Thank you for touching on how Joel's words to Ellie post-david-mutilation were less impactful in the HBO adaptation. In the game, this was the scene that cut the deepest; it was the most loaded scene by far because of the pounds of anticipation and buildup. All that time spent watching Joel refuse to fulfill that role as a father, and watching Ellie refuse to let herself get close -- for Joel to finally save her. He wasn't saving her from David, he was saving her from breaking -- from giving in to violence and rage. Those walls and barriers finally come down, and we're left with a beautiful relationship between two people who NEED each other. In the show, it felt too much like Ellie was replacing Sarah, but that wasn't the point. The focal point of the show was supposed to be healing, and finding the things that give our lives meaning again. But here, it just fell flat.
I actually loved the show's version as much as the game. By that point, Joel had already stopped refusing to fulfill that role as a father, as their fight and reconciliation in Jackson had already happened, and that's why Joel calls her babygirl when he finally finds her and Ellie lets herself be held by him. In the game, Joel manages to reach her in time and stop her, and he finally sees how his violence has started to rub off on her, and that's when he wants to comfort her, to get the little girl he's known back, because that's the most brutal Ellie has been up until then. Even though she's been killing people left and right, David's death is one of the most gruesome ones, so much so that we don't even see it, we only see that lingering shot on the knife. Then on the show, Ellie has shot people but she hasn't really killed anyone. This is the first time she's had to channel her own violence to defend herself, and she gets lost in it, the camera lingering on her face as more blood spatters across it and her breathing gets heavier. And then she exits out into the snow in what seems like a catatonic state, unable to process what she just did. And that's when Joel shows up, bringing her back from her state of shock to look at him, to let her know she's safe because he's there and she's not alone. The show had the power of hindsight, knowing how Ellie's journey will go in part 2, so they laid a good foundation on how volatile yet fragile Ellie can be and how in this world, even Joel can't save her from giving into violence, but he's more than ready to comfort her in the aftermath.
They tried to take advantage of the new medium to show us what we otherwise wouldn't see (which in most cases was unnecessary or even detrimental), but didn't have enough talent to write those new scenes in a way that's faithful to the spirit of the game. I get trying to further develop the world and humanize the other characters but the game somehow did it better via implication and subtext.
@@JasonFuhrmanAnd they broke it. As already mentioned, the game was already cinematic. And interactive, which the TV show is not. Also, the acting is terrible by comparison. The voice acting in the game is so much better, it's not even funny.
Great video! Finally someone who can actually critique the show and doesn't give into the useless hype! I also noticed that I didn't really care about the main characters in the show, I couldn't feel anything for them and i've never played the game but no wonder that scene with Joel hugging Ellie felt OFF.
thanks! I originally intended to do a standard review, but once I was done with the show, I felt it needed something more specific, since the biggest problem is what should have held everything together: Joel and Ellie.
I also felt the show lacked certain character development, unlike the game. The show felt more rushed through. It could have easily benefited from another 2 episodes.
I think part of the development gap was in ep 3 - in the game, there was a TON of development there where Joel was standing up for Ellie against Bill, and Ellie also proves herself with taking responsibility for starting the car, and there were tons of other small and critical moments there. And Bill was presented as what Joel could be like if he had completely cut himself off emotionally. But in the series, a backstory story plays, then Joel and Ellie show up, get a car, and leave. I don't hate the story of ep 3, but it doesn't belong here, and shouldn't be replacing some of the most important development of the foundation of Joel and Ellie's relationship.
@@lumeronswift Absolutely. It missed a major part of Ellie and Joel's character development/relationship development, in favor of a subplot that the show didn't really need. I have no issue with the emphasis on Frank and Bill's relationship, or them being gay, but the actual plot of the episode wasn't as positive to me as a lot of other people seemed to see it (I found it to actually be very right wing in a lot of ways). If it had been integrated into Joel and Ellie's story better, I might feel differently.
It was a very nice love story but agree that it shouldnt come at t eh expense of Joel and Ellie. How did you find it be very right wing? I get the obviousness of Bill not trusting the goverment so he doesnt get on the transport with the others in the town which all end up being killed by the Fedra@@MsQjoe
Fantastic video, agree with every point, it kinda upsets me that there are people who think this adaptation is better than the game due to recency bias. To each their own, but this video is a great summation of what the tv show lacks
appreciate it! Funny thing, I didn't realize all the details I'd missed since it had been so long since I played the game. But I knew I wanted to do a video on it, so went back to the cinematics to refresh my memory. That's when all the dots connected.
I'm a big fan of taking a property and doing something new with it. Under the Skin and Annihilation are both great examples. This show is not. It's a mixed bag of mediocrity.
Also notice the lighting in the interrogation scene from the game. It’s tremendously dark to represent how horrible and cold Joel is with these men, but also goes along with how scared Joel must be of their group being in possession of Ellie. She’s always being under his sight and now she could be in terrible danger, and that’s how terribly worried Joel is for her. The scene in the show isn’t super strong, visually.
@@JasonFuhrman Well sure if you compare every frame its not gonna be identical, i mean of course they could have replicated every frame with all the same lighting and whatever but then what the hell is the point when you can just replay the game or youtube the cut-scenes, the essence is the same unless you nitpick every shot every encounter, etc. People dont bond exactly on a specific time frame just because it took 20 hours of clicker-killing bloater-stomping bandit-slaying in the goofy vidya doesnt mean tv ellie needs to go navy seal because thats how the game did it we're used to games being stupid as hell but if the world is dangerous then it makes sense for joel to avoid danger, hes literally a professional smuggler whos been maneuvering around while avoiding detection since before ellie was even born.
This literally pissed me off to no end when watching the show. The vibe was entirely off and it was cut way too choppy compared to how dark and smooth the game was.
Over the years I can only really count on one hand something I’ve watched that have impacted me and stayed with me for such a long time.TLOU is one of my favourite pieces of fiction full stop. Overall it was a disappointment for me and a great missed opportunity (show). The main problems are its length, taking great moments (even small ones) and not replacing them leaving it with a net negative/downgrade (too many to go through) and the acting choices. I just felt so empty after every episode and felt something missing, a lack of *true* connection with J&L’s relationship. I would’ve LOVED just an episode of Joel & Ellie just walking and talking like the back end of Ep6. As far as Bella, I felt she relied too much on “Ellie swears OMG” with an added **soo precocious!** trope that plagues kids in media and i didn’t start to feel anything towards her till episode 6, I really shouldn’t have to wait that long in a 9 episode series. How people can say she’s a better Elle I really struggle with despite her good performance generally. Ashley Johnson arguably have the best performance in the whole series, I was left smiling “Ashley fucking Johnson man”. With Pedro i I also shouldn’t seeing Liam Neeson playing Qui Gin Jinn in his performance. Being stoic, reserved and guarded does fit Joel’s character but that’s what I’m not receiving when watching. I literally cringed at the “you’d just come back for her” line it was so bad. Whilst with Troy I got every emotion Joel was feeling in every line, Pedro was a flat line for me. The bottle episodes were executed well, it just suffers with the problem inherent in the show of course, it’s length (series and maybe some episodes). The last one was the best example of that. I was enjoying J&E interacting and bonding and then the rug gets pulled out under you, it had me going “wait, we’re here already?!”. One of the things I would’ve liked was an expansion of Ish et al, but even in the show that was so glossed over…it would’ve taken not much more running time. I was so disappointed. Whilst it did some things better in certain instances and is great for getting it to a wider audience, the ultimate conclusion is which of these will stay with me still in ten years time? Spoiler:it’s the game.
I never felt the same chemistry between the two leads. They're both great actors, but somehow Troy Baker and Ashleigh Johnson did a much better job on a motion capture set without the aid of environment and costume. It really shows how talented they both are. I've enjoyed Pedro Pascal in numerous roles, but somehow his Joel fell flat for me, and I agree about Bella with Ellie. They just weren't connecting with me. Part of me thinks it's due to the lack of time we had with them, and who knows what was left on the cutting room floor, and who knows how they were directed. That's why I try to shy away from performance in critiques because we never know the full story of what happened on set and what was edited out. It's really too bad because I would have loved for them to share the game's great story with a larger audience.
@@cigh7445 I agree. While I did enjoy the movie, it didn't have the power the book had. It's a great example of how novels are still relevant today, and offer their own unique methods of storytelling that other mediums can't match.
Brilliant critique. Of course Last of Us isn't the first series to suffer from the error of overtelling & undershowing. I watched the first 2.5 episodes of the HBO series and it just failed to engage me. I am not a fan of the game or the comic and I haven't played or read it either. It was just a show I decided to watch because of the pre hype, the anticipation and I enjoy well made Syfy (in this case Syfy horror) movies/series. I'm not even sure why I even went beyond the first over long episode, except to give it a chance. Aside from the points made in your critique (and the other honest reviews) another failure for me was the casting of Belle Ramsey she looked to old and was too cynical and sour faced that I couldn't care less whether she lived or died. After cutting off the HBO show I watched the first 20 minutes or so of tLoU game intro videos (it was a 6hr compilation of all the short features from the games) and the CGI Ellie was much warmer and relatable. Keep up the good work.
thank you! Yes, not until I revisited the cinematics to refresh my memory did I see exactly why everything felt so off. I do remember anticipating the scene on the couch during the first episode only to be presented by an expository scene. Huge disappointment.
Hey Jason, what a phenomenal video, you really knocked this one out of the park. I'm so glad you went back at 12:02 and proposed a change to the article. When you was mentioned earlier in the video, I had the same thought of flipping the words "Flesh" and "Bones". I couldn't agree more with every point you made. This show was a sobbering reminder adaptation are crippled right out the gate, especially for timeless classics. The Last of Us is so tightly written, so perfectly acted, and so well shot, its a true masterpeice of a final product, literally any attempt at recapturing it is doomed to fail, in my eyes. Obviously, these are all just personal opinions, and uncommon ones, at that. However, to me, The writing in the game is so tight, when there were even the slightest deviations from the source material in show, and they'd follow it up with lines and moments, ripped directly from the game, they often didn't add up. Every time they tried recreating a moment from the game, they never took the context around it. At first I could ignore it, but it kept happening, over and over and over again, making the show feel like it had a split personality. When Joel says "Baby girl", in the game, Ellie first says "He Tried to..." and Joel's parental instincts kick in the same way, all of ours would, and before Ellie could continue her sentence, Joel, trying to preserve her humanity and innoncne, doesn't let her finish and solemy says "Oh, Baby Girl." It is completely organic. Having Ellie leave the StakeHouse, and for Joel to grab her from behind, and unpromptedly refer to her as Baby girl, just...doesn't make sense and is a change for the worse, also they didn't have the "All Gone" Sountrack which is crucial to pulling at your heart strings in that moment. I could go on, but you said it best! Thanks for uploading this, its always cathartic to hear so refined and critical opinions! Gotta feel the rain ;)
Thanks! Really appreciate the feedback. It is a tightly written game. I could have gone into so much more detail outlining so many other things, but to me the show missed the mark on the biggest thing: pulling focus away from Joel and Ellie. In hindsight I wish I would have added that Joel saying baby girl when he puts Sarah to bed and when he comforts Ellie is that he's literally putting Sarah to rest, to say goodbye. You can never truly let go when you're reminded of something horrible, like the show did. To say goodbye you need to be at peace. Accepting it.
I was disappointed by the shows story telling as a whole. What’s more disappointing is that this is “The Last of Us” to the general population. A show that failed to correctly adapt the story of a great game
Really well written. I was skeptical at first because I disagree with your first (or one of the first) criticisms about the 1968 cold open. I thought it was great for anchoring a “zombie” story in reality, which I think makes it more scary. I also liked the parallel to climate scientists sounding the alarm around the same time, only for their warnings to be ignored in the 21st century. I also liked how fleshed out the side characters and the world Joel and Ellie were immersed in, but I agree that stories should make sure what matters is what’s most highlighted. I do remember wishing for more Joel and Ellie scenes to deepen their relationship. Though I never played the game, and if I had I may feel differently. Perhaps both (fleshing out the world/side characters and making Joel and Ellie more of a main focal point) could have been achieved with more episodes? However your points on cinematography were great, and I’m really glad you used those examples from the game. I didn’t know what I was missing, and now, I’m wishing they did it that way. I thought it really hammered in your “all bones, no flesh” comment, which I loved.
Thanks for the comment! I think the biggest issue with doing the cold open is they don't focus on that ever again. I think to make it work you'd have to tell a story like World War Z where it was about a global event consistently. By then shifting the story back to a "character driven" approach makes it feel tacked on and unfocused. They should have stuck to one approach. Either make it more anthology style and show a bunch of POVs to reinforce what they set the stage with or tell the game's story, which is far more about Joel and Ellie, where the backdrop is the outbreak for us to see them grow as people. You can tell they still wanted to tell a human story, especially with the Bill and Frank episode, but all the tangents didn't give us enough time to get close with Joel and Ellie. 9 episodes just isn't enough with what they did.
I think a big problem is they shoot both of their feet with the Pre-Outbreak scenes. If two world-renown mycologist say its impossible to combat a fungal infection like Cordyceps Brain Infection, then what hope does a ragtag group in a hospital have a pulling one out of their ass(Or rather, Ellie's brain). This is an issue i had with the OG game. Brain surgery(namely biopsy, craniotomy, and hemispherectomy) exsist. Meaning theres no reason on a medical level to kill Ellie to get access to her Cordyceps varient. Even in the lore, its said to spread through the cerebralspinal fluid, so theoretically, a spine tap should suffice. And yes, im aware that this is a fictional game, but its a science-fictional game that should only diverge from our own world at 2013(2003 for the show). Hemispherectomy-The surgical removal of either part of, or even an entire brain hemisphere. This has exsisted since 1923, so why cant that be done instead? Is it because Jerry isnt experienced or qualified to do that? Okay! Then send Ellies immune ass over to Atlanta, GA. Because... A) The Georgia Quarintine Zone is still active. B) The CDC is still active. And C) The CDC HQ is in Atlanta, GA. I'd much rather trust CDC Scientist guarded by FEDRA to find a cure for humanity, while still keeping Ellie alive, over a bunch of militia misfits that are the reason Hunters exsist in TLOU.
