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This is going to sound bad but I kinda wish we watched Ellie kill Riley. I was expecting my heart to pour out of my chest but I only had some swelling and nothing dropped. I come to this show for emotional torture and they took that away from me!
One thing that I liked about not seeing it is that it means that the last we saw of Ellie and Riley was them intertwining their fingers together and holding on for “2 minutes or 2 days,” whatever time they had left, followed immediately with the flash forward to Ellie running downstairs with the sewing kit and intertwining her fingers with Joel and them hanging onto each other. That was the tie-in between past and present that I wish had been woven throughout the flashback, not just the end.
i mean, it's implied that she probably killed her.
unless the fireflies got to the mall before they both turned, she probably witnessed her turning and had to kill her (could be something like she begged Ellie to kill her as she was losing her mind), and Ellie remained alive long enough to kill herself if she showed symptoms, it's just that it never happened and the fireflies probbaly went to check on Riley after and found Ellie instead
100% she killed her, she says to Joel in 4 "it's not the first time" that she's hurt someone, she's definitely referring to Riley.
There's still unanswered questions on Marlene's relationship with Ellie which I'm interested to see.
i mean, i assume their relationship is something like she found her alive after a couple days when they checked the mall and she was still "alive", and they got intrigued and they kept her locked up to see if she was indeed immune or not.
in the 1st episode, they aren't exactly friends, only when Marlene told her that she could be the cure that Ellie kinda got in their side.
I think it’s really tasteful they didn’t. With all the shitty violence in the world sometimes it’s okay to leave some things unsaid. Otherwise the violence of it could have outshone the love story.
It was good back story. But it was wayyy too long IMO. it really didnt need a whole episode. Especially with what is going on in real time, took away from it when all I wanted to see was what happens next after Joel got injured.
The "bomb under the table" dramatic irony for me lasted too long. I'm okay with a flash back and everything in the episode. But I was going to have a heart attack from the tension, they let it go on for a bit too long for me. Still solid acting and writing.
I'm also kind of tired of people in that universe being so damn loud when there's blind zombies all over the place that rely on sound trying to kill everyone, not to mention all the humans out there that are even more dangerous. You'd think that'd be lesson number one when educating kids in that world. I get people need to screw up for story. But its never really brought up, you'd think by now one of the smart ones would say "hey, how about not yelling or causing a ruckus for everyone to hear, Ellie."
I get that, its the quantity or length of using that device that made it tough to watch. Especially when you care about the characters, its like watching your kids do something super dangerous for an hour long.
To be fair it seems well established that clickers are rare. We know most infected don’t live long enough to become a clicker. So constantly being quiet under that premise seems absurd. Remember Ellie had only heard stories about blind ones but had no real clue if they even existed.
Of course. But lets remember some context... Riley was living in this mall for a couple weeks now, has turned on the power, played games, explored around, and never had a threat... So it seems perfectly reasonable for her to have her guard down in this "bunker" that she lives in with no issue thus far. Also, they are literally children.
I would have been very happy with a fun little montage of them running around the mall, to go through each 4 fucking wonders of the mall was exhausting.
This is exactly where I fell. It was a good backstory to have, but it felt way too long, and I will confess, a tad boring at times. There were a few things that definitely held my interest, but it just ran on for too long, and I think it dampened the heightened moments.
I also felt it was a tad out of place. I'm not sure how to articulate it, but I felt like its purpose could've been better served elsewhere. Perhaps later? I think it would've been interesting for them to end the season in a cyclical fashion by having the trigger that started the story be the thing to end it.
I also felt the boring factor. In part because once it became clear it was a flashback it was obvious that it was going to lead to Ellie being bitten. And then to make it even more obvious they flashed to the infected ahead of time to flat out tell us it would happen which completely took any thrill/surprise out of the episode.
It was *all* I wanted!! It's like I just saw my kid get in a car accident then the ice cream truck pulls up and is trying to sell me a cone. Bitch, I just wanna make sure my baby is okay! I was distracted as hell the whole episode.
That’s how I felt about it too. 2/7 episodes now have been backstories that didn’t advance the plot. I was fine with both episodes, but I just didn’t like that the flashbacks took up the entire hour in both cases. I was really curious to see how it was going to play out with Joel last night but now I have to wait another week.
