The Last of Us HBO Review with a horrible start, great middle and a rather disappointing ending. Entertaining parts were balanced with red flags for the future, at the moment, this series could go either way. But given the quality of most of the parts they added in, as the series grows further away from the games plotline in later episodes I'm definitely wary about it's future. But what did you think about it? Have any favourite or most disliked moments? Let me know your thoughts down below and as always, thanks for watching :)
The show is basically a woke replacement for the first game. Something they cant remake however they want and get away with. The backlash would be monumental. So they made a sjw tv show instead, and will inevitably call for it to become canon over the game. I dont watch shows made by woketards, for woketards. Its poison.
@@whatisaman689 the Earths frequency has always naturally increases & decreased. Global Warming is just a cover up for carbon taxes. So to say the shift in the planets magnetic field/poles causes some sort of "apocalyptic" event is plausible. Lots of film tends to portray truth in plain sight, but mixes w/ lies or agenda to be weaponized against the masses.
Little correction for 44:20 : Joel didn´t wipe out the Fireflies in the beginning of the game. The guys with Robert were hired guns. The Fireflies were wiped out by the military and Joel and Tess brought Marlene back to her hideout to get their guns back.
Any “goodwill” they present in this first season is only to go balls deep into the Abbey storyline whenever they reach it. They are breathlessly waiting to shove that shit in our face.
I'm pretty sure that with the violence in the end of EP1 they're foreshadowing that by trying to portray Joel as evil and violent deserving of the same fate that Ellie eventually overcomes.
While I agree I’m not caring that Ellie is gay, by the way, I don’t recall anything in the main plot hinting at the girl’s lezboism and her snagging the magazine and bonding with Sam points her towards the way of the sausage, if anything.
Poured plenty concrete in my younger days. Can confirm: having more workers standing around waiting on the concrete truck to show up, after your forms are set, doesn't speed up the truck's arrival. 😆
I will confess I was laughing when Sarah kept seeing cops and ambulances rushing around and all I could think was Shaun of the dead with how oblivious she was.
To be fair what 14 year old actually expects the zombie apocalypse? Like yeah we all secretly wish for it (idk about everybody but I sure do) but when it actually starts I’m sure it’ll take me a bit to catch on 😂
@@bakedgoods9182 About ten yrs back when word got out about that dude in Florida on bath salts eating someones face. I was high damn alert and I don't even live in FL 🤣
I was thinking how are we supposed to realize that it's weird that the police are rushing around considering how bad crime has gotten in the shithole cities.
@@darthdiculous6511 It's usually not Pedro Pascal in the suit. He just does the voice. The brilliance of Mandalorian is that they can actually film multiple scenes at the same time with different people in a Mando suit.
@@Knighttt662 I don't get the impression he desperately wants to hate it. He said multiple times there were many things in the episode he really liked. He did appear to get this bit wrong though.
They don't want to portray tess as bad at all. Honestly if you look Joel is literally the only character that does anything immoral from start to finish. In the game tess shoots ponytail guy in the face like it's nothing.
@ROBBIE RACER Marlene and the Fireflies will be shown to be perfect saviours and that it was a straight man who is forcing the doctors to operate on Ellie to try and save himself. The fireflies will come in, shoot the rich guy and the doctors will then find some ethical way to use Ellie to save the world. Because Druckmann is trying to destroy TLOU completely since he has already destroyed Naugthy Dogs.
The only reason they’re emphasizing on Joel being immoral is to show how much he’s changed for the worse since Sarah died as well as how much he will change for the better while being with Ellie in the coming episodes.
she's not bad? really. She's a lying manipulative bitch. She said it herself that she wants Joe to hunt those boys down. Wait a minute, she ask a man to help her? when she can shoot the guy herself?
I have to say this is like mystery science theater. It is way more entertaining you watching the show then it is just watching the show. Please keep this up.
The kid at the beginning didn't come back clear - they came back infected and were given a lethal injection. That kid is the one Joel has to toss on the fire. When they introduced the kid they paid special attention to the shoes - same when Joel is tossing them on the fire.
I missed that too but tbf until they start checking people for infection I don't know which colour is the one that marks the infected or the non infected.
@@nathaniellangham I know right. Spending over half the review praising it shows how much he wants to dislike it. If you really want to see someone desperate to hate a show watch Az's review. He is someone that focuses almost exclusively on the negative and leans super heavy into it. That's what his audience wants him to do so I'm not really criticizing him, but compare his review to this one and try again to claim Disparu just wants to dislike this show.
@@7riXter Yeah you get the feeling that he didn't want that because of the Mandalorian. Ironic considering he was praised for the betrayal of the character with the mask. Odd how that works.
@@Rakshiir It doesn't work the same way at all if everyone else is too and they all look similar, viewers would have no idea wtf was going on most of the time.
@@gavinjenkins899 It kind of depends I'd say. If you look at the game, with the masks they wear in the game you can still see characters eyes and hair. You always knew even with masks who was who, since you saw the main characters without masks earlier in the game. It would not be that hard to do that in a series as well. It's not like you needed them to wear them ALL the time, similar to the game where they also didn't wear them all the time.
The sad thing is even if this turns out to be good, we all know how it ends so how excited can I really get when I know what happens to Joel and the whole stupid story of Abby?
I’ve never played the game. So I was watching this as a stand alone series. I gotta say, I rather enjoyed it from beginning to end. It got going quick, the beginning was pretty brutal with good action and effects, the acting was good, and the pacing was quick. It never dragged. This series opener held my attention the whole way and I gotta say, most shows do not hold my attention and I change the channel. I watched all of this. Pretty darn good.
Tess wasn't in the game for long, but i loved her and Joel's team dynamic. Tess was clearly more outgoing, she was active, confident, to the point of cockiness, did most of the talking and i assume closed most of their deals, and on the first glance it'd be easy to believe that she was the clear leader and Joel was just there as muscle. But then if you looked at more subtle details, every time when a decision came up, Tess would look over at Joel and not move forward until she got a sign of approval from him. Here, can't make up my mind on Joel just yet, but Tess seems...off. Just the way the actress carries herself doesn't seem to mesh with game-Tess well. And some of the lines are really bad, like one to Joel about "Robert being terrified of him" - lady, you're a team, if he's terrified, it's supposed to be of both of you. That line is very un-Tess-like and seems to be there only to build up Joel as a threatening presence, only...wouldn't it be better to *show* Joel being threatening? Also, oh, even in a negotiation with Marlene, Tess is hanging back while Joel's the one at the front. That's bordering on character assassination, honestly :D.
In the Marlene negotiation scene, seems Joel took point only because the situation had went south. Tess was leading the whole time and went in first. Then when they saw the chaos, Joel took the lead and when the talking started he held his position because of the threat (Ellie's attempt). When they started making a deal he walked back, spoke with Tess, and Tess came forward to close the deal. In this case, from what I observed, they stayed true to their characters. But like you, I hope they don't pull any 'character assassinations'. Nice analysis on the details from the game. Thanks for those reminders. I played through it on the ps3, and again on the ps4 in 2017 so it's been a while. Those subtle details you mentioned really fleshed out Tess as a character.
I swear I thought I was the only one who felt how off Tess’ character was in the show. This woman is supposed to be a total badass. In the game when it is first revealed that Ellie is infected Tess pulls out a gun to shoot her right there and then. Everyone remembers her iconic “fuck this” gunfight scene. In the show she can’t even dispose of a dead kid. Idk why they decided to make her so weak and docile.
@@saadiyakhan4025 Also, "weak and docile" is a bit extreme. They've admitted to lessening the violence in the series, as we saw in ep. 1, but that's for everyone.
@@pjmack177 wait that wasn’t her? My bad. But she still freaked out over a dead clicker. Not being violent doesn’t mean they can’t portray her as the hardened survivor she is.
@@toxicheadshot360 Some would argue that both Cyberpunk and Arcane were good videogame adaptations, though Id argue that LOL doesn't have enough of a coherent story readily made known to the player through its gameplay that the Netflix adaptation for Arcane that was made, could be seen as being "faithful" to the game. Rather I think they were making a more general point of comparison given that RoP isnt a videogame adaptation either. Its just that all the stuff based off of major IPs are crap these days. Woke infestation or otherwise.
Another flaw in their story for me is how the fireflies got into this big fight, risking their entire plan, over a battery. Especially when Marlene told Joel they have vehicles and batteries and guns. If that’s the case, why risk your highly important plans on a shady deal with someone you can’t trust for something your group already has plenty of?
It's explained..Tess basically asked the same thing you did. Saying they must be pretty desperate to be dealing with Robert. Marlene admitted things WEREN'T so good. Marlene told Joel she could get him that stuff outside the Fedra zone.
@@Alpha1918 Probably right. Tess said the battery was no good and he tried to sell it twice. Either way, the gun fight ruined the plans for the other fireflies all over Boston to gather in that building that night. Fedra was on the way.
I don't think the end scene necessarily meant that joel saw ellie as his daughter yet. I think the guard just reminded him of the other military guy that killed his daughter in that moment and that's why he snapped. Understandable to have the scene play out like that but I hope they don't go with the unhinged route as well. Joel is violent because the world is violent and he's a survivor, not because he's deranged or unstable.
Yeah he missed the point of that flashback lol. It was more like he doesn't want another innocent child to be shot like his daughter was, not that he sees her as his daughter.
He is still right it wasn't earned and it cheapens the greatest part of the game which is character development from the moment they met to the end. If he already sees her as his daughter, he opened up at that point and Joel in the game wanted the exact opposite, he was so much against doing this job, against making any friendly connections with her, because he doesn't want to remind himself of his daughter. He doesn't care about Ellie at this stage, he even wanted to shoot her once he knew she was infected, that's how much he closed emotions toward her, yet in this scene it looks like he already values her life. The dynamic is wrong. Also I'm surprised he didn't comment on the acting performance, some scenes literally scream for a second take, like when budget Ellie says "I can't believe I'm finally outside." there should be '!' at the end, because Ellie in the game put actual emotion into that sentence which makes perfect sense if she was all her life inside this compound, meanwhile budget Ellie says it as if she just read it from the script to remember her line.
@@Laireso The idea that "It wasn't earned" is based on the mistaken idea that the scene was intended to suggest he had fatherly feelings for Ellie, instead of clearly calling upon a PTSD "flashback" reaction to justify his response. That's how PTSD works, you can be triggered by "similar" situations. He doesn't have to see her as his daughter to be triggered in that moment, and flash back to his actual daughter being killed. I think this is what you and Disparu are not understanding.
That ending with Joel flipping out? Yeah...this whole thing is trying to make the softening of Joel, even from the casting Pedro in the first place. That way it makes sense why "Joel got soft" in part 2 will be the lie made true in another medium. The Fireflies are going to be treated as the "heroes" with a few bad apples/overly cautious/misunderstanding and Joel be the monster that "doomed humanity" because he's just unhinged based on this scene seeing Ellie as Sarah instead of another daughter to protect.
Also u misinterpreted the scene, his violent outburst was triggered due to the guy shoving a gun in front of his face and his silhouette appearing similar to the soldier who shot Sarah, not due to any fartherly instinct
lol let's be honest, Joel is a 'monster'. Killing about what, 2 dozen men and unarmed doctors to save one girl, you may think of yourself a hero but, you're probably a monster. That's part of the point. It's not a world of heroes and morals, it's a world about survival and protecting what's yours. Joel will do whatever is necessary to survive and protect his own and that very well means being a 'monster' (such as ignoring the plight of a similar family at the beginning). Edit: I still don't see how they'll make him 'soft' just yet. I stayed away from part 2 though, so idk how soft he even became....but, I'd find it odd for him to become soft, I imagine his character a bit like the survivalist from FO:NV.
