Transcript
Speaker: This is food! This is
Speaker: So Adrian, let's take a ah closer look at The Last of Us on HBO. Season two, episode two now. My goodness. what an What an episode.
Speaker: What an episode. It's quite the episode. i don't know how much we can really talk about. Initially. Initially, until we get into spoilers later. as it it's It's a lot of it. You would potentially get into spoilers, but we can talk about it on a technical level. What did you think of The Last of Us on HBO season two, episode two?
Speaker: Yeah, I think this is a great episode. However, there was a few things about it that... no There's a couple things about it that I'm going to nitpick on once we dive deeper into spoilers. But there are a couple of big things about this episode that I think is weird and and a bad...
Speaker: creative decision in a lot of ways. Okay. um Which again, we'll dive a little bit deeper into it. um the There were actually like actual points in this episode where I felt like the writing was actually like kind of bad, weirdly enough.
Speaker: Interesting. um don't Not necessarily in the dialogue, but in in what occurs. um So again, we'll we'll dive into that a little bit. um I really like, you know, young Mazzino as the character Jesse gets a little bit more play in this episode.
Speaker: Amazing. He does a... stellar job impeccable even i i loved him in this episode again gets more play than the first and i think this guy is really just fitting into that role so well um i think the performances from everyone were amazing this episode um some emotional beats uh that that really hit hard honestly um But again, there there was enough to, I think, hold this episode back a bit. and And I'm excited to kind of dive a little bit deeper into that. And maybe maybe you'll convince me otherwise.
Speaker: um But yeah, ah what what did you think about this, man?
Speaker: I really liked it. um it's It is really good. It's funny. Again, you we sometimes have the same notes and like almost exactly. When we talked about sinners, you you wrote somewhere, you said something about being a masterpiece. And i was like, that's exactly what I wrote about that exact same scene. And so young Mazzino is the example here. I feel like he's just killing it. And the chemistry between young Mazzino and Bella Ramsey's Ellie,
Speaker: I think it's really great and very cool. And like the the beginning of the episode, et cetera, they did a great job. They play off each other really well, which is awesome. I thought Gabriel Luna's character, he's he's just generally, Gabriel Luna's just a solid actor and he just does a solid job throughout. I also think that the makeup for this show, we didn't really talk about it on the episode one, a Closer Look.
Speaker: um So I just want to point that out here again, like the monster makeup for The Infected. It's just really, really great. And it was... On display here is it's going to be, I'm sure, throughout the season constantly, but I thought it was it was excellent.
Speaker: um I also think that on a plot perspective, they set up the anticipation fairly well throughout this episode. it It really got me at an emotional level, which I really was impressed by. I thought it was cool because I know what's going to happen generally because I played the video game.
Speaker: yep So that's pretty neat as well. and And I will just say, like... It's cool. Like the director of this is Mark Milod, who directed The Menu and the movie we saw together in theaters with Ralph Fiennes.
Speaker: And I think he's a pretty solid director. It's cool. he's This is an interesting director because he directs a lot of like the big HBO fare like Game of Thrones, but also shows like Succession.
Speaker: And he I think he's directed a lot of episodes of Succession, but also The Menu, which I particularly like The Menu. and Me too. Yeah. Yeah. And I thought he did a really good job here too. um but But yeah, yeah yeah it's it's interesting.
Speaker: I think we should just jump at the spoilers because this is one of those episodes that's tough to talk about too specifically, especially from a plot perspective. But but yeah, there' its it's it was good. I really did like it though.
Speaker: i I did like it. I don't think I liked it as much of the as the first episode, but maybe... I'm just biased. We just watched this episode like literally moments ago that we came off of watching this. We're jumping into it as fresh as it's ever been for us doing a review, which is interesting because sometimes I can shape my perspective over time. And this time, ah can't really do that. I have no time to do that in a weird way. I wrote some notes, but i'm like, I'm still kind of reeling from It's cool. I watched this with my fiance as well. And and I feel like, you know, it was it was fun to watch it with somebody who doesn't know the plot.
Speaker: I think you might have the same perspective. No, like my my fiance played the games with me. like ah Oh, all right. She knows. So never mind. She knows the plot. Okay, so it doesn't matter. So I didn't have that experience. I'm curious to hear that perspective.
