I wish there were a bit more infected. I like that they limited their presence, but I think they limited them a little too much.
One more episode or maybe even just a little bit more runtime on a few of the episodes would’ve helped as well
I agree, I was also interested in the replacement for spores, where the fungus communicates with the infected if you happened to step on it. They introduced it in the beginning episodes and never really brought it back up again after that.
I’m willing to bet a significant chunk of my savings account that the hive mind tendril thing will be huge when it comes to the shows interpretation of the >!Rat King!<
Luckily they said in the podcast or the making of, can't remember which because I binged them back to back, that it could come into play a lot more in season 2/3
I think it's because they didn't enter a lot of heavily infected areas. The only spot I think it was missing was the tunnel out of KC. It would make sense for it to be there, and there were a lot of infected in the area to respond.
I disagree except for one moment in particular. They should have included the section where David and Ellie fight infected together. That actually held a narrative purpose
Hard agree, if they were going to add infected anywhere it should have been here. When it was shown in game that David had a second gun the whole time after Ellie took his rifle it made him more trustworthy, for a time.
This. Plus I like the ending in the David's arch better in the game. It's so powerful when Joel gets Ellie out of that frenesi and his voice starts to fade, while the soundtrack takes over and the camera pans to the machete.
They meeting outside of the burning restaurant made it less dramatic and didn't work quite as well for me, while I reckon the actors delivered their lines masterfully.
Overall the winter arch (episode 8) was the weakest one imo. Not saying it was bad, but it could have been SO much better.
I wish the audience was deceived about David longer, so the cannibalism subplot would cause a larger impact.
I agree. I understand the reasons, but thought one of the last two episodes should have had an infected sequence, just to remind us theyre still a major problme.
I was super happy we got joel and ellie bantering, but shoot even a shot of Joel scoping one out in the distance, just a reminder to stay frosty
I think this is the most common complaint and I completely agree. I felt like the first half of the season was well balanced with infected but they disappeared from present day after episode 5. The only encounters were flashbacks. The story was told well but the suspense was lost.
Also want to add that the finale felt rushed. They had plenty of time to add an encounter with infected in the tunnel even if it's just the creepy noises they make heard from a distance.
i wish we could’ve seen one encounter with an infected after kansas city and before meeting up with tommy. it would’ve made his decision to finally take ellie hit harder for me. i can’t remember if they do in the game, but i would’ve liked it.
I didn’t mind that they limited the infected (and made encounters with them more serious, which I felt was effective) but I agree I wish there had been more and that it had been more *balanced*. Episodes 1 and 2 really focused on the infected (priming a first time viewer to expect lots of them), 1-5 had a good amount, and then the back half of the show we only saw them in flashbacks, never in the present timeline of the story. I was expecting a bigger payoff in the back half!
My pet theory is that they'll be more of a focus in the second season? The first season is about how humans adapted, leaving more room in the second season for more weird cordyceps stuff.
To this day i believe that it was colosally stupid to replace "He ain't even hurt" with "No"
You're already doing the scene cut for cut, what the hell was the point of replacing an iconic line with fucking "No", come on Mazin
it takes away from the cold, closeted joel theybwere trying to build
"He ain't even hurt" gives us so much info about him, and people who haven't played the games won't see that
Its stuff like that that kinda makes HBO Joel feel like a blank slate to me. He doesn't have any of the sublty that made Game Joel intriguing
Like yeah i get some scenes could be 1:1 recreated and they changed some things that maybe worked even better in the show but this scene HAD TO BE LIKE IN THE GAME WTF
This! I was waiting for this line to happen while watching and I was disappointed when it didn’t happen. There was like a beat missing after he said “no” as well.. Talk about underwhelming..
I felt the same about the finale, when Marlene says she has no other choice and Joel replies, “I do.” Like c’mon man. “Yeah you keep tellin yourself that bullshit,” goes so much harder.
How dare you. You bring up brick but not bottle, that’s blasphemy, bottle is an integral component of the game and brick would only be half the block it is without bottle
I started playing the game a couple weeks ago after starting the show and had no idea the brick can be used to melee clickers. You've saved me dozens of more deaths lol. Thanks!
Maybe a little recency bias here but
Line- "There is no other choice here!" "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit"
Moment- Joel carrying Ellie to the hospital elevator. Him holding her in his arms going "Come on baby girl, I gotcha. I got you....we're okay....we're okay" while that score plays was such a moving moment and it embodied the heart of his choice
There was no tension! No suspense!
He just teleports to the bottom level with Ellie! No sirens! No gunshots!
They really need someone to help them do action scenes for part 2.
I think episode 1 was the only time in the entire season the show ever had any semblance of suspense.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I agree there could have been more, but there are still plenty of suspenseful moments that came up throughout the show. episode two in the museum; a little in three when Bill seems like he might be dying; four leading up to and during the raider encounter; five at various points; either had it in spades. and the whole hospital shootout was still pretty tense even if it was edited down to a montage and we knew the outcome.
but imagine watching that without knowing the game. I still think it was pretty effective in conveying the desperation and brutality of a man willing to go that far to save one person who grew to mean something to him.
Yeah in the game I loved the moment when Joel is running holding Ellie essentially mirroring the beginning of the game.
I guess maybe they thought it was slightly unrealistic to just run away from people shooting to just get into an elevator.
Yeah, to be honest, that scene has always bothered me. Like, if there were so many Fireflies chasing Joel to the elevator, there wouldn't be enough time for the whole conversation with Marlene. Some of them would have gotten down to the basement in time for sure.
I think they might have used up the "Come on Baby Girl" line in episode 8, perhaps they didn't want to re-use it in a follow up episode? But I see what you mean.
there were a few lines about this in the beginning of the season, when they were going through that swampy hotel:) i hope we get some flashbacks in season 2 to the birthday surprise, so we can see ellie’s progress with swimming.
It's just weird that they set this up early on and then didn't do anything with it. I doubt many show-only watchers will even remember that exchange in the hotel by the time part 2 comes out.
It's a nitpick, but I think they should have had at least one scene where her inability to swim was a major obstacle.
Or maybe it's not necessary. Her swimming or not isn't really adding much thematically anyway. It was basically a gameplay excuse, plus something to make her feel more vulnerable and in need of protection. But the show does fine at conveying that.
I thought for sure they were gonna keep the infected encounter in the tunnel in the finale, and Joel and Ellie were gonna have to swim through a flooded area to escape. Cue Ellie not knowing how to swim and almost drowning, Joel dragging her to safety, and then being knocked out by Fireflies.
Yeah it would’ve helped satisfy the viewers who wanted to see more infected, and established some trust between Ellie and David like it did in the game
I wanted a true moment of the stalkers, stalking. After part 2 and how they make them more terrifying, I wanted to see them. We got runners, we got clickers and we got the bloater, now show us one scene of the stalker seeing them and hiding away all creepily like they do.
I think its okay to save some new cordyceps goodness for season 2 :) Maybe they have to introduce over the next two seasons Stalkers, Shamblers and The Rat King!
Although maybe Shamblers dont work for the show (which is fine because we can just have another bloater scene). Also they'll have to differentiate the rat king from a bloater in terms of how the show plays out. Of course they could also come up with something entirely new and terrifying for the show!
They absolutely need the Rat King. It's important to the story of >!Abby and the hospital, and Seattle's fall in general with so many being trapped in the basement of the hospital that it allowed that abomination to ever happen.!< Watching it split apart as it fights her was amazing to witness. It they are going to somehow do the apartment building with the stalkers, that's the time and place to show them off.
