“I'm taking a ride with my best friend” - The Last of Us on HBO (2023)

Last of Us and Skinamarink have opened to wild success this year bc their style of horror doesn't rely on jump scares or gore but simply on showing audiences what it would be like to live in Alberta

— Ibaka Shinji (@Cam_Oflage) January 18, 2023

lol

Anyway, it's an interesting quandary: if you know where the (game) story is going, does that blind you to what the show may or may not be doing well? That's what make me interested in hearing from people that have never played the game; as far as this specific story goes, it's hard to convey what makes it different without, well, conveying what makes it different.

To that point, I read something on I think Kotaku that was more or less comparing in real time the game's progression to the show's, with a focus on the shocking episode one death. The author, iirc, called it manipulative, at least in the game, which ... yeah, of course it is! But it's also the game's prime mover, so it's got to be powerful. As far the TV show goes, though, I think the event serves a slightly different purpose. In a lot of these shows, from "The Sopranos" to "The Walking Dead," "who is going to die?" becomes a sort of ghoulish weekly parlor game. I find *that* manipulative and honestly kind of tired. In the show, as in the game, getting that over with in a big way in the first episode is kind of like ripping the bandaid off, but it's a trick that only works once. The rest of the game, and I imagine the rest of the show, is or should be about character (in every sense), and in this regard I suspect people that think they know where the story is going might be surprised at where it ends up.

Or maybe not! I know the game has its seen-it-all-before detractors, too. But there's a humanity beating at the heart of "The Last of Us" (the game) that many games of its ilk lack, just as (imo) "Children of Men" achieved more than the average post apocalyptic picaresque.

I played approximately two hours of the first game before getting distracted so the tv pilot was almost exactly what I'd already seen

This editorial makes the case for watching the show first and playing the game second, since playing the game second expands on the show (which, plot-wise, reportedly sticks to the game) with exploration, stealth, combat and other more interactive/world-building aspects. I can see that. As I noted, playing the game first makes the show more of a curiosity.

https://www.avclub.com/should-you-play-the-last-of-us-before-watching-the-show-1849998022

The only video games I play are Tetris and Mario Kart. I'll stick to watching the show as a TV show and stay away from what video game people say or think.

Jesus Christ

I'd argue this game is one of a handful that shifted the line between "video game people" and general consumers/critics of quality art/entertainment. A helpful example I've cited for a few folks is the game "Red Dead Redemption 2," which reportedly made over $700 million its first weekend alone. That's huge, and definitely positions "video game people" as a pretty big block comparable to or sometimes exceeding more familiar old people audiences for books, movies, music, etc. At a certain point, "not video game people" become kind of the outlier, and ignoring or avoiding games akin to someone in 1980 still talking shit about rock and roll or someone in 2000 deriding hip-hop. It's a huge, integral part of contemporary culture and entertainment. 

Or just acknowledge what a ludicrous opinion it is that the source material should never be mentioned, lol?

At a certain point, "not video game people" become kind of the outlier, and ignoring or avoiding games akin to someone in 1980 still talking shit about rock and roll or someone in 2000 deriding hip-hop. It's a huge, integral part of contemporary culture and entertainment.

That's inarguably true. And as someone old enough to have played games on an Atari 2600, I recognize that being totally out of touch with game culture makes me the minority. All I really mean is that if the show can't stand on its own, then it fails. So far, it very much does stand on its own, and I'm interested to see where it goes (much more than I was interested in/by The Walking Dead, for example), but I don't need to know what's different about this version. I own all six Resident Evil movies on Blu-Ray and have never played that game, either. The movies are their own batshit thing.

you can always ignore when people complain something's not faithful to the source material if you're uninterested in it!

I did lol at "video game people" though when that's like... 40% of the population that's not retirement age

Who knew the world’s new oldest person was here and posting on ilx?

Anyway, I was one of many who completely missed that there was a clicker on the roof of the building in the closing shot of the opening ep

(Mild spoiler because it's something in the game that hasn't come up in the show yet).

it took me more than 10 minutes of watching her character to realise that Anna Torv is in this. I'll watch just about anything with Anna Torv and Pedro Pascal in it as long as it isn't some Star Wars spinoff.

glad the people responsible for video games' leap into the realm of quality art/entertainment are finally getting a chance to work in the medium they're interested in

^^^ the world's second oldest person

their pants legs dried awfully fast after wading through the lobby pond

I think the line about having to climb ten flights of stairs afterward was supposed to cover that.

wet clothes instantly becoming dry is a scrupulously authentic video game trope tbh

Lol. I appreciated the mgsv thing where you have to shower constantly or else you remain smelly and covered in blood for this reason. Only bit of realism the whole game.

