The Last of Us Spoiler Discussion

[Jack Brickman]

Great show so far. Wish it wasn’t a weekly thing, I love to binge watch shows.

HBO sticks to the week to week model because it generates more hype for their shows when people talk about them for a week between each episode.

I don't think Game of Thrones would have become the phenomenon it was if they dropped all the episodes at once like Netflix does. Instead, everyone lost their shit for a week after Ned died and it made everyone who wasn't in on it want to watch the show.

 

[Ohio]

HBO sticks to the week to week model because it generates more hype for their shows when people talk about them for a week between each episode.

I don't think Game of Thrones would have become the phenomenon it was if they dropped all the episodes at once like Netflix does. Instead, everyone lost their shit for a week after Ned died and it made everyone who wasn't in on it want to watch the show.

It definitely would not have had near the cultural impact that it did.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

 

[BMAN]

So I’ve never played the game, what did they change?

 

[Tonedef75]

In the last few years, our household has latched on to a show that we wait to watch together as a family. The Mandalorian was the first, and now The Last of Us is the latest. We just had the chance/time to watch episode 3 tonight. Both my wife and my 11 year old were in tears by the end and my 15 year old that loves the game has loved the show so far because it stayed so true to the game. He hates when things deviate from the source material. In this case though, he thought the the growth in Bill that doesn’t exist in the game made tv show Bill better than the character in the game. Just a beautiful story that would have been great in any post apocalyptic universe. For not a lot of action in the episode, the nearly hour and a half run time flew right by. Just incredible storytelling that never felt forced.

 

[Jack Brickman]

So I’ve never played the game, what did they change?

Not a lot so far. They've added some stuff, as you would probably expect. For example, all the stuff at the start of the first episode where Joel's daughter goes to get the watch fixed is added for the show. The game starts that night and as far as I recall you never meet the neighbors. However, the scene where they drive into town is damn near 1:1 show to game. Anything with Ellie was added, although some of it may have been from the first game's DLC. I don't remember for sure. I know they're going to show some of the DLC stuff later in the season too, because it was in the trailer.

They changed how Tess dies. I mean, she dies at the exact same point, but it's to FEDRA and not to zombies. Other than that, the second episode mostly follows the game. The intro scene, much like the intro to the first episode, was entirely original.

The third episode has the biggest change. In the game, you never meet Frank (he's already dead when you find him), and the relationship between Bill and him is implied rather than shown. Given that you play from Joel's POV for the most part, that's not entirely surprising. The game does what games do and turns looking for Frank into a fetch quest to get a car battery that leads to combat and a boss fight. I'm assuming the show doesn't want to overuse the "boss fight" thing and will save that particular encounter for later in the season.

I think that both formats did something that worked for them. In a game like The Last of Us, you need to keep the player engaged, and you do that by funneling them into action sequences every so often. The show doesn't have that problem, and in fact needs to flesh out the world and characters more, because you can't have a show where Joel spends 90% of the time sneaking around, crafting shivs, and looting cabinets. So they took the same encounter and turned it into a character piece that reflected on Joel and will have a significant impact on his actions going forward. Both ended up in the same place with Joel and Ellie getting the car battery and moving on to the next leg of their journey.

 

[MirORich]

In the last few years, our household has latched on to a show that we wait to watch together as a family. The Mandalorian was the first, and now The Last of Us is the latest. We just had the chance/time to watch episode 3 tonight. Both my wife and my 11 year old were in tears by the end and my 15 year old that loves the game has loved the show so far because it stayed so true to the game. He hates when things deviate from the source material. In this case though, he thought the the growth in Bill that doesn’t exist in the game made tv show Bill better than the character in the game. Just a beautiful story that would have been great in any post apocalyptic universe. For not a lot of action in the episode, the nearly hour and a half run time flew right by. Just incredible storytelling that never felt forced.

You guys are a cool family and cool parents

 

[Urban]

The third episode has the biggest change. In the game, you never meet Frank (he's already dead when you find him), and the relationship between Bill and him is implied rather than shown. Given that you play from Joel's POV for the most part, that's not entirely surprising. The game does what games do and turns looking for Frank into a fetch quest to get a car battery that leads to combat and a boss fight. I'm assuming the show doesn't want to overuse the "boss fight" thing and will save that particular encounter for later in the season.

