The Last of Us coming to HBO

[huge 3,793]

It's funny.  I am about to go out and buy my 8 year old a PS just so I can play this game.  10 years later.

And the third episode influenced that as much as the first two.

[henrygandorf 29,191]

i could give a shit about the arc of the game and the arc of the television series.

i could watch 8-10 episodes all telling the same 2003-2023 story from 8-10 different perspectives with good guest stars only having to commit to one episode of tv.  it would be like that accused show on fox but with subject matter that i actually care about.

with pandemic/zombie movies/shows, the beginning is always the most interesting to me, and fighting zombies is always the least.  i want to see what the first day is like, first month, year, 3 years later, etc.  it's voyeuristic because everyone is at home having the conversation - what would you do in that situation?  well, i would steal a boat, go to the gas station, break into home depot, raid a wine shop, build a perimeter around my neighborhood, booby trap my house, and so forth.

i remember starting the walking dead and after a few episodes i stopped because of the decisions these idiots were making.  no desire to ever return to it.

[Js1 85,338]

14 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

i could watch 8-10 episodes all telling the same 2003-2023 story from 8-10 different perspectives with good guest stars only having to commit to one episode of tv.

That sounds amazing. 

I always get salty we never got a proper WWZ series that was just all the different stories as one or two episode arcs.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Js1

[Firemans4Horn 18,050]

21 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

i could give a shit about the arc of the game and the arc of the television series.

i could watch 8-10 episodes all telling the same 2003-2023 story from 8-10 different perspectives with good guest stars only having to commit to one episode of tv.  it would be like that accused show on fox but with subject matter that i actually care about.

with pandemic/zombie movies/shows, the beginning is always the most interesting to me, and fighting zombies is always the least.  i want to see what the first day is like, first month, year, 3 years later, etc.  it's voyeuristic because everyone is at home having the conversation - what would you do in that situation?  well, i would steal a boat, go to the gas station, break into home depot, raid a wine shop, build a perimeter around my neighborhood, booby trap my house, and so forth.

i remember starting the walking dead and after a few episodes i stopped because of the decisions these idiots were making.  no desire to ever return to it.

check out Station Eleven (also on HBO). 

[henrygandorf 29,191]

i loved station eleven.  but even still, i enjoyed each origin story the most.

[sidis 9,828]

in case anyone isn't familiar with the music that transported you...

phenomenal live concert version.

 

[Buzzrock 14,920]

WTF HBO? You put us through that emotional wringer just to kill them both off? Why?

Incredible episode but I don’t understand killing off both characters. In a way it made it all pointless.

“Do you know how much those are worth?”

“Currently, nothing.”

[mdmost 43,001]

3 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Incredible episode but I don’t understand killing off both characters. In a way it made it all pointless.

Not in the least. Exactly what Bill wrote to Joel was why they were killed off. Bill hated the world and thought it deserved its fate until he finally had something to live for in Frank. It's what will help Joel realize he's not just taking Ellie to a destination, helping give Joel purpose now that Tess is gone. Bill didn't want to go back to a world without Frank in it. So they both went out on their terms, together.  

Edited January 30, 2023 by mdmost

[Buzzrock 14,920]

21 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Not in the least. Exactly what Bill wrote to Joel was why they were killed off. Bill hated the world and thought it deserved its fate until he finally had something to live for in Frank. It's what will help Joel realize he's not just taking Ellie to a destination, helping give Joel purpose now that Tess is gone. Bill didn't want to go back to a world without Frank in it. So they both went out on their terms, together.  

I would have much preferred to see Bill find new purpose in helping Joel. 

[Radical Larry 28,620]

I need to borrow my son’s PS4 to play this at some point.

[Buzzrock 14,920]

[Foosters 17,856]

38 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I would have much preferred to see Bill find new purpose in helping Joel. 

I'll put the below in spoilers because they're in the game, although clearly not in the show bc Bill's dead:

Spoiler

Joel and Ellie actually do meet Bill in the game, but Frank has left Bill. It becomes apparent that Bill remained the Bill we saw in the show during the first 4 year of the pandemic - alone, unwilling to take any risks, content to hole himself up alone. In the game, he and Frank appeared to have a falling out over this issue. The Bill from the game is a mean, bitter, selfish man who helps Joel and Ellie mainly because he "owes them one." Purely transactional. Bill views Joel's risky plan to transport Ellie as a good way to get oneself killed for no reason. Bill in the game is the cautionary tale of what Joel may become if he doesn't find something to love and care for. His only purpose was staying alive. The Bill from the show goes in the opposite direction.

