Transcript
Speaker: This is food! This is beans! on on the planet
Speaker: Adrian, let's take a closer look at episode five now of The Last of Us season two on HBO. What did you think of this episode?
Speaker: Yes, Simon. I thought positive things about this episode. Mostly. i think there's a couple of things that stand out um that I didn't particularly love.
Speaker: and And honestly, I kind of blame you for it because you planted some seeds in my brain last week. And like sure I can't get it out of my head. And it's just been pestering me in my brain.
Speaker: and now I'm overanalyzing it a little bit. but I shouldn't blame you. I think I think yeah it's, you're right. It's me acknowledging your, your, your, your correctness in this.
Speaker: So, um, but I thought this episode was actually really cool from a, again, like a set design perspective. I thought it was fricking awesome. Um, again, like how they can recreate,
Speaker: um parts of the game and just make it look so good on so television is, is masterful. They do a lot of really cool things. They give us a little bit more context um and a little bit more insight into how the scars are, which is pretty cool. I was, I was happy to see that.
Speaker: And again, they do something really, really awesome, which I wish they're doing. They do more of, and it's giving us kind of a scene that is set ultimately before the events of the game, giving us a little bit more context to the wider world without really kind of changing what's in the game, if that makes sense.
Speaker: They're adding to it. Sorry. They're adding context ah to the show. You mean not to the game, right? Well, maybe I misunderstand. Yeah. and well, I mean, they're adding context to both. Like they're adding scenes that weren't in the game that add context to the, to the world.
Speaker: And I thought that that's really cool. Um, what they're accomplishing there. I think everyone's performances uh, great However, again, based on some seeds you planted in my brain, I think Bella Ramsey's performance is a little inconsistent. And I just, the issue is, is like, I don't know if I should blame her or if I should just totally blame the writing or if it's a little bit of both.
Speaker: and And that's what's tough about it. um But again, i'm I'm excited to kind of get a little bit deeper into that. What did you think, man? It does seem like it's the writing. i don't I don't think it's her fault. I think that this the writing and then the directing based on the writing that's causing this issue that we're talking about very vaguely. So I'll just I'll talk more.
Speaker: non-spoiler, and then we'll we'll maybe get into it after. But um but the key is for this episode, this this episode was directed by Stephen Williams, which I think we had mentioned last last week, but that's the director of one of my favorite episodes of TV ever, which is the Watchmen TV show director for This Extraordinary Being, which is one of the it is legitimately an incredible episode of TV.
Speaker: If you haven't watched the Watchmen TV well watch watch TV show, sorry, watch it. It's great. Watchman. but Watch man or woman. Yeah, that's horrible. That's a horrible joke. Regardless of that, it is very great. Stephen Williams did a great job here. And I think the pacing of this episode in particular is incredible.
Speaker: I think that the way that the action plays into emotional elements and then they kind of feed off of each other and the way that the episode is almost symmetrical. it's It's honestly, this is a really great episode of TV.
Speaker: think Stephen Williams is just following up some, you know, other great episodes of TV. He's done other stuff in the meantime, but this extra extraordinary being stood out to me as like an incredible episode of TV on, for the Watchmen series. And so it's cool. And he's doing the lanterns TV series to,
Speaker: You know, not not to get too excited about the Lanterns TV series because it's not related to this, but it's another HBO show coming out um based on a DC property. Anyway, regardless of that, I thought this was really good. I thought overall, this episode is great. Another episode written by Craig Mazin.
Speaker: There is some weird things about what we're talking about vaguely. I kind of agree with you, but I also feel like they fixed some of the issues that I had, which is interesting because it's the opposite kind of... yeah really he i I created a disease in your mind that planted a virus and now I'm kind of maybe turning on that idea but um yeah I really like this episode and what exactly you said about how they they kind of built the set pieces and built the the production design and how it mimics the game there's like one area with like buses I think you don know what i'm talking about and I'm like wow that's like it's like in my memory I remember that distinctly and that's
Speaker: That's some of the the mastery of the production team, for sure. ah And in the way that they also, they did the makeup again in for for some of the infected, et cetera, et cetera, and like the costumes, it's it's been great. It's been awesome in that regard.
