The opening scene in Jakarta was absolutely chilling.
Remember that super stressful scene at the end of the second episode of Chernobyl, where the volunteers enter the dark, flooded reactor to drain it and the episode just ends with their dosimeters crackling like crazy?
Basically had that same feeling for much of last night’s episode, and this is coming from someone that has played the games and already knows what’s going to happen.
Where they’ve so far made changes for television, it’s worked beautifully. I really like that they have opted for a fungal network instead of spores - it really gives you the sense that you always have to be on edge, as one wrong move anywhere could lead to a horde of infected swarming you in moments.
I love the expansion of the narrative that we have surrounding key moments from the series. Tess’ death was much more gut wrenching since you could actually see her final moments.
I can’t wait to see what they do with Bill and Frank’s story next week.
You can see the obvious stylistic influence that Chernobyl has had on this series, while it still (thus far) retains its own unique identity.
The set design, the atmosphere, the performances we’ve seen so far… it all just works, and I fully anticipate that this show is going to clean up at the Emmies whenever it is eligible. It’s a game adaptation, yes, but it straddles the line of being faithful and reverent to the source material while being accessible to anyone that hasn’t played the games.