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Foosters

[bonnieblue 542]

28 minutes ago, Foosters said:

I'll put the below in spoilers because they're in the game, although clearly not in the show bc Bill's dead:

  Hide contents

Joel and Ellie actually do meet Bill in the game, but Frank has left Bill. It becomes apparent that Bill remained the Bill we saw in the show during the first 4 year of the pandemic - alone, unwilling to take any risks, content to hole himself up alone. In the game, he and Frank appeared to have a falling out over this issue. The Bill from the game is a mean, bitter, selfish man who helps Joel and Ellie mainly because he "owes them one." Purely transactional. Bill views Joel's risky plan to transport Ellie as a good way to get oneself killed for no reason. Bill in the game is the cautionary tale of what Joel may become if he doesn't find something to love and care for. His only purpose was staying alive. The Bill from the show goes in the opposite direction.

 

I loved this change from the game as it hits on the thing that always affects me the most in post-apocalyptic entertainment: what’s the point of surviving just to survive? The fact that the embodiment of the survivalist/prepper type is the character to fully-realize this lesson and grow accordingly was absolutely brilliant and lovely.

[henrygandorf 29,191]

i'm starting to think video games might've changed a bit since i last regularly played them in the late 80's.  tecmo bowl had less character development.

[wild_turkey 3,159]

Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” is an incredible song that can tear a person up inside. I remember it from Arrival but it’s also been in other movies.

He is also responsible for a lot of the music in The Leftovers.

[Hornbeliever 712]

The episode was fantastic and thanks for music.

[aggie08 21,504]

5 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

You should have said "yes. Now you understand why I play video games."   Then maybe she'd let you play more video games.

Yeeaah, I don't think that would be his wife's first reaction if he claimed this was in the game. First would have been checking his Pornhub history. Followed closely by questioning what "guys night out" really means.

[mdleast 8,291]

This show actually has me contemplating buying the game…and I’m trying to think how many years and years and years it’s been since I last bought a game

[SubliminalHorn 6,788]

Great episode 😭😭

[babysdaddy 2,724]

Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” is an incredible song that can tear a person up inside. I remember it from Arrival but it’s also been in other movies.

He is also responsible for a lot of the music in The Leftovers.

https://letterboxd.com/arkmallen/list/films-in-which-max-richters-on-the-nature/

[Firemans4Horn 18,050]

Lol

 

[austingirl 2,191]

I know this episode is supposed to make us think about our need for connection with other people and how our love for them makes us better, but my kids were running around screaming like banshees earlier and I kept thinking "Bill got four whole years."

[EvilCaseMcCoy 691]

57 minutes ago, mdleast said:

This show actually has me contemplating buying the game…and I’m trying to think how many years and years and years it’s been since I last bought a game

It's a pretty patient game, which is not my specialty.  I enjoy the show more. 

[henrygandorf 29,191]

8 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Lol

 

 

[pops 6,985]

37 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

 

You really want to tell me a psycho clown lives in the sewers? 

[pops 6,985]

1 hour ago, mdleast said:

This show actually has me contemplating buying the game…and I’m trying to think how many years and years and years it’s been since I last bought a game

I got the game for free when I bought my kid a ps4. Started it just because it was there but didn't seem like my thing. It was fantastic. Haven't played the 2nd yet but might based on this show and it bringing everything back. There is so much in the game that the show gets exactly right. A lot it doesn't and that's OK. But it is taking me back. 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

This show is my photography wet dream. All the decay.

[seven 1,367]

Just another post to say a lot of you should try station eleven, it's my favorite series from the last few years. 

[CooterBrown 18,012]

Tried to tell my wife, who doesn’t watch the show, about E3 and damn near couldn’t get through it. I can’t believe a TV episode affected me like that. Jesus Christ.

[Poe It Up 126]

I think Bill found Frank all chewed up in the game, so they’ve taken some artistic license writing the show. I had no idea Bill was gay, actually. We skipped through the beard on beard action, but so far have been impressed with storyline. 

[Whitewater Horn 968]

Man, that was a top tier television episode. I haven’t felt a lingering emotional punch from a one-hour tv love story like that since the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror.  The performances felt so genuine and intimate as to almost be voyeuristic. Bill and Frank. The love story from a mushroom apocalypse that I didn’t know I needed. 

[Pig Bellmont 8,718]

9 hours ago, pops said:

You really want to tell me a psycho clown lives in the sewers? 

Seriously. Its a show about zombies. I’m pretty sure we can suspend some disbelief for the story 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

7 hours ago, Poe It Up said:

I think Bill found Frank all chewed up in the game, so they’ve taken some artistic license writing the show. I had no idea Bill was gay, actually. We skipped through the beard on beard action, but so far have been impressed with storyline. 

[Poe It Up 126]

32 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

No, not really. I loved the game and I know expanding the storylines for minor characters can be challenging for writers, but it’s something I really enjoy. 

[crash_davis 23,113]

I don't know anything about the game other than we I read on Wiki. I don't remember reading about Bill and Frank in the Wiki summary. 

Watching the episode, we start with Joel and Ellie and then somewhere it switches to a story about a random dude, and through serendipity, his soul mate. I remember 10 mins into Bill's story, I was thinking WTF does this have to do with Joel and Ellie. At the end of the episode I thought that may have been the BEST hour of television I've ever watched.

