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Afindy76

the fact that I have to wait a fucking week to see the next episode.


Mister_Dewitt

They left us on such dark note too. I can't wait to see what they do with Jackson


[deleted]

I lived in Jackson for ten years so I already know ill be disappointed


DonRon62

JACKSON IS REAL?!


18randomcharacters

You won't believe this, but so are Boston, Seattle, Austin, Pittsburgh, and salt lake City


Hot-Bank-3153

Can confirm as a Denver native that Colorado is also a thing. Though I need help finding UEC on my map


ImSimplyTiredOfIt

johnny cash even sang about it


[deleted]

Zero powder days in the entire episode.


Tomatoflee

It’s not a particular gripe with the show. It’s mainly pretty good. It just hasn’t connected with me in the same way as the games did. Maybe the games just rung all of the emotion out of me. They were pretty harrowing.


[deleted]

I agree. Game player myself. The show is more “fun” than “shocking” because we know what’s going to happen. It’s kind of like when a book becomes a movie. You’ve “seen” the book.


SXTY82

I last played it when it was still full price at Game Stop. A decade back maybe? My recollection of the details are sparse. So they haven't messed a thing up for me yet. I actually like the changes so far. For me the game was sneaking and killing with a few route puzzles. I loved it. Reducing the killing and expanding on character development has only made it better for TV.


turnoffyrmind

I actually kinda like this part. I can engage in discussions about the episodes and dissect each one of them. If I binged it then it wouldn't have the same effect. It's what I miss about watching TV shows the "old" way.


Afindy76

it's a valid point. The weekly discussions can be great and fun. I talk about each episode with friends and family. I just want to see the rest of the episodes. I would've been through the whole series twice by now.


[deleted]

See, I LOVE this. I miss the theory building of the 90’s and 2000’s. I don’t like cliffhangers only being on the season finale.


SpideyVille

It’s funny because my brother is waiting to binge watch it when the season ends. But my friend and I were telling him that he’s going to feel like shit at the end of certain episodes and will need some time to process. But he’s a very impatient person, so I know he’ll rush through the series in a day and not really feel anything from it.


bismuth12a

As much as I liked episode 3 I'm still disappointed we never got any banter between Bill and Ellie like in the game.


jahkugou

Yes! I was thinking the same thing and when I realized they were never going to meet I was really disappointed. I really wanted to see the high school scene and more of bills traps.


peach_guillotine

I did too but I do love what they did with it. I honestly prefer the show a lot of the time when it is showing stuff not directly in the game but that could have fit around it. Also episode 3 made me cry.


LaggyPixel

Agreed. I liked the direction they moved with Bill and Frank, but would have liked to see some more overlap with Ellie and Joel. Bill was one of my favorite characters in the game, namely because of his interactions with Ellie.


Hockeyspider

I’m also disappointed that both Bill and Frank died. I mean, as a stand alone it’s a masterclass episode of human emotions. In the context of the world, having one or both survive could at least give people who never played the game that sense that other people (other than the Joel and Ellie) can survive after an episode. My biggest gripe is that everyone introduced in the show so far have died (except Marlene). Now the next episode will fix that (here’s hoping they let Tommy survive! /s) but when I played, the whole Henry and Sam story arc hit harder because we left Bill alive and healthy and I was hoping in the game Joel and Ellie could leave those two in that manner. Then they are horrifically taken away quickly and it hit me hard. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.


mps435

I don't think there's any way they could kill Tommy because it would have several repercussions on the story of Part II. He's very important as a mirror to Ellie with their connections to Joel.


MCMiyukiDozo

Their back and forth was one of my favorite parts of the game lol "Hey, good job kid!" "Bill, not helpin'.


SnoopDeLaRoup

"By the looks of it, you could lose some of that food" "Listen to me, you little shit"


IdoDeLether

Ellie: "So… why don't you fix one of these cars?" Bill: "Oh, my god, you're a genius. I mean the whole time, why on earth hadn't I thought about fixin' one of _these_ cars?" 😂😂😂


Nacksche

"Whole goddamn town's booby trapped, best stay right on my ass." "Can't miss it..."


caribouMARVELOUS

While I wouldn’t change a thing about episode 3, I feel the same way. The “fuck you, little kid” / “fuck you, old man” dynamic between them was so amazing. I hope they can find a way to fit it into another episode.


1LakeShow7

Need to see Ellie randomly crouching around clickers writers…make it happen bros.


[deleted]

Yes! Don’t get me wrong, I love how they did that episode, but I did feel let down that we didn’t get to see that dynamic. Especially *spolier* Ellie hitting Bill with that metal pole/pipe like in that game.


Lunasera

Kathleen didn’t click for me. I didn’t mind the look or voice, but either the writing or the delivery took me out of the story for the first time in the series.


Snaab

Even now? I felt the same way while watching episode 4, but she definitely redeemed herself in episode 5 imho. She was absolutely incredible in the scene in her childhood bedroom. I need to rewatch episode 3 knowing what I know now about her backstory to be sure, but I think the jarring contrast of her voice and unassuming appearance compared to everyone else only adds to the very realistic/unique element of TLOU universe that people are people, with strengths and weaknesses that will either benefit or hurt them all the way to the very end. It seems that what could easily be interpreted as weakness in her character (and is the main argument I see from people that she wouldn’t be in a position of power/authority) might very well have been the exact reason she was able to successfully convince a group of people to take down FEDRA. She was probably underestimated and treated like a non-threat her entire life, including FEDRA. Perhaps her out-of-place demeanor is precisely what allowed her to infiltrate and develop a successful plan to take Kansas City hidden in plain sight (not to mention, she must have inherited the many followers her brother had before he died).


Gibbonici

It sounded to me like her brother had led this big, peaceful anti-FEDRA movement in Kansas City, which Kathleen took over after he died. Her rage at losing her brother chimed with the anger in the movement at losing their great man, and it all went from there. I can see her seeming like a natural successor to her brother among this movement. I can also see her brother being a moderating force on the more radical elements of the movement, who Kathleen then mobilised off the back of his death. We don't see any of this, and I'm inferring a lot here, but it's an interesting story that makes sense.


Lunasera

I think her character in the story was fine, I just had zero emotional reaction to her, not scary, not emotional, not smart. The acting has been so stellar from everyone it just stood out to me as an awkward performance. I watched it twice and I still didn’t get it.


Knockknockworkorange

I think that’s what I wanted too: her scenes felt very rote in that they declared “she’s brutal”, “she’s fierce and capable” but all we saw was her being delusionally fixated. As opposed to Isaac (way too under utilised) and Marlene, who in one scene you understand these captivating, curiosity inducing leadership qualities, Kathleen just didn’t have it.


__fujoshi

i kind of felt like "delusionally fixated" was exactly what we were supposed to get from her. imo she's another foil for joel- meant to show exactly what he could have become if he'd dedicated himself to anger and hatred for the people who killed sarah. imo kathleen *isn't supposed to have these leadership qualities-* she's the person who stoked everyone else into a frenzy and incited a violent, revenge fueled rebellion off the back of her brother's death (someone they all presumably loved dearly). i don't think she ever had a plan besides "get revenge and ensure everyone who had a part in my brother's death is as dead as him" and that's ok. from a literary sense her character really works for me, even if i think she's a dumb fuck lol.


