The Last of Us (Spoiler Thread)

[Crazycrab]

I know there is topics about this show already but this is in the proper section and as of 8 hours ago, this isn't speculation and is about the show how it's actually presented:

 

 

The first episode was great!  It detracted from the game in some places but never in a way was affected the story negatively.  I expanded the story into areas that the game never did while still remaining faithful to the lore and characters.  I'm my opinion as a massive fan of the game it's got the balance of being faithful to the source material while also giving me some suspires and unexpected moments.

 

I do have a slight fear that the violence has been soften up a bit to much, but maybe that's just me being hardened up to what's in the game which was always going to be in more volume.

 

I'd love to hear what you think and I am considering this a spoiler thread.  I've kept it spoiler free in this OP but feel free to discus spoilers from this point forward.  If you haven't seen the show or played the game consider this your spoiler warning from this point forward.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Crazycrab

[Reality vs Adventure]

I'm glad you made this post as I'm such a fan of the game and to see this show completely took a hold of me. I actually had a tear fall on each side of my cheek when his daughter got shot. That hit drama at its finest with superb acting. I loved the overall presentation. Like at the beginning when they were driving and trying to get away from the crowds in town and you were in a kind of 1st person mode inside the car, watching the streets like the game instead of an outside 3rd person view showing the whole vehicle and area like shows usually would do. That intensified it so much and added the chaos effect. 

On another thread when you mentioned the characters are a bit "scruffy and miserable," that is what I love about the whole cast. They all just seem more real. Even Tess and Marlene actresses impressed me. They are tough, but not over the top like a flamboyant she-ra or something. Anna Torv and Merle Dandridge, I'm now a fan of both. And the Pedro/Bella duo is fucking excellent.   

You mentioned you think they got soft on the violence, but I wondered the same about that actually during the time when they were outside hiding from the guards. In the game you can have a shoot out. I wondered how that would look in the show. I mean, to go and start killing them would look bad because they are people doing their job right? I like that they didn't interact in a shoot out. But that one guard that Joel brutally killed. Well, at least they gave a reasonable excuse due to what happened to his daughter, plus that is definite grounds for execution just being outside the quarantine as we saw. It was a do or die situation. So there is a bit of an ethics debate involved in that scene. Plus, that violence where he lost it, is so much better violence than a typical shoot out. 

There was an interesting scene when Ellie was outside for the first time and she stands up, looks around awestruck, then spotlights were about to spot her and Tess yanks her back down. The look on Joel's face was classic. He was like, oh shit, we're so fucked. We never should have agreed to this...LOL. Oh yeah, at the end of the show they played a Depeche Mode song!!! That's really cool cause I love Depeche Mode!! 

I also want to hear what others think about the show. I'm highly impressed. 

[Shagger]

I loved the first episode. The presentation and the performances were spot on. I actually like some of the changes, like how in this version Robert sold a car battery to Marlene that Joel intended to use to find Tommy and that Marlene needed to smuggle Ellie out of the city. That is better than what happened in the game. I actually mentioned this in my The Last of Us Review/Synopsis/Analysis that I didn't feel the smuggling of the guns didn't really make sense and was poorly explained. The motivations in the TV fit much better into the overall plot.

 

I do agree. It does seem like, at this point, the violence is a little toned down, but it's like we are at a point in the story that violence was going to take centre stage, so it is possible that will come, we still have 8 episodes to go. Not that it bothers me, the show doesn't need to (and likely can't) go as far as the game.

 

I am a little concerned about the next episode as were entering a part of the story (That being moving through the ruined city between the quarantine zone and the capital building.) that I think is much harder part of the game to translate into a TV show, so it will be interesting to see how well they handle this.

[Reality vs Adventure]

30 minutes ago, Shagger said:

I loved the first episode. The presentation and the performances were spot on. I actually like some of the changes, like how in this version Robert sold a car battery to Marlene that Joel intended to use to find Tommy and that Marlene needed to smuggle Ellie out of the city. That is better than what happened in the game. I actually mentioned this in my The Last of Us Review/Synopsis/Analysis that I didn't feel the smuggling of the guns didn't really make sense and was poorly explained. The motivations in the TV fit much better into the overall plot.

That did fit perfectly and just made a lot more sense as he needs to get out of the zone to reach his brother. I actually do feel that was lost in the game where his brother went and what was going on and the only real way to get info was to find little messages. In the show they made it clear that he hasn't heard from his bother in a while and he was worried and needed that battery to get out of the zone. I can't remember the song on the radio that played after they already left. What did it mean? Was the brother in trouble? I was confused on the code that Ellie picked up on. 

[StaceyPowers]

On 1/16/2023 at 3:17 AM, Crazycrab said:

I do have a slight fear that the violence has been soften up a bit to much

In some areas though, it's arguably ramped up. That last scene where Joel beats that soldier to death, for example? In the game, that situation came across to me as "Ugh, that went badly, now we gotta kill this guy." In the show, it came across more as brutal and intentional murder. 

