I don't agree with every point in that article, but yeah I agree with main point. And I do think that is what's dragging things down overall, especially for people who aren't liking Bella/Ellie right now (vs last season). I vaguely recall Craig (I think) mentioning the show allows them to show more healing from the town than what we got from the game (which was more dark). I don't mind that approach, but I think it came at the expense of some important tonal shifts for certain characters like Ellie (arguably the most important character at this point). The Dina and Ellie scenes in isolation aren't that bad (and I'm all for that kind of stuff generally speaking), but their placement in the story during this time is also affecting things negatively IMO. It should be telling that I think most people love Dina (and her actress), and at least some people like Bella, but so many think these parts with the two of them are just...boring (and cringey, at least at times). I wonder if *some* of this could have been pushed earlier into the show so it wouldn't be clashing with some of the pacing and tones that should be expressed during the current part of the narrative. Definitely wouldn't have to get rid of all of it (game versions of Dina and Ellie had some cute moments during these parts IIRC), but I think dumping it all here is causing some issues. Or at least that's my take. Maybe I'm wrong about what most people think, especially since I am familiar with the game. Though as I said earlier, I don't even mind most of the changes from the game. I'm frequently rolling my eyes at gamers complaining about certain changes being made. But this specific set of changes IMO is a problem. Fortunately, as I've also said, I think they have mostly nailed the big parts. When everything is done, this will be like ~3 episodes in 4 seasons of a TV show. If they nail this finale and the rest of the show, I nor anyone should care about these missteps. It does kinda suck that the worst parts happened right after Joel was killed. This means a lot of people who were already so attached to Joel (and his importance to the show) will find themselves really questioning whether it is worth continuing with the show. Being a weekly show, this requires a big commitment from the audience.
Gotcha. Yeah, like I said, I THINKKKK maybe she turned a corner, and she'll be more mature from here on out. If not, yeah, it's too much. But I didn't play the game so I'm not sure what her personality is based on. I can tell she's a decent actor though, from past performances, but also how she acts so differently with Dina vs other characters. She comes off as cringe around Dina, but maybe that's the point? A 15yr? old in love is supposed to be cringe.
Not an actress. Definitely strong though, and nowhere as pretty as Sophia. Definitely too bulky for the apocalypse. Would rather go WWE female wrestler instead, at least they act live in front of thousands multiple times a week even if poorly.
Great actress, brings physicality. Too old for the role, but a younger version of her would be a great casting. However, Ellie would need to be recast because she would tower over her.
We’re really gonna have to wait until a next season however many years from now to find out what happened at the end?
I am a super fan of the game IP, that being said, this season went about as well as could be expected without some major departures from the source material.
Yeah, that finale was...bad. Between the silly boat stuff, Ellie going back to full on bratty, "I don't care about anything but my revenge but even that doesn't feel convincing" mode, the cliffhanger ending that even non-gamers know is not really a cliffhanger, to even MORE lack-of-chemistry between Ellie and Dina...pretty disappointing. Heck, the WLF offensive we saw prepping in the background actually seemed pretty interesting, so do we see any of whatever that attack was? Nope, just explosions in the distance. F-U, viewer. Watch more of this bad acting. I loved Bella Ramsey in GoT and season 1 of this show. So it's not that I dislike her, but everything they've asked her to do this season hasn't been good. Sure, the writing hasn't helped, but her scenes with Dina aren't filled with cringey dialogue, they're just filled with milquetoast and blandness, which good actors should be able to elevate. I don't buy those two are in love with each other for one minute. So the stakes never felt high. Knowing next season is the last, I'll probably still watch anyway, but there's no way I'll get my hopes up, especially knowing there's a pretty good chance they won't even bother to bring Pedro Pascal back (again, I don't play the games, but it feels like all the flashback stuff they could do is done). Bad form, HBO and showrunners.