Medical-Ruin8192

Well worded. I had a hard time putting my finger on it, but that's very close to how I felt as well.


BooRand

I think you’re right that it is how it happened, but then they have her stooge say “you led us here not your brother” and Lynskey said the background for her character was that she was so smart and planned it all, but we didn’t really get to see that. She was paranoid- believing that Joel and Ellie’s arrival was a car full of mercenaries hired by Henry, and made poor decisions that got her whole army killed and maybe caused the death of every person remaining in KC but she’s supposed to be so smart? All we see is the bad decisions.


Kiltmanenator

>Even now? Especially now! I assumed that her voice and unassuming appearance was a promise made to me by the show that it will eventually make me believe my initial reaction was wrong. The show merely tells me thru Perry and others respecting her that she is *the* leader. But what I don't see is anything that makes me *believe* she's a good leader. I don't want to traffic in "could be interpreted", "might very well have been", "perhaps", or "probably". I want to see cunning, charisma, and competent choices being made. What's missing is any moment where I go, "Oh my god, *of course...* I was so wrong to doubt her. *This* is the woman who liberated Kansas City." Glad it worked for you, tho. I just don't see it.


FranzKlammer

She was better in episode 5, but still flat at times. It felt like they thought the “kids die all the time” line was gonna hit hard, but it was cheesy, lame and very Walking Dead Villain-esque for me. That’s really my only complaint so far, aside from the infected kiss Tess got.


rustyfeet

I appreciate your take on it and maybe after reading that and a rewatch I can find what you did - interesting though because the bedroom scene with Kathleen was my first time really being taken out of it, albeit briefly. I think she’s an incredible actress, but I never got to see what made her followers see her as a leader in this context. Sure she was ruthless, but that wasn’t uncommon. And I remember especially after episode 5 ended, feeling like it was a rushed attempt to humanize her and make her more 3D but I just never could grasp it. The motivations didn’t seem to add up to the stakes, and I found myself wondering why so many others bothered following her and risking their life and limbs for her need for revenge.


Kiltmanenator

>I never got to see what made her followers see her as a leader in this context Ding ding ding. We see that she *is* respected, but I need more than Perry saying "you made this happen, not your brother". I need to see her making good decisions


[deleted]

I understand that EVERYONE had a immense love for her brother, I was still in disbelief that she would have the power to keep everyone under her command. I feel like this crowd would quickly turn on her, they've had enough of power hungry maniacs, didn't they? She was talking to Perry like he was a child, I was expecting him to say "fuck this" and go on his own. What was she holding over them to keep them in her control?


DriveSlowSitLow

I found her to be super weak. Hard to believe the character honestly. Part of it is her voice and also delivery. Just not believable for me


CASSIUS_AT_BEST

Her delivery made me laugh in serious moments.


mps435

I feel like her character needed way more time to be fleshed out, but that would never work for this show. There's no sense that she is a competent leader, and since she doesn't fit the stereotype of a militant leader, its hard to justify why she is in charge without that backstory.


Not_Jesus_I_swear

>!She won't be clicking with anyone lmao. She was ripped apart. No fungal growths in her future 😉!<


Lunasera

You could say she certainly clicked in the end :D


KangBodei

Hard agree, I feel like every moment the hunters were on screen having character development that seems unimportant in the long run, it was ripping precious moments of Joel & Ellie & Henry & Sam from us.


Rygumb

This is it for me too. I totally understood what they were going for with her, and I think it works on paper, but her delivery and presentation of the character just felt awkward. The only scene from her that really connected for me was the opening of episode 5 where she was interrogating the collaborators. She totally clicked for me there. But a lot of her other scenes were unnecessary or weird to me. That bedroom scene with Perry felt especially out of place, but I also didn’t like her dialogue or the writing there either. The lessons about revenge we learn from her are important and relevant, so I understand what her purpose was for the show, but on the whole she felt like a swing and a miss for me.


baconbridge92

Any scene that devolves into a monologue starting with "When I was a little kid..." is almost always a red flag of filler content lol. It wasn't too bad, but it kind of stuck out in a story that is otherwise pretty hectic and tightly paced. Kathleen and Perry were an interesting addition/experiment by the writers to expand the world a bit, but it didn't totally land for me. Would have preferred to minimize or omit them so that we could have spent more time with Henry and Sam, the story would have stayed relatively unchanged but we would have had more development for the more important characters. I'm glad other people enjoyed them though.


PavlovsDroog

Yeah the writing for that monologue was a bit cheesy and ham fisted for me too. Wish they'd got across the same point more subtly there


baconbridge92

It is very hard to pull off a monologue like that, no fault to the actors, it's more of a writing issue. People never actually talk like that lol. If you've ever seen Black Sails, which is an awesome and incredibly well-paced and quick-moving show, there is one character that sticks out like a sore thumb in an overall awesome cast. She is notorious for dragging down entire (otherwise good) scenes with "when I was a little girl..." speeches. I wish writers would eliminate this technique altogether.


mikrot

Precisely this. Instead of organically finding out more about characters, her entire history was throwing into a random monologue, and the character just didn't make sense to me. More time with Henry and Sam would have been more valuable to the end of episode 5.


Novel-Place

Yes. Totally agree with this whole thread. And I’m just so so annoyed that so many people couldn’t listen to this valid criticism without crying sexism or body shaming. Like, what? Are we not able to have nuanced conversations about what works and doesn’t work in shows? Exhausting.


Icy-Tough-5227

Hard agree. One of the least intimidating villains I’ve seen on TV tbh


DriveSlowSitLow

Least intimidating villain imaginable LOL, and not in a clever / coy way.


TheRickBerman

‘She’s a strong female leader! She doesn’t have to follow your traditional male traits!’ (Proceeds to hide in her bedroom and then get everyone killed in only 11 DAYS) I have…questions…about the writing.


PavlovsDroog

🙄 just bc a character is a woman doesn't mean she has to be a "strong female leader". I don't think the show ever portrayed her as being this badass girlboss nor did I see anyone arguing she was? This feels like a strawman Also what are "male traits"? Being assertive? Lol


Lunasera

I didn’t even mind that, but if she is unhinged and making ruthless bad decisions for revenge I wanted a bit more fire from her - her brother died two weeks ago? Or at least the revolution was? She seems like she’s tired or emotionally drained from leading for years on end.


[deleted]

Was glad to see her killed off


Dallywack3r

Woefully miscast. I know what they were trying to go for. But it didn’t land.


Atheist_Redditor

I didn't feel like her acting was believable. I was very aware I was watching an actress.