Speaker: So I really, you know, kudos to them. Shout out to the production team. So, okay. Yeah, that's pretty much all I've got. um So let's move on.
Speaker: Let's move on now, Adrian, to the spoiler half of this A Closer Look episode where we just dive into spoilers. So if you haven't watched episode five of season two of The Last of Us, Feel Her Love is what it's called.
Speaker: You should probably turn away now because we're about to spoil the heck of it heck out of it. Adrian, what did you think of this episode from a spoiler perspective? Yeah, I thought there was some really like powerful scenes, most notably very early in the episode where Ellie is walking down the like the theater aisle and she picks up the guitar and starts singing Pearl Jam.
Speaker: um Immediately emotional, like I almost started crying right away as soon as that scene started happening. It just that song resonates so much because it's so integral to the video game itself.
Speaker: um And she kind of stops playing there. And I was expecting a flashback to occur at that point. Me too. And they didn't do it, which I found interesting.
Speaker: But as you mentioned, I think the pacing in this episode is really great. So I don't think it necessarily detracts from it. um so But I was hoping that we would get more. There is something interesting about that moment. there's this There's this resonating tone that happens, not from the guitar, from the score.
Speaker: It's almost like a sound effect that would make you think as an audience that they are going to go into a flashback. They do not. They restrain themselves. She goes into a flashback, and that's what's cool.
Speaker: Her brain went there. And so this is the turning point for me. This episode started much like the last episode. I complained about how... Ellie is not being mature enough. Dina is not mature enough on this journey. They're not thinking about the eye on the prize. They're here for revenge. It's a hate-filled journey.
Speaker: And I felt that this was problematic. The thing is, is that moment when she starts playing the guitar and she stops playing it, that to me was a turning point moment where she realizes, now I got to get serious. And what am I doing?
Speaker: And you could see it on her face. Because she's doing the flashback herself. She's imagining the situation. that That is a it's a really neat way to kind of begin the episode from the perspective, at least, of our characters, the characters that we've been following.
Speaker: But the actual episode starts with a flashback. and Not a flashback, sorry, a scene with the wolves talking about spores, which is another huge thing that they're introducing here that was in the game from the start.
Speaker: um that's again the symmetricality is kind of where i'm talking about they start the episode with the spores this is talking about in terms of symmetricality i should say but they start the episode with the spores and the impact of discovering them for the first time for the wolves and then they end it with it with the spores and showing us how ellie is not infected because she's immune and how that might play into the story later it's that aspect of the story is really neat. And then that goes into the scene, basically where she's on the guitar and that ends with a sequence where they actually finally go to that flashback with Joel that we didn't get to see in that scene. So that's what I'm talking about in terms of it being symmetrically paced.
Speaker: It's, I'm like, wow, it's kind of crazy when you think of it as a whole, It's honestly a lot better than when I was at the about the halfway point. I thought this is fine, this episode.
Speaker: But as soon as they get to the Seraphites, I think scars is a ah bad term, Adrian. I'm not sure you should use that. It's it's a like ah like a racial slur almost. Yeah. yeah um When they see the Seraphites doing that you know terrible thing to that man, yeah there's like that's like the point where I'm like, okay, this is this episode is going away I didn't expect.
Speaker: This episode, it shows does so much world building and yet there's so many action sequences and yet so much emotionality built into it. It's kind of overwhelming.
Speaker: And it's literally the shortest episode in season two. How the hell do they pack that? It didn't feel rushed at all. It's it' remarkable. I'm quite impressed. Anyway, I'll throw it to you because I've gone through a lot.
Speaker: I was kind of making the point of a symmetricality for yeah for a bit there, but that that was kind of my my highlight. The whole episode great, I think. Yeah, again, I agree with everything you're saying there. ah For me, though, again, since you planted that seed ah seed about Ellie not being fully mature, yeah i couldn't get rid of it. I do agree with you when she's playing the guitar, there's that moment where she puts it down, and then there's there's this look on her face. Yeah, she wants to get serious, but how the rest of the episode continues to play out until the end, she is, again, happy-go-lucky, and
Speaker: I like what the show is doing a lot with Dina as a character. They're making her much more of a focus, oddly enough. And she's almost taking that like main character role, which is a little bit weird.
