game, exercise good judgment - it's of course alright to discuss a decade-old game and its key plot details freely, but be mindful of some of the bigger twists that might be of unknown quantity to newcomers of the series. ("Ellie is immune" is a key element of the story known to everyone and is represented in the trailers of the show, but something like (Made-up example) "Ellie gets shot in the knee by Henry after Riley sold her out to the Fireflies" might be better off behind tags)
___

The eagerly anticipated Season 1 of HBO's TV series based on the immensely popular game is less than 24 hours away from release. Let's go, y'all!

eSnqRPp.gif
 
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Can't wait

From what I hear, it's a fairly faithful adaptation. Makes me wonder how season 2 would go, because I think the structure will be much more difficult to pull off in a TV show
 
Impressions have been extremely solid, with Pedro and Bella's performances receiving quite a bit of praise. Super excited to see that first episode tonight. Thanks for the ST, Irene!
 
Also at least here in Mexico they are doing a lot to promote it. HBO struck a deal with most cable companies and they are opening all HBO channels for free yesterday and today.

Also they dubbed version will have the same VA in the latam dub of the game

 
Hey HBO, if you could let me purchase the season on Google Play that would be great. If it's not available at 9 I have to get HBO Max, which ugh.....
 
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Pedro Pascal good.

That was a solid pilot. My uninitiated wife was engaged throughout! Can’t wait to see them climb those towers and die a thousand times like I did in 2013!
 
I finished and beat the game once, must have been back in 2013 or 2014. What I recognized, was familiar for all the best and worst reasons. What I didn't remember, or what was new, kept me captivated.

I'm making it a point to especially recommend this show to my friends who haven't played the game or been exposed to it in any capacity. I wish I could see their reactions unfold as they take it all in.
 
This is definitrly the "dark knight " of videogame adaptations.

There were a few good interpretations of videogames here and there.

But this one, is going to be absolutely huge, and issue in a trend of everyone trying to make good adaptions.

The 1-2 punch of Last of Us doing insane numbers, and most likely the Mario movie doing insane numbers, will really usher in the next cash cow of the industry.

This was on another level as an adaption. It's really not afraid to be itself.

I wish we got to see actual infected in Boston. But I am extremely excited for what's next
 
That was really great.

Stray post-episode thoughts:

  • Ah, so the intro theme is the same as that of the game. For the best, really. I wondered whether an original piece would be produced in its place, but the TLoU theme is fairly iconic, so I don't see any reason to swap it out.
  • Casting is dead-on, for each character. Joel, Tommy, Sarah, Ellie, Tess, Marlene... excellent performances all around.
  • For her limited screen time as Sarah, Nico Parker put her best foot forward. The added bit of characterization (relative to her game counterpart) helped, and her death impacted me in a manner similar to when I first played the game a decade ago... even though I knew it was coming. That's a sign of a solid adaptation.
  • I dig the little subversive surprises, for those who've previously played the game. Example: the car accident you expect Joel, Tommy, and Sarah to get into is now a plane crash. The panic and terror of that entire sequence was well conveyed.
  • Our introduction to the world of "20 years later" consisting of a child being euthanized caught me off-guard, and was pretty messed up. Damn.
  • This Joel is even more brutal than his game counterpart! Jeez. He's whacking infected old ladies in the face with a wrench, and beating soldier dudes into a bloody pulp.
  • They're straight up utilizing the game's soundtrack, and quite prominently. I had to laugh when one of the Factions MP lobby tracks started playing.
  • Overall, an extremely faithful adaptation. It's adding texture and additional context to the narrative where it'd be fitting to, while still closely adhering to the story and characters as depicted in the source material. I liked seeing Joel sell the soldier those pills, Ellie meeting Marlene, and so on.

I'll post some more thoughts if they come to mind, but yeah. Good stuff here. Excited to see the rest of it!
 
I really enjoyed it. I also only played the original around 2013 so my memory is fuzzy regarding how it compares to the game, but overall the cast did a great job. It managed to keep my parents glued to the TV and they aren't usually interested into the zombie / survival series, so I consider it a win for the series
 
Very, very good pilot. I'm sure this show will become capital-G Great over the course of its run too.
 
Really enjoyed it. Would've loved it more if I was more of a TV series person, but it's not always an entertainment form that I mesh with personally.

Casting was spot-on across the board, especially the ladder that looked identical to those in the game, haha.

The extra bits with Sarah in the beginning were very sweet, lovely addition. And the final shot before credits with the skyscrapers in the background was really impressive. Good stuff all around!
 
