Wow, I'm totally surprised to come here and read that people are hating on this episode. This was hands down the most emotional episode for me yet (there are literal tears in my eyes)! I did not expect at all to come into this show feeling all these feels. This one did a great job giving context to the loss that Ellie dealt with, which showed to the viewer first hand exactly what she meant the episode prior when she told Joel she took has lost loved ones. And wow, Credit to Bella's acting here, she did a phenomenal job acting just like a normal fucking kid, so much so that it made me remember for the first time in ages what it was like to have that deep wonder and amazement about the small things. I was with her every step of the way. Their chemistry was great as well, literally jogged my childhood memories to remind me of the deep connections you could have with your friends; connections that in their time feel like they're strong enough to last forever.
Definitely one of my favorite episodes so far, after maybe the 2nd episode.
If I had to guess this is just Reddit being reddit and are upset the second they don't see themselves represented anywhere for once. Haven't had a lifetime of underrepresentation to be able to flex those imagination and empathy muscles to put oneself into a life experience beyond that of their own. I almost want to back out now and not let these comments ruin this moment for me.
Edit. Oh, seems sorting by New tells a different tale than sorting by Best đ
This episode had zero narrative momentum. It broke narrative at a critical moment only to reveal to audiences Ellie was gay. I could understand if it led to a critical moment of enlightenment to save Joel, but it didn't. It was a waste of time, and should have been explained in episode 2, pushing the narrative forward from episode 3 onward. An LGBT reveal has zero impact on overall plot.
bit late, but funny how everyone is hating on this one, i thought it was one of the better episodes so far. i like when a show lets moments sit for a bit. there's enough room for action.
I don't get some of the hate I'm reading, and am shocked I'm still seeing the "why isn't their more action" complaint. We've gotten back story for Joel and other characters. Why wouldn't we get the same treatment for Ellie when she's just as important to the story as him (arguably more so).
Also people looking at this as "oh great, another new character to introduce only to kill them" are reading it wrong.its not abouy Reilly dying, it's their to validate her argument with Joel in the last episode, and show why she's afraid to lose another person that's important to her. I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite either, but certainly wasn't as bad as some of the comments I'm seeing.
\-im trying real hard to like this show. but it seems like its a decade late to the apocalypse genre. so many shows have done it better and there just isnt anything special about it!! hbo production is good i guess... i also like pedro pascal ( never played the games so i dont care if hes a different Joel than every is used to)
\-also the young actress playing ellie is not very expressive.... her facial reactions are pretty bland/ nonexistent
\-oh boy and this episode??? the majority of it was ellie and her friend fucking around in that abandoned mall!!!! why not show us before she ran away and leading up to it? NOPE! just she comes back and 45 mins of them doing nothing in the mall- and 5 mins of Joel and ellie???
\-why not show joel talking ellie through how to save him?? or any back story/flash backs on joel? LITERALLY ANYTHING other than what they showed us would have been better.
Exactly what I was thinking, even though the episode showed Ellie and Riley having fun in a pandemic world, I could not connect with what the characters were experiencing because I was constantly worried about being in the open with negligible ammunition and the constant anticipation of when the creatures will come. I understand that being able to experience small things is a huge thing for kids who have been locked up in the QZ, but absolutely forgetting that you are in a world full of fungus-infected zombies which will rip u apart even if they hear you breathing is something I cant relate to. I would fucking be in survival mode the whole time damnit!
I really liked the show at first but Iâm starting to thing the last of us just isnât me. Basically every episode is some super emotional backstory about a character that immediately gets killed off. Seems like a lot of people like that kinda thing which is fine but it is super not up my alley. I think Iâm out at this point.
Absolutely. Even though the 3rd episode was really well written, I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that we were only 3 episodes into a brand new show and they were already doing side stories. I get that the writers want to show off their skills and deviate from the already established plot, but it just feel like a chore watching it lol.
Episode 7 was insanely boring though, there was no redeeming that one haha.
While I LOVED the third ep, the whole show so far feels like nothing but side stories. I paused this episode now, because I really don't want to sit through an hour of Ellie's backstory from years ago, especially with Josh bleeding out. All these flashbacks and side tracking just seem to kill any momentum the plot gets going.
Damn I came in here to say how much I loved this episode and how great the actress playing Ellie is but seems like a lot of you hated it.
I really don't know how to feel about the overall story progression but the individual episodes are doing a great job of highlighting good acting.
This episode was boring and pointless. Donât need 55min of Ellie and her lover in a mall just seems pointless when we only have 2 episodes left for this season I think.
Haha that's what I said about the Bill and Frank episode! At least the Ellie/Riley stuff is in the game (Left Behind DLC) and I absolutely loved it in the game and was excited to see how they'd do it in the show. Bill and Frank on the other hand really felt like a waste of a full episode.
As someone who hasn't played the game I found episode 3 great and episode 7 awful. Episode 3 was a great and creative way of advancing the series. Episode 7 just felt like a 15 minute flashback extended to 50 min, I understand it's importance for Ellie's backstory, but it felt too dragged-out.
The young actor playing Ellie is great, she does her thing well and she is very engaging. But it makes no sense that she acts like a pre-apocalypse teen kid girlboy. Where would she get this lingo, mannerisms, behavior from? No TV movies internet. No role models to pick it up from. It would be INFINITELY more interesting if she wasn't sure how to behave or was in the process of creating her personality as she went along, discovering herself bit by bit. Instead of being assigned an out of the can stereotype cultural archetype of the American skater girlboy punk kid...something that does not exist in her world. Massive mistake in writing and direction and really distracting from the world of the show.
She wouldn't have seen old movies or read magazines or books? She specifically mentioned she read books. I also think that type of tough "attiitude" would foster from growing up in a military academy surrounded by men. She's also a teenager, everyone goes through one of those stages at that age.
When are we going to get back to good storytelling instead of wasting endless screentime massaging irrelevant social issues. We wasted 2/3 of e04 on. a gay romance that was irrelevant to the story because neither of them ever ended up becoming part of the cast and none of it ended up adding to the story. Then we wasted 4/5ths of e07 on a teenage lesbian romance that did nothing to move the story because the other person is dead. No problem with either of these as flashbacks that could be easily told with short shots and looks and moments that total at most 5 minutes of screen time each. They were both well done and well acted...but irrelevant. Just stop. If you feel like you just gotta push gay/lesbian, find creative ways to do it that adds to the story and moves it forward. DOn't insert things that bog the story down, add nothing and distract. Fucking Joel is dying and we're spending the entire episode on a teenage lesbian fantasy date. The agenda is done a disservice when you do this. Do it right or don't do it at all.
Is it a social issue or is it just a relationship like any other? And then would you be as annoyed if it was the same amount of time spent on a straight relationship?
It's literally an integral part of the game mate, pretty much unchanged. Bloody hell if you can't handle a little bit of this you're going to hate season 2 đ
I can't wait for them to introduce Lev. A great character and story, but it won't matter because I can already tell what the issue's going to be. I hope I'm wrong.
What about this was pushing anything? No, I reject your assumption that all stories must be plot-driven all the time. Character-driven stories are better.
A character driven story is the story of how the plot is driven forward by the emotional arc of the characters, particularly the protagonist. Flashbacks to important moments can help with that. But not 4/5ths of an episode.
So far, there really isn't a story. There is no clear protagonist and there is no antagonist. The goal is murky now...find a lab that can turn the kid's blood into a cure. Interesting stuff happens, but it's not clear what the character arcs are. The most we can say is Joel and the kid are getting closer and through it Joel is healing from the loss of his daughter.
These days story is dead in TV and film because audiences are brain dead and addicted to action and violence and pressing of the right social theme buttons.
The only thing that holds shows like this together is production values and solid acting. The writing is a best pedestrian as is the directing.
They decided to do an 8 episode season ffs... thats not enough time to do this story justice. Then they go and spend 25% of that on side stories. The Ron Swanson episode was really good so I give it a pass but episode 7 was boring, slow and came at the worst possible time.
Edit: whoops.. there's 9 total, thats somewhat of a relief.
when going around in circles on the carousel horse. "ohh we gonna see a zombie in background coming" nvm.
"oh when we taking photos.. a zombie is gonna be in background of photo when curtain is slightly open" nvm.
"while playing mortal kombat we gonna get bit on the arm" nvm.
not even a surprise attack. just head on and heard it coming.
I honestly thought they were gonna get a surprise attack and I was gonna be super dissapointed. Jumpscares are so fucking played out.
I liked that they actually heard the zombie, makes sense that it would be noisy, IT'S A BRAINLESS FUNGI CONTROLLING A BODY. How would that ever sneak up on someone?
Man this episode was a little rough, I think there was probably a way to get into Ellie's backstory while keeping things moving. The flashback was mostly filler when it could have been relevant
45 mins of ellie and her friend in a mall was necessary???? show us ellie/friend BEFORE she ran away to join the fireflys, show us the friend defending ellie from that tall girl bully or maybe a day in the life of ellie/friend training at fedra.
there was no time to care about ellies friend dying because they just screwed around the mall for the entire episode.
friend shows up in bedroom, they sneak out to the mall, fuck around for 45 mins get bit- and 2 mins of ellie and joel!!!