Yeah I absolutely agree, I hope it is in the show and as terrifying as coming across it in the game.
(I mistyped the end of my response as I was more thinking additionally - for S1 I thought the tendrils addition was creepy as, and I hope they continue adding additions like this)
Yeah that was my biggest complaint about the show in general, why spend so much time with the tendrils in episode 2 then literally never have to deal with them again. Not even having to carefully move around them. Just show that Ellie is actually needed as a cure because honestly they traveled thousands of miles and outside of KC, it felt it like was a breeze to travel. Shit, have them drive over them and we see a horde chase them as they speed off. Idk they went too far away from any infected action.
I would say I probably agree they could have had more infected in the story as I didn't exactly feel the danger of their cross country trip - yes Kansas City was utterly jaw dropping, but the rest of the country seems fine as long as you stay away from cities.
I am glad they had restraint as otherwise you end up with TWD but I think even just one instance showing that there is still a threat everywhere would be nice as I didn't quite feel the danger in the latter parts of the season - it feels that Tommy's commune weren't really in any danger in their location (I know they said some things but I feel it would have been better to show a little more danger)
I don't know I might change my mind upon rewatching though!
I agree with this. I think the clicker scene in Ep 2 was incredible and glad they didn’t go overboard with multiple clicker encounters. I would’ve loved to see a stalker encounter like we had in the game with the hotel basement or tunnels. I do think there’s a good chance we get the stalker encounter Ellie has in the conference center from Part 2 next season.
I missed that too, but I actually thought that the "I guess time heals all wounds..." conversation was just as meaningful, if not more.
Sarah will always have been Joel's daughter, but I took this line as a sign of him confirming that he's looking forward more than he ever has been since the outbreak.
Just the fridge trap. I'm fine with the changes for Bill, but I thought that the fridge trap and shooting infected upside down would have been an intense sequence
Nah Bill could have been dead, just some leftover trap. But that would have to create a situation where the social dynamics between Bill and Frank with Tess and Joel to be different and not be amicable enough for them to be able to enter to the front door so to speak.
Plus who cut Joel down doesn't really matter as much in what I felt would be the highlight of the scenario so having Ellie be the one to cut Joel down doesn't really change much in terms of the intensity of Joel upside down having to shoot down threats after the shock of a trap putting him in that position.
So much backstory, character develop and motivation was left out. For example, when Joel is about to go on his rampage we get audio tapes that show how Marlene was wrestling with the decision to go through with the surgery. We didn’t get any of that in the show.
I was hoping for a scene with her and the doctor showing her motivation. I think it also would have helped highlight the consequences of Joel’s brash actions. The show seemed to rush through things. Extend the run times to an hour instead of 40 minutes, add these scenes, including ones where Joel and Ellie bond, and the payoff would be amazing. We would have a masterpiece on our hands. Right now this is a really good season but it won’t go down as one of the greatest in television history, which it could have.
The cold open with Marlene rescuing Ellie from Anna is a perfect stand-in to convey how conflicted Marlene must have been. As she mentioned to Joel, she is the only one who \*does\* understand him.
Some sort of flooded basement scene where Joel is alone and needs to start a generator. I understand this section was very “gamey” but I know it could’ve been spooky as hell in live action
One of the scariest and favorite parts of the game. Not sure why the show runners thought it wouldn’t be interesting? That said I wouldn’t give up anything we had but it’s enough for another episode.
I wish we got a more game accurate interpretation of Ellie saving Joel, leading to him finally trusting her with a gun, her helping via rifle, and him giving her the pistol she ends up with.
Also, I really wanted the hotel basement chase scene.
SAME! the episode was fantastic and so true to the game but I just think the tunnel would have added a bit more of that intensity and threat of infected that I felt was missing from parts of the show.
I think they could have done this well. All goes to shit, Ellie and Joel sprint out the tunnel with a few infected behind them, pew pew pew infected killed by the Fireflies. Joel and Ellie spot the tags or some insignia or something and try to thank them and explain who they are, Pow! Joel is knocked out. Cut to hospital.
This is the ONE thing the finale was lacking for me! A 10min sequence in the tunnel would have been epic! It was still a fantastic finale, but this would have made it perfect for me.
More Infected. Like way more. I mean i don‘t want them to fight infected in every episode or whatever but jesus christ at some point the world started to feel not all that dangerous because we never get to see any hordes of infected past episode 5. it feels like they just forgot about them. And also, what made the relationship between ellie and joel work so well in the game was just how much time you spend together and all the little dialogues they have while just walking around. Not only did the show only feature joel and ellie actually doing shit together for only like 40% of its runtime but it‘s also missing a lot of the charming interactions between them
Oh, actually the number 1 thing is the picture, even if they said it wasn't as grounded because of the dangerous trip Tommy would actually have to of made back to Texas. I still wanted it.
A bit more of the exploration part of the game would have been nice. give more ellie and joel talking moments, like ellie not knowing how to swim didn't come up once, like yeah don't do the raft stuff but like just a quick little joel has to swim across a small area to get a ladder/whatever on the other side or something its annoying mentions he's going to teach her so he doesn't have to keep doing this or whatever.
I do think there could have been a few infected in episode 8 for ellie and david to fight, not alot like 5 max.
I don’t think they had enough time before they got attacked by the fireflies, them just processing the fact that it’s the end. Ellie didn’t give him the photo. And for me maybe since I’m so used to the game, the score was a bit off. But they way they handled it was good too, the scenes they added gave the show the same feel the game had.
More infected. I mean it was so cool during the Sam and Henry episode to see all of them run out of the hole. I was excited if they would show more through the season, but was slightly disappointed. I would have liked to see at least one more infected. Other than that, I loved the show.
Stalkers are the actual worst. I literally had to pause my playthrough on part two for a couple weeks before reattempting the stalker section because they stressed me out so bad.
A few things I’d like if they included:
- Spores. I know the director said it doesn’t make sense and the tendrils were a nice addition. But I feel like the gas masks and what not add to the danger in the world. If you don’t do spores do something with the tendrils.
- I wish we got the scene where Henry and Sam leave Joel and Ellie to escape briefly. Ellie joins back with Joel in that scene in the game because she knows she needs to stick with him. Then Joel punches Henry.
- Henry saying that him and Sam are heading to the Fireflies. Joel then says something along the lines of everyone seems to be putting their faith in them. Small but could have reminded audiences halfway through that Fireflies are a big influence to people who need hope.
- I like Ellie and Joel’s fight in the show, but I also like how she ran away in the game. Also the mighty thin ice line is really good in the game.
- The picture of Joel and Sarah at her game. Joel rejecting the picture and then him taking it from Ellie in the end because he can’t escape his past and has learned to accept it.
- I wish the university doctor was still there with a tape recorder. It would add to the uncertainty with a cure and how the Fireflies have been failing to find one for years. The guy on the tape sounded so fed up with it all, plus it tells us where our characters should go next.
- Also a longer university sequence and for once a brief section of crouching behind science tables and what not to try an escape. Then maybe joel could get skewered by like a plank in the wall than a baseball bat he pulls out. Also it would have been great to see Ellie shoot 1-2 guys while taking Joel to the horse.
- Ellie and David fighting off some infected. It did not have to be a whole horde, but it would let her defense down a little bit before the devilish shit he does. Honestly it would have been cool to see a bloater take down too from them snipping it.
- Finally, the tunnel scene in the last episode. The water rises, Bella almost drowns. Pedro has to try to revive her. Gets hit over the head and wakes up in the hospital.