OMG! I love this video sooo much! As someone who has played the game I thought I was the only one who thought the cinematography and the quality of the show was shit lol, I absolutely agree on every single point you discussed in the video. I absolutely loved it.
my exact same thoughts… saw a lot of praise for the shows cinematography but thought it was really lacking. they had a chance to bring a really unique world to life in cinematic fashion but it ultimately felt hollow and “made for TV”. Interrogation scene was a perfect example. Also agree on the lack of focus on Joel and Ellie… didn’t have the same impact in the show and the bond felt forced… little differences like the David scene had a massive impact. Definitely think Druckmanns ego had an effect on the final product. Great vid, wish there were more honest critiques to go with the ridiculous hype the show got
also felt the same about the intro… the fungified game of thrones knockoff felt like such a cop out. Something similar to True Detective S1’s intro with the more subtle guitar on the original game theme song would’ve set a really cool tone
I've talked to a few friends and they couldn't tell what I was talking about with the bad sub par cinematography. Hopefully with the examples, it makes things clearer.
@@JasonFuhrman absolutely, you explained it perfectly. I don’t have a lot of background with production but after watching enough movies and TV shows you develop an eye for it. you did a great job putting it into words and showing examples
Interesting video, brought up some points about the cinematography and order of events that I hadn't really thought about before. Definitely agreed that in general the show did too much telling instead of showing, and that the main character relationship wasn't as strong as it needed to be. I'm curious if I'm alone in this, but there was also something about the tone/presentation that bugged me sometimes. Some decisions/moments where I really noticed this are, using pop songs in the soundtrack, the one second flashbacks of Sarah, Tess dying in a big hollywood explosion blaze of glory, overuse of flashbacks, bluntly spelling out themes and character development, etc.
It's not just you. There are so many things to critique. They generally dumbed down the story, as in spelled so much out. I thought about really picking it apart, but since the show failed on such a global scale, it was worth keeping a focus on that, since, to me, they ruined the core of what the story of the game is.
What a great video like wow. I'm really interested in filmmaking and I've been making a series with a friend and a small cast of people. I've learnt to write, direct, film, edit and act while doing my series, so videos like this really help me learn how i should approach visual storytelling and storytelling in general. Thank you for this, man. I see that you have a lot of experience and knowledge. So I would love to see more videos like this analysing different shows and movies, and analysing mistakes and what did they do right. And maybe tutorials/guides on writing and storytelling.
Thanks man! This one kind of came out of the blue. I was originally going to review the show, but it turned into something else. I write fiction, so storytelling is clearly important to me. I mostly talk about books but I do shows and movies from time to time when I feel I need to say something. But I will continue to look for more opportunities for videos like these, as well as instructional ones.
Nicely put together! There is one slight problem I noticed. The true beggining to HBO's the last of us comes after the talk show scene because the shows real beggining comes after the opening titles. The first true shot of the show is also of sarah
no..... the first shot of the show is the first shot of the show, which is the title screen "1968" which is followed by the interview. if it weren't the first shot of the show then it wouldn't be in the final cut. this is such a stupid perspective.
@brother man episode 1 and 2 both have a flashback sequence which is before the opening titles. The true beggining of each episode with the main characters comes after the flashbacks.
@@bobjackson7664 those are called cold opens, and they're the beginning of the episodes. they aren't their own entities, they are the show. this take that you have is straight up delusional copium.
@brother man I agree. But they are not the beggining of the main characters storylines. Therefore the opening of the MAIN characters storyline is the shot of Sarah. This shows that Sarah is important.
I love your emphasis on the show’s visual shortcomings. Even those who have hated it walked away saying “at least it was beautifully shot” and I just cannot agree.
Yeah, that was one of the biggest surprises I've heard. Shot well? Are you kidding? I think this was the first show to come out of HBO that did not look like an HBO show. The new ownership is killing the network. It's not about top tier quality anymore. They're struggling to stay relevant so are dropping quality to crank out more content to serve a broader audience.
THANK YOU!!!! So many have been praising this thing with glowing reviews like "Excellent episode!", something they've been pretty much spamming, even though in reality it's as you've stated! A TRUE fair review of a meh show.
I disagree. I think it's a measure of expectations. If you're comparing it to the game, you'll be a little disappointed.... But to be fair, there are more people who haven't played the game than there are who have. Even as a fan of the game I have to admit there are some things they did in the show that I ended up liking better, and some I didn't. I think people who never played the game don't have those little disappointments to add together and ultimately end up with the same experience we all had when we played the original game. I think the overall response has been fair. 7/10 if you played the game. 9/10 if you didn't.
The show definitely stinks of Druckman trying to erase Bruce Strayley, not sure how his last name is spelled, from the original story with this show and is going to spend the rest of the second season trying to make the audience hate Joel to further justify Abby's killing of him. And the fact that Druckman, after the season ended, said the Fireflies actually would've made a working cure, is such a betrayal of the original ideas. That all these groups that actively offer promises of good things generally tend to base it all on the people in the community having faith in the leader, like a cult. Like we see with the cannibals for example. The doctor, as we learn in the second game, never offered any scientific basis for this cure notion. Just that Marlene had to "buy in" to his idea. Also, the fact that everyone wants to say Joel took away Ellie's choice, even though she had no idea making a cure would mean she had to die, and that the Fireflies were actually the people taking away her choice. Like are people just ok with saying Ellie developing suicidal ideation and she should've died on a mere hunch with no proof is somehow better than what Joel did, killing a group just as culty as the cannibals? I think, from what I vaguely remember, is that even the scientist characters early in the show address the fact that they can't make a vaccine for this plague. Hope can turn people into monsters, desperate to preserve their own survival, and will do anything or kill anyone who gets in their way. Anyway, rant over.
Outside of the destruction of such a great story, it's really sad Druckmann is trying to take all the credit and not honoring his mentor. Not even mentioned as a co-creator of the game in the show's credits.
What a horrendous argument... Joel choses Ellie over all of humanity. That is the reason the choice has impact... why on earth would you argue that Joels choice had no weigh... Joel is the bad guy, its understandable why HE did it but to the rest of the world he is the bad guy. How do you not understand story?
@@PeachesandCream225 How can he be the 'bad guy' though? All he knew at that moment was that the Fireflies admitted they were about to murder Ellie without consent and that Ellie had admitted she wants a future with him afterwards. The only righteous thing to do is to prevent that from happening. And the only way to prevent it from happening is to fight through the hospital to reach her. I've always found this 'debate' a complete non-debate. The concept of Joel saving Ellie from murder being a 'bad' thing is futile when the Fireflies are already unethical, inhumane child-murderers to begin with.
Maybe one suggestion could've been if the Tv Show was a anthology series from various survivor perspective eventually a episode focusing on Joel and Ellie.
I know this is completely unrelated, but I feel like that same "intimacy" of the visual storytelling was missing from MAPPA's version of The Rumbling compared to the manga's paneling as well. The camera pulls back too much, instead of pushing in to the people's pain, terror, and despair.
I wouldn't say completely unrelated. I think a big part of these decisions is they think it'll make everything have broad appeal, when that's just not the case.
I couldn't believe how disappointed I was in the cinematography. Your points were all well said. I personally was a fan of the side story episodes, it was a way to build the world quickly but emotionally. I would have loved something more artistry like The Road but this isn't that kind of program. It's more inline with The Walking Dead than it is Children of Men. That's okay I only hoped for more.
Glad to hear you noticed the cinematography. I've asked people I've known who've seen the show and they don't know what I'm talking about. To them it looks like everything else. That's why I thought it was important to talk about a couple of examples beat by beat. I do realize this isn't the exact type of story as The Road, just that it's possible to tell the story like the game did. My biggest gripe is that everything felt rushed due to all the side tangents.
@JasonFuhrman it's so rushed!! The show's story isn't enough to make me care about Ellie and Joel. There simply isn't enough screen time, or chemistry between the two of them to understand Joel's actions at the end. The production quality varied wildly between episodes. I found myself being pulled out of episodes because they looked so artificial. I think the reason I prefer the side stories, is because those episodes had actual resolutions and satisfying plot progress. I could at the very least understand those characters without having played the game. Overall I was disappointed in the show. But I'm trying not to be too negative.
@@OneSipReviewOfficial I agree with you. There's so many shortcomings with the show, especially not enough time for us to care about Joel and Ellie, so it was tough for me to choose what to focus on. So rather than picking it apart piece by piece I thought the best thing to do was look at the bigger picture.
Loved the video, you are very on point with everything. I liked that you mentioned Bruce Straley, he was completely the heart of TLOU and ultimately what dictated the story and what happened. He was the perfect balance to Neil’s doom and gloom writing, always pushing for more levity. Without him there just isn’t that same charm that he always pushed for in his story and it shows in this adaptation and the sequel. I really miss him and wonder what a sequel or this show could’ve been had they included him.
Thanks! Yeah Straley doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was and is a more mature storyteller than Druckmann, and it is even more obvious with the sequel and the show. It's sad that Bruce didn't get credit for creating the property on the show either.
I think they did an excellent job. My only critique was that they didn’t focus on the infected enough - something they said will be addressed for Season 2. So i’m good !
Yeah it was pretty minimal in that regard. The game shifts focus from infected to raiders heavily, but the show decided to dilute our experience so another thing they didn't have time for.
I completely agree with this entire video. It just came off as more of the same. Stuff that's been done over and over in TV shows. There's a lot that makes the game very special and this show...just doesn't have those
if the tv series makes a profit money wise then the primary objectives met, realistically the storys just that.... a story they hope to make money off, time will tell if they make on it or not (fail/succeed)
Oh I'm sure it made them money. It had extremely high viewership. It's a very mainstream -safe show. It didn't feel like it was made by HBO at all. I hope this doesn't start a trend, but we do know HBO is owned by Discovery now, so I worry telling a great story and pushing the medium forward isn't top of their list.
FINALLY im starting to see some actually critical takes on the show because i genuinely did not enjoy it. i am a huge fan of the game and i have been for years, i feel like the show was so overhyped especially compared to the masterpiece that is the game
Thanks for watching! Definitely overhyped. I feel like I could have made a two hour video going over everything that's wrong with it, but I figured it was best to cover the overarching issues.
I agree. The show was still pretty great, but perspective is everything with art. Also...am i the only one feeling cheated vecause we didnt get to see joel craft A SINGLE damn weapon?
Wow. I feel like I genuinely learned something today. I love great movie cinematography, but it's weirdly something I don't pay much attention to in games or TV. But these observations do speak to things I may, or may not have been feeling without finding a way to articulate it. Especially the Ellie and David one. It fell flat to me and I didn't know why. Now I do. I didn't mind the opening info dump, but why didn't I mind, when I distinctly remember being taken aback by it? This was eye-opening. "Feel the rain" is definitely going to stick with me.
Sorry but back in 2010 when I first saw the VERY first episode of The Walking Dead it took ten minutes and I was hooked, I cared about Rick Grimes and his plights. I was sympathetic to his utter confusion in his wake to a world of dead phones and the dead walking. Him meeting Morgan and Dwayne. I instantly loved both of them. HBOs the last of us did NOT do any of that. I barely attached to Sara and she actually is a very talented actress. But yeah TLOU felt zero danger. Kathleen was utterly laughable as a villain and I saw some writers compairing her to David Morrison's brilliant portrayal of The Govenor. 🤣 yeah right, due to the shit writing of her character she can't even hold a candle to Samantha Mortons Alpha. Glad that the show made me go and finish Seasons 9-11 other than 11, I honestly loved both of them. Also The Road is apocalyptic roadtrip done RIGHT.
Speaking of the Walking Dead, the first season was pretty close to the first volume of the comic series, which is why I think it was so successful. Plus Darabont was still at the helm of the show. After he left/got fired, the show went downhill big time.
The show was very very tamed, what they really downplayed was the zombies and violence, Joel in the game would not hesitate to get blood in his hands because it was survival or die and saw Elle to be another advantage to his survival but began to become more of a father figure and violence of the game was of purpose, sometimes cathartic when drawn out of how we saw it to be mundane in the game second no zombies that was my strife with this show, the game showed us they were everywhere and meeting them was terrifying if the zombies didn't get u the spores will but in the show Joel and elle journey was entirely lacking any zombies put instead for conveniences for jump scares
The zombie angle is a tough thing to balance. Even in the game, the zombie threat was minimized in the second half, and Joel and Ellie were more up against other survivors. I guess it worked out for them in a budget sense. I think they went about the zombies in the show often in the wrong way. They should have teased it out more, made it more ominous. They probably spent all their money on the money shot with the bloater.
I disagree that Ellie saving herself and leaving the building devalued the scene. I would argue her finally emotionally leaning on Joel is equally powerful. After saving herself, she has proven she doesn't need Joel physically. She wants him there for comfort, not survival. This version of Ellie being so much tougher/aggressive than the game version, I think the acceptance of the emotional desire to have Joel around, and vice versa was great. That moment may have been about Joel's redemption in the game, but I think in the show, the moment was more about Ellie. And I'm okay with that.
Yeah I can see where you're coming from. What I liked more about the game is that Ellie was so standoffish and distant (ie I don't need anyone to take care of me) that when she finally gave in to his embrace it showed she DID need someone: Joel. That's what makes the game so beautiful, especially that moment. Joel lays his daughter to rest finally, and Ellie breaks down her walls. They both realize they need each other at that exact moment.
The show was actually pretty good. The thing I didn't like is that it felt rushed. Not just because the game is longer and a person playing the game can take their time playing it, much like I did. But also because in the game it changes seasons from fall, to winter, to spring. This long period of time helps us feel like Joel and Ellie had time to grow and develop. Where as in the show, it feels like they've only known each other for maybe two months. Also they barely show any infected. It makes it seem more like just a road trip movie where they have to fight human survivers every now and then. Where as it the game you literally have to be careful when you open a door because you never know if there's going to be a bunch of clickers on the other side.
The passage of time is a good point. It helps reinforce everything they've been through and his their relationship has grown. I don't get a sense of connection in the show.