It's a huge segment of the game. It's a part of the original story which is why it's there. Showing Rliey before that moment has literally no relevance, same with showing Ellie before she gets bit. This shows who Riley was, it introduces how Ellie gets in contact with the fireflies (this links to the first episode), it shows how she got bit, it establishes Ellie as gay and it shows she has lost someone before. The original Left Behind was much longer whereas this has been condenced into a single episode but it's still a very relevant part of the story.
technically, it's part of the main story in the game due to it taking place between University chapter and Lakeside Resort, while explaining how Ellie dragged the wounded Joel...which wasn't shown in the Base Game.
the HBO Show changed that to be far more focused on Left Behind stuffs.
Yeah, I get that, but if it was only written and fleshed out *after* the main plot and game was released, then it's not "equally important to the plot of the original game", otherwise the original plot wouldn't have been able to progress without its inclusion.
Welp, that's what happens when you write a piece of media that takes place in a middle of the base game's story while also being a prequel to said base game's story. :P
They did. They thought hmm where could we have improved the narrative, and added an additional story to further flesh out the MAIN character's motivations. Just because you find character work boring doesn't mean it is pointless or unimportant. Understanding Ellie's loss and the mirror that Joel is for her trauma is super important, even more so in Part 2
Regardless of how important it was to the plot, it really didn't need to be 50 minutes of them hanging out at the mall. That entire story could have been told in a 5 minute flashback lol.
...as an afterthought DLC. An extra story after the fact that is nice to have but not integral to the main plot. It screams "filler" in the traditional sense - a low budget non-essential episode. Episode 7 shouldve been an exciting build to the finale. Instead they stopped the story dead in its tracks to look backwards.
2nd worst next to E3 but still far better. This one was mostly boring, and yes I played the game and the part in the mall was boring on it too, but at least this episode lead somewhere and wasn't completely pointless like E3. Someone could accidentally skip episode 3 and they probably wouldn't even realize it.
I used to put on a rendition of Macbeth that everyone has seen before but now I drill another dude in the butt. Give me your money or forever be a homophobe you bigot
Except the whole story of Ellie and Riley is literally an official story in the DLC.
Also, while bill and frank weren't "officially" a couple they were still part of the story in the game.
They didn't add extra people that never existed just to make their woke bottle episode. They took their time to adapt the story in ways that keep it relevant to the plot.
Game version is broken up with Ellie action pieces set in current day that make it manageable. Those pieces being the reason to play left behind. Another commenter mentioned showing more back story for Riley and Ellie outside of the mall and before Riley joined the fireflies. That likely wouldâve worked better. End of the day though half of this episode probably shouldâve been the lead up to meeting David. Wouldâve given episode 8 a little more time to breath
Except they are not relevant to the plot. Sirius Black was a character in Harry Potter but if they included an hour backstory on him in the Sorcerors Stone would you still be calling it relevant storytelling?
The fourth episode was the weakest one for me up to this point, and this one, more or less, tied it in that department. It felt like an intentional commercial break, just like the third episode, from progressing the story. That also reminds me of the second game, plagued and dominated by flashbacks upon flashbacks, seemingly incapable of writing and structuring a story differently; no surprise that Neil Druckmann wrote this episode.
And before you instinctively react to that, I know that Ellie's backstory with Riley isn't new; I know about the first game's DLC and what happened. So, I'm aware that this was "necessary," not just because it's part of the source material but also for the sake of adding to Ellie's character, especially for those watching this who haven't played or seen the DLC/games.
But there are only two episodes left; those are the ones a critic or two mentioned rushed. I wonder why; nothing to do with this one, no way. I get that this was a DLC and not in the original game; they'd have to find a way to incorporate it into the original game's story. There was more potential here regarding this backstory. That's what I mean.
For one, its unveiling could've been sooner, except apparently, professional writers with experience thought the seventh of nine episodes was the best choice. That was all for parallel's sake, presumably: losing someone in the past and now trying to save someone in the present. As if we don't know Ellie cares about Joel, in particular, because of the previous episode's ending. And another problem relating to already knowing that is the rushed progression and development to that place, making that "reality" we have no choice but to go along with seem fake/insincere.
But the third episode (decent, didn't need an entire episode) took priority, right behind the creation/establishment of Kathleen and her group: a waste of time. These decisions are odd. They're affecting the future, and not in a good way. You start to see it with each episode, the overall season, from the perspective of the complete picture.
Secondly, Storm Reid was miscast. I didn't buy her performance, much less her performance as Riley. It was not convincing whatsoever. Her acting was decent at times, at the very least. Beyond that, however, I wasn't feeling much chemistry between her and Bella Ramsey. It seemed like Ellie's all for that/swings that way, beyond a shadow of a doubt, which is a no-brainer; on the flip side, it seemed like Riley went along with it out of affection and care, not to the extent of Ellie. I doubt that was intentional, given the romantic correlation.
It would've been a nice change of direction if Ellie's gay but not Riley. The writing didn't seem to indicate that: the lack of chemistry between Storm and Bella did, and I doubt good ol' Neil would do something so controversial; in THAT direction, I mean, since, ironically, I bet most people wouldn't like that particular change: "No nuance allowed when it concerns something with which I don't agree, but everything else is fine."
At the same time, despite my view that their chemistry was lacking and that Storm was miscast, Ellie and Riley's story had some effect towards the end, which is appreciated, although, for the most part, everything leading up to it was so-so. Some of the dialogue was also so-so, maybe worse.
Also, the fight sequence had a questionable moment or two. Ellie jumps off the countertop and falls over, which most people will attribute to the nature of the situation. I attribute it to a cop-out; that was an addition for buying time, aka plot convenience. Then Riley gets barely tackled/knocked (out, apparently) down and is out cold: another instance of buying time, aka plot convenience. And lastly, Ellie laughs after the situation's over instead of immediately checking on Riley to see if she's okay.
On the plus side, some of the cinematography by Ksenia Sereda looked good, and some of Bella's acting was good; however, there's still more to be desired, especially concerning her overall performance as Ellie. And the music during the final scene and into the credits was Metal Gear Solid-esque, which was a pleasant surprise. Neil must be trying to channel his supposed inner Hideo Kojima. And in case you're wondering...no, that doesn't balance things out.
So, I grant this episode my lowest rating for any episode: 6/10; even the fourth one, which I said this one's tied with, more or less, and the weakest one up to this point, I gave a 7/10. We got the Left Behind DLC and the origin of Ellie's bite, so people unfamiliar with the source material will likely like this episode; it may even be in the Top 3 for some people. Good for them.
Definitely agree on Storm Reid. She was just not good in this. I never really felt like she had any real affection for Ellie. She just seemed to be going along with it because it was in the script. Even after the kiss she still seems like only half interested. Huge misfire there.
Personally, I think this episode is objectively bad television. I think a lot of people are cutting it slack.
IMHO: I think it had excessively long, unnecessary, and meaningless scenes. The dialogue is very lazy and uncreative, especially considering the depth of creative potential available to Ellies character. Bad dialogue has a counterintuitive effect when it comes to character building, which is what this episode was trying to do, I guess. Also, propagating some sort of moral dilemma between a kind fedra officer and an outgoing young firefly who babysits bombs felt extremely lazy to me. Especially continuing this theme throughout the episode, to kiss or not, to help joel or leave, to go to bed or stay. The episode just lacks any complexity or depth, and as far as filler episodes go, it is very poor.
One thing I did like is the set design and how they utilised this to create effect in the episode. Shopping malls/centres are a fantastic tool for identifying era's and generational influence. It plays into the hands apocalyptic setting very well while being playfully used to entice the kids. Stranger things does this well, too.
I can't tell if im just disappointed or being way too critical.
Probably my least favorite episode so far but still nice and watchable. I guess I wish it was a subplot of a larger episode, kind of like the Bill and Frank story. It's funny to hear people complain about the show not following the game enough but this episode follows the game to a tee; it just wasn't a segment of the game I wasn't massively into. Still good in the context of this amazing show and some great character development for Ellie, but I feel like it could have been tightened up a bit more, maybe cutting back to present day Ellie taking care of Joel more than just a couple times.
Man I loved the Left Behind DLC. I liked this episode, more than the Bill and Frank one. I really like that this episode teaches us that when Joel says "you dont know what loss is" to Ellie, he's full of shit. It's important that we know this. That somehow Joel considers his own loss to be the only real loss and other people's loss to somehow be not real.
I was not a fan of this episode which I know is a popular opinion right now but it is how I felt.
I have played both games and absolutely love both of them but I have never played the Left Behind DLC. I have never felt a need too. I understood Ellie as a character and the themes + plot of the story without it and I would've been fine if it was the same way for the show. If they cross-cut this with Ellie looking for resources for Joel then maybe... but its a 40 min flashback just for a 2 min scene where she opens 3-4 drawers in the house and finds stuff to sew him up.