Speaker: Did you watch the first season with your family? um A few episodes, not all of it. Okay. Yeah, because they obviously didn't play it like your parents, but they really liked it. So again, I want to, they're not watching the season right now. um Because they're they're leaving on vacation in like, a couple weeks.
Speaker: So they won't be able to watch it when they're out. So they just want to like wait and watch it all when they when they come home. Okay. Okay. Well, I really liked it. i'm i'm I'm assuming you liked it, but maybe didn't really like it.
Speaker: We'll see how I liked it. Again, there's a couple things. Maybe maybe I'm... Again, we're we're coming off fresh, so maybe you'll change my perspective on this. But okay yeah, kind I kind of want to dive into spoilers. Now let's move on to spoilers. So we're going do a spoiler portion of this a Closer Look episode.
Speaker: So spoilers are happening now, audience. So if you are afraid of spoilers for this for this show because you haven't watched HBO's The Last of a Season 2, Episode 2, please... Turn that dial now. Now's the time yeah because we're getting into it.
Speaker: Okay, Adrian. I'll just let you start. Yeah, okay. So there's obviously two huge things that happen. And I want to talk about the what what i think didn't hit as as well.
Speaker: And it was the um the attack on Jackson, right? So essentially, you know, ah Joel and Dina are out, they they're exploring, they find Abby, all of that.
Speaker: <unk> We'll talk about that in a bit. And right like at Jackson, Ellie and and ah ah Jesse, they're also gone. So, you know, we have Tommy, we have Maria, and a bunch of, yeah you know, other cast of characters at yeah Jackson.
Speaker: but It's really cool that build up that again, ah the anticipation, I think you were referring to, you know, what, what happens with, with Joel and crew, but also the Jackson level, because this is totally fresh. This is not in the games.
Speaker: So there's this level of, oh man, not only like, I think what Craig Mazin did here and the team did here is like, we got him like the people that have played the game know what's about to happen. So we have to build this extra level of anticipation for the people that have already experienced that.
Speaker: something fresh, something new to kind of focus on at the same time. And I thought the attack on Jackson was really cool. I thought like how it looked like the brutality of it, the, the, how frightening it was, was really great.
Speaker: There's, you know, the makeup of all the infected running through the streets, murdering a bunch of people was, was great. But for me, it kind of fell off a little bit because it felt very plot conveniency.
Speaker: in the In the situation. And what I mean by that is, you know, you have Tommy sitting in the like standing in the middle of the street with a flamethrower. And yeah, he's burning infected, but there are literally hundreds of infected running through.
Speaker: And for whatever reason, there's like no infected running at him. They're running past him, attacking other people around. There's so many. And he somehow miraculously doesn't get like, like overrun by this can't let some man have infected.
Speaker: There's a bloater coming through, sees Maria. Tommy's noticing that he's like, oh, I got to save my wife. I got to make sure. So he actually runs into this horde. of infected that for whatever reason are completely ignoring him.
Speaker: He gets the attention of the bloater, runs away. And for whatever reason, only the bloater follows him into this area. And I was sitting there actually thinking like, holy shit, they are going to pull the rug out from under us and kill Tommy.
Speaker: and it's going to be brutal. Yeah, too. I thought that would happen. Yeah, I had a feeling. thought it was going to be a bad moment, potentially, because it's like, what do you do to recover that? And Gabriel Luna's been killing it, so don't do that. Because in the game, obviously, he doesn't die.
Speaker: He doesn't die here. So yeah in this scene, in this moment. Yeah, so I thought he might die, which would be such an interesting... Plot point. But miraculously, he's using the flamethrower, and on the last possible second, his flamethrower's out, no ammunition. For whatever reason, only the bloater followed him.
Speaker: Dies just before he gets attacked by it. Yeah, okay. Oh, interesting. Okay. And on the roof... Yeah, that's a problem, that moment, or... I think so. I think it's a problem. It doesn't make sense in in the grand scheme of things. There's so many infected, and there's there weren't other infected, only this one bloater, this one infected following around the corner.
Speaker: And it like oh just seems so, like, plot convenience. It seemed like... Walking Dead writing compared to, you know, what The Last of Us is in a weird way, in my opinion. Yeah, I don't agree at all.