That's a great point about the adaptation beginning in the wrong place, with the wrong people. I was so lost for those first few minutes. As huge fans of the game, my friend and I talked about the series too and his take was that there 'weren't enough zombies'. It felt pretty futile for me to point out that it was never about zombies... Like your point about The Road, it surprises me how people can so widely miss what a story is about.
hey, the man himself! Love your work. re: your friend. I feel you on that one. People clearly consume content for different reasons. It's just unfortunate when they miss the point. The most memorable time in my life when I experienced that was after seeing No Country For Old Men in the theater, and as the lights came back on, the woman sitting next to me said "what a stinker, huh?" ...
@@JasonFuhrmanOh man I’d have had to laugh at that! It might not show on my videos but the poster in my writing room is for that movie. It’s one of my favourites for sure. By the way, hope it’s ok but I’ve mentioned you in a video I’m making. You commented on my last one with something insightful that led me to create a whole other video so I wanted to give credit where it was due! I’ll link your channel in the description too if that’s alright?
i dont think it was possible for the show to open with the same shock value as the game, it just wasn't possible, so many people already knew what was coming.
I don't think the scene with Joel and Sarah is shocking. Maybe what happens after, but again, there is no point for the news broadcast unless they are trying to tell a different story. By the end of the show you can tell they were not.
The show was a shell of the game, they should've milked part 1 for a few seasons. Now they're stuck with the bad walking dead episode that is part 2. The only thing that saved part 2 was the polished gameplay you come to expect from Naughty Dog. Normies confuse good voice acting and motion capture to a good story. Ps. Only a dumbass would not know joel was going to die in this game, its the WAY they went about it that fucking sucked.
I loved the game but I just finished watching the first episode and I have to say it was really disappointing. With the exception of Pedro Pascal I thought the casting was way off. I just didn't care about any of them, especially Ellie who came across as a charmless brat. I will watch episode 2 but if it doesn't improve I wont bother with any more.
Same. Which makes it sad that a lot of people only experienced the show, so have seen an inferior experience. The casting is off in so many ways, like you said. I love Pascal's work and think he was ok for this, but not the best choice. Bella Ramsey's take was too far from the mark as well. I think Tess was my favorite character by far. Anna Torv really sold her version of Tess to me.
This is one of the best video reviews on HBO's TLOU. It doesn't resort to incindiary opinions like some of the more popular videos on this topic. Here, it's just pure analysis. This video deserves more views and you've just earned an additional subscriber.
Appreciate it! I do try to keep my reviews/analyses fair. Being a writer myself, storytelling is important to me, so I had to express my opinions about this one.
Interesting analysis, I definitely agree that some of the scenes outside of the main story are weaker than others, but I do think it’s a good thing, to properly tell your story you have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your medium. I think the Last of Us shows does a great job in expanding the story where it couldn’t through the medium of Video games while also respecting what the game could do that it couldn’t.
I agree that it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your medium, however I don't think broadening that story to a multi POV, worldwide version was the right move.
The third episode is beautiful, but it should've been its own story. Released in the time waiting between season 1 and 2 as kind of an additional inside into the lore of the shows. Tv shows and the episode itself would both benefit from it
I agree. Same with Ellie's episode that was the DLC content. It would be a cool opportunity to explore those side stories in miniseries instead of trying to jam them into a season. I would have cut them entirely because they detract from the main story.
I thought they made some very questionable choices with the narrative/characters also. Joël being more sensitive/emotional and honest about them, instead of him trying to be stoic to avoid loss again. And the joël and ellie barn scene ruining that.
Good video. I agree. The HBO show felt too rushed in my opinion. The word for word dialogue from the game was done terribly in the show; it felt like the actors were rushing through it and just saying lines, just spitting them out in a monotone to get it over with it seemed. Their original dialogue was done better, acting-wise. But the mo-cap and voice acting in the game was far superior. The show was *okay* , for what it was, and maybe I'd have liked it better if I had never seen the game version. But, I did so.... The actors playing Bill and Frank did a great job for their part, but I absolutely hated what they did to Bill's character. In the game he was jaded and gruff and the show just sanded all those edges right off. Bill's Town is one of the best parts of the game, and the show did absolutely NOTHING comparable. Come on. No interaction between Bill and Ellie? No meeting the Bloater in the school? No trying to get through the town with Joel and Ellie, and later with Bill as well? Just terrible. We get two guys who just sit around drinking wine and having all the food they can eat for TWO DECADES (?!) in their perfect little setup. Eesh. Then we get that unnecessary nonsense with that group led by Catherine? was it? Why? Who cares? They added nothing to the story. Just meet up with Henry and Sam the same as in the game. The season was too short to not focus more on Joel and Ellie (like you mentioned) to shift focus to Bill and Frank, then this other group. Hated what they did to Bill's character, and Tess - she was just kind of there - and Henry (they made him kind of squirrelly in the show), and don't like that they aged up Sarah and aged down Sam. Just unnecessary changes that added no substance. Didn't like the tendrils in place of the spores (though I could see why they might not want to do spores and face masks too much). Didn't like the kiss of death for Tess. Didn't like that there were not enough encounters with, you know, the INFECTED - the danger that is why Joel and Ellie have to go cross-country to begin with. Well, there's a lot more, but this post is getting kind of long. Sorry, folks.😊
Thanks for the thorough comment! I agree with all of it. I think the biggest obstacle was that they already had a great story. They had a lot to live up to in the new medium, but sadly they didn't.
@@JasonFuhrman Thanks. Another thing I didn't like was how IN YOUR FACE they were trying to "show" that Ellie and Joel were getting closer. It happened organically in the game. Just little things here and there to show Ellie trusting Joel more and Joel warming up to Ellie more. In the show they tried to ram rod it down our throats. The cringey scene with Ellie telling jokes (right before they met Henry and Sam) and Joel laughing, like, oh, he's letting his guard down people - pay attention! And Bill saying in a LETTER of all things that he had found "the one" to make him start to care again. So, ah, the viewers at home thinking, OH! I get it! Now Joel has found Ellie! He's going to start to care again! 🙄 And Henry saying to Joel, "You're not *her* father, but you were *someone's* ." Oy vey. As I said, it happened more organically in the game and we weren't force-fed the corn.
And --- furthermore 😉 - I also didn't like the scene after Ellie killed David. Like you said, in the game, Joel had to pry her away from her breakdown. In the show, she just walks out. I was like - 🥺 - they're not going to *skip* one of the most important scenes, are they?! They didn't, but they did it horribly. And I hated how they took the decisions that Joel had made in the game and made them Ellie's in the show. They made Joel kind of wishy-washy in the show. In the show, Joel gives Ellie the decision to go with him or Tommy, it's completely up to her. In the game, Joel just makes that decision that HE was taking her and tells her to give the horse back to Tommy and to get on his and, "don't make me repeat myself." I didn't like how in the show Ellie practically *yells* at Joel that what happened to Tess wasn't her fault. 🤷 Huh? Game Joel would've popped her in the mouth. In the game she apologizes for Tess. It wasn't her fault, but she knows Joel must be feeling *something* . I could go on...
The post-David scene was probably the worst bastardization of the story. That is when both characters arc. Joel brings his walls down and lets his daughter go, accepting Ellie. Ellie lets her walls down and realizes she needs Joel. It's such a great moment when two characters who think they are lone wolves give in to the fact that they need each other.
I'd love to know the real story behind all that. The shift from part one to part two is evidence enough, but still, I'd love a peek behind the scenes to their working relationship on the first one.
One of the reasons it seems like a completely different writer is that Neil was just an employee in the original, and even the actors helped shape the characters and story. Now he's the VP of the company, he's all about being woke, and no one can tell him "no."
Hey, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. As a writer, you kinda centered me back on what's more important and what the audience is looking for. I feel like.. the heaps of bad writing as of late has numbed my inspiration. Your criticism is on point. 👍🏻
Glad it helped you recenter your work. I'm a writer too, so storytelling is incredibly important to me, and this video was made as a response to people not "getting it" and what was wrong with the show.
@@JasonFuhrman I'll admit I couldn't watch past the first 20 minutes of the first episode. It felt like everything went wrong from the start (which, to be honest, is my fear as a writer. It's so important to captivate the reader from the start, in my opinion)
I was disappointed from the very first scene, expecting to see Joel and Ellie first because the opening scene in the game works so well. And to find they replaced it with a talk show.... From that point on, I knew they'd missed the mark entirely.
@@JasonFuhrman Kinda like many adaptations and horrible remakes that "graced" us in the past few years. "The Lion King" 2019 is another great example of missing the mark despite having the original blue print in hand.
Having never played the game this really helped me to see why the game is so beloved and why I never really connected with the show (though partly it was that I just found the actor playing Ellie to be incredibly irritating lol) - thanks for this, really enjoyed!
Thanks! I didn't realize it would help people who never played the game. Glad I was able to. I guess it comes down to storytelling, and why something works versus doesn't. This is just scratching the surface but I didn't want to make a 2 hour long video haha.
Finally finished (in order binge w/ friend). Ep. 3 was nice, but belonged in another show; especially as I learned that Dan Dority was actually Bill in the game! I was skipping around prior. Really hate how they butchered Joel’s character. Joel the Beast spazzing out like Tony Soprano and emoting like a girl - not a sexist, but that’s not Joel - he’s the manliest of men! Don’t tell me that’s cannon. The whole Jackson “Kin” episode was such a confusing watch, I can’t imagine watching it without having played the games. Not enough time spent with Joel/Ellie for the final payoff - I’m not sure non-gamers will even get the point. The Tommy/Joel dynamic just doesn’t work in the show. Tommy would never let his lady prevent him from even radioing with his bro. I don’t care about the ethnicity-swapping. But at least cast someone who can grow a full beard, and a girl who has a twinkle in her eye like Ellie.
My view on the show and the game is pretty simple, two different perspectives on the same story. The game is driven by its action and survivalism and never goes beyond that, we are left to infer about the emotional and psychological state of the characters. I.e it's assumed Joel suffers from PTSD but we never get any outward sign that's what is plaguing him. He's a hard ass until he isn't which is very boring without gameplay. The show by contrast takes a more layered, emotional approach to telling the story, which is a necessity in a passive medium because you are not in the character's shoes, so they need to help the audience that does not play games care every week. I thought that they did that in a lot of creative ways, that stayed true to the world while deviating from the game infrequently. As for the acting, I think that it is stupid to compare motion capture to on-screen acting. The former requires overacting especially with physical movement because of how much data has to be recorded for character models and animations. I like both sets of performances a lot but for Ellie I like the show more, Bella feels like a teenager, and sounds like a kid, and no matter how good Ashley Johnson's performance in the game is that's not something I ever bought into when playing the game because she is not a kid, it's just impossible to forget that she is putting on a (very stellar) performance. So yeah I love both for entirely different reasons.
I agree about episode 3 - I think it's fine as a story, but it isn't part of TLoU's story. The change completely removes one of the early building blocks of Joel's attachment to Ellie, where he saw Bill as a hopeless version of himself (cutting off from attachments to the extreme), and also found himself standing up for Ellie... which helped a lot in kicking off their relationship.
Thats exactly how it felt. Itfelt being told. But I'm biased anyway, playing the tlou game for at least 7 times, sometimes right after finishing because i was so hooked on the emotions they MADE me feel. Series was ok but didnt hit me not slightly as hard as the game did. One could argue that the medium is different but for example the books of lord of the rings made me feel very similar than movies... Still hard to compare two mediums. But the end of the 9episodes just didnt feel as earned as the game ones did, or is it just me?
You're right it is a different medium with different limitations. Which is why it takes a special showrunner to be able to translate what made the game great to screen. And clearly they didn't have that showrunner haha. And yes the ending wasn't nearly as earned. They spend far too much time on other tangents, losing focus. It's too bad because I would have loved for a wider audience to experience the great story they created in the game.
I said the same thing and caught flack for it. It had its moments but it felt rushed and it didn’t leave a lasting impression at all. I’ll never watch season 1 again!
As an alternative for a great apocalyptic show that is teeming with emotion and tension, I recommend “The Leftovers” - also on HBO. Damon Lindeloff finally made a great show with a great ending. It’s not zombie related, but presents an interesting premise; just be aware that Season 1 is bleak, and that’s just how it is…
@@JasonFuhrman awesome! It’s an unforgettable show with such a simple premise! I’m also a bit miffed that Abby won’t look like herself. Don’t really care too much about Bella as Ellie, but Abby’s muscles provide so much subtext for her arc. 😢. Favorite show of all time is also HBO - Deadwood.
@workoutfanatic7873 I'm still debating whether or not I'll watch season 2. Maybe I'll check out an episode out of curiosity, but I don't see how it can be good. Yep, Deadwood. The glory days of HBO are behind us I'm afraid. They changed from making art to making "products."
@@JasonFuhrman so very true. I think objectively the Sopranos is better than Deadwood. But the world-building and era aspect makes Deadwood so beautiful, every scene in the thoroughfare. Hoople-heads lol 😂
I'm glad to see someone else have a rational not because of homophobia reason to think the Frank flashback episode should have been cut. It was like that episode and then the following episode that added in some new faction that killed my interest in the show. I think a direct recreation of the game was the most sensible option because it was already a hyper focused well done story about these two characters. Adding in more threads waters down the entire point of the story.
@@JasonFuhrman Somehow every impactfull scene was overall worse in delivery/acting and pacing. After watching the show I showed my wife how those these were portrayed in the game and even she said, that the game had a way bigger emotional impact in every aspect compared to the HBO series.