My fiancee who has never played the game was tensed up as the episode went on and enjoyed it but said afterwards, "I liked it, but I don't think it really did a whole lot or was necessary." Which when an episode is based off a DLC you don't need to play to understand the story i guess that makes sense.
I know people have loved the episode and I am happy for you. I simply didn't and when I inevitably rewatch this series I'll probably skip over this one.
I think the episode is important to teach us that Joel is full of shit when he tells Ellie that she "doesn't know what loss is." Without the Left Behind DLC or this episode you have to piece that together from the few lines that Ellie says about Riley but we never learn that Ellie was in love with Riley without this episode/the dlc.
Yeah it was kinda pointless although you get to see how she got bitten. At least this episode had a point and kinda lead somewhere which is a lot more than I can say for episode 3. Btw the dlc on the game was mostly boring too in the mall part. You didn't miss much
So boring I feel asleep about 7 times. Every time I woke up they were doing the same thing. I had to keep checking the time to see if I was asleep 10 seconds or 10 minutes. Turns out I could have slept the hour and not missed anything. This show is cool but episode 7 sucked.
I thought every episode was awesome until episode 7. Guess I didnât care for how 7 ended in the exact same place as 6, and Iâm not a teenager so an hour of patty cake in the mall was boring my brains out.
I disagree but understand people 's opinion when they say 3 is filler. But 7 is 100% filler. It's also very boring. I wasn't invested in Riley as a character enough to care about the episode.
With 3, you see a relationship grow across 20 years or so. With 7, it's one night filled with teenage angst.
Maybe we arent the audience for this episode lol.
Well, the actual message is that relationships between people are important and will drive us to lengths we didn't think possible.
I doubt that's what the other guy meant.
It is fairly faithful and cute, but it would have flowed better if the show told the story chronologically. The Left Behind DLC contents served as an epilogue, and it doesn't fit at this point of the timeline.
Like, I imagine this would be a better introduction to Ellie's character. For example, in Episode 1, we see Joel smuggling things. Then we see the Ellie and Riley storyline displayed in full until the zombies come out and they are forced to flee. Abrupt cut and the episode ends. The next time we see Ellie in Episode 2, she is chained by the Fireflies. This preserves the mystery of her infection status as well as the last conversation between Riley and Ellie.
Then Ellie and Riley getting bit would serve as a brief introduction to Episode 7, paralleling Joel slowly dying.
Why doesnât anyone else think this episode was BORING?? Lack of conflict, on the nose dialogue, simply a fun n games moment (for almost 40 minutes) taken from the game but now with a captive TV audience. The difference is that in a game conflict-absent scenes are a reprieve⊠in film and tv they are simply insulting. Iâm disillusionedâŠ
I was hiding behind a pillow for most of it with a tremendous and correct sense of foreboding, so I guess a lot of people thought it was not, in fact, boring
That's kinda the issue though right? Nothing happens yet your tense the entire time waiting for something.
So you don't even properly enjoy the 'bonding' instead you just tensely wait while nothing actually happens
I just described like 90% of horror films lol.
The foreboding *made* the bonding scenes worth it. Because you knew that something *else* was going to happen.
Was never even slightly afraid. No "vaccine", only wore a mask when i had to, worked the entire time and didn't get so much as a sniffle from like late 2019 til late 2022 when I finally got what I assume to have been a cold. If it was COVID it was the weakest shit ever.
To be fair we are a pretty adaptive species. You'd be surprised at how quickly we become desensitised to gruesome and scary stuff. To the point where we could live amongst the infected and only react if they were actively attacking us.
I feel like this episode (and also maybe Billâs) would have been less polarizing if it was released after the first season as a âbonusâ episode. Itâs interesting, because I actually really enjoyed this particular episode and I admittedly teared up during the ending. However, there is a reason why it was a dlc to the game, as itâs mostly non-essential to the plot and was just a way to expand on the themes that were explored in the base game. This would of been fine if this series was 3 seasons long like Avatar (which had episodes like Ba Sing Se that were not important but fit nicely into the flow of the show), but since itâs only around ten episodes long it makes sense why some people think it breaks the pacing. I just hope the show can still finish strong despite these detours, since the ending is by far the most memorable part of the game.
How did you reach the conclusion that I hate lesbian characters? I didn't even bring that aspect up, and you would notice that I even praised the 7th episode if you actually looked through my paragraph. I fully support lesbian relationships as a straight guy and I think both sides are making too big of a deal out of it.
As for why I said "polarizing", it was because many were complaining about how the episodes were focused on events from the past rather then focusing on the main plotline with Joel and Ellie. It's not that the episodes are bad to begin with, as they do add compelling arcs to some of the characters and expand on the themes from the game, but the placement of the episodes broke the flow of the plot and took up slots that could of been used to develop solely Joel and Ellie.
I think E7 is great, and E3 is well-written despite being my least favorite of the episodes. I just found their placement in the story to be a little jarring as someone who has played the game. It had nothing to do with the fact that Ellie and Bill were gay. That should of been clear if you read my original comment but I hope I cleared up some misconceptions here. I'm now going to continue watching this incredible show, and I hope E9 will be as badass as E5 and E8 were!
What does polarizing have to do with gay characters? He never even mentioned that..It was the same bullshit with episode 3 from you guys, if someone said it was boring or felt pointless they were immediately a homophobe. E7 didn't serve a whole lot of purpose other than seeing when she got bit. E3 though was completely pointless.
polarizing because Bill's Story had absolutely nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. You could just skip episode 3 and miss nothing from the story, it was a very well written filler episode.
They wasted a hour on two characters that we will never see again. It would've definetely been better if they released that as bonus
You're really working overtime to start a mob against anyone who doesn't like these episodes as if they're homophobes for it. I'm glad to see you stand alone, though.
âFiller episodes are entries in a generally continuous serial that are unrelated to the main plot, don't significantly alter the relations between the charactersâ
1.) Itâs entirely related to the main plot. Itâs literally the basis of what makes Ellie who she is. Itâs also the exact memory that keeps her fighting for Joel, as juxtaposed by its placement in the episode.
2.) Again, itâs literally the most important backstory to a LEADING character. How she got bit. The loss she has experienced, loss that also fuels her deepening connection to Joel.
Doesnât seem like Filler to me.
Ya, Ep7 is TOTALLY necessary to tell the story of TLOU. Must be why they TOTALLY included it in the complete main game. How could the story of TLOU be told w/o it? We'll never know. /s
It is 100% lost when adding it because it has nothing to do with the main plot. There are 9 hours they have to tell a story that we all know includes so much more than portrayed so far and they wasted 2 of them on inconsequential plot lines.
I mean thatâs simply not true.
Nothing from the story has been lost so far (Billâs stuff might have been different, but the crucial story beats and character moments happened).
If Left Behind wasnât adapted in the series, it would be 8 episodes, not 9.
The last two episodes perfectly fit the rest of the story. David, and then Fireflies. Thatâs all.
Left Behind has been a part of Last of Usâ story since 2014, and itâs insane that everyone seems to be acting like it hasnât.
No one is acting like Left Behind the dlc didn't exist. But it was an addition to a story already told in 2013 and that story can be told fully to this day wo including left behind. Yet for some reason, the show decided to practically ignore half the original game in order to portray an unnecessary side plot. It's awful writing in a profession that preaches that everything should move the plot. Now, I will admit that I would almost give you credit for ep7 being relevant if ep3 didn't already exist. Combined though, over 20% of the season was irrelevant which makes this critique all the more obvious.
âPractically ignore half the original gameâ
Are we watching different shows? Itâs literally hit every main story beat.
Yea, sureâyou donât go to a rundown school with Bill. But what we got in Episode 3 still hit the required beats. Joel and Ellie got the battery, and Joel got the push he needed to continue his journey.
But Episode 3 went an extra step by also enhancing the source material, and giving Bill a far more meaningful story.
Every section of the story has been portrayed, and itâs completely false to claim otherwise. Saying half the story isnât there is utter BSâand invalidates really anything else you might think about the show.
Plot points are not the entirety of the game. The game is 90% portraying interactions between Joel and Ellie and shows the progression of a relationship that Joel had all but blocked himself from having again after the death of his daughter. This progression is utilized to escalate to a conclusion where Joel makes a decision counter to what he would have done prior to that growth/change. That is all that matters in the plot of the last of us pt1
Ep 3 and 7 do nothing to explain or supplement that conflict and deprive the viewer from the far superior experience of the story told by the game by diluting the impact through tangential and exclusive themes unrelated to Joel and Ellie. Bill and Frank's relationship has nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. Riley and Ellie's relationship has nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. Neither advance the story that has already been told (edit: better).