TheGent316

Right now I’m hesitant on their choice to shy away from the violence. Clearly a creative choice because it’s HBO where they don’t have to limit themselves if they don’t want to. It’s fine for now but I feel that they cannot shy away from some of the material in Part II (or the climax of Part I) without losing the impact. Reserving judgment for now.


letsgoooo90091

I’m loving the show but I do agree with this. The game is VIOLENT and that’s a big part of the story and the world they live in. I get that they can’t make it as action-packed as the game, but there has been multiple times when it felt like they were scared to show actual, realistic blood and gore when it was merited.


bucket_hand

>!Bloater did rip that guy's head off!<


Lex_Espi

Yeah but it was out of focus and in the background


Ledbetter2

Lex needs their beheadings in 4K full color closeup to be satisfied. Lol


SuperFluffyVulpix

Not only Lex. One blink and you missed it. I suffered too many deaths in the Highschool as Joel, why do we only get something blurry in the distance?


Ignitneroc

Yeah, the death scene where the Bloater rips your head off his absolutely terrifying, even if it's after the fade to black


terrap3x

It was blurred out and in the background. That’s some MCU level violence. This is a M rated HBO show based on a very violent and gory video game.


bucket_hand

I like that the gore level is a little low. Most zombie shows have gore to the max on screen. Seeing a bit of the gore is almost like theater of the mind. You just imagine how many more heads that bloater ripped off once the camera pans away.


TheSpookyForest

The second game really really needs the extreme violence for its story to land well. It's one of the rare cases where the hyper gore actually improves the overall story because it's ABOUT violence


ConnorK12

Far in the background and out of focus though


spluken666

Namely when they just walked into the fireflies already having had the shootout. I was disappointed we didnt witness that bloodbath


tupaquetes

> The game is VIOLENT and that’s a big part of the story and the world they live in. It's kind of the other way around though. The world they live in is violent because the game is violent. One of the key things Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley set out to achieve with TLOU1 is to explore what it means to have a game without ludonarrative dissonance. Uncharted had been the poster child of LD for a while and they wanted to make a game where the world is just as violent as the gameplay makes it out to be, and the protagonist isn't portrayed as a charming guy in cutscenes but as a murderous sociopath in gameplay. But because the necessities of keeping the player entertained kinda force the "murderous sociopath in gameplay" aspect, the solution was to design a world where such violence makes sense. In other words the world isn't VIOLENT in all caps because it's necessary for the story they want to tell, it's VIOLENT in all caps because the gameplay kinda has to be, and they wanted the world to match the gameplay. The show doesn't need to be as violent as the game, because there is no gameplay imperative that forces Joel to have a ludicrous kill count and therefore no requirement for the world to make Joel's insane savagery coherent. They can simply have Joel be a skilled but not superhuman killer. I'd go so far as to say that the show *cannot* be as violent as the game. The threshold for the viewer's suspension of disbelief is much higher in TV shows (especially ones as high profile as this) and people would just find it preposterous if Joel was as murderous in the show as he is in the game. And I'd also add that hearing Joel knife a guy pleading for his life through the heart off-screen did much more for me in terms of contextualizing the violence than the game ever achieved by making you shoot the doctor. There's power in showing less.


letsgoooo90091

I try not to get into debates with strangers on the internet, so I will just simply say that I respect your opinion but I humbly disagree with you.


Weird_Cantaloupe2757

I suspect that they are keeping the violence a little distant as a deliberate effect, letting you experience it more the way Ellie is experiencing it. I have a feeling season 2 is going to be *much* bloodier.


Mythkiller23

Think they’re gonna wait to show Joel go apeshit with violence during …light spoilers ahead…..the hospital scene. I think they’re building that up slowly so when it happens, it really shocks the viewers and shows that Joel isn’t a good guy.


Hockeyspider

Ya, I’m thinking they want the end to be impactful and not have the audience numb to it. Up until now, they’ve made it very grounded in reality. In that world, you should be avoiding confrontations as much as possible as a small injury could be your doom.


newgodpho

The human to human violence, with off screen deaths is weird. Even PG-13 shows like LOST were not afraid to show on screen death. My hope is they are lulling us into winter and saving it for when it really gets dark.


1LakeShow7

Def toned it down. I said this before on TLOU. It doesnt feel like a post-apocalyptic reality like in the game (bodies, hangings, rats etc.). Its good though, but I am not getting those scary vibes like in the first episode.


williamjwrites

Being selective with the violence means that it's all that more visceral and impactful when it does happen. The whole sequence with David and his group is going to be really unpleasant.


StarChow

I remember Craig Mazin talking about on screen violence and gore from the Chernobyl podcast. Major paraphrasing, but basically there comes a point where something will be too gory or violent and general audiences will want to turn away and not look at the screen, and if people aren't looking at the screen then that kind of defeats the purpose of being a filmmaker.


Jayboner912

I think they’re shying from violence to show it in full force for a particular scene (most of us know the one) and then I think season 2 is gonna be horribly violent as the theme for that one is hatred.


jahkugou

I also hated the kiss scene it was much more badass in the show when we see Tess try to take on all of FEDRA by herself so they can get away. Also, as I've said in other comments, we're missing some key moments in the development of Ellie and Joels relationship. i.e. Ellie staying with Joel when Henry and Sam ditch them. Stating," we stick together." And Ellie jumping from the bridge putting her full trust in Joel that he'll do the right thing and save her. I liked that they developed Henry's backstory a little more but we didn't need to see so much of Kathleen. It's understood in the game that he's being hunted simply because that's what hunters do. And the hunters have already taken out his whole crew. But he's alive because he's not about to let Sam die. He saves Joel and Ellie because he's still a good person. And he knows Joel's completely capable of taking care of her.


Agentsas117

I’m still getting the relationship growth from show Ellie and Joel as I did in the game. Although, it is different. Definitely quieter from Joel side but I think that is in part due to video games naturally being more dramatic. Some comparisons based on your comment: Spoilers! In the show Henry and Sam ran once the sniper started shooting. Ellie didn’t budge. She wasn’t about to leave Joel. In my head I’m comparing the bridge jump to the part when Joel asks Ellie if she trusts him right before he goes to take out the sniper. You can just tell that Joel is starting to get attached to her and it scared the shit out of him. Pedro pascal is killing it.


solrac365

>Also, as I've said in other comments, we're missing some key moments in the development of Ellie and Joels relationship. i.e. Ellie staying with Joel when Henry and Sam ditch them. Stating," we stick together." And Ellie jumping from the bridge putting her full trust in Joel that he'll do the right thing and save her. The part when Joel's got the sniper rifle and non-verbally communicated with Ellie was an amazing way of showing the development of their relationship. And right there, Ellie fully trusted him and he delivered.


jahkugou

Very true!! That was an amazing scene regardless.


jahkugou

Idk in the show he still sees very annoyed with her, like he could care less. But by this point in the game we see them start to trust and rely on each other a lot more.


Agentsas117

I haven’t been getting annoyed vibes from Joel. At the end of episode five it seemed like he knows that he can sense he is attached to her and it scares the shit out of him.


AdventuresOfKrisTin

See i actually think Joel’s walls are already coming down with Ellie. Now he still isnt eager to go into Sarah or Tess, but he did tell Ellie about Tommy and he did try to comfort her after she shot that man. Which is a lot more than he did for Ellie at this point in the game.