@@TheMrLeoniasty also glad your wife could also see how the show fell short. That was part of my inspiration to make this video. To show people what they're missing
@@JasonFuhrman and they are missing so much ! I have a friend that watched the show and then started playing Part 2 and I tried to tell him that he misses out on the real Joel and Ellie that he didnt have in the show and wont get in Part 2 when playing, but he basically said "whats the diference? I've watched the show, got to know everything I need to and I see no point in playing part 1 ever." It's just unfortunate that such an amazing story got treated so poorly and so many people will now only know Joel and Ellie based on the HBO characters that in my opinion are completelly different people. 10:12 in this clip look at Ellie from the show. Without context she looks, happy ? Like she just acomplished something cool ? I mean, even these little details, you could look at Ellies face (in game) at any moment and read so much emotion from her, but the actress in the HBO series loses all of that. As you see I'm rambling already and my dissapointment with the show can be clearly seen. I'm not a hater I just think they could have done way way better.
besides the opening prologues in most of the episodes a lot of the cinematography has a very guerrilla filmmaking feel and is more stripped back and grounded than cinematic and fantastical. as filmmakers its always important to ask ourselves WHY we do things and HOW they affect the story, the goal being to tell the story in the best way possible. the way its shot definitely helps the story feel believable and grounded and I wonder if that was prioritized over flashy camera moves, yet editing can always be used to emphasize moments and beats as well in the same way you described here so it seems like a missed opportunity there. I almost wonder if Pedro pascal's busy schedule had an impact on the production, forcing them to maybe have to cut things back or focus more attention elsewhere, any number of things can affect production that way. I also wonder if all of the vfx work necessary to build the world ate into the budget/how things were shot as it definitely doesn't have the budget of something like Game of Thrones. I definitely enjoyed the show, and have an immense amount of respect for everyone who worked on the show and game, but see your point here.
AH ok update: the Chernobyl director was originally set to direct several of the episodes before having to back out last minute-thats why the visual language is more basic.
Yeah you could tell they were trying to replicate the hand-held camerawork of the game, but they forgot to purposefully frame shots with that technique. That was one of the biggest downfalls. Budget could have been an issue as to why they didn't get top talent for the cinematography, since HBO is under new management. This was the first HBO show to not feel like an HBO show. It's crazy when you go back a few years and look at the stuff. It was on a whole other level.
My main problem with the TV show, (which overall I enjoyed a lot) are in the three scenes where they paint Ellie as having a 'violent heart'. David uses that phrase, but there is the first instance (the worst in my opinion) where she leans into Joel's beating of the guard, then when she is fascinated in the toying with and then extinguishing of an infected in a cellar. These seem to be a different Ellie than the one I experienced in the game. Yes, of course there are murderous episodes throughout the game and she does want to have a gun... but I didn't get the 'violent heart' sense from Ellie in-game that I do from those scenes in the TV show. I can only assume this is set-up for how it will roll for Part II. I think the game is one of the best pieces of entertainment ever made so, it was always going to be a challenge (to my mind) to meet or exceed the excellence of the game. I am actually delighted it wasn't a dud. I think the show is great, despite my 'issue' above. I'm very much looking forward to watching it again (and again) when the blu ray is released.
I don't mind if they are expanding upon or changing characters in the game to a degree. There are plenty of properties that do overhauls, which end up being better (The Shining, Under the Skin), but I agree with you here. It feels like a misstep, only because it's an odd minor tweak. They seem to be trying to adapt the characters from the game as faithfully as possible, just changing the POV too often, which is my argument for why the show is so flawed (no its not a terrible show). They tried to do too much with only 9 episodes, so I was left feeling like nothing fully connected. The character arcs felt rushed (because they were). So much nuance and pacing went into the game's storytelling, and they thought they could fast-track it and yield the same emotional effect, which they didn't. We just needed more time if they wanted to cover more stories. They tried to do both macro and micro storytelling, which you can't do, unless you have a lot of time to dedicate, which they didn't.
@@JasonFuhrman I think I can accept the changes if they're not as jarring as I found those I mentioned. Others that they made in this adaptation didn't bother me at all. Some were incredible, imo. It's very possible they'll build on it (Ellie's violent heart) for Season 2 and in retrospect I'll just have a differently nuanced Ellie to enjoy as a character (for the TV show).
Yeah, now that they know where the story leads, I can see them leaning into that with Ellie. I don't think it's necessary though. It's pretty obvious how much Ellie cared about Joel. We don't need some weird seed that Ellie has violence in her heart to make us buy into that. Clearly her love for Joel drove her to the edge. That's all we need to know.
this show sucked, as a new comer to the series. Ellie was a shithead character, was i supposed to like her? There were zombies in the first few episodes, then we changed to a drama show with no monsters, where are all the monsters? We got a damn gay lovestory for 1 whole episode, cool great i thought it was dumb because the dude said he is not a slut, then they proceed to have sex 10 minutes later? wtf Then we get another gay love story in the mall, another full love story episode, YOU JUST DID THAT a few episodes earlier!... That first love story takes away from ellies story, in my opinion.
Even though you weren't talking about the second part of last of us, it clicked with me there. This is my entire problem with Abbys story arc. I really felt it. Thanks for giving me a great new perspective!
i could deal with every minor issue the series had... until the fucking pittsburgh zombie geyser that shit made my eyes roll to the point where i could see my frontal lobe i can NOT fathom why the writers thought it would be a good idea to insert a plague tale into the last of us it does not fit
yeah it was too overly dramatic. I'm sure they thought it would be exciting for the audience, and I'm sure it was for some, but it failed to do anything interesting.
I think they’re both talented, but Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal were wrong for Joel and Ellie. Pedro Pascal lacked Joel’s grit, and his innate desire to push everyone away to protect himself from feeling the same pain of losing Sarah, and Tess again. His gruff behavior through most of the game allowed the softer tender moments between him and Ellie to feel that much more powerful and poignant when they naturally occurred. As for Bella… she lacked Ellie’s innocence and adorable/capable personality. Bella played the character very cold, and sometimes snappy. Her “adorable” moments in the show felt forced, because they were segments previously in the game they adapted, and they needed to include them. The whole time I felt like I was watching two people play great value brand versions of the beloved characters. It never felt truly authentic like it did when Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker played the parts.
The show and the game are just able to take differente points of view. The Game zooms in on Joel and his family and Ellie, sure. But the TV show is extremly powerful in adding context about the world, and showing different, interesting perspectives to understand *all* the character. That doesn't make it a failture in visual storytelling, it just makes it different and allows for a more overall impactful experience of living in a post apocolyic world.
I still call it a failure because it tried to do everything and ended up doing nothing. The entire point of the story is the relationship between two people and how they overcome past trauma. It's not about the world.
@@JasonFuhrman You're wrong. The story of the game is the relatioshop between two people and how to overcome past trauma. That is still present here, even if it isn't the main focus. But adoptations doesn't have to be 100% to the original story, as long as it still makes sense in the universe and the wider picture of the world. Frank and Bill where a wonderful adition. And so was Henry and Sam. Not just because their story was wellwritten and believeable, but because their exampels of two people together overcoming challenges in their life. Serving as a teaching moment to Ellie and Joel. Would Frank and Bill have survived as long as they did, alone? No. Henry and Sam? Hell no. Joel and Ellie, they don't realize that they need each other when they first meet, it's a strained relationship of two people who are wastly different and who doesn't trust or like each other very much. Without Joel, Ellie would have very much been dead and gone. And so would Joel, he says it himself near the end of the show.
@@CreativeGamingDorthea let me be a little clearer. By doing so much more they lost the impact of the point of the story: the relationship between Joel and Ellie and how they needed each other to overcome their trauma. YES, that aspect is there, but it's diminished to such a degree that I never felt it. It was phoned in. That's what happens when you divide your attention so much. You lose focus. You lose impact.
thanks! It's not normally something I do on my channel, but because I love the game so much (and it's story craft), I felt I needed to say something about how the show really dropped the ball.
I just ran across this. I’m not a gamer but played the last of us when it came out and I have played it multiple times over the years. I watched the show and did not care for it. It lost everything that made it good. There was almost no Joel and Ellie development. Not to mention the casting and add ons and changes did not help anything
I agree with everything you said. I found the show to be mid. I think it was overhyped by the game fans. I have not played the game and the show had 0 emotional imapct on me. The baby girl line truely fall flat for me.
Appreciate it! I think this one just had a bigger draw since the show just came out. I primarily talk about storytelling by analyzing novels, but do movies and shows from time to time when I feel like something needs to be said.
They changed the lore, changed important characters, rushed the storylines, only gave one encounter with the most iconic enemy the clickers. I mean no offense to Bella Ramsey, she’s a phenomenal actor and she played Ellie well. She’s just not Ellie. I liked Ellie when I was younger than her and I still do. We’re both 19 now. Bella is beautiful, TV Ellie is ugly. Joel’s accent is inconsistent. There’s zero fan service with pushing pallets, ladders, dumpsters and crates. They didn’t even play the game first. The only change I really love is Sam being deaf, it works so well because if he mutates he’ll be a blind and deaf clicker, that’s horribly morbid and sad. Also Ellie would be dead in her sleep because of breathing or moving if he could hear. The horde scene was the best scene but there’s no bloater fight. Bill was the most disappointing. No Bill, no trap, no machete, no safehouse, no nail bombs, no school, no bloater, no battery, no truck, no siphon, no Joel line that reminds me of my tough grandfather when he thanks Bill. It wasn’t made for the fans. The worst of all.. Ellie has never been in a vehicle before. Ellie drove a stick shift which is something I can’t do and she impressed badass Bill. It’s like they really don’t care about the characters. We can only pray that Fallout is great and original but most importantly that it’s made for the fans.
I thought it was weird in the show that Joel grabbed Ellie after she had walked out of the burning building. Why wouldn't he just use his voice to alert Ellie of his presence? He like jump-scared her for no reason. In the game Ellie was in the process of chopping up David's face and Joel pulled Ellie back instinctually to snap Ellie out of her hysteria and protect her mental well-being.
Exactly. It was such a great moment and when they both completed their arcs MIT l more or less, which is baffling as to why they missed that in the show. It's an incredibly powerful moment that was squandered.
A great video Jason as always. As I've expressed to you a few times, I haven't felt the itch to watch the show and I don't know if I want to. The game is already as good as it can be. This show is like if you added a mustache to Mona Lisa it seems. It doesn't look terrible, and I like the talent in the show, but I don't know if I have it in me to see it.
great video, well made and decently concise. In my opinion, aside from a small bit of dialogue at the start and at the end of the game, the show is better in every way. In my opinion of course. However, I honestly enjoy watching critiques of shows I really like as it challenges my views and informs my reasons for liking a film or show.
I liked a lot of things about the show but I felt like it could've used at least another episode or two to fully flesh out Joel and Ellie's relationship. With all the time spent on side characters and the flashbacks with the doctors, only a handful of episodes out of the 9 are focused on Joel and Ellie
Thank you for giving a genuine criticism, and not just pretending this is some woke project made by woke "Male feminists"(whatever that means). Always appreciate some who can objectively analyze art and give meaningful comments.
Glad you enjoyed it! The entire reason I made this video was after having conversations about the show with a friend, he still couldn't understand my critiques. So I had to show them to him.
That's exactly why i never bothered watching the show, the game was already a cinematic masterpiece and didn't need a show, plus the characters are never gonna be as good as the originals.
Thank you for touching on how Joel's words to Ellie post-david-mutilation were less impactful in the HBO adaptation. In the game, this was the scene that cut the deepest; it was the most loaded scene by far because of the pounds of anticipation and buildup. All that time spent watching Joel refuse to fulfill that role as a father, and watching Ellie refuse to let herself get close -- for Joel to finally save her. He wasn't saving her from David, he was saving her from breaking -- from giving in to violence and rage. Those walls and barriers finally come down, and we're left with a beautiful relationship between two people who NEED each other. In the show, it felt too much like Ellie was replacing Sarah, but that wasn't the point. The focal point of the show was supposed to be healing, and finding the things that give our lives meaning again. But here, it just fell flat.
Well said. That was the biggest misstep for sure. That is the core of the story. When the two chargers complete their arcs.
I actually loved the show's version as much as the game. By that point, Joel had already stopped refusing to fulfill that role as a father, as their fight and reconciliation in Jackson had already happened, and that's why Joel calls her babygirl when he finally finds her and Ellie lets herself be held by him. In the game, Joel manages to reach her in time and stop her, and he finally sees how his violence has started to rub off on her, and that's when he wants to comfort her, to get the little girl he's known back, because that's the most brutal Ellie has been up until then. Even though she's been killing people left and right, David's death is one of the most gruesome ones, so much so that we don't even see it, we only see that lingering shot on the knife.
Then on the show, Ellie has shot people but she hasn't really killed anyone. This is the first time she's had to channel her own violence to defend herself, and she gets lost in it, the camera lingering on her face as more blood spatters across it and her breathing gets heavier. And then she exits out into the snow in what seems like a catatonic state, unable to process what she just did. And that's when Joel shows up, bringing her back from her state of shock to look at him, to let her know she's safe because he's there and she's not alone. The show had the power of hindsight, knowing how Ellie's journey will go in part 2, so they laid a good foundation on how volatile yet fragile Ellie can be and how in this world, even Joel can't save her from giving into violence, but he's more than ready to comfort her in the aftermath.
I am thankful that you-tubers are actually critiquing this show. This show could have been so much more than what was shown.
They tried to take advantage of the new medium to show us what we otherwise wouldn't see (which in most cases was unnecessary or even detrimental), but didn't have enough talent to write those new scenes in a way that's faithful to the spirit of the game. I get trying to further develop the world and humanize the other characters but the game somehow did it better via implication and subtext.
Yeah they tried to change something that wasn't broken.
@@JasonFuhrmanAnd they broke it. As already mentioned, the game was already cinematic. And interactive, which the TV show is not. Also, the acting is terrible by comparison. The voice acting in the game is so much better, it's not even funny.
Great video! Finally someone who can actually critique the show and doesn't give into the useless hype!
I also noticed that I didn't really care about the main characters in the show, I couldn't feel anything for them and i've never played the game but no wonder that scene with Joel hugging Ellie felt OFF.
thanks! I originally intended to do a standard review, but once I was done with the show, I felt it needed something more specific, since the biggest problem is what should have held everything together: Joel and Ellie.
I also felt the show lacked certain character development, unlike the game. The show felt more rushed through. It could have easily benefited from another 2 episodes.
yeah, the biggest issue was they didn't allow enough time with Joel and Ellie for us to fully connect to them.
I think they had plenty of time, but used it very poorly, which forced them into rushed pacing.
