"The Last Of Us" TV series. WARNING: Spoilers within..

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Aggie87, Feb 3, 2023.

  1. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Starting this thread for discussion of the ongoing "Last of Us" tv show that is currently on HBO. What a great show so far!

    This thread is intended for open discussion about the show, and what happens on it. This thread is NOT for people to share spoilers from the video game (either the first or second game). It's not to gripe about how the show differs from the game, and is therefore being ruined.

    It's for the viewers who haven't played the video game, and those that may have but don't care that the show may have a slightly different spin on the source material. It's for those that are enjoying the show and want to talk about it.

    Since the other thread allows spoilers, this one does not. Please do not share anything that could potentially ruin the upcoming episodes for anyone. Hopefully this can be a healthy discussion among open minded participants.

    All that said, I want to say how much I'm enjoying this show. We're now 3 episodes in. The first one set up the premise in 2003, and then continued in the present day 2023. We've met Joel and Tessa and Ellie, as well as Bill and Frank in episode 3.

    Looking forward to seeing how things progress, particularly with how Joel and Ellie incorporate what they've learned from Bill and Frank's relationship.
     
  2. Smith

    Smith I'm cyanide over you.

    Location:
    Toronto.
    Thanks for starting this.

    Also wanna note Ellie's reading of Bill's "hehehehe" as an unsung high point of E03.
     
  3. Thanks for starting the thread! Speaking of no spoilers, how soon after broadcast can we bring up plot points in an episode w/out resorting to using ‘spoiler’ tags?
     
  4. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Ellie is one the best characters I've seen in a show of this type (hell, any type) in a long time. Bella Ramsey pretty much steals every scene she's in.
     
    Stone Turntable and Aggie87 like this.
  5. Smith

    Smith I'm cyanide over you.

    Location:
    Toronto.
    Definitely felt your "Bury Your Gays" point in the other thread too, Ralph - have seen a number of others discuss that trope and whether E03 navigated it differently than other properties.
     
    ralphb likes this.
  6. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    While I'm not too happy about how the fate of the characters Frank and Bill get handled in the series, I must say that the characterizations by Murray Bartlett and (especially) Nick Offerman are spot on and absolutely real in emotional tone. Very notable performances from the both of them.
     
  7. Smith

    Smith I'm cyanide over you.

    Location:
    Toronto.
    Yeah, I was a bit unsure about Ramsey having only seen her (and enjoyed her performance) as Lady Mormont, especially since she definitely had some large shoes to fill re: Eliot Page and Ashley Johnson.

    Coming through with top marks though, imo.
     
    Leadfeather and ralphb like this.
  8. Crack To The Egg

    Crack To The Egg Forum Resident

    Location:
    OR
    Episode 3 was Emmy worthy.

    So far the whole series has been very well done. There’s a nice balance between staying true to the original game in certain moments while artfully changing other moments.
     
    Stone Turntable likes this.
  9. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Her performance as Lady Mormont was wonderful, and her same attitude with this character is enjoyable too. She's a great actor!
     
    Dave and rogertheshrubber like this.
  10. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    I can understand the comments about the suicides of Bill and Frank and being perhaps a stereotype.

    One difference though, and I speak as an outsider on the issue, so take it for what it's worth - Bill and Frank lived many years together in this post-apocalyptical world, and have a very rewarding and nurturing relationship. They got lucky and were able to have what many appear not to have in this world, regardless of whether they're gay, straight, whatever.

    So after 20 years of being together, and knowing Frank's time was over, maybe Bill's perspective on life moving forward was different than what it might be in the world we know. He likely would've had other friends, and maybe eventual opportunities for other relationships. I don't think he saw the possibility of any of that in zombie world, so maybe his decisions were more realistic and made slightly more sense for that environment as opposed to our reality.

    Just a thought, anyway.
     
  11. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    I thought that was great! I can picture her, without having lived a life tethered to a cell phone, not really having heard/read things like that in her lifetime (like LOL/LMAO, IRL, TBH etc).
     
    Rufus McDufus likes this.
  12. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    In a nutshell.
     
    Rotary Connection likes this.
  13. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Watched the first episode and didn't care much, but kept seeing reviews about how good the next 2 episodes were so I went back. Glad I did. (Only half way through episode 3 so avoiding the other thread until I finish it tonight.)

    I am not familiar with the video game. So if you've played it, do you know what is going to happen?
     
  14. Crack To The Egg

    Crack To The Egg Forum Resident

    Location:
    OR
    On the believability of the choice made at the end of episode 3…

    Watching the episode I was reminded of how provocative 70s gay filmmaker Fred Halsted decided to end his own life after his longtime partner died of AIDS in the late 80s. Halsted overdosed on sleeping pills.

    Halsted’s was a little more narcissistic but the sentiment is there; writing in his suicide note “I had a good life...I've had looks, a body, money, success and artistic triumphs. I've had the love of my life. I see no reason to go on.” From outside accounts, even with all his bluster, Halsted was a monogamist.

    But back to the episode, I think there’s an implied subtext that relates back to 80s gays culture and the horrible tragedy of AIDS. Halsted wasn’t the only one from that era who lost the love of their life and couldn’t go on. There were a lot of people pushing their partners around in wheelchairs as they watched them slowly, cruelly ravaged.