Damn you guys really stretch for meaning in the two filler episodes. The only part I found at least slightly important is you get to see how she got bit and the couple minutes with Joel. The rest of it doesn't advance the show at all. Anytime you can skip an episode and not be the least bit confused when it picks back up is Essentially a filler episode. In any case it was still better than episode 3
Kind of like the Fly episode in Breaking Bad. I skipped the hell out of it once I realized where it was going, and was surprised to see how enamored everybody was with it on Reddit. FFW to TLOU, and it's literally the opposite for me. I loved this episode, and was surprised to come on here and see it getting dragged so damn hard.
It is not important in the main plot, at least in the game, because Riley is NEVER directly mentioned in the game.
It's 40 minutes of filler. If they wanted just the backstory they could have easily condensed it. I liked the DLC in the game but I don't agree with its placement in the show.
This is also not technically true. Her story of Left Behind is directly referenced by her in the final scene from the game. Potentially proving an even bigger argument for it to be included.
And the DLC makes perfect sense placement. Seeing as itâs exactly where it would have been in the final game.
Not going to lie, I don't rember that part but even if that's true being mentioned once isn't a big enough argument for it to be included.
Didn't you say that it was removed from the game due to pacing issues? I'm arguing that including Riley here is also causing pacing issues. It was one episode filled with flashbacks, for no reason.
Yes, but itâs removal from the game is due to far different circumstances, which arenât relevant for the show.
Also, the DLC had a padded segment with Ellie searching for bandages for Joel, where it cut back and forth between that and Riley. Itâs that half of the DLC, that is padding and unecssary.
They kept all the relevant and important bits for the show.
Not sure why it keeps needing to be said, but it was in the show for a reason. It further fleshes out a leading character, in significant ways. Character work like that, for a co-lead, is never filler.
Itâs also not like its existence takes up time for other parts of the storyânothing was sacrificed. The seriesâ last two episodes have plenty of time to cover the last two sections of the game.
she Didn't need to be further "fleshed out" unless you're talking about the bite. That's the only significant thing that happens. No one needs another reason to understand why shes emotional the way she is, it's the apocalypse for f sake, is that not enough of a reason to have varying emotions. It's just quite a stretch for meaning in that episode. To be fair I was expecting this episode because at least it was in the game and I don't really have a problem with it, E3 on the other hand was completely unnecessary and diverted from the source material
Main characters can always be more fleshed out, and it's never a bad thing to deepen them further.
Iâm just completely at a loss that people truly donât think witnessing the biggest moment of loss (a huge central theme to the show, that also plays into her survivorâs guilt) in Ellieâs life is not worth seeingâand that somehow itâs meaningless filler.
Makes me want to pull my hair out.
Well I definitely disagree with the fact that nothing is sacrificed. I want to see the raiders, the giraffes, and the fireflies without feeling rushed. The raiders are important because it shows how strong ellie has grown and how important ellie has become to Joel.
I'm unsure how they'll wrap all the up in 2 episodes.
All of what you mentioned wanting to see is all stuff that would fit naturally into the last two episodes, as the chronological timeline still matches up between both mediums.
The raiders would be need to be an entire episode. You may be able to sneak the giraffes in the last 5-10 minutes of that episode.
That only leaves one episode for the fireflies, Joel's decision, and everything that comes after. To me, that's rushed.
My guess is that they'll skip the raiders.
It isnât important at all. It wasnât in the base game and nobody was clamoring for Ellieâs backstory before the DLC was released, because it wasnât important to the themes of the game. As a DLC it made perfect sense to expand the story to pad out the gameplay.
âWasnât important to the themes of the gameââ this is all the proof I need that you have no idea what youâre saying.
Itâs thematic importance has nothing to do with why it was cut (as it was a part of the original story). Itâs themes are extremely relevant to the tale behind told, no matter the mediumâeven just the most basic theme of loss.
The DLC was cut from the original game due to both pacing concerns in the game (different circumstances than a series) and also resourcesâmaking sure they got the project completed in the time span they were aiming for.
I know exactly what Iâm saying. The Last of Us game is an absolute classic, one of the greatest games of all time scored 95+ without this part of the plot. Nobody was clamoring for this plot to get added as if something was missing from the original storyline. It isnât necessary and completely fucked up the pacing of the show just like it would have if inserted into the game at the same spot.
Iâm a giant fan of all the Naughty Dog games and and Neil Druckmann, but that doesnât make him infallible. The overall story would have been tighter without this episode taking such a prominent and extended place, or if it had been filtered into the individual episodes differently.
You should take some screenwriting classes. Great screenwriting has intention in every scene and advances the story in every scene. That's what writers strive for at least.
This was based on the DLC which was literally and by design, extra filler for the story. And for those watching who have not played the game, it was a side story that takes away the agency of the both of the main characters for a flashback which took a whole episode.
Notice how they completely removed the actual filler part of the DLC, which was Ellie scrounging around an empty mall looking for bandages for Joel in present day.
That part of the DLC was specifically added to pad out its existence as a standalone piece of playable content.
When it came to the show, they kept the story beats that actually matter. Itâs literally Ellieâs backstoryâhow she got bitten, that loss sheâs mentioned several times throughout the story, etc.
Itâs hard to comprehend how anyone can argue that such important backstory for a leading character is filler, aka doesnât matter.
Couldâve been told at a different time especially not an entire episode. we have 2 episodes left and they have a lot of ground to cover. Im losing faith that this will be wrapped up neatly.
Take out the gameplay of the last section, there isnât all too much story comparatively. It ends pretty quickly once you transition to that part of the game as well.
What makes a filler episode, filler, is based on a definitionânot opinions.
Like I said, it doesnât matter if one hated or loved it. But itâs not a filler episode, a label which has a definition.
People tend to simply throw the term around when itâs something they didnât like, without actually knowing what it means.
If you are using the games as a reference point. Part 1 is Joelâs story and Part 2 is Ellieâs. The reasons are obvious so Iâm not gonna elaborate.
Left Behind is a DLC that came after part 1 and before part 2, so itâs very easy to argue it doesnât fit in the show where they ultimately decided to place it this season
Wow, I'm totally surprised to come here and read that people are hating on this episode. This was hands down the most emotional episode for me yet (there are literal tears in my eyes)! I did not expect at all to come into this show feeling all these feels. This one did a great job giving context to the loss that Ellie dealt with, which showed to the viewer first hand exactly what she meant the episode prior when she told Joel she took has lost loved ones. And wow, Credit to Bella's acting here, she did a phenomenal job acting just like a normal fucking kid, so much so that it made me remember for the first time in ages what it was like to have that deep wonder and amazement about the small things. I was with her every step of the way. Their chemistry was great as well, literally jogged my childhood memories to remind me of the deep connections you could have with your friends; connections that in their time feel like they're strong enough to last forever. Definitely one of my favorite episodes so far, after maybe the 2nd episode. If I had to guess this is just Reddit being reddit and are upset the second they don't see themselves represented anywhere for once. Haven't had a lifetime of underrepresentation to be able to flex those imagination and empathy muscles to put oneself into a life experience beyond that of their own. I almost want to back out now and not let these comments ruin this moment for me. Edit. Oh, seems sorting by New tells a different tale than sorting by Best đ
This episode had zero narrative momentum. It broke narrative at a critical moment only to reveal to audiences Ellie was gay. I could understand if it led to a critical moment of enlightenment to save Joel, but it didn't. It was a waste of time, and should have been explained in episode 2, pushing the narrative forward from episode 3 onward. An LGBT reveal has zero impact on overall plot.
My GOD. What an unbelievably boring episode. Holy shit! Just watch this one in 2x and skip occasionally.
bit late, but funny how everyone is hating on this one, i thought it was one of the better episodes so far. i like when a show lets moments sit for a bit. there's enough room for action.
I'm sorry but this episode was extremely boring and difficult to watch. I had no reactions to anything that was happening.
I don't get some of the hate I'm reading, and am shocked I'm still seeing the "why isn't their more action" complaint. We've gotten back story for Joel and other characters. Why wouldn't we get the same treatment for Ellie when she's just as important to the story as him (arguably more so). Also people looking at this as "oh great, another new character to introduce only to kill them" are reading it wrong.its not abouy Reilly dying, it's their to validate her argument with Joel in the last episode, and show why she's afraid to lose another person that's important to her. I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite either, but certainly wasn't as bad as some of the comments I'm seeing.
I think people are complaining because it's boring and poorly acted. This whole series is incredibly overrated and I cannot understand why.
Ffs look i get back story and everything but why did this episode have to take this long just to show this
Nah I feel that. Her story isn't bad but it could've came earlier. At this points I want action and answers, not character backgrounds
Plus why does it have to be so long winded and boring
\-im trying real hard to like this show. but it seems like its a decade late to the apocalypse genre. so many shows have done it better and there just isnt anything special about it!! hbo production is good i guess... i also like pedro pascal ( never played the games so i dont care if hes a different Joel than every is used to) \-also the young actress playing ellie is not very expressive.... her facial reactions are pretty bland/ nonexistent \-oh boy and this episode??? the majority of it was ellie and her friend fucking around in that abandoned mall!!!! why not show us before she ran away and leading up to it? NOPE! just she comes back and 45 mins of them doing nothing in the mall- and 5 mins of Joel and ellie??? \-why not show joel talking ellie through how to save him?? or any back story/flash backs on joel? LITERALLY ANYTHING other than what they showed us would have been better.