Little kid wasn’t safe btw. The red was he’s infected and they euthanized him. Joel actually tossed his dead body in in the next scene. You can tell from his shoes etc.
Okay so, mini-lore-dump purely from memories. First, In the game, *if i recall correctly*, Marlene already knew Ellie before she ever got infected, i distinctly remember their exchange with Joel, where Ellie called Marlene "a friend, i guess", with Joel's surprised reaction of "you're friends with the leader of the Fireflies?". That made Ellie's attachment to Marlene and hesitation to live without her understandable. No idea why that got changed in the tv-show to them barely knowing each other, but alas. Second, the people Tess and Joel killed while trying to get to Robert were not Fireflies, they were just nameless cannon fodder. Fireflies in-game got fucked up by a massive anti-Firefly operation done by the military, Marlene got wounded by the military aswell.
Yes, Marlene and Ellie did know each other prior. After watching the first half hr of this i decided to look up a timeline video of the game. Ig there was a comic that came out showing that Ellie ran into Marline earlier in the timeline with that one chick Ellie kissed from the dlc.
In the game, Marlene knew Ellie's mother and promised her she would look after her daughter when she died. Marlene is probably the closest to a mother Ellie has. The people Tess and Joel kill to get to Robert are hired muscle to protect him from Tess and Joel. The Fireflies kept attacking the quarantine zone soldiers. Fed up, the military staged an operation to wipe them out of the area, which succeeds.
The fillers that you described as ``boring`` is actually quite healthy for the series since i believe that series can be more slow paced than games. They gotta spread the adrenalin rushes and dopamine giving scenes eavenly over it all. Great video!
Yeah, I'm definitely having a wait and see thing with this. As they've said themselves, some eps will focus on entirely different characters, such as one ep they said is based just on a letter from the game.
It pretty much already confirmed that 3rd episode will be focused on Bill and Frank. If they are doing another episode 'based on a letter' I bet money it's the letter(s) about Ish and the remnants of the survivor community you find in the storm tunnels outside of Pittsburgh.
Pretty sure thats either about Bill and Frank, or Ish. Players have actually been BEGGING to see DLC about Ish so that would make sense. But if done right, the Bill and Frank episode could be done well.
'Ground in reality' Words that kills many an IP One thing that bugged me at the start amongst other things was the fact that the daughter never changed her top for a whole full day :P
"No idea what could cause that except fungus." *sips* 🤣 I was trying to take a sip of water. It did not end well. 😆 Tommy sees a man assaulting a waitress and steps in to defend her! They put an actual man in the show! It's a Christmas miracle! 🥳 Also, It's a little known fact that the reason we Yanks are so obsessed with guns is because we're always preparing for the zombie apocalypse. The forefathers included the Second Amendment not to safeguard our inalienable rights but to make sure our country would withstand the zombies. I'm pretty sure Thomas Jefferson included that in a letter to Benjamin Franklin. It's 100% true, historical fact. Edit: A soldier would NEVER say repeat over the raido. You only ever respond with "Say again?" Because "repeat" means you're calling for a repeat of artillary fire or supporting fire at the location that they just hit. Also, at 27:36, they have two shirts they very much want you to see. The Al Gore campaign shirt and the super awesome "God Bless Our Troops" shirt that the wounded veteran is wearing in the background. I'm assuming those two in the chairs are actual veterans wounded in action. Don't know if there's a deeper meaning here, but it's cool.
@@gattzflappa6306 Oh yeah. Definitely! He probably hadn't changed his socks or taken his daily dose of ibuprofin either. Just a counseling statement waiting to happen. He's the soldier safety briefings are about.
Wait... so if there are no spores to spread the infection, then how did the initial infections happen? Were the initial infections spores or were the initial infections already done through tentacles? Which one it was matters heavily because if the invalid grandmother was infected, how was she infected? You would think, with someone being so static and so immobile and so given to her one environment that if she's infected then everyone else in the house is also infected and if they're all infected, shouldn't Sarah also be infected? Questions!
Through food, the country in Indonesia mentioned in the beginning, it has the world's largest mill factory. In this universe I assume it initially started spreading through food and then through scratches and bites. Also the summer setting of the show could have something to do with it. Since microorganisms can reproduce and spread easily in warmer climates.
In the game, the first one at least. Joel action would be always show as pragmatic in first half of the game, untill he start to see ellie as his daughter.
In response to Disparu’s annoyance with the last scene. I don’t think that he viewed Eli as his daughter necessarily. It seems like the Joel in the show suffers from PTSD. A young girl, around his daughter’s age, had a soldier pointing a gun at her, at night in a high stress situation. There were enough similarities between the two events that it triggered Joel to remember when his daughter died and he went ape. Not unlike when a soldier gets triggered by the sounds of gunfire.
@joshua Dove I would agree if only this was not after 20 years later and we know what kind of guy Joel is. Why? Because you know for sure that in 20 years +3 would have encounter at least 1 other kid, male or female, who has a gun pointed to their head and if it isn't known that he flips out then, why does he do it now? This is why it makes no sense for this scene to be inserted here. I do agree with the PTSD/Shellshock scene but it kind of falls flat here when you know Joel has most probably at least had to deal with 1 other time, out of thousands upon tens of thousands of day, where this similar scene happened and he didn't flip out.
This, 100%! And because he obviously feels guilty about what happened, it was like he got a 2nd chance at making it right. It literally could've been any younger person with him and he would've reacted that way. I was actually surprised at how wrong Disparu's take is here.
@@cttommy73 Just like you have to make it up that he probably was triggered at least once before this you also have to follow through with the rest of that logic. How do you know he didn't flip out then too? That could be part of what earned him his reputation. You're just making assumptions.
@@xipheonj No. This is the same kind of criticism at TLOU2 when they say "Joel softened up". No, he's a character with a particular background and history that you shouldn't disregard.
It’s deception. I remember how “good” the MCU shows on Disney plus started off. The first 3 episodes were okay, then the bottom fell out and the European avalanche began. Also the producers comparing it to the entire series of breaking bad…. “BITCH, PLEASE!”
Amazing review and analysis. You are probably my favorite reviewer :) They said that they made an entire episode based off a note that was barely touched on in the game... I'm not sure why ep3 will need to be a side story about a man that wears Hawaiian shirts who ends up... at the end of his rope. In the game, I thought it was a very interesting addition. Thoughts about relationships / love / inner turmoil / don't judge a book by its cover / teen curiosity. Thought provoking and impactful... From 2 or 3 scenes. I have no idea how expanding that relationship to a full episode will advance Jole and Ellie's story.
I have to grudgingly admit that most of it was good. Where my brain went "Uh oh" was when Tess told Ellie to follow her. In the game, she tells her to follow Joel. A little thing, yes, but they've already messed with Joel's character by having Sarah do everything for him, now they're taking more agency away from him. By the end of the season, is he just going to be grunting and barreling through every situation? Ehh, we'll see.
By the end of the series, he would be dead. Neil Druckmann and his gang of writers are just waiting for the Abbey smash scene. Remember, they hate men because Druckmann is jealous and the rest of the writers just think it is trendy to hate men. Unless they are gay.
I don't know how it "messes" with Joel's character given we don't know what the relationship between Joel and Sarah was like apart from a typical father-daughter relationship. (in the game)
@@Knighttt662 It's the little things that add up along the way. In this episode it's one changed line. How many more to go? As for Sarah, I didn't need to know anything more about her than I already did. Her story is tragic enough without telling me Joel can't seem to tie his shoes without her doing it for him because white men = duh.
I honestly smell a bait & switch and you can already see the signs in the first episode. They had to get the pilot right to reel people in. Not to mention that this all leads to Abbey and bigot sandwiches anyway, but I smell something coming sooner than that.
They lost me when they removed the spores. If I wanted just a zombie show, then I'd watch Walking Dead. That said, I'll sail the high seas, because there's promise with the show. Just wish they'd develop their own IP if they want to change shit. Yo, those elderly neighbors are to be valued. I love me some damn biscuits.
are we sure they completely removed the spores or was that clicker old & there were no more spores in that area? I forget how it works in the game lore.
@@ZChronicNebula the spores were really stupid oversight in the original game. Not sure i like the replacement tendrils but at least it isn't mind bogglingly daft like the spores
I disagree about the end when joel beats up the guard over ellie. He doesnt need to build up a relationship with ellie to see a parallel with his daughter. I think just seeing a guard pointing a gun at her is enough for him to flashback to that earlier scene
I appreciate your take. Now, this is coming from the perspective of someone who hasn’t played the games…I agree with parts of your review. The truck scene was brilliant, tense and tragic. I also understand your criticisms of the slower beginning, but I actually found the opening moments with Sara to be a solid build up to the impending calamity of outbreak day, filled with momentary warning signs. For instance, when Sara was in school, there was a classmate twitch-tapping their pencil. When she was in the shop, the SWAT cars zooming in the background set a foreboding tone nicely. Even Joel and Sarah’s friendly interactions with the neighbors served a purpose, because it contrasted well with the schisms and social disharmony of society 20 years later. Was the action the most riveting part? Absolutely. But I think there’s something to be said about those smaller moments. Overall, a promising start 👍 👍
As someone who HAS played the games, I actually don't get his criticism or Az's from HeelVsBabyFace about the intro being boring. When you're playing a game you are actively being that character. As a result, you bond and connect to them a lot faster. You start off as Sarah and end up dying after like 30 mins to an hour. But in that space you really do connect with her as a character. Because TV is a passive medium, you need to build up characters by showing who they are, how they are in the world, how they interact and react to others. If it simply started where the game was I don't think people would've been as invested in her dying as they were.
@@PatstarDeluxe Thanks, I largely felt that way, too. Though I’d only known Sarah for 20 minutes, her death impacted me emotionally. The slower (deliberate) pacing in the opening allowed us to connect with her. Guess it goes to show that slow doesn’t necessarily equate to boring. It can give the viewer a chance to be immersed by compelling characters and an intriguing setting.
@@johnt6350 Absolutely! I'm kind of shocked at that criticism from Disparu and AZ. Makes me think some of the other things they said were shit that I never watched should be given a 2nd chance? The Witcher: Blood Origins here I come! (Kidding!!)
@@PatstarDeluxe THISSS!!! So many times over, THIS! All the criticisms/comments of the show straying from the source material are more than likely due to the difference in mediums. The intro of this episode is also classic zombies/infection outbreak structure!
@@obedpacheco5420 the question here is "Was the scene necessary?" - If scene doesn't add to narrative and you can CUT IT and nothing changes? Then you're wasting your runtime. 20 minutes of that sequence can be removed and nothing would've changed. This intro basically wastes your time assuming you won't be able to understand how harsh world has become if they don't show you more of it before out break... (like duh you won't be able to Imagine that world was better before out break If they won't show it). Despite that we will be NEVER coming back to those scenes or they will be relevant later. Game handles it way better by the merit of starting it right away at the evening with confused Sarah - same as a Player - tricks you into thinking that all world building will happen after escape as world goes through zombie apocalypse - and then does a sudden death and time skip twist dropping you right into broken world with bitter Joel years later.
