HBO's "The Last Of Us" (Season 2)

[tcripe]

Originally Posted by Cineflicks85

They "critics", they'll gush over anything new with a budget behind it, take it with a mountain of salt.

I mean im pretty confident the show is at least going to be loyal to the game. The writer of the series is the creative director of the games.

[John1701D]

I'm so excited to watch this! Dreading season 2 though, the game was great but it made me feel miserable and uncomfortable. Not to mention THAT part...

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by Bubbles-11

Highest rated video game TV adaptation, highest rated major wide release video game movie on RT is still The Angry Birds Movie 2

Arcane: League of Legends is still at a 100% on rotten tomatoes.

[InUCTiEn]

Going off of House of Dragon, what might be a realistic timeframe we could expect to see this on physical media?

[Canada]

[Pieter V]

Originally Posted by jan_tran

100% on Rotten Tomatoes right now.

97% on 75.

[Pieter V]

Coming Soon - The Official The Last of Us Podcast | HBO Max - YouTube

[joshsquash729]

Got to attend a preview in NYC last night of the first episode at the Angelika film center. Not paid or promoted or anything like that- it was a free screening through 1iota that I lucked out on, so these raves aren't me getting any sort of compensation (though I do admit my bias, just as a huge fan of the games)

It was really cool- the whole place was set up like a Firefly camp with maps and a radio and old (2003) movie posters. The floors were trashed and fake vines were set up everywhere, with people/actors in costume playing along. Clicker noises were played over the speakers when you went downstairs to the theaters. We all got free soda and popcorn and a Firefly pendant and got to take our photo with a recreation of the guy stuck to the wall you see in promos.

The episode was really well done. Can definitely tell that a lot of love and care (and money) went into it. The games are some of, if not my all-time favorites, so I went in with high expectations. Seeing it on a big screen with an active audience definitely helped, but it really was good. There was a few things changed, a few sections truncated to make it more cinematic, but nothing that I'd say I really missed. In fact, a lot of the new additions to flesh out the world I quite liked. Mostly small things, and I won't talk about any of it yet, but I dug it. It shows that actual care went into making it something new, even for diehard fans of the game, and not just a mindless 1-to-1 adaptation (though there were a few scenes that were lifted straight from the games). It's somehow both bigger and more intimate than the game, and it works. Oh, and the title sequence is really cool. Made by the same folks who did Game of Thrones and Westworld, and it shows.

Performance-wise, I think everyone was really strong across the board. Took me a little while to get used to Pedro and Bella, but there were a few moments when they truly look and sound just like Troy and Ashley. Pedro plays Joel a little softer, at least I felt, but the toughness still gets across. Bella is every bit as sarcastic as Ashley, but there's a little more quiet anger and sadness to her this time around. Anna Torv does a really good job as a slightly reworked Tess, and I was happy to see a bit more fleshing out given to Marlene- Merle Dandridge does just as good a job, and it's easy to see why they brought her back from the game. Gabriel Luna wasn't in it much, but he did a great job as Tommy. Nico Parker also deserves a shoutout for her role as Sarah- slightly bigger than in the game, but every bit as effective. Doesn't get much dialogue, but she sells it all really well.

That said, I can see how some people may not dig it. It is definitely a bit slower than I was expecting- more character focused (which I love, but some may not, especially if they don't know the games and what they're getting into), and not that much focus on the Infected (but what we do get is pretty good). Some parts of the early game, which I've come to know and love, have either been super truncated or reworked, so if you're a big fan of any of the early game stuff, you may be a bit disappointed. But it does set up the world and characters really well, I think. You know exactly what kind of place this is, and it's bleak. I still have my worries that some stuff going forward may be cut or it'll go too fast, but I'm still cautiously optimistic, and if nothing else, excited for the changes after seeing how the first episode was handled.

It was such a cool experience and I'm honestly still taking it all in. Seeing a game adaptation done so faithfully really gives me hope, not only for the rest of this show, but what else it may eventually lead to.

