The TV thread

I read a few comparisons to the last episode of TLOU and the Walking Dead and that the Walking Dead would have made a season out of it. I have not watched that show, so that is kind of fascinating to me.

After finishing the game I think I was most curious how this episode would play out, to expand on my vague comment earlier. I just didn't know if they would tone it down or change a lot or whatever. And they just knocked it out of the park. The one thing I would have added is at least some sort of infected encounter with David and Ellie (didn't need to be as drawn out as the game), just to give that little bit of glimpse of false trust. Other than that, it was about perfect.

The tightness of this show is great. I don't know if they did it because they only had so many episodes or if it was a creative choice, but it definitely works.

 

That's my one question about the show overall. Would it be better if we saw more of the infected? I'm not sure. The game is more action-heavy because it has to be, but maybe a little better balance would be good.

 

The two other most notable exclusions are the tunnels and at the university. I think you could have added something for both but especially for Kansas City they went away from it because they had a specific plan for the infected. Yet, with the David stuff I feel like it is a key element. The episode clearly worked regardless, bit showing the even slight hint of trust probably hits the episode even harder.

That said, they clearly wanted to take most focus off the infected and make it about the people, and show that people are essentially the real monsters. This last episode has a sequence with the infected and I'd guess they will use it since we haven't seen them for a while, but it might not take much away if they don't use them again.

Overall, I like that the focus isn't on the infected but I think they should have been used a little bit more.

 

Watching TLOU makes me want to play the game. But I don't have a console and I'm not a gamer, outside of PGA Golf on my iPhone.

That was just excellent TV. Assume they have season 2 coming.

 

I'm not a gamer, but I've been watching videos of the cutscenes from the game and they are very good. The game has an excellent voice cast. Troy Baker is a prolific voice actor. As I mentioned before, he is the voice of Joel in the game and played the live-action version of James in this week's episode. Ashley Johnson, the voice of Ellie in the game, is showing up as a live-action character in the season finale. She is a former child actress who was Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains. (That was the youngest daughter, the one who miraculously grew from an infant to a six-year-old in one offseason.) She's also the waitress who has a bit of a thing for Captain America in The Avengers.

 

Daisy Jones and the 6 is a very fun trip down memory lane for this kid from the 60's/70's raised on AM Radio.

 

Season 2 has already been greenlighted. I believe they're turning the elements of TLOU Part II into two seasons. There's too much story there to tell it in nine episodes.

 

The Last of Us showrunners explain why they tweaked episode 8 ending from the game

This is a spoiler for Episode 8. I was wondering why they made this particular change.

 

Good. It CLEARLY has run its course already.

 

I noticed it, but it wasn't a big deal to me. Amazing the thought process that goes into even the smallest shifts.

 

I’ve really enjoyed it but it’s a lot of Hader getting to scratch a lot of different creative and sometimes absurd itches. I do think that the way that the first season ended would have been such a perfect way to wrap up the show.

 

On the subject of series length - I do think streaming shows provide a better story platform - say 10 episode seasons. Figure each season is an "Act" - as movies are typically trying to jam the three acts into 2 hours. Spend the first season "exploring the world" - getting to know all of their characters, their initial motivations etc. Introduce the "curve or conflict" at the end of Season 1 - Characters react to and respond to conflict in season 2-3, Concoct solution in season 4 -5.

Shows that last longer than that typically just have characters people like spending 30 min - an hour each week and find out what they are up to - as opposed to following a story.