I think part of the development gap was in ep 3 - in the game, there was a TON of development there where Joel was standing up for Ellie against Bill, and Ellie also proves herself with taking responsibility for starting the car, and there were tons of other small and critical moments there. And Bill was presented as what Joel could be like if he had completely cut himself off emotionally. But in the series, a backstory story plays, then Joel and Ellie show up, get a car, and leave.
I don't hate the story of ep 3, but it doesn't belong here, and shouldn't be replacing some of the most important development of the foundation of Joel and Ellie's relationship.
@@lumeronswift Absolutely. It missed a major part of Ellie and Joel's character development/relationship development, in favor of a subplot that the show didn't really need. I have no issue with the emphasis on Frank and Bill's relationship, or them being gay, but the actual plot of the episode wasn't as positive to me as a lot of other people seemed to see it (I found it to actually be very right wing in a lot of ways). If it had been integrated into Joel and Ellie's story better, I might feel differently.
It was a very nice love story but agree that it shouldnt come at t eh expense of Joel and Ellie. How did you find it be very right wing? I get the obviousness of Bill not trusting the goverment so he doesnt get on the transport with the others in the town which all end up being killed by the Fedra@@MsQjoe
Fantastic video, agree with every point, it kinda upsets me that there are people who think this adaptation is better than the game due to recency bias. To each their own, but this video is a great summation of what the tv show lacks
appreciate it! Funny thing, I didn't realize all the details I'd missed since it had been so long since I played the game. But I knew I wanted to do a video on it, so went back to the cinematics to refresh my memory. That's when all the dots connected.
@@JasonFuhrman Correct you can just replay the game for the old crap.
I'm a big fan of taking a property and doing something new with it. Under the Skin and Annihilation are both great examples. This show is not. It's a mixed bag of mediocrity.
@@JasonFuhrman Same goes for the game.
@@StarRain6 are you saying you hate both or think you show is good?
Also notice the lighting in the interrogation scene from the game. It’s tremendously dark to represent how horrible and cold Joel is with these men, but also goes along with how scared Joel must be of their group being in possession of Ellie. She’s always being under his sight and now she could be in terrible danger, and that’s how terribly worried Joel is for her. The scene in the show isn’t super strong, visually.
Good call! The color palette definitely adds to the tone.
yes tv joel should of waited for edgelord lighting time of day to make his murders more murdery. jesus.
@@StarRain6 it's a common technique in film and tv. You probably don't notice it most of the time.
@@JasonFuhrman Well sure if you compare every frame its not gonna be identical, i mean of course they could have replicated every frame with all the same lighting and whatever but then what the hell is the point when you can just replay the game or youtube the cut-scenes, the essence is the same unless you nitpick every shot every encounter, etc. People dont bond exactly on a specific time frame just because it took 20 hours of clicker-killing bloater-stomping bandit-slaying in the goofy vidya doesnt mean tv ellie needs to go navy seal because thats how the game did it we're used to games being stupid as hell but if the world is dangerous then it makes sense for joel to avoid danger, hes literally a professional smuggler whos been maneuvering around while avoiding detection since before ellie was even born.
This literally pissed me off to no end when watching the show. The vibe was entirely off and it was cut way too choppy compared to how dark and smooth the game was.
Over the years I can only really count on one hand something I’ve watched that have impacted me and stayed with me for such a long time.TLOU is one of my favourite pieces of fiction full stop.
Overall it was a disappointment for me and a great missed opportunity (show). The main problems are its length, taking great moments (even small ones) and not replacing them leaving it with a net negative/downgrade (too many to go through) and the acting choices.
I just felt so empty after every episode and felt something missing, a lack of *true* connection with J&L’s relationship. I would’ve LOVED just an episode of Joel & Ellie just walking and talking like the back end of Ep6. As far as Bella, I felt she relied too much on “Ellie swears OMG” with an added **soo precocious!** trope that plagues kids in media and i didn’t start to feel anything towards her till episode 6, I really shouldn’t have to wait that long in a 9 episode series. How people can say she’s a better Elle I really struggle with despite her good performance generally. Ashley Johnson arguably have the best performance in the whole series, I was left smiling “Ashley fucking Johnson man”. With Pedro i I also shouldn’t seeing Liam Neeson playing Qui Gin Jinn in his performance. Being stoic, reserved and guarded does fit Joel’s character but that’s what I’m not receiving when watching. I literally cringed at the “you’d just come back for her” line it was so bad. Whilst with Troy I got every emotion Joel was feeling in every line, Pedro was a flat line for me.
The bottle episodes were executed well, it just suffers with the problem inherent in the show of course, it’s length (series and maybe some episodes). The last one was the best example of that. I was enjoying J&E interacting and bonding and then the rug gets pulled out under you, it had me going “wait, we’re here already?!”. One of the things I would’ve liked was an expansion of Ish et al, but even in the show that was so glossed over…it would’ve taken not much more running time. I was so disappointed.
Whilst it did some things better in certain instances and is great for getting it to a wider audience, the ultimate conclusion is which of these will stay with me still in ten years time?
Spoiler:it’s the game.
I never felt the same chemistry between the two leads. They're both great actors, but somehow Troy Baker and Ashleigh Johnson did a much better job on a motion capture set without the aid of environment and costume. It really shows how talented they both are.
I've enjoyed Pedro Pascal in numerous roles, but somehow his Joel fell flat for me, and I agree about Bella with Ellie. They just weren't connecting with me. Part of me thinks it's due to the lack of time we had with them, and who knows what was left on the cutting room floor, and who knows how they were directed. That's why I try to shy away from performance in critiques because we never know the full story of what happened on set and what was edited out.
It's really too bad because I would have loved for them to share the game's great story with a larger audience.
I really wish more post apocalyptic movies like The Road would be made
Me too
The Road film was nothing compared to the book. The book was a masterpiece, the film was just another decent film.
@@cigh7445 I agree. While I did enjoy the movie, it didn't have the power the book had. It's a great example of how novels are still relevant today, and offer their own unique methods of storytelling that other mediums can't match.
Amazing video, the detail about "baby girl" was a perfect example
Thank you!
The watch touches Joel does through the game were also non existent in the show too I think. Another subtle visual difference that feels so important
Brilliant critique. Of course Last of Us isn't the first series to suffer from the error of overtelling & undershowing. I watched the first 2.5 episodes of the HBO series and it just failed to engage me. I am not a fan of the game or the comic and I haven't played or read it either. It was just a show I decided to watch because of the pre hype, the anticipation and I enjoy well made Syfy (in this case Syfy horror) movies/series. I'm not even sure why I even went beyond the first over long episode, except to give it a chance. Aside from the points made in your critique (and the other honest reviews) another failure for me was the casting of Belle Ramsey she looked to old and was too cynical and sour faced that I couldn't care less whether she lived or died.
After cutting off the HBO show I watched the first 20 minutes or so of tLoU game intro videos (it was a 6hr compilation of all the short features from the games) and the CGI Ellie was much warmer and relatable. Keep up the good work.
thank you! Yes, not until I revisited the cinematics to refresh my memory did I see exactly why everything felt so off.
I do remember anticipating the scene on the couch during the first episode only to be presented by an expository scene. Huge disappointment.
the show ellie is realistic, vidya is edgy disney princess.
Hey Jason, what a phenomenal video, you really knocked this one out of the park. I'm so glad you went back at 12:02 and proposed a change to the article. When you was mentioned earlier in the video, I had the same thought of flipping the words "Flesh" and "Bones". I couldn't agree more with every point you made. This show was a sobbering reminder adaptation are crippled right out the gate, especially for timeless classics. The Last of Us is so tightly written, so perfectly acted, and so well shot, its a true masterpeice of a final product, literally any attempt at recapturing it is doomed to fail, in my eyes. Obviously, these are all just personal opinions, and uncommon ones, at that. However, to me, The writing in the game is so tight, when there were even the slightest deviations from the source material in show, and they'd follow it up with lines and moments, ripped directly from the game, they often didn't add up. Every time they tried recreating a moment from the game, they never took the context around it. At first I could ignore it, but it kept happening, over and over and over again, making the show feel like it had a split personality. When Joel says "Baby girl", in the game, Ellie first says "He Tried to..." and Joel's parental instincts kick in the same way, all of ours would, and before Ellie could continue her sentence, Joel, trying to preserve her humanity and innoncne, doesn't let her finish and solemy says "Oh, Baby Girl." It is completely organic. Having Ellie leave the StakeHouse, and for Joel to grab her from behind, and unpromptedly refer to her as Baby girl, just...doesn't make sense and is a change for the worse, also they didn't have the "All Gone" Sountrack which is crucial to pulling at your heart strings in that moment. I could go on, but you said it best! Thanks for uploading this, its always cathartic to hear so refined and critical opinions! Gotta feel the rain ;)
Thanks! Really appreciate the feedback. It is a tightly written game. I could have gone into so much more detail outlining so many other things, but to me the show missed the mark on the biggest thing: pulling focus away from Joel and Ellie.
In hindsight I wish I would have added that Joel saying baby girl when he puts Sarah to bed and when he comforts Ellie is that he's literally putting Sarah to rest, to say goodbye. You can never truly let go when you're reminded of something horrible, like the show did. To say goodbye you need to be at peace. Accepting it.
I was disappointed by the shows story telling as a whole. What’s more disappointing is that this is “The Last of Us” to the general population. A show that failed to correctly adapt the story of a great game
Yeah it's a pity they'll never know the best version of the story.
Really well written. I was skeptical at first because I disagree with your first (or one of the first) criticisms about the 1968 cold open. I thought it was great for anchoring a “zombie” story in reality, which I think makes it more scary. I also liked the parallel to climate scientists sounding the alarm around the same time, only for their warnings to be ignored in the 21st century.
I also liked how fleshed out the side characters and the world Joel and Ellie were immersed in, but I agree that stories should make sure what matters is what’s most highlighted. I do remember wishing for more Joel and Ellie scenes to deepen their relationship. Though I never played the game, and if I had I may feel differently. Perhaps both (fleshing out the world/side characters and making Joel and Ellie more of a main focal point) could have been achieved with more episodes?
However your points on cinematography were great, and I’m really glad you used those examples from the game. I didn’t know what I was missing, and now, I’m wishing they did it that way. I thought it really hammered in your “all bones, no flesh” comment, which I loved.
Thanks for the comment!
I think the biggest issue with doing the cold open is they don't focus on that ever again. I think to make it work you'd have to tell a story like World War Z where it was about a global event consistently. By then shifting the story back to a "character driven" approach makes it feel tacked on and unfocused. They should have stuck to one approach. Either make it more anthology style and show a bunch of POVs to reinforce what they set the stage with or tell the game's story, which is far more about Joel and Ellie, where the backdrop is the outbreak for us to see them grow as people.
You can tell they still wanted to tell a human story, especially with the Bill and Frank episode, but all the tangents didn't give us enough time to get close with Joel and Ellie. 9 episodes just isn't enough with what they did.
I think a big problem is they shoot both of their feet with the Pre-Outbreak scenes.
If two world-renown mycologist say its impossible to combat a fungal infection like Cordyceps Brain Infection, then what hope does a ragtag group in a hospital have a pulling one out of their ass(Or rather, Ellie's brain).
This is an issue i had with the OG game.
Brain surgery(namely biopsy, craniotomy, and hemispherectomy) exsist.
Meaning theres no reason on a medical level to kill Ellie to get access to her Cordyceps varient.
Even in the lore, its said to spread through the cerebralspinal fluid, so theoretically, a spine tap should suffice.
And yes, im aware that this is a fictional game, but its a science-fictional game that should only diverge from our own world at 2013(2003 for the show).
Hemispherectomy-The surgical removal of either part of, or even an entire brain hemisphere.
This has exsisted since 1923, so why cant that be done instead?
Is it because Jerry isnt experienced or qualified to do that?
Okay!
Then send Ellies immune ass over to Atlanta, GA.
Because...
A) The Georgia Quarintine Zone is still active.
B) The CDC is still active.
And C) The CDC HQ is in Atlanta, GA.
I'd much rather trust CDC Scientist guarded by FEDRA to find a cure for humanity, while still keeping Ellie alive, over a bunch of militia misfits that are the reason Hunters exsist in TLOU.
OMG! I love this video sooo much! As someone who has played the game I thought I was the only one who thought the cinematography and the quality of the show was shit lol, I absolutely agree on every single point you discussed in the video. I absolutely loved it.
thank you!
my exact same thoughts… saw a lot of praise for the shows cinematography but thought it was really lacking. they had a chance to bring a really unique world to life in cinematic fashion but it ultimately felt hollow and “made for TV”. Interrogation scene was a perfect example. Also agree on the lack of focus on Joel and Ellie… didn’t have the same impact in the show and the bond felt forced… little differences like the David scene had a massive impact. Definitely think Druckmanns ego had an effect on the final product. Great vid, wish there were more honest critiques to go with the ridiculous hype the show got
also felt the same about the intro… the fungified game of thrones knockoff felt like such a cop out. Something similar to True Detective S1’s intro with the more subtle guitar on the original game theme song would’ve set a really cool tone
I've talked to a few friends and they couldn't tell what I was talking about with the bad sub par cinematography. Hopefully with the examples, it makes things clearer.
@@JasonFuhrman absolutely, you explained it perfectly. I don’t have a lot of background with production but after watching enough movies and TV shows you develop an eye for it. you did a great job putting it into words and showing examples
@@JasonFuhrman shows like True Detective and Chernobyl get put into an elite tier because of their visual storytelling imo
i couldnt agree more with you. and having watched the show (!) i realised the road was what i had waited for from hbo, not a walking dead hbo version
Interesting video, brought up some points about the cinematography and order of events that I hadn't really thought about before.
Definitely agreed that in general the show did too much telling instead of showing, and that the main character relationship wasn't as strong as it needed to be.
I'm curious if I'm alone in this, but there was also something about the tone/presentation that bugged me sometimes. Some decisions/moments where I really noticed this are, using pop songs in the soundtrack, the one second flashbacks of Sarah, Tess dying in a big hollywood explosion blaze of glory, overuse of flashbacks, bluntly spelling out themes and character development, etc.