[bdmckinl]

Originally Posted by joshsquash729

Got to attend a preview in NYC last night of the first episode at the Angelika film center.

Thank you for taking the time to share all of that!

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by InUCTiEn

Going off of House of Dragon, what might be a realistic timeframe we could expect to see this on physical media?

If House of the Dragon is anything to go by, it will be 4 months.

[eiknarf]

Would you call the infected in this game and show, “zombies”?

What makes a creature a zombie? Don’t you have to die first and then come back to life to be called, “zombie”?

In The Last Of Us, after you get bitten, do you die first, or, does the infection just grow and grow inside you until you rage?

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by dyne

I'm fine with this being 3-4 seasons. Too many shows wear out their welcome and quality suffers.

I typically always want more but yeah weeds, dexter, even westward... Its nice they admit they don't need to overdo it.

[joshsquash729]

Originally Posted by eiknarf

Would you call the infected in this game and show, “zombies”?

What makes a creature a zombie? Don’t you have to die first and then come back to life to be called, “zombie”?

In The Last Of Us, after you get bitten, do you die first, or, does the infection just grow and grow inside you until you rage?

I personally wouldn't consider them zombies, no. I think zombies are people (or animals) that die and come back to life. The Cordyceps in Last of Us need a living host and actually keep them alive as much as they can in by providing nutrients and painkilling chemicals in order to continue to spread. in order to prolong their own lives. I could be wrong, but I don't think the fungus itself kills you- they're in a sort of state of suspended animation moreso than death, and if their host dies, that's more than likely the end for them, unless they can spread through spores or bites. If the fungus does kill the host, then it very quickly takes over afterward.

Zombies also eat the people they bite, whereas the Cordyceps just spread. They can take a chunk out of you, maybe even kill you with a bite or, in the case of the Bloaters, rip you apart if they consider you a threat. But at least as far as I remember, it's not a case of a human eating another human. The Cordyceps itself kinda eats away at you, but that's just because it's overtaking its host, it doesn't have a taste for flesh, per se. It's all about the continued growth of itself.

So long story short, in my mind, they're more infected than undead. You could call them zombies and it wouldn't be wrong per se, kinda like the infected of 28 Days Later. Not to spoil anything, but there is a quick explanation of the cordyceps at the very beginning of episode 1 of the show that gives you a basic enough understanding of how it works.

Here's the wiki's explanation of it all, for a more in-depth look: https://thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/...rain_infection

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by eiknarf

Would you call the infected in this game and show, “zombies”?

What makes a creature a zombie? Don’t you have to die first and then come back to life to be called, “zombie”?

In The Last Of Us, after you get bitten, do you die first, or, does the infection just grow and grow inside you until you rage?

If I remember correctly, the word zombie isn't used once in either game.

They always call them infected.

[JoeKryten]

For me, the person is dead if the personality (sentience, soul, whatever you want to call it) is gone and cannot return. At that point the bodies are just animated meat and little different from brain dead people on life support. So zombie applies.

Also the meanings of words change in living languages. Zombie means much more than just re-animated dead these days.

[Cornelius Analog]

Never played the game before, so I don't know much about this, besides that it's some sort of post-apocalyptic stuff, which I happen to like.

I'll be watching this in a few minutes when it premieres tonight.

[VictoryAtNight]

Playing on HBO Max now. Will be available on “regular” HBO in 3 hours.

[VictoryAtNight]

Nice! Great first episode.

[Show spoiler]No Clickers in this one. Will have to wait for next weeks episode.

[Thieves Dont]

It’s incredible what having the creator involved and not rushing for a cash in can do. That was phenomenal. That shot at the end that flashed back to his daughter… oof.

[RYJAPE21]

Great premiere and very true to the tone/aesthetic of the game. I’m excited to watch the story unfold in this cinematic, more “fleshed out” fashion.

[Show spoiler]The clickers should be very creepy.