Speaker: She's the one that is angry. She's the one that's showing way more emotion. um And I find it odd because this is Ellie's revenge quest first.
Speaker: Yeah. And I couldn't get that out of my head. And like my fiance agrees as well. Like she was sitting there and she's like, like she's like, I like Dina too, but it's weird that Ellie isn't as like, I got to do this.
Speaker: So when we get to the driving force, exactly. And so when we get to the end of the episode where there's, she, she goes, you know, last second, ah Jesse shows up, takes Dina. Cause, cause she gets shot in the leg. Again, I'm kind of jumping ah ahead here and she goes,
Speaker: to the hospital to find Nora. It not necessarily seemed out of place, but it's like, you don't have the drive from before you go there. And then an amazing chase sequence sequence happens. It feels like it's ripped out of the game. Again, yeah the red lighting again is fantastic. And they did it again.
Speaker: Yeah. It's so cool, man. And she's like talking to Nora, like, tell me where Abby is. And, when Bella's like kind of kneels down and gets to her eye level and you see the camera goes to her face.
Speaker: I was kind of like, Oh my God, like this is brilliant. Like Bella's performance here is amazing. Her eyes are dead. Like it literally looks like there's nothing behind there and it's creepy.
Speaker: And she then starts bashing the shit out of Nora. I'm like, I fucking love this. But the lead up to that moment is almost like again i i it's it seems like such a quick shift like a mental shift in ellie's brain i wonder though if it's not a mental shift like a quick shift and more so that she's keeping her cards close to her vest because she's not when she's with dina she's like a different person she's almost like it's like i wonder if they're trying to go that direction and that dina takes brings out the best in her But when she's alone now, when she finally gets to go off on her own and when she's in action mode, she realizes why she's here in a bigger way. Because she sees in the forest literally the the place they were meant to go, the hospital.
Speaker: And she's like, I could turn back. But I don't because i this is exactly why I'm here. There's nothing to hold me back. Because even in that moment where Dina and her are talking, when they're about to go into the building or they're on their way there and they're talking about how, is yeah, it was on their way there. where are this that They're talking about how maybe Dina should go back.
Speaker: She's like thinking about Dina and she's not thinking about revenge. and But I can get that because there's a there is an emotional, like you have this connection now that you didn't think you had before you even started this journey.
Speaker: So i can I can get it a little bit. i'm I'm kind of getting on side with this concept that she's a complex person and that she, like the The problem is we haven't seen as much of the hatred, but the moment where she's playing the guitar and stops, I thought was really quite neat because she's again alone, not with Dina this time. She has no reason to play the guitar.
Speaker: She's just filled with like this, like, no, this is nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. I don't want to be doing this. I don't want to sing Pearl Jam. I want to go after who I want to go after. Dina interrupts her, but not really because you already put the guitar down. And then she's like, okay, let's get down to business.
Speaker: Ellie says. So I thought that that was kind of a neat because there's like a turning point aspect a little bit. You're right, though. It is still a little weird and jarring because it seems like she switches quite quite a bit. Here's what I'll say, though. Again, about the symmetricality. You're talking about the Nora scene in the red light.
Speaker: Really neat. See, here's something cool. So the first, that last episode, the episode you really liked, ah episode four. there's a guitar scene, right? And there's this beautiful moment and they have this beautiful moment. She's playing the guitar and and there's like, it's a lovely moment.
Speaker: In this episode, they flip it. They're like, it's not lovely. it's In her mind, she's like, this isn't as lovely as I thought. It flips it. And then later on in this episode, there's a red light scene.
Speaker: And instead of being out of control, like they were in the last episode, She's completely in control in the most fantastical way possible because she has immunity. So i feel like they planned that for sure because they did the they did those two – like they're going to do a guitar scene again and then they didn't.
Speaker: They're like, a flip it on its head. And then they did the same thing with the red light scene. Like they're going to do a red light scene again. and then they're like, no, we're not doing it actually. We're going to flip it and show you how they're not being chased by like a horde.
Speaker: She's literally the horde herself, which is like she's the evil in and a weird way. So I don't know. I think that that, don't know, there's a brilliance of this episode that I'm like, i the more I thought about it after it ended, the more i was like, wow, this was quite well written and quite well like directed. It's it's great.