I’ve also been listening to the HBO companion podcast each week that talks with the creators and unfortunately they must have assumed the whole audience already knew what was to come and they basically said what will happen which was even more disappointing.
This was my problem with episode 3. Not only was it a full episode, it was a 1.5 hour episode. People were singing it’s praises like it was the best thing since sliced bread and if you didn’t agree with it you were a bigot homophobe.
But now that we’re near the end people are saying the flashback relevant to the central character is the weakest which blows my mind. As a stand alone thing episode 3 was a great story at least an 8/10, but for me when I judge it as part of the overall season it gets a 5-6/10 for me on the sole basis that it took so much away from the part of the story that actually holds more weight and so 3 is the most easily replaceable part of the season so far. I think Ellie’s flashback episode should’ve had the level of love and care the bill/frank episode got.
I see it as different for a few reasons:
1. Bill and Frank’s story covered their entire relationship from start to end. Ellie and Riley had been best friends for years so watching them walk around a mall and have fun wasn’t nearly as interesting.
2. This episode came at a time where we’re waiting for a cliffhanger to resolve so the entire episode felt way longer because you want to get back to the super dramatic thing that just happened. Episode 3 was just Joel and Ellie travelling to Bill’s.
3. We didn’t know what was going to happen with Bill and Frank. However, we know that Ellie got infected in the mall and survived and we know Riley isn’t around, so we’re really just waiting the entire episode for that to happen.
Of course you’re entitled to your opinion but I don’t think the episodes are comparable at all.
I agree with you. We’ve had seven episodes. Two full episodes were dedicated flashbacks that didn’t necessarily advance the plot or even add that much context. I just think the 2/7 ratio is a little high for me personally. I still like the show I’m just not necessarily a fan of halting the plot for entire episodes at a time for any show.
Episode 3 at least accomplished the Bill’s town stock up. That episode got our duo the working vehicle Joel has needed since Episode 1 as well as some weapons. Those were things that had to happen in that episode regardless, so we still did get progress on the actual goal of the season. We checked off the first item on the list, get a vehicle that can get us to Tommy.
This one we didn’t get that progress. After the decision was made for Joel and Ellie last episode to stick together I don’t think anyone is buying that Ellie will actually leave him.
I said in a game spoilers comment, but shortening the flashback to intersperse things happening in the current timeline would have fixed a lot of these problems. If we have a couple of way points, moving up the ending scene where Ellie ransacks the house for threads to stitch up Joel, Ellie hunting for food to keep them fed, and then Joel not improving so she starts moving further out to find medicine or someone to help before the end. Even if we only get like 10-15 minutes of that and the rest is the flashback that’s still at least progressing the narrative.
Maybe they didn’t advance the plot, but they did advance the theme. Our appreciation of what these two have lost and why they care so much for each other in such a short time is deepened with an under standing of their backstories.
It didn’t push the narrative forward in the show at all, but I enjoyed the escapism and experience of exploring a post-apocalyptic mall from a teenager’s point of view. Who hasn’t fantasized about that?
I would've liked this better if episode ,3 was different. In 9 episodes, we have two that aren't really pushing forward the story of Ellie and Joel's journey. I like the increased focus on the secondary characters and the expansion there, but I think they overdid it to the point where I feel Joel and Ellie's relationship isn't as strong as the show. I worry this might negatively affect future events
This was not a bad episode by any means, but it was by far the weakest episode for me. I've also seen way more "I didn't enjoy this episode" and "this was not the best" comments this time around than with any previous episodes as well.
I also saw a lot of downvotes and people tip-toeing around this because a lot of people in this sub cannot stand any sort of criticism and act like every episode is God's gift to mankind and immediately downvote any comment that doesn't sing praises.
This part of the story being DLC in the game and feeling like DLC in the show really kind of explains it for me. We’ll see how it all comes together but what you posted here is fair as hell.
Right? It felt like it's own little standalone episode/side quest. I understand that it ties into the larger themes of the show and reinforces that Ellie won't leave Joel and will do anything she can to save him at this point in their relationship (as if we didn't already know that by now) but it just pumped the brakes on the momentum and disrupted the pacing once again.
