Other Game spoilers thread for The Last of Us TV Show - Enter at your own risk (Contains spoilers for Last of Us Parts 1 & 2)

[Solius]

Was hoping they’d use two seasons to cover the first game.

 

[Oldyella]

Was hoping they’d use two seasons to cover the first game.

Same. This feels like it is going to be over really quick.

 

[crossy1686]

Following directly from part 1 would have been Joel and Ellie settling into life in a settlement. Not sure much happened between then and TLOU2

That will be TLOU3 I suspect. After the bombshell they dropped in part 2, they have no where else to go but prequel.

 

[Stack]

That will be TLOU3 I suspect. After the bombshell they dropped in part 2, they have no where else to go but prequel.

I think I saw somewhere in the last day or so where its mentioned that if they cant come up with a storyline based on love thats of a high quality they will just leave it as 2 being the conclusion.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

I actually think tv is gonna do part 2 more justice than the game did. Mazin will tidy up the writing and pacing and fix some of the silly execution on plot points because the game was in super crunch and the story rushed. I disliked the narrative in the game based on execution but I'm looking forward to it in the show.

Spoiler

It's going be hard to avoid the contrivances in the story. Abby getting a bunch of people to travel 800 miles in the that world based on a 5 year old report that Tommy was there and might be able to lead them to Joel is only the first of many. Ive read multiple times that the original plan was for Abby to infiltrate Jackson and cozy up to Joel and Ellie. Which, IMO, would work so much better for getting Joel into the middle of that room. How it's done in the game is just unnatural. Like the writers really wanted to get Joel out of the way so the story could begin. Would be like killing Ned stark in the first episode of GOT. So you never get the real pay off because they didn't set it up or build it up properly. Ned dying was a fecking tragedy. Joel dying was just a motivational plot point. This needs to be fixed if they have any hope of avoiding the same shit show that happened with the game. I know the fans of the game like to lay any negative reaction to the game at the feet of sexists and bigots, but it's really not the case. The contrivances and the motivations for characters need some serious work. None more so than Abby. The switch from bad ass scar killer to protector of the innocent was break neck. Didn't feel honest at all.

I suppose the biggest question mark is, can Bella Ramsey carry that show by herself? Will be interesting to see where they take it.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Imagine actually opening that spoiler and reading what Norman wrote.

 

[Stack]

Imagine actually opening that spoiler and reading what Norman wrote.

hahahaha

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

Imagine actually opening that spoiler and reading what Norman wrote.

Good one...

 

[padr81]

Spoiler

It's going be hard to avoid the contrivances in the story. Abby getting a bunch of people to travel 800 miles in the that world based on a 5 year old report that Tommy was there and might be able to lead them to Joel is only the first of many. Ive read multiple times that the original plan was for Abby to infiltrate Jackson and cozy up to Joel and Ellie. Which, IMO, would work so much better for getting Joel into the middle of that room. How it's done in the game is just unnatural. Like the writers really wanted to get Joel out of the way so the story could begin. Would be like killing Ned stark in the first episode of GOT. So you never get the real pay off because they didn't set it up or build it up properly. Ned dying was a fecking tragedy. Joel dying was just a motivational plot point. This needs to be fixed if they have any hope of avoiding the same shit show that happened with the game. I know the fans of the game like to lay any negative reaction to the game at the feet of sexists and bigots, but it's really not the case. The contrivances and the motivations for characters need some serious work. None more so than Abby. The switch from bad ass scar killer to protector of the innocent was break neck. Didn't feel honest at all.

I suppose the biggest question mark is, can Bella Ramsey carry that show by herself? Will be interesting to see where they take it.

Spoiler

Yeah theres so many feck ups leading to that scene, not least Joel saving Abby moments before. I still thing she'd have been more redeemable if ND hadn't pushed shock value.
Something like she comes looking for Joel, instead of Joel saving her, she saves Joel after he and Tommy get seperated somehow.
Joel is hurt so she takes him back to the house, she sees he's not a monster and is having second thoughts.
Tommy arrives seeing Joel there and a bunch of people with guns, all hell breaks lose and Abby shoots Joel/ wounds Tommy and Joel is bleeding out as Ellie walks in. Leave the clubs in the bag.
I don't even think that's great but 100 times better than what happens.