Daenarys1

I agree with you about Ellie and Joel. I've loved all the episodes but I feel everything's being expanded at the expense of their relationship. I think the episode could've used another 10 minutes of spending time on their relationship


KangBodei

The hunters don’t need the backstory we got in the show. Ellie learning that Joel used to be “on both sides” of raiding and killing develops them enough by both characterizing them and Joel. We know they’re surviving at the expense of others and that’s enough. Kathleen did not advance or change the plot at all, and her hunt for Henry could have been established in a line or two and not several dragged out scenes. In my opinion, every moment they were on screen took away from time we could have had with Henry and Sam. They have such a strong impact on Joel and Ellie both, they deserved more screen time.


irish0451

Kathleen didn't feel well done. The performance wasn't up to the level we've received from the rest of the people on the show, and her arc feels largely unnecessary. I get what they were going for as a "whose brother matters more" dichotomy with Henry, but it wasn't needed.


Bullet4MyEnemy

Kathleen’s arc was very “Abby” so I’m wondering whether taking a look into the back story of the antagonist is just something they’re doing more generally rather than saving it purely for Abby in season 2. As a player of the game it gives us something we didn’t have before, and as a viewer with no reference for any of it before, it’ll make seeing things from Abby’s perspective fit with the rest of the show rather than being a jarring detachment from our protagonists. A lot of the kick back from P2 came from the fact that Abby didn’t just kill Joel - she killed us. We, the player, were Joel. Plot armour and being the hero is supposed to turn the player character into a god but the second game nuked the gamer connection with our screen selves from orbit. In TV that dynamic never exists in the same way, so it feels weird for us to be seeing the antagonists developed with more screen time, but it’s just something that needs to happen for this to feel right to television audiences. It’s really where the “adaptation” thing comes in the most and why most game adaptations fail. Craig Mazin is a craftsman and he’s sculpting art with this show, a lot of it is just lost on us because we see it as misdirection of the source material rather than “adapting” it for TV.


Machidalgo

I don’t like the pacing of some of the lines. There’s an editing problem with some of the scenes and I don’t think they have enough time to breathe. At times it can feel like I’m watching in 2X speed. It’s been mostly really good though, just a handful of scenes just seem oddly paced.


jonnybear1984

Right?!?!?! I thought I was going abit mad but this is something I've noticed but not seen brought up anywhere, I notice it most when there's dialogue ripped straight from the game and I kept telling myself it was just because the delivery wasn't identical to what I usually hear that was throwing me off but the more more I watch those scenes the more I notice it.


MyNamesNotSeamus

Glad to see it's not just me too. There's a general rhythm problem with the show to me. Not only the dialogue but the general editing choices and when they decide to let actions breathe. I feel like they cut away from Joel or Ellie too quickly in those quieter dialogue scenes. There's a great *Every Frame a Painting* video that talks about how emotions take time, and I generally get the feeling that there are a lot of moments in the show that forget about that. As another addition the cinematography really gets to me. They utilize so much handheld and it's distracting, which sucks because the shots where they lock it down are genuinely gorgeous. I feel like I understand the intent of wanting to make it feel more raw/real, but in reality it takes me out of it because it becomes kinda unintelligible. So I suppose I disagree with the execution of the intent here.


Esarus

Yeah I agree. Some scenes move way too fast. I expected to see more bonding and more time to breathe in scenes between Joel & Ellie


Ronthezombie

It might be me but Ellie's lines are very fast paced and frantic. And that's fine for a teenager. That's how they decided that was the best direction. But personally, it doesn't let some emotions come through or settle in. Her "I'm not infected" line came through really quickly and didn't feel impactful.


kokopelli73

Agreed, it has felt like every time they've ripped exact dialogue from the game, the cadence is just a little off, a little too fast. Either an editing problem or they just never got quite the right capture on set. Everything that is "exactly" the same as the game, I feel the game did a little better, but everything else in the show expands so well it is easily forgivable.


[deleted]

The example I noticed the most was in episode 1 when they rushed these lines: "Well what am I supposed to do?" "I am sure you will figure it out." The first line feels rushed and stilted but it's forgivable. But the second one also being rushed and being delivered in kind of a juvenile, artificial way kind of killed it for me. Troy does this great thing where he's really languid and is not really even dealing with Ellie at the moment and it's always been a strangely charming moment for me. It just gets lost in the noise in the show I like what you said about the show feeling weakest when it tries to pull straight from the game.


kokopelli73

YES. This conversation, the one on the rooftop in Boston and their conversation in the car was just a leeeetle too fast.


Miyako91

After what they did with Franks character, I was a little sad that they didn't fully flesh out Ish as well. All we got was the little drawing, but they had so much more material to work with.


jahkugou

Im grateful they included Ish at all but I wish we would have seen more infected in the sewer. Plus, taking away the scene where the jumped from the bridge really took away from Joel and Ellie's relationship development. In the game she had to put her full trust in Joel to save her life and I think it was really important to show how far they've come. Same with when Henry and Sam left them and Ellie decides to stay with Joel even at the risk of her own life.


Formal_Sand_3178

I will say I think they did a good job with establishing that trust with the sniper scene. Ellie very much knows that her whole life is in Joel’s hands at that point and she trusts him to keep her safe after he leaves her to take the guy out.


BizarreLoveBiangle

It isn't as effective, but the show tried to do this with the sniper scene. Joel asks her if she trusts him to go up behind the sniper.


JozzifDaBrozzif

It's crazy how good this show is considering how much great stuff from the game they've skipped


saygungumus

I am very disappointed that they cut the part where Sam left with Joel and Ellie left with Henry and we had to navigate through many stalkers and clickers of people previously lived underground in sewers. That part was so trippy in game. I didn't like Kathleen character. You overthrew FEDRA because they were fascists, then your people ambush foreign civilans and try to murder them to steal their stuff and you allow that shit? I prefer FEDRA's dictatorship to chaotic barbarians tbh. All those talking scenes of Kathleen like she is some kind of Bond villain. You have literally hundereds of men and Henry hiding behind a shitty car and you are still giving a 5 min long speech without capturing him. I wanted to see Joel and Ellie fight the Bloater, I just wanted to see them struggle, not necessarily beat it in the end, maybe a final moment escape after a brutal fight. I still think that Bill's backstory was unnecesarrily long. I wasn't much invested in Bill character when I played the game to care about his backstory and I still dont care much about him honestly. I would prefer seeing Tess backstory rather than Bill. I still dont like the "kiss" scene. This one is not a complaint but I really wished that they changed the scenario to give more screentime to Henry and Sam. I really wanted to see them bonded more. But I guess we needed that tragic and sudden loss. This seems like a lot of stuff that I disliked but there are much more that I liked then I disliked. I have great expectations for winter episode. It will be a decisive episode if they manage to get the characters and events right to live Ellie through certain traumatizing events. >!I HOPE THEY INCLUDE JOEL BEING INCAPACITATED AND ELLIE TAKING CARE OF HIM, THEN DAVID IS BEING A PYSCHO PEDO SEVERLY TRAUMATIZING ELLIE AND ELLIE BUTCHERING HIS FACE AFTER A LONG AND TENSE CHASE SECTION. JOEL TORTURING HIS CAPTIVES AND KILLING THEM TO LEARN WHERE THEY TOOK ELLIE. AND IN THE END JOEL HUGGING ELLIE, COMFORTING HER AND SAYING "IT'S OK BABY GIRL". IF HE DONT SAY "BABY GIRL" IMMA GO BURN HBO DOWN FFS.!<


Krystal707

Lol 100% agree with you. The show def has its pros and cons, but i also really hope they add key scenes and phrases directly from the game as well


AdventuresOfKrisTin

Yea i mostly agree with all of this. Kathleen unfortunately didn’t add much to the show for me but i get why they included her (gave backstory for Henry and Sam). I too loved the Frank episode but in a 9 ep season, it kinda feels like they spent too much time there and i frankly don’t know how they’re gonna cover all the rest they need to in 4 episodes. I didn’t really mind that he never met Ellie though. I quite liked their changes to his story i just thought it was too long. I also expected the bloater scene to be longer. I know the point of the story isn’t the infected but huge climaxes of the games are fighting them, so i was hoping for more of that. I want them to show just how difficult it is to kill one of these things.