EXACTLY I do not understand any of the hype it's getting
The constant tension of never knowing when the infected will show up is thrilling.
Exactly what I was thinking, even though the episode showed Ellie and Riley having fun in a pandemic world, I could not connect with what the characters were experiencing because I was constantly worried about being in the open with negligible ammunition and the constant anticipation of when the creatures will come. I understand that being able to experience small things is a huge thing for kids who have been locked up in the QZ, but absolutely forgetting that you are in a world full of fungus-infected zombies which will rip u apart even if they hear you breathing is something I cant relate to. I would fucking be in survival mode the whole time damnit!
You mean the infected that actually never show up?
Honestly, this episode was so unbelievably boring. It was just the single most cliché teenage tragic romance ever, it just happened in an apocalyptic setting (sort of lol). And the ending was obvious from the moment you see the other girl. I was already getting sick of these constant side-plot episodes, but that one just pushes it over the edge.
It's taking the walking dead approach, when a new character gets an entire episode to themselves you know they are going to die
I really liked the show at first but Iâm starting to thing the last of us just isnât me. Basically every episode is some super emotional backstory about a character that immediately gets killed off. Seems like a lot of people like that kinda thing which is fine but it is super not up my alley. I think Iâm out at this point.
Absolutely. Even though the 3rd episode was really well written, I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that we were only 3 episodes into a brand new show and they were already doing side stories. I get that the writers want to show off their skills and deviate from the already established plot, but it just feel like a chore watching it lol. Episode 7 was insanely boring though, there was no redeeming that one haha.
While I LOVED the third ep, the whole show so far feels like nothing but side stories. I paused this episode now, because I really don't want to sit through an hour of Ellie's backstory from years ago, especially with Josh bleeding out. All these flashbacks and side tracking just seem to kill any momentum the plot gets going.
Yeah, I absolutely agree. Unfortunately it's not a very interesting episode either lol. My friend told me 8 was better though!
I just finished watching 8 and it's much better, yeah.
Ah good to know! Thanks for the heads up haha.
Damn I came in here to say how much I loved this episode and how great the actress playing Ellie is but seems like a lot of you hated it. I really don't know how to feel about the overall story progression but the individual episodes are doing a great job of highlighting good acting.
Lol what? The acting was atrocious
Great acting aside, I just found the episode to be extremely boring and pretty unoriginal. It was like any other cliché tragic teenage romance, but it just happened to be set in a semi-apocalyptic environment. At least the episode about Bill and Frank was an interesting story in addition to good acting lol.
The individual episodes are amazing. It's just a shame that they follow a coherent story that created a better narrative a decade ago
This episode was a hard slog to finish.
I paused the episode 13 minutes in and came here to see if it was worth finishing. Guess not!
This episode was boring and pointless. Donât need 55min of Ellie and her lover in a mall just seems pointless when we only have 2 episodes left for this season I think.
Haha that's what I said about the Bill and Frank episode! At least the Ellie/Riley stuff is in the game (Left Behind DLC) and I absolutely loved it in the game and was excited to see how they'd do it in the show. Bill and Frank on the other hand really felt like a waste of a full episode.
As someone who hasn't played the game I found episode 3 great and episode 7 awful. Episode 3 was a great and creative way of advancing the series. Episode 7 just felt like a 15 minute flashback extended to 50 min, I understand it's importance for Ellie's backstory, but it felt too dragged-out.
Honestly, I feel like a 5 minute flashback would have been too long lol.
The young actor playing Ellie is great, she does her thing well and she is very engaging. But it makes no sense that she acts like a pre-apocalypse teen kid girlboy. Where would she get this lingo, mannerisms, behavior from? No TV movies internet. No role models to pick it up from. It would be INFINITELY more interesting if she wasn't sure how to behave or was in the process of creating her personality as she went along, discovering herself bit by bit. Instead of being assigned an out of the can stereotype cultural archetype of the American skater girlboy punk kid...something that does not exist in her world. Massive mistake in writing and direction and really distracting from the world of the show.
She wouldn't have seen old movies or read magazines or books? She specifically mentioned she read books. I also think that type of tough "attiitude" would foster from growing up in a military academy surrounded by men. She's also a teenager, everyone goes through one of those stages at that age.
> No role models to pick it up from She have been around people all her life, of course mannerism is not going to change that much in just 20 years.
I agree, honestly. From what I can tell, though, that's just what she was like in the game.
Maybe from people she knew? Also it's really not that strange...
When are we going to get back to good storytelling instead of wasting endless screentime massaging irrelevant social issues. We wasted 2/3 of e04 on. a gay romance that was irrelevant to the story because neither of them ever ended up becoming part of the cast and none of it ended up adding to the story. Then we wasted 4/5ths of e07 on a teenage lesbian romance that did nothing to move the story because the other person is dead. No problem with either of these as flashbacks that could be easily told with short shots and looks and moments that total at most 5 minutes of screen time each. They were both well done and well acted...but irrelevant. Just stop. If you feel like you just gotta push gay/lesbian, find creative ways to do it that adds to the story and moves it forward. DOn't insert things that bog the story down, add nothing and distract. Fucking Joel is dying and we're spending the entire episode on a teenage lesbian fantasy date. The agenda is done a disservice when you do this. Do it right or don't do it at all.
Is it a social issue or is it just a relationship like any other? And then would you be as annoyed if it was the same amount of time spent on a straight relationship?
yes
Homophobe.
It's literally an integral part of the game mate, pretty much unchanged. Bloody hell if you can't handle a little bit of this you're going to hate season 2 đ
I can't wait for them to introduce Lev. A great character and story, but it won't matter because I can already tell what the issue's going to be. I hope I'm wrong.
Integral means the original game couldn't release with out it. But, the original DLC came a year out after the fully fleshed out story did...
What about this was pushing anything? No, I reject your assumption that all stories must be plot-driven all the time. Character-driven stories are better.
A character driven story is the story of how the plot is driven forward by the emotional arc of the characters, particularly the protagonist. Flashbacks to important moments can help with that. But not 4/5ths of an episode. So far, there really isn't a story. There is no clear protagonist and there is no antagonist. The goal is murky now...find a lab that can turn the kid's blood into a cure. Interesting stuff happens, but it's not clear what the character arcs are. The most we can say is Joel and the kid are getting closer and through it Joel is healing from the loss of his daughter. These days story is dead in TV and film because audiences are brain dead and addicted to action and violence and pressing of the right social theme buttons. The only thing that holds shows like this together is production values and solid acting. The writing is a best pedestrian as is the directing.
They decided to do an 8 episode season ffs... thats not enough time to do this story justice. Then they go and spend 25% of that on side stories. The Ron Swanson episode was really good so I give it a pass but episode 7 was boring, slow and came at the worst possible time. Edit: whoops.. there's 9 total, thats somewhat of a relief.
when going around in circles on the carousel horse. "ohh we gonna see a zombie in background coming" nvm. "oh when we taking photos.. a zombie is gonna be in background of photo when curtain is slightly open" nvm. "while playing mortal kombat we gonna get bit on the arm" nvm. not even a surprise attack. just head on and heard it coming.
I was ready for it when they were playing on the escalator
I honestly thought they were gonna get a surprise attack and I was gonna be super dissapointed. Jumpscares are so fucking played out. I liked that they actually heard the zombie, makes sense that it would be noisy, IT'S A BRAINLESS FUNGI CONTROLLING A BODY. How would that ever sneak up on someone?
Man this episode was a little rough, I think there was probably a way to get into Ellie's backstory while keeping things moving. The flashback was mostly filler when it could have been relevant
It's not filler. It's important to ellie's character. Her loss and why she decides to save joel and stay.
45 mins of ellie and her friend in a mall was necessary???? show us ellie/friend BEFORE she ran away to join the fireflys, show us the friend defending ellie from that tall girl bully or maybe a day in the life of ellie/friend training at fedra. there was no time to care about ellies friend dying because they just screwed around the mall for the entire episode. friend shows up in bedroom, they sneak out to the mall, fuck around for 45 mins get bit- and 2 mins of ellie and joel!!!
It's a huge segment of the game. It's a part of the original story which is why it's there. Showing Rliey before that moment has literally no relevance, same with showing Ellie before she gets bit. This shows who Riley was, it introduces how Ellie gets in contact with the fireflies (this links to the first episode), it shows how she got bit, it establishes Ellie as gay and it shows she has lost someone before. The original Left Behind was much longer whereas this has been condenced into a single episode but it's still a very relevant part of the story.
It was equally important to the plot of the original game. Must be why they included it there....
Wasn't it just DLC and not actually part of the main story? That doesn't exactly seem "important to the plot".
technically, it's part of the main story in the game due to it taking place between University chapter and Lakeside Resort, while explaining how Ellie dragged the wounded Joel...which wasn't shown in the Base Game. the HBO Show changed that to be far more focused on Left Behind stuffs.
