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Thought Episode 5 was pretty good overall, that clicker child was nightmare fuel. Agree with the complaints about Kathleen though; she just didn't really sell it for me as a hardened leader when she's out there sounding like Minnie Mouse. I probably would've preferred it without the dead brother storyline (why was the resistance leader allowed a jail visitor anyway?) and just kept in Henry abandoning Joel and them getting separated, if only to get more of Sam and Henry. :( Maybe if the last episode had ended with that instead of them meeting for the first time? They were a lesson for Joel in the game about how best to raise Ellie, but we didn't really get a huge sense of that here.

 

I liked most of the other changes though, it's a good way to keep things surprising. I even wondered if they might change the outcome with Sam at the end. Also think Bella is killing it, can't wait to see how she handles the tougher moments that are still to come.

 

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56 minutes ago, Charizarzar said:

Agree with the complaints about Kathleen though; she just didn't really sell it for me as a hardened leader when she's out there sounding like Minnie Mouse. 

 

Her brother sounds like he would've been an interesting character to see though, Kathleen herself was too much of a stock villain with a generic revenge plot and all, injected into the story just for the sake of explaining why Henry and Sam are on the run and immediately removed once her purpose was served and that purpose was very insignificant anyway. The performance of the character was not that great either, just another questionable casting choice and another that may have been better suited for another actress that could sell the cold-blooded, hardened villain better than that. 

 

Her bossing around this super masculine, militarized dude with her Minnie Mouse voice is just so unbelievable given the circumstances and was laughably bad. At least they got rid of her in a timely manner, just when she was becoming too unbearable. 

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Episode 5 was good, but I still don't understand all the changes they make. I get that the show is not the game and they want to make something different. But why make Sam deaf and mute? What add that to the overall story?

The episode was still good, but they could have left the character like it was in the game.

Kathleen was a terrible character, in every aspect. I was hoping that in the end Joel would have shoot her in the head to make her stop talking, really hate her voice.

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Episode 5 was better and at least gave Kathleen a reason for existing, but I have to agree the casting choice on that one is pretty poor. Can't look at her without thinking of Rose from Two and Half Men and she was not cold blooded at all except for one line early in the episode. Would've been nice to see Sam and Henry for longer than one episode. I feel like their story wasn't as moving as even Bill's one episode story but I think it will have a greater effect on the Joel/Ellie story going forward.

 

5 hours ago, Play3GianniGreed said:

But why make Sam deaf and mute? What add that to the overall story?

Representation would be my biggest guess. I don't think it was really an issue.

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On 2/13/2023 at 9:27 AM, Play3GianniGreed said:

But why make Sam deaf and mute? What add that to the overall story?

 

Nothing really but it worked anyway because of the extra backstory behind the character was good that it didn't really matter whether he was deaf or not. I don't feel it made his character any more or less impactful to the overall story. 

 

Neil gave some pompous, artsy reason for the decision but it was mostly to check another box and score more easy virtue points by having such diverse representation and all that. No reason to skirt around the truth here because it did work out okay in the end regardless. Can't take any issue with it. 

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Another really good episode although I feel they really rushed Joel's injury at the end. 

 

Appears the inevitable Left Behind episode is next week. Didn't really care for that DLC and not totally looking forward to it in the show either. I'm just ready for the David portion and if there's any character that doesn't need to be changed at all, it's him. It was portrayed perfectly in the games, I hope they don't mess with him too much. 

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Sad there are only 3 episodes left.  Loving every minute of it.  One of the few shows in a long time that I actually watch when it first comes out. 
 

It’s been a longtime since I played the games but the Jackson, Wyoming community felt a lot more like the beginning of Last of Us Part II than where Joel’s brother was in the original game, which was just a smaller group by the dam, right?  Or am I forgetting it?
 

But I’ve been good with the changes, keeps the suspense.  Like the end of the last episode I’m sure has a lot of viewers guessing if we saw the end of a major character.

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Most people seem to think the "staring girl" is Dina, which admittedly I also thought whilst watching it. I'm guessing it probably is, otherwise what was the point of that whole interaction?

 

I like how they've added some elements from Part II already, like them showing Jackson in more detail which we don't see in the first game. It looks great too, it looks exactly like it does in Part II. 

 

The university part of the episode was very brief, but I'm honestly fine with that. It's one of my favourite chapters in the game but not a lot actually happens in it aside from a couple of combat sections and Joel being wounded at the very end of it, so I guess they still accomplished what they wanted to during the episode. 

 

I'm looking forward to the next episode, but also bracing myself for more pain lol. I've always considered the Left Behind DLC to be absolutely pivotal and essential to the overall game and story of The Last of Us and I've always considered it to be among the best DLC ever. Excited to see it brought to life. 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, djb5f said:

 

It’s been a longtime since I played the games but the Jackson, Wyoming community felt a lot more like the beginning of Last of Us Part II than where Joel’s brother was in the original game, which was just a smaller group by the dam, right?  Or am I forgetting it?

It is pretty much Jackson from part 2, the original TLOU showed only the dam part. When they're riding into town in the show, it looks like the opening of TLOU part 2, with Ellie walking down a very similar street. 

 

This one may be my favorite episode yet, just enough change to keep me intrigued but still very faithful to the original. Arguably, what they've changed and added is better than the game. The scene with the dog... Even though you know Ellie won't die, the tension is there. Joel breaking down for a bit was a great way of showing he cares and also that he's just a guy and the latter is something that wasn't explored enough in the games I think, mostly due to them being an interactive medium and Joel being a character you control - he wasn't really allowed to have a breakdown in a sense. 