Aurc said:
  • This Joel is even more brutal than his game counterpart! Jeez. He's whacking infected old ladies in the face with a wrench, and beating soldier dudes into a bloody pulp.
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A thought on your thought, lol
I don't know if I'd say he's more brutal, just that the brutality is conveyed in different ways. For instance, in the game he shoots his neighbor rather than hitting them with a wrench, but that seems to be more about what weapon he had at the time. Similarly, in the game he uses the soldier's own gun to shoot him in the head. (The solider bit for me was one of the few parts which didn't fully work - I think the flashback to Sarah was a little heavy-handed, and I don't know know whether he'd necessarily have those paternal feelings towards Ellie yet)

On the other hand, Tess and Joel execute Robert in the game, rather than just finding him dead. It's an early moment that shows just how cold and unflinching they can be, and I thought it was an interesting choice to change it.
[/ISPOILER]
 
I thought the first episode was outstanding, looking forward how it goes, for the ones uninitiated they are in for a WILD ride.

I spotted many differences of game vs show but i didn't mind. One question thought:

In the game the romantic relationship between Joel and Tess was just implied and not outright confirmed, I remember correctly?
 
One question regarding the beginning


When Sarah is in the school and she noticed the bracelet light in her desk because the kid is moving his hand weirdly, is it implying he was already infected?
 
ermitron2 said:
One question regarding the beginning


When Sarah is in the school and she noticed the bracelet light in her desk because the kid is moving his hand weirdly, is it implying he was already infected?
Click to expand...

Didn't took it that way, the guy just seems to being impatient and serves as a reminder to Sarah to take Joel's watch to service, didn't think his movement was that weird
 
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ermitron2 said:
One question regarding the beginning


When Sarah is in the school and she noticed the bracelet light in her desk because the kid is moving his hand weirdly, is it implying he was already infected?
Click to expand...
I personally took that as more of a way to build tension - we know what's coming, and so any kind of twitch like that (which would ordinarily not raise eyebrows) seems potentially dangerous and adds to the sense of dread. A classic zombie trope
 
hologram said:
A thought on your thought, lol
I don't know if I'd say he's more brutal, just that the brutality is conveyed in different ways. For instance, in the game he shoots his neighbor rather than hitting them with a wrench, but that seems to be more about what weapon he had at the time. Similarly, in the game he uses the soldier's own gun to shoot him in the head. (The solider bit for me was one of the few parts which didn't fully work - I think the flashback to Sarah was a little heavy-handed, and I don't know know whether he'd necessarily have those paternal feelings towards Ellie yet)

On the other hand, Tess and Joel execute Robert in the game, rather than just finding him dead. It's an early moment that shows just how cold and unflinching they can be, and I thought it was an interesting choice to change it.
[/ISPOILER]
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I was at least a little annoyed they felt the need to flashback to Sarah's death when the soldier pointed his gun at Joel and Ellie. Like, dude, it just happened this episode! We get the subtext!
 
Amazing to see how "Never let me down again" is trending with new audiences because of the show. I've been a fan of DM since my teenage years and seeing all the "TLOU brought me here" comments in YouTube warms my heart hehe.
 
I really liked the ending with the 80s song coming on the radio. Thought that was really cool. I saw someone online say "well obviously trouble is coming, don't think we needed the radio to tell us that" and like yes I do not think it was meant to be a twist lol

Only very slightly related - I realized something about the second game/season (minor musical spoilers for Part II):
Technically, since the outbreak was in 2003 rather than 2013, Future Days won't be out! How do y'all think they'll handle that? They could
  • use a different song
  • use something other than a song for what it represents, or nix it entirely
  • say "fuck it" and use Future Days anyway lol
 
0
Just watched it;

Yo, that was a great episode to start on! As someone who played both games twice, it’s been a blast to see so many elements what made the game great come back. Just some random thoughts.

- Hats off to Pascal and Ramsey for their versions of Ellie and Joel. Feels really close to their digital counterparts.

- I really liked the intro; I hear some arguing that they should have showed the Cordiceps video, but the professor explaining fungal threats worked quite well.

- It’s funny how the first 33 minutes are exactly like the opening of the game, with a few additions. Even down to the dialogue. The line from Sarah telling she sells hardcore drugs gets me everytime.

- The plane crashing into to town was huge.

- That one scene is still sad.

- Also sad, when that kid gets lied to and he was thrown into the big fire. Jeez.
 
ngpdrew said:
I was at least a little annoyed they felt the need to flashback to Sarah's death when the soldier pointed his gun at Joel and Ellie. Like, dude, it just happened this episode! We get the subtext!
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I thought it made sense. It triggered some 20 year old PTSD for Joel and it triggered him to kill his inside man. I didn't find the flashback to be that forced.
 
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After watching the pilot, I can say that this show will be fantastic. The casting decisions were perfect. Boston was well made. The final shot with the skyscrapers was haunting.

hologram said:
Enjoy! You're in for a treat

I'm now watching reactions from people who aren't familiar with the game lol
Click to expand...