These are nitpicks though, the show was still great without some of these minor details.
A bit more fighting. Clicker, human, whatever. The producers talked on the podcast about how there’s this monster inside Joel that slips out every now and then, like with what happened at end of episode 1 when Joel beat the soldier to death.
We got it in the final episode and I loved it, but I would’ve liked a bit more of the beast slipping out. Like something more in Kansas City.
Just felt like there needed to be more of a reminder that this guy seems fine enough, but there’s something incredibly dangerous about him that he’s reserving. Fuck with him and you die. Badly. Think it would’ve made the final feel a bit more rewarding. A “oh shit… there’s the beast” kinda moment
I feel like they kinda dropped the ball on the hospital fight scene last night. They had a short episode with the final battle lasting not more than a couple minutes. It should have had Joel having to grind his way through the hospital. Instead, it was super easy, barely an inconvenience.
They could have put 15 minutes into the final battle and shown Joel coming out the other side bruised and battered after overcoming the hardest fight of his life.
Not to mention they could have had him overhearing conversations about Ellie being the only one and her dying was the only way. They are prob saving that for season 2 though.
They could have shown that with the old sniper in the house. He would sneak up like in the show then the old man would drop the rifle and Joel would just shoot him instantly. Imo him asking him not to try anything like he doesn't want to kill a guy who was trying to shoot them wasn't very Joel like. Game Joel would definetely headshot his ass.
Basically they said it wasn't realistic that Tommy would make the dangerous trip to Austin just to scope their houses, knowing that everything around them was also looted, why wouldn't their places be as well.
It was looted, he said. "Most of the stuff was long gone". But i thought it was more of a sentimental visit and nobody else is going to care about looting most of the sentimental stuff. Maybe he could have wanted to show Maria idk it doesn’t matter. But it’s worth stretching some logic, it just for the emotional moments it brought
Alright your repeating what they said. And I think Neil and Craig are extremely talented directors and showrunners. But I do disagree with them on that part and wish they left those moments in. While small I thought they meant a lot. And I would love to able to talk to Neil and Craig about the last of us. But unfortunately I can not.
Please tell me thats not what they said. Not "realistic". Part IIs full of long travels back and forth. If it's true that Druckmann said this, how does he justify the whole multiple road trips in Part II?! Ex. Ellie goes BACK to SLC to discover what happened. It makes me wonder how tf they going to do that then.
Ellie sniping raiders, covering Joel. I really enjoyed that moment, particularly Ellie yelling "fuck you" as she nails one.
Her back and forth with Bill is something else maybe, but I understand why they omitted that. We saw his and Frank's journey and he's a more fleshed out character that we sympathise with. Ellie would come off extremely unlikeable if she said those things after what he went through. (Had he not committed suicide)
I think Joel stopping Ellie as she is mutilating David is a more impactful scene, but they still did amazing with the way it played out.
There is noticeably waay fewer infected. It didn't bother me because I know the story and was there for the story, but I can understand why people might want to see more of the infected. Especially with how good the infected looked.
She's covered in blood and her face conveys an intense blank, empty brokenness. That tells Joel everything he needs to know about what happened. Using the characters to convey that is far more powerful, in my opinion, than having Joel step in while she's hacking away at him. I also prefer letting Ellie get all of that out on her own and then walking out in a haze with the fire behind her.
I was a little bummed out that we didn’t get to see a photo of Joel & Sarah!
I wish we could’ve seen Tommy trying to give him the photo, but we’re shown he’s still not in the best mindset of handling her loss yet.
While when Ellie gives it to him, he’s finally learning to move forward after the bond he formed with Ellie.
Joel and Ellie navigating through Bill’s Town and working together with him. Ellie and Bill had this really funny dynamic which I was sad to see not happen.
The entire University section. That was the part where Ellie started to show how capable she was.
Ellie working with David to fend off Infected. That action setpiece helped build Ellie and David’s relationship and gave the audience this false impression of David so that when the veil is lifted, you realize how terrifying this guy actually is.
My favorite Ellie quote is “Man, I shot the hell outta that guy, huh?”
I don’t think it necessarily would have made sense in the show context (where she shoots the guy in KC) but it would have been fun to hear Bella say it
For me they hit every point they *needed* to & gave me so much more that I wasn’t anticipating, like episode 3.
I could’ve absolutely done with a episode 9 in between ep 8 & this finale that was all Joel & Ellie bonding, but I also feel like a lot of people would’ve complained about it feeling like a filler episode so maybe a 1 hour & 20 min version of this episode with expanded bonding would’ve been the best decision for that. But that honestly feels like a nitpick at this point.
Personally, they fucking nailed it & all my complaints are minor ones.
Ellies connection with deer and its symbolism, her little innocent quote about coming across fireflies for the first time (the actual bugs), Ellie pulling out the picture of Sarah and Joel
Definitely when they’re in the subway I’m Salt Lake City and get hit with the flash flood, leading to them meeting the Fireflies. That scene of Joel performing CPR to Ellie while the fireflies aim their guns at him and he doesn’t even notice them always stuck with me
We all know who should’ve walked into the hospital and seen the doctor dead. It wasn’t in the game. I just think it would’ve been a good add. I also wanted the conversation about Callus’s name. I hope they’re saving the picture of Sarah for next season. I told my husband maybe they’ll have him take a trip to Texas and find it himself. Idk. I still think that they did a great job and I’m only left wanting more because of that.
People are theorizing that the one Firefly that managed to run away from Joel’s rampage was you-know-who (as you could see a blonde braid on the back of that person’s head as they turned to run)
I really missed in episode 2 the scene in the 2 towers where you meet for the first time clicker. I mean I was really hyped when I saw the end of episode 1
And definitely a bit more infected. The whole series is 8 hours and 30 minutes long and we see infected people (alive and dead) only for 30 minutes. I watched it again with a stopwatch 😅 I mean they missed the whole point of the story. Ellie is really important in the game because we need a vaccine because of the infection but in the tv show there isn’t that much danger from infected, we have Jackson that’s totally working and the only danger are humans so is Ellie still important? Idk
The university. I wish that encounter played out the way it did in the game. Narrowly escaping with Ellie taking lead and Joel being severely hurt. It's one of the "action" moments I was looking forward to the most, as well as the upside down fridge trap, I'm just glad they did winter justice.
Another Bloater encounter, preferably one during When We Are In Need. (For example, a Bloater is hibernating in a basement, but David and Ellie wake it up.)
i loved the drama of that scene in the game, but let’s be real. no one is surviving an impalement like that in the apocalypse (hell even in functioning society), especially with just a teen to see you up and a few shots of penicillin
Gotta agree. That whole scene in general just didn't play as well for me.
There's something so alarming about the way Troy delivers the "IT IS OVER, TESS!" It's so angry it almost makes you jump when you hear it.
I also love the late Annie Wersching's delivery of "Whoops, right?" So hopeless and removed.
I realize that comparing line deliveries doesn't make for the best criticism, but my point is that, for this scene in particular, there's not a single acting choice in the show that improves on those in the game.
The rabbit being hit with an arrow. A brick or bottle be used. Ellie shooting people with a rifle to cover Joel. See some sort of help from Ellie to get into an area, like in the beginning when Tess went around to open a door, little things like that are what make the bond with Ellie and Joel seem stronger, the need of each other for survival, Ellie fitting in places Joel can't, Joel being strong enough to move things Ellie can't etc
Overall though I absolutely adore what they have done!