I just assume everyone in video games is constantly filthy and damp. Except Arthur in RDR2, who takes a lot of baths. But he gets filthy again pretty quickly.

Once again some shots and scenes that are exactly like the game; great sets/virtual sets/however they do it. Also some changes and tweaks that are noticeably different from the game, like the Indonesia stuff and the way the fungus spreads/communicates. The latter is imo less effective than in the game. In the game, the fungus largely spreads via spores. I get why they changed it here, but at the same time now it's less passive, more like the aggressive hive-mind creature in "The Thing" that wants to spread and survive at all costs; iirc they even gave the fungus spreading a scary sound. I don't know if this is meant to play up the threat, but I think it makes the clickers seem more like conventional zombies, which of course we've seen a lot. What I like about the game is the way the spores and slightly more aimless clickers are depicted pose a kind of constant ambient threat; they're dangerous obstacles as much as anything else. Here they're portrayed as more predatory than environmental.

i am really digging this so far

love how the creatures are so grotesque but weirdly beautiful, like a del Toro movie

and the tone of the show isnt just action/survival but this intense underlying sadness, it’s v good and i am into it

i wanted to yell at anna torv “aaaaah omg jfc who gives a fuck abt the stupid lighter just pull one of the 20 fucking grenades on the ground”

love u anna

Honest question, why is everyone so into Anna Torv? She's fine in this, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of her before, and don't recognize her from anything else. Was she in a popular movie or show that I've never seen or something?

She was in Fringe and Mindhunter, two shows a lot of people liked. (Me included, though I wasn't raving/passionate about either.) She's got that kind of business-domme thing that lots of nerds go for.

I don't know what Fringe is, but I have been meaning to start Mindhunter, so I guess I'll see her there!

She’s Rupert Murdoch’s niece apparently

oh ffs!

will always be olivia to me

otm

I still maintain that the dual universe plot in Fringe is the best sci-fi series stuff in decades. And yeah, the part of Olivia that isn't in any way at all and couldn't possibly be Rupert Murdoch's niece still rules!

I watched something where a zeppelin made an appearance recently and was disappointed anew that the alternate universe in Fringe didn't get more time/attention.

anna torv shouldn't be judged by her aunt's terrible life decisions!

She's got that kind of business-domme thing that lots of nerds go for.

...

Anyway, weird sexual dimension now with how the infection spreads, which is appropriate because that's how fungus reproduces.

dumb question here

but wouldn’t the best place to avoid infection be the coastline? like that kinda fungus wouldn’t thrive/spread in a coastal environment right? or no?

Anna Torv left her phone unattended. She returned to this photo. pic.twitter.com/iMg6xiWJQx

— Bella Ramsey (@BellaRamsey) January 24, 2023

Veg, how do you mean? I think that fungi can grow anywhere (even *in* the oceans).

I'm curious what people thought of the museum sequence (if they thought it was tense) and if they've played the game or not. I felt kind of bored by it even though in the game it's pretty stressful, I think because the stakes and outcome of the latter are actually up in the air and depend on my active interaction with it.

Just felt like Jurassic Park kitchen sequence. It was entertaining but needed to be a little more creative to actually be exciting.

I'm curious what people thought of the museum sequence (if they thought it was tense) and if they've played the game or not. I felt kind of bored by it even though in the game it's pretty stressful, I think because the stakes and outcome of the latter are actually up in the air and depend on my active interaction with it.

Standard horror trope. We're moving through the empty house/haunted hospital/abandoned military facility...when (not if) will the creatures attack? I thought it was a little less tense than some other iterations I've seen but generally fine. And the fungus-headed monsters were kinda cool-looking. The best part of the episode was the Indonesia prelude, though.

horror games are always scarier than other horror media bc of the level of immersion. i found the scene very stressful though!

fungus makeout is the kind of ridiculous and awesome visual i needed to send this show home for me, having a great time

Made the mistake of checking what the internet at large thought of that scene. Not surprisingly there's tons of confusion. Seemed clear to me? Tess trying to stand still so the zombies don't swarm her. She's infected and about to kill herself. She can't light the lighter. Oh god they're running right by now, it just won't light. Stay still. One is walking up to her. No sudden movements, just light it. In her face now. The spores are coming out of the mouth and reaching toward her. They would have attacked by now but something's different ...because it's also inside her this time. Kissing? No, not exactly... might look that way maybe, but no. Horrible. Doesn't matter, don't move, just light it.