27:58 Entry to quarantine zones being punished with hanging has the same energy as being executed for attempting suicide. "I see you failed to get the job done. Here, let me help you."
Fantastic pickup by Disparu, i hadn't even thought of it. The scene in the truck, when the trio were driving away. I didn't even think it was fighter jets trying to eliminate a passenger jumbo jet, for any number of reasons. This is VERY unique to the zombie genre and if the showmakers are going to introduce new elements to the TV show. We want stuff like this.
Oh man, yeah, that scene with the guard when escaping DOES ruin a lot with the way they present it - Joel is as cool as a cucumber while simultaneously being capable of being more vicious than a cucumber strapped with half a ton of C4 ;D Him losing his cool like that doesn't sit right at all... all I can do is think back to how he reacts to just about EVERY other high-intensity moment in the game and how WELL he processes pretty much all of it. He keeps his head, 200% focused and ALL business.
Absolutely robbed of it meaning anything in the future since they can't build on that now, why blow it straight away in a stupid way absolutely pointless. 1min we will kill her, next scene if anyone thinks about killing her I will lose my mind and become feral. So stupid
The kid that collapsed at the entrance was positive for the fungus and was the body that the woman refused to throw in the fire. The body has the same shirt and sneakers as the kid that approached the wall.
Dude I didn’t even see the fighters chasing the airliners, I thought there was somebody infected on board that caused it to crash at first, good catch!
I wanted to personally thank you for suffering through all those horrible series. I really enjoy watching them "with you". Thanks to your sharp critisism and witty remarks, I'm having a lot of fun with these garbage series. Keep up the great work and thanks from a Dutch fan.
I was curious if you’d cover this, as you’ve shown a complete direct approach to negative shows, so I was wondering if the positive review of this show would make it too difficult for you to challenge! I really appreciate how unbiased and true you are with these things ^^
Yea im pleased people after a few episodes of house of the dragon didnt try to hate it and even enjoyed it. If you start off ready to hate it, it take a non biased person to revaluate and change their mind
@@fpvx3922 When people talk about being unbiased they mean not letting their bias decide their opinion and having an open mind to the good and bad. It's literally impossible to be perfectly unbiased so outside of a scientific/academic context then this is the correct meaning for unbiased.
I don't mind the spores change, because in the game we would go into the buildings covered in spores with open wounds and every character would immediately get infected, so i understand why they changed it to just bites or contact.
Been waiting for this review, Personally, I was surprised, it was defiantly better than i expected. But there we still an issue i had with it. It felt dragged on in some parts and a little to fast in others. based on the first episode it could really go in any direction, I definitely see some good things they can do but also some huge red flags.
@@arnowisp6244 Yeah that muscle volume was pretty insane but it was never canonical as far as I know and just speculation. The actual trans character from the leaks was lev as far as I know
It felt dragged because they added runtime to add enough impact to the shock and trauma later... and this is a TV Series... so yes, it must dragged on...
I always enjoy your reviews, but this one was especially good. You have an excellent sense for how stories should and shouldn't be written, and watching you explain the difference is very entertaining.
While I agree that most of the new stuff didn't work and removing the action scene towards the end certainly was disappointing, I did see the scene with Joel losing it in a different way. For me it wasn't Joel seeing Ellie as his daughter (because yeah, that sure isn't earned) but simply that the guard triggered a flashback to when Joel's daughter was killed and that he would have been triggered even without Ellie being there at all... at least that's how I saw it
One of my pet hates in these types of things is when someone uses a weapon, then instantly discards it. Like 'doubt I'll need that again, I'll just drop it.' That and main characters doing the stop and stare thing. I know it to gives the audience a chance to see what's happening. It is also fair to say that real life stressful and dangerous situations, show us that people often don't make smart decision when panicked. There is heaps of research that shows humans stress response is not just fight or flight, there is also freeze and you'd be shocked how many people get stuck on freeze. Main protaganist probably shouldn't be the type of people shown to freeze though.
When he drops the wrench after braining the old lady, he's probably thinking about the risk of infection from the blood. He knows there's some kind of disease outbreak, so why would you hold onto a wrench drenched in blood from someone who is clearly infected.
I don't subscribe to the freeze theory. There's no scientific evidence it's a biological response, unlike the other two. It seems to be ever more used today to give people an 'out' for not protecting themselves when they should and once would have. Whenever psychologists get involved reproducable scientific study goes out the window and we're left with unprovable theory advanced via the loudest voice technique. Just my two cents.
I don't think it's an issue but I think him shielding daughter from the gunfire makes sense since it's a natural reaction just like if a car was coming you would feel in your daughter probably automatically before pushing her out of the way just out of reflux
Agreed that the extended opening made the outbreak feel overly delayed. The game began at night, with Sarah staying up late to give her dad his present. Then she falls asleep, and next thing we know, all hell's broken loose. Makes more sense that everything was relatively normal until evening, so it would be the middle of the night when it got to emergency levels.
That makes no sense. Everything happened gradually, did you forget when “Covid” happened everything came to a head early March? When really it had been building and building and building. Showing life “normal” and characters going about their day really made it more of an emotional impact and felt grounded. Had the show STARTED right as the game did people would complain it was rushed etc. Some of these grifters are too prideful to admit the show is decent and they were wrong after saying for months it would fail.
@@mattcollins3591 What doesn't make sense to me is why they made a show from a game that is basically cinematically driven. Like.... Just play the game.
Did you notice the kid who arrived at the checkpoint and was strapped into the chair was the kid that they threw into the fire after that woman told Joel “I can’t”.? The camera pauses on his hightops so we can identify him. His test was positive and the injection of “medicine” obviously killed him, while she smiled at him and said “You’re safe”. Cold as f**k. I thought it was pretty decent overall. If you put the game out of your mind and stop comparing then it’s better. After all, it’s made mainly for non-gamers so they have to put quite a bit of extra storyline to explain it all to people who don’t know the game story.
They keep giving Pedro shows where he's supposed to wear a mask but he just won't take the hint. Someone needs to tell him that everyone will be happier if he covers that mug.
disparu you missed a very subtle scene, the kid who stumbles at the entrance of the walled city and they get him in and check for the infection.. That kid test positive and Joel is literally burning him in the very next scene. Just check the clothes of the body that the lady refuses to pick and Joel does it alone... it is that same kid down to the shoes and everything.. exact same kid.
Never played the game(Xbox guy) so this take is from someone who was surprised when Sarah was killed so quickly. The 1st 20 minutes were important...it portrayed Sarah as a very lovable/likeable character only to strip her away in Joel's arms obviously a traumatic experience for Joel. This is very much apart of Joel's character in the show...he still wears the watch 20 years later. I don't think his reaction to the cop pointing the gun at him with Ellie is a weak reaction...he's human/he's a survivor and that cop comes off as a piece of shit in their only other interaction so I think it was more self preservation with maybe some unresolved trauma he had buried deep down. Dying isn't an option...being arrested isn't an option and he wasn't gonna leave his/Abbies/Tess'/Tommies future in the hands of this crooked junkie cop/fedra guy. I know nothing of the story so that's how I saw it...very much enjoyed the show.
I felt the same. I thought the slow build with Sarah with little hints of something being really wrong was very well done. It made it more jarring and engaging when everything suddenly became total chaos. Plus the actress that played Sarah was fantastic. I was sobbing when she died. I thought the rest of the episode was fantastic as well. If the season is as engaging as E1, this is my new favorite show.
Other commenters have asked quite probably the biggest question - if the illness is not spore based so that actors do not have to wear gas masks, then how did everyone get infected in the opening scenes? The old lady certainly was not bitten by anyone before turning.
They say bites but people were not bitten so don't think about it I guess haha, don't you know the show writers are just better at everything, don't question it. Also they say it started because of global warming had to get that in there too.
They said it, pay attention. There are several hints in the first 30ish minutes. And about global warming there has to be a reason to fungus to evolve and start this particular outbreak, otherwise people will say "fungus don't affect humans that way" no matter what, haters gonna hate if they give or not a reason for the outbreak.
@@Peer165 a lot of people wants the shows to be like legal documents (contracts, lawsuits, prenups, etc) in those cases there is a need to be insanely specific, but movies, tv shows, music, books IMO its better if they let the consumer to figure what's going on, you know pay attention and connect the dots. I saw a comment "Sarah was oblivious of what was happening" dude... When Joel came back he found the doors locked paraphrasing he said you finally locked the doors thats a first one. She noticed something was odd enough to lock the doors.
the second i found out that spores were going to be written completely out of the cannon i immediately checked out. i do not give a *&^% about actors who genuinely believe their ego's are more important than staying faithful to established cannon. and, yes, the spores are a big part of the lore & cannot be casually dismissed. it's one of the main reasons why society collapsed. all that said, it can't possibly be any worse than 'The Walking Dead' and it's 47 spin-offs so, assuming HBO is committed to making this their next big thing, this show can succeed.
@@sandwichfromtheskip1813I think the point is that because she isn’t real, the person is focusing on the fact that the soldier removed an annoying character from the show
@@alasdaircook3030 personally, I didn’t find her annoying; some of her dialogue was taken straight from the game, essentially she was the exact same character, but with slightly more development.
@@sandwichfromtheskip1813 some people did, I like the scenes that were straight out of the game but there were moments with her than I felt weren’t needed, such as her talking down to them for not knowing the capital of Indonesia or wherever it was
I think Disparu is letting himself down by getting sucked into “hating for clicks” Same thing with Andor Going hard on the “disaster” headlines too early, only for it to play out quite well and then to be left stranded when Drinker Mauler and the other guys play fair and come round to it Not that he can’t have a different opinion , but it’s more like the schtick only works if he’s slagging it off
Yeah, in general, all he does is to start biased and then watch stuff only to find things to complain about. Not a very fun approach. Must be depressing 😊 But that's how he makes money. Hate content always sells well.
No, it's nearly all legit criticism. The first 20 minutes are clearly dull, and many scenes are badly handled---if you know anything about directing and mise en scene. It's a real pity they didn't switch actresses and keep the first girl as Ellie. She's much better than Bella Ramsey.
1:17 I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that the spores from this fungus stay in one spot on the forest floor and do not float through the air like in the game. Basically, the ants spend most of their time in the trees but sometimes they have to go down to the forest floor to get to another tree to stay in, and once on the ground some of the spores will stick to the ants' exoskeleton and then the ant is infected. So they all lived happily never after.
That's exactly what happened, he was having a flashback to the almost same situation with Sarah. He should've watched the "after the show" featurette thing, it explains a few things. it also explained something else he mentioned but now I can't remember lol.
Yeah Joel doesn't give a care about Ellie yet at this point in the show, nor is it implied even subtly, but his criticism still stands because you know at least SOME viewers will misinterpret it as that.
@@w33d533d Agreed. There even was an earlier scene where he just toss a dead child in the fire without hesitation which was more tragic, why would he possibly give a damn about Ellie at this point if not only to get to his brother by any means. It definitely was a PTSD attack.
@@domperidone2519 I don't think the child he threw in the fire was dead. I think Joel killed him by throwing him in the fire. That's why the woman next to him was freaking out like "i can't, i just can't." That's what is implied, is the needle they gave that kid was just to knock the child out so he could be burned and establishes Joel has no issue killing children.