I feel they've kinda softened Joel a bit so far in the show so maybe they'll do the same with Abby. I think they'll need major surgery and a phenomenal actor to play her though if they're to have any chance. Its interesting for me with Bella, EP! I thought she was only ok, EP2 I thought she was very good, but they're gonna need good replacements for Pascal and Torv. Hopefully Mazin can tell ND some serious truths about part 2 plot and they get really stuck in to fixing it. Probably wishful thinking by me though.

 

[crossy1686]

I think I saw somewhere in the last day or so where its mentioned that if they cant come up with a storyline based on love thats of a high quality they will just leave it as 2 being the conclusion.

There's enough missing years between the two parts to have complete writing freedom so I'm pretty sure they're going to have something in the next few years but that might be the end of Joel and Ellie's journey after that, and then we might get spin offs in the TLOU universe after that.

This is their biggest IP and they won't kill it because they couldn't come up with a good enough story.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

That will be TLOU3 I suspect. After the bombshell they dropped in part 2, they have no where else to go but prequel.

I think Part III will continue to use flashbacks. They need an ending to Ellie's story.

 

[Drawfull]

An old video, but it's fascinating especially with the show now. Don't watch if you haven't played the game or are avoiding spoilers for the show.

 

[Shane88]

Tess' voice actress has passed away. Only 45, cancer. Very sad. Hope they give her in memoriam or something on the credits of an episode.

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Thought about posting it in the other thread but knowing the rods some of them have up their arse, I thought better of it.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Tess' voice actress has passed away. Only 45, cancer. Very sad. Hope they give her in memoriam or something on the credits of an episode.

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Thought about posting it in the other thread but knowing the rods some of them have up their arse, I thought better of it.

She was a fantastic actress in everything i've seen her in, sad news.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

Very disappointed in the massive changes to Bills character. Even more disappointing that we didn't get to see some of the awesome back and forth between Ellie and Bill. Very boring episode. Funny in parts, part far too long.

 

[Drawfull]

Very disappointed in the massive changes to Bills character. Even more disappointing that we didn't get to see some of the awesome back and forth between Ellie and Bill. Very boring episode. Funny in parts, part far too long.

I think the trade off with the resolution of Bill and Frank maybe outweighs the few minutes Ellie gets with him in the game, but it was a bold deviation certainly. I didn't think the episode was too long; if anything, their story seemed too abrupt, and the pseudo-explanation in the podcast doesn't really cover it IMO. Still, I thought it was great TV and so far I think I prefer it to the cinematic side of the game, just about.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

I think the trade off with the resolution of Bill and Frank maybe outweighs the few minutes Ellie gets with him in the game, but it was a bold deviation certainly. I didn't think the episode was too long; if anything, their story seemed too abrupt, and the pseudo-explanation in the podcast doesn't really cover it IMO. Still, I thought it was great TV and so far I think I prefer it to the cinematic side of the game, just about.

Bill had a purpose in the game. He was telling Joel that Ellie was going to get him killed. He was the voice in his head telling him to just ditch her and look out for himself. Thats FAR more important to the character development of the two main characters that are the big draw. So far everything they have done has been to the detriment of that relationship exploration. This is the kind of thing the walking dead did all the time, and people hated it because of how much it knocked off the pace of whatever the main story was for each season. This was a filler. This was filler in the 3rd episode. And thats not just bold, thats madness.

Theres 9 episodes in the season. We've had 3 and there 1 more that will be dedicated to Ellie telling the story of how she got bite. So thats 5 episodes left. One of which will be the finale at Salt lake. Another will be when Joel is hurt and Ellie starts to grow into her own. So that now leaves just 3 episodes to get done what took 15 hours in the game. If they were going to be this slow, and take these kind of deviations they really show have told the story over 2 seasons. This is going to end up feeling really rushed. Or worse, it's going to miss beats that played into the relationship between Joel and Ellie like they just did with knocking Bill out of their story altogether. Getting the car battery played a massive part in bringing Joel and Ellie closer. Thats gone now. And thats a real shame.

 

[Drawfull]

Bill had a purpose in the game. He was telling Joel that Ellie was going to get him killed. He was the voice in his head telling him to just ditch her and look out for himself. Thats FAR more important to the character development of the two main characters that are the big draw. So far everything they have done has been to the detriment of that relationship exploration. This is the kind of thing the walking dead did all the time, and people hated it because of how much it knocked off the pace of whatever the main story was for each season. This was a filler. This was filler in the 3rd episode. And thats not just bold, thats madness.