 

Kinda disappointed they changed the line with the "mighty thin ice" , really wanted to see Pedro Pascal's take on it. The original Troy Baker one just sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. 

 

It's clear that they really thought about what works for the game and what works for the show. They skipped the Ellie running away part because that was mostly gameplay, which in the show would just be an unneeded action scene. They shortened the university part because it was mostly gameplay with puzzles/shootout, but kept a lot of the important dialogue, with Joel wanting to sing and whatnot. They even kept the Ellie learning to whistle thing. And what they added works, it feels like TLOU, with the scene when Joel is teaching Ellie how to shoot especially. 

 

Can't wait for the David episode. The DLC... It felt like an episode of a TV show in the game already, now that I think of it. I Ioved Left Behind in the game (and I hate DLCs in general), but a faithful recreation of that in the show... Feels kinda off. I'd like the part when Ellie tries to take care of Joel mixed up with her reminiscing about Riley and her death with the next episode concentrating on Ellie with David and his group mixed with Joel waking up and trying to find Ellie. I'm probably gonna be surprised, hopefully pleasantly. 

 

 

 

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The sixth episode was good too, even with the changes they have made, but apparently all white blonde people didn't survive the infection. Why they make this unnecessary change in a character? First Sarah, now Maria. 

And just to clarify, I by any means don't want to sound racist, it's just that I find this changes very questionable. 

You want to change the plot because something of the games didn't work in real life, fine, but why change white characters in black? Apart from inclusiveness and such. 

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41 minutes ago, Play3GianniGreed said:

The sixth episode was good too, even with the changes they have made, but apparently all white blonde people didn't survive the infection. Why they make this unnecessary change in a character? First Sarah, now Maria. 

And just to clarify, I by any means don't want to sound racist, it's just that I find this changes very questionable. 

You want to change the plot because something of the games didn't work in real life, fine, but why change white characters in black? Apart from inclusiveness and such. 

 

Because skin colour doesn't matter? 

And it matters even less for a minor supporting character that we see only briefly. 

 

Sarah makes sense because she was changed to match Pedro pascals ethnic background. 

 

Why aren't you upset about Joel's change? 

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Yes, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, I agree on that. 

But still in a TV show it is a needless change made only with the purpose to check a box on their list of ethnic representation. 

I don't have a problem with the actors being black, they could be green for me, won't make a difference, I'm only saying that it is unnecessary. 

 

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But if it has absolutely zero effect on the storytelling then why does it matter if they changed a characters race? 

You should be glad there is ethnic diversity, even if it is to simply tick off a list. 

 

It's the same argument people make when a character is made gay, bi, or trans. 

They say its pointless as it has no bearing on the story. 

Like yes you're right, it doesn't... So then why does it matter that they included it then? 

 

Like the people cracking it over Bella ramsey looking nothing like Ellie. 

So what? She plays the character flawlessly. 

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Another great episode. They really did the DLC justice. Some great references to the game with enough new moments to make it unique. I thought both actresses had really great chemistry. In fact, I don't think they could have done it all any better. I believe the actress who plays Riley is called Storm Reid? I don't recall seeing her in anything before but she did a very good job here. The only thing I'm kinda sad about is that they changed the scene in the arcade. In the game, Riley describes The Turning to Ellie, who closes her eyes and imagines that she's actually playing it. I always thought that entire sequence was a really touching moment and I would have preferred if they kept it in the show. That said, we got some cool scenes that weren't in the game, so I guess it balances out in the end. Just 2 episodes to go, I'll leave my full season thoughts afterwards, but I was once again thoroughly impressed by the latest episode. What an amazing show. 

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Okay, I'm gonna be weird for a second. The shot of Ellie's bitten arm in the game, with it being not just a simple bite but with actual blood pouring realistically out of it made a huge impression on me back when I first played the game - one of those "holy shit, games are realistic nowadays" moments. Cutscene, sure, but still. 

The fact that this shot is in the show and it makes the same impression on me is so good. Kinda like, awww! They remembered. I love that attention to detail. 

 

Really hoping next week's meeting (and parting ways) with David will have the same effect on me. 

 

Great episode, this show really sets a standard for what an adaptation should be. 

 

 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, The Alchemist said:

 The only thing I'm kinda sad about is that they changed the scene in the arcade. In the game, Riley describes The Turning to Ellie, who closes her eyes and imagines that she's actually playing it. I always thought that entire sequence was a really touching moment and I would have preferred if they kept it in the show. 

I loved that scene but it was kinda gamey, a character describing a game and the player pushing the buttons, I don't think it would've translated well to a TV show. Wasn't the game they've "played" in the DLC mentioned in one of the earlier episodes? I assumed it wouldn't make an appearance, the change to MK2 makes it more... Grounded ? to me. It made less of an impact on me than the game version but it was more realistic imo. 

 

I wonder how they'll handle the spaceship scene in season 2, because in the game it was pretty much an extension of a scene that doesn't exist in the show. 

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Meh, at least the Left Behind episode is out of the way now. As unpopular as the opinion is, I didn't care for the DLC and in turn didn't care for the episode revolving around it either. Teenage angst and adolescent love stories just do nothing for me.

 

Bring on David and the season finale episode which are setting up to be great. Besides the couple of dud episodes, it's overall been a solid adaptation, exceeded my expectations by quite a bit and probably one of the best adaptations ever done really. 

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