Speaker: yeah and on that And then on on top of that, Maria's on the roof, infected or running on the roof. And again, none go and attack her. They're attacking the people around her. She's shooting a few of them, but she makes it out alive. And then at the end, Tommy and Maria find each other on the streets and...
Speaker: Somehow, all they, I guess, kill all the infected, even though there was hundreds upon hundreds of them, and the infected stopped attacking, and they're kind of going through the streets, killing the people that have been bit, and I guess the rest of the infected died somehow. It seemed just very... They killed them.
Speaker: yeah i and Yeah, I guess they did, but it just seemed like... they were not going to win that fight the the entire time. And so I literally thought like, holy shit, they're actually just going to destroy Jackson and, you know, have Ellie and Dina and Jesse run, run off on this journey because they have no, not only do they have nowhere else to go, but now they have a a revenge quest to go out on.
Speaker: So for me, I just felt like that situation was very plot community. It's as amazing as it was visually. And again, it had me like at the edge of my seat. I just felt like, oh, this is kind of the first time in this entire show where I'm like, the writing here just seems a little bit juvenile in comparison to the rest of what's come before it and definitely compared to the video game.
Speaker: um its It just seemed yeah like a missed opportunity. um Again, it looked cool. was tense, but the payoff was confusing to me.
Speaker: And that that's the worst part of the the episode for me. and that's That's arguably the the part of the episode that I dislike and why it's dragging an otherwise amazing episode down for me.
Speaker: Hmm. So I don't know, maybe, maybe I'm wrong in that perspective. Maybe other people don't think that online. i haven't, actually didn't look online. I wanted to you know stay away from that for my own opinion. i just talked to my fiance. um She really liked the episode. She thought it was emotional. I don't think she fully agreed with me.
Speaker: um But again, she yeah she wants these characters to survive. So. For sure. Yeah, I don't know. i don't really, i don't know. I don't see it like that at all. i'm a very I'm very in tune to the the plot hole aspects of of ah ah a movie or TV show. I don't really feel like these are, they're not, I feel like these aren't nitpicks, sort of say.
Speaker: I don't know where, there're there he's he's attacking them in the street and there's that there's this element that they, I felt like the reason why they didn't attack him is because i thought this right away is that they they sense fear.
Speaker: like like ah like a predator. There's this aspect of them going for the people who are scared, who are running, who are who are backing up. They're both, shes he's running in, he's shooting the bloater, the bloater goes after him.
Speaker: listen I mean, you don't really need more than the bloater to go after one man, I'd imagine. And the the fact that he flamethrowers him, like, I mean, he was flamethrowered. I hope it died.
Speaker: Jesus Christ. is The entire tank of flamethrowers, that's even crazier than the game. and So like, that's not a surprise surprise to me at all. In fact, I thought that was a great moment. I'm like, oh, he's going to die. I'm like, but can this thing just die already? Like Jesus Christ is not roasting from the inside like a freaking oven.
Speaker: And it did. It roasted. Thank God. Yeah, ah it roasted his insides and its brain just sizzled. And then it it went out, which is cool. I don't know. I didn't. This just doesn't that to me. I don't know. That's too that's too inside. i think you had some other insight from the game that it didn't follow that you kind of didn't like. But yeah.
Speaker: ah yeah for no you know because i'm Yeah, I'm trying to make my like, again, keep my opinion based on on the show. Like this is something that that wasn't in the game at all. And again, like I never viewed the the runners or the clickers or the bloaters looking at people that like.
Speaker: I never viewed it like that. I don't think that's ever even touched on in the video game that they attack people that are scared versus people that aren't. But again. Not a video game. it's ah It's a show. Yeah, but in the show, did they did have they ever touched on that? like They're touching on the fact that they're getting smarter.
Speaker: And they are smarter in this in this specifically in this show. In this episode specifically, they literally turn tail and run the opposite direction of where the re direction they're going because of the the the network in the ground.
Speaker: which is completely not in the game at all, yeah which is a crazy moment that like they can all turn on that kind of that kind of hive mind is a very interesting part of the show and in general that they just don't do in the game.
Speaker: So that part's interesting too. But it just to me, it's not that crazy. He's walking and they're all they're all running a different direction towards the hundreds of other human civilians that are also shooting at them.
Speaker: yeah If one had run at them, they would have taken them out. they To me, it's not that's not too big of a stretch to me. it it doesn't It doesn't stretch the imagination too far. And they're the most capable and least afraid out probably everyone there.