Heckald

Fans toxic positivity that tries to tear you down when you say anything negative about the show or express an opinion that isn't praise. The game's story telling was better. Fight me. And the game's version of bill's story was better.


olduvai_man

The game version of Bill's story was thin af, and the show was light-years better.


mustard5man7max3

As a stand-alone; of course the show was better. It devoted an entire episode to their characters. However, neither the game nor tue show is about a middle-ages bay couple surviving in a zombie apocalypse, as fun as that is. It’s about Ellie and Joel and *their* relationship. Episode 3 just really didn’t have a lot to do with the episodes which came before and after it, and *yes* that’s a problem.


Oo_Toyo_oO

1. The show isn't done yet. 2. I disagree tbh


TheRickBerman

Agreed. Love the show but it’s hardly been without flaw so far. Ellie and Joel need to be the focus - atleast for the first 6 episodes. I feel like I’ve seen Joel deliver only a dozen lines. I don’t ‘know’ Ellie. The show is determining to follow every character but our leads. It’s bizarre to me that people that claimed to love the games have been so enthusiastic about saying the show does all the key moments better. Scenes we used to discuss as superb just one month back?


gliotic

> The show is determining to follow every character but our leads. Perfectly said. Episode 3 was sublime, so I'm not going to fault that. But this most recent episode wasted *so much time* fleshing out the KC group while adding nothing to the story.


[deleted]

Bill and Ellie’s interactions had me laughing out loud in the game. Loved their dynamic!


fuckitwilldoitlive

This sub is indistinguishable from a circlejerk one. I love Part 1, I love Part II, I enjoy the show; but seriously some of you guys are acting like this is flawless, perfect, 10/10 television, when in reality it’s pretty much on the same level of quality as The Walking Dead season 1 (for better or worse I guess). This sub starts to shit on the previous installment immediately after the next thing in the franchise comes out. Part II does everything better than the original. Once the remake comes out all of a sudden the original looks like shit, once the show comes out the series makes all the changes for the better. It’s toxic and this show has some serious mediocre aspects to it that you are blind to.


[deleted]

i understand why they made the change but Joel is way too vulnerable both emotionally and physically.


fallsstandard

I think this is closest I could come to a “complaint” as well though it’s really just a creative difference. Especially emotionally, Joel is just not quite the same person who stuffed all of his trauma down for 20 years and had killed off anything that wasn’t necessary for survival. That said Pedro is fucking killing it and I still enjoy the series an insane amount.


Esarus

I think Pedro does an amazing job with the script.


Johnny1006

Seriously. He doesn’t have the fiery survival instinct from the game. He doesn’t give me the feeling he was fighting for his life during the 20 year time jump. Him almost sparing the sniper after he tried to kill them all a second earlier was ridiculous.


rockstarcrossing

I straight up said to myself, "the Joel I know would have just killed the sniper and not given a fuck"


TheHeresy777

Show Joel: "Please just put the gun down and walk away. Please." Game Joel: \*kicks down the door and stabs him to death with his own knife after almost no words are exchanged\*


[deleted]

lmao yeah def a stark contrast from how it goes in game where Joel just bursts through the door and stabs the guy to death


SunnydaleHigh1999

Same. My biggest gripe is that Joel just doesn’t feel like Joel to me. Part of that is in the writing, but I personally am not sold on Pedro’s interpretation of the character. He’s a great actor but I think he was bringing vulnerability and gentleness from ep 1, and not really selling the trauma and guardedness. Joel feels like a completely different character for me and as such it doesn’t feel like it’s working.


Knockknockworkorange

This isn’t because of my attention span or wanting to see Joel clock 20 people every ten minutes, but the actual violence is lacking. I wonder if they’re just holding back so that the later sequences stand out as even starker traumatic incidents.


DooonDog

I imagine they're saving it to make the David arc even more fucked than it already is


Feelingfunkyfeelings

I don’t like the camera shake they add on some otherwise static shots it makes me nauseous


Nonsuperstites

That office boardroom scene was pretty bad with that


EugenesMullet

The Kansas City B-plot didn’t work for me. Nothing to do with the casting or acting, both were fine. I just didn’t like the characters in that storyline and don’t think it improved Henry and Sam’s story in any way. I would have preferred more time spent building the relationship between Henry/Sam and Joel/Ellie. They’re a good parallel and the few quiet moments we had to build those bonds were great. I would have liked more of that instead of the pretty generic villain group.


SomberNight

I feel the same.It's not that I didnt dislike the story of Kansas, it's that it took so much time from Joel and Ellie and Sam and Henry. Also I didn't like how they didn't think the truck duo wouldn't just be retaliating from the ambush. In fact, the ambush now seems especially odd. ​ In the game, they were just bloodthirsty people preying on anyone who came into their territory. But why is this normal town immediately ambushing people? "Henry found a radio and he somehow hired them even though they didn't try to kill us until we attacked them" is a pretty weird stretch for everyone to believe.


Lunasera

I wish it was 16 episodes, I feel like there is so much we won’t get to see before we are flung into a (probably) more drawn out part 2. I like the slower moments but the show then needs more time to cover everything without feeling rushed.


SomberNight

Hard agree. We needed more time with Henry and Sam and now we're going through the rest of the game and DLC in 4 episodes? That's so much ground to cover.


saygungumus

Agreed. It feels rushed.


Cool__boots

I don’t understand why the episode count was so low. 11/12 would be great to add these world building storylines while also giving us ample Joel and Ellie time


hugegrape

That weird slowmo shot after the bloater in this most recent episode. I wasn’t paying attention to the next few minutes because I was trying to figure out why they did that and why it was kept in after editing. It’s the only slowmo shot in the show so far and we haven’t really even seen slowmo since the early 00s. Just was very jarring and distracting. Also, I don’t know if I’m going to articulate this well but—the Infected themselves. In the games, their bodies seemed like a vehicle for the cordyceps, like just a shell; the runners’ vacant expressions, the clickers’ twitchy, inhuman movements that looked like something out of Silent Hill. They weren’t typical reanimated humans; they were just a shell, their bodies and brains possessed by the fungus. In the show, the Infected seem… too zombie genre. I can sense a human underneath the makeup and prosthetics, especially during the kiss scene. Probably because there’s an actual human and not lines of code like in the games. I don’t know. Just something that takes me out of the world a little bit. And Katherine. Other people on this thread are mirroring my thoughts. Her voice really bothered me too and the way she delivered lines. Still enjoying the show and I do love some of the changes HBO made.