It's not just you. There are so many things to critique. They generally dumbed down the story, as in spelled so much out.
I thought about really picking it apart, but since the show failed on such a global scale, it was worth keeping a focus on that, since, to me, they ruined the core of what the story of the game is.
What a great video like wow. I'm really interested in filmmaking and I've been making a series with a friend and a small cast of people. I've learnt to write, direct, film, edit and act while doing my series, so videos like this really help me learn how i should approach visual storytelling and storytelling in general. Thank you for this, man. I see that you have a lot of experience and knowledge. So I would love to see more videos like this analysing different shows and movies, and analysing mistakes and what did they do right. And maybe tutorials/guides on writing and storytelling.
Thanks man! This one kind of came out of the blue. I was originally going to review the show, but it turned into something else.
I write fiction, so storytelling is clearly important to me. I mostly talk about books but I do shows and movies from time to time when I feel I need to say something.
But I will continue to look for more opportunities for videos like these, as well as instructional ones.
Nicely put together! There is one slight problem I noticed. The true beggining to HBO's the last of us comes after the talk show scene because the shows real beggining comes after the opening titles. The first true shot of the show is also of sarah
Sure I could see that argument, but the first thing we're SHOWN is the interview.
no..... the first shot of the show is the first shot of the show, which is the title screen "1968" which is followed by the interview. if it weren't the first shot of the show then it wouldn't be in the final cut. this is such a stupid perspective.
@brother man episode 1 and 2 both have a flashback sequence which is before the opening titles. The true beggining of each episode with the main characters comes after the flashbacks.
@@bobjackson7664 those are called cold opens, and they're the beginning of the episodes. they aren't their own entities, they are the show. this take that you have is straight up delusional copium.
@brother man I agree. But they are not the beggining of the main characters storylines. Therefore the opening of the MAIN characters storyline is the shot of Sarah. This shows that Sarah is important.
I love your emphasis on the show’s visual shortcomings. Even those who have hated it walked away saying “at least it was beautifully shot” and I just cannot agree.
Yeah, that was one of the biggest surprises I've heard. Shot well? Are you kidding? I think this was the first show to come out of HBO that did not look like an HBO show. The new ownership is killing the network. It's not about top tier quality anymore. They're struggling to stay relevant so are dropping quality to crank out more content to serve a broader audience.
As it own thing TLOU show is about 6-7.
As an adaptation it only 4-5.
The show have a lot of good things. But as a whole it just not that good.
THANK YOU!!!!
So many have been praising this thing with glowing reviews like "Excellent episode!", something they've been pretty much spamming, even though in reality it's as you've stated! A TRUE fair review of a meh show.
I disagree. I think it's a measure of expectations. If you're comparing it to the game, you'll be a little disappointed.... But to be fair, there are more people who haven't played the game than there are who have. Even as a fan of the game I have to admit there are some things they did in the show that I ended up liking better, and some I didn't. I think people who never played the game don't have those little disappointments to add together and ultimately end up with the same experience we all had when we played the original game. I think the overall response has been fair.
7/10 if you played the game.
9/10 if you didn't.
The show definitely stinks of Druckman trying to erase Bruce Strayley, not sure how his last name is spelled, from the original story with this show and is going to spend the rest of the second season trying to make the audience hate Joel to further justify Abby's killing of him. And the fact that Druckman, after the season ended, said the Fireflies actually would've made a working cure, is such a betrayal of the original ideas. That all these groups that actively offer promises of good things generally tend to base it all on the people in the community having faith in the leader, like a cult. Like we see with the cannibals for example. The doctor, as we learn in the second game, never offered any scientific basis for this cure notion. Just that Marlene had to "buy in" to his idea. Also, the fact that everyone wants to say Joel took away Ellie's choice, even though she had no idea making a cure would mean she had to die, and that the Fireflies were actually the people taking away her choice. Like are people just ok with saying Ellie developing suicidal ideation and she should've died on a mere hunch with no proof is somehow better than what Joel did, killing a group just as culty as the cannibals? I think, from what I vaguely remember, is that even the scientist characters early in the show address the fact that they can't make a vaccine for this plague. Hope can turn people into monsters, desperate to preserve their own survival, and will do anything or kill anyone who gets in their way. Anyway, rant over.
Outside of the destruction of such a great story, it's really sad Druckmann is trying to take all the credit and not honoring his mentor. Not even mentioned as a co-creator of the game in the show's credits.
What a horrendous argument... Joel choses Ellie over all of humanity. That is the reason the choice has impact... why on earth would you argue that Joels choice had no weigh... Joel is the bad guy, its understandable why HE did it but to the rest of the world he is the bad guy. How do you not understand story?
@@PeachesandCream225 How can he be the 'bad guy' though? All he knew at that moment was that the Fireflies admitted they were about to murder Ellie without consent and that Ellie had admitted she wants a future with him afterwards. The only righteous thing to do is to prevent that from happening. And the only way to prevent it from happening is to fight through the hospital to reach her.
I've always found this 'debate' a complete non-debate. The concept of Joel saving Ellie from murder being a 'bad' thing is futile when the Fireflies are already unethical, inhumane child-murderers to begin with.
I'm really glad someone was able to put into words what I felt about the TV show. Something felt off, and this was it.
Thanks man
Maybe one suggestion could've been if the Tv Show was a anthology series from various survivor perspective eventually a episode focusing on Joel and Ellie.
Yeah I'm all about restructuring something if it makes sense. It just needed more time to connect, even outside of changes I disagree with
I know this is completely unrelated, but I feel like that same "intimacy" of the visual storytelling was missing from MAPPA's version of The Rumbling compared to the manga's paneling as well. The camera pulls back too much, instead of pushing in to the people's pain, terror, and despair.
I wouldn't say completely unrelated. I think a big part of these decisions is they think it'll make everything have broad appeal, when that's just not the case.
@@JasonFuhrman I guess my comment would only make sense if you were an anime watcher or were familiar with Attack on Titan.
Well I understand where you're coming from even if I'm not familiar with the material.
I couldn't believe how disappointed I was in the cinematography. Your points were all well said. I personally was a fan of the side story episodes, it was a way to build the world quickly but emotionally. I would have loved something more artistry like The Road but this isn't that kind of program. It's more inline with The Walking Dead than it is Children of Men. That's okay I only hoped for more.
Glad to hear you noticed the cinematography. I've asked people I've known who've seen the show and they don't know what I'm talking about. To them it looks like everything else. That's why I thought it was important to talk about a couple of examples beat by beat.
I do realize this isn't the exact type of story as The Road, just that it's possible to tell the story like the game did.
My biggest gripe is that everything felt rushed due to all the side tangents.
@JasonFuhrman it's so rushed!! The show's story isn't enough to make me care about Ellie and Joel. There simply isn't enough screen time, or chemistry between the two of them to understand Joel's actions at the end.
The production quality varied wildly between episodes. I found myself being pulled out of episodes because they looked so artificial.
I think the reason I prefer the side stories, is because those episodes had actual resolutions and satisfying plot progress. I could at the very least understand those characters without having played the game.
Overall I was disappointed in the show. But I'm trying not to be too negative.
@@OneSipReviewOfficial I agree with you. There's so many shortcomings with the show, especially not enough time for us to care about Joel and Ellie, so it was tough for me to choose what to focus on. So rather than picking it apart piece by piece I thought the best thing to do was look at the bigger picture.
Loved the video, you are very on point with everything. I liked that you mentioned Bruce Straley, he was completely the heart of TLOU and ultimately what dictated the story and what happened. He was the perfect balance to Neil’s doom and gloom writing, always pushing for more levity. Without him there just isn’t that same charm that he always pushed for in his story and it shows in this adaptation and the sequel. I really miss him and wonder what a sequel or this show could’ve been had they included him.
Thanks! Yeah Straley doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was and is a more mature storyteller than Druckmann, and it is even more obvious with the sequel and the show. It's sad that Bruce didn't get credit for creating the property on the show either.
I think they did an excellent job. My only critique was that they didn’t focus on the infected enough - something they said will be addressed for Season 2. So i’m good !
Yeah it was pretty minimal in that regard. The game shifts focus from infected to raiders heavily, but the show decided to dilute our experience so another thing they didn't have time for.
I completely agree with this entire video. It just came off as more of the same. Stuff that's been done over and over in TV shows. There's a lot that makes the game very special and this show...just doesn't have those
I think the show was perfectly good, it just doesn't live up to the game. And that's okay.
It's fine, just disappointing. I was hoping they'd share its great story with a larger audience.
"I don't hate HBO's The Last of Us" - I do. Straight dogwater compared to the source material.
if the tv series makes a profit money wise then the primary objectives met, realistically the storys just that.... a story they hope to make money off, time will tell if they make on it or not (fail/succeed)
Oh I'm sure it made them money. It had extremely high viewership. It's a very mainstream -safe show. It didn't feel like it was made by HBO at all. I hope this doesn't start a trend, but we do know HBO is owned by Discovery now, so I worry telling a great story and pushing the medium forward isn't top of their list.
FINALLY im starting to see some actually critical takes on the show because i genuinely did not enjoy it. i am a huge fan of the game and i have been for years, i feel like the show was so overhyped especially compared to the masterpiece that is the game
Thanks for watching! Definitely overhyped. I feel like I could have made a two hour video going over everything that's wrong with it, but I figured it was best to cover the overarching issues.
that "baby gurl" moment
I agree. The show was still pretty great, but perspective is everything with art. Also...am i the only one feeling cheated vecause we didnt get to see joel craft A SINGLE damn weapon?
yeah it would have been cool to nod to the game like that, even if it's just a quick shot.
Wow. I feel like I genuinely learned something today. I love great movie cinematography, but it's weirdly something I don't pay much attention to in games or TV. But these observations do speak to things I may, or may not have been feeling without finding a way to articulate it. Especially the Ellie and David one. It fell flat to me and I didn't know why. Now I do. I didn't mind the opening info dump, but why didn't I mind, when I distinctly remember being taken aback by it? This was eye-opening. "Feel the rain" is definitely going to stick with me.
Thanks man! I'm glad this was helpful.
Sorry but back in 2010 when I first saw the VERY first episode of The Walking Dead it took ten minutes and I was hooked, I cared about Rick Grimes and his plights. I was sympathetic to his utter confusion in his wake to a world of dead phones and the dead walking. Him meeting Morgan and Dwayne. I instantly loved both of them. HBOs the last of us did NOT do any of that. I barely attached to Sara and she actually is a very talented actress. But yeah TLOU felt zero danger. Kathleen was utterly laughable as a villain and I saw some writers compairing her to David Morrison's brilliant portrayal of The Govenor. 🤣 yeah right, due to the shit writing of her character she can't even hold a candle to Samantha Mortons Alpha. Glad that the show made me go and finish Seasons 9-11 other than 11, I honestly loved both of them. Also The Road is apocalyptic roadtrip done RIGHT.
Speaking of the Walking Dead, the first season was pretty close to the first volume of the comic series, which is why I think it was so successful. Plus Darabont was still at the helm of the show. After he left/got fired, the show went downhill big time.
Great point of view. Honest, accurate, with all the support still included to the franchise. Love it!
thanks man!
The show was very very tamed, what they really downplayed was the zombies and violence, Joel in the game would not hesitate to get blood in his hands because it was survival or die and saw Elle to be another advantage to his survival but began to become more of a father figure and violence of the game was of purpose, sometimes cathartic when drawn out of how we saw it to be mundane in the game second no zombies that was my strife with this show, the game showed us they were everywhere and meeting them was terrifying if the zombies didn't get u the spores will but in the show Joel and elle journey was entirely lacking any zombies put instead for conveniences for jump scares
The zombie angle is a tough thing to balance. Even in the game, the zombie threat was minimized in the second half, and Joel and Ellie were more up against other survivors. I guess it worked out for them in a budget sense.
I think they went about the zombies in the show often in the wrong way. They should have teased it out more, made it more ominous. They probably spent all their money on the money shot with the bloater.
2:07 “They pulled the camera too far back”. Exact same issue with the Jurassic Park sequels, especially the World Trilogy.
Funny, I've never watched past the first one. I guess I made the right choice.
I disagree that Ellie saving herself and leaving the building devalued the scene. I would argue her finally emotionally leaning on Joel is equally powerful. After saving herself, she has proven she doesn't need Joel physically. She wants him there for comfort, not survival. This version of Ellie being so much tougher/aggressive than the game version, I think the acceptance of the emotional desire to have Joel around, and vice versa was great.
That moment may have been about Joel's redemption in the game, but I think in the show, the moment was more about Ellie. And I'm okay with that.
Yeah I can see where you're coming from. What I liked more about the game is that Ellie was so standoffish and distant (ie I don't need anyone to take care of me) that when she finally gave in to his embrace it showed she DID need someone: Joel.
That's what makes the game so beautiful, especially that moment. Joel lays his daughter to rest finally, and Ellie breaks down her walls. They both realize they need each other at that exact moment.
very well spoken
Thanks!
First two episodes were amazing and then it was such a lazy snooze fest. Didn't know the game. But played it afterwards. Omg the story was so amazing
I think episode 2 was my favorite. Tess was by far the best character/performance. Glad you tried the game and enjoyed it!
Snooze fest? You must have a short attention span, episode 5 was fantastic
The show was actually pretty good. The thing I didn't like is that it felt rushed. Not just because the game is longer and a person playing the game can take their time playing it, much like I did. But also because in the game it changes seasons from fall, to winter, to spring. This long period of time helps us feel like Joel and Ellie had time to grow and develop. Where as in the show, it feels like they've only known each other for maybe two months. Also they barely show any infected. It makes it seem more like just a road trip movie where they have to fight human survivers every now and then. Where as it the game you literally have to be careful when you open a door because you never know if there's going to be a bunch of clickers on the other side.
The passage of time is a good point. It helps reinforce everything they've been through and his their relationship has grown. I don't get a sense of connection in the show.
That's a great point about the adaptation beginning in the wrong place, with the wrong people. I was so lost for those first few minutes.