Speaker: And the production design, as we discussed, is great. But yeah, pretty cool. Sorry, I'll throw it back to you. No, no. Like, yeah, I think you're making solid points, dude. And again, I agree with what you're saying there. And i think like what I got to just eventually wrap my head around is that this version of Ellie is far more emotionally immature and she's having a schoolgirl crush.
Speaker: Yes, um that's a good point. ah She's also kind of treated like an idiot, which is kind of strange. But then she kind of spins it and then she's not really that stupid when she's somehow sneaks into the hospital.
Speaker: They just treat her like that because that's her the perception of who she is. h which is interesting but yeah the school girl girl girl crush thing is interesting too she's just kind of like wrapped wrapped around by that really yeah hold it and yeah it just seems like kind of unique um in in that sort of way and i i just gotta kind of accept that um yeah but yeah there there is that sort of yeah like she seems incompetent in the show and again like i but I have a tougher time believing that she's able to go on this quest. And again, you brought this up last week and I just feel like it kind of, even the characters are surrounding her think that like, even when Jesse shows up and they talk, talk is like, I found the map of you guys triangulating.
Speaker: And then Ellie's like, Oh yeah, that was Dina. He's like, I know. Like I obviously wasn't you like you're a dumbass. Like essentially is is how it came across. Right. So yeah, it's, I don't know. She is small in stature. She's like an underdog.
Speaker: And it's, I guess they're trying to build it up more of an underdog story, not in a positive way, but more in like a revenge quest way. Yeah, maybe. So again, I just, I gotta accept. She's kind just of finding herself though on a confidence level, which is interesting that she didn't necessarily have maybe until now. She doesn't hasn't found herself in the five years since we've seen her from season one.
Speaker: It seems like that as is something i'm I'm kind of willing to accept. she'st she's not She's not there mentally. She's not ready. And then she's becoming ready in the moment, again, in the red light. That's the kind of the crazy thing. is like This episode is kind of showing how she's developing as a person, kind of being consumed by the rage in ah in a bigger way, potentially. We'll see how it goes. I mean, maybe see episode six won't be as as much of a...
Speaker: of a turn, maybe they'll go back and make her stupid again. But the idea is that they think she's stupid and she's kind of perceiving herself as dumb, even the moments where they're doing triangulation. She's like, doesn't want to participate because she's not willing to.
Speaker: But it's it may be that's just the perception that people have of her and she's accepting it. But in reality, that's not really true. And I think that's kind of a neat aspect that I'm kind of interpreting here, but we'll see how it goes again in the next couple episodes.
Speaker: yeah i guess we can make the argument that like yeah she's gaining more confidence and she's finding herself as this season is progressing but again i i hate to always bring up the video game but again this is based on a video game there is just like a level of like she has drive she has confidence in the game already she's yeah capable for sure of doing this mission and yeah real she's the driving force exactly and they're really trying to hammer home the point here is she's might not be capable like and and again it really they highlight this when they're going through the long building that dina finds on the mat and there's one stalker there and then all of a sudden and three stalkers there and it's like good good scene too amazing it was cool that it was terrifying because just the way when they look over that crate or whatever and you see the one stalker standing on top of like
Speaker: whatever. And you're like, Oh man, that's creepy. And then they're like, okay, cool. We're going to, it's a smart one. We can take this one out. Like we'll trick it. And then they look up and there's like two more standing there. It's like, Oh my God.
Speaker: And there's this level of fear and then more and more and more show up. But there's a, yeah, it's, that seems really great. But again, they would have been fucked if it wasn't for Jesse showing up like yeah right on time.
Speaker: yeah And they're so out of their depth, which is i think something that they're, they're writing into the show. It's not like it was an accident. Whereas in the game, obviously not the case. So that it's like, ah she almost finds herself differently in the games, right? Like she doesn't find herself in this way.
Speaker: So there's an element of like, she's not, she doesn't know who she is. yeah And like, I think also, if you look at the intro sequence of the of the, of the show and how they kind of remove the Joel figure in the fungus,
Speaker: There was two figures in season one and then becomes one after season two. I think that that's the idea is that she is alone now and she's got she's got to make it on her own.
Speaker: Whereas Joel and Ellie were kind of, even for the audience, were like the tentpoles that held the show up together. The question is, can Ellie hold it up on her own? And she hasn't so far, so'll be fair.
