The Last of Us - Part 1

[Caldwin]

Spoiler: Episode 8

"When can we bury him?" Oh geeze! You see, in the game, we never meet David's flock. So this scene is entirely knew. But having played the game and knowing David's secrets...I think I can guess the answer.

Oh! Hello Troy Baker, voice of Joel in the video game now playing David's right-hand man! Nice!

In the game, Ellie was using a bow and arrow. But the change is understandable.

What's with the voice?

The conversation before going into he shelter for some fire was pretty much word for word. The fire chat between Ellie and David started out the same, but is giving David a lot more exposition.

This "everything happens for a reason" bit was in the game...but they cut out a lot of infected fighting and trust building. There were clickers and a couple bloaters. They cut out a lot of action here.

Okay, umm...I realize this is a pretty desperate measure. But let's just keep in mind for a moment that she has no idea was a single doze should be, how many doses Joel's going to need or how often. Also lets not forget that if it does take repeated doses...she was only given a single syringe. Not even mentioning what if Joel's allergic to penicillin. Not faulting her for doing what she has to do in a desperate moment. Just saying, it's probably a very long shot that this would work. That actually goes for the game too.

"What is it?" "Venison."
*eating montage*
*after everyone's started eating then they walk in with the deer in tow*
Awkward!


Oh...back handed slap! And more brainwashing and creepy cult stuff that, yeah it was implied in the game...but not shown. Did they really need to make him even more creepy than he was in the game? Cause he was pretty damn creepy in the game.

Do they have to show them eating it?

In the game, Joel wakes up and goes to find Ellie and runs into Davids men. I guess to shorten things up, they find him in the house instead.

The interrogation scene hit most of the important parts. It's not really word for word, but it was beat for beat. The show kind of does a lot of that. They say the exact same thing, but they use ever so slightly different lines so it's hard to say "line for line." But it's very much idea for idea. So it gets a pass in my book.

Geeze! I didn't think it was possible for David to be any creepier than he was in the game. But holy hell, they did it!

Soooo, yeah, in a meta sense, Ellie just killed Joel.

Pausing just after Ellie finishes hacking up David. Umm...yes, it was every bit as intense in the game. Though in the game, this is where Joel finds Ellie, in the resteraunt having just killed David. The mouth moves but the sound drops out as the music plays. But yeah...aside from some added dialogue from David, that is shot for shot how it happens in the game. And...damn! Can we just take a second to remember Ellie is like 14 years old? Damn!

Baby Girl. He said the same thing in the game. Freaking cuts deep.

Okay, it's late. So I'm going to have to save the last one, hopefully for tomorrow. But I think you can tell from my reactions...having played the game does not prepare you for the show.

 

[The Predaking]

Yeah, that was an intense episode! Not my favorite of the bunch, but very intense.

 

[Caldwin]

And this is it. This is the finale!

Spoiler: Episode 9

And just as I noted Troy Baker (Joel's voice actor in the last episode), of course I gotta note that's Ashley Johnson (voice actor of Ellie in the game). So basically, Ellie's giving birth to herself.

Exactly how Ellie is immune was never explained or even implied in the game. So this is an interesting add. I wonder if they'll make it canon to the game universe as well.

Oh! That was before the intro! That's the only time this season they had a pre-intro bit.

So, Marlene's idea of knowing if there's an intruder is if the door is suspiciously locked...
You know, this whole thing of the Fireflies being on the ropes makes sense all of a sudden.

"I cut it before it was bit." Uh, that's a lie...and a very dangerous one. She has no idea that Ellie was born immune instead of being a ticking time-bomb. It's an understandable lie, but a very dangerous one.

Something tells me Ellie was never told Marlene killed her mother.

Hmm, Joel immediately trusts her to hold the gun now without even a thought.

I am so glad that with all I'm sure they had to cut to fit a television show length, I am so glad they kept the giraffe. Though if they didn't keep the giraffe, fans probably would've rioted.

"After all we've been through, everything I've done, it can't be for nothing." This is another prime example of having the exact same words, but the intonation makes all the difference. Actually, I'm going to be honest, I like the shows reading of it better.

Holy shit! It was heavily implied that Joel contemplated suicide at some point in the game. But he never came out and said it like this. You know, for a game that didn't pull any punches, somehow the show manages to pull even less!

"You know what I'm in the mood for? Shitty puns!" Yeah, a moment so heavy, even Joel needs a hugging break!