I can't wait for the season finale. I feel like this is my version of GOT's Red Wedding. The internet will freak.
 
I thought the intro to the game was one of the best zombie themed set pieces I’ve seen in any piece of media, and the TV adaptation was phenomenal. Really looking forward to seeing more of this.
 
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Josh5890 said:
After watching the pilot, I can say that this show will be fantastic. The casting decisions were perfect. Boston was well made. The final shot with the skyscrapers was haunting.



I can't wait for the season finale. I feel like this is my version of GOT's Red Wedding. The internet will freak.
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This might not be a popular opinion, but I'm anticipating people to find it less shocking than the game. Maybe people will have a "damn, Joel is brutal" reaction, but presumably they'll already know that; meanwhile, the idea that he'd save Ellie will be pretty uncontroversial I reckon

I think the reason it hit so hard in the game was because you had to do it. Being given a ~difficult choice~ in a videogame is very common, but the TLOU gave you no choice. You had to kill that doctor. Joel always kills Marlene. I feel like that's what made it so shocking.

It will for sure be a gut punch of an ending though!
 
Great stuff. Really hope this (and the Mario movie) marks the of video game adaptations being taken seriously
 
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Magic-Man said:
How are people still hating on Bella WHEN SHE LITERALLY ACTS AND SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE ELLIE WTF
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Some of the people complaining about the casting have said the showrunners should have got Elliot Page, a 35-year-old man, to play Ellie. So uhhh I'm not sure they are people we need to give a whole lot of attention to lol
 
hologram said:
Some of the people complaining about the casting have said the showrunners should have got Elliot Page, a 35-year-old man, to play Ellie. So uhhh I'm not sure they are people we need to give a whole lot of attention to lol
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God people are the worst. I'm not ready for the inevitable shit storm when the Percy Jackson show comes out and everyone complains about the casting. It's going to be so annoying.
 
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hologram said:
Some of the people complaining about the casting have said the showrunners should have got Elliot Page, a 35-year-old man, to play Ellie. So uhhh I'm not sure they are people we need to give a whole lot of attention to lol
Click to expand...

I remember everyone being confused back in 2013 when most of us thought that Elliot Page was in the game. They had to come out and say lol not me.

They were really good in Beyond: Two Souls though!
 
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Josh5890 said:
After watching the pilot, I can say that this show will be fantastic. The casting decisions were perfect. Boston was well made. The final shot with the skyscrapers was haunting.



I can't wait for the season finale. I feel like this is my version of GOT's Red Wedding. The internet will freak.
Click to expand...

I believe that
The show's version of the red wedding will be early season 2, that is unless you want to take it as a TLOU version of GOT S1 E9 LOL
 
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It was very well done. Nico Parker was superb with the short time she got.

I had thought Pedro Pascal was an inspired choice for Joel and Bella Ramsey a terrible choice for Ellie. Pascal delivered as expected, but Bella was a big surprise - she nailed Ellie's overall energy. My one problem is that Joel wasn't particularly likeable in TLoU, and I find Pascal's Joel to be too easy to root for so far here so far.

The other castings are all spot-on.

The one issue I had was the scene where
Joel beats the soldier to death. It was totally unsubtle. We already get it - he's repressing anger and intense trauma and has every reason to despise authority. You don't need to flashback to what happened a mere 30 minutes ago. Also, Ellie's reaction was off. Ellie is supposed to be street-smart but largely innocent. Her reaction was almost as if she thought it was cool that Joel caved a guy's face in. Don't like that turn for her character.

What I'll be REALLY interested in is if they stay beat-for-beat in season 2. There's this meme online that the only people who disliked TLoU's story are trolls or "chuds" or whatever you call them, but every normal casual I know that loved TLoU really, really hated TLoU 2's story. (And TLoU reached a LOT of people who don't play many games.)

So if it plays out the same way I wonder what the reaction will be among the general public.
 
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I thought the premiere was very well done! I will definitely be watching the rest of the season. I thought the casting was uniformly fantastic. Looking forward to Nick Offerman as Bill. He’ll be a great Bill. And although Sarah’s time in story is short, her actor was so good!

Nice to hear the ratings / stream numbers were super high, because I really want them to cover Part II as well
 
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Heron said:
It was very well done. Nico Parker was superb with the short time she got.

I had thought Pedro Pascal was an inspired choice for Joel and Bella Ramsey a terrible choice for Ellie. Pascal delivered as expected, but Bella was a big surprise - she nailed Ellie's overall energy. My one problem is that Joel wasn't particularly likeable in TLoU, and I find Pascal's Joel to be too easy to root for so far here so far.