Speaker: So they would have probably taken anyone out that came at them. So maybe it was ah like ah one of those like cinematic heroic moments that doesn't, it just doesn't, that can't bother me enough that it would be something I'd point out, I guess.
Speaker: But, but to each their own. Yeah. But, but yeah. but Okay. any Anything else you want to throw it throughout there? Um, well, I mean, then there's the, you know, other side of the episode. Um, you know, we have Abby's group. We're following Abby's group at the start.
Speaker: Right. And again, the one big thing I i talked about this a little bit in, in, from the first episode, but I didn't want to dive into it, but yeah. So Abby, murder Joel in this episode.
Speaker: Brutal. Crazy. At the end. It's just phenomenal. Not what I expected that they would do in the beginning because they're stretching this out. So I thought I thought they wouldn't do this. But yeah, that's that's crazy. I was completely wrong, by the way. Completely ate my humble pie. I thought they were going to do flashbacks and try to do flashbacks for Abby because of the way that the first episode went of the show, actually, largely. like And they did not do that. Clearly.
Speaker: no So. So yeah, they went into it and yeah, like they they killed Joel and it's brutal and it's a tough scene, but I, I find it, interesting again is they they now fully revealed not only her intentions in the first episode because she says i'm going to kill joel episode like the first episode it's kind of there's this level of bill build up to it and then you know she finds joel um she figures out who joel is immediately because dina yells his name from afar um which is different from the game and i think that was one of the major criticism uh from the game a lot of people say like joel would have never revealed his name tommy would have never said joel's name um
Speaker: you know, like in front of strangers. And it's like in this one, they they kind of solved that. They had Dina yell, um hey, Joel, like, let's get out of here. So so Abby finds that, you know, what, what who he is.
Speaker: But then she's like sitting down and then she tells him why she's killing him. She says like, you killed my dad. And again, in the game, we don't figure that out until probably the halfway point.
Speaker: Because we see that Ellie is on this revenge quest to kill these people. And part of the fun and part of the mystery is why did they do that? what was the What was the intention? Ellie says something along the lines of, um you know like Joel pissed off a lot of people.
Speaker: right he was He did stuff in the 20 years before I even met him. um And yeah, I find this an interesting change. Is it, again, this this I think is just a nitpick because I love the game and um' umm I'm pointing out those differences. I don't necessarily think this is worse.
Speaker: I just find that the impact is a little bit less. And they're, the you know, Craig Mazin, I think in this situation are, trying to make Abby a little bit more of a human character early on.
Speaker: I disagree. This is actually was a part I completely disagree on. Okay, please. Yeah, I'm curious. I'm curious. I found her to be completely framed as a villain here. i i don't, again, as somebody who hasn't played the game since 2020,
Speaker: I feel like she's framed as a villain whether her dad was murdered by Joel or not. it It just, she is not, even her whole core whole party is trying to stop her almost. Like, just get it over with. Stop spending the time. Stop torturing for this period. To me, this was more agonizing in some way than I remember the game being, which is crazy because that was a really agonizing moment.
Speaker: But my the anticipation, knowing what's coming up, knowing ah having had played the game and then watching it play out, I'm like, wow, she's really... she's pushing into this villain role fairly heavily here. Like she's, the she's the villain. I mean, i don't want to get into how they, how the season goes. So, cause we know that yeah things, you know, how things go, but I feel like she, yeah, she's, I don't think she's sympathetic at all.
Speaker: I even think saying that her, her father has died. I just don't even, i don't know why i don't it's it's strange. I almost dislike her more than, I don't think so. Cause I and remember the yeah the game and i I definitely disliked the, that that yeah scene quite a bit, but I just, to me it's done very well. And I think it, you it does potentially humanize her in certain ways, but I don't know.
Speaker: <unk> Because we know her intention. I feel like, again, you you might disagree, but like that you can find a reason to murder someone. Right. and part of the fun in the game is that we didn't know what that reason was. Like, there's like, oh, there's probably a reason, but what was it? And it's quite literally like, again, her her father was murdered. He's a surgeon in the Fireflies.
Speaker: Sure. And Joel killed him like point blank. So this is, it's showing like, it's setting up. This was a revenge quest. She hates him. Yes. My dad's dead. And yeah, like it does make her the villain. i'm I'm not, I'm not disregarding that, but like, she's far more villainous, I guess, in the game because you you don't really know much about her.