As huge fans of the game, my friend and I talked about the series too and his take was that there 'weren't enough zombies'. It felt pretty futile for me to point out that it was never about zombies...
Like your point about The Road, it surprises me how people can so widely miss what a story is about.
hey, the man himself! Love your work.
re: your friend. I feel you on that one. People clearly consume content for different reasons. It's just unfortunate when they miss the point.
The most memorable time in my life when I experienced that was after seeing No Country For Old Men in the theater, and as the lights came back on, the woman sitting next to me said "what a stinker, huh?"
...
@@JasonFuhrmanOh man I’d have had to laugh at that! It might not show on my videos but the poster in my writing room is for that movie. It’s one of my favourites for sure.
By the way, hope it’s ok but I’ve mentioned you in a video I’m making. You commented on my last one with something insightful that led me to create a whole other video so I wanted to give credit where it was due! I’ll link your channel in the description too if that’s alright?
@@KierenWestwoodWriting awesome that you have that poster, and thanks for the shout out! Much appreciated.
8:45 THANK YOU! Everything you said about framing and attention focusing here was exactly my biggest problem with the show.
You're welcome 😁
i dont think it was possible for the show to open with the same shock value as the game, it just wasn't possible, so many people already knew what was coming.
I don't think the scene with Joel and Sarah is shocking. Maybe what happens after, but again, there is no point for the news broadcast unless they are trying to tell a different story. By the end of the show you can tell they were not.
It wasn't possible for a TV show to replicate the experience of the game, period.
The show was a shell of the game, they should've milked part 1 for a few seasons. Now they're stuck with the bad walking dead episode that is part 2.
The only thing that saved part 2 was the polished gameplay you come to expect from Naughty Dog. Normies confuse good voice acting and motion capture to a good story.
Ps. Only a dumbass would not know joel was going to die in this game, its the WAY they went about it that fucking sucked.
I loved the game but I just finished watching the first episode and I have to say it was really disappointing. With the exception of Pedro Pascal I thought the casting was way off. I just didn't care about any of them, especially Ellie who came across as a charmless brat. I will watch episode 2 but if it doesn't improve I wont bother with any more.
Same. Which makes it sad that a lot of people only experienced the show, so have seen an inferior experience. The casting is off in so many ways, like you said. I love Pascal's work and think he was ok for this, but not the best choice. Bella Ramsey's take was too far from the mark as well. I think Tess was my favorite character by far. Anna Torv really sold her version of Tess to me.
This is one of the best video reviews on HBO's TLOU.
It doesn't resort to incindiary opinions like some of the more popular videos on this topic. Here, it's just pure analysis.
This video deserves more views and you've just earned an additional subscriber.
Appreciate it! I do try to keep my reviews/analyses fair. Being a writer myself, storytelling is important to me, so I had to express my opinions about this one.
Terrible review
Interesting analysis, I definitely agree that some of the scenes outside of the main story are weaker than others, but I do think it’s a good thing, to properly tell your story you have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your medium. I think the Last of Us shows does a great job in expanding the story where it couldn’t through the medium of Video games while also respecting what the game could do that it couldn’t.
I agree that it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your medium, however I don't think broadening that story to a multi POV, worldwide version was the right move.
The third episode is beautiful, but it should've been its own story. Released in the time waiting between season 1 and 2 as kind of an additional inside into the lore of the shows. Tv shows and the episode itself would both benefit from it
I agree. Same with Ellie's episode that was the DLC content. It would be a cool opportunity to explore those side stories in miniseries instead of trying to jam them into a season. I would have cut them entirely because they detract from the main story.
I thought they made some very questionable choices with the narrative/characters also.
Joël being more sensitive/emotional and honest about them, instead of him trying to be stoic to avoid loss again.
And the joël and ellie barn scene ruining that.
Good points. I wish I could say season 2 still provides some hope, but well we know how that ends...
Good video. I agree. The HBO show felt too rushed in my opinion. The word for word dialogue from the game was done terribly in the show; it felt like the actors were rushing through it and just saying lines, just spitting them out in a monotone to get it over with it seemed. Their original dialogue was done better, acting-wise. But the mo-cap and voice acting in the game was far superior.
The show was *okay* , for what it was, and maybe I'd have liked it better if I had never seen the game version. But, I did so....
The actors playing Bill and Frank did a great job for their part, but I absolutely hated what they did to Bill's character. In the game he was jaded and gruff and the show just sanded all those edges right off. Bill's Town is one of the best parts of the game, and the show did absolutely NOTHING comparable. Come on. No interaction between Bill and Ellie? No meeting the Bloater in the school? No trying to get through the town with Joel and Ellie, and later with Bill as well? Just terrible. We get two guys who just sit around drinking wine and having all the food they can eat for TWO DECADES (?!) in their perfect little setup. Eesh.
Then we get that unnecessary nonsense with that group led by Catherine? was it? Why? Who cares? They added nothing to the story. Just meet up with Henry and Sam the same as in the game.
The season was too short to not focus more on Joel and Ellie (like you mentioned) to shift focus to Bill and Frank, then this other group.
Hated what they did to Bill's character, and Tess - she was just kind of there - and Henry (they made him kind of squirrelly in the show), and don't like that they aged up Sarah and aged down Sam. Just unnecessary changes that added no substance.
Didn't like the tendrils in place of the spores (though I could see why they might not want to do spores and face masks too much). Didn't like the kiss of death for Tess. Didn't like that there were not enough encounters with, you know, the INFECTED - the danger that is why Joel and Ellie have to go cross-country to begin with.
Well, there's a lot more, but this post is getting kind of long. Sorry, folks.😊
Thanks for the thorough comment! I agree with all of it. I think the biggest obstacle was that they already had a great story. They had a lot to live up to in the new medium, but sadly they didn't.
@@JasonFuhrman Thanks. Another thing I didn't like was how IN YOUR FACE they were trying to "show" that Ellie and Joel were getting closer. It happened organically in the game. Just little things here and there to show Ellie trusting Joel more and Joel warming up to Ellie more.
In the show they tried to ram rod it down our throats. The cringey scene with Ellie telling jokes (right before they met Henry and Sam) and Joel laughing, like, oh, he's letting his guard down people - pay attention! And Bill saying in a LETTER of all things that he had found "the one" to make him start to care again. So, ah, the viewers at home thinking, OH! I get it! Now Joel has found Ellie! He's going to start to care again! 🙄 And Henry saying to Joel, "You're not *her* father, but you were *someone's* ." Oy vey.
As I said, it happened more organically in the game and we weren't force-fed the corn.
And --- furthermore 😉 - I also didn't like the scene after Ellie killed David. Like you said, in the game, Joel had to pry her away from her breakdown. In the show, she just walks out. I was like - 🥺 - they're not going to *skip* one of the most important scenes, are they?! They didn't, but they did it horribly. And I hated how they took the decisions that Joel had made in the game and made them Ellie's in the show. They made Joel kind of wishy-washy in the show. In the show, Joel gives Ellie the decision to go with him or Tommy, it's completely up to her. In the game, Joel just makes that decision that HE was taking her and tells her to give the horse back to Tommy and to get on his and, "don't make me repeat myself."
I didn't like how in the show Ellie practically *yells* at Joel that what happened to Tess wasn't her fault. 🤷 Huh? Game Joel would've popped her in the mouth. In the game she apologizes for Tess. It wasn't her fault, but she knows Joel must be feeling *something* .
I could go on...
Yep, it's why they shouldn't have wasted time with story tangents. Then they wouldn't have to push it in our faces so hard.
The post-David scene was probably the worst bastardization of the story. That is when both characters arc. Joel brings his walls down and lets his daughter go, accepting Ellie. Ellie lets her walls down and realizes she needs Joel.
It's such a great moment when two characters who think they are lone wolves give in to the fact that they need each other.
it only mean one thing, neil druckmann didnt screen write the game
I'd love to know the real story behind all that. The shift from part one to part two is evidence enough, but still, I'd love a peek behind the scenes to their working relationship on the first one.
One of the reasons it seems like a completely different writer is that Neil was just an employee in the original, and even the actors helped shape the characters and story. Now he's the VP of the company, he's all about being woke, and no one can tell him "no."
Hey, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. As a writer, you kinda centered me back on what's more important and what the audience is looking for. I feel like.. the heaps of bad writing as of late has numbed my inspiration. Your criticism is on point. 👍🏻
Glad it helped you recenter your work. I'm a writer too, so storytelling is incredibly important to me, and this video was made as a response to people not "getting it" and what was wrong with the show.
@@JasonFuhrman I'll admit I couldn't watch past the first 20 minutes of the first episode.
It felt like everything went wrong from the start (which, to be honest, is my fear as a writer. It's so important to captivate the reader from the start, in my opinion)
I was disappointed from the very first scene, expecting to see Joel and Ellie first because the opening scene in the game works so well. And to find they replaced it with a talk show....
From that point on, I knew they'd missed the mark entirely.
@@JasonFuhrman Kinda like many adaptations and horrible remakes that "graced" us in the past few years. "The Lion King" 2019 is another great example of missing the mark despite having the original blue print in hand.
@dakotablack7804 exactly
Having never played the game this really helped me to see why the game is so beloved and why I never really connected with the show (though partly it was that I just found the actor playing Ellie to be incredibly irritating lol) - thanks for this, really enjoyed!
Thanks! I didn't realize it would help people who never played the game. Glad I was able to.
I guess it comes down to storytelling, and why something works versus doesn't. This is just scratching the surface but I didn't want to make a 2 hour long video haha.
Finally finished (in order binge w/ friend). Ep. 3 was nice, but belonged in another show; especially as I learned that Dan Dority was actually Bill in the game! I was skipping around prior.
Really hate how they butchered Joel’s character. Joel the Beast spazzing out like Tony Soprano and emoting like a girl - not a sexist, but that’s not Joel - he’s the manliest of men! Don’t tell me that’s cannon. The whole Jackson “Kin” episode was such a confusing watch, I can’t imagine watching it without having played the games.
Not enough time spent with Joel/Ellie for the final payoff - I’m not sure non-gamers will even get the point. The Tommy/Joel dynamic just doesn’t work in the show. Tommy would never let his lady prevent him from even radioing with his bro.
I don’t care about the ethnicity-swapping. But at least cast someone who can grow a full beard, and a girl who has a twinkle in her eye like Ellie.
This so much summed up my thoughts on what felt wrong with the show to me. I really loved your in-depth explanations.
thanks! Now anyone who thinks the show is good, you can point them here haha
My view on the show and the game is pretty simple, two different perspectives on the same story. The game is driven by its action and survivalism and never goes beyond that, we are left to infer about the emotional and psychological state of the characters. I.e it's assumed Joel suffers from PTSD but we never get any outward sign that's what is plaguing him. He's a hard ass until he isn't which is very boring without gameplay.
The show by contrast takes a more layered, emotional approach to telling the story, which is a necessity in a passive medium because you are not in the character's shoes, so they need to help the audience that does not play games care every week. I thought that they did that in a lot of creative ways, that stayed true to the world while deviating from the game infrequently.
As for the acting, I think that it is stupid to compare motion capture to on-screen acting. The former requires overacting especially with physical movement because of how much data has to be recorded for character models and animations.
I like both sets of performances a lot but for Ellie I like the show more, Bella feels like a teenager, and sounds like a kid, and no matter how good Ashley Johnson's performance in the game is that's not something I ever bought into when playing the game because she is not a kid, it's just impossible to forget that she is putting on a (very stellar) performance.
So yeah I love both for entirely different reasons.
I agree about episode 3 - I think it's fine as a story, but it isn't part of TLoU's story. The change completely removes one of the early building blocks of Joel's attachment to Ellie, where he saw Bill as a hopeless version of himself (cutting off from attachments to the extreme), and also found himself standing up for Ellie... which helped a lot in kicking off their relationship.
Thats exactly how it felt. Itfelt being told. But I'm biased anyway, playing the tlou game for at least 7 times, sometimes right after finishing because i was so hooked on the emotions they MADE me feel. Series was ok but didnt hit me not slightly as hard as the game did. One could argue that the medium is different but for example the books of lord of the rings made me feel very similar than movies... Still hard to compare two mediums. But the end of the 9episodes just didnt feel as earned as the game ones did, or is it just me?
You're right it is a different medium with different limitations. Which is why it takes a special showrunner to be able to translate what made the game great to screen. And clearly they didn't have that showrunner haha.
And yes the ending wasn't nearly as earned. They spend far too much time on other tangents, losing focus. It's too bad because I would have loved for a wider audience to experience the great story they created in the game.
I said the same thing and caught flack for it. It had its moments but it felt rushed and it didn’t leave a lasting impression at all. I’ll never watch season 1 again!
As an alternative for a great apocalyptic show that is teeming with emotion and tension, I recommend “The Leftovers” - also on HBO. Damon Lindeloff finally made a great show with a great ending.
It’s not zombie related, but presents an interesting premise; just be aware that Season 1 is bleak, and that’s just how it is…
Love The Leftovers! I watched it as it came out season by season way back.
@@JasonFuhrman awesome! It’s an unforgettable show with such a simple premise! I’m also a bit miffed that Abby won’t look like herself. Don’t really care too much about Bella as Ellie, but Abby’s muscles provide so much subtext for her arc. 😢. Favorite show of all time is also HBO - Deadwood.
@workoutfanatic7873 I'm still debating whether or not I'll watch season 2. Maybe I'll check out an episode out of curiosity, but I don't see how it can be good.
Yep, Deadwood. The glory days of HBO are behind us I'm afraid. They changed from making art to making "products."
@@JasonFuhrman so very true. I think objectively the Sopranos is better than Deadwood. But the world-building and era aspect makes Deadwood so beautiful, every scene in the thoroughfare. Hoople-heads lol 😂
Amazing video, I was skeptical at first because of the title but then started to realise why the show felt so different from the game.
thank you!
I'm glad to see someone else have a rational not because of homophobia reason to think the Frank flashback episode should have been cut. It was like that episode and then the following episode that added in some new faction that killed my interest in the show. I think a direct recreation of the game was the most sensible option because it was already a hyper focused well done story about these two characters. Adding in more threads waters down the entire point of the story.