The other castings are all spot-on.

The one issue I had was the scene where
Joel beats the soldier to death. It was totally unsubtle. We already get it - he's repressing anger and intense trauma and has every reason to despise authority. You don't need to flashback to what happened a mere 30 minutes ago. Also, Ellie's reaction was off. Ellie is supposed to be street-smart but largely innocent. Her reaction was almost as if she thought it was cool that Joel caved a guy's face in. Don't like that turn for her character.

What I'll be REALLY interested in is if they stay beat-for-beat in season 2. There's this meme online that the only people who disliked TLoU's story are trolls or "chuds" or whatever you call them, but every normal casual I know that loved TLoU really, really hated TLoU 2's story. (And TLoU reached a LOT of people who don't play many games.)

So if it plays out the same way I wonder what the reaction will be among the general public.
Click to expand...
Considering that:
So many people thought that Joel was 100% right in everything he did, a hero, and completely relatable. I really don't mind Neil laying it on thick. Whilst you and me could pick up on it, I really don't think that the audience at large would be able to. In fact, I would argue that is the biggest reason Last of Us Part 2 had that sort of response. People really idealized Joel, even though the game did everything it could, besides literally spelling it out, that Joel is not a "good" guy.

Media literacy is sort of at an all time low there.

And for the Ellie bit as well, I really think it makes sense to prepare the audience for how Ellie will become even worse than Joel.
 
Lozjam said:
Considering that:
So many people thought that Joel was 100% right in everything he did, a hero, and completely relatable. I really don't mind Neil laying it on thick. Whilst you and me could pick up on it, I really don't think that the audience at large would be able to. In fact, I would argue that is the biggest reason Last of Us Part 2 had that sort of response. People really idealized Joel, even though the game did everything it could, besides literally spelling it out, that Joel is not a "good" guy.

Media literacy is sort of at an all time low there.

And for the Ellie bit as well, I really think it makes sense to prepare the audience for how Ellie will become even worse than Joel.
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I don’t think the answer to poor media literacy is to make media cater more to those with poor media literacy. I think they do plenty to present Joel in the correct light in the game and show. Some people are going to lionize a white protagonist no matter how you present him.
 
Heron said:
It was very well done. Nico Parker was superb with the short time she got.

I had thought Pedro Pascal was an inspired choice for Joel and Bella Ramsey a terrible choice for Ellie. Pascal delivered as expected, but Bella was a big surprise - she nailed Ellie's overall energy. My one problem is that Joel wasn't particularly likeable in TLoU, and I find Pascal's Joel to be too easy to root for so far here so far.

The other castings are all spot-on.

The one issue I had was the scene where
Joel beats the soldier to death. It was totally unsubtle. We already get it - he's repressing anger and intense trauma and has every reason to despise authority. You don't need to flashback to what happened a mere 30 minutes ago. Also, Ellie's reaction was off. Ellie is supposed to be street-smart but largely innocent. Her reaction was almost as if she thought it was cool that Joel caved a guy's face in. Don't like that turn for her character.

What I'll be REALLY interested in is if they stay beat-for-beat in season 2. There's this meme online that the only people who disliked TLoU's story are trolls or "chuds" or whatever you call them, but every normal casual I know that loved TLoU really, really hated TLoU 2's story. (And TLoU reached a LOT of people who don't play many games.)

So if it plays out the same way I wonder what the reaction will be among the general public.
Click to expand...
Lozjam said:
Considering that:
So many people thought that Joel was 100% right in everything he did, a hero, and completely relatable. I really don't mind Neil laying it on thick. Whilst you and me could pick up on it, I really don't think that the audience at large would be able to. In fact, I would argue that is the biggest reason Last of Us Part 2 had that sort of response. People really idealized Joel, even though the game did everything it could, besides literally spelling it out, that Joel is not a "good" guy.

Media literacy is sort of at an all time low there.

And for the Ellie bit as well, I really think it makes sense to prepare the audience for how Ellie will become even worse than Joel.
Click to expand...
ngpdrew said:
I don’t think the answer to poor media literacy is to make media cater more to those with poor media literacy. I think they do plenty to present Joel in the correct light in the game and show. Some people are going to lionize a white protagonist no matter how you present him.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, in the official podcast they talked about one of the main themes being "love can be a force for bad", specifically how love can make you do terrible things. To me, that suggests that they're still going to frame Joel's ultimate decision as selfish and damaging, which in turn makes the story in TLOU2 the natural direction to go.

@Heron, I'd be curious to see what it was about the story the people you've talked to didn't like. Was it as simple as "Joel dies"? Was it the overall bleakness? Was it the (perceived, incorrectly IMO) lack of resolution to Ellie's revenge arc?
 
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