Theres 9 episodes in the season. We've had 3 and there 1 more that will be dedicated to Ellie telling the story of how she got bite. So thats 5 episodes left. One of which will be the finale at Salt lake. Another will be when Joel is hurt and Ellie starts to grow into her own. So that now leaves just 3 episodes to get done what took 15 hours in the game. If they were going to be this slow, and take these kind of deviations they really show have told the story over 2 seasons. This is going to end up feeling really rushed. Or worse, it's going to miss beats that played into the relationship between Joel and Ellie like they just did with knocking Bill out of their story altogether. Getting the car battery played a massive part in bringing Joel and Ellie closer. Thats gone now. And thats a real shame.

The entirety of the first game's cinematics is like 2 hours or something, your maths are a bit off - and I don't think you should really just discard two of your 5 episodes to fit your narrative. Add in 15 minutes worth of banter (there's very little dialogue outside of cinematics, I'd be surprised if it's much more than this). They've plenty of time to flesh everything out I think.

Also, the battery plot - which is still a device in the show - was the most pointlessly-contrived thing in the game.

At the end of the season you might be proven correct but as for right now, I don't agree that they've misstepped at all.

 

[CloneMC16]

I preferred how it was in the game. They made an entire episode out of one note you find in Bill's Town. Even in that note, Frank literally says he hated Bill. We got the Bill we saw in game when FEDRA were forcing people to leave his town. As soon as Frank shows up, that basically all changed. This section in the game was when Joel and Ellie's relationship started to grow a bit. We lost all of that. The dialogue between Ellie and Bill is also some of the funniest in the game. I was really hoping to see that in the show.

They did change smaller parts in the first two episodes, but most of it was similar to how it played out in game. They just changed everything here. They could have had half of the episode dedicated to Bill and Frank's relationship. Keep him alive, so he's able to meet Joel and Ellie.

For people that wanted to watch a love story, this will be great for them.

 

[Stack]

I preferred how it was in the game. They made an entire episode out of one note you find in Bill's Town. Even in that note, Frank literally says he hated Bill. We got the Bill we saw in game when FEDRA were forcing people to leave his town. As soon as Frank shows up, that basically all changed. This section in the game was when Joel and Ellie's relationship started to grow a bit. We lost all of that. The dialogue between Ellie and Bill is also some of the funniest in the game. I was really hoping to see that in the show.

They did change smaller parts in the first two episodes, but most of it was similar to how it played out in game. They just changed everything here. They could have had half of the episode dedicated to Bill and Frank's relationship. Keep him alive, so he's able to meet Joel and Ellie.

For people that wanted to watch a love story, this will be great for them.

I think Im with you, I would have preferred to see the way the game note played out and also would have preferred the tension and battle the 3 of them had to go through to get the battery for the truck. Its a shame the bit where Ellie is winding up Joel about the porn magazine didnt make it into the show.
They turned a tension filled section of the game into a love story, is this a way of softening us up for a more brutal bit of action coming up?

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

The entirety of the first game's cinematics is like 2 hours or something, your maths are a bit off - and I don't think you should really just discard two of your 5 episodes to fit your narrative. Add in 15 minutes worth of banter (there's very little dialogue outside of cinematics, I'd be surprised if it's much more than this). They've plenty of time to flesh everything out I think.

Also, the battery plot - which is still a device in the show - was the most pointlessly-contrived thing in the game.

At the end of the season you might be proven correct but as for right now, I don't agree that they've misstepped at all.

Most of the character exploration was during the gameplay. I have to ask if you even played the game with a comment like that.

most missions in games are contrived. “Go pick up 10 of these and return them to me or I won’t help you” The going to get the battery wasn’t the thing, the journey to get the battery was the thing.

Maybe they will rescue it, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s dumb to waste time telling filler stories when you have just started your story and when you have limited time.

 

[Drawfull]

Most of the character exploration was during the gameplay. I have to ask if you even played the game with a comment like that.

most missions in games are contrived. “Go pick up 10 of these and return them to me or I won’t help you” The going to get the battery wasn’t the thing, the journey to get the battery was the thing.

Maybe they will rescue it, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s dumb to waste time telling filler stories when you have just started your story and when you have limited time.

Yeah I've played the game, most-recently last week. The characters in the show are, to me, much more rounded than those in the game; you can do more on TV where you force what the person experiencing the media sees.

The 'getting the battery' wasn't a mission. It was a plot device giving Joel and Tess a reason to agree to take Ellie. The fact is, in a game full of gaping plot holes - a game which I love - the battery was one of its weakest.

That said, there were scenes I wish had made it into this episode of the show for sure, but I think now having seen it, on balance it's fine. Take the Joel upside down part: in the game it's essential and I had expected it to be included, but if they had put it in here it would've basically been 'the museum but now upside down' and I don't think that works in a TV show, or at least, not immediately after the first version of it. Or what about 'Joel and Ellie sneaking through a deserted town/shop/basement in Bill's Town - again'. It wouldn't make for great TV.

 

[Drawfull]

I think Im with you, I would have preferred to see the way the game note played out and also would have preferred the tension and battle the 3 of them had to go through to get the battery for the truck. Its a shame the bit where Ellie is winding up Joel about the porn magazine didnt make it into the show.
They turned a tension filled section of the game into a love story, is this a way of softening us up for a more brutal bit of action coming up?

This might still make it, but I don't think it will based on events in Episode 2.

Spoiler: TLOU1 and 2 stuff

If they had originally made parts 1 and 2 back to back, I don't think it would have made the game either.

 

[CloneMC16]

I think Im with you, I would have preferred to see the way the game note played out and also would have preferred the tension and battle the 3 of them had to go through to get the battery for the truck. Its a shame the bit where Ellie is winding up Joel about the porn magazine didnt make it into the show.
They turned a tension filled section of the game into a love story, is this a way of softening us up for a more brutal bit of action coming up?

That is probably the case. Based on the preview we saw of the next episode, it looks like it'll be more action orientated. There is a lot of combat against human enemies when the car gets crashed into during the Pittsburgh chapter.

I also agree with @Norman Brownbutter. There is a lot of content left and not many episodes to fit it all in. They're going to have to cut some things. Pittsburgh is the longest chapter in the game, and being able to go over all of it during an episode won't be possible. I think they may have to fit all of Pittsburgh and The Suburbs into one episode.

 

[Chairman Steve]

One thing crossed my mind with the TV show.

If the TV show ends up being highly acclaimed, would they just reappropriate a potential third game into the TV show? From interviews, I get the feeling Druckmann is someone who wants to be in TV and Movies over Video Games, and the silver screen audience is still much bigger than the video game audience and probably always will be.

I’ve said it before but after looking at the game, playing it and watching how it’s evolved, TLOU seems more suited to a TV show than a game, especially if you’re going to make a franchise out of it. The story carries the gameplay and if the story is deemed the best aspect of the game by people who love it, then should it be a game?

 

[Organic Potatoes]

That was a nice sidequest. I hope it is not the best episode of the season like I seem to recall some some reviewer saying though.

Hopefully they do the Bloater in the basement justice, because if not I’m going to be thoroughly upset.

 

[WI_Red]

Absolutely loved the episode. Does it deviate wildly from the game? Absolutely, but I think that is this case it serviced the overall story in a really good way for 2 reasons:

1. Mazin and Druckman have repeatedly talked in their podcast about how the story of TLOU is the story of love. This episode drills down and focuses on that theme and shows that, even at the end of the world, love is possible and will thrive.
2. Bill's interactions with Joel, both at the dinner and in the letter, speak to their similar motivation in life: to protect the ones they love. Joel failed at that, twice, and it is through Bill's letter that he seems to gain the resolve to try it again. Why? Because Joel knows that Bill succeeded, and it give him just a tiny flicker of hope.

Would I have like to see the Ellie/Bill interactions? Sure, but I can also always fire up the game or watch a playthrough video for those. Certain things work in TV and no games and also the other way around. For me this last episode was a beautiful gut punch that perfectly frames what is about to come for Joel and Ellie.

 

[padr81]

As standalone tv it was a great episode. But it was pointless in the context of this season and show. They removed Bill from the main plot and then gave us an hour long back story. Makes no sense. Why give us a dead mans backstory. Also the dude was nothing like Bill. If I'm being honest they balked at making Bill the massive pos he was.

Not finding Frank post suicide, no suicide letter telling Bill how he was a rotten prick. Its just not Bill and Franks story. Its like they made Bill, the Bill Frank would have always fantasized about, instead of actual Bill.
It felt like watching the Avengers and Captain America has to pass through a house owned by two extra's, then we cut away to an hour long backstory of said two extra's.

That said its clear the main plot doesn't have enough about it for 9-10 hours of tv.