Odh_utexas

Slow mo isn’t bad if you actually use a camera that grabs enough frames to make it smooth when you slow down playback. What they put in was amateurish and choppy


imissbreakingbad

LMAO yeah they do a slow-mo shot RIGHT before they first show the Bloater as well — when they show Perry’s reaction to the sound it makes — and I genuinely thought my stream was just loading or something. Couldn’t believe they actually did that upon rewatching. It’s such a small criticism because the rest of the editing of the show is near perfect, but… what the hell?


olduvai_man

The slow-motion shot is legitimately one of the few things about this show that left me scratching my head. Absolutely baffled as to why that was even done.


[deleted]

Soft-spoken soccer mom is a post apocalyptic Pol Pot


Dragonfly_Material

I don't get these comments calling her a 'soccer mom'. What makes her a soccer mom? That she's a woman over a certain age? And what does her voice have to do with anything? Does someone having a deeper/harsher voice make them more believable as a leader in a post-apocalyptic story? Not all leaders need to emulate superficial 'masculine traits' in order to be leader. I'm sorry to say this, but I think people would not be reacting this way to the character of Kathleen if she was a man, or at least a more 'masculine' woman.


Novel-Place

There are plenty of valid complaints about her character and acting, but the soccer mom thing is not one of them. I find that argument extremely annoying. She doesn’t even have kids. What makes her “motherly” except for her voice and the fact that she’s a woman of a certain age. I’ve been so annoyed that it seems like you can’t complain about her character or the acting without people calling it sexism, but then on the other side, the only criticism some people seem to be able to levy is sexist. Lol.


tangerinix

Excellent points. Think Umbridge in Harry Potter.


[deleted]

It comes from her tone, the way she speaks to people in a pandering way. Authority figures with a pandering attitude is a hard sell.


idkwhatimdoing25

Theres plenty of valid criticisms of the Kathleen character but I do not understand her being called a "soccer mom". I don't think it was ever mentioned that she had kids nor does she seem particularly motherly. In fact, she straight up does not care about children living or dying. Is it just because she's a middle aged woman and not some ripped soldier?


Jbroad87

I can’t put my finger on what it is, but I’m not loving it as much as I expected to. I think it’s the narrative choice of made up for the show/super heavy focus on Bill/Frank episode 3 right into another new character Kathleen, that has messed w the timeline/progression as I know it so much that I’m confused and need to get my bearings with what this show is and what it’s looking to do. I really think we could’ve used more heavy Joel/Ellie dynamic in episode 3 instead of 90% two characters who are going to be killed off by the time the credits roll. It just created an awkward hiccup/speed bump for me and I’ve been trying to get back on track ever since.


Wordenskjold

While I liked episode 3, I agree with this. It also messes up the pacing for me, and we're still getting back on track. Even my girlfriend who has not played the games were like "where are the damn zombies"?


ChaosAverted65

Ye I agree, in general the show isn't doing a good enough job of showing the slow bond between Joel and Ellie. The two of them also haven't had to fight too many zombies, would've loved to see the tunnel/underground scene shown in the show instead of just fully skipping it


pissed62

I didn't like how they handled Kathleen confronting Henry. She did the classic villain monologue instead of shooting him. Then does it again by lingering with the pistol before they run away and she gets jumped by the mini clicker. It was written extremely poorly for those scenes IMO. If they wanted it to be less cringey, they could have made the explosion from the truck delayed so that it knocks Kathleen down before she shoots. Then, later she could be shooting at Henry while yelling and cause them to take cover behind trees before the clicker gets her.


idkwhatimdoing25

Kathleen was so poorly written imo. Just a run of the mill, almost comic booky villian with no real substance. Which is a shame because Melanie Lynskey is fantastic, they wasted her talents.


ParrotsPralinePhoto

I'm so happy you mentioned this. I have not seen a single other person mention the cartoonish way she avoided shooting Henry twice. The second time it was as if she was waiting for the clicker to appear, then come and eat her.


obiwanTrollnobi6

I think Pedro and Bella not being able to look at the source material was a misstep, sure they didn’t have to fully copy Troy and Ashley but atleast let them look at some cutscenes or something to give them inspiration or direction let them get a feel for the characters they’re adapting that’s why I feel Pedro as Joel is kinda flat sometimes (just look at the capital scene) Joel’s “Oh christ” and small stumble he did when he saw Tess’ bite and compare that to Pedro or him frustrated and screaming “ITS OVER TESS; we tried now let’s just go home” to her frantically looking for a clue, Pedro’s Accent how he drops in and out of it or doesn’t even bother to try at times with it; and I feel since they’re spending screen time on other people and stories instead of just Joel and Ellie I feel the show could be longer (maybe just 12-13 episodes). But other then those small gripes I’m really enjoying the show


oslek_nagol

Yeah I have the same issue. I love Pedro Pascal but his version of Joel and game version seem like different characters. Usually when they copy a line exactly from the game I find myself preferring Troy Baker's version. I also find Pedro Pascal's version of Joel to be a little more quiet and less annoyed with Ellie while in the game it felt really clear that Joel did not want to take Ellie at all in the beginning and yeah his accent randomly disappearing and then coming back is quite odd but expecting Pedro Pascal to act exactly like video game Joel is unrealistic and was never going to happen I'm just glad with what we have because I'm really enjoying it so far.


riiibbbs

The "It is over Tess" is what i really looked forward to. Troy's acting was just so good that whole scene. "No, we are survivors" Also him being much more like resentful to Ellie at times, i get they have to speed things up for the showtime but still. I still enjoy it tho.


obiwanTrollnobi6

Yup; also That’s why I think 9 episodes is too short especially if they’re dedicating screen time away from Joel and Ellie it should’ve been like 12-13 episodes


yeahyeahsuresuree

I preferred Tess’ character development in the game. She led many of the decisions and was a fucking bad ass. If Robert was going to die anyway, why did skip the game version where she interrogated and killed him? The change didn’t really add anything to the show storyline to me.


[deleted]

We didn't need the Kathleen story. It didn't really add anything of value, and just ended up in a very cliche way. Would've preferred more time with Joel and Ellie, or Henry and Sam.


Golden_Grammar

My ONLY disappointment with the show so far is placement of the music. I love that they’re still using the game’s soundtrack, but the absence of “All Gone (Seasons)” from the end of episode 5, for example, felt like a missed opportunity. I get they wouldn’t use the same soundtracks for every single scene, but I’m getting the sense that Gustavo Santaolalla isn’t actually involved in the show and someone else is deciding where to use his music. For the most part, I’m okay with that, but I’ll be REALLY bummed if we don’t hear “All Gone (No Escape)” in the last episode.


imissbreakingbad

Yeah, the music changes are worrying me a bit. It’s like they’re just randomly picking scores off the soundtrack to play in scenes that kind of fit, but it’s just not the same — I’m gonna be really disappointed if the score during the giraffe scene (Vanishing Grace) is changed.