FYI, but Mazin is dropping hints that it might actually be another 2 seasons (4 seasons total for the 2 games). Knowing what is involved, I'm not sure I like that, though guess it depends on what they do it with it. Anyway, as for my thoughts, it went about as I expected (maybe a bit worse). Unfortunately I think this adaptation carried over a negative from the game, and since this is a WIP TV show (that will be told across many years) vs a completed game that just required like 20 hours to finish, that probably makes the problem worse. For non-gamers, the game generally has the same story structure. Yes, you have this big climax at the theater...and then it just flashes back to Abby Day 1. I don't think it is a spoiler to confirm that yes, we'll now be seeing what Abby was doing in Seattle during these few days, and that will end up building to this climax again. I won't spoil whether that content is enough for 1 episode, 3 episodes, an entire season, 2 entire seasons, etc., but I think audiences should know to expect that before we get to move on from this cliffhanger. I do think the story beats with Abby are pretty good (probably better than Ellie's in both the game and show), and I'll note there are also some good chunks of content that follow from where this cliffhanger left off (also generally good). I understand why it was done this way (especially in the game), but I think in the game and even more so in TV form, this really asks a lot from the audience. Maybe it wouldn't have worked, but I always half-expected them to alter the show to have both sides happening concurrently (as I didn't think this would work in a show). I definitely don't think it is a good idea to break up the seasons by multiple years for something like this. If S3 picked up again in a few months (i.e., we resume the cliffhanger within 6 months), that would be one thing. But I'm guessing we're talking years here. I did like the bit of Dever we saw. Seemed to capture Abby well IMO. Obviously going to see a lot more of her in S3, so we'll find out more there. Bella's Ellie ultimately for me was...OK I guess. They continue to make these odd changes (from the game) which then IMO create for some clunky scenes. They're really pushing this "Ellie is vulnerable/child-life/dependent" idea that wasn't pushed as much (if at all) in the game, which is fine....except they still have Ellie doing mostly the same things. So what seems fitting in the game seems more jarring here (and I don't think it is entirely because Ellie is too smol). I think I do agree that despite me not liking these changes, I don't think Bella's performance is carrying this show (certainly not like Pedro). Maybe few actors could given this material, but I don't think things work as-is (certainly not as well as the game). Either need to change the writing/direction or get something better from this role. I still like the season overall. It is like I said earlier: extremely inconsistent with a lot of poor moments. But I think some of the high moments hit really well. This 2nd game is orders of magnitude more complicated to adapt (especially if you're going to do like 6-7 50 minute episode seasons every 2-3 years), and it would have likely needed to improve greatly from the game in order to really do better. I think so far, they're failing to do that, but they're probably still on track to deliver some special content (mixed with some meh content unfortunately).
Ellie almost blowing her and Jesse’s cover over some random person they don’t even know annoyed tf outta me…especially doing so when it’s been made abundantly clear that everyone in this city is fcking crazy Why are u going out of your way to try and get us both killed when the priority is getting out of Seattle as quickly and quietly as possible? Did u already forget that u have an injured PREGNANT girlfriend holed up in the theater waiting for u and the rest of the crew? How long are u gonna continue to not think things through?? stuff like this is why her character is so unlikable to me If you’re gonna be bratty and annoying 24/7, at least be smart. How are u irritating, a smart-ass, and dumb? Pick a struggle. U can’t afford to be dumb and reckless in this world.
Mind you, she was willing to leave Tommy behind but risking it all to save some random cult teenager? Dumb
Its sad just how awful the writing has become during this season. I remember watching Ellie wearing chucks earlier this season while walking in the snow and was rolling my eyes. Theyre purposely making folks dislike Ellie and I sincerely don't understand why? Ellie came off as annoying and entitled this season
Two things that bummed me out about this season were how they handled the final scene between Ellie and Nora and the final scene between Ellie and Abby. In the game, those scenes were intense as ****, very well acted, and important moments that defined each character. In the show they just felt like they were going through the motions. Disappointing.