They had his hands tied still, why if he was dead? they had a bag over his head, which would could give the impression he was dead, but it's realistically to keep him from spitting/biting.
I'm starting to think Disparu has a promising future as a management consultant, assuming this UA-cam reviewer gig doesn't pan out. So much sense in the first 3½ minutes identifying the concrete delivery as the bottleneck. A pity the show runners didn't hire you!
And yet he misses Sarah's classmate twitching as foreshadowing, and then the fact that the boy in the 20years later scene is not clear, but euthanized. He then misses the fact that Joel throws that kids body in the fire
I don't see it as Joel suddenly see Ellie as his daughter , he's just having ptsd from looking at the damn guard pointing the gun at him that reminds him of his daughter last moment
But it has been 20 years... Wouldn't that have happened again since then, he is a smuggler after all... it's a bit of a stretch to let his ptsd come out at that exact moment
I love when Disparu rips into a show, "I'm sorry that's most unbelievable part of this series, I'm 36 and this is unbelievable and this is a show about zombies." What ah savage 🤣
Love the review, but the chart we see for how fast you turn is after getting bit. We don’t know how long it takes to turn if you just eat/consume the spores, so maybe it’s more realistic but I agree some news would have made it through to the news. On another review, they focused in on how in Jakarta they mainly export flour. They had a fungus breakout in flour (real life) that killed a bunch of people. Anyway based on that, there are subtle hints that the show is saying flour based goods might have been the culprit. Joel is on Atkins and they didn’t have pancakes for breakfast. However they show grandma getting fed biscuits. It may be related it may be coincidence but they are filming in Jakarta, so they will probably tie in a ground 0 story.
"controlled by plants" Fun fact! Fungus are not actually plants. They are closer to animals, but they also are not animals. Apparently, they are colonies of individual organisms that grow on and over each other. Mind you, I'm not a scientist, so I can't explain what fungus actually is, but I know it's not a plant , or an animal! I really enjoy your videos. I will not be watching any of these shows, as I long ago determined to boycott much of what Hollywood (and Amazon, and Hulu) create. They hate me, and I have zero problem with hating them back. Also, I don't hatewatch. Edited for clarity. Thanks to Pamela for pointing out my mistakes.
@@pamelajessup7931 Plant: Noun Any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the king Plantae characteristically containing chloroplasts. Do you know what "characteristically containing chloroplasts" means? Chloroplast: Noun A plastid that contains chlorophyll and is found in the cells of green plants and algae. So.. yes. A plant contains chlorophyll, and fungus does not, therefor a fungus is not a plant. Fungus: Noun Any of numerous spore-producing eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Fungi, "which lack chlorophyll" You didn't say anything. You could have yourself looked up the definitions. But if you had looked it up, you would have seen that I was right, and you were incorrect.
Pretty decent review. There are some things I agree with you on, but also things I slightly disagree on. I’ll agree the opening is a slow burn, but I feel like the addition of the extra scenes kind of fleshes the world before everything goes to hell, with glimpses here and there of everything crashing down. Yes Sarah looks different, but I can appreciate them sticking to what her character was in the game rather than radically changing her. Also I don’t think I view the soldier death scene as “Joel sees Ellie as his daughter,” though feel free to disagree with me. I think Joel had a PTSD episode seeing the way the guard was poised and being unwavering, similar to the soldier that killed his daughter. I mean, it’s been shown throughout the episode that he constantly has nightmares about the day his daughter died based off the audio we hear, so seeing that same thing play out in front of him caused him to snap. Granted, I’ll admit it removes some of his cold and stoic nature which I’m not a fan of since Joel should be a pretty emotionless, morally bankrupt shell of who he was that slowly gets built back up and softened, but I don’t think it’s him going “Mah Daughter!” Don’t get me wrong, I am still holding my breath for the rest of the episodes, because yeah, we don’t know for sure what they’ve changed yet (and I’ll be genuinely shocked if they could make season 2 decent given how polarizing and divisive part 2 was) and we’re all pretty jaded from adaptations that slap it’s fans in the face, but even with some of the changes they made, it at least seems in good faith, even if it doesn’t always make sense or there could be more, and seems to stick pretty closely to the source material as best it can.
53:00 U misinterpreted this scene IMO. Joel becomes violent not because he wants to protect Ellie but because the soldier's silhouette looks exactly like the one who shot Sarah, triggering his anger.
"Bleeding hearts" as you put it, do survive these situations, they band together with others and create groups focused on survival. You might be leaning far too much into video game and common apocalypse tropes for humanity has only survived as a species by showing empathy to their fellow man. It's our best trait. In reality, such a situation like this would be easier to survive by banding together and not ditching your fellow people at the drop of a hat. In reality, men like Joel can only survive and usually end up losing or alienating their loved ones by being so pragmatic as to destroy everything they care about. Case in point, Joel in the games was nothing but a bandit. He survived but lost his humanity and had nothing to live for. Tess was a partner of convenience and they'd have likely betrayed one another at some point. His brother couldn't handle Joel's behavior any more and abandoned him. His brother ends up putting together a town and actually living, Joel ends up drinking away his nights. It took Elle to break him out of that downward spiral and give him a reason to live. Then abbey happened...
Bruh. The scene where he beats the guard wasn't him equating Ellie with his daughter. It was PTSD. The guard, the flashlight etc. Sometimes I feel like you're deliberately obtuse.
It's a vidja game adaptation. Now that they blew the budget on recreating the game intro. Get ready for a lot of feelings in hallways! I didn't Play tlou so I'm not nostalgic for the game stuff. But I'm still giving this show a chance. Great review!
So, it was spores in the OG game and that made sense to how people were infected... so now it's bites? So, how did this kick off? How did granny just change when no one bit her? I will say the PTSD part was accurate. Joel with the kid had an immediate flashback to how he lost his kid to a soldier and that guard threatening him was about to be on the receiving end of all that emotional rage.
It fascinates me how a show based on a game, a game where people were mesmerized by the cutscenes and only tolerated the gameplay, can't succeed in a medium it tried so hard to ape.
Are you smoking crack? The show is accomplishing exactly what it set out to do by roping in a whole new audience of people who had no idea that this story came from a video game😐
It’s also the case that a lot of the “fungus” in the opening credits isn’t fungus, it’s a slime mold… Physarum (although I can’t comment if this is the case in the game)
The Last of Us HBO Review with a horrible start, great middle and a rather disappointing ending. Entertaining parts were balanced with red flags for the future, at the moment, this series could go either way. But given the quality of most of the parts they added in, as the series grows further away from the games plotline in later episodes I'm definitely wary about it's future. But what did you think about it? Have any favourite or most disliked moments? Let me know your thoughts down below and as always, thanks for watching :)
The infected grandma was genuinely unnerving & I liked the Clicker atop the rooftop showing what their journey has in store.
You didn't get, the point of the intro is GLOBAL WARMING.
The Message in the first scene, it has to be a record.
The show is basically a woke replacement for the first game. Something they cant remake however they want and get away with. The backlash would be monumental.
So they made a sjw tv show instead, and will inevitably call for it to become canon over the game.
I dont watch shows made by woketards, for woketards.
Its poison.
I love you Disparu for saying that about the Scones, I don't get why t hey call them biscuits
@@whatisaman689 the Earths frequency has always naturally increases & decreased. Global Warming is just a cover up for carbon taxes. So to say the shift in the planets magnetic field/poles causes some sort of "apocalyptic" event is plausible. Lots of film tends to portray truth in plain sight, but mixes w/ lies or agenda to be weaponized against the masses.
The most unbelievable part of this for me was that Disparu is 36. Could never believe that 😂
Looks about 25
True!
No way?! He looks younger than me and I’m 27!
You must be a youngling… he definitely looks his age
He looks younger than me holy
Little correction for 44:20 : Joel didn´t wipe out the Fireflies in the beginning of the game. The guys with Robert were hired guns. The Fireflies were wiped out by the military and Joel and Tess brought Marlene back to her hideout to get their guns back.
Any “goodwill” they present in this first season is only to go balls deep into the Abbey storyline whenever they reach it. They are breathlessly waiting to shove that shit in our face.
I'm pretty sure that with the violence in the end of EP1 they're foreshadowing that by trying to portray Joel as evil and violent deserving of the same fate that Ellie eventually overcomes.
They better just drop her.
@@ObviousRises it is hinted at heavily in the main story. Nobody cares that Ellie is a lesbian.
@Jimmy I'm willing to have hot (arguendo) l@zbians shoved in my face, thanks.
While I agree I’m not caring that Ellie is gay, by the way, I don’t recall anything in the main plot hinting at the girl’s lezboism and her snagging the magazine and bonding with Sam points her towards the way of the sausage, if anything.
Poured plenty concrete in my younger days. Can confirm: having more workers standing around waiting on the concrete truck to show up, after your forms are set, doesn't speed up the truck's arrival. 😆
Did you actually try working a double though?
I will confess I was laughing when Sarah kept seeing cops and ambulances rushing around and all I could think was Shaun of the dead with how oblivious she was.
To be fair what 14 year old actually expects the zombie apocalypse? Like yeah we all secretly wish for it (idk about everybody but I sure do) but when it actually starts I’m sure it’ll take me a bit to catch on 😂
@@bakedgoods9182 lol what full grown adult sees a bunch of cops and ambulances and assumes it must be zombies
@@bakedgoods9182 About ten yrs back when word got out about that dude in Florida on bath salts eating someones face. I was high damn alert and I don't even live in FL 🤣
I was thinking how are we supposed to realize that it's weird that the police are rushing around considering how bad crime has gotten in the shithole cities.
I have lived in big cities my entire life, seeing ambulances police etc driving around and allot of them at times is just normal life
The dog was really good. They could do a spinoff series.
Fido. OUT.
smartest thing in the show.
Wasn't meant to run away, just realised what the show will become.
Lmao I agree with disparu, that extra playing the zombie during that chase scene needs to be in more shit somehow lmao, that's insane commitment
Reminds me of Kane Hodder, most famous Jason Voorhees actor and a man wholly dedicated to the profession
He must have some good medical insurance because he must have definitely broke something. It probably was a stunt man, it had to be a stunt man.
“Actors don’t like wearing masks”. Anyone else see the irony/hypocrisy in that since actors spent years demanding everyone else wear masks?
Yep
Oh my god. Shut up
Not really the same, but I get what you're saying.
Yes I had a good laugh over that!
@@darthdiculous6511 It's usually not Pedro Pascal in the suit. He just does the voice. The brilliance of Mandalorian is that they can actually film multiple scenes at the same time with different people in a Mando suit.
Disparu not noticing the kid tested positive for the infection and then got his body burnt in the next scene is hilarious 😂
Actually, I think Disparu did notice. It's subtle, but he hints at it
@@NikoJr. he said the kid was fine
In a sarcastic way meaning the opposite
@@peterfyal4998 nah, I think he just wants to desperately hate this show because Druckman is involved.
@@Knighttt662 I don't get the impression he desperately wants to hate it. He said multiple times there were many things in the episode he really liked. He did appear to get this bit wrong though.
They don't want to portray tess as bad at all. Honestly if you look Joel is literally the only character that does anything immoral from start to finish. In the game tess shoots ponytail guy in the face like it's nothing.
She threatened to shoot a kid, no hesitation.