Speaker: But now that that moment in this episode, again, with it's like a turning point as well. you know Even more specific turning point is that moment with the scars where she's she She has a choice to go back and go back to Dina and Jesse, or she's got the choice to go to the hospital and she chooses to go towards danger instead of the other direction, which is a very bold choice. And she somehow sneaks in in a very smart way, as opposed to just going guns a blazing and try to take them all out on that front line as well. Mm hmm.
Speaker: so Yeah, it's cool that they do that. But again, i have a tough time almost believing it, unfortunately. Because she can get gi in. comp Yeah, like she's been so incompetent up until this point, even literally like 20 minutes prior, you know? like And it's just like, yeah it it just seems a little out of place. And that's kind of my major issue with it. But once she's in, it's cool.
Speaker: It's awesome. And I'm in it. And again, I believe Bella's performance. I just genuinely think I feel bad for saying this because I think Craig Mazin did ah like a phenomenal job and in season one. I never watched Chernobyl, but I know everyone that has like agree that he's a good right writer.
Speaker: I just, don't I think he's struggling to adapt this in a way that is even remotely as impactful as the video game. um And there's, a um I almost feel like there's a level of pretentiousness in his writing.
Speaker: And like ah he, he's writing things for a dumber audience throughout the season. But then sometimes makes things so vague. and ah And I feel like there's, he's trying to make us assume people's, you know, thoughts.
Speaker: and And I just have a tough, to I just don't think he's executing on this as well as he did on the first season. And as much as I did really like this episode, like I am at the point of like, this season is significantly worse than the first season. and Hmm.
Speaker: Interesting. And it's funny of me kind of getting to this point, episode five, even though I really, really like this episode. I just think now that I'm looking at it as a whole. I just think there's no doubt about it. We got two episodes left. I'm very confident this next episode is going to probably be fantastic because if I'm correct, it's Neil Druckmann is writing it as well.
Speaker: He's directing it as well as well. So it's Neil Druckmann, Hallie Gross, who's also a writer on I'm pretty sure Intergalactic. She's in Intergalactic as an actor. I'm fairly certain. Oh, and it's ah Craig Mazin writing it.
Speaker: as well. So it's like a three person team. And that's the, the last episode is the same way. Neil Druckmann, Neil Druckmann, Hallie Gross and Craig Mazin. ah But, but the, I think the biggest thing is that Neil Druckmann is directing episode six, which I think is going to be interesting because I don't remember which one he he directed. Maybe it was episode two for the first season already. He did, he did direct either one or two episodes for a season Oh, I have it right here. Why don't I just look?
Speaker: um He directed episode two. Yeah. So it's, ah yeah. Episode two was Neil Druckmann, who, if you don't know this, you're listening to this episode. Neil Druckmann is the creator of the games. Sorry, as I should have said that.
Speaker: um So that's that's a pretty interesting thing. we We'll see what happens with that. But yeah, the three-person team with episode six and seven for writing, I'm curious about that. Because it's like, I feel like shit's going to go down if that's the case.
Speaker: yeah i think so i think i know how what what the next episode maybe not in in its entirety is going to be about but it's going to definitely be a flashback obviously because they they end the episode with pedro pascal coming back right and yeah he like knocks on the door ellie's in bed she wakes up and he you know says hey kiddo and it's that was such a powerful scene again there's my freaking issue with this season is that the highs are so high, but I think there's just too many lows and it's driving me insane because I want to love this. There are moments that that I am so in love with the show.
Speaker: And then, I just don't, I'm just critical of other pieces of it. And I can't get to that point that I got when, yeah i mean, in the first season, you know, again, I think any of the changes they made benefited actually have a story played out. And again, the additional context that they gave to certain characters and, and all that, I thought it was masterfully done.
Speaker: I just think, yeah, this, this season is kind of missing on that, um which bums me out. it It's neat, like if they go into the flashback as like a full episode, as an example, it could be a reset as well on your perception. we we We could see something really neat with the way it turns itself around because it it's it's kind of a, it's not exactly an even show, even for me. You obviously definitely agree. like You didn't think it's a very even, like so the second season there was,
Speaker: there's been highs and lows, but a lot of lows for you. So i'm curious to see if they can turn it around and they can maybe turn around the perception. Cause she's going to go, if it's a flashback sequence, largely, then we can kind of see where Ellie's mind is at, which is, could be really unique.