Adding onto this

At the end of the mission, you find Frank's body in a nearby house. He has committed suicide by hanging himself and left a note:

"Well, Bill, I doubt you'd ever find this note cause you were too scared to ever make it to this part of town. But if for some reason you did, I want you to know I hated your guts. I grew tired of this shitty town and your set-in-your-ways attitude. I wanted more from life than this and you could never get that. And that stupid battery you kept moaning about—I got it. But I guess you were right. Trying to leave this town will kill me. Still better than spending another day with you. Good Luck, Frank"

In the garage is a car with the battery that you are looking for. Frank stole the battery and planned on leaving Bill, got bit in the process, and then killed himself rather than turn.

 

[Tonedef75]

Adding onto this

At the end of the mission, you find Frank's body in a nearby house. He has committed suicide by hanging himself and left a note:

"Well, Bill, I doubt you'd ever find this note cause you were too scared to ever make it to this part of town. But if for some reason you did, I want you to know I hated your guts. I grew tired of this shitty town and your set-in-your-ways attitude. I wanted more from life than this and you could never get that. And that stupid battery you kept moaning about—I got it. But I guess you were right. Trying to leave this town will kill me. Still better than spending another day with you. Good Luck, Frank"

In the garage is a car with the battery that you are looking for. Frank stole the battery and planned on leaving Bill, got bit in the process, and then killed himself rather than turn.

Extremely different how both played out. Think I liked how the show handled the material. Especially liked when Frank said, “I don’t condone you doing this…but I find it incredibly romantic.” Or something to that affect.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Extremely different how both played out. Think I liked how the show handled the material. Especially liked when Frank said, “I don’t condone you doing this…but I find it incredibly romantic.” Or something to that affect.

I think the show definitely did it better, but the game needed to funnel you into an action scene. And the game also can't really cut away to show you forty five minutes of cut-scenes to showcase the relationship between two guys you're not playing as. It wasn't made by Kojima.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

 

[Jack Brickman]

Next week looks like it's gonna be a banger.

 

[inliner311]

HBO sticks to the week to week model because it generates more hype for their shows when people talk about them for a week between each episode.

I don't think Game of Thrones would have become the phenomenon it was if they dropped all the episodes at once like Netflix does. Instead, everyone lost their shit for a week after Ned died and it made everyone who wasn't in on it want to watch the show.

The week to week model works for alot of shows. Especially shows you feel like you are taking a journey with the characters. That extended time make you digest what you watched and alot of times it makes for a stronger connection to the characters.

Netflix might end up putting more stuff out week by week if more people use the subscription plan with ads. Right now it doesn't matter to their revenue on how people watch a show. If ads become more part of their model, a strong showing for a initial episode(s) could generate higher ad revenue for the show overall.

 

[Chris]

I'm all caught up. Definitely enjoying the show, it is quality. I have to say though ... I think I'd be enjoying it way more if I had not played the games. Or at least that is my theory as to why I am not "blown away" like a lot of other people seem to be. One thing I really like is how they are expanding on stuff from the game, though. That does add an element of surprise for people already familiar with the story. Looks like they are doing that again with Henry/Sam and the goofy bad lady who isn't intimidating at all. So I'm excited to see where that goes this week.

Most of all, the show has made me want to play through the games again, honestly. Pedro and Bella are fine in their roles, but will just never hold a candle to the originals - which is funny to say of animated characters, but it is a testament to how well Baker and Johnson voiced them in the games. And how well Naughty Dog animated them.

Despite this, my criticisms are just rooted in them doing a very faithful adaptation, which...I am not going to complain about, at all. I would rather it be this way than have them go off the rails with some bullshit that had nothing to do with the games, like the Halo show apparently did.

Highlight so far: the Clickers in the museum.

 

[Tonedef75]

What I really think sets this show above most, is an under rated aspect…the pacing. The mix of action and exposition is nearly perfect to the point that the run times almost seem half of what it actually is. When explaining aspects of the Last of Us environment/universe that game users were already aware of flows perfectly within the each episode and doesn’t feel forced.