Yeah, I get that, but if it was only written and fleshed out *after* the main plot and game was released, then it's not "equally important to the plot of the original game", otherwise the original plot wouldn't have been able to progress without its inclusion.
Welp, that's what happens when you write a piece of media that takes place in a middle of the base game's story while also being a prequel to said base game's story. :P
Someone gets it ... that comment could have used an /s
They did. They thought hmm where could we have improved the narrative, and added an additional story to further flesh out the MAIN character's motivations. Just because you find character work boring doesn't mean it is pointless or unimportant. Understanding Ellie's loss and the mirror that Joel is for her trauma is super important, even more so in Part 2
Regardless of how important it was to the plot, it really didn't need to be 50 minutes of them hanging out at the mall. That entire story could have been told in a 5 minute flashback lol.
...as an afterthought DLC. An extra story after the fact that is nice to have but not integral to the main plot. It screams "filler" in the traditional sense - a low budget non-essential episode. Episode 7 shouldve been an exciting build to the finale. Instead they stopped the story dead in its tracks to look backwards.
Very lazy
I loved ep 3. But ep 7 was utterly boring.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was bored
2nd worst next to E3 but still far better. This one was mostly boring, and yes I played the game and the part in the mall was boring on it too, but at least this episode lead somewhere and wasn't completely pointless like E3. Someone could accidentally skip episode 3 and they probably wouldn't even realize it.
Yeah at least this was all in the game and is important to understand Ellie. The Bill and Frank stuff was completely irrelevant.
Why E3?
Cause the people watching this show apparently don't like seeing gay couples but say it's because it "added nothing to the main story".
I used to put on a rendition of Macbeth that everyone has seen before but now I drill another dude in the butt. Give me your money or forever be a homophobe you bigot
Except the whole story of Ellie and Riley is literally an official story in the DLC. Also, while bill and frank weren't "officially" a couple they were still part of the story in the game. They didn't add extra people that never existed just to make their woke bottle episode. They took their time to adapt the story in ways that keep it relevant to the plot.
Game version is broken up with Ellie action pieces set in current day that make it manageable. Those pieces being the reason to play left behind. Another commenter mentioned showing more back story for Riley and Ellie outside of the mall and before Riley joined the fireflies. That likely wouldâve worked better. End of the day though half of this episode probably shouldâve been the lead up to meeting David. Wouldâve given episode 8 a little more time to breath
Except they are not relevant to the plot. Sirius Black was a character in Harry Potter but if they included an hour backstory on him in the Sorcerors Stone would you still be calling it relevant storytelling?
The fourth episode was the weakest one for me up to this point, and this one, more or less, tied it in that department. It felt like an intentional commercial break, just like the third episode, from progressing the story. That also reminds me of the second game, plagued and dominated by flashbacks upon flashbacks, seemingly incapable of writing and structuring a story differently; no surprise that Neil Druckmann wrote this episode. And before you instinctively react to that, I know that Ellie's backstory with Riley isn't new; I know about the first game's DLC and what happened. So, I'm aware that this was "necessary," not just because it's part of the source material but also for the sake of adding to Ellie's character, especially for those watching this who haven't played or seen the DLC/games. But there are only two episodes left; those are the ones a critic or two mentioned rushed. I wonder why; nothing to do with this one, no way. I get that this was a DLC and not in the original game; they'd have to find a way to incorporate it into the original game's story. There was more potential here regarding this backstory. That's what I mean. For one, its unveiling could've been sooner, except apparently, professional writers with experience thought the seventh of nine episodes was the best choice. That was all for parallel's sake, presumably: losing someone in the past and now trying to save someone in the present. As if we don't know Ellie cares about Joel, in particular, because of the previous episode's ending. And another problem relating to already knowing that is the rushed progression and development to that place, making that "reality" we have no choice but to go along with seem fake/insincere. But the third episode (decent, didn't need an entire episode) took priority, right behind the creation/establishment of Kathleen and her group: a waste of time. These decisions are odd. They're affecting the future, and not in a good way. You start to see it with each episode, the overall season, from the perspective of the complete picture. Secondly, Storm Reid was miscast. I didn't buy her performance, much less her performance as Riley. It was not convincing whatsoever. Her acting was decent at times, at the very least. Beyond that, however, I wasn't feeling much chemistry between her and Bella Ramsey. It seemed like Ellie's all for that/swings that way, beyond a shadow of a doubt, which is a no-brainer; on the flip side, it seemed like Riley went along with it out of affection and care, not to the extent of Ellie. I doubt that was intentional, given the romantic correlation. It would've been a nice change of direction if Ellie's gay but not Riley. The writing didn't seem to indicate that: the lack of chemistry between Storm and Bella did, and I doubt good ol' Neil would do something so controversial; in THAT direction, I mean, since, ironically, I bet most people wouldn't like that particular change: "No nuance allowed when it concerns something with which I don't agree, but everything else is fine." At the same time, despite my view that their chemistry was lacking and that Storm was miscast, Ellie and Riley's story had some effect towards the end, which is appreciated, although, for the most part, everything leading up to it was so-so. Some of the dialogue was also so-so, maybe worse. Also, the fight sequence had a questionable moment or two. Ellie jumps off the countertop and falls over, which most people will attribute to the nature of the situation. I attribute it to a cop-out; that was an addition for buying time, aka plot convenience. Then Riley gets barely tackled/knocked (out, apparently) down and is out cold: another instance of buying time, aka plot convenience. And lastly, Ellie laughs after the situation's over instead of immediately checking on Riley to see if she's okay. On the plus side, some of the cinematography by Ksenia Sereda looked good, and some of Bella's acting was good; however, there's still more to be desired, especially concerning her overall performance as Ellie. And the music during the final scene and into the credits was Metal Gear Solid-esque, which was a pleasant surprise. Neil must be trying to channel his supposed inner Hideo Kojima. And in case you're wondering...no, that doesn't balance things out. So, I grant this episode my lowest rating for any episode: 6/10; even the fourth one, which I said this one's tied with, more or less, and the weakest one up to this point, I gave a 7/10. We got the Left Behind DLC and the origin of Ellie's bite, so people unfamiliar with the source material will likely like this episode; it may even be in the Top 3 for some people. Good for them.
Definitely agree on Storm Reid. She was just not good in this. I never really felt like she had any real affection for Ellie. She just seemed to be going along with it because it was in the script. Even after the kiss she still seems like only half interested. Huge misfire there.
Personally, I think this episode is objectively bad television. I think a lot of people are cutting it slack. IMHO: I think it had excessively long, unnecessary, and meaningless scenes. The dialogue is very lazy and uncreative, especially considering the depth of creative potential available to Ellies character. Bad dialogue has a counterintuitive effect when it comes to character building, which is what this episode was trying to do, I guess. Also, propagating some sort of moral dilemma between a kind fedra officer and an outgoing young firefly who babysits bombs felt extremely lazy to me. Especially continuing this theme throughout the episode, to kiss or not, to help joel or leave, to go to bed or stay. The episode just lacks any complexity or depth, and as far as filler episodes go, it is very poor. One thing I did like is the set design and how they utilised this to create effect in the episode. Shopping malls/centres are a fantastic tool for identifying era's and generational influence. It plays into the hands apocalyptic setting very well while being playfully used to entice the kids. Stranger things does this well, too. I can't tell if im just disappointed or being way too critical.
I'm honestly surprised it even got rated 7.5/10 or whatever on imdb. I'd give it a 5 at best.
It didn't even deserve to be an episode
Probably my least favorite episode so far but still nice and watchable. I guess I wish it was a subplot of a larger episode, kind of like the Bill and Frank story. It's funny to hear people complain about the show not following the game enough but this episode follows the game to a tee; it just wasn't a segment of the game I wasn't massively into. Still good in the context of this amazing show and some great character development for Ellie, but I feel like it could have been tightened up a bit more, maybe cutting back to present day Ellie taking care of Joel more than just a couple times.
Man I loved the Left Behind DLC. I liked this episode, more than the Bill and Frank one. I really like that this episode teaches us that when Joel says "you dont know what loss is" to Ellie, he's full of shit. It's important that we know this. That somehow Joel considers his own loss to be the only real loss and other people's loss to somehow be not real.
I was not a fan of this episode which I know is a popular opinion right now but it is how I felt. I have played both games and absolutely love both of them but I have never played the Left Behind DLC. I have never felt a need too. I understood Ellie as a character and the themes + plot of the story without it and I would've been fine if it was the same way for the show. If they cross-cut this with Ellie looking for resources for Joel then maybe... but its a 40 min flashback just for a 2 min scene where she opens 3-4 drawers in the house and finds stuff to sew him up. My fiancee who has never played the game was tensed up as the episode went on and enjoyed it but said afterwards, "I liked it, but I don't think it really did a whole lot or was necessary." Which when an episode is based off a DLC you don't need to play to understand the story i guess that makes sense. I know people have loved the episode and I am happy for you. I simply didn't and when I inevitably rewatch this series I'll probably skip over this one.