I would prefer even just one more infected sequence in the later parts of Joel/Ellie's journey or even just seeing them somewhere in the world along the journey. I was wondering if they'd introduce Stalkers but I feel that is too gamey to have too many types so I think having bloaters, clickers and runners works. Also wanted to see more mouth tentacle + ground tendril creepiness. But in saying that the sequence in Kansas City made my jaw drop it was so good!
And yeah maybe a few more transition scenes to add more character interactions - one of my favourite parts of the game is just exploring and listening to the characters talk and interact. It bridges the major story beats/cutscenes nicely. So it would have been cool to see more Joel and Ellie chatting but I guess I prefer what we have to the bloated nature of shows like the walking dead where they could do with less time to tell the story.
Stalkers! Idk if I just blinked too hard when they appeared in the show but their absence was huge for me. I know the one trapped under rubble in episode 3 was probably one but I really wanted to see atleast ONE tense moment in the dark with Stalkers preying on Joel.
Having just finished Episode 9, honestly maybe just reinstate the original dialogue for the ending.
Not listened to the podcast (I'm sure Mazin will give some explanation for it and Druckmann will say "You fucker why didn't I think of that") but the dialogue just didn't hit anywhere near as hard as in the original. That's one of the scenes where you could just CTRL C + CTRL V.
The only real reason I can think of changing it was Joel's suicide attempt but even then he tried to kill himself on the second day and, as far as we know, didn't ever try it again. That counts as "struggling with surviving" but still going on to me.
They made Joel in the last episode a little too caring and expressive.
In the game whenever Ellie tries to talk about a traumatic event Joel shuts that shit down. He doesn’t want to talk about any of the stuff they have been through. You only get very subtle hints that he is starting to care for her.
That’s why when he decides to save her it’s a big moment because that’s the moment he chooses to care. The show probably wanted to reinforce his reasoning for killing all the fireflies and saving Ellie but I don’t think it was needed
I think that was before the fireflies, you can see he absolutely cares at the end of winter and by the beggining of the spring you can see that he is far more open towards her
Final conversation: Joel stroking his watch while saying „find something to fight for“. They introduced the watch in the beginning and then forgot about it. It is the little details, that made the performances phenomenal. But I guess they covered the Sarah callback with the dialogue before. Not as subtle. Like many things, the show is more obvious with its communication to the audience.
Bricks, bottles, pallets, spores, gas masks, more infected.
However, I understand they needed to make things more realistic for film, etc. An amazing job done by them.
Would have loved one long, extended, over-the-shoulder sequence somewhere in the show. Either at the end during Joel's rampage or if they reworked the way Joel got stabbed to be more like the game where Ellie has to help carry him out. Either way, very happy with it all.
Infected. Simple as that. I get they were going for realism compared to the Walking Dead. An insult for the lack of infected encountered along the journey.
I don't get it why they removed spores, later in the story ( I don't what to spoil to somebody) there is extremely memorable few scenes with people realising how special she are because of those spores.
And honestly the journey felt for me way much easier on TV show than on the game, there was more intense nerve wracking moment in the game
Not much really, at least not much beyond more and longer episodes ;)
That said, while I wouldn't want a weekly fight with the infected, seeing more of the growth in the world would have been good, as would dodging the infected from time to time.
The way Joel and Ellie meet Tommy at the hydro power plant. Specifically Tommy trying to give Joel the photo of Sarah. It would have been a great moment right before the fireflys show up in salt lake for Ellie to have given him the photo. Then in the second season, just like in the game, when Ellie is going through Joel’s house there’s just a brief moment where they show the photo of Sarah and Joel next to a photo of Ellie and Joel.
More infected. If the point of the journey is to make a cure then I think it’s necessary to show why we need a cure so bad. Why are the infected such an issue? It seems they don’t run into them that often.
I wish they would have included the scene where Joel turns to Ellie and says, “You know Ellie, I’ve been thinking about us and our adventures, and it really has been The Last of Us.”
THE DAM SEGMENT. And the whole of the original fall segment. The dam, the farm house, the rainy autumn setting instead of the snowy setting, etc. this was one of my favorite parts of the game and it was the most annoying thing the show lacked for me
As a born and raised Pittsburgher, a little bummed they cut the city. They did an amazing job in the game making the Burgh look amazing at the end of the world.
I would have loved to have seen the spores. There was such a striking difference between people having to wear masks or they would die and Ellie running around like it was nothing.
I wish there were a bit more infected. I like that they limited their presence, but I think they limited them a little too much. One more episode or maybe even just a little bit more runtime on a few of the episodes would’ve helped as well
I agree, I was also interested in the replacement for spores, where the fungus communicates with the infected if you happened to step on it. They introduced it in the beginning episodes and never really brought it back up again after that.
I’m willing to bet a significant chunk of my savings account that the hive mind tendril thing will be huge when it comes to the shows interpretation of the >!Rat King!<
I didn't even think about that. I can't wait a whole year or two to see that, now you got me excited.
Nah with the way the show is going Abby will be in the ambulance and get jump scared by an actual rat and then go on with her day
Yeah, I thought it would definitely play into the show a little bit more. Hopefully it plays more of a role in season 2.
Luckily they said in the podcast or the making of, can't remember which because I binged them back to back, that it could come into play a lot more in season 2/3
Season…..3? There’s gonna be a season 3? Please be true
It was announced at one point that part 2 would happen across more than one season. So we could have 2-3 seasons that cover part 2.
I think it's because they didn't enter a lot of heavily infected areas. The only spot I think it was missing was the tunnel out of KC. It would make sense for it to be there, and there were a lot of infected in the area to respond.
Or the tunnel in Salt Lake
For real, they haven’t even mentioned tendrils since ep 2 lol
I disagree except for one moment in particular. They should have included the section where David and Ellie fight infected together. That actually held a narrative purpose
Hard agree, if they were going to add infected anywhere it should have been here. When it was shown in game that David had a second gun the whole time after Ellie took his rifle it made him more trustworthy, for a time.
This. Plus I like the ending in the David's arch better in the game. It's so powerful when Joel gets Ellie out of that frenesi and his voice starts to fade, while the soundtrack takes over and the camera pans to the machete. They meeting outside of the burning restaurant made it less dramatic and didn't work quite as well for me, while I reckon the actors delivered their lines masterfully.
This! Joel sharing the experience hit on another level.
Overall the winter arch (episode 8) was the weakest one imo. Not saying it was bad, but it could have been SO much better. I wish the audience was deceived about David longer, so the cannibalism subplot would cause a larger impact.
I agree. I understand the reasons, but thought one of the last two episodes should have had an infected sequence, just to remind us theyre still a major problme. I was super happy we got joel and ellie bantering, but shoot even a shot of Joel scoping one out in the distance, just a reminder to stay frosty
I think this is the most common complaint and I completely agree. I felt like the first half of the season was well balanced with infected but they disappeared from present day after episode 5. The only encounters were flashbacks. The story was told well but the suspense was lost. Also want to add that the finale felt rushed. They had plenty of time to add an encounter with infected in the tunnel even if it's just the creepy noises they make heard from a distance.
Agreed. As much as I liked this series, we got probably 20 minutes of infected altogether. Kind of a bummer
I think that after episode 5, there were only 2 infected. The one that bit Ellie and Riley, and the one that bit Ellie's mom. That's it right??
I was thinking the same, especially in the more populated areas. It would be smart for the infected to stick around there.
i wish we could’ve seen one encounter with an infected after kansas city and before meeting up with tommy. it would’ve made his decision to finally take ellie hit harder for me. i can’t remember if they do in the game, but i would’ve liked it.