Yup, men bad women good lol. Let's see how they show Marlene when Ellie is on the operating table
@ROBBIE RACER Marlene and the Fireflies will be shown to be perfect saviours and that it was a straight man who is forcing the doctors to operate on Ellie to try and save himself. The fireflies will come in, shoot the rich guy and the doctors will then find some ethical way to use Ellie to save the world. Because Druckmann is trying to destroy TLOU completely since he has already destroyed Naugthy Dogs.
The only reason they’re emphasizing on Joel being immoral is to show how much he’s changed for the worse since Sarah died as well as how much he will change for the better while being with Ellie in the coming episodes.
she's not bad? really. She's a lying manipulative bitch. She said it herself that she wants Joe to hunt those boys down. Wait a minute, she ask a man to help her? when she can shoot the guy herself?
I have to say this is like mystery science theater. It is way more entertaining you watching the show then it is just watching the show. Please keep this up.
Unlike your cliche comment, which is becoming old fast
It’s nice to know I’m aging well. Thank you.
climate change beginning was mega cringe. "what if the world got warmer? then fungus would take over our brains!!1"
@@lingricen8077 off to tumbler little brain ded zoomer.
*than
The kid at the beginning didn't come back clear - they came back infected and were given a lethal injection. That kid is the one Joel has to toss on the fire. When they introduced the kid they paid special attention to the shoes - same when Joel is tossing them on the fire.
He apparently pick some technical error in a 3 second phrase about cement but somehow missed the whole kid short story lmao
He’s desperate to dislike this show.
I missed that too but tbf until they start checking people for infection I don't know which colour is the one that marks the infected or the non infected.
@Mahlon Hollway who cares
@@nathaniellangham I know right. Spending over half the review praising it shows how much he wants to dislike it.
If you really want to see someone desperate to hate a show watch Az's review. He is someone that focuses almost exclusively on the negative and leans super heavy into it. That's what his audience wants him to do so I'm not really criticizing him, but compare his review to this one and try again to claim Disparu just wants to dislike this show.
"I don't know who this guy is, but I want him in everything."
Stunt man has a fan.
"actors don't like wearing masks" you forgot the "unless it's for virtue signaling" part.
Especially Pedro Pascal loooooves wearing masks 😂
@@7riXter Yeah you get the feeling that he didn't want that because of the Mandalorian.
Ironic considering he was praised for the betrayal of the character with the mask. Odd how that works.
Detroit : become human
@@Rakshiir It doesn't work the same way at all if everyone else is too and they all look similar, viewers would have no idea wtf was going on most of the time.
@@gavinjenkins899 It kind of depends I'd say. If you look at the game, with the masks they wear in the game you can still see characters eyes and hair. You always knew even with masks who was who, since you saw the main characters without masks earlier in the game. It would not be that hard to do that in a series as well. It's not like you needed them to wear them ALL the time, similar to the game where they also didn't wear them all the time.
I love to see disparu review velma. I mean, I won't watch the show, but I'd watch disparu review it.
Yes *please*.
I wouldnt want to see even clips of that trash
The sad thing is even if this turns out to be good, we all know how it ends so how excited can I really get when I know what happens to Joel and the whole stupid story of Abby?
Honestly who gives a sht. stopped watching now if thats your mindset of all thing. You guys are so desperate to hate this show mygod.
@@marktime7692 Jesus Christ, trying to police peoples opinion and critiques in a review comment section. Definitely sane keep it up 👍
I hope it's one if the things which get heavily edited and turned into something else
@@Knighttt662 one can dream
I’ve never played the game. So I was watching this as a stand alone series. I gotta say, I rather enjoyed it from beginning to end.
It got going quick, the beginning was pretty brutal with good action and effects, the acting was good, and the pacing was quick. It never dragged. This series opener held my attention the whole way and I gotta say, most shows do not hold my attention and I change the channel. I watched all of this. Pretty darn good.
The zombie at the diner sold it so good for me my man went full crazy mode. that was gold
Tess wasn't in the game for long, but i loved her and Joel's team dynamic. Tess was clearly more outgoing, she was active, confident, to the point of cockiness, did most of the talking and i assume closed most of their deals, and on the first glance it'd be easy to believe that she was the clear leader and Joel was just there as muscle.
But then if you looked at more subtle details, every time when a decision came up, Tess would look over at Joel and not move forward until she got a sign of approval from him.
Here, can't make up my mind on Joel just yet, but Tess seems...off. Just the way the actress carries herself doesn't seem to mesh with game-Tess well. And some of the lines are really bad, like one to Joel about "Robert being terrified of him" - lady, you're a team, if he's terrified, it's supposed to be of both of you. That line is very un-Tess-like and seems to be there only to build up Joel as a threatening presence, only...wouldn't it be better to *show* Joel being threatening?
Also, oh, even in a negotiation with Marlene, Tess is hanging back while Joel's the one at the front. That's bordering on character assassination, honestly :D.
In the Marlene negotiation scene, seems Joel took point only because the situation had went south. Tess was leading the whole time and went in first. Then when they saw the chaos, Joel took the lead and when the talking started he held his position because of the threat (Ellie's attempt). When they started making a deal he walked back, spoke with Tess, and Tess came forward to close the deal. In this case, from what I observed, they stayed true to their characters. But like you, I hope they don't pull any 'character assassinations'.
Nice analysis on the details from the game. Thanks for those reminders. I played through it on the ps3, and again on the ps4 in 2017 so it's been a while. Those subtle details you mentioned really fleshed out Tess as a character.
I swear I thought I was the only one who felt how off Tess’ character was in the show. This woman is supposed to be a total badass. In the game when it is first revealed that Ellie is infected Tess pulls out a gun to shoot her right there and then. Everyone remembers her iconic “fuck this” gunfight scene. In the show she can’t even dispose of a dead kid. Idk why they decided to make her so weak and docile.
@@saadiyakhan4025 That wasn't her with Joel disposing of the bodies. We first see her with Robert.
@@saadiyakhan4025 Also, "weak and docile" is a bit extreme. They've admitted to lessening the violence in the series, as we saw in ep. 1, but that's for everyone.
@@pjmack177 wait that wasn’t her? My bad. But she still freaked out over a dead clicker. Not being violent doesn’t mean they can’t portray her as the hardened survivor she is.
Compared to rings of power and halo, this is a masterpiece
LMAO Setting the bar real high there...
@yumyumeatemup I mean there isn't any good video game adaptions
@@toxicheadshot360 Some would argue that both Cyberpunk and Arcane were good videogame adaptations, though Id argue that LOL doesn't have enough of a coherent story readily made known to the player through its gameplay that the Netflix adaptation for Arcane that was made, could be seen as being "faithful" to the game.
Rather I think they were making a more general point of comparison given that RoP isnt a videogame adaptation either. Its just that all the stuff based off of major IPs are crap these days. Woke infestation or otherwise.
@yumyumeatemup yea that's true totally forgot about them, but outside of Animation, nothing is really is there
@@toxicheadshot360And there still isn't.
“I’m almost thirty six”
Half the audience: “wait what?”
I know. I’d thought he was about 25.
He looks 36
Another flaw in their story for me is how the fireflies got into this big fight, risking their entire plan, over a battery. Especially when Marlene told Joel they have vehicles and batteries and guns. If that’s the case, why risk your highly important plans on a shady deal with someone you can’t trust for something your group already has plenty of?
It's explained..Tess basically asked the same thing you did. Saying they must be pretty desperate to be dealing with Robert. Marlene admitted things WEREN'T so good. Marlene told Joel she could get him that stuff outside the Fedra zone.
Maybe Robert started the fight
@@Alpha1918 Probably right. Tess said the battery was no good and he tried to sell it twice. Either way, the gun fight ruined the plans for the other fireflies all over Boston to gather in that building that night. Fedra was on the way.
I don't think the end scene necessarily meant that joel saw ellie as his daughter yet. I think the guard just reminded him of the other military guy that killed his daughter in that moment and that's why he snapped. Understandable to have the scene play out like that but I hope they don't go with the unhinged route as well. Joel is violent because the world is violent and he's a survivor, not because he's deranged or unstable.
Yeah he missed the point of that flashback lol. It was more like he doesn't want another innocent child to be shot like his daughter was, not that he sees her as his daughter.
I saw this like that, too. Clear-cut PTSD reaction.
Exactly- dude had a flashback, and the "gamers" intent on digging deep for the sake of pearl clutching misinterpreted the scene
He is still right it wasn't earned and it cheapens the greatest part of the game which is character development from the moment they met to the end. If he already sees her as his daughter, he opened up at that point and Joel in the game wanted the exact opposite, he was so much against doing this job, against making any friendly connections with her, because he doesn't want to remind himself of his daughter.
He doesn't care about Ellie at this stage, he even wanted to shoot her once he knew she was infected, that's how much he closed emotions toward her, yet in this scene it looks like he already values her life. The dynamic is wrong. Also I'm surprised he didn't comment on the acting performance, some scenes literally scream for a second take, like when budget Ellie says "I can't believe I'm finally outside." there should be '!' at the end, because Ellie in the game put actual emotion into that sentence which makes perfect sense if she was all her life inside this compound, meanwhile budget Ellie says it as if she just read it from the script to remember her line.
@@Laireso The idea that "It wasn't earned" is based on the mistaken idea that the scene was intended to suggest he had fatherly feelings for Ellie, instead of clearly calling upon a PTSD "flashback" reaction to justify his response. That's how PTSD works, you can be triggered by "similar" situations. He doesn't have to see her as his daughter to be triggered in that moment, and flash back to his actual daughter being killed. I think this is what you and Disparu are not understanding.
That ending with Joel flipping out? Yeah...this whole thing is trying to make the softening of Joel, even from the casting Pedro in the first place. That way it makes sense why "Joel got soft" in part 2 will be the lie made true in another medium. The Fireflies are going to be treated as the "heroes" with a few bad apples/overly cautious/misunderstanding and Joel be the monster that "doomed humanity" because he's just unhinged based on this scene seeing Ellie as Sarah instead of another daughter to protect.
And u predicted two seasons over a 30 second scene. Congratulations on being just as shortsighted as the clickers
Also u misinterpreted the scene, his violent outburst was triggered due to the guy shoving a gun in front of his face and his silhouette appearing similar to the soldier who shot Sarah, not due to any fartherly instinct
i hate wokeness as much as the next person but the hypersensitivity to anything woke is just as cringe. Tone it down, you sound like a snow flake
@@Knighttt662 By that logic anyone with a gun infront would have ended him by now…
lol let's be honest, Joel is a 'monster'. Killing about what, 2 dozen men and unarmed doctors to save one girl, you may think of yourself a hero but, you're probably a monster. That's part of the point. It's not a world of heroes and morals, it's a world about survival and protecting what's yours. Joel will do whatever is necessary to survive and protect his own and that very well means being a 'monster' (such as ignoring the plight of a similar family at the beginning).
Edit: I still don't see how they'll make him 'soft' just yet. I stayed away from part 2 though, so idk how soft he even became....but, I'd find it odd for him to become soft, I imagine his character a bit like the survivalist from FO:NV.
I noticed a part where Joel mentions something about golf and I laughed my fucking ass out
You laughed your ass OUT??? Ok. Bit weird
@@dirtyfunkymonkey prolapsed anus. Probably requires a doctors visit
Little kid wasn’t safe btw. The red was he’s infected and they euthanized him. Joel actually tossed his dead body in in the next scene. You can tell from his shoes etc.
