Last of Us on HBO

[Anthony W]

This show is the answer to the question "What if NBC's "This Is Us" took place during a zombie apocalypse"

That isn't an insult. It's just that I have never seen a show so absolutely shamelessly desperate to make you cry since that show. It's a fine addition to the cry porn genre, but for those who don't tear up it has nothing to offer but lackluster action and fake gravitas.

[Robotman]

This episode had some major yet interesting differences from the game. The story beats were there but there were a lot more gray areas. another great episode.

We don’t have the savage hunters killing people for supplies. These were people who have been hurt and they were fueled by a need for revenge.

Cathleen has a button-down midwesterner “house wife” vibe but we know she’s a ruthless leader. She must have done so much to earn this much respect.

Pedro was brilliant in displaying how hard it is for Joel to care about someone else. He’s programmed his brain to be callus and strictly focused on survival. The way his voice quivered as he said “are you al-alright?” like it was almost painful for Joel to say the words. He so doesn’t want to start caring for Ellie.

[Deathstroke]

The whole early scene with Ellie screwing with Joel over the porn mag she found had me just about rolling off the couch with laughter.

[j9ac9k]

... looking at how food is used at the beginning of the episodes:
- ep1 Joel cooks breakfast for him and his daughter, pre-apocalypse.
- ep2 Joel, Tess and Ellie all eat together. Joel and Tess are eating the same type of food, though they each have their own. Ellie has a delicious-looking sandwich someone else made for her.
- ep3 Joel shares his food with Ellie, but he tosses it at her and they don't eat together.
- ep3 Bill cooks for Frank.
So yeah, food as an expression of love and caring for another.(as reiterated by Bill's note) It shows the bond. The fact that industrialized food killed everyone certainly has implications in terms of this theme, but I'll leave it there.

-- ep4 Joel cooks for Ellie and they eat together, even agreeing that it's tasty! (Chef-Boyardee meat ravioli was my fav as a kid!(must've been all that sugar in the sauce))

Cathleen has a button-down midwesterner “house wife” vibe but we know she’s a ruthless leader. She must have done so much to earn this much respect.

She must have, because I didn't see it here in this episode. She's clearly focused on revenge more than anything. She kills a doctor, (who I imagine might've been useful to them) and ignores a giant problem that she hides from her people so she can use all their resources to find Henry, despite how many people she has at her disposal.

[Robotman]

-- ep4 Joel cooks for Ellie and they eat together, even agreeing that it's tasty! (Chef-Boyardee meat ravioli was my fav as a kid!(must've been all that sugar in the sauce))


She must have, because I didn't see it here in this episode. She's clearly focused on revenge more than anything. She kills a doctor, (who I imagine might've been useful to them) and ignores a giant problem that she hides from her people so she can use all their resources to find Henry, despite how many people she has at her disposal.

When people are scared and angry they have a tendency to turn to incompetent leaders who talk a big game and who can rile up a mob.

I’m imagining her as a woman who would’ve made a big scene at school board meetings.

[Deathstroke]

When people are scared and angry they have a tendency to turn to incompetent leaders who talk a big game and who can rile up a mob.

I’m imagining her as a woman who would’ve made a big scene at school board meetings.

So she's the Karen of The Last of Us?

[Immortal Weapon]

I have to wonder what is the egregious crime Henry committed to make Cathleen ignore their zombie problem. He probably took her Chef-Boyardee

[j9ac9k]

I have to wonder what is the egregious crime Henry committed to make Cathleen ignore their zombie problem. He probably took her Chef-Boyardee

It sounds like he ratted on her brother for something to Fedra and they beat him to death.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Joel did reveal his age in this episode where he joked he was 56 years old. I was gonna guess Joel was in his early 50's in this show but we now have his age set. Pedro Pascal is 47 in real life.

[j9ac9k]

Joel did reveal his age in this episode where he joked he was 56 years old. I was gonna guess Joel was in his early 50's in this show but we now have his age set. Pedro Pascal is 47 in real life.

He had already mentioned turning 36 in the first episode (which we know was 20 yrs ago) since it was his birthday when it all went to hell.

[Immortal Weapon]

Something that's been bothering me about the discourse of this show is how many people clearly don't know what filler is. All the small and day to day moments are necessary. If we are expect to care about this characters and what happens to them then we need to see them. Bill and Frank story which I see often called filler is important to the overall story as we need to understand how the people in this world operate. Seeing their story makes me understand why Joel is more worried about encountering other survivors than the injected. How scarce resources actually are that something as simple as a strawberry is precious. I doubt any of the major dramatic moments will we get later will have the same effect if those moments and stories didn't exist

[j9ac9k]

Something that's been bothering me about the discourse of this show is how many people clearly don't know what filler is.

I'm seeing that response a lot more in general.(remember how a lot of people gave "The Mandolorian" guff for his "side quests?") Whether it's due to binge-model viewing or show producers leaning into people's impatience with "moving the story," tv shows can actually benefit from serialized storytelling - it's a great potential asset of the format. I don't need all tv shows to be one giant movie where the plot drives straight through like a train from A-Z.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Something that's been bothering me about the discourse of this show is how many people clearly don't know what filler is. All the small and day to day moments are necessary. If we are expect to care about this characters and what happens to them then we need to see them. Bill and Frank story which I see often called filler is important to the overall story as we need to understand how the people in this world operate. Seeing their story makes me understand why Joel is more worried about encountering other survivors than the injected. How scarce resources actually are that something as simple as a strawberry is precious. I doubt any of the major dramatic moments will we get later will have the same effect if those moments and stories didn't exist

I'm seeing that response a lot more in general.(remember how a lot of people gave "The Mandolorian" guff for his "side quests?") Whether it's due to binge-model viewing or show producers leaning into people's impatience with "moving the story," tv shows can actually benefit from serialized storytelling - it's a great potential asset of the format. I don't need all tv shows to be one giant movie where the plot drives straight through like a train from A-Z.

Back in the Walking Dead's glory years (which Last of Us remind me of) the show would have episodes to build things for the BIG episodes. Because as you both posted you have to build characters , build good plots to finish on.

One show that never understood this was American Horror Story. The plots go from A to Z on a rapid fire pace , with no build up. 1984 was good for like an episode or 2 and suddenly the writers sabotaged the entire deal with this story telling.

[j9ac9k]

In case anyone didn't know the latest ep was released Friday (to avoid competing with the Super Bowl) ... I will limit spoilers.

My one thought was: I wonder if that's the same little girl who was in "Barry?"

[Kirby101]

In case anyone didn't know the latest ep was released Friday (to avoid competing with the Super Bowl) ... I will limit spoilers.

My one thought was: I wonder if that's the same little girl who was in "Barry?"

Oh yeah. It could be.

spoilers:

I don't know the game, so Oh **** the creatures who came up from the ground!

end of spoilers

Also

spoilers:

I don't know the game, so I thought they were setting her up to be a major villain. They dispatch characters pretty quickly in this.

end of spoilers