It has been more than a week since the first season of The Last of Us ended. What are your thoughts and opinions about it?

Submitted by mrnicegy26 t3_11yki92 in television

The Last of Us on HBO is based on the acclaimed video game by Naughty Dog that was released in 2013 for PlayStation 3. The videogame has been cited as a landmark for storytelling in videogames with praise going towards the narrative, the character work, the direction of the cutscenes and the performance work of its two leads.

The show was developed by Craig Mazin who previously was the showrunner of Chernobyl and Neil Druckmann who was the writer on the original game as well as its sequel.

How does the show compare the original video game? Does it surpass it or does it fall short? What does it gain from being a TV show and what does it long from not being a video game? Will it lead to more video game adaptations?

How does the show also compare to the zombie hit The Walking Dead that ended recently? Has it been able to take the space that was previously occupied by that show?

How does the show compare to other beloved HBO shows? Is it better than HBO's other big hit House of Dragon? How does it compare to the critical and awards darling that is Succession?

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HutchyRJS t1_jd83lqr wrote

Absolutely loved it

Bella Ramsey was brilliant as Ellie and Pedro Pascal was as great as always. Can’t wait for the second season

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RPoliticsModsFU t1_jd831jq wrote

I didn't really expect for the first game to be finished in one season. Nothing really feels left out, but something feels missing from it. The story was great, the actors were better. But I feel like the pacing suffered in some areas. I give it an 8/10.

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NobodyTellPoeDameron t1_jd88t8g wrote

For me the show started out amazing and ended as good/very good. When they omitted zombies from the second half of the show I thought it was odd but I wasn’t super bothered by it. Then, after watching the finale and realizing that they were critical to the gravity of the final choice, I was very disappointed in the lack of zombie threats.

It felt like Jurassic Park without dinosaurs. Everyone in Boston and KC should just move west and restart civilization in Oklahoma instead. We just saw two characters travel by foot and horse for hundreds and hundreds of miles talking as loudly as possible including in downtown Salt Lake City and there’s no zombie threat there whatsoever.

So Joel made the right choice because the other option would not have had a meaningful impact on the world of The Last of Us.

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onex7805 t1_jdbomc5 wrote

Playing the game makes you care more about the characters because you have to fight their battles for them for a 15-20 hour game.

The show lacks much of a connection since you are tuning in once a week and the threat of infected is not in your face.

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banana455 t1_jdbbcdv wrote

the show needed 1-2 episodes to really spend more time with Joel and Ellie and develop their relationship

non-game players who I watched with didn't find his decision at the end fully earned and I don't blame them

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x6ftundx t1_jd84hvq wrote

great ending...

do you promise that everything you told me is true.

yes

OK

end season

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Roook36 t1_jd8b9x3 wrote

Exact same end as the videogame that had me going "what??? Are these the end credits?? What???"

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Nacknack26 t1_jdab1lz wrote

I haven't played the game and l liked it, but I thought the beginning of the show was the strongest part. The pilot was great especially the first half and the second episode was also amazing. The infected felt like a actual threat in this episode and some good action l. Episode 3 was a great standalone episode that made me cry so much really unexpected.

The middle part of the season was the weakest. It wasn't bad, but it had pacing issues and I wish the infected would have been more of an issue. Also I wished we would have spent a little bit more time with just the main characters. The character development for Joel happened to fast for me in the end I think in the end the show would have benefitted from a few more episodes maybe 12 or at least 10.

Overall I still think it's a good show with some flaws, but still a I'm looking forward to season 2

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TapedeckNinja t1_jd87noi wrote

I liked it but I don't feel any real hook into the next season, tbh.

Most big prestige shows, when S1 ends I'm chomping at the bit to get to the next season.

IMO the finale was relatively weak (it was a good hour of TV it just didn't really hit me emotionally ... I thought it was oddly paced and structured) so that's probably part of it.

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omnilynx t1_jd8gn4z wrote

It's easily the best live-action video game adaptation. I really enjoyed it. If I had one critique, it's that I wish they had a couple more hours to develop the main story.