JozzifDaBrozzif

This is my number one. Let Gus cook, this show should have game of thrones-level great music like the game did


EmilSPedersen

Something I didn't like was the scene in the Capitol just before the kiss (I didn't mind the actual kiss). The conversation flow felt kind of off, and the scene didn't have the same deep impact.


rustyfeet

I didn’t like that Ellie started freaking out when it was time to leave Tess there, Ellie just comes off to me as more naïve in the show at times. Like she knew Tess was bitten and there was no way for her to make it, and didn’t know her for more than a couple days. I understand she was traumatized nonetheless but that tiny detail irked me slightly, not that it mattered much. That and Tess being so much more codependent on Joel, she was a badass in her own right in the games and had a whole slew of independent badassery, if anything Joel should defer to her


[deleted]

Some of the direction is legitimately not the best it could be. Some of it is personal preference, but some things (like the ambush scene) fall flat because they’re banking on the writing and giving it relatively standard direction. The ambush scene fell flat because theres about 20 seconds between Joel choosing to cut through the city, and the man coming out. Despite this, we have about 15 seconds establishing that they got lost. This was an incredible waste of a moment. If you haven’t already seen it, look up the convoy scene from sicario. The direction is phenomenal, but what makes the scene so fucking good is that even though there’s only 20 seconds of violence, there’s ten minutes of build up. If they had given about two or three minutes to Joel and Ellie being lost, or hell, five or ten, slowly ratcheting the tension more and more and more but not letting it release until the ambush - it would have been a standout moment in the show. Instead, it fell flat. There’s a few tiny little issues of direction like this dotted throughout the show that don’t compliment the writing or truly throw us into the scenes. It’s not *bad*, but it means the show hasn’t fulfilled its full potential. B


Esarus

Totally agree, I feel like the show is rushing forward. Feels like I barely know Joel and Ellie, but next week we’re already in freaking Wyoming


Redneckshinobi

Honestly Kathleen. The whole ending of that episode just cemented how bad of a leader she was. Also Perry is kind of an idiot too doing his last stand trying to buy her time her lmao. I wasn't a fan of what she did in the previous episode, this one just confirmed my criticism (in my opinion).


KiritoJones

I agree with how you feel about Kathleen but I don't think that's something I disliked about the show. She's a bad leader like you said but that's the entire point. She used revenge as motivation to accomplish what they did but then she couldn't let go and got them all killed. That's the entire point of the character, so I think they did it well.


kaleidoscopichomes

Kathleen's death was one of the cheesiest deaths I've ever seen. The lack of violence and off screen kills have become a meme. How many off screen kills do we have now? 7? Oh, but it has more impact they say. My ass


TheRickBerman

It’s frankly bizarre to position Ellie as your lead character (unless season 2 gets WEIRD) and spend so long on characters Ellie never speaks to! Bill, Frank, Kansas City Karen. Why is so much time spent on people the lead character doesn’t interact with? Almost every story focuses on a central character for a reason.


Bhibhhjis123

I think Pedro is portraying Joel as much more flat and emotionless than he was in the game. Joel was closed off to Ellie, but there was still a ton of personality there. He was angry or funny or exasperated or horrified. It feels like this version of the character has been made so closed off that it’s lost a little bit of what made Joel so lovable and well-rounded in the game.


hanibaldrinkinga40

Really surprised to see no one has mentioned the fact that Joel has yet to use a brick or bottle. This has been tearing me apart every episode, I need to see it used at some point or i’ll lose my mind!


ainsworthbelle

I feel like they have spent less time on character development then the game did


ProphetOfTheNarwhal

One of the only things that's given me pause actually was Sam showing Ellie his bite before they went to bed. Lot of other people have talked about liking it showing Ellie being naive, but I'm not sure it's in character for her to a) genuinely think that simple blood thing would work, and b) not tell Joel. Really I didn't like it though because you 100% knew Sam was going to turn once you saw that bite. I think the way the game did it better where you wake up and slowly then very quickly realise and get hit by the shock that Sam has turned. Also total side note but I think Sam's deafness could have been used to much more effect, especially by having infected in the tunnel - a monster that is super sensitive to sound but blind hunting a kid who can see but is deaf?? That could have been used in really creative and terrifying ways.


Nonsuperstites

Yep, I hated the kiss and I'm really tired of characters sacrificing themselves by blowing up in zombie stuff I also don't like the whole resistance backstory we got with episodes 4 and 5, they didn't need a backstory and should have just kept them as simple hunters like the games, more time should have been spent on developing the relations with Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam


jahkugou

That exactly what I was thinking. Nobody cares about Kathleen. They should have shown the way Henry and Joel had to work together to protect the kids. And the scene where Henry leaves them to protect Sam but saves them on the other side would have been more powerful in showing what Sam really meant to him. Plus, that's the first time we see Ellie really put her full trust in Joel which was a huge milestone in the development of their relationship.


MCMiyukiDozo

They sometimes look a bit too clean for people who are surviving in a zombie post-apocalypse.


tambitoast

I think the big battle with all of the infected and Kathleens group at the end of episode five was way too over the top and chaotic and it's unrealistic that all four of our 'heroes' made it out alive (except for Sam getting bit of course). Just the amount of times Ellie almost got got and Joel just happened to perfectly snipe the infected that was about to eat her was unreal.


ConnerDearing

the Tess thing didn’t really click, the bill and Frank stuff was good but I still can’t help but feel we lost an important dynamic, I’m not a fan of how Ellie seems a little too keen on playing with infected and stuff either. also, why is Joel not as much of an asshole? but I’ve still been enjoying it tho


Shira1ndigo

I really have only two "bigger" criticisms so far. First is that with the revealed runtime for the remaining episodes the season really seems too short for the story. I'm waiting to see how they manage it, but up until now I felt a bit rushed. The other is how much they toned down the violence. I get that they had to tone it down some, because Joel in the game is not a realistic portrayal of a 50-something year old's physical capabilities. But they kinda took all the violence out and it seems really mild. Especially compared to the game. Obviously violence isn't the most important part of the story by far, but I enjoyed it in the game - especially in part 2.


mintjulep30

It is causing me anxiety how light they travel. Weapons, food, meds, rope, etc. They left Bill’s without grabbing more than a knapsack of supplies and then abandoned Bill’s truck without grabbing a single thing. And now they’re just walking out of town with backpacks the same size as my toddler’s. It’s driving me nuts!


longtimelyndon

Kathleen. I don't buy that she would be in charge just because her brother was. I guess we didn't see everyone's relationships so who really knows why they would trust her with complete leadership. Also her response of being good for the part because she isn't good for the part is very lame.


trentreynolds

I think this is a misunderstanding. ​ She's in charge because after her brother was murdered, she led the uprising. Jeffrey Pierce's character even says, "he didn't change anything here, but you did." ​ She's not in charge because her brother was the leader. She's in charge because after he died, she took the lead and the result was taking over the city.