Okay so, mini-lore-dump purely from memories.
First, In the game, *if i recall correctly*, Marlene already knew Ellie before she ever got infected, i distinctly remember their exchange with Joel, where Ellie called Marlene "a friend, i guess", with Joel's surprised reaction of "you're friends with the leader of the Fireflies?". That made Ellie's attachment to Marlene and hesitation to live without her understandable. No idea why that got changed in the tv-show to them barely knowing each other, but alas.
Second, the people Tess and Joel killed while trying to get to Robert were not Fireflies, they were just nameless cannon fodder. Fireflies in-game got fucked up by a massive anti-Firefly operation done by the military, Marlene got wounded by the military aswell.
Yes, Marlene and Ellie did know each other prior. After watching the first half hr of this i decided to look up a timeline video of the game. Ig there was a comic that came out showing that Ellie ran into Marline earlier in the timeline with that one chick Ellie kissed from the dlc.
In the game, Marlene knew Ellie's mother and promised her she would look after her daughter when she died. Marlene is probably the closest to a mother Ellie has.
The people Tess and Joel kill to get to Robert are hired muscle to protect him from Tess and Joel.
The Fireflies kept attacking the quarantine zone soldiers. Fed up, the military staged an operation to wipe them out of the area, which succeeds.
The fillers that you described as ``boring`` is actually quite healthy for the series since i believe that series can be more slow paced than games. They gotta spread the adrenalin rushes and dopamine giving scenes eavenly over it all. Great video!
Yeah, I'm definitely having a wait and see thing with this. As they've said themselves, some eps will focus on entirely different characters, such as one ep they said is based just on a letter from the game.
and...?
That could work. A lot of the letters from the 1st and 2nd game were pretty damn interesting.
It pretty much already confirmed that 3rd episode will be focused on Bill and Frank. If they are doing another episode 'based on a letter' I bet money it's the letter(s) about Ish and the remnants of the survivor community you find in the storm tunnels outside of Pittsburgh.
Pretty sure thats either about Bill and Frank, or Ish. Players have actually been BEGGING to see DLC about Ish so that would make sense. But if done right, the Bill and Frank episode could be done well.
'Ground in reality' Words that kills many an IP
One thing that bugged me at the start amongst other things was the fact that the daughter never changed her top for a whole full day :P
That is weird to say when the spores were the most realistic part of the game being based on a real life fungus
@@SageOfLimitlessHands If the spores were realistic, there will be no game, everyone will be dead in a couple of months.
@@jamie_d0g978 I understand that. Hence why I feel them saying it's "ground in reality" while removing one of the most realistic parts of the game.
"No idea what could cause that except fungus." *sips* 🤣 I was trying to take a sip of water. It did not end well. 😆 Tommy sees a man assaulting a waitress and steps in to defend her! They put an actual man in the show! It's a Christmas miracle! 🥳 Also, It's a little known fact that the reason we Yanks are so obsessed with guns is because we're always preparing for the zombie apocalypse. The forefathers included the Second Amendment not to safeguard our inalienable rights but to make sure our country would withstand the zombies. I'm pretty sure Thomas Jefferson included that in a letter to Benjamin Franklin. It's 100% true, historical fact. Edit: A soldier would NEVER say repeat over the raido. You only ever respond with "Say again?" Because "repeat" means you're calling for a repeat of artillary fire or supporting fire at the location that they just hit. Also, at 27:36, they have two shirts they very much want you to see. The Al Gore campaign shirt and the super awesome "God Bless Our Troops" shirt that the wounded veteran is wearing in the background. I'm assuming those two in the chairs are actual veterans wounded in action. Don't know if there's a deeper meaning here, but it's cool.
I've been out of the Army for years and still can't use the word repeat when asking someone to say something again lol.
@@silverheart4049 Same 😆
@@gattzflappa6306 That is 100% correct. He didn't have his battle buddy, and he didn't have his reflective belt on. That'll get ya every time.
@@gattzflappa6306 Oh yeah. Definitely! He probably hadn't changed his socks or taken his daily dose of ibuprofin either. Just a counseling statement waiting to happen. He's the soldier safety briefings are about.
Fun fact: you’re more likely too be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark.
Wait... so if there are no spores to spread the infection, then how did the initial infections happen? Were the initial infections spores or were the initial infections already done through tentacles? Which one it was matters heavily because if the invalid grandmother was infected, how was she infected? You would think, with someone being so static and so immobile and so given to her one environment that if she's infected then everyone else in the house is also infected and if they're all infected, shouldn't Sarah also be infected? Questions!
Through food, the country in Indonesia mentioned in the beginning, it has the world's largest mill factory. In this universe I assume it initially started spreading through food and then through scratches and bites. Also the summer setting of the show could have something to do with it. Since microorganisms can reproduce and spread easily in warmer climates.
They don't want spores , gas masks lol
The grandma could be the one weakest/ill so she the first get infected
@@JO-ui9fl no headcannon bs, if they didn’t explain it properly then the show has issues from the start
From Flour that is primarily imported from Jakarta.
In the game, the first one at least. Joel action would be always show as pragmatic in first half of the game, untill he start to see ellie as his daughter.
In response to Disparu’s annoyance with the last scene. I don’t think that he viewed Eli as his daughter necessarily. It seems like the Joel in the show suffers from PTSD. A young girl, around his daughter’s age, had a soldier pointing a gun at her, at night in a high stress situation. There were enough similarities between the two events that it triggered Joel to remember when his daughter died and he went ape. Not unlike when a soldier gets triggered by the sounds of gunfire.
@joshua Dove I would agree if only this was not after 20 years later and we know what kind of guy Joel is. Why? Because you know for sure that in 20 years +3 would have encounter at least 1 other kid, male or female, who has a gun pointed to their head and if it isn't known that he flips out then, why does he do it now? This is why it makes no sense for this scene to be inserted here. I do agree with the PTSD/Shellshock scene but it kind of falls flat here when you know Joel has most probably at least had to deal with 1 other time, out of thousands upon tens of thousands of day, where this similar scene happened and he didn't flip out.
This, 100%!
And because he obviously feels guilty about what happened, it was like he got a 2nd chance at making it right. It literally could've been any younger person with him and he would've reacted that way. I was actually surprised at how wrong Disparu's take is here.
@@cttommy73 Just like you have to make it up that he probably was triggered at least once before this you also have to follow through with the rest of that logic. How do you know he didn't flip out then too? That could be part of what earned him his reputation. You're just making assumptions.
2:00 - race swapping, ie more anti-white racism.
@@xipheonj No. This is the same kind of criticism at TLOU2 when they say "Joel softened up". No, he's a character with a particular background and history that you shouldn't disregard.
Your explanation about the concrete guys had me rolling 🤣💯
It’s deception.
I remember how “good” the MCU shows on Disney plus started off. The first 3 episodes were okay, then the bottom fell out and the European avalanche began.
Also the producers comparing it to the entire series of breaking bad….
“BITCH, PLEASE!”
Chernobyl was pretty damng good tho.
Amazing review and analysis.
You are probably my favorite reviewer :)
They said that they made an entire episode based off a note that was barely touched on in the game... I'm not sure why ep3 will need to be a side story about a man that wears Hawaiian shirts who ends up... at the end of his rope.
In the game, I thought it was a very interesting addition. Thoughts about relationships / love / inner turmoil / don't judge a book by its cover / teen curiosity. Thought provoking and impactful... From 2 or 3 scenes.
I have no idea how expanding that relationship to a full episode will advance Jole and Ellie's story.
I have to grudgingly admit that most of it was good. Where my brain went "Uh oh" was when Tess told Ellie to follow her. In the game, she tells her to follow Joel. A little thing, yes, but they've already messed with Joel's character by having Sarah do everything for him, now they're taking more agency away from him. By the end of the season, is he just going to be grunting and barreling through every situation? Ehh, we'll see.
By the end of the series, he would be dead. Neil Druckmann and his gang of writers are just waiting for the Abbey smash scene. Remember, they hate men because Druckmann is jealous and the rest of the writers just think it is trendy to hate men. Unless they are gay.
The last of men/him/them 💅💪
Gurl u got this
I don't know how it "messes" with Joel's character given we don't know what the relationship between Joel and Sarah was like apart from a typical father-daughter relationship. (in the game)
@@Knighttt662 It's the little things that add up along the way. In this episode it's one changed line. How many more to go? As for Sarah, I didn't need to know anything more about her than I already did. Her story is tragic enough without telling me Joel can't seem to tie his shoes without her doing it for him because white men = duh.
I honestly smell a bait & switch and you can already see the signs in the first episode. They had to get the pilot right to reel people in. Not to mention that this all leads to Abbey and bigot sandwiches anyway, but I smell something coming sooner than that.
They lost me when they removed the spores. If I wanted just a zombie show, then I'd watch Walking Dead.
That said, I'll sail the high seas, because there's promise with the show. Just wish they'd develop their own IP if they want to change shit.
Yo, those elderly neighbors are to be valued. I love me some damn biscuits.
are we sure they completely removed the spores or was that clicker old & there were no more spores in that area? I forget how it works in the game lore.
@@ZChronicNebula the spores were really stupid oversight in the original game. Not sure i like the replacement tendrils but at least it isn't mind bogglingly daft like the spores
@@soup8786 Thank you, spores were dumb as hell
cause people don't have talent thats why, we got a lot alzy bums nowadays
How the hell are spores dumb/oversight? Probably one of the most realistic and unique zombies out there
I disagree about the end when joel beats up the guard over ellie. He doesnt need to build up a relationship with ellie to see a parallel with his daughter. I think just seeing a guard pointing a gun at her is enough for him to flashback to that earlier scene
I appreciate your take. Now, this is coming from the perspective of someone who hasn’t played the games…I agree with parts of your review. The truck scene was brilliant, tense and tragic. I also understand your criticisms of the slower beginning, but I actually found the opening moments with Sara to be a solid build up to the impending calamity of outbreak day, filled with momentary warning signs. For instance, when Sara was in school, there was a classmate twitch-tapping their pencil. When she was in the shop, the SWAT cars zooming in the background set a foreboding tone nicely.
Even Joel and Sarah’s friendly interactions with the neighbors served a purpose, because it contrasted well with the schisms and social disharmony of society 20 years later.
Was the action the most riveting part? Absolutely. But I think there’s something to be said about those smaller moments.
Overall, a promising start 👍 👍
As someone who HAS played the games, I actually don't get his criticism or Az's from HeelVsBabyFace about the intro being boring. When you're playing a game you are actively being that character. As a result, you bond and connect to them a lot faster. You start off as Sarah and end up dying after like 30 mins to an hour. But in that space you really do connect with her as a character.
Because TV is a passive medium, you need to build up characters by showing who they are, how they are in the world, how they interact and react to others. If it simply started where the game was I don't think people would've been as invested in her dying as they were.
@@PatstarDeluxe Thanks, I largely felt that way, too. Though I’d only known Sarah for 20 minutes, her death impacted me emotionally. The slower (deliberate) pacing in the opening allowed us to connect with her. Guess it goes to show that slow doesn’t necessarily equate to boring. It can give the viewer a chance to be immersed by compelling characters and an intriguing setting.