Speaker: um So yeah, again, yeah. And I don't know. Again, I think I'm a nitpicking a little bit about that. I still really liked it though. Like I think Caitlin Devers' performance as Abby is amazing.
Speaker: And she really conveyed her emotions. Yeah, no, she was incredible. the the The thing is, like what are you looking for, though? You want a carbon copy copy of the game is kind of the question, I guess. You've got to pull an audience, a TV audience, week to week to play this. like in In a video game, you can kind of you can move right at past that. We're not doing week to week.
Speaker: And you can kind of move through it as the next as a character you play, and you've got to go through it. In this, you have to you have to make some kind of sympathetic argument for it. these characters in some way too. You're trying to pull people along this story.
Speaker: I don't know. It's interesting. What do you want? you want it to be a carbon copy? Because I don't. i don't want it to be a carbon copy. I like the changes, but again, at the end of the day, it's like, I just don't really understand the purpose of making these changes. ah Other than again, what I said, like, I guess it's humanizing her a bit. It's showing her intentions and I'm just, it's an audience of a TV show.
Speaker: but actually Yeah. Yeah. And again, that's kind of the argument I'm making it. I think think for me, it loses a little bit more of that impact, that level of mystery. But again, it does make sense. You're trying to humanize this character, a character that you can assume will be humanized more down the line. Right.
Speaker: Right. so So you kind of did like it. You're just kind of on the fence. Is that what I'm hearing? for For that second. No, again, i'm not even I'm not even on the fence. I like it. I think this is oh really great. Oh, misunderstood. I'm just pointing out the You said nitpick, so I figured.
Speaker: Oh, okay. You said the word nitpick when you described it. i See, I feel like we're maybe recording this too early because our opinions aren't fully formed based on that. You're like, well, I'm nitpicking, but you're not. You like to actually. So it i actually get that like I can still nitpick on things I like. Right. You can still point out like little things.
Speaker: Differences. You know, I don't know. Maybe we have different definitions. so But but yeah, i will say this episode. Man, it it's this ballsy swing for the fences.
Speaker: I don't know. I just didn't think that they were going to do this. I really didn't. I don't know why. I just thought that they would be... i don't know. They would just take their time with it a bit more throughout the season because they have their time.
Speaker: thing is is, they can they could potentially do flashbacks still. like So they still have the opportunity to do flash that flashbacks with certain characters. So that's not that crazy that they could just kind of follow the... To me, like this is like, this is as carbon copy as I could have imagined that they would go.
Speaker: With that scene in particular, yeah. The whole episode. For me, it's like, I can't believe how much... Also, the fact that they're getting attacked is perfect because it's a good excuse for nobody to go after him. it's It's so good because like you have no... They're not going to leave. There is no reason... Tommy's about to head out in this episode. He's going to go look for Joel.
Speaker: He backs down because he can't. Because the the zombies, the infected turn tail and run towards the towards Jackson, so they can't leave. they They can't leave because it would be, first of all, suicide, but also you're never, who cares about Joel when your entire family is going to get murdered?
Speaker: So like, I i don't know. i really like that change, I guess, but it just felt, it felt like a fit pretty well in that regard. Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. They followed the snowstorm aspect, the fact that Abby gets kind of stuck and then Joel saves her life. If I recall, that happened in the game as well.
Speaker: Exactly. Just like that as well, which is cool. It follows through that same path. I thought i don't know. I found it to be very, very capably written. Like, it I don't know. I didn't find any flaws with the, like, I can see where you're coming from with the the the the the infected kind of not going towards Tommy. But it's like, again, that's too much of a, it's like suspension of disbelief. You got to suspend it a little bit from my perspective.
Speaker: Yeah. But. because there's lots of humans to go after. There's lots of lots of meat to go on, I guess. But yeah, even the golf club. yeah even Amazing. They even did that as well.
Speaker: Yeah. um But yeah, I honestly, i'm I'm an emotional turmoil after that. I didn't want it to happen that way. Personally, i kind of was hoping that they would draw it out a little bit more. They they they literally separated Joel and Ellie, just like the games, I guess.