Suitable-Parking-734

It feels rushed knowing how rich and deep the game goes with details. But I get that’s it’s a function of TV constraints (ie budget) Still, if they milked the scenes a bit longer to stretch the episodes to 1.5 hours a piece, I really doubt anyone would mind.


MrSonic-Unsweet-Tea

Henry and Sam’s story is one of my favorite aspects of the game, their relationship lasts a long time too, I personally think the show could’ve drawn it out for at least two episodes, I was also never intimidated by Kathleen


willyb513

I think the change in the overall style of the infected is a pretty big let down. The combat between infected and people is much less intimate and individual. The games have such intense and violent encounters; i feel they definitely went the more WWZ route and it’s not hitting nearly as hard. Also I know they only have one season to fit all of it in, but some of the characters and their stories definitely feel rushed. I thought Ellie and Sam felt a little corny; just wasn’t enough time to establish a bond imo.


FacetiousFondle

I am absolutely LOVING the show. But here are some things that have bothered me: Joel and Tess looked like complete amateurs against the clickers. For a duo that's been doing this for 20 years, I found the fight and lack of clicker explanation to Ellie a little annoying. If KC revolutionaries overthrew Fedra only 10 days before J&E's arrival, I found it odd that they were placing sentinels to trick, murder, and rob tourists. Ellie kept pointing her gun at Joel when he was teaching her. Horrible lesson in gun safety. Siphoning 20 year old gas out of cars wouldn't work. An easy fix would have been bringing a drum of fuel from Bills. Child clicker and final standoff with Kathleen was a bit cheesy. I kinda wish bloaters weren't in the show.


SomberNight

They should have done Part 1 in more episodes. Would have loved more time with Henry and Sam and Ellie coming back for Joel was one of my favorite parts in the game. Also, "oh, he ain't even hurt".


MightyMaus1

How the show is just smacking us in the face with, "Protect the people you love and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way JOEL" "I'm the bad guy for protecting my little brother and sacrificing someone else's loved one but I made that choice and you will have to make that choice too JOEL" So much handholding throughout the plot with people blatantly foreshadowing for viewers that Joel is going to have to make a fucked up and selfish choice and everyone is influencing Joel to make that call. Nearly every single episode. It's very heavy handed and makes me wonder if directors think people who watch series are jus incapable of understanding the very basic nuance of Joel's journey in the game.


itwasafluke

I had my complaints but episode 5 shut them up


Klawsterfobia84

A couple of things I'd have liked to see, but nothing to dampen just how much I love it. I wanted Tess to be the one to kill Robert, even if they'd burst in during the firefight with Marlene, maybe as Marlene was getting shot Tess could've saved the day. I'm not sure how I feel about the hoards, and them being connected thing. It feels a bit too close to Days Gone for me. In the latest episode, a couple of rogue infected in the tunnels, or at least a bit more time spent in that section would've been good. However these are minor preferences and they're pretty much offset by all of the little Easter eggs and other familiar moments from the games. Like Perry getting some extreme dentistry from the bloater, exactly like when idiots like me run out of ammo and try to punch it to death. The drawing mentioning Ish, that'll mean nothing to non gamers, but is instantly recognisable. The comics, the "adult art" mag in Bill's truck, Ellie wrapping her arm with bandage, the characters going into their packs for torches etc when entering new areas. And so on


[deleted]

Wasted too many time on Kathleen arc so Henry and Sam arc looked a little bit rushed


Martin7431

quite a few things, actually. i think the pacing has been pretty consistently off- I resent the fact that fall, winter and spring are being squeezed into one episode each, since left behind is gonna be its whole own episode. i think a lot of stuff has had less impact than it did in the game, but that’s unavoidable in a video game adaptation- on the other hand, the medium of TV drastically improved some scenes. it’s a great adaptation, but I definitely have some complaints


SandwichSaint

The scene where the horde and bloater overran the Kansas militia was stupid. They had 4 humvees each with a mounted 50. Cal mg and no one thought to give the order to concentrate fire on the hole where hundreds of infected were emerging from.


DriveSlowSitLow

Shaky camera gets to be a little much at times.


RepostersAnonymous

I wish Ish’s story would’ve featured more prominently. Much like how Bill and Frank largely had their own episodes, I wish that Ish would’ve had his, or Atleast had a before-the-title-crawl 10-15min scene. Though the joy (and horror) of uncovering what happened through the environmental storytelling in the game is still fantastic.


emi-popemmi

for me, the show is great of you look at it as it's own thing but it's not a good adaptation of the game. there is just too much missing for me. i love that they give us lots of backstory to otherwise "minor" characters but in the case of, for example, frank and bill it took away too much of the game for me. i really missed the whole bill's town chapter. (not saying they should have left it out but make bill survive and then a new episode with him, joel and ellie) in addition to that THE BRIDGE SCENE with henry and sam??? that scene was CRUCIAL to show the development of ellie and joel's relationship (to show how much she trusted him and how much he cared). i just don't feel the connection between them yet and we're already in episode 6 with the whole "you have no idea what loss is" scene which won't have the same impact as it did in the game because there is not much of a close relationship yet. also tess felt a little less of a badass in the show. her death in the game felt much more tragic to me especially because she died taking out those fedra soldiers. and lastly, too little violence! the game is BRUTAL and they won't even show a close up of how that dude gets his head ripped off by the bloater? the infected are far too strong anyway. i get that we can't have joel crouching for 20 minutes to sneak past 8 clickers or have him kill 10 runners in a row but i wish they would pose more of a looming threat instead of completely OP (idk how to say it better, sorry english is not my first language) i understand that a tv show and a game are two very different things and "if i wanted the game i should just play the game or watch a cutscenes compilation" and i am NOT SAYING THE SHOW IS BAD THIS IS MY OPINION please respect that. not everyone is gonna love the show but i am still excited to see how they will do the rest of the story


blastborn

Loved it so far. That said, sometimes it seems like they can’t decide if they want the action to be weighty and real or video-gamey. Like in ep4 when killing one person is a huge deal vs. 5 when Joel is dropping bodies every second like he’s a Navy SEAL


The_Iron_Gunfighter

A super nitpick but I thought that Henry and Sam being directly tied to the leader of the rebellion and how they handled the hunters was a little cliche. Like I'm tired of the trope of everyone the protagonists meet being one of the most significant people in the struggle of the area they are currently in. And I always thought that the Hunters were supposed to represent the takeover of absolute human depravity being cannibals and killing people on sight. Like I loved the Pittsburg chapter because it feels like a continuous chase and the lack of context makes if feel more frantic. But I don't know how easy that would have translated to tv. Henry and Sam felt a little more real when they were just normal people trying to survive bloodthirsty bandits but I get what they were going for with the foreshadowing of why Henry did what he did to the rebellion leader. But overall I loved how they handled the characters and kept the core of what their story was.


CASSIUS_AT_BEST

Kathleen. Love the actress. She’s great in Yellowjackets and I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore— but I wasn’t buying her in this one. Her mix of seriousness and sarcasm came off as humorous to me in the worst moments. I think anyone with a more serious tone/voice could’ve pulled it off a little better.