Amazing video, thank you for the great analysis. I can't believe how much potential was missed in the HBO series.
Thanks! Yes it's sad they had such a great story and didn't realize it's full potential.
@@JasonFuhrman Somehow every impactfull scene was overall worse in delivery/acting and pacing.
After watching the show I showed my wife how those these were portrayed in the game and even she said, that the game had a way bigger emotional impact in every aspect compared to the HBO series.
It's too bad so many people experienced the story through the show instead of the game.
@@TheMrLeoniasty also glad your wife could also see how the show fell short. That was part of my inspiration to make this video. To show people what they're missing
@@JasonFuhrman and they are missing so much ! I have a friend that watched the show and then started playing Part 2 and I tried to tell him that he misses out on the real Joel and Ellie that he didnt have in the show and wont get in Part 2 when playing, but he basically said "whats the diference? I've watched the show, got to know everything I need to and I see no point in playing part 1 ever."
It's just unfortunate that such an amazing story got treated so poorly and so many people will now only know Joel and Ellie based on the HBO characters that in my opinion are completelly different people.
10:12 in this clip look at Ellie from the show. Without context she looks, happy ? Like she just acomplished something cool ? I mean, even these little details, you could look at Ellies face (in game) at any moment and read so much emotion from her, but the actress in the HBO series loses all of that.
As you see I'm rambling already and my dissapointment with the show can be clearly seen. I'm not a hater I just think they could have done way way better.
besides the opening prologues in most of the episodes a lot of the cinematography has a very guerrilla filmmaking feel and is more stripped back and grounded than cinematic and fantastical. as filmmakers its always important to ask ourselves WHY we do things and HOW they affect the story, the goal being to tell the story in the best way possible. the way its shot definitely helps the story feel believable and grounded and I wonder if that was prioritized over flashy camera moves, yet editing can always be used to emphasize moments and beats as well in the same way you described here so it seems like a missed opportunity there. I almost wonder if Pedro pascal's busy schedule had an impact on the production, forcing them to maybe have to cut things back or focus more attention elsewhere, any number of things can affect production that way. I also wonder if all of the vfx work necessary to build the world ate into the budget/how things were shot as it definitely doesn't have the budget of something like Game of Thrones. I definitely enjoyed the show, and have an immense amount of respect for everyone who worked on the show and game, but see your point here.
AH ok update: the Chernobyl director was originally set to direct several of the episodes before having to back out last minute-thats why the visual language is more basic.
Yeah you could tell they were trying to replicate the hand-held camerawork of the game, but they forgot to purposefully frame shots with that technique. That was one of the biggest downfalls. Budget could have been an issue as to why they didn't get top talent for the cinematography, since HBO is under new management. This was the first HBO show to not feel like an HBO show. It's crazy when you go back a few years and look at the stuff. It was on a whole other level.
ah good to know!
Thank you for explaining what i felt was off. The show could have been so much more than what it is.
You're welcome!
My main problem with the TV show, (which overall I enjoyed a lot) are in the three scenes where they paint Ellie as having a 'violent heart'. David uses that phrase, but there is the first instance (the worst in my opinion) where she leans into Joel's beating of the guard, then when she is fascinated in the toying with and then extinguishing of an infected in a cellar.
These seem to be a different Ellie than the one I experienced in the game. Yes, of course there are murderous episodes throughout the game and she does want to have a gun... but I didn't get the 'violent heart' sense from Ellie in-game that I do from those scenes in the TV show.
I can only assume this is set-up for how it will roll for Part II.
I think the game is one of the best pieces of entertainment ever made so, it was always going to be a challenge (to my mind) to meet or exceed the excellence of the game. I am actually delighted it wasn't a dud. I think the show is great, despite my 'issue' above.
I'm very much looking forward to watching it again (and again) when the blu ray is released.
I don't mind if they are expanding upon or changing characters in the game to a degree. There are plenty of properties that do overhauls, which end up being better (The Shining, Under the Skin), but I agree with you here. It feels like a misstep, only because it's an odd minor tweak.
They seem to be trying to adapt the characters from the game as faithfully as possible, just changing the POV too often, which is my argument for why the show is so flawed (no its not a terrible show). They tried to do too much with only 9 episodes, so I was left feeling like nothing fully connected. The character arcs felt rushed (because they were). So much nuance and pacing went into the game's storytelling, and they thought they could fast-track it and yield the same emotional effect, which they didn't.
We just needed more time if they wanted to cover more stories. They tried to do both macro and micro storytelling, which you can't do, unless you have a lot of time to dedicate, which they didn't.
@@JasonFuhrman I think I can accept the changes if they're not as jarring as I found those I mentioned. Others that they made in this adaptation didn't bother me at all. Some were incredible, imo.
It's very possible they'll build on it (Ellie's violent heart) for Season 2 and in retrospect I'll just have a differently nuanced Ellie to enjoy as a character (for the TV show).
Yeah, now that they know where the story leads, I can see them leaning into that with Ellie. I don't think it's necessary though. It's pretty obvious how much Ellie cared about Joel. We don't need some weird seed that Ellie has violence in her heart to make us buy into that. Clearly her love for Joel drove her to the edge. That's all we need to know.
this show sucked, as a new comer to the series. Ellie was a shithead character, was i supposed to like her?
There were zombies in the first few episodes, then we changed to a drama show with no monsters, where are all the monsters? We got a damn gay lovestory for 1 whole episode, cool great i thought it was dumb because the dude said he is not a slut, then they proceed to have sex 10 minutes later? wtf
Then we get another gay love story in the mall, another full love story episode, YOU JUST DID THAT a few episodes earlier!... That first love story takes away from ellies story, in my opinion.
Cool to hear from someone who didn't play the game and also didn't like the show.
Even though you weren't talking about the second part of last of us, it clicked with me there. This is my entire problem with Abbys story arc. I really felt it. Thanks for giving me a great new perspective!
Thanks, and happy to help! Part 2 has a lot of issues even outside of what I mentioned, but glad it helped you see the light haha
@@JasonFuhrman found your video about part 2 😂 going to watch now. I think we might agree in a lot !
@@GloomyLullaby haha oh man that's an old one. Welcome to my garage
Bad casting, bad acting, bad storytelling.
I completely disagree with this video.
You're absolutely free to.
@@JasonFuhrman thank you. You to
Fantastic argument 🙄
@@miller-joel Do you want me to write a novel for you.
@@theplan-m6c How about providing a counter-argument and backing it up with facts? Too much to ask?
Episode 3 would have been a great special episode, like they did with euphoria, but within the main story it just takes away from Joel and Ellie
Great review! You clearly expressed what I couldn’t about the small differences that made a big impact.
Thanks!
i could deal with every minor issue the series had... until the fucking pittsburgh zombie geyser
that shit made my eyes roll to the point where i could see my frontal lobe
i can NOT fathom why the writers thought it would be a good idea to insert a plague tale into the last of us
it does not fit
yeah it was too overly dramatic. I'm sure they thought it would be exciting for the audience, and I'm sure it was for some, but it failed to do anything interesting.
I think they’re both talented, but Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal were wrong for Joel and Ellie.
Pedro Pascal lacked Joel’s grit, and his innate desire to push everyone away to protect himself from feeling the same pain of losing Sarah, and Tess again. His gruff behavior through most of the game allowed the softer tender moments between him and Ellie to feel that much more powerful and poignant when they naturally occurred.
As for Bella… she lacked Ellie’s innocence and adorable/capable personality. Bella played the character very cold, and sometimes snappy. Her “adorable” moments in the show felt forced, because they were segments previously in the game they adapted, and they needed to include them.
The whole time I felt like I was watching two people play great value brand versions of the beloved characters. It never felt truly authentic like it did when Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker played the parts.
I agree. As much as I like both actors, they were wrong for the role.
If you ever want to see Joel on screen, just go watch Hugh Jackman in Prisoners.
I’m tired of seeing animation and games that I love turned into live action and ruined. I couldn’t even finish and quickly lost interest
The start with the tv show, It’s a cheap Romero reference
The show and the game are just able to take differente points of view. The Game zooms in on Joel and his family and Ellie, sure. But the TV show is extremly powerful in adding context about the world, and showing different, interesting perspectives to understand *all* the character. That doesn't make it a failture in visual storytelling, it just makes it different and allows for a more overall impactful experience of living in a post apocolyic world.
I still call it a failure because it tried to do everything and ended up doing nothing. The entire point of the story is the relationship between two people and how they overcome past trauma. It's not about the world.
@@JasonFuhrman You're wrong. The story of the game is the relatioshop between two people and how to overcome past trauma. That is still present here, even if it isn't the main focus.
But adoptations doesn't have to be 100% to the original story, as long as it still makes sense in the universe and the wider picture of the world. Frank and Bill where a wonderful adition. And so was Henry and Sam. Not just because their story was wellwritten and believeable, but because their exampels of two people together overcoming challenges in their life. Serving as a teaching moment to Ellie and Joel.
Would Frank and Bill have survived as long as they did, alone? No. Henry and Sam? Hell no. Joel and Ellie, they don't realize that they need each other when they first meet, it's a strained relationship of two people who are wastly different and who doesn't trust or like each other very much. Without Joel, Ellie would have very much been dead and gone. And so would Joel, he says it himself near the end of the show.
@@CreativeGamingDorthea let me be a little clearer. By doing so much more they lost the impact of the point of the story: the relationship between Joel and Ellie and how they needed each other to overcome their trauma. YES, that aspect is there, but it's diminished to such a degree that I never felt it. It was phoned in. That's what happens when you divide your attention so much. You lose focus. You lose impact.
Goddamn this is such a well made critique video essay! How is this getting so little view and why am I only finding out about this now.
thanks! It's not normally something I do on my channel, but because I love the game so much (and it's story craft), I felt I needed to say something about how the show really dropped the ball.
I just ran across this. I’m not a gamer but played the last of us when it came out and I have played it multiple times over the years. I watched the show and did not care for it. It lost everything that made it good. There was almost no Joel and Ellie development. Not to mention the casting and add ons and changes did not help anything
I agree with everything you said. I found the show to be mid. I think it was overhyped by the game fans. I have not played the game and the show had 0 emotional imapct on me. The baby girl line truely fall flat for me.
How do u only have 931 subscribers? Amazing take
Appreciate it! I think this one just had a bigger draw since the show just came out. I primarily talk about storytelling by analyzing novels, but do movies and shows from time to time when I feel like something needs to be said.
They changed the lore, changed important characters, rushed the storylines, only gave one encounter with the most iconic enemy the clickers. I mean no offense to Bella Ramsey, she’s a phenomenal actor and she played Ellie well. She’s just not Ellie. I liked Ellie when I was younger than her and I still do. We’re both 19 now. Bella is beautiful, TV Ellie is ugly. Joel’s accent is inconsistent. There’s zero fan service with pushing pallets, ladders, dumpsters and crates. They didn’t even play the game first. The only change I really love is Sam being deaf, it works so well because if he mutates he’ll be a blind and deaf clicker, that’s horribly morbid and sad. Also Ellie would be dead in her sleep because of breathing or moving if he could hear. The horde scene was the best scene but there’s no bloater fight. Bill was the most disappointing. No Bill, no trap, no machete, no safehouse, no nail bombs, no school, no bloater, no battery, no truck, no siphon, no Joel line that reminds me of my tough grandfather when he thanks Bill. It wasn’t made for the fans. The worst of all.. Ellie has never been in a vehicle before. Ellie drove a stick shift which is something I can’t do and she impressed badass Bill. It’s like they really don’t care about the characters. We can only pray that Fallout is great and original but most importantly that it’s made for the fans.
I'd like to see your narrative standpoint on the game sequel. Will it ever come out?
I did a review way back, but I could probably do a new one talking about just the story if enough people are interested.
@@JasonFuhrman thanks for the tip, just dredged it up from your old videos and it was interesting to see your take on the topic. Keep it up!
Well spoken my friend, great video.
1:45 In the original, it's a new watch. Don't give me that retcon sht.
I thought it was weird in the show that Joel grabbed Ellie after she had walked out of the burning building. Why wouldn't he just use his voice to alert Ellie of his presence? He like jump-scared her for no reason.
In the game Ellie was in the process of chopping up David's face and Joel pulled Ellie back instinctually to snap Ellie out of her hysteria and protect her mental well-being.
Exactly. It was such a great moment and when they both completed their arcs MIT l more or less, which is baffling as to why they missed that in the show. It's an incredibly powerful moment that was squandered.
A great video Jason as always.
As I've expressed to you a few times, I haven't felt the itch to watch the show and I don't know if I want to. The game is already as good as it can be. This show is like if you added a mustache to Mona Lisa it seems. It doesn't look terrible, and I like the talent in the show, but I don't know if I have it in me to see it.
Thanks man! I can't recommend this show if you like the game. It's just not in the same league.
great video, well made and decently concise. In my opinion, aside from a small bit of dialogue at the start and at the end of the game, the show is better in every way. In my opinion of course.
However, I honestly enjoy watching critiques of shows I really like as it challenges my views and informs my reasons for liking a film or show.
I liked a lot of things about the show but I felt like it could've used at least another episode or two to fully flesh out Joel and Ellie's relationship. With all the time spent on side characters and the flashbacks with the doctors, only a handful of episodes out of the 9 are focused on Joel and Ellie
Totally agree. Get the focus back on the actual protagonists.
Thank you for giving a genuine criticism, and not just pretending this is some woke project made by woke "Male feminists"(whatever that means). Always appreciate some who can objectively analyze art and give meaningful comments.
Thanks! Storytelling is important to me so I try to critique it based on its principles rather than politics.
You're so freaking right. Spot fuggin' on.
Going at Craig Mazin is CRAZY
I loved Chernobyl, which makes the entire situation all the more baffling.
You hit the nail on the head quite perfectly capturing my thoughts
Glad you enjoyed it! The entire reason I made this video was after having conversations about the show with a friend, he still couldn't understand my critiques. So I had to show them to him.
That's exactly why i never bothered watching the show, the game was already a cinematic masterpiece and didn't need a show, plus the characters are never gonna be as good as the originals.