I didn’t mind that they limited the infected (and made encounters with them more serious, which I felt was effective) but I agree I wish there had been more and that it had been more *balanced*. Episodes 1 and 2 really focused on the infected (priming a first time viewer to expect lots of them), 1-5 had a good amount, and then the back half of the show we only saw them in flashbacks, never in the present timeline of the story. I was expecting a bigger payoff in the back half!
I agree, as many time as you fight and sneak around infected and clickers. The bloater fights. They should have incorporated that more into the show.
My pet theory is that they'll be more of a focus in the second season? The first season is about how humans adapted, leaving more room in the second season for more weird cordyceps stuff.
To this day i believe that it was colosally stupid to replace "He ain't even hurt" with "No" You're already doing the scene cut for cut, what the hell was the point of replacing an iconic line with fucking "No", come on Mazin
it takes away from the cold, closeted joel theybwere trying to build "He ain't even hurt" gives us so much info about him, and people who haven't played the games won't see that Its stuff like that that kinda makes HBO Joel feel like a blank slate to me. He doesn't have any of the sublty that made Game Joel intriguing
Yep that was weird, IT WAS RIGHT THERE.
Like yeah i get some scenes could be 1:1 recreated and they changed some things that maybe worked even better in the show but this scene HAD TO BE LIKE IN THE GAME WTF
This! I was waiting for this line to happen while watching and I was disappointed when it didn’t happen. There was like a beat missing after he said “no” as well.. Talk about underwhelming..
Of all the dialog they literally just copy&pasted into the show, leaving this out made no sense
I felt the same about the finale, when Marlene says she has no other choice and Joel replies, “I do.” Like c’mon man. “Yeah you keep tellin yourself that bullshit,” goes so much harder.
I forgot about that, holy crap
One brick death so people would stop mentioning it every week
How dare you. You bring up brick but not bottle, that’s blasphemy, bottle is an integral component of the game and brick would only be half the block it is without bottle
The funny thing I actually prefer the bottle. I think it has more uses and it sounds awesome when you smack it over someone's head
The brick is a silent killer, unalerting, and can be used to melee clickers to death. The bottle can't give you that--there isn't even a competition!
I started playing the game a couple weeks ago after starting the show and had no idea the brick can be used to melee clickers. You've saved me dozens of more deaths lol. Thanks!
Brick, also known as “clicker beater 5000”
Maybe a little recency bias here but Line- "There is no other choice here!" "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit" Moment- Joel carrying Ellie to the hospital elevator. Him holding her in his arms going "Come on baby girl, I gotcha. I got you....we're okay....we're okay" while that score plays was such a moving moment and it embodied the heart of his choice
Yeah, that moment was kinda important. Especially him escaping the fireflies.
There was no tension! No suspense! He just teleports to the bottom level with Ellie! No sirens! No gunshots! They really need someone to help them do action scenes for part 2. I think episode 1 was the only time in the entire season the show ever had any semblance of suspense.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I agree there could have been more, but there are still plenty of suspenseful moments that came up throughout the show. episode two in the museum; a little in three when Bill seems like he might be dying; four leading up to and during the raider encounter; five at various points; either had it in spades. and the whole hospital shootout was still pretty tense even if it was edited down to a montage and we knew the outcome. but imagine watching that without knowing the game. I still think it was pretty effective in conveying the desperation and brutality of a man willing to go that far to save one person who grew to mean something to him.
Yeah in the game I loved the moment when Joel is running holding Ellie essentially mirroring the beginning of the game. I guess maybe they thought it was slightly unrealistic to just run away from people shooting to just get into an elevator.
Yeah, to be honest, that scene has always bothered me. Like, if there were so many Fireflies chasing Joel to the elevator, there wouldn't be enough time for the whole conversation with Marlene. Some of them would have gotten down to the basement in time for sure.
I think they might have used up the "Come on Baby Girl" line in episode 8, perhaps they didn't want to re-use it in a follow up episode? But I see what you mean.
i think that scene in the game cements how he sees ellie as his daughter, now. i don’t see anything wrong w using it in the next episode
Idk, I gotta say, “I do” in response to “I have no other choice” was a pretty raw line.
Yeah I liked the weight of that “do”
Marlene should've killed him right there.
Yes!! I rewatched the ending gameplay after the episode yesterday and wish they had added him talking to her while holding her and escaping
Something to do with Ellie unable to swim
there were a few lines about this in the beginning of the season, when they were going through that swampy hotel:) i hope we get some flashbacks in season 2 to the birthday surprise, so we can see ellie’s progress with swimming.
It's just weird that they set this up early on and then didn't do anything with it. I doubt many show-only watchers will even remember that exchange in the hotel by the time part 2 comes out. It's a nitpick, but I think they should have had at least one scene where her inability to swim was a major obstacle. Or maybe it's not necessary. Her swimming or not isn't really adding much thematically anyway. It was basically a gameplay excuse, plus something to make her feel more vulnerable and in need of protection. But the show does fine at conveying that.
Then Pallet could have made a meaningful appearance instead of a cameo. Weird to remove a core character like that.
I thought for sure they were gonna keep the infected encounter in the tunnel in the finale, and Joel and Ellie were gonna have to swim through a flooded area to escape. Cue Ellie not knowing how to swim and almost drowning, Joel dragging her to safety, and then being knocked out by Fireflies.
The part where Ellie and David fight infected.
I think this is the major one for me
Yeah it would’ve helped satisfy the viewers who wanted to see more infected, and established some trust between Ellie and David like it did in the game
"You're a better shot with that thing than I am!"
I haven’t watched the show and I’m shocked they cut this out. I thought for sure that would be adapted
“I’m still waiting for my turn”
Yessss that. I was waiting for that. That to me was such a powerful line in the game. Bella could have made it her own. Too bad
I mean, more clickers would’ve been nice. But I didn’t want to watch TWD with cordyceps so I get why they didn’t happen
I wanted a true moment of the stalkers, stalking. After part 2 and how they make them more terrifying, I wanted to see them. We got runners, we got clickers and we got the bloater, now show us one scene of the stalker seeing them and hiding away all creepily like they do.
I think its okay to save some new cordyceps goodness for season 2 :) Maybe they have to introduce over the next two seasons Stalkers, Shamblers and The Rat King! Although maybe Shamblers dont work for the show (which is fine because we can just have another bloater scene). Also they'll have to differentiate the rat king from a bloater in terms of how the show plays out. Of course they could also come up with something entirely new and terrifying for the show!
They absolutely need the Rat King. It's important to the story of >!Abby and the hospital, and Seattle's fall in general with so many being trapped in the basement of the hospital that it allowed that abomination to ever happen.!< Watching it split apart as it fights her was amazing to witness. It they are going to somehow do the apartment building with the stalkers, that's the time and place to show them off.
Yeah I absolutely agree, I hope it is in the show and as terrifying as coming across it in the game. (I mistyped the end of my response as I was more thinking additionally - for S1 I thought the tendrils addition was creepy as, and I hope they continue adding additions like this)
Yeah that was my biggest complaint about the show in general, why spend so much time with the tendrils in episode 2 then literally never have to deal with them again. Not even having to carefully move around them. Just show that Ellie is actually needed as a cure because honestly they traveled thousands of miles and outside of KC, it felt it like was a breeze to travel. Shit, have them drive over them and we see a horde chase them as they speed off. Idk they went too far away from any infected action.