Speaker: um But yeah, just ending it on a flashback is such a unique way to end it and the end an episode. I'm just, it's so bold. i don't know. I really liked this episode. I think it might be my favorite one of the season actually. Yeah.
Speaker: um I really like episode one, to be fair. I just thought that the way it was crafted was great. But this is a this is a really well built, I think, for. Yeah. For this episode, episode five. But yeah.
Speaker: OK, it's funny because. Oh, yeah. Like, no, it's funny because I like this might be my favorite episode, too. It's it's a toss up right between this week and last week. But for whatever reason, and again, I'm going to just blame you, dude. It's your fault.
Speaker: I just can't get rid of this one one feeling throughout this episode that just like kind of was nagging at me. um And again, I think, yeah, like the writing. fair to you, it nagged at me in the beginning. But as it as it went on, I'm like, I can kind of see where they're going with this. She is immature. She doesn't know who she is. And that's the whole idea.
Speaker: Like this is the last episode was like, really, she doesn't know why she's here at all. She's like on a road trip with her best friend. It's like, come on, like you got to get real here. But this one is like, she was on a road trip with her best friend, but then she gets a reality check when she's playing the song. And then she gets a bigger reality check when they're going into a ah group of infected. That's crazy. There's an ebb and flow of this episode. As I mentioned earlier, like this, like action sequence to emotional moment to like big reveal, like Jesse, there's big reveal with the spores. Like these are crazy people.
Speaker: like momentous world building moments. And the, the amount of different things we see, it's crazy. The wolves, the spores, the infected, the the amount of stalkers is crazy. Like, I don't know if I said the scars already, but the seraphites with their, their crazy murderous shit. Even there's those images from the game that are again, translated here with the torches in the forest with this, this person hanging the whistles. Exactly. It's just so brilliantly built. And then they get to the hospital and the hospital sequences like, like, Whoa, that's exactly like the game. And then,
Speaker: And then they corner Nora, and I think that Tati Gabrielle's performance is great. And then they chase Tati Gabrielle into a spore-infested area. They turn on the red light again, similar to – I believe that sequence is very similar to the the game as well. My memory is a bit fuzzy.
Speaker: But then there's that moment with torture, and then they go into a flashback. They're like, what? How did you fit this into 47 minutes? I don't know. i Chef's kisss kiss for me. I really, i really did like it. But yeah, anyway but again, what we're like hammering home the point again is the best scenes of this episode, the best scenes of this season are the scenes that are stripped right out of the game or scenes that are not in the game entirely at all and are adding additional you know, ah ah additional context and and and viewpoints to the overarching world.
Speaker: so I mean, I think the spores introduction is really cool. I think showing off like Leon, like, like oh, there's a guy named Leon and then showing Leon being a spore, like literally at a ground zero for sport. It's just like, not really ground zero anymore, on ground one, or don't know what it is at that point because he obviously gets infected by spores. But that's not in the game because obviously spores existed prior um to even...
Speaker: The last of us part one, but, but yeah, I, I just think that even translating and adapting like this in such a truthful way or or such a faithful way, I should say is also kind of masterful on its own. Right. And that's kind of what you want ah out of an adaptation, to I guess.
Speaker: Yeah. um But yeah, you're saying that it goes off the beaten path and ways you don't want while also adapting it faithfully. So that's kind of the issue if I'm understanding correctly. Yeah. Okay. All right.
Speaker: Let's do our scores and then get out of here. I'll give you the first. First shot, if you'd like. I give this another four out of five, my friend. Another four out of five. Nice. I give it a 4.5 out of 5.
Speaker: As I said, I believe that it's probably my favorite episode. The more I think about it, the more I like it. um So 4.5 plus 4 is 9. No, sorry. 8.5 out of 10. Dude. I don't know what to add. um Yeah, 8.5 out of 10 potatoes, as you say.
Speaker: yes Yeah. That's it. Thank you for joining me, Adrian. It was a pleasure, as always. And thank you, audience, for joining us. Goodbye. Take care.