At the end of the episode, I love how the letter answered my question about wtf does Bill and Frank have to do with Joel and Ellie. It's love that keeps humanity going when the world goes to shit. The fact that the message was conveyed in a handwritten letter hits harder because it seems out of place in a post apocalyptic world.

The show writers are fucking good.

[bernorange 8,361]

Bill and Frank were mentioned in the previous episodes.  Tess told Joel to take Ellie to Bill and Frank.  Ellie decyphered Frank's radio code.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

That was just such an exceptional episode of television. Beautiful love story.

My wife said “that is the shortest marriage in history. Get married and die.” I replied, that is how all marriages are. Tone.

[aggie08 21,504]

The subtleties got me. Bill being unable to take a compliment on his cooking. Bitch, you just served me a Michelin star meal four years into the fucking apocalypse. Explains his backstory without having to explain it.

[HornOnTheBayou 8,922]

"You live in this fantasy world where everyone in the government is a Nazi!"
"Everyone in the government is a Nazi!"
"Well, yes now, but not then!"

That had me laughing so hard.

[crash_davis 23,113]

I'm sure it's been discussed before but didn't realize it until last night. My wife said Pedro looks like Burt Reynolds.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Ellos me llaman el bandido

[MissingInAction 25,076]

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

The subtleties got me. Bill being unable to take a compliment on his cooking. Bitch, you just served me a Michelin star meal four years into the fucking apocalypse. Explains his backstory without having to explain it.

Yep. That exchange built more story than an entire season of most shows.

[huge 3,793]

36 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I'm sure it's been discussed before but didn't realize it until last night. My wife said Pedro looks like Burt Reynolds.

Pedro has the better hair.  Burt has a much better moustache.

 

[bernorange 8,361]

Quote

...
 That the audience of “The Last of Us” is still climbing at this point is a significant feat. The series entered HBO’s roster as the brand’s second-most viewed series premiere in over a decade, comparable only to the debut of “House of the Dragon” in 2022 — and by its third episode, “House of the Dragon” viewership was already dropping. By contrast, “The Last of Us” Episode 3’s 6.4 million viewers represent a 12% percent increase from last week’s 5.7 million, which itself was a 22% percent improvement on the first episode’s 4.7 million.

It should also be noted that these statistics point to viewership over each episode’s first night of availability alone. By the time Episode 2 was released, Warner Bros. Discovery reported that Episode 1 had taken the week to grow to an audience of 18 million viewers. As of Tuesday, WBD says the first two episodes are now averaging 21.3 million viewers combined.

Along with the new “Last of Us” Episode 3 results, WBD also reported Tuesday that for the first time ever, HBO has four different series — across all genres, including limited series — tracking at 15 million viewers or more per episode: “The Last of Us” at 21.3 million viewers, “The White Lotus” Season 2 (which concluded in December 2022) at 15.5 million, “House of the Dragon” (which concluded its first season in October 2022) at 29 million, and “Euphoria” Season 2 (which concluded in February 2022) with 19.5 million.
...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/the-last-of-us-viewership-soars-12-to-new-series-high-with-heartbreaking-episode-3/ar-AA16W6A9

[Bartles 769]

18 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

i'm starting to think video games might've changed a bit since i last regularly played them in the late 80's.  tecmo bowl had less character development.

Plenty of gay characters though

[hornian 5,219]

So I watched Episode 3 again last night (I watch on Sundays, then my wife watches again during the week so I can warn her if there's any really scary/creepy/gory parts). And I think that Frank's voice (played by Murray Bartlett, who is Australian) mimicked the tone/cadence of Adam Scott to have his "American" accent.  Anyone else think that?

[Reynolds Woodcock 4,740]

2 hours ago, aggie08 said:

The subtleties got me. Bill being unable to take a compliment on his cooking. Bitch, you just served me a Michelin star meal four years into the fucking apocalypse. Explains his backstory without having to explain it.

Nick Offerman’s reaction when he first tasted the strawberry. Just laughing at the sweetness he hadn’t tasted in years. Brilliant. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4,740]

11 hours ago, Poe It Up said:

I think Bill found Frank all chewed up in the game, so they’ve taken some artistic license writing the show. I had no idea Bill was gay, actually. We skipped through the beard on beard action, but so far have been impressed with storyline. 

Lol at being compelled to fast forward like 10 seconds to avoid seeing gay kissing. T&P

[Texzilla58 4,736]

You really want to tell me a psycho clown lives in the sewers? 

Stephen King. King of fucking hacks.

[henrygandorf 29,191]

the neighborhood looked to be in pretty good shape (not bombed, etc).  if i was joel and tess and anyone else, i would've been working with bill and frank to build up a community inside those gates.  bill had all the firepower to keep everyone safe and with more people i'm sure they could've fortified the shit out of the perimeters.  they could've had their own little self-sufficient society.

but zombie folks always gotta be on the move.