Wow! This was a huge freaking lift! In the game...okay, I can't remember everything that happened between the giraffe and meeting up with the fireflies, but let's just say there was quite a bit. Not the least of which was a huge water section with a lot of clickers, two bloaters...Joel and Ellie almost drown. Joel's doing CPR on a drowned Ellie when the Fireflies come up and tell him to put his hands up. He continues doing CPR when the Fireflies knock him out. This is a huge...hugging...lift!

Damn! There is such a difference between playing a section in a game where you're still vulnerable and have to combine stealth with action...and just watching Joel on screen doing a cold, methodical Terminator walk through the hospital. Holy hell, this is brutal!

In the game, you have to kill the doctor. You can optionally kill the nurses but don't have to. No particular reason to say that except this is heavy and I need a light distraction here.

Shot for shot, Marlene tries to convince Joel to leave her, cut to Joel in the truck and the player wondering if he actually left her. Then she's in the back. He lies. Cut back to her shooting Marlene.

Okay, I just want to say this okay? Both the second game, this show and I've even heard some players say how Joel was a shitty person for taking this choice away from Ellie. That she would've wanted this. But let's just be clear on one thing. The Fireflies weren't giving her a choice either. In the game, there wasn't even any indication that she woke up between almost drowning and them keeping her under for surgery. They were going to kill her and not give her any choice in the matter. Joel saved her life and didn't give her any choice in the matter. Hmm...who's side am I taking on that one, I wonder?

And the game and the show end on the exact same note.

Wow! I mean, I've played the game 3 times now. So there's a lot of it that doesn't hit as hard as it did the first time. But I have to say, this show hit hard.

It's also amazing how much they were able to make Pedro Pascal look exactly like Joel. I mean, wow, he absolutely looks like Joel.

So anyway. I'm done here. Hope you enjoyed some of my ramblings.

 

[The Predaking]

I really did enjoy reading your takes on each episode.

The finale was crazy! I knew once they entered the stairwell that Joel was going to kill them and get Ellie. That is his surrogate daughter now, and you see what he is more than willing to do to save her. My one complaint is the ammo that he picks up in the stairwell after he kills the first two guys. The first guy has an M14 rifle and the second has a AR15/M16 rifle. They use different ammo clips and different rifle rounds. Yet Joel takes the M14 from the first guy (great choice on his part as its a much better killing weapon) and the ammo from the second guy. I know its nitpicking, but they could have got that right by having them have the same rifle or him just getting ammo off the first guy.

 

[Pocket]

The sheer amount of stuff they recreated shot for shot makes some of the more drastic changes all the more baffling.

Also, the giraffe thing was my favorite moment in the game specifically because of how it was presented to me. I didn't have a PS3 at the time and wasn't necessarily inclined to buy the game even if I did, so I watched an LP of it instead. It was Video Games Awesome (aka Farfromsubtle), and one of the rare times they actually finished a game on the show. Someone was nice enough to clip it:

That setup. That completely accidental setup. The game itself had none. You couldn't plan this stuff.

 

[Caldwin]

Okay, hug it! $10 for the upgrade remaster for Part II. So what the hell. I'll give it a shot.

Now the first time I played Part II, I hated it so much that it made me retroactively hate the first game. I'm not expecting to like it this time and I make no guarantees that I'll play it to the end. But at least this time I'll know what to expect.

*sigh*

Why do I do this to myself?

 

[Caldwin]

So I just finished Part II. Except for that last bit where Ellie was talking to Joel, trying to forgive him, I really didn't feel anything here. Like, I enjoyed killing Abby a few times. But all the dramatic moments were lost on me. I don't know if that's better than the sheer hatred I had for it last time or not.

Like, hasn't it been said that it's better to absolutely love something or absolutely hate it? Like just feeling indifferent to a work so dramatic as this is worse than detesting it?

I did manage to regain a tiny bit of love I used to have for the first game. But this game...this...hugging... game. I just don't know.

And if there ever does come a Last of Us Part III, I honestly don't know where my interest would lie as far as trying it out.

 

[Pocket]

Oh, and if you needed any more proof that Steam is populated entirely by trolls and run by drooling morons, The Last of Us Part I got the Steam Award for Best Soundtrack. Despite being a game with almost no music, certainly nothing memorable, and of course not actually a 2023 release by any sane metric.