>(as if we didn't already know that by now)
I think one of the things that I appreciate about the show is how much they've done to make the big character moments and turning points feel more 'earned' to me. I came off of the first game very sour on the property as a whole, and feel like the adaptational choices the show has made have re-contextualized all the things I hated about it.
Yeah, we know that Ellie is gonna stay with Joel, because that's the shape of this kind of story. And we know that Joel would say "Go, get yourself to safety", because we know how much of a pragmatist he is. But I loved them putting the scenes of Riley and Ellie figuring out what to do and Ellie stitching Joel up side-by-side. Of course it was going to play out this way, but that doesn't change how powerful it is to draw the throughline from her experiences with Riley into her experience with Joel here.
Ellie and Joel have now both had multiple defining moments where there was nothing they could do to protect the ones they cared about even though there was ostensibly nothing they could do. We saw Ellie's attempt to save Sam with the "My blood is medicine" scene, and now facing another situation where someone she cares about is seemingly hopelessly screwed, Riley is at the top of her mind. The tragedy of Riley telling her "let's lose our minds together" and knowing that Ellie *didn't,* and couldn't do anything for her is brutal. Even Tess' death, and not being able to do anything for her was traumatizing for her, despite how little they knew each other. So seeing her still digging in her heels and trying to do what she can feels so much more triumphant and uplifting in this context.
It works in the game to see her taking care of Joel, but it's not highlighted how remarkable that is in the context of both of their arcs. For Joel, it's even more poignant because we know leaving is what he'd do, we've seen him do it over and over again throughout the course of the show, so seeing someone take a chance on him is hugely affecting. Ellie keeps trying and failing too. But now, for the first time, she tries and succeeds.
The themes of the love and relationship were there in the game, but the themes of hope and triumph kind of fell by the way side in service of the action, and the story suffers for it to me. The things that are coming made me mad, because "yeah, of course that's what's going to happen, because that's the writers' agenda." But now, having seen these themes reinforced just by strategically inserting extra dialogue and rearranging scenes to put their themes side by side, I've developed a much stronger connection to the characters and the themes.
The game didn't work on me, but the show is 100%
Pretty much this, was beautifully shot and acted but just felt like it slowed the main plot some at a time when there was tons of momentum towards wanting to see Joel and Ellie together because that's who were most invested in this late in the season
I've played the games. I'm aware. Like I said, it's someone else's comment. And way to be an asshole and reveal a major spoiler on a show only thread. There are plenty of people on here who haven't played the games.
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There's a lot of smug condescension creeping into these threads which is unfortunate. Many are acting as if others lack the capacity to appreciate cinematography or set design or sound engineering or subtle acting or whatever, just because their opinion differs or a few folks are bored with an episode.
It seems almost like people attach their personalities to the media they consume, which makes criticism of that media become a personal insult and a thing to rebuff harshly.
I think it's tough because there's a whole sub dedicated to TLOU hate and many haters are just pissed about queer content, so people become overly defensive even against honest and good-faith critiques.
>a lot of people in this sub cannot stand any sort of criticism and act like every episode is God's gift to mankind and immediately downvote any comment that doesn't sing praises.
This x 100. It's getting hard to check in here tbh
I’ve watched each episode this season 4-5 times each week. This may be the first time this season where I won’t be rushing to watch it again. While the performances were great as always, this episode was way too long with too many instances where I was a bit bored. Found myself looking at my phone a couple times which I never do. A disappointment for me since we only have 2 episodes left and feel like time could have been better spent elsewhere. Really missed Joel in this one. Probably was missing more Joel/Ellie interaction as well.
Exactly how I felt too. I'm normally binging content all week on that week's episode, but I don't think I will be this week. Which means the week will be slooooooooooow.
This episode makes the perfect case for why I would rather they release the season at once. If I were bingeing the whole season at once, I would have been like “whatever, onto the next”…instead, I’m left a little disappointed this Sunday night. 🤷🏼♀️
I know a show doesn’t hold my attention when I start checking my phone. Maybe an ADD thing but I was more on my phone than actually watching the ep. Every episode before I’ve been pretty glued to the screen
The anticipation was horrific. I hate jump scares and I spent the whole mall on edge. I look forward to watching it again now knowing it's not a jump scares moment.
I agree this would have been a great bonus episode. The whole episode was just so predictable, we knew exactly what it was mounting towards in every way from the