The Last of Us (HBO) TV Show • Page 72

But that’s not what you said.

 

I don't care who did or didn't like the episode, I just entirely disagree that it wasn't an important episode and should've been skipped. Even if it's not what you wanted, it's clearly necessary to understand where Ellie came from.

 

I'm sorry? I thought it was implied since the two have been traveling together the whole show. My bad

 

killing more mushroom monsters, throwing bricks across abandoned buildings, and sneaking through sewers does not advance the plot

 

Cool, I never said that it did haha

 

Your definition of action is different from mine is all, nbd. I just don't feel like spending time dissecting all the nuances of a throwaway comment I made

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. They had to show how Ellie got bit, which meant venturing into this story, and if they shortened it, it'd be blasted for cutting out game bits since it's pretty iconic and well loved.

It did serve less of a purpose than the game too, as the experience at the mall with Riley tied into how she was able to attempt to take care of Joel (she went to a mall to find supplies vs in the show, she found them in a cupboard). A lot less dramatic, and a lot less connection between the flashback and the current moment. I still thought it tied together well enough though.

Despite others concerns, to me there's plenty of time to push the plot forward to the game end (and assumed show end), so I wouldn't worry or be concerned that you got this instead of something else that's going to be cut. I think we'll ramp up the pacing and get to the end just fine.

This episode did connect/contextualize several things though.
- Ellie's protectiveness of her switchblade (the only thing that saved them in the mall).
- Her desire for a gun - I was helpless once, I can't be helpless again
- Her conversation with Marlene in Ep 1 is enriched after this episode.
- When she stabbed the infected she found in the convenience store basement... I'm now taking that as she felt bad about killing the one with Riley, and had questions on the humanity underneath, but now she's not hesitant and she's just angry at them and won't hesitate again,

 

Not trying to single any one person out but anyone wanting more action is missing the point of this story. Yes it’s based on a stealth/action game but the story was never about the infected or the conflict with the fireflies/fedra/etc, it’s about the characters and their relationships with one another. And Neil himself constantly refers to it as a story about love.

They are never going to skip out on fleshing out the plot/character beats from the game in favor of big action set pieces just for the sake of doing them.

 

This response does not seem to be responding to the one that I quoted. I am out and about and will clarify mine more later if you don’t see it.

 

I see we've reached this portion of the thread. Kinda weird it lasted this long.

 

Oops my bad!

 

By more "action" I didn't mean bashing zombies. Joel writhing in pain while Ellie tries to heal him is action to me, for example. Something to move the plot forward while showing emotion and stakes

 

my critique of that is, plot doesn't have to be linear. a flashback can move the plot forward

 

That's fair enough, I still don't think this flashback accomplished that. We already knew she lost someone, we could pick that up from context clues

 

Do you feel the same way about Joel's backstory?

It's implied that he's lost someone so we just don't need to see it.

 

If his backstory wasn't the intro to the show that establishes the beginning of the outbreak, then sure I suppose

 

I think this does do a lot for the plot of the game/show though. It shows us that Ellie loves and cares deeply and fiercely for the people in her life no matter how hard they try to push her away or try protect her. It shows why she wasn’t going to let Joel sit there and die regardless of whether or not she thinks she can actually save him and despite that she could freeze to death staying there with him.

 

I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the plot of this episode. I just don't think it needed to take up the ENTIRE episode. We have limited time now. Idk.

 

This is fair, good points

 

Sorry guys! I've had a bad day and may have been short with y'all. My bad, truly.

 

Again, I wasn’t trying to single you out so I’m sorry if it felt that way. I had been driving all day and had just caught up on posts and saw several similar comments.

Hope your day gets better!

 

so this was what I was referring to when you said people aren’t accepting of others not liking the same stuff. I said that’s not what you said, which when you read the above post, is true. I mean, yes, it’s clear you didn’t like the episode, but the posts says a lot more than that.

not needing another love story, short on episodes. It’s more a first crush/first date/first kiss story than a full on love story. Which makes sense, cause they’re children. So it’s different than episode 3. And it goes beyond that as it lets us know more about Ellie and why she acts the way she does. We get to see one of the people she talked about always leaving her. I’m this case, Riley left her twice. So, while you’re free to not like the episode, your dismissiveness of it as just a derivative love story doesn’t ring true and is not about liking it or not. I posted more of what I got from the ep earlier today or last night. I forget. Go up haha As for the number of episodes, as a non game player, it’s easy for me to not feel like there is more to get to before end. Ignorance is bliss, baby. It is a short season though, regardless. I wish there was more, in general. But an episode adding layers or showing me more of Ellie is good for the show, IMO. I do know she is still a big part of part two, so learning more about her and allowing more character moments is good for the show.

Wanting more Joel or wanting to continue the story aren’t bad desires. It does imply you like those things, but then it also implies you don’t like character building material. But both are important. Did they have to pause the main story to do this? No, they could have done a longer episode with more present day mixed in. Sure. That would give you more Joel (though just laying around haha) and more action as it comes to moving the story forward. I just don’t think stories need to do both all the time. Saying you don’t want character development of a main character comes across less about what you didn’t like and more about not seeing what the episode gave us.

Which is why I said that “not accepting what others like” isn’t what you said. Cause I don’t see pure opinion, I see more “this is what it has to be and if it’s not, I don’t like it and it’s unnecessary.”

Does that make sense out of my reply, at least?

 

I thought the episode was very boring ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Although as someone who has played and loved Left Behind I know why it needs to be in there I just wish I had found it more engaging. Some solid laughs though and I really liked Ellie trying to stitch up Joel.