Speaker: They didn't have the makeup in any way. They didn't even talk. They're completely in in dire straits. They were not in good shape. Yeah, but... it's like I mean, Ellie does tell Jesse, like, yeah, we talked.
Speaker: So, like, can we assume that know after? she lied. You think she lied? 100%. That was her lying. Maybe. That's why she wanted to go with Joel.
Speaker: Because she wanted to make up with him, but she never talked to him. that That's the perspective I got. We got. There is perspective. She comes home, and she's not happy, and she's not talking to him. Yeah. completely What I took from it is that we there's a scene that takes place after that moment that we haven't seen.
Speaker: and that's Oh, you think so? A flashback, perhaps? Yeah, I think we'll see a flashback to to fill in a blank. Interesting. um Maybe. Interesting. Yeah. Okay. That's an interesting insight. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. I also do like, um again, in the game, it's actually Tommy that's with Joel when this happens.
Speaker: I like that they swapped out Dina with it it makes because and it makes it a little bit more personal for Dina now because she was there she's seen these people together so I do like that change actually I think that's right a really good change um that that they made in this um And another big thing, I don't know if there's anything you want to point out plot-wise. Is there anything else that you want to talk about plot-wise?
Speaker: It was cool to see Eugene's hideout, like to give us a perspective on on Gail's husband. I thought that was cool. ah That was a neat aspect. And then we get to see young Mazina and Bella Ramsey play off of each other, Jesse and and Ellie in that in that ah and that drug den, you know?
Speaker: But yeah. Yeah, that that was cool because we didn't really have much perspective on Eugene. I think eugene Eugene's mentioned in the game. He is, yeah. Gale is never mentioned, though. Gale's not in it, but Eugene yeah exists. And he also, in the game, ah he just dies in his sleep. like He just dies.
Speaker: He doesn't die from infected, and Joel kills him um like he does on the show. So it's a different... outcome of the way this guy goes out. Assuming that he was infected, right? we We're just assuming just based on what was said. is Yeah, I think just context clues.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. It seems like that would be in the most obvious situation. Yeah, man. I don't... I don't know. I stay i didn't know why i didn't i thought it would not happen it this way. yeah i really i I'm really set on this idea, though, that Caitlin Dever killed it in the role, and she's really villainous. I don't sympathize with her as an audience right as a pet like a member of the audience right now. I just don't.
Speaker: It's just the nature of the way that they shot it. She's got such conviction in the way she portrays the character in these moments that I think the the staff, the Craig Mazin and team have their work cut out for them, honestly, based on what we know the game to be.
Speaker: So I'm, yeah, I think, you I mean, you can, that but yeah, you can also make a good argument that like the best villains have a good reason for, for their actions. So, you know, again, revealing this early yeah adds to that.
Speaker: So again, I can see that perspective too. Um, really the final thing I want to mention, bringing in Ashley Johnson to sing through the valley, like that song playing at the end.
Speaker: That's a Ashley Johnson is Ellie's voice actress in, in the game. And, and I guess mocap person. Um, so I'm really glad they brought that in brilliantly saying brilliantly done really added to an emotional element for people that have played the game.
Speaker: Um, yeah, yeah. i really loved that. That's cool. Yeah. Also, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, it's good stuff. Again, the the brutality of the way that they they kill Joel is phenomenal. And just kind of being stabbed in the neck right at the end. to Just to make sure that there's no questions about it.
Speaker: The viewers being there. That's for sure. There's no questions about it. in the In the game, if I recall correctly, it's it's done he doesn't get stabbed in the neck. She just does one final bash to his head, and it's like very brutal, and you watch it.
Speaker: Right. Yeah. But yeah, I feel like they were just like, I don't know if we can actually do that right now. wherere We're just gonna, we're just gonna stab him in the neck. And um I also like that Ellie didn't get like knocked out and she wakes up later. She literally immediately crawls to Joel and is like crying and again, emotional, powerful.
Speaker: um Yeah. Yeah. Before we wrap up though, I want, I need to know like, what did your fiance think? Someone that... no perspective of the game did she saw see this coming how shocked she saw it coming because she had it spoiled she knew that that joel was gonna die i didn't know that until until after we watched the episode so she knew that in the game joel passes away that's the way what a euphemism um but he he dies so she didn't she didn't know but she didn't know she didn't sorry she did know but she did not know that he dies so early in the game and and she's like this isn't what happens in the game i'm like it's exactly it's almost precisely what happens in the game that's what's so crazy is that they they hit the nail on the head pretty pretty well like i i think that they just didn't pull any punches hit the golf club on the head you mean
Speaker: Yeah. I just don't think they they pulled any punches at all. Like, they just went for it, and they didn't... they they There's like no apologies here. there They're just like, we're going to do this and we're going to do it exactly in the timeline.