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mickeyflinn t1_jd8mxhy wrote

> It's easily the best live-action video game adaptation.

I agree completely, unfortunately that doesn't really mean anything.

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omnilynx t1_jd8vtep wrote

I wanted to counter you, but you're right. That wasn't a polished review, just my thoughts on the show.

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mickeyflinn t1_jdc262a wrote

The reason I posted that is because live action video game adaptations are just so bad.

TLOU was excellent, so hopefully this will be the shift the quality of live action adaptations.

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Grey_wolf_whenever t1_jd84w9j wrote

I think for me it felt slightly too much like a video game. Maybe it's because I've played too many games, but scenes like the one where Joel is sniping zombies to protect Ellie in the crowd, or when Ellie has to crawl through a hole to open a door, or the big hospital shoot out (you had how many fireflies and none of them could even graze this guy that describes himself as over the hill a few episodes ago, before he went into a coma?) just left me with this "I am watching a video game" feeling.

I also felt it could be kind of blunt in a bad way, in the episode with the cannibals we know the preacher is bad because he's eating people, and we understand the threat of his attempt to groom Ellie. We didn't need to see him try to rape her in a burning building, an act he gets so distracted by that he lets himself get killed. That building was on fire, you wouldn't even be able to breath in there but he decides he has time for that? I couldn't buy it, it felt less than necessary. HBO's writing has really suffered, look at some of the spectacle scenes (were looking at you dragon pit) in house of the dragon, it's better than the latter game of thrones seasons but a lot worse than the early ones.

I get that a lot of people like that, but for me it didn't work. On the other hand I thought casting was excellent. Pedro and Bella really brought it home and without them I think it would be a lot less relevant.

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HoaTod t1_jd9g5qg wrote

A lot of action movies are like video games where the main character just mows down hoards of bad guys

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HiTekBlueneck t1_jda3l0g wrote

Especially if you have a reason to have it on your mind.

Kind of like how when I was taking a film class I couldn't watch anything without thinking of all the story structure elements and shit.

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elgrangordito t1_jde4oqs wrote

I found the show to be very disappointing. It fails as a zombie show, and is fairly boring as a drama.

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Adenchiz t1_jd8585d wrote

Have not being familier with the game, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, I was hoping it would not be another 'Walking Dead' series, it's early still but right now I don't see it competing for many awards at the Emmy's (perhaps best actor/actress but I don't see it getting a best series nomination)

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BitterBubblegum t1_jd8706u wrote

I liked it but unlike the game we didn't get to spend a lot of time with Joel and Ellie together so their evolving relationship doesn't feel as meaty as I hoped it will.

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mickeyflinn t1_jd8ft84 wrote

My only issue with the show is that after episode 2, the infected were a non-issue. The infected had one major moment in E4 and it was a mess.

> How does the show compare the original video game?

It followed the structure of the story perfectly.

> Does it surpass it or does it fall short?

The show makes you form the same emotional connections with the characters. The game had more action.

> What does it gain from being a TV show and what does it long from not being a video game?

The gains are a much larger audience. It is one of the best games ever and more people getting into these types of games is great, as that will just mean more of these games being made.

> Will it lead to more video game adaptations?

Absolutely. Hollywood is the most shameless copy cat business in existence.

> How does the show also compare to the zombie hit The Walking Dead that ended recently?

I dumped TWD in the fourth season. TLOU S1 was better than those four seasons.

> Has it been able to take the space that was previously occupied by that show?

Not at all. TWD is much more open ended. TLOU will be another of the greatest mini-series to exist.

Yes there is a second and third season coming, but unless the writers do some serious alterations that has a finite ending as well.

> How does the show compare to other beloved HBO shows?

It is in the top five.

> Is it better than HBO's other big hit House of Dragon?

Yes

> How does it compare to the critical and awards darling that is Succession?

I don't not have an informed opinion.

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futanari_kaisa t1_jd8hj8f wrote

I kind of wish there were more encounters with infected. After episode 2 they're pretty much a non-issue. I also think that the Left Behind episode wasn't necessary. I still thought the show was great. Can't wait to see what they do in S2.

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The_DevilAdvocate t1_jd8mryd wrote

>How does the show compare the original video game?

It's a great adaption and a great show, but compared to the video game? The game does it better.

And that's because you are actually playing the character and the time you spend with Ellie is far longer.

Passive experience can't beat an active experience (given that the quality is otherwise equal).

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EugenesMullet t1_jd9okfg wrote

I thought it was really good overall, as a huge fan of the games.

That said, I think it was more an adaptation of the cutscenes from the game than the game itself. All the cinematic beats were there and they nailed each one every time. But a lot of key character development that makes the story of the games land as hard as it did comes from interactions and implications in the gameplay.

Bits of dialogue as you’re going from point A to point B, having to survive an intense encounter where Joel’s brutality has to come out to protect Ellie, Ellie slowly becoming a more capable partner and learning about the way the world is and how it once was.

The Kathleen storyline seemed like an attempt to add depth where it wasn’t really needed imo, and I would have preferred more of the above than time spent fleshing out something that didn’t really need it.

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SonOfThomasWayne t1_jda5ql1 wrote

Absolutely loved Chernobyl. But I have no desire to watch this franchise garbage.

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HighKingOfGondor t1_jdd16l1 wrote

Big fan of the game. Loved the show, love these characters and this story.It’s a 10/10 from me and one of my favorite shows of all time now. I don’t think people need to be choosing which is better, the show or the game. Both are peak in their respective mediums.

>How does the show compare the original video game? Does it surpass it or does it fall short? What does it gain from being a TV show and what does it long from not being a video game?

I mean the original will always be better, as the game is pretty much flawless. The show does come close and I'm very glad it exists. The show got to extend the prologue and had some standout moments that were new, like "I'm failing in my sleep" and "It wasn't time that did it"

>Will it lead to more video game adaptations?

The real question is: Will it lead to more GOOD video game adaptions

>How does the show also compare to the zombie hit The Walking Dead that ended recently?

The Walking Dead is kinda bad outside of season 1 so...

>How does the show compare to other beloved HBO shows? Is it better than HBO's other big hit House of Dragon?

I also love HotD, but yeah. This isn't any kind of knock on HotD though.

> How does it compare to the critical and awards darling that is Succession?

Not the biggest fan of Succession specifically (so far at least, currently in season 2 to catch up for the big finish I'm hearing about), but it's prestige TV and I wouldn't be surprised to see it with all the other HBO genre shows on a "best of" list with Deadwood, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Rome, etc.

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APr0N00b t1_jdgprpp wrote

Just try to ignore it like walking dead.

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anonyx t1_jdoh9l3 wrote

I feel like it was limited by its desire to fit the full first game into 8 episodes. I decided to do a play through alongside and the show glosses over and jumps past so many key elements. Had they extended it to 12 episodes, maybe even 10, i think it would have gone down as one of the greatest of all time. As it stands, it just felt really rushed which I do not love as much.

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BoatsnGoals1 t1_jd81szb wrote

It was rushed, but a solid 8/10. /thread

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onex7805 t1_jdboblr wrote

I feel sorry for people who didn't play the game and only experienced The Last of Us for the first time with this show because the show doesn't do justice to the source material.

The hopelessness and danger of just walking around places they are not familiar with was barely captured in the show. The only time I felt a horror thriller vibe from the game was the clicker scene in Episode 2.

This sense of brutality, danger and desperation is crucial because without it, you barely feel tension and development between Joel and Ellie and Ellie's wishes to save humanity no matter the cost. Thriugh the journey she saw the world as a truly horrible place and that she wanted her death to mean something by making it better.

The show took away from the gravity of Joel and Ellie's decision in the end. We haven’t seen a full progression of Joel and Ellie’s relationship. The final episode is rushed like the Game of Thrones finale.

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Yelebear t1_jd9s7k4 wrote

I've yet to finish it.

I stopped watching in the middle of Episode 7. I was bored. I was thinking, I'll just skip the rest of this episode and continue at 8.

But I have yet to find the drive and the interest to continue now that 8 and 9 have actually aired.

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