I thought it was a great episode of standalone tv but poor in context of the season/series, ground the main plot to a halt. Missed the mark on the character (the actors were brilliant though), whats weird is they skipped all they could have done with Bill for the backstory. Just a strange episode in context.

 

[Mr Pigeon]

They should make the story in the show exactly like the game otherwise it'll destroy the pACinG.

We need at least three episodes dedicated to Joel and Ellie navigating through narrow corridors before running in circles being chased by clickers. One episode should be dedicated entirely to finding lesser known moments of banter between the two, and another episode where Joel picks up pieces of paper and reads it in silence, before quipping "poor bastard". As a viewer I need to see the same thing several times an episode like I'm being beaten on the head with a book called This Is What The Infected Do.

They better not do any time jumps between episodes just so they can focus on the narrative. I want everything on screen. Joel grabbing bottles out of his bag to make molotov cocktails whilst making the "glug glug" sounds himself. If anything the game should have included 10 hours of cutscenes where Joel drives the car, so they should rectify that in the show.

 

[One Night Only]

As standalone tv it was a great episode. But it was pointless in the context of this season and show. They removed Bill from the main plot and then gave us an hour long back story. Makes no sense. Why give us a dead mans backstory. Also the dude was nothing like Bill. If I'm being honest they balked at making Bill the massive pos he was.

Not finding Frank post suicide, no suicide letter telling Bill how he was a rotten prick. Its just not Bill and Franks story. Its like they made Bill, the Bill Frank would have always fantasized about, instead of actual Bill.
It felt like watching the Avengers and Captain America has to pass through a house owned by two extra's, then we cut away to an hour long backstory of said two extra's.

That said its clear the main plot doesn't have enough about it for 9-10 hours of tv.

I thought it was a great episode of standalone tv but poor in context of the season/series, ground the main plot to a halt. Missed the mark on the character (the actors were brilliant though), whats weird is they skipped all they could have done with Bill for the backstory. Just a strange episode in context.

I agree with pretty much all of this, especially the bolded part, I honestly thought they were gonna give Bill more story throughout the series and he would be a character we seen more often than we did in the game. Then the end happened and I was like "this was all pretty pointless then".

Thought it was a well made episode though, and I can live with it not adding to the story, you could probably skip that episode and it wouldn't make much difference to the series. Apart from you'd be like "where's joel got a car from?".

 

[Woodzy]

It was a great bit of TV, but I don't think it really added anything to the overall story.

 

[SuperiorXI]

I thought it was genuinely an outstanding episode, I love what they have done with the Bill character. They really captured the whole "Last of us" theme rather than the last of Joel and Ellie. Sure we lost some good scenes from the game but it's a worthy trade-off.

This is quickly turning into one of my favorite shows.

 

[Massive Spanner]

It was amazing. Yeah it added nothing to the story but some of the all time great tv episodes add nothing to the story. Pine Barrens, Fly etc.

I can see why people expecting the show to follow the best bits of the game would be disappointed by it, but I wasn’t. I don’t mind them changing things up as long as it makes sense.

 

[esmufc07]

@Norman Brownbutter is definitely a homophobe.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Those saying it added nothing to the plot. Do you just want them to drop the episode entirely and 8 episodes instead or something? I just don’t get it.

if they stuck to the original Bill storyline it’s about 20 minutes of tv max.

 

[Solius]

Some people are unable to take things for what they are. Just enjoy a well made episode of television instead of going “hurrr plot progression”. Absolute losers. Spoilt brats basically.

 

[Eriku]

So happy with the deviations from the game, because it makes this a fresh experience. And getting the full story behind Bill and Frank, rather than it just being environmental storytelling, was a great way to make use of the screen time. I can’t believe anybody who played the game would be averse to getting that perspective.

 

[Stack]

Some people are unable to take things for what they are. Just enjoy a well made episode of television instead of going “hurrr plot progression”. Absolute losers. Spoilt brats basically.

I think they are the sort of people who only ever use the missionary position.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

What a brilliant episode. Last of Us is about relationships after all. Also very happy to have an episode deviate from the game so its not all predictable. Loved it.

 

[Berbasbullet]

What a brilliant episode. Last of Us is about relationships after all. Also very happy to have an episode deviate from the game so its not all predictable. Loved it.

It's nice to see something meaningful outside Joel and Ellie. Did not expect such a beautiful episode out of this show. Loved it, one of the best episodes of tv I've seen in ages.