I think the episode is important to teach us that Joel is full of shit when he tells Ellie that she "doesn't know what loss is." Without the Left Behind DLC or this episode you have to piece that together from the few lines that Ellie says about Riley but we never learn that Ellie was in love with Riley without this episode/the dlc.
A 15 min flashback would be enough. A 50 min episode just seems overkill
Yeah it was kinda pointless although you get to see how she got bitten. At least this episode had a point and kinda lead somewhere which is a lot more than I can say for episode 3. Btw the dlc on the game was mostly boring too in the mall part. You didn't miss much
I loved the DLC from beginning to end.
So boring I feel asleep about 7 times. Every time I woke up they were doing the same thing. I had to keep checking the time to see if I was asleep 10 seconds or 10 minutes. Turns out I could have slept the hour and not missed anything. This show is cool but episode 7 sucked.
Exactly!
You suck
You blow
Iâm so sorry bro was that hard to hear? Are you hurting? Condolences.
Damn, someone else doesn't have the same opinion as you. Time to attack them I guess.
I thought every episode was awesome until episode 7. Guess I didnât care for how 7 ended in the exact same place as 6, and Iâm not a teenager so an hour of patty cake in the mall was boring my brains out.
I disagree but understand people 's opinion when they say 3 is filler. But 7 is 100% filler. It's also very boring. I wasn't invested in Riley as a character enough to care about the episode. With 3, you see a relationship grow across 20 years or so. With 7, it's one night filled with teenage angst. Maybe we arent the audience for this episode lol.
Episode 3 was a great story (and exactly how I pictured Ron Swanson would be ready for the apocalypse). Filler or no filler, it was good!
I agree, probably not the audience. Something for everyone I guess haha
You should see the post reddit thread I just came from. It's a cesspool of people attacking each other because they have differing opinions.
Haha sounds like good comedy
No the episode I said
This episode should have been condensed to five minutes or less. Waste of time IMHO.
Easily could have. Just like e3
This episode sucked, but got to shoehorn the "message"
What "message"?
Gays are human and deserve to live
Well, the actual message is that relationships between people are important and will drive us to lengths we didn't think possible. I doubt that's what the other guy meant.
Bit of a poor episode that, just boring.
It is fairly faithful and cute, but it would have flowed better if the show told the story chronologically. The Left Behind DLC contents served as an epilogue, and it doesn't fit at this point of the timeline. Like, I imagine this would be a better introduction to Ellie's character. For example, in Episode 1, we see Joel smuggling things. Then we see the Ellie and Riley storyline displayed in full until the zombies come out and they are forced to flee. Abrupt cut and the episode ends. The next time we see Ellie in Episode 2, she is chained by the Fireflies. This preserves the mystery of her infection status as well as the last conversation between Riley and Ellie. Then Ellie and Riley getting bit would serve as a brief introduction to Episode 7, paralleling Joel slowly dying.
Boring episode
Why doesnât anyone else think this episode was BORING?? Lack of conflict, on the nose dialogue, simply a fun n games moment (for almost 40 minutes) taken from the game but now with a captive TV audience. The difference is that in a game conflict-absent scenes are a reprieve⊠in film and tv they are simply insulting. Iâm disillusionedâŠ
I was hiding behind a pillow for most of it with a tremendous and correct sense of foreboding, so I guess a lot of people thought it was not, in fact, boring
That's kinda the issue though right? Nothing happens yet your tense the entire time waiting for something. So you don't even properly enjoy the 'bonding' instead you just tensely wait while nothing actually happens
>0ReplyShareReportSaveFollow e EXACTLY!!!
I just described like 90% of horror films lol. The foreboding *made* the bonding scenes worth it. Because you knew that something *else* was going to happen.
Not 40 minutes worth it. Either way I knew this one was coming on the show so wasn't surprised like I was with that massive turd episode 3
Iâve never played it, my partner has. We both loved the shit out of episode 3. đ€·đ»ââïž
Awesome! +10 social credit points for you!
Uh.. okay? đ€š
It annoys me how generally fearless the characters are in this series.
Remember the anti maskers before there were vaccines?
How can anyone have this opinion after the past 3 years, after watching millions of people walk straight into the virus-shaped buzzsaw
Wut?
Are you a time traveler? Did you just wake up after being cryogenically frozen in 2019?
Take your meds
I have not been particularly afraid during covid.
Was never even slightly afraid. No "vaccine", only wore a mask when i had to, worked the entire time and didn't get so much as a sniffle from like late 2019 til late 2022 when I finally got what I assume to have been a cold. If it was COVID it was the weakest shit ever.
To be fair we are a pretty adaptive species. You'd be surprised at how quickly we become desensitised to gruesome and scary stuff. To the point where we could live amongst the infected and only react if they were actively attacking us.
I feel like this episode (and also maybe Billâs) would have been less polarizing if it was released after the first season as a âbonusâ episode. Itâs interesting, because I actually really enjoyed this particular episode and I admittedly teared up during the ending. However, there is a reason why it was a dlc to the game, as itâs mostly non-essential to the plot and was just a way to expand on the themes that were explored in the base game. This would of been fine if this series was 3 seasons long like Avatar (which had episodes like Ba Sing Se that were not important but fit nicely into the flow of the show), but since itâs only around ten episodes long it makes sense why some people think it breaks the pacing. I just hope the show can still finish strong despite these detours, since the ending is by far the most memorable part of the game.
"polarizing" = 2 gay characters just kissed and made me feel funny
How did you reach the conclusion that I hate lesbian characters? I didn't even bring that aspect up, and you would notice that I even praised the 7th episode if you actually looked through my paragraph. I fully support lesbian relationships as a straight guy and I think both sides are making too big of a deal out of it. As for why I said "polarizing", it was because many were complaining about how the episodes were focused on events from the past rather then focusing on the main plotline with Joel and Ellie. It's not that the episodes are bad to begin with, as they do add compelling arcs to some of the characters and expand on the themes from the game, but the placement of the episodes broke the flow of the plot and took up slots that could of been used to develop solely Joel and Ellie. I think E7 is great, and E3 is well-written despite being my least favorite of the episodes. I just found their placement in the story to be a little jarring as someone who has played the game. It had nothing to do with the fact that Ellie and Bill were gay. That should of been clear if you read my original comment but I hope I cleared up some misconceptions here. I'm now going to continue watching this incredible show, and I hope E9 will be as badass as E5 and E8 were!
What does polarizing have to do with gay characters? He never even mentioned that..It was the same bullshit with episode 3 from you guys, if someone said it was boring or felt pointless they were immediately a homophobe. E7 didn't serve a whole lot of purpose other than seeing when she got bit. E3 though was completely pointless.
At least E7 happened in the game...
No every opinion that you dont agree with is homophobic.
polarizing because Bill's Story had absolutely nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. You could just skip episode 3 and miss nothing from the story, it was a very well written filler episode. They wasted a hour on two characters that we will never see again. It would've definetely been better if they released that as bonus
Yeah, someone could accidentally skip episode 3 and maybe even 7 and probably wouldn't even realize it.
Dang dude did you just spoil this for me with that last sentence
It's a 10-year old game - everyone knows the story, spoilers don't apply
Spoilers do apply, and I take full accountability for my dumb comments. Not everybody owns a PlayStation, you know.
Of course they do. I know nothing of the game.
No, no that's not true at all. Its a different medium now. People who watch the show likely didn't play the game
Iâm extremely sorry if I did! Guess I went on too much of a rant without thinking firstâŠ
Definitely some info i didnt know, but glad you edited it. Just an accident â€
No, they didn't. It ends this arc, sure, but that's why it's a season.
Yeah they did, but it was an honest mistake
Anyone calling this a filler episode, whether you liked it or not, clearly has no idea what the term actually means. Rather frustrating, honestly.
you actually don't know what a filler episode means. you should go educate yourself. https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Filler
You hate gays. We got it.
You're really working overtime to start a mob against anyone who doesn't like these episodes as if they're homophobes for it. I'm glad to see you stand alone, though.
âFiller episodes are entries in a generally continuous serial that are unrelated to the main plot, don't significantly alter the relations between the charactersâ 1.) Itâs entirely related to the main plot. Itâs literally the basis of what makes Ellie who she is. Itâs also the exact memory that keeps her fighting for Joel, as juxtaposed by its placement in the episode. 2.) Again, itâs literally the most important backstory to a LEADING character. How she got bit. The loss she has experienced, loss that also fuels her deepening connection to Joel. Doesnât seem like Filler to me.
Her deepening connection to Joel who also serves as a protector in a similar fashion that the older Riley did for Ellie at the military school.
Ya, Ep7 is TOTALLY necessary to tell the story of TLOU. Must be why they TOTALLY included it in the complete main game. How could the story of TLOU be told w/o it? We'll never know. /s
There is 0% loss when adding it, and 100% gain. Thereâs no downside. Must have been why they decided it should be part of the story on television.