[StaceyPowers]

On 1/16/2023 at 12:27 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

Was the brother in trouble? I was confused on the code that Ellie picked up on. 

I thought it was from Bill?

[Crazycrab]

On 1/16/2023 at 8:27 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

 I can't remember the song on the radio that played after they already left. What did it mean? Was the brother in trouble? I was confused on the code that Ellie picked up on. 

 

21 hours ago, StaceyPowers said:

I thought it was from Bill?

 

That's what I thought too.  The song is Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode released in 1987 which suggests that it is a distress signal from Bill.  From what I have heard the "Bill" episode plays out very differently from the game but I'm not exactly sure how other than that it seems like Frank is alive in this version.

[StaceyPowers]

30 minutes ago, Crazycrab said:

 

 

That's what I thought too.  The song is Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode released in 1987 which suggests that it is a distress signal from Bill.  From what I have heard the "Bill" episode plays out very differently from the game but I'm not exactly sure how other than that it seems like Frank is alive in this version.

That's also all I know as well. More curious why Druckmann and Mazin chose Never Let Me Down Again, and whether the reference has more to do with Joel and Ellie or with Bill and Frank. I mean, the song is about drug use, but could perhaps be applicable to aspects of relationships that are intoxicating but dangerous. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

2 hours ago, Crazycrab said:

 

 

That's what I thought too.  The song is Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode released in 1987 which suggests that it is a distress signal from Bill.  From what I have heard the "Bill" episode plays out very differently from the game but I'm not exactly sure how other than that it seems like Frank is alive in this version.

You are right, thanks for that. I had to go watch that scene again when Ellie broke the code and I didn't catch it when she asked who is Bill and Frank, and on the piece of paper it said B/F. I was under the impression it was from his brother Tommy. And that song could actually be from Bill or Frank too because at this point we really don't know which one. 

1 hour ago, StaceyPowers said:

That's also all I know as well. More curious why Druckmann and Mazin chose Never Let Me Down Again, and whether the reference has more to do with Joel and Ellie or with Bill and Frank. I mean, the song is about drug use, but could perhaps be applicable to aspects of relationships that are intoxicating but dangerous. 

I was also curious about that choice, but I love the song. That's good insight about drug use. I think the song may have several meanings. Remember Joel was trading drugs and at one point he was taking shots and popped some pills. The lyrics could be the edgy relationship between him and Bill or Frank. I thought it had to do with his brother Tommy at first since they had an edgy relationship in the game. Could also be the strange relationship with Joel and Tess going on this dangerous journey together. Or with Joel and Ellie, kind of a prelude to their future relationship. I think the song goes well with any of those relationships, including the drugs and alcohol...LOL. I mean, it's not like it's the end of the world and they are stuck in a military quarantine zone where people are high on life, right? 

Here is something interesting I found about Never Let Me Down Again:

Martin Gore was quoted in issue #44/1987 of Bravo Magazine:

"I wrote this song last March. And it was such a long time ago that I cannot say much about it anymore. But you're wrong [about the song because about my girlfriend], the song has nothing to do with relationships. It's about the concept of fleeing from reality and the evil awakening afterwards. Any kind of fleeing. Drugs, alcohol, or whatever."

So it makes sense in this show where it seems everyone is fleeing something or wants to. 

 

[StaceyPowers]

2 minutes ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

 

So it makes sense in this show where it seems everyone is fleeing something or wants to. 

 

I did notice that pains were taken to show us that Joel drinks to cope with his PTSD. That could be relevant here. 
 

If you watch the last few minutes of this, there are some interesting insights into the closing scenes where Joel beats that guy to death, and some discussion about how Ellie and Joel's connection is dangerous for others.

I think that could be one of the reasons for the song choice. Their relationship may exhilerate them, but it is also dangerous since ultimately there's nothing they won't do for each other. While the song is about drug use, it does capture that threshold between euphoria and danger. 

This is one of my favourite songs; I was so happy to see it here.

 

[Shagger]

26 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

I did notice that pains were taken to show us that Joel drinks to cope with his PTSD. That could be relevant here. 
 

If you watch the last few minutes of this, there are some interesting insights into the closing scenes where Joel beats that guy to death, and some discussion about how Ellie and Joel's connection is dangerous for others.

I think that could be one of the reasons for the song choice. Their relationship may exhilerate them, but it is also dangerous since ultimately there's nothing they won't do for each other. While the song is about drug use, it does capture that threshold between euphoria and danger. 

This is one of my favourite songs; I was so happy to see it here.

 

 

Eh, there seems to be a problem here...

 

[Reality vs Adventure]

2 minutes ago, Shagger said:

Eh, there seems to be a problem here...

That's strange. I was just watching that video no problem; now it says private. It was interesting info too. 

[StaceyPowers]

 

Try this one.

 

[Knight Plug]

Strap yourself in. 

"Hey! What did I tell you!? Don't touch anything!"

I can't wait until they meet Bill. 😄

[Crazycrab]

I just found out something interesting.  Type "The Last of Us" into Google.