Fun Fact: The actor playing the soldier/right-hand man to Kathleen (Jeffrey Pierce) is the same one that did both the motion-capture acting and voice acting for Tommy in the video game.
I'm not at all into watch-alongs or movie reactions but being a huge fan of the game and VERY obsessed with the show, I am absolutely loving your reactions to the episodes! So enjoyable as a fan to see the genuine reaction of someone who isn't familiar with the game, and most of all hearing your insightful thoughts at the end of each episode. :)
Always love your reactions! I found your channel because of The Last of Us but I saw all of your Doctor Who videos and loved them too. As a Brit I grew up with the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors so watching you react to all those episodes was such a treat for me (and of course we LOVE Mickey!) Thank you for getting these videos out! Don't mind you taking your time at all, it gives me something to look forward to! Especially since I had nothing going on today. Live long and prosper, my friend! 🖖
Ok but the tape/magazine in the car scene is basically 1 for 1 with the game, there's extra stuff around it, but like the scene from the game like perfectly transplanted in there it's amazing.
One thing I LOVED about this adaptation was Joel wasn’t a total dick about the whole “Ellie has a gun thing” like he was in the game. He was concerned for her, but he also immediately praised her for saving him and taught her how to use it, instead of trying to make her feel like shit for saving his life.
By the time I was 8 years old, I knew things FEDRA apparently didn't teach Ellie. clear the weapon upon taking possession of it. (Clear the round from the chamber, remove the magazine) so you know where every bullet is. Never place your finger in the trigger well, unless you anticipate a need to shoot. Never point the gun at anyone or anything you do not intend to put a hole in Bullets do not go where you want, they travel where they were aimed when fired. She's finally getting a bit of the education in firearms she needs, in order to have one in her possession.
Joel showing off his cold hearted ex-hunter side while the guy pleaded for his mom showing he was only fighting to survive. Really paints how no one is a saint, just trying to get by. Joel included. He is not a hero, just our protagonist
I'd say Joel is being morally good in that case, he didn't believe the liar who would have gone after more innocent people had Joel let him go. In cases like that, being merciful is selfishness and indulgent, while being cold is putting innocent lives ahead of what you would prefer to do.
@Zso thats looking too far ahead tho. In a world like thats not a luxury ppl can have. Its hard to believe he thought of killing those ppl to protect anyone else other than Ellie. Thats his only goal and thats all he sees. It aint about morals for him yet
it's kinda funny how these marauder NPC types in the show and game always wanna get mad or plead for their lives whenever Joel or Ellie actually shoot back and kill one or more of em. They always seem so shocked about it too as if the idea that one of their victims finally turning the tables never entered their minds. Perfect example of this being Bryan who had the nerve to beg for mercy like he was tryna call a time out in a football game from the guy he failed to strangle and the girl he would've done who-knows-what to after. It's the shock in their voices that get me.
That magazine scene makes me laugh every time. And watching Ellie and Joel bond was adorable and such a pleasure to watch. Definitely my favorite part of this episode. Though the political stuff is cool too. Just wait until next episode.
The gun situation i feel was done a little better in the game. When she saves him he takes it from for about 20 min. Then he attacks a yard full of hunters and asks her to stay up on a ledge and use a rifle to cover him. Before he goes he tells her it was either him or the bad guy and jumps into the fight. Ellie replies with your welcome and its like one of the first signs of trust between the both of them
maybe, but at the same time i like the little compassion that joel was showing, saying why he didnt want her to have a gun at all effectively. And giving her a rifle that soon was kinda gamey so i like that she just sticking with the pistol for now and that he taught her a little about it.
while i do love the ledge scene, where he trusts her to protect him (and i think theres still a chance to get that) what i do prefer about the show, is the fact we didnt get the 'Joel is mad at her for having a gun' part. it felt forced in the game, and i dont think Joel's first react when she saves him shouldve been that. its a conflict that should've been internal, and resolved within seconds. like the show made him take the gun back but otherwise his first outward responses are Worried™, then remorseful. I also like that fact he kinda blames himself and not her, even though i dont think its anyones fault. irrelevant, but i also like that she didnt straight up kill the guy, because it made the situation feel way way worse than in the game.
i think in the game i think they could afford joel to be a bit of an asshole to ellie about using the gun for 20 mins, but i feel like for new audiences it would be a bit tedious and make joel seem too unlikeable considering they have what, eight episodes (roughly maybe eight and a half hours - hard to judge bc all the eps have been slightly different lengths and we only saw them interacting for abt half an hour in the first ep) in total to build on these characters and of joel/ellie bonding time where in the game you have abt 20 hours. i think it makes sense to change that a bit to fit the overall pacing of the show. while i would've maybe liked it to be a bit closer to the game i do get why they changed it a bit.
I disagree tbh, like it was cool in the game but what about that sounds better in comparison? This has more emotional impact on the characters, having the guy begging which you can tell Ellie doesn’t know what to do with it. She’s a 14 year old kid, Joel rather being angry is really affected in his own way because it’s not that he didn’t trust her exactly it’s that he wants to protect kids innocence even if he acts like he doesn’t care. Rather than being angry or appreciative he’s just upset at himself and the situation that made it so a 14 year old had to hurt someone and hear them beg like that for their life. This creates their own bigger moment of bonding, because rather than having Joel thank her in his own round about way, he tries to comfort her awkwardly instead which you can tell does a lot for Ellie because she starts crying even though she’s been trying to hide that she was affected by this from Joel. I like the game scene as well but how you described it doesn’t really explain or show at all why that would be better than how they did it in the show.
Yeah even in the game people need to realise the last of us was never about the action, it is a about the relationships and the people so this show is doing amazing
I’m kind of in your camp but it did hurt like hell when he started screaming for his mom. I feel like he was young and stupid and thought he was a badass tryna kill Joel, then he realised horrifically what’s it like when you’re powerless. Just a kid who wants his mom.
SPOILER ALERT!!! DON'T READ THIS COMMENT UNLESS YOU KNOW THE WHOLE STORY FROM THE GAME! Another thing they changed from the game is when Ellie tells Dina who was her first kill, it was the hunter that was about to kill Joel, but in this version she says that wasn't her first. The sad part is that I think we're going to find out her first kill was Riley after she finally turned. I could be wrong, but she was only bitten 3 weeks before she met Joel and Tess so to fit in this time frame that doesn't leave many people that she could have shot. Really heartbreaking if you think about it. This part is not so much a spoiler but in the game version Ellie was reading a comic book in the back seat when she complained about the comic book she was reading was a 'To be continued' leaving it at a 'clif-hanger'. So what did the people at Naughty Dog and HBO do to us? Leave this episode off at a 'CLIF-HANGER!!!'
Putting "SPOILER ALERT" just means this comment doesn't need posting. Anybody that has played the game knows the changes made, so who are you describing them to (if non-players aren't supposed to be reading it)?
I was guessing at who Ellie's first kill was if not this hunter that was trying to kill Joel. It was obviously a bad and painful experience if she doesn't want to talk about it. That's why my guess was Riley after she was bitten and started to change.
