[HBO Series] The Last of Us (beware spoilers)

Enjoyed ep8. Cat & mouse. Decent action.

 

Didn’t care for the whole pedo cult a leader angle. Been done before and isn’t interesting

But strong episode for Ellie

 

They made Ellie way more violent in this episode than in the game, which was badass.

 

Eh whatever losing interest

 

It’s almost like they force themselves to cater to one group, and of course they do the same with every other group out there (eyeroll). Gays exert a big influence in Hollywood which is why. Blacks, Mexicans other groups don’t get the same 2/7 episode central angles as do white gays. People try to dance around it.

for the record I thought episode 3 was good

 

I agree that minority stories continue to be under represented and fawned over by the critics in comparison to other groups.

 

Exactly. That’s all people are saying, not that it’s wrong but it’s disproportionate and forced the majority of the time. I personally don’t like any angles that detract from the main plot especially if it’s meant to cater or bolster 1 specific group

 

The mall episode gave me The Fly vibes from Breaking bad

 

I can see the resemblance. I wish we could have seen more of the aftermath rather than were they cut it off at, maybe a bit shorter. Still a good episode though.

 

Eh, this episode was kinda meh to be honest. There wasn't anything new. It hit all the tropes. Religious cult leader abuses his power, is a dick to his congregation who blindly follow him, pedophile. Hungry group of people are cannibals. Would've been more interesting if they were hunting and eating infected and explaining that cooking them kills the cordyceps. Speaking of which, there's a severe lack of cordyceps around.

 

True. But based on history and the situation, it's also a pretty likely scenario.

 

As mentioned, this probably is a likely thing in this world, so not a surprise for it to be present. Not sure I agree that eating infected would be all that interesting personally. As for the lack of infected, can't remember if it's been stated in the show, but seems pretty likely they wouldn't mess around in the environment found in these recent episodes (i.e., too cold). That wasn't the case in the game, but I think it makes more sense (and more sense for a TV show).

The overall premise is a trope, but it was done fairly deliberately to illustrate a few things. One was as a comparison to another settlement already seen in the show. The intent is definitely to show that church and state shouldn't mix. Not super original, but this is pretty much how you do it.

This was also 100% intended to be seen as a very familiar story, but it would have a slightly different ending. Those slight differences are what they want to focus on, and those differences are important to the characters involved. Honestly, the story of TLOU isn't that great at a surface level (not just this episode). The more interesting parts are how that story affects the characters, and less so the story details themselves.

I will admit to being slightly disappointed in the episode. I thought it was really good overall, but I'll be one of those "the game did it better" jerks. I think the game did a better job of setting David up as a good/reasonable guy who Ellie *might* be able to trust. They tried that in the show, but I don't think it worked as well. I'm probably wrong, but I might have liked an additional 20-40 minutes dedicated to this storyline vs the extra time with Kathleen (which didn't really pay off IMO). I also liked the ending sequence in the game a bit more than what we got in the show, though Bella Ramsey was fantastic.

 

Come on man…

 

Eating infected would be something different and show how further desperate this group is. It'd be a good juxtaposition of morals: religious group that wants to follow a holy script or be barbaric to survive. Cannibalism is barbaric, but like I said, it's an obvious trope. Hunting infected humans is further depraved.

As for the lack of infected, I don't recall any line mentioning the cold making them be dormant. I don't think it has to make logical sense, either, as this universe has zombies already. And some are special infected. In the timeline of the show, the last infected we've seen is from KC (Ellie's backstory episode doesn't count as it could be inserted anywhere). That was months ago. It doesn't feel like zombies exist in this area, so why couldn't civilization thrive there?

So far, my favorite episode has been episode 2. It's been the best mix of exposition, world building, plot, adventure, mystery. Good character moments as well.

 

I guess I disagree with the last point. I think eating non-infected people is more depraved than trying to hunt/eat infected humans. Agree to disagree maybe, though I think that's why they're able to really push certain things in the show (e.g., David looking at the little girl and IIRC smirking, as she unknowingly is eating her own father). I give you that this isn't at all original, but there's a reason for that. It can make for some effective storytelling, so we see this trope a lot (same as most tropes). I'd welcome attempts at being more original, but it is tough to beat this from a storytelling perspective. IMO, eating other (uninfected) people is much more captivating than somehow finding a way to eat/hunt the infected.

Plus I also don't find it that plausible that they'd be able to do so. Ignoring that I 100% do think infected are rare around these parts (which I'll get to in a bit), this group doesn't seem particularly well equipped to hunt the infected. I doubt any humans would, especially 20 years after an apocalyptic event with limited supplies. Why do that when you can just hunt deer/rabbit/etc., which would probably be as easy to find as infected (though yeah other people within the community would be the easiest to find if you *really* needed meat). I also don't think cordyceps would be particularly nutritious, and it does typically alter the body into pieces that are likely less edible that normal human flesh (which itself probably isn't the best).

Maybe they could have made it work, but outside of some superficial "hmm hunting the infected, that's neat" feeling, I don't think this would have been better. But that's just my opinion.

To your last point, civilization can thrive here. Well, those that aren't run like a cult with a crazy pedophile leader dude anyway. We see that with Jackson. Of course, you still have to deal with the elements, which isn't easy, but I don't think it is a coincidence that the "best" community is in such a place.

I don't think it was explicitly stated that cordyceps/infected couldn't survive in these conditions, so I think you're correct there. I'm just making that assumption, though as Xerobull points out, I think that's fairly reasonable (especially given how I assume a fungus would behave). There are "special" infected, but they're basically just bigger/tougher versions of existing infected. Their basic biology and whatnot is the same AFAIK (at least when it comes to dealing with cold or even hot temperatures).

I wouldn't have been opposed to seeing a bit more infected, perhaps some being dormant in a cave or some environment that can retain some heat and/or protect it from the harshest elements. It wouldn't surprise me if they basically "hibernate" in the winter and become active again in the spring. I'd also point out that some of these locations have been in fairly rural places, which don't have a lot of infected even in better weather. The infected generally seem to congregate around large population hubs in this show, which seems reasonable to me. You're not going to see 50 infected in the middle of rural Wyoming, where you're unlikely to even find 50 humans during the best of times.

 

Depends, how much money am I getting paid?

 

"You cant survive alone" - he said. GOT EM', COACH.

Reminded me of Sabertooth from XMEN trapped in a cage.

 

The show has introduced zombies via cordyceps as plausibly infecting humans higher body temps as a plausible adaptation to global warming. The distribution was another smart idea to spread via grains shipped globally. They could explain the human-cordyceps hybrid is adaptable to colder climates to present zombies as threats in the area.

Or even just a throwaway line about the cold makes the zombies dormant. Just some mention of the zombies. Having no zombies exist in a zombie show is an interesting narrative they're taking. I know the focus is more on the human interactions, but zombies should show up every now and then.