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Chris's avatar

I liked this episode, too. Everyone is complaining about the lack of subtext and changes but I really don’t mind, we already have a visual version of TLOU lol, a clone of the game would be pointless.

I def think the Abby confrontation and Owen are happening next episode. I’m glad we are getting more of the Ellie and Jesse action from the game as I loved those sequences, they were really intense!

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Matt Erspamer's avatar

Haha yeah, I don’t think Last of Us (in game or show form) is really trying for narrative subtlety… maybe nuanced, subtle characterizations within the narrative, but the story is very much a blunt, miserabilist melodrama

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Stephen's avatar

I really liked this episode! I’ve seen some criticism of the porch scene faltering in its conflation with the game’s Salt Lake flashback, which I totally agree with… but it still had me tearing up. And the museum scene was perfect, but that’s mainly because it’s practically shot-for-shot. On the whole, though, every episode of this season has me picking up my controller to play the game again, which I think says it all.

I’m really surprised at how much they have NOT really messed with the game’s structure, so I think it’ll end with the same moment the game ends Ellie’s Day Three. Which will be a rough cliffhanger for new fans.

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Matt Erspamer's avatar

I agree about the ending point! Seems like a good spot, though I wonder if it will end sooner so they can hop back and forth between Ellie and Abby in season 3. I guess it just depends on if they want to lean into having Dever take over the lead role or keep Ramsey in play.

And I will likely replay both games in between this season and the next haha

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Stephen's avatar

Sure, I could see them maybe having the climax be finding Tommy and maybe running into Isaac or something? I guess saving Mel and Owen for s2 would allow for some of the more visceral Ellie moments to hit a little harder—they’ve really pulled a lot of Ellie’s punches this season (though I thought they did a great job with the Nora scene).

I am a bit worried about Abby. Abby seems to be the biggest area of obvious surrender to/fear of the worst of the fanbase so far. Deaver is great, but I’m worried they’ve chosen to water Abby down too much. Feels like Mazin is really sensitive to character likability.

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Matt Erspamer's avatar

I think we’ll know fairly early on in season 3 what direction they decide to go with Abby. It’s hard to know based on her limited screen time so far, but I hope it’s a straightforward rendering of the game character.

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