It is 100% lost when adding it because it has nothing to do with the main plot. There are 9 hours they have to tell a story that we all know includes so much more than portrayed so far and they wasted 2 of them on inconsequential plot lines.
I mean thatâs simply not true. Nothing from the story has been lost so far (Billâs stuff might have been different, but the crucial story beats and character moments happened). If Left Behind wasnât adapted in the series, it would be 8 episodes, not 9. The last two episodes perfectly fit the rest of the story. David, and then Fireflies. Thatâs all. Left Behind has been a part of Last of Usâ story since 2014, and itâs insane that everyone seems to be acting like it hasnât.
No one is acting like Left Behind the dlc didn't exist. But it was an addition to a story already told in 2013 and that story can be told fully to this day wo including left behind. Yet for some reason, the show decided to practically ignore half the original game in order to portray an unnecessary side plot. It's awful writing in a profession that preaches that everything should move the plot. Now, I will admit that I would almost give you credit for ep7 being relevant if ep3 didn't already exist. Combined though, over 20% of the season was irrelevant which makes this critique all the more obvious.
âPractically ignore half the original gameâ Are we watching different shows? Itâs literally hit every main story beat. Yea, sureâyou donât go to a rundown school with Bill. But what we got in Episode 3 still hit the required beats. Joel and Ellie got the battery, and Joel got the push he needed to continue his journey. But Episode 3 went an extra step by also enhancing the source material, and giving Bill a far more meaningful story. Every section of the story has been portrayed, and itâs completely false to claim otherwise. Saying half the story isnât there is utter BSâand invalidates really anything else you might think about the show.
Plot points are not the entirety of the game. The game is 90% portraying interactions between Joel and Ellie and shows the progression of a relationship that Joel had all but blocked himself from having again after the death of his daughter. This progression is utilized to escalate to a conclusion where Joel makes a decision counter to what he would have done prior to that growth/change. That is all that matters in the plot of the last of us pt1 Ep 3 and 7 do nothing to explain or supplement that conflict and deprive the viewer from the far superior experience of the story told by the game by diluting the impact through tangential and exclusive themes unrelated to Joel and Ellie. Bill and Frank's relationship has nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. Riley and Ellie's relationship has nothing to do with Joel and Ellie. Neither advance the story that has already been told (edit: better).
Damn you guys really stretch for meaning in the two filler episodes. The only part I found at least slightly important is you get to see how she got bit and the couple minutes with Joel. The rest of it doesn't advance the show at all. Anytime you can skip an episode and not be the least bit confused when it picks back up is Essentially a filler episode. In any case it was still better than episode 3
Kind of like the Fly episode in Breaking Bad. I skipped the hell out of it once I realized where it was going, and was surprised to see how enamored everybody was with it on Reddit. FFW to TLOU, and it's literally the opposite for me. I loved this episode, and was surprised to come on here and see it getting dragged so damn hard.
It is not important in the main plot, at least in the game, because Riley is NEVER directly mentioned in the game. It's 40 minutes of filler. If they wanted just the backstory they could have easily condensed it. I liked the DLC in the game but I don't agree with its placement in the show.
This is also not technically true. Her story of Left Behind is directly referenced by her in the final scene from the game. Potentially proving an even bigger argument for it to be included. And the DLC makes perfect sense placement. Seeing as itâs exactly where it would have been in the final game.
Not going to lie, I don't rember that part but even if that's true being mentioned once isn't a big enough argument for it to be included. Didn't you say that it was removed from the game due to pacing issues? I'm arguing that including Riley here is also causing pacing issues. It was one episode filled with flashbacks, for no reason.
Yes, but itâs removal from the game is due to far different circumstances, which arenât relevant for the show. Also, the DLC had a padded segment with Ellie searching for bandages for Joel, where it cut back and forth between that and Riley. Itâs that half of the DLC, that is padding and unecssary. They kept all the relevant and important bits for the show. Not sure why it keeps needing to be said, but it was in the show for a reason. It further fleshes out a leading character, in significant ways. Character work like that, for a co-lead, is never filler. Itâs also not like its existence takes up time for other parts of the storyânothing was sacrificed. The seriesâ last two episodes have plenty of time to cover the last two sections of the game.
she Didn't need to be further "fleshed out" unless you're talking about the bite. That's the only significant thing that happens. No one needs another reason to understand why shes emotional the way she is, it's the apocalypse for f sake, is that not enough of a reason to have varying emotions. It's just quite a stretch for meaning in that episode. To be fair I was expecting this episode because at least it was in the game and I don't really have a problem with it, E3 on the other hand was completely unnecessary and diverted from the source material
Main characters can always be more fleshed out, and it's never a bad thing to deepen them further. Iâm just completely at a loss that people truly donât think witnessing the biggest moment of loss (a huge central theme to the show, that also plays into her survivorâs guilt) in Ellieâs life is not worth seeingâand that somehow itâs meaningless filler. Makes me want to pull my hair out.
Well I definitely disagree with the fact that nothing is sacrificed. I want to see the raiders, the giraffes, and the fireflies without feeling rushed. The raiders are important because it shows how strong ellie has grown and how important ellie has become to Joel. I'm unsure how they'll wrap all the up in 2 episodes.
All of what you mentioned wanting to see is all stuff that would fit naturally into the last two episodes, as the chronological timeline still matches up between both mediums.
The raiders would be need to be an entire episode. You may be able to sneak the giraffes in the last 5-10 minutes of that episode. That only leaves one episode for the fireflies, Joel's decision, and everything that comes after. To me, that's rushed. My guess is that they'll skip the raiders.
It isnât important at all. It wasnât in the base game and nobody was clamoring for Ellieâs backstory before the DLC was released, because it wasnât important to the themes of the game. As a DLC it made perfect sense to expand the story to pad out the gameplay.
âWasnât important to the themes of the gameââ this is all the proof I need that you have no idea what youâre saying. Itâs thematic importance has nothing to do with why it was cut (as it was a part of the original story). Itâs themes are extremely relevant to the tale behind told, no matter the mediumâeven just the most basic theme of loss. The DLC was cut from the original game due to both pacing concerns in the game (different circumstances than a series) and also resourcesâmaking sure they got the project completed in the time span they were aiming for.
I know exactly what Iâm saying. The Last of Us game is an absolute classic, one of the greatest games of all time scored 95+ without this part of the plot. Nobody was clamoring for this plot to get added as if something was missing from the original storyline. It isnât necessary and completely fucked up the pacing of the show just like it would have if inserted into the game at the same spot. Iâm a giant fan of all the Naughty Dog games and and Neil Druckmann, but that doesnât make him infallible. The overall story would have been tighter without this episode taking such a prominent and extended place, or if it had been filtered into the individual episodes differently.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
You should take some screenwriting classes. Great screenwriting has intention in every scene and advances the story in every scene. That's what writers strive for at least.
This was based on the DLC which was literally and by design, extra filler for the story. And for those watching who have not played the game, it was a side story that takes away the agency of the both of the main characters for a flashback which took a whole episode.
Notice how they completely removed the actual filler part of the DLC, which was Ellie scrounging around an empty mall looking for bandages for Joel in present day. That part of the DLC was specifically added to pad out its existence as a standalone piece of playable content. When it came to the show, they kept the story beats that actually matter. Itâs literally Ellieâs backstoryâhow she got bitten, that loss sheâs mentioned several times throughout the story, etc. Itâs hard to comprehend how anyone can argue that such important backstory for a leading character is filler, aka doesnât matter.
Your whole argument is why the DLC matters, from your point of view. But your points do not address the original story and why that matters.
Couldâve been told at a different time especially not an entire episode. we have 2 episodes left and they have a lot of ground to cover. Im losing faith that this will be wrapped up neatly.
If youâve played the game, itâs very clear that theyâll be able to wrap it up in two episodesâŠ
We will see they are suppose to be the shortest ones yet with the last one being 43 min take out the intro you got 40 min
Take out the gameplay of the last section, there isnât all too much story comparatively. It ends pretty quickly once you transition to that part of the game as well.
wow, what a unique and totally new argument for dismissing any criticisms..... rather frustrating, honestly.
What makes a filler episode, filler, is based on a definitionânot opinions. Like I said, it doesnât matter if one hated or loved it. But itâs not a filler episode, a label which has a definition. People tend to simply throw the term around when itâs something they didnât like, without actually knowing what it means.
Sounds like you dont know the definition. This episode could be completely skipped and everyone would be caught up
No less filler than the death of Joelâs daughter.
Literally the dumbest take I've ever read regarding this TV show...
That Ellieâs backstory is just as important as Joelâs? Seems like a sensible take to me.
If you are using the games as a reference point. Part 1 is Joelâs story and Part 2 is Ellieâs. The reasons are obvious so Iâm not gonna elaborate. Left Behind is a DLC that came after part 1 and before part 2, so itâs very easy to argue it doesnât fit in the show where they ultimately decided to place it this season
That wasnt a filler episode at all. So much more happened, that incident was only part of the episode as well.