    When you relate that metaphor back to the main theme of the show being around a contagion that decimates populations…it’s just great writing and very believable. I know this board tends to poopoo deeper subtext analysis as pseudo intellectual, but I have to call out good writing.

    Edit: I just realized this episode was directed by Peter Hoar, who also directed a bunch of It’s A Sin episodes. That show is about gay men in the 80s dealing with the AIDS crisis.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2023
  15. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    I think the answer is generally yes (though I haven't played either). One participant in the other thread is very upset that the show isn't following the game exactly. And it is showing scenes that he doesn't think pertain to the game, or add value to the exact story in the game.

    I don't expect the show to follow the game exactly - most adaptations don't follow their source material that way. I'm enjoying the show for what it is.

    My concern and reason for creating this thread is so that people who have played the game don't spoil any potential upcoming episodes or storylines by blurting out what is to come. So this thread is intended to be game spoiler free.
     
    Leadfeather, mmars982 and JohnG like this.
  16. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    I do see that point. Here's what I said in the "other" thread about the show:
    "As far as the suicide goes I'll tell you a (short) story. When my husband died I knew I was going to drink again, knew I was going to drink until I was gone because I just could not envision a world without him in it, without us together. I got my rear end to AA and got the help, the tools, I needed to stay alive and live with a new purpose, because the one that I had was gone. A perhaps overly personal way of saying that I get what Bill was thinking, I understand the mindset. They completed each other and supported each other through a lot of crap and I get how Bill felt all too well.
    That said, I'm not pleased with how the double suicide plays into the ancient trope of gay relationships being tragic. If anything, the relationships I've observed, the ones I've lived through, are brave and positive in the face of adversity. I also would have preferred that Bill live on to fight another day in Franks memory, to make him proud."
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2023
  17. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Agreed, 100%, especially the bolded part. Also the fact that they were isolated and relying on themselves to survive goes back to AIDS in the early days.
    Didn't know Hoar directed Ep. 3. It's A Sin was freaking brilliant.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2023
    Aggie87 and Crack To The Egg like this.
  18. JohnG

    JohnG PROG now in Dolby ATMOS!

    Location:
    Long Island NY
    One thing that stands out for me was how quickly the World fell apart as the “zombie” apocalypse began, Joel’s daughter is killed in the first episode hours after the beginning and then its 20 years later and Boston is a wreck.

    Yet in the suburbs west of Boston is an idyllic town where a man has made a marvelous home and is quite comfortable with no zombies and just has to fight off the occasional raider (we see one bad night).

    I know the show is gonna go back to showing the apocalypse but ep 3 was a slice of heaven in a zombie world.
     
    Pete Puma and Aggie87 like this.
  19. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Hey Shawn, missed this earlier, sorry - I think as soon as an episode has been shown, it's fair game for discussion. My thought is that if I haven't seen the most recent episode, I'm going to stay out of the thread until I've seen it. To me discussion about what happened in a released episode is no longer spoilers for the show. The onus is on me not to read the thread until I'm up to date.

    My comment about being spoiler free was so that people that generally know what's going to happen next because they're familiar with the game, start telling everyone something that hasn't been shown yet. i.e. "When they get to Oaxaca Mexico a clicker completely consumes Ellie in one bite" would be what I'd consider a spoiler, if that hasn't yet been shown in the tv show.

    I'm also hoping to avoid complaining about the tv production not being exactly like it was in the video game. That's rather pointless to me. Yes, it's obvious it's not going to be the same. Artistic license allows for a different telling of the same general storyline, with different scenes, different backgrounds, different character motivations, whatever. Personally I don't care if they deviate from the already told story. Just like I don't care that The Shining film was completely different than The Shining book. They're two different things that can be judged on their own merits.
     
    nutsfortubes, Shawn and ralphb like this.
  20. Rotary Connection

    Rotary Connection Forum Resident

    Location:
    chicago
    I forgot about that haha. That was probably my favorite moment of the episode (nice tension breaker)
     
  21. FourFingerWilly4

    FourFingerWilly4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    Hey folks!

    Having played and fallen in love with both Last of Us games I was terribly excited when I heard HBO was taking on this project and my hopes have been about as high as they could be. So far, I am LOVING this adaptation.

    I'm here for the long haul to participate in the spoiler-free conversation with y'all. Excited for some thoughtful and open discussions that hopefully don't spiral in to the usual muck that's easily found anywhere else on the internet.

    On the subject of episode 3, as a player of the game I thought everything about this episode was perfect. Loved the way they expanded on the characters and fleshed out their story for us. So excited to see how the rest of this goes.
     
    Holler Wanderer, SJP, Shawn and 3 others like this.
  22. I’m looking forward to seeing where this show goes.
     
  23. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    The fact that there are two threads about this show now has to be giving the gorts a bit of a conundrum.
    Jerry already warned in the other thread against bickering.
     
  24. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    I don't see a problem - one includes spoilers and one is spoiler free. There seem to be two separate audiences, so it shouldn't be an issue for the Gorts I wouldn't think.

    Plus we get 75 threads on each Beatles album etc. So two for this topic shouldn't be any different.
     
  25. Smith

    Smith I'm cyanide over you.

    Location:
    Toronto.
    Feel like there should be a creeps and non-creeps version of every thread, tbh.

    I mean spoilers and non-spoilers.
     
    Stone Turntable likes this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine