Liked episode 1, I think this could be a good series. Depeche Mode means trouble! Hope it doesn’t resemble the walking dead where 10+ years into the outbreak we are still coming across characters who are complete morons and could never have survived 10 years, not even ten days.
I've just binged watched the entire series on DVD and have really enjoyed it. I would never have known it was based on a video game had it not been for the end credits so I can safely judge the television series for what it is. Right from the start what the series had in its favour was starting the story in 2003, then establishing the rest of the story in 2023,and then creating stories within the missing twenty years. This approach nicely avoided unnecessary repetition,so that (for example) if there was a 'zombie' attack, it always felt fresh. Also a character would be name dropped in one episode and three episodes later that character would be the focus of the story. Despite some reservations in having a 17/18 year old actress playing a 14 year old, I thought Bella Ramsey was wonderful in all her scenes. I believe filming on series two begins in early 2024,so if it follows the eleven month shoot of series one, then hopefully the new series will premier in early 2026. That's something to look forward to.
So I just subscribed to MAX for 2.99 a month (up to six months), so I spent nine consecutive nights watching the first season. I liked it, but at times, it kind of drags. And the dragging is usually due to subplots -- getting away from the main theme of Joel and Ellie's relationship and their journey to Wyoming. I do think that Pedro Pascal is terrific. I hope he gets more work as a result of this series; he has some serious acting chops. I'd give the second season a shot. For a zombie-themed series, there really weren't that many zombies or zombie-encounters in the first season.
Often I'll repeat-watch HBO/Max shows. I've rewatched Mare of Easttown, both seasons of White Lotus, Chernobyl, Succession and others. But I don't feel like rewatching TLoU. I've watched as my kid replayed the game. Pascal has had major roles in Narcos, Game of Thrones, The Mandelorian, Kingsman Golden Circle, Wonder Woman, etc. So this was hardly his first rodeo. He always plays the stoic soft-spoken type. There was nothing groundbreaking about his performance in TLoU. The voice acting of Troy Baker and the way the Joel character in the game initially resents Ellie and then grows to see her as his daughter is done far better in the game. As you say, their relationship was done short shrift in the show and it should have been more carefully crafted as the centerpiece. I am glad Druckmann is continuing as head of creative at Naughty Dog games. I think that's where his strengths lie. He has said he's working on a new game (not TLoU or his first successful franchise, Uncharted) that is more like a TV show than any other game in history and I look forward to it, whatever it is. The second season of TLoU will supposedly start production in 2024 but I can't say I'm enthused about that.
It might be more interesting if they downplay the zombies, maybe a cure being successfully developed, controlled and distributed by the Military, who despite the disappearing infected, intend to continue their Martial law government. The struggle between the fireflies and the military could become the centerpiece rather than the zombies.
The story is set up for Ellie to potentially be the savior of humanity. And it's also about the wisdom--or lack thereof--of Joel in taking the role of her father, and what he does in that role. It's not really set up to be about fascism and rebellion, although that theme certainly makes up for the backdrop of TLoU's world where the characters find themselves. But I think it would serve the show best by continuing to explore Ellie as a young lady who has the weight of the world on her. Even if a vaccine could be developed from Ellie, there is no infrastructure in place to mass produce the vaccine, refridgerate it, distribute it and get word to the fractured population to show up at vaccination centers, so the problem goes far beyond the infected. Remember, it's not technically a zombie apocalypse, but a pandemic. That's one of the reasons I was looking forward to the show after 2020 and one of the reasons I think Druckmann is one of the most prescient, influential and creative minds of our time. Too bad TLoU was his first foray into a TV show. If he had more experience with the medium, the show would have been much better.
No you shouldn't. The very first post in the thread made that very clear. It also says this thread is not for moaning about how the show isn't as good as the video game and yet you're STILL doing that.