Speaker: I had a colleague at at work ah say on a conference call, they're like, they were joking around about like, get your golf clubs ready about this, about this scene coming up this week. And and I literally said to them, i'm like, there's no way they're going to definitely do flashbacks to the next few episodes. There's no way they're gonna do this. That's why it's seven episodes specifically.
Speaker: I thought that they would draw it out. But they didn't, obviously. So again, I've repeated this a few times, but I'm shocked in that regard. It was great. I thought it was pretty good. I don't even know what my score is, though. i'm I'm hurt on a perspective of like, I didn't want to see this happen so soon. So for me, it's like my score is being fluctuated between two numbers. But I'll give it throw it to you first. Maybe you have a good perspective. It's tough for me because mine is fluctuating between three, depending on like my the second, uh, of time it is.
Speaker: Yeah. Cause my emotional state is, is fluctuating. Um, like, I guess like for me, the The issue is is some of this is just so amazing. But again, like for me, the plot convenience aspects kind of hold it back. So yeah I guess like another 3.5 for me, man. Like, i don't know.
Speaker: Yeah. Interesting. Okay. Is that the lowest it would have been? No, 3 would have been the lowest. Oh, interesting. i would have been 3, 3.5 or 4. yeah, I think, for me.
Speaker: yeah i think I think I'm going to give it a four. It's it's a 0.5 lower than the last one. I think the reason why I think ah i I believe this is that we just started the season and we haven't really seen much of Joel at all.
Speaker: And i I feel like that's one thing they could have done more or better. It's like they almost ran at a time in that way. They kind of felt i that to me felt a little rushed. in In terms of character development and plot development, I feel like you could have done a little bit more with Joel. But I get the idea of like him coming to the rescue in that moment, shooting the infected and saving Abby in that second.
Speaker: It's cool because it's a reveal. like You don't know where this guy is. and it's like There's this this this idea. like r knew right from the beginning of this episode that this is the choice they were making, that they were pretty much doing it. Because I'm like, what else could they be doing?
Speaker: As soon as we find out that Joel is out, I'm like, oh, he's out there in the first like 10 minutes. Oh, no. That's what I thought. I'm like, because the the episode starts with a flashback.
Speaker: And I thought, oh, I'm right. And then like moments later, we find out they're already in the cabin that literally the exact same set. but By the way, the set dressing in terms of building out the the cabin, like not the cabin, I guess it's like a cottage, beautiful, beautiful mansion in the in the woods.
Speaker: It's very, very similar to the games. it's yeah It's really well designed and well, like the production design is great. But yeah, so I think I'm going to go with a four just because I feel like the impact would have been more on a seasonal perspective if they had gone, if they had done a bit more Joel work before we jump right in.
Speaker: So I would have maybe preferred this episode to actually be episode three. that's That's my criticism of it. I feel like you could have drawn it out a bit more. and then done it because we have we've been, it's been two years since, like, since the first season. So i don't know. You got to use that timeline perhaps.
Speaker: Oh, and it's been a five-year time jump as well. That's another aspect of it. um So 4.0 out of five, which makes it, Adrian, if I'm adding correctly, if I know how to do ah basic accounting, 7.5 out of of low. But,
Speaker: just kind of low
Speaker: a shocking episode. I'm very emotional. But yeah. Okay, man.
Speaker: They did it. They did it. Now the major spoiler. We don't have to worry about that anymore. You know? Yeah. It's kind of cool. It's nice. Yeah. Okay, buddy.
Speaker: Well, I appreciate you joining me again. It's nice to see your perspective. I like that you've played the games recently too, so we can get that perspective. It's fun to talk to you about this, as as we've said before, but it's cool to shoot the shit about this because it's nice to see two different sides of the coin.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely, man. yeah Thanks for joining me. And thank you, audience, for joining us.
Speaker: Goodbye. Yeah, thanks. Take care. Goodbye.