@@johnt6350 Absolutely! I'm kind of shocked at that criticism from Disparu and AZ. Makes me think some of the other things they said were shit that I never watched should be given a 2nd chance? The Witcher: Blood Origins here I come!
(Kidding!!)
@@PatstarDeluxe THISSS!!! So many times over, THIS! All the criticisms/comments of the show straying from the source material are more than likely due to the difference in mediums. The intro of this episode is also classic zombies/infection outbreak structure!
@@obedpacheco5420 the question here is "Was the scene necessary?" - If scene doesn't add to narrative and you can CUT IT and nothing changes? Then you're wasting your runtime. 20 minutes of that sequence can be removed and nothing would've changed.
This intro basically wastes your time assuming you won't be able to understand how harsh world has become if they don't show you more of it before out break... (like duh you won't be able to Imagine that world was better before out break If they won't show it). Despite that we will be NEVER coming back to those scenes or they will be relevant later.
Game handles it way better by the merit of starting it right away at the evening with confused Sarah - same as a Player - tricks you into thinking that all world building will happen after escape as world goes through zombie apocalypse - and then does a sudden death and time skip twist dropping you right into broken world with bitter Joel years later.
The 80's tune at the end was one of the better parts of the episode. DEPECHE MODE, Never let me down. Everyone should listen to more DEPECHE MODE. 👌
27:58 Entry to quarantine zones being punished with hanging has the same energy as being executed for attempting suicide. "I see you failed to get the job done. Here, let me help you."
Fantastic pickup by Disparu, i hadn't even thought of it.
The scene in the truck, when the trio were driving away. I didn't even think it was fighter jets trying to eliminate a passenger jumbo jet, for any number of reasons. This is VERY unique to the zombie genre and if the showmakers are going to introduce new elements to the TV show.
We want stuff like this.
Oh man, yeah, that scene with the guard when escaping DOES ruin a lot with the way they present it - Joel is as cool as a cucumber while simultaneously being capable of being more vicious than a cucumber strapped with half a ton of C4 ;D Him losing his cool like that doesn't sit right at all... all I can do is think back to how he reacts to just about EVERY other high-intensity moment in the game and how WELL he processes pretty much all of it. He keeps his head, 200% focused and ALL business.
Absolutely robbed of it meaning anything in the future since they can't build on that now, why blow it straight away in a stupid way absolutely pointless.
1min we will kill her, next scene if anyone thinks about killing her I will lose my mind and become feral. So stupid
But you see, he had bad dreams in the game - so what if we give him a full-blown PTSD attack and he can cosplay Ellie's knife scene with his fists.
The kid that collapsed at the entrance was positive for the fungus and was the body that the woman refused to throw in the fire. The body has the same shirt and sneakers as the kid that approached the wall.
Dude I didn’t even see the fighters chasing the airliners, I thought there was somebody infected on board that caused it to crash at first, good catch!
I wanted to personally thank you for suffering through all those horrible series. I really enjoy watching them "with you". Thanks to your sharp critisism and witty remarks, I'm having a lot of fun with these garbage series.
Keep up the great work and thanks from a Dutch fan.
I was curious if you’d cover this, as you’ve shown a complete direct approach to negative shows, so I was wondering if the positive review of this show would make it too difficult for you to challenge! I really appreciate how unbiased and true you are with these things ^^
Yea im pleased people after a few episodes of house of the dragon didnt try to hate it and even enjoyed it. If you start off ready to hate it, it take a non biased person to revaluate and change their mind
Unbiased... Lol.... The whole channel is his bias...
@@fpvx3922 When people talk about being unbiased they mean not letting their bias decide their opinion and having an open mind to the good and bad. It's literally impossible to be perfectly unbiased so outside of a scientific/academic context then this is the correct meaning for unbiased.
I don't mind the spores change, because in the game we would go into the buildings covered in spores with open wounds and every character would immediately get infected, so i understand why they changed it to just bites or contact.
The whole story arc will not work if Ellie is unlikeable.
buckle up bro lol
Given that 30% of her dialogue is lifted from the game and like 40% is swearing(also from the game) , I think they are on the right track
@@Knighttt662 there is the lines and there is the delivery. And then there is the halo effect of not looking like a five head.
@@jeronimo196 Glad I'm not the only one 😂
That actor who played the infected at around 23:00 was perfect. The ones in the games pretty much act like this.
I thought he was cgi judging by the way he was flinging himself all over the place😂
Been waiting for this review, Personally, I was surprised, it was defiantly better than i expected. But there we still an issue i had with it. It felt dragged on in some parts and a little to fast in others. based on the first episode it could really go in any direction, I definitely see some good things they can do but also some huge red flags.
All roads lead to a trans golfer
@@zetterburger abby was not trans 😂
@@foodsupply5071 She is. She's got way too much muscle in a Post Apocalypse.
@@arnowisp6244 Yeah that muscle volume was pretty insane but it was never canonical as far as I know and just speculation. The actual trans character from the leaks was lev as far as I know
It felt dragged because they added runtime to add enough impact to the shock and trauma later... and this is a TV Series... so yes, it must dragged on...
I always enjoy your reviews, but this one was especially good. You have an excellent sense for how stories should and shouldn't be written, and watching you explain the difference is very entertaining.
Cant believe you missed the line where the firefly boss tells Joel not to fuck this up.
i actually like the beginning - where you could slowly hear more and more sirens in the backround. thought that was cool
yea, cause we don't want our main character in this show to ALWAYS wear a mask, hiding his face! (Mandalorian)
Yes seeing Joel take out all the fireflies would clue us into what he is capable of
While I agree that most of the new stuff didn't work and removing the action scene towards the end certainly was disappointing, I did see the scene with Joel losing it in a different way. For me it wasn't Joel seeing Ellie as his daughter (because yeah, that sure isn't earned) but simply that the guard triggered a flashback to when Joel's daughter was killed and that he would have been triggered even without Ellie being there at all... at least that's how I saw it
Mate,you better get a DNA test!haha 😂
One of my pet hates in these types of things is when someone uses a weapon, then instantly discards it. Like 'doubt I'll need that again, I'll just drop it.' That and main characters doing the stop and stare thing. I know it to gives the audience a chance to see what's happening. It is also fair to say that real life stressful and dangerous situations, show us that people often don't make smart decision when panicked. There is heaps of research that shows humans stress response is not just fight or flight, there is also freeze and you'd be shocked how many people get stuck on freeze. Main protaganist probably shouldn't be the type of people shown to freeze though.
When he drops the wrench after braining the old lady, he's probably thinking about the risk of infection from the blood. He knows there's some kind of disease outbreak, so why would you hold onto a wrench drenched in blood from someone who is clearly infected.
I don't subscribe to the freeze theory. There's no scientific evidence it's a biological response, unlike the other two. It seems to be ever more used today to give people an 'out' for not protecting themselves when they should and once would have. Whenever psychologists get involved reproducable scientific study goes out the window and we're left with unprovable theory advanced via the loudest voice technique. Just my two cents.
The fact that they passed over Jensen MF Ackles for the role of Joel tells me all I need to know about this show.
The Mountain from Game of Throne should be Abbie. It's the perfect cast 😆
I don't think it's an issue but I think him shielding daughter from the gunfire makes sense since it's a natural reaction just like if a car was coming you would feel in your daughter probably automatically before pushing her out of the way just out of reflux
Agreed that the extended opening made the outbreak feel overly delayed. The game began at night, with Sarah staying up late to give her dad his present. Then she falls asleep, and next thing we know, all hell's broken loose. Makes more sense that everything was relatively normal until evening, so it would be the middle of the night when it got to emergency levels.
That makes no sense.
Everything happened gradually, did you forget when “Covid” happened everything came to a head early March? When really it had been building and building and building.
Showing life “normal” and characters going about their day really made it more of an emotional impact and felt grounded.
Had the show STARTED right as the game did people would complain it was rushed etc.
Some of these grifters are too prideful to admit the show is decent and they were wrong after saying for months it would fail.
@@mattcollins3591 What doesn't make sense to me is why they made a show from a game that is basically cinematically driven. Like.... Just play the game.
@@faultytv2180 not everyone plays video games my guy.
dude this show is not only for gaymer like you. wth.
Did you notice the kid who arrived at the checkpoint and was strapped into the chair was the kid that they threw into the fire after that woman told Joel “I can’t”.? The camera pauses on his hightops so we can identify him. His test was positive and the injection of “medicine” obviously killed him, while she smiled at him and said “You’re safe”. Cold as f**k.
I thought it was pretty decent overall. If you put the game out of your mind and stop comparing then it’s better. After all, it’s made mainly for non-gamers so they have to put quite a bit of extra storyline to explain it all to people who don’t know the game story.
They keep giving Pedro shows where he's supposed to wear a mask but he just won't take the hint. Someone needs to tell him that everyone will be happier if he covers that mug.
I sensed something good to watch on my homepage. Thanks for providing. Keep it up!
I don't know why but it just brings a smile to my face hearing you say anything positive about modern media. Keep it up man!
disparu you missed a very subtle scene, the kid who stumbles at the entrance of the walled city and they get him in and check for the infection.. That kid test positive and Joel is literally burning him in the very next scene. Just check the clothes of the body that the lady refuses to pick and Joel does it alone... it is that same kid down to the shoes and everything.. exact same kid.
Never played the game(Xbox guy) so this take is from someone who was surprised when Sarah was killed so quickly. The 1st 20 minutes were important...it portrayed Sarah as a very lovable/likeable character only to strip her away in Joel's arms obviously a traumatic experience for Joel. This is very much apart of Joel's character in the show...he still wears the watch 20 years later. I don't think his reaction to the cop pointing the gun at him with Ellie is a weak reaction...he's human/he's a survivor and that cop comes off as a piece of shit in their only other interaction so I think it was more self preservation with maybe some unresolved trauma he had buried deep down. Dying isn't an option...being arrested isn't an option and he wasn't gonna leave his/Abbies/Tess'/Tommies future in the hands of this crooked junkie cop/fedra guy. I know nothing of the story so that's how I saw it...very much enjoyed the show.
I felt the same. I thought the slow build with Sarah with little hints of something being really wrong was very well done. It made it more jarring and engaging when everything suddenly became total chaos. Plus the actress that played Sarah was fantastic. I was sobbing when she died. I thought the rest of the episode was fantastic as well. If the season is as engaging as E1, this is my new favorite show.
Good take
I hate how everyone is saying it's the most loyal adaptation of all time and is exactly like the game when it's not even close.
It's pretty close tho.
Other commenters have asked quite probably the biggest question - if the illness is not spore based so that actors do not have to wear gas masks, then how did everyone get infected in the opening scenes? The old lady certainly was not bitten by anyone before turning.
They say bites but people were not bitten so don't think about it I guess haha, don't you know the show writers are just better at everything, don't question it.
Also they say it started because of global warming had to get that in there too.
@@peterfyal4998 Global warming causes fungus zombies! Hahahaha!
They said it, pay attention. There are several hints in the first 30ish minutes. And about global warming there has to be a reason to fungus to evolve and start this particular outbreak, otherwise people will say "fungus don't affect humans that way" no matter what, haters gonna hate if they give or not a reason for the outbreak.
@@David-nf8vbThank you, people here are so fucking stupid and don't pay attention at all.