However seeing lots of "what's the deal with the KISS?! wtf?!" comments

Yeah sure it didn't actually have to happen at all, but it was cool shock value but made in-universe sense to me!

and*

I don't know what Fringe is, but I have been meaning to start Mindhunter, so I guess I'll see her there!

Fringe is available on HBO Max. I just re-watched the pilot and it's fucking bonkers.

i love Fringe so much, even when it confused me utterly

I found the museum stalking scene writhingly terrifying (non gamer here btw).

Yeah clickers are as freaky in the game as they were depicted in the museum!

I Photoshop paddington into a movie, game, or TV show until I forget: Day 688 pic.twitter.com/GAYYrNbGRr

— Jaythechou (@jaythechou) January 26, 2023

horror games are always scarier than other horror media bc of the level of immersion.

Definitely this. Had plenty of tense moments watching horror movies but nothing that compares to playing say Dead Space or Silent Hill 2.

The cold openings for this show are stellar.

Yes they are and the rest (so far) leaves me cold. But I’ll hang in there even though fungus makeup gives me the willies.

I am very upset about that final episode

the guy who created the game is also working on the show. he is completely open to exploring ideas not in the game! and making changes to minor characters that expand the universe in a different way!

there’s this vibe like “a bunch of non gaming snowflakes wanted to adapt a game and made it too gay” ~frowny face~

bill still ultimately serves the same purpose for joel at the end of episode 3

i don’t see what the problem is beyond “it’s not the game” if you gave even a tenth of a shit about good storytelling (which if you played the game surely you do) this episode would stand as good storytelling!

oh they spent a whole episode living a life and having feelings how terrible

give me a goddamn break

Otm

the show telegraphed from the very first episode that it would not just be about joel and ellie. episode three just hammers it home. i'm honestly grateful i haven't played the game bc i had no problem getting on board with this

again, haven't played, prob never will, but everywhere the show has diverged from the game it has done so for the better imo (especially re: bill/frank's original relationship, and finding fucking letters everywhere)

as a video game adaptation, for me it never reached the meta-heights of the paul w.s. anderson resident evil series (not that it was ever going to), but it was a really beautifully conveyed character study about the way the world and your relationships with the people in it change you, often unaccountably, especially when said world is largely dead and hostile

There's no reason to get angry or defensive about the show. The show is great! But there is a reason the source material, a masterpiece of a game, was chosen for adaptation, and I don't think it's harmful to discuss how maybe it falls short a little. They are different mediums, and they achieve their goals different ways. Saying that the game is better or trying to explain why doesn't detract from the achievements of the show, especially for those that have not played the game and are experiencing the show on its own terms. I find that aspect of the discussion very interesting.

i did like that i was able to like... understand why the game is so acclaimed through isolated sequences, especially the joel terminator rampage sequence, bc you're installed in his perspective and understand why he's doing it even though he's doing all of these horrible things and you can't stop him

josh do you have strong feelings about the video game, yes or no

if nothing else - creating a shooter game with a storyling whose ultimate goal is to make you think "maybe shooting everybody is potentially possibly really a bad thing to do" is a pretty neat trick

Also if there was any fault with Ep 3 was that it was so fucking good the rest of the (very good) season felt like a bit of a letdown, any debate about whether that episode or important or a success seems completely bonkers to me.

xxpost I can't tell if you are trolling me or not, but yes, relatively so? But not in a "this source material should never be changed" sense.

Oh, and in case it's unclear, Bill and Frank are gay in the game, so that wasn't changed. I suspect any anti-gay discourse flying around out there stems in no small part from lingering (over) reactions to the second game. And it's quite possible the extended Bill and Frank episode of the show was a reaction to *that*.

I think Bill and Frank in the show was indeed good storytelling, but standalone storytelling. If you tried to describe the show to someone, or the story, they probably wouldn't come up at all.

Another example of a change from the game, subtle, with slightly different effects: the game pretty clearly takes place over the course of almost a year. I didn't get that feeling from the show. Not sure it matters.

urgh typos

meant to say:

Also if there was any fault with Ep 3, it was that it was so fucking good the rest of the (very good) season felt like a bit of a letdown, any debate about whether that episode was important or a success seems completely bonkers to me.

I am very glad I haven't seen any of the "ick, too gay" criticism. It has not escaped my notice that the show has a nonbinary actor playing a lesbian character.

I hasten to note that this would still be salient even if it were not personally relevant to me... but it is personally relevant to me.

I may have mentioned that my elder child is 15 and nonbinary; my younger child is 11 and nonverbal. His name is Sam. He communicates using a whiteboard or tablet.