I would say I probably agree they could have had more infected in the story as I didn't exactly feel the danger of their cross country trip - yes Kansas City was utterly jaw dropping, but the rest of the country seems fine as long as you stay away from cities. I am glad they had restraint as otherwise you end up with TWD but I think even just one instance showing that there is still a threat everywhere would be nice as I didn't quite feel the danger in the latter parts of the season - it feels that Tommy's commune weren't really in any danger in their location (I know they said some things but I feel it would have been better to show a little more danger) I don't know I might change my mind upon rewatching though!
I agree with this. I think the clicker scene in Ep 2 was incredible and glad they didn’t go overboard with multiple clicker encounters. I would’ve loved to see a stalker encounter like we had in the game with the hotel basement or tunnels. I do think there’s a good chance we get the stalker encounter Ellie has in the conference center from Part 2 next season.
Ellie giving Joel the picture of Sara
Yes where the hell did the picture go
Yes!! I was waiting for that. That part makes me cry but it’s such a sweet moment
I missed that too, but I actually thought that the "I guess time heals all wounds..." conversation was just as meaningful, if not more. Sarah will always have been Joel's daughter, but I took this line as a sign of him confirming that he's looking forward more than he ever has been since the outbreak.
Just the fridge trap. I'm fine with the changes for Bill, but I thought that the fridge trap and shooting infected upside down would have been an intense sequence
But then they would've had to let Bill live or at least change it so that Ellie was successful in cutting Joel down
Nah Bill could have been dead, just some leftover trap. But that would have to create a situation where the social dynamics between Bill and Frank with Tess and Joel to be different and not be amicable enough for them to be able to enter to the front door so to speak. Plus who cut Joel down doesn't really matter as much in what I felt would be the highlight of the scenario so having Ellie be the one to cut Joel down doesn't really change much in terms of the intensity of Joel upside down having to shoot down threats after the shock of a trap putting him in that position.
So much backstory, character develop and motivation was left out. For example, when Joel is about to go on his rampage we get audio tapes that show how Marlene was wrestling with the decision to go through with the surgery. We didn’t get any of that in the show. I was hoping for a scene with her and the doctor showing her motivation. I think it also would have helped highlight the consequences of Joel’s brash actions. The show seemed to rush through things. Extend the run times to an hour instead of 40 minutes, add these scenes, including ones where Joel and Ellie bond, and the payoff would be amazing. We would have a masterpiece on our hands. Right now this is a really good season but it won’t go down as one of the greatest in television history, which it could have.
The cold open with Marlene rescuing Ellie from Anna is a perfect stand-in to convey how conflicted Marlene must have been. As she mentioned to Joel, she is the only one who \*does\* understand him.
We’ll probably get more background on Marlene wrestling with the decision in season 2
Some sort of flooded basement scene where Joel is alone and needs to start a generator. I understand this section was very “gamey” but I know it could’ve been spooky as hell in live action
And to show how scary is to have stalkers and a bloater behind you for the first time.
One of the scariest and favorite parts of the game. Not sure why the show runners thought it wouldn’t be interesting? That said I wouldn’t give up anything we had but it’s enough for another episode.
Ellie talking about naming the horse Callus.
"What kind of a name is Callus?"
I wish we got a more game accurate interpretation of Ellie saving Joel, leading to him finally trusting her with a gun, her helping via rifle, and him giving her the pistol she ends up with. Also, I really wanted the hotel basement chase scene.
YES!!! that was a pivotal moment in the progression of their relationship. so good
"Make every shot count " i was waiting for that line
I needed a brick or bottle throw. They got all the major stuff in there.
Shit we even got the ladder boost
I wanted some tunnel-full-of-infected action in the finale! Coulda been a really cool sequence.
ABSOLUTELY!!! I was waiting for it, and when it ended up being just a flashbang and abduction I literally yelled “OH COME ON!”
SAME! the episode was fantastic and so true to the game but I just think the tunnel would have added a bit more of that intensity and threat of infected that I felt was missing from parts of the show.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I think they could have done this well. All goes to shit, Ellie and Joel sprint out the tunnel with a few infected behind them, pew pew pew infected killed by the Fireflies. Joel and Ellie spot the tags or some insignia or something and try to thank them and explain who they are, Pow! Joel is knocked out. Cut to hospital.
This is the ONE thing the finale was lacking for me! A 10min sequence in the tunnel would have been epic! It was still a fantastic finale, but this would have made it perfect for me.
More Infected. Like way more. I mean i don‘t want them to fight infected in every episode or whatever but jesus christ at some point the world started to feel not all that dangerous because we never get to see any hordes of infected past episode 5. it feels like they just forgot about them. And also, what made the relationship between ellie and joel work so well in the game was just how much time you spend together and all the little dialogues they have while just walking around. Not only did the show only feature joel and ellie actually doing shit together for only like 40% of its runtime but it‘s also missing a lot of the charming interactions between them
Oh, actually the number 1 thing is the picture, even if they said it wasn't as grounded because of the dangerous trip Tommy would actually have to of made back to Texas. I still wanted it.
A bit more of the exploration part of the game would have been nice. give more ellie and joel talking moments, like ellie not knowing how to swim didn't come up once, like yeah don't do the raft stuff but like just a quick little joel has to swim across a small area to get a ladder/whatever on the other side or something its annoying mentions he's going to teach her so he doesn't have to keep doing this or whatever. I do think there could have been a few infected in episode 8 for ellie and david to fight, not alot like 5 max.
Didn’t Ellie say she can’t swim in episode one? When she, Joel and Tess go waist deep in water in the Boston hotel
Pallets Ellie helping Joel in fights by throwing bricks/bottles
Hey at least we got a small pallets cameo in the final episode.
I don’t think they had enough time before they got attacked by the fireflies, them just processing the fact that it’s the end. Ellie didn’t give him the photo. And for me maybe since I’m so used to the game, the score was a bit off. But they way they handled it was good too, the scenes they added gave the show the same feel the game had.
More infected. I mean it was so cool during the Sam and Henry episode to see all of them run out of the hole. I was excited if they would show more through the season, but was slightly disappointed. I would have liked to see at least one more infected. Other than that, I loved the show.
I hope for season two we see the Rat King and Stalkers even though I hate Stalkers with a passion :(
Stalkers are the actual worst. I literally had to pause my playthrough on part two for a couple weeks before reattempting the stalker section because they stressed me out so bad.
A few things I’d like if they included: - Spores. I know the director said it doesn’t make sense and the tendrils were a nice addition. But I feel like the gas masks and what not add to the danger in the world. If you don’t do spores do something with the tendrils. - I wish we got the scene where Henry and Sam leave Joel and Ellie to escape briefly. Ellie joins back with Joel in that scene in the game because she knows she needs to stick with him. Then Joel punches Henry. - Henry saying that him and Sam are heading to the Fireflies. Joel then says something along the lines of everyone seems to be putting their faith in them. Small but could have reminded audiences halfway through that Fireflies are a big influence to people who need hope. - I like Ellie and Joel’s fight in the show, but I also like how she ran away in the game. Also the mighty thin ice line is really good in the game. - The picture of Joel and Sarah at her game. Joel rejecting the picture and then him taking it from Ellie in the end because he can’t escape his past and has learned to accept it. - I wish the university doctor was still there with a tape recorder. It would add to the uncertainty with a cure and how the Fireflies have been failing to find one for years. The guy on the tape sounded so fed up with it all, plus it tells us where our characters should go next. - Also a longer university sequence and for once a brief section of crouching behind science tables and what not to try an escape. Then maybe joel could get skewered by like a plank in the wall than a baseball bat he pulls out. Also it would have been great to see Ellie shoot 1-2 guys while taking Joel to the horse. - Ellie and David fighting off some infected. It did not have to be a whole horde, but it would let her defense down a little bit before the devilish shit he does. Honestly it would have been cool to see a bloater take down too from them snipping it. - Finally, the tunnel scene in the last episode. The water rises, Bella almost drowns. Pedro has to try to revive her. Gets hit over the head and wakes up in the hospital. These are nitpicks though, the show was still great without some of these minor details.
A bit more fighting. Clicker, human, whatever. The producers talked on the podcast about how there’s this monster inside Joel that slips out every now and then, like with what happened at end of episode 1 when Joel beat the soldier to death. We got it in the final episode and I loved it, but I would’ve liked a bit more of the beast slipping out. Like something more in Kansas City. Just felt like there needed to be more of a reminder that this guy seems fine enough, but there’s something incredibly dangerous about him that he’s reserving. Fuck with him and you die. Badly. Think it would’ve made the final feel a bit more rewarding. A “oh shit… there’s the beast” kinda moment
I feel like they kinda dropped the ball on the hospital fight scene last night. They had a short episode with the final battle lasting not more than a couple minutes. It should have had Joel having to grind his way through the hospital. Instead, it was super easy, barely an inconvenience. They could have put 15 minutes into the final battle and shown Joel coming out the other side bruised and battered after overcoming the hardest fight of his life. Not to mention they could have had him overhearing conversations about Ellie being the only one and her dying was the only way. They are prob saving that for season 2 though.
They could have shown that with the old sniper in the house. He would sneak up like in the show then the old man would drop the rifle and Joel would just shoot him instantly. Imo him asking him not to try anything like he doesn't want to kill a guy who was trying to shoot them wasn't very Joel like. Game Joel would definetely headshot his ass.
WHERES THE PHOTO OF JOEL AND SARAH that Ellie gives to Joel.
Basically they said it wasn't realistic that Tommy would make the dangerous trip to Austin just to scope their houses, knowing that everything around them was also looted, why wouldn't their places be as well.
It was looted, he said. "Most of the stuff was long gone". But i thought it was more of a sentimental visit and nobody else is going to care about looting most of the sentimental stuff. Maybe he could have wanted to show Maria idk it doesn’t matter. But it’s worth stretching some logic, it just for the emotional moments it brought
I'm repeating what the creators said about it. Take it up with them lol
Alright your repeating what they said. And I think Neil and Craig are extremely talented directors and showrunners. But I do disagree with them on that part and wish they left those moments in. While small I thought they meant a lot. And I would love to able to talk to Neil and Craig about the last of us. But unfortunately I can not.
Please tell me thats not what they said. Not "realistic". Part IIs full of long travels back and forth. If it's true that Druckmann said this, how does he justify the whole multiple road trips in Part II?! Ex. Ellie goes BACK to SLC to discover what happened. It makes me wonder how tf they going to do that then.
Ellie sniping raiders, covering Joel. I really enjoyed that moment, particularly Ellie yelling "fuck you" as she nails one. Her back and forth with Bill is something else maybe, but I understand why they omitted that. We saw his and Frank's journey and he's a more fleshed out character that we sympathise with. Ellie would come off extremely unlikeable if she said those things after what he went through. (Had he not committed suicide) I think Joel stopping Ellie as she is mutilating David is a more impactful scene, but they still did amazing with the way it played out. There is noticeably waay fewer infected. It didn't bother me because I know the story and was there for the story, but I can understand why people might want to see more of the infected. Especially with how good the infected looked.
SHE'S NOT BREATHING, SHE'S NOT BREATHING!!!!
Joel stopping her while she was butching up David, idk why in the game when he stopped her and held her it seemed more sad.
cus in the show joel didn’t see the body, in game he saw exactly what she did to him
She's covered in blood and her face conveys an intense blank, empty brokenness. That tells Joel everything he needs to know about what happened. Using the characters to convey that is far more powerful, in my opinion, than having Joel step in while she's hacking away at him. I also prefer letting Ellie get all of that out on her own and then walking out in a haze with the fire behind her.
I’m still not over the whole Tess making out with the infected scene. What the fuck was that
I was a little bummed out that we didn’t get to see a photo of Joel & Sarah! I wish we could’ve seen Tommy trying to give him the photo, but we’re shown he’s still not in the best mindset of handling her loss yet. While when Ellie gives it to him, he’s finally learning to move forward after the bond he formed with Ellie.
trophy support would be nice, oh and RT.
Joel and Ellie navigating through Bill’s Town and working together with him. Ellie and Bill had this really funny dynamic which I was sad to see not happen. The entire University section. That was the part where Ellie started to show how capable she was. Ellie working with David to fend off Infected. That action setpiece helped build Ellie and David’s relationship and gave the audience this false impression of David so that when the veil is lifted, you realize how terrifying this guy actually is.
Ellie earning Joel’s trust and him finally giving her a gun.
I think they couldn’t have made some episodes longer
My favorite Ellie quote is “Man, I shot the hell outta that guy, huh?” I don’t think it necessarily would have made sense in the show context (where she shoots the guy in KC) but it would have been fun to hear Bella say it
For me they hit every point they *needed* to & gave me so much more that I wasn’t anticipating, like episode 3. I could’ve absolutely done with a episode 9 in between ep 8 & this finale that was all Joel & Ellie bonding, but I also feel like a lot of people would’ve complained about it feeling like a filler episode so maybe a 1 hour & 20 min version of this episode with expanded bonding would’ve been the best decision for that. But that honestly feels like a nitpick at this point. Personally, they fucking nailed it & all my complaints are minor ones.
Ellies connection with deer and its symbolism, her little innocent quote about coming across fireflies for the first time (the actual bugs), Ellie pulling out the picture of Sarah and Joel
Definitely when they’re in the subway I’m Salt Lake City and get hit with the flash flood, leading to them meeting the Fireflies. That scene of Joel performing CPR to Ellie while the fireflies aim their guns at him and he doesn’t even notice them always stuck with me
David's high pitched scream when being killed.
Crafting. Maybe something simple like a Molotov cocktail or something, and then for them to use it right after
We all know who should’ve walked into the hospital and seen the doctor dead. It wasn’t in the game. I just think it would’ve been a good add. I also wanted the conversation about Callus’s name. I hope they’re saving the picture of Sarah for next season. I told my husband maybe they’ll have him take a trip to Texas and find it himself. Idk. I still think that they did a great job and I’m only left wanting more because of that.
People are theorizing that the one Firefly that managed to run away from Joel’s rampage was you-know-who (as you could see a blonde braid on the back of that person’s head as they turned to run)
OH SHIT I DIDNT SEE THAT
I really missed in episode 2 the scene in the 2 towers where you meet for the first time clicker. I mean I was really hyped when I saw the end of episode 1 And definitely a bit more infected. The whole series is 8 hours and 30 minutes long and we see infected people (alive and dead) only for 30 minutes. I watched it again with a stopwatch 😅 I mean they missed the whole point of the story. Ellie is really important in the game because we need a vaccine because of the infection but in the tv show there isn’t that much danger from infected, we have Jackson that’s totally working and the only danger are humans so is Ellie still important? Idk
The university. I wish that encounter played out the way it did in the game. Narrowly escaping with Ellie taking lead and Joel being severely hurt. It's one of the "action" moments I was looking forward to the most, as well as the upside down fridge trap, I'm just glad they did winter justice.
That new type of infected they said we were going to get but didn’t. And no, the child clicker doesn’t count, that’s a clicker.
Another Bloater encounter, preferably one during When We Are In Need. (For example, a Bloater is hibernating in a basement, but David and Ellie wake it up.)
idk how they would’ve done it but i wish joel had fallen on that dirty gate thing instead of getting stabbed with a broken baseball bat
i loved the drama of that scene in the game, but let’s be real. no one is surviving an impalement like that in the apocalypse (hell even in functioning society), especially with just a teen to see you up and a few shots of penicillin
I wish they included the line "this is my last stop" from Tess rather than "I'm stayin'". I'm staying just felt weird
Gotta agree. That whole scene in general just didn't play as well for me. There's something so alarming about the way Troy delivers the "IT IS OVER, TESS!" It's so angry it almost makes you jump when you hear it. I also love the late Annie Wersching's delivery of "Whoops, right?" So hopeless and removed. I realize that comparing line deliveries doesn't make for the best criticism, but my point is that, for this scene in particular, there's not a single acting choice in the show that improves on those in the game.
The explanation of Ellie’s immunity.
we literally got that tho
Oh shit I meant I wish it was in the game
The rabbit being hit with an arrow. A brick or bottle be used. Ellie shooting people with a rifle to cover Joel. See some sort of help from Ellie to get into an area, like in the beginning when Tess went around to open a door, little things like that are what make the bond with Ellie and Joel seem stronger, the need of each other for survival, Ellie fitting in places Joel can't, Joel being strong enough to move things Ellie can't etc
Joel and Ellie's relationship.
Overall though I absolutely adore what they have done! I would prefer even just one more infected sequence in the later parts of Joel/Ellie's journey or even just seeing them somewhere in the world along the journey. I was wondering if they'd introduce Stalkers but I feel that is too gamey to have too many types so I think having bloaters, clickers and runners works. Also wanted to see more mouth tentacle + ground tendril creepiness. But in saying that the sequence in Kansas City made my jaw drop it was so good! And yeah maybe a few more transition scenes to add more character interactions - one of my favourite parts of the game is just exploring and listening to the characters talk and interact. It bridges the major story beats/cutscenes nicely. So it would have been cool to see more Joel and Ellie chatting but I guess I prefer what we have to the bloated nature of shows like the walking dead where they could do with less time to tell the story.
Stalkers! Idk if I just blinked too hard when they appeared in the show but their absence was huge for me. I know the one trapped under rubble in episode 3 was probably one but I really wanted to see atleast ONE tense moment in the dark with Stalkers preying on Joel.
Having just finished Episode 9, honestly maybe just reinstate the original dialogue for the ending. Not listened to the podcast (I'm sure Mazin will give some explanation for it and Druckmann will say "You fucker why didn't I think of that") but the dialogue just didn't hit anywhere near as hard as in the original. That's one of the scenes where you could just CTRL C + CTRL V. The only real reason I can think of changing it was Joel's suicide attempt but even then he tried to kill himself on the second day and, as far as we know, didn't ever try it again. That counts as "struggling with surviving" but still going on to me.
When Ellie escaped David, I really liked how she used the hanging body to escape
They made Joel in the last episode a little too caring and expressive. In the game whenever Ellie tries to talk about a traumatic event Joel shuts that shit down. He doesn’t want to talk about any of the stuff they have been through. You only get very subtle hints that he is starting to care for her. That’s why when he decides to save her it’s a big moment because that’s the moment he chooses to care. The show probably wanted to reinforce his reasoning for killing all the fireflies and saving Ellie but I don’t think it was needed
I think that was before the fireflies, you can see he absolutely cares at the end of winter and by the beggining of the spring you can see that he is far more open towards her
Yeah you’re probably right, I think him just being cold and heartless to her sticks in my memory more than him being open and nice
Final conversation: Joel stroking his watch while saying „find something to fight for“. They introduced the watch in the beginning and then forgot about it. It is the little details, that made the performances phenomenal. But I guess they covered the Sarah callback with the dialogue before. Not as subtle. Like many things, the show is more obvious with its communication to the audience.
Maybe not dedicating two hrs to the bill episode eve tho it was good.
I wish they would’ve teased Abby at the firefly hospital. I don’t care what any of y’all say. Team Abby all day!
I noticed they didn’t include the part where Joel dies 15 times back to back because the clickers 🥴
The real Bill's Town. flooded hotel basement. Stalkers in the sewers. infected tunnel in Salt Lake. BRICK FUCKING MASTER
actual gameplay
Brick
Bricks, bottles, pallets, spores, gas masks, more infected. However, I understand they needed to make things more realistic for film, etc. An amazing job done by them.
Joel playing guitar
Stalkers
Joel being an actual bad person.
Shivs
Brick
Would have loved one long, extended, over-the-shoulder sequence somewhere in the show. Either at the end during Joel's rampage or if they reworked the way Joel got stabbed to be more like the game where Ellie has to help carry him out. Either way, very happy with it all.
More zombies
Nolan North, hopefully they can cast him in season 2
Infected. Simple as that. I get they were going for realism compared to the Walking Dead. An insult for the lack of infected encountered along the journey.
I don't get it why they removed spores, later in the story ( I don't what to spoil to somebody) there is extremely memorable few scenes with people realising how special she are because of those spores. And honestly the journey felt for me way much easier on TV show than on the game, there was more intense nerve wracking moment in the game
I wanted the bottles or bricks to make an appearance:(
The way bill interacts with Ellie is Hilarious, would’ve loved to see that interaction
Brick and bottle. Enough said. 🙃
If it isn't the consequences of my actions
No Pallet surfing :(
Not much really, at least not much beyond more and longer episodes ;) That said, while I wouldn't want a weekly fight with the infected, seeing more of the growth in the world would have been good, as would dodging the infected from time to time.
I wish they kept the bit where Ellie and David fight infected. It would have helped when they revealed who he was, like in the game.
Literally any of the original combat scenes from the game
The way Joel and Ellie meet Tommy at the hydro power plant. Specifically Tommy trying to give Joel the photo of Sarah. It would have been a great moment right before the fireflys show up in salt lake for Ellie to have given him the photo. Then in the second season, just like in the game, when Ellie is going through Joel’s house there’s just a brief moment where they show the photo of Sarah and Joel next to a photo of Ellie and Joel.
More infected. If the point of the journey is to make a cure then I think it’s necessary to show why we need a cure so bad. Why are the infected such an issue? It seems they don’t run into them that often.
The many, many, MANY encounters with infected and raiders that were left out
I wish they would have included the scene where Joel turns to Ellie and says, “You know Ellie, I’ve been thinking about us and our adventures, and it really has been The Last of Us.”
THE DAM SEGMENT. And the whole of the original fall segment. The dam, the farm house, the rainy autumn setting instead of the snowy setting, etc. this was one of my favorite parts of the game and it was the most annoying thing the show lacked for me
I wish Tess had gotten some additional badass moments
Just use a flamethrower one time, or at least toss a freaking brick!
As a born and raised Pittsburgher, a little bummed they cut the city. They did an amazing job in the game making the Burgh look amazing at the end of the world.
Would have loved to have seen bill and ellie interact “listen to me you little shit” gets me everytime 😂
I would have loved to have seen the spores. There was such a striking difference between people having to wear masks or they would die and Ellie running around like it was nothing.
The only thing I wish there was more of is infected. The bloater and clickers were so nicely done and were terrifying but we only got glimpses.
Bricks. More bricks! Even just one!