@@Peer165 a lot of people wants the shows to be like legal documents (contracts, lawsuits, prenups, etc) in those cases there is a need to be insanely specific, but movies, tv shows, music, books IMO its better if they let the consumer to figure what's going on, you know pay attention and connect the dots. I saw a comment "Sarah was oblivious of what was happening" dude... When Joel came back he found the doors locked paraphrasing he said you finally locked the doors thats a first one. She noticed something was odd enough to lock the doors.
the second i found out that spores were going to be written completely out of the cannon i immediately checked out.
i do not give a *&^% about actors who genuinely believe their ego's are more important than staying faithful to established cannon.
and, yes, the spores are a big part of the lore & cannot be casually dismissed.
it's one of the main reasons why society collapsed.
all that said, it can't possibly be any worse than 'The Walking Dead' and it's 47 spin-offs so, assuming HBO is committed to making this their next big thing, this show can succeed.
It was exeptionally medicore, especially in terms of the cinematography.
Disagree
The real hero of this show is the soldier that killed Sarah, now if only he could take care of Ellie
Hahahahaha
Please, elaborate on why murdering a child made him a hero.
@@sandwichfromtheskip1813I think the point is that because she isn’t real, the person is focusing on the fact that the soldier removed an annoying character from the show
@@alasdaircook3030 personally, I didn’t find her annoying; some of her dialogue was taken straight from the game, essentially she was the exact same character, but with slightly more development.
@@sandwichfromtheskip1813 some people did, I like the scenes that were straight out of the game but there were moments with her than I felt weren’t needed, such as her talking down to them for not knowing the capital of Indonesia or wherever it was
I think Disparu is letting himself down by getting sucked into “hating for clicks”
Same thing with Andor
Going hard on the “disaster” headlines too early, only for it to play out quite well and then to be left stranded when Drinker Mauler and the other guys play fair and come round to it
Not that he can’t have a different opinion , but it’s more like the schtick only works if he’s slagging it off
Yeah, in general, all he does is to start biased and then watch stuff only to find things to complain about. Not a very fun approach. Must be depressing 😊 But that's how he makes money. Hate content always sells well.
No, it's nearly all legit criticism. The first 20 minutes are clearly dull, and many scenes are badly handled---if you know anything about directing and mise en scene. It's a real pity they didn't switch actresses and keep the first girl as Ellie. She's much better than Bella Ramsey.
1:17 I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that the spores from this fungus stay in one spot on the forest floor and do not float through the air like in the game. Basically, the ants spend most of their time in the trees but sometimes they have to go down to the forest floor to get to another tree to stay in, and once on the ground some of the spores will stick to the ants' exoskeleton and then the ant is infected. So they all lived happily never after.
"Who am I? I forgot..."
-Somebody with dementia
I think Joel had a PTSD attack, not necessarily thinking of Ellie but of Sarah, his most tragic moment so far. I did not mind that scene at all.
That's exactly what happened, he was having a flashback to the almost same situation with Sarah. He should've watched the "after the show" featurette thing, it explains a few things. it also explained something else he mentioned but now I can't remember lol.
Yeah Joel doesn't give a care about Ellie yet at this point in the show, nor is it implied even subtly, but his criticism still stands because you know at least SOME viewers will misinterpret it as that.
@@w33d533d Agreed. There even was an earlier scene where he just toss a dead child in the fire without hesitation which was more tragic, why would he possibly give a damn about Ellie at this point if not only to get to his brother by any means. It definitely was a PTSD attack.
@@domperidone2519 I don't think the child he threw in the fire was dead. I think Joel killed him by throwing him in the fire. That's why the woman next to him was freaking out like "i can't, i just can't." That's what is implied, is the needle they gave that kid was just to knock the child out so he could be burned and establishes Joel has no issue killing children.
They had his hands tied still, why if he was dead? they had a bag over his head, which would could give the impression he was dead, but it's realistically to keep him from spitting/biting.
I expect it to go downhill fast.
let's hope so
I'm starting to think Disparu has a promising future as a management consultant, assuming this UA-cam reviewer gig doesn't pan out. So much sense in the first 3½ minutes identifying the concrete delivery as the bottleneck. A pity the show runners didn't hire you!
And yet he misses Sarah's classmate twitching as foreshadowing, and then the fact that the boy in the 20years later scene is not clear, but euthanized. He then misses the fact that Joel throws that kids body in the fire
@@Knighttt662 3 scenes in an hour and 20 minutes episode. Wow, that’s way too much, he has to be wrong… Sarcasm btw
I don't see it as Joel suddenly see Ellie as his daughter , he's just having ptsd from looking at the damn guard pointing the gun at him that reminds him of his daughter last moment
But it has been 20 years... Wouldn't that have happened again since then, he is a smuggler after all... it's a bit of a stretch to let his ptsd come out at that exact moment
gosh i love disparu's analysis
I love when Disparu rips into a show, "I'm sorry that's most unbelievable part of this series, I'm 36 and this is unbelievable and this is a show about zombies." What ah savage 🤣
Love the review, but the chart we see for how fast you turn is after getting bit. We don’t know how long it takes to turn if you just eat/consume the spores, so maybe it’s more realistic but I agree some news would have made it through to the news. On another review, they focused in on how in Jakarta they mainly export flour. They had a fungus breakout in flour (real life) that killed a bunch of people. Anyway based on that, there are subtle hints that the show is saying flour based goods might have been the culprit. Joel is on Atkins and they didn’t have pancakes for breakfast. However they show grandma getting fed biscuits. It may be related it may be coincidence but they are filming in Jakarta, so they will probably tie in a ground 0 story.
"controlled by plants"
Fun fact! Fungus are not actually plants. They are closer to animals, but they also are not animals.
Apparently, they are colonies of individual organisms that grow on and over each other. Mind you, I'm not a scientist, so I can't explain what fungus actually is, but I know it's not a plant , or an animal!
I really enjoy your videos. I will not be watching any of these shows, as I long ago determined to boycott much of what Hollywood (and Amazon, and Hulu) create. They hate me, and I have zero problem with hating them back. Also, I don't hatewatch.
Edited for clarity. Thanks to Pamela for pointing out my mistakes.
I agree with you
He agrees with you.
"I know it's not a plant (because they don't have chlorophyll)"
This is not how you define a plant... just sayin'.
@@pamelajessup7931 Plant: Noun
Any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the king Plantae characteristically containing chloroplasts.
Do you know what "characteristically containing chloroplasts" means?
Chloroplast: Noun
A plastid that contains chlorophyll and is found in the cells of green plants and algae.
So.. yes. A plant contains chlorophyll, and fungus does not, therefor a fungus is not a plant.
Fungus: Noun
Any of numerous spore-producing eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Fungi, "which lack chlorophyll"
You didn't say anything. You could have yourself looked up the definitions. But if you had looked it up, you would have seen that I was right, and you were incorrect.
Lacking chlorophyll doesn't make something a fungi, but it does mean, it isn't a plant.
Pretty decent review. There are some things I agree with you on, but also things I slightly disagree on.
I’ll agree the opening is a slow burn, but I feel like the addition of the extra scenes kind of fleshes the world before everything goes to hell, with glimpses here and there of everything crashing down. Yes Sarah looks different, but I can appreciate them sticking to what her character was in the game rather than radically changing her.
Also I don’t think I view the soldier death scene as “Joel sees Ellie as his daughter,” though feel free to disagree with me. I think Joel had a PTSD episode seeing the way the guard was poised and being unwavering, similar to the soldier that killed his daughter. I mean, it’s been shown throughout the episode that he constantly has nightmares about the day his daughter died based off the audio we hear, so seeing that same thing play out in front of him caused him to snap. Granted, I’ll admit it removes some of his cold and stoic nature which I’m not a fan of since Joel should be a pretty emotionless, morally bankrupt shell of who he was that slowly gets built back up and softened, but I don’t think it’s him going “Mah Daughter!”
Don’t get me wrong, I am still holding my breath for the rest of the episodes, because yeah, we don’t know for sure what they’ve changed yet (and I’ll be genuinely shocked if they could make season 2 decent given how polarizing and divisive part 2 was) and we’re all pretty jaded from adaptations that slap it’s fans in the face, but even with some of the changes they made, it at least seems in good faith, even if it doesn’t always make sense or there could be more, and seems to stick pretty closely to the source material as best it can.
Hey great growth for your channel! I hope Disney makes shit entertainment forever, so you have material. Great work mate!
The granny at 7:44 was just mimicking the girl's t-shirt print lul
53:00
U misinterpreted this scene IMO.
Joel becomes violent not because he wants to protect Ellie but because the soldier's silhouette looks exactly like the one who shot Sarah, triggering his anger.
No its clearly supposed to push the , ellies like sarah thing.
Also "you" , u is just a letter and means nothing on it's own
"Bleeding hearts" as you put it, do survive these situations, they band together with others and create groups focused on survival. You might be leaning far too much into video game and common apocalypse tropes for humanity has only survived as a species by showing empathy to their fellow man. It's our best trait. In reality, such a situation like this would be easier to survive by banding together and not ditching your fellow people at the drop of a hat.
In reality, men like Joel can only survive and usually end up losing or alienating their loved ones by being so pragmatic as to destroy everything they care about.
Case in point, Joel in the games was nothing but a bandit. He survived but lost his humanity and had nothing to live for. Tess was a partner of convenience and they'd have likely betrayed one another at some point. His brother couldn't handle Joel's behavior any more and abandoned him.
His brother ends up putting together a town and actually living, Joel ends up drinking away his nights.
It took Elle to break him out of that downward spiral and give him a reason to live.
Then abbey happened...
Bruh. The scene where he beats the guard wasn't him equating Ellie with his daughter. It was PTSD. The guard, the flashlight etc. Sometimes I feel like you're deliberately obtuse.
Agreed
It's a vidja game adaptation. Now that they blew the budget on recreating the game intro. Get ready for a lot of feelings in hallways! I didn't Play tlou so I'm not nostalgic for the game stuff. But I'm still giving this show a chance.
Great review!
I dont know why anyone would watch this when we know how it ends so abysmally. And you know that the show runners cant wait to get to that point.
"Everybody's dead, Dave". Great reference! 😂
So, it was spores in the OG game and that made sense to how people were infected... so now it's bites? So, how did this kick off? How did granny just change when no one bit her?
I will say the PTSD part was accurate. Joel with the kid had an immediate flashback to how he lost his kid to a soldier and that guard threatening him was about to be on the receiving end of all that emotional rage.
Basically, the first wave of infection was through contaminated wheat. Which ties in with the ergot fungus mentioned in the 70s talk show scene.
The acid i did in the 90s we just stared at laser lights thru fog machines or water in drainage ditch while chain smoking generic cigs
Yes, I'll be "that" guy... How dare you refer to fungi as plants! 🍄
It fascinates me how a show based on a game, a game where people were mesmerized by the cutscenes and only tolerated the gameplay, can't succeed in a medium it tried so hard to ape.
Its looking like a big success so far
Lol what a stupid take.
Are you smoking crack? The show is accomplishing exactly what it set out to do by roping in a whole new audience of people who had no idea that this story came from a video game😐
Well, it'so good apperently that Sony gave away the entire season to the media to review. They have confidence it's a solid product.
@@ConnorJane the same media that praised RoP during its entire streaming time, only to admit it sucked a week later?
It’s also the case that a lot of the “fungus” in the opening credits isn’t fungus, it’s a slime mold… Physarum (although I can’t comment if this is the case in the game)
and mold is actually a fungus.