So then this frkn teevee show serves up an episode in which: the nonbinary actor playing the 14ish lesbian teenager serves as a temporary big sibling to the Deaf/nonverbal kid whose name is Sam and communicates using a magic slate.

So yeah I needed a lot of time to recover from that one.

holy shit... that's wild.

I was once bitten by a museum employee who smelled bad so yeah sometimes TV gets too real

hopefully less then Pedro's attempt at a Texas accent haha

Didn't he grow up in Texas? Does his accent go funny on Mandalorian as well? Speaking of, both shows are bizarrely following the same trajectory...
At any point in the game, does Ellie develop mushroomchlorian force powers?

Having never played the game, I'd imagine I'd find it unbearably tedious as a narrative-delivery mechanism, given that I gave up on slogging through cutscenes and dialog in Castlevania and went for Vampire Survivors instead, which has the narrative content of a slot machine.

A game based on Ron Swanson macguyvering death traps, procuring meds and homesteading with a bickering partner with a dwindling health meter, might be fun though -- some kind of cross between tower defense, animal crossing, and sims.

Anyway I wanted to tell elder kid how that episode gave me ALL THE FEELS, and the conversation went like this:

"Sky, are you familiar with 'The Last of Us'?"

"Well, kinda. Most of what I've heard about it is that it's zombies, plus gay."

Take from that what you will.

I'm willing to bet the expansion of Bill and Frank is this season was done with an eye potentially on specific events/plot points/parallels in the second season/game.

Maybe you have something in mind from the game, but how could there be a parallel more relevant than the one between Bill/Frank E3 and Joel/Ellie season 1? The episode is still about Joel and Ellie, giving us a letter that could have been written by Joel at the end of season 1. It is also about the game, a way to make the "finding and reading of a letter" game mechanic work for television.

Could see the writers getting to the finale and thinking "this is all too sudden, but we can't have Joel explaining his transformation in real time" and then coming up with E3 as a solution exactly for telling the story of Joel and Ellie better. (And adding to it. Bill and Frank's story is also interesting and important in itself). So not being salty but seeing it as subtraction from the Joel/Ellie story time seems wrong!

Maybe you have something in mind from the game, but how could there be a parallel more relevant

Relevant spoilers from the second game:

In the second game, Ellie is in a stable, loving relationship, and she is eventually given an explicit choice: live in apparent domestic bliss with her girlfriend, together alone in an isolated house, very much akin to Bill and Frank, or return to her previous ways. When the show (presumably) gets to that inflection point, viewers will have an even better idea of what happiness can look like, or even that it truly is possible, making Ellie's decision that much more distressing. I think having seen Bill and Frank the way we have in the show will make that conflict even more powerful whenever we see it, which does make it an improvement, but mostly imo in the context of what is to come.

That whole bit with Bottom the Weaver and all really subtracts from the main action of "Midsummer Night's Dream," yo. I mean, why not just focus on the main characters the whole time?

xp maybe that possible future parallel is making it harder for you to accept the season 1 parallels as the episode's main function. I get what you are saying with the season 2 stuff, but I don't think it's necessary to explain or feel good about the writing decisions in season 1 alone.

I agree! Just part and parcel in comparing the game and show. Obv. not an issue for anyone that has not played the game (which, of course, is best known for its story, not gameplay).

fwiw I've seen some people complain a little about tiny tweaks to Ellie's character that may have a slight impact on the story going forward, but I don't think I have problem with what the showrunners intentionally shifted.

which, of course, is best known for its story, not gameplay

The gameplay is outstanding!

I think so, but it's a common complaint I've seen from some. I mean, the gameplay in the second game is so good I think that's why they remade the first game!

having only watched the show i found myself now pretty impressed with the game that it had such deep storylines already built in, like that the ending is part of the game blew my mind a bit.

it’s cool to know that gaming can allow for a nuanced, challenging emotional experience like that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oSFFSu57yU

The most-affecting aspect of the game that I felt vaguely-but-not-actually disappointed didn’t make it into the show was maybe interesting:

I remember there was this fairly terrifying sequence where Joel is having to navigate a school environment where airborne spores are a danger. The ambient light in the environment was precise, it had that “being in school after hours” feeling, which was already scary as shit.

Up until that point in the game, you’d confronted clickers and other mobile fungazombies, but it was exactly in this environment, navigating through it, that you started to see an increase in the prevalence of wall-bound fungal tendrils, leading to the discovery of a full-tilt immobile human fungus flower, head opened into mushroom growth, sitting against a wall. It was the closest visual depiction of a Lovecraft description as I’ve ever seen (and imo likely inspired similar imagery within the movie Annihilation)

I think they discovered those immobile human shitheads in the show but it didn’t happen as balletically as it did in the game, it was really something

Re: spores. For the last 3-ish years, lots of tv shows and movies have - understandably - not wanted to film sequences with a lot of masks; it interferes with showing emotions. Plus you don't pay a kabillion dollars for the face of Tom Cruise or whomsoever and only get his eyebrows.

So a future historian looking only at our entertainment from this period would be hard-pressed to find evidence of the times in which many of us walked about with half our faces obscured. Which would be at odds with the news coverage of the time.

Yeah, it's kind of fascinating. I think on one of the covid threads I noted some TV or movie person's conflicted reasoning. Show people with masks, like the real world, and you break the illusion of escapism. Show people without masks and you introduce a kind of cognitive dissonance scraping against the way the world is. Anyway, given the popularity of "The Mandalorian," or the success of "For All Mankind," this show prolly could have easily tossed in a mask or two. Seeing Pedro put on a mask for a scene probably wouldn't have been that confusing. If anything, it might have made for a pretty claustrophobic sequence!

It was odder to bring up the interlocked infected thing only to never mention it again, but maybe they will in the future.

As I mentioned up thread, can't imagine Pedro wanted to do another show with his face covered up

"No brown M&Ms, clean towels/socks, bottle of Maker's Mark, no covering my face."

A game based on Ron Swanson macguyvering death traps, procuring meds and homesteading with a bickering partner with a dwindling health meter, might be fun though -- some kind of cross between tower defense, animal crossing, and sims.

seeing this as some mid noughties Flash game on the HBO website as part of this series 2005 marketing push.

Flew through the 9 episodes in the last three days - an incredible show. Part of me wishes I had gotten to play more than 30 minutes of the game at my friend's house before watching to see the differences between the show and game, but I guess it made my show-watching experience much tenser not knowing what would happen. I was convinced Joel would be dead by the end of the season

Finally listened to the last official podcast episode, and while I stand by my (modest) reservations about the show, the podcast provided excellent closure.

“While everything at this moment is pencils down, I’m hopeful that we can come to terms sooner than later. Otherwise we will have to assess what is the end of the 24 schedule, what are the shows that are going to be delivered for 2025,” Orsi said. “At this point, those shows that I’m looking to air wouldn’t necessarily be ready if this strike last six to nine months. So yes, that’s a big question for us, but I think we’ll cross that road once we come to it.”

It’s “too early to tell” how the scheduling plans for specific shows will being impacted by the writers work stoppage, Orsi said. “We were looking at The Last Of Us for some time in 2025. And The White Lotus was ideally looking to go in 2024 but there’s some question about timing of the strike.”

Watching this again with my teen, who had never seen it, and while it holds up I maintain my criticism that there is not enough time spent traveling across the country with Ellie and Joel, and the two biggest comments I keep hearing from my kid are "everyone keeps talking about raiders but we never see any raiders" and "how are we supposed to care about any of these characters if they just immediately die?" Fair enough, the show does constantly introduce new characters/villains just to immediately kill them off (typically in the same episode), which gets a little distracting. If they had another episode of just Ellie and Joel traveling/solving problems/fighting it might have offered a bit more narrative breathing room.

I really enjoyed The Last of Us as it aired, but it has not remained in my mind whatsoever since finishing it. I'll definitely watch the next season but if you told me it was still two years away I wouldn't really be bothered.

It's two years away.

OK theory tested and confirmed.

Pascal getting a SAG award for his role in an upset over the Succession candidates and coming to accept it looking like this and saying “I’m a little drunk. I thought I could get drunk" is now all-time great award ceremony material.

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-2036530546.jpg?w=850&h=638&crop=1

Long game campaign paid off
https://absurdink.com/cdn/shop/products/voteforpedro_2048x.jpg?v=1663771136

dammit
https://www.cantonrep.com/gcdn/-mm-/0dd9230c6c4a30f8962f38e8bb74b16d3186694c/c=184-0-2515-1317/local/-/media/2019/03/11/USATODAY/USATODAY/636879209675940780-e0-napoleon-2shot-phenom-wkcov-12.JPG?width=1320&height=746&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Wait, wut? Dead link de-deaded itself?

A group of researchers in India have discovered a mushroom sprouting from the side of a golden-backed frog. https://t.co/GEUU19gmCg pic.twitter.com/V8PEGONJHa

— ABC News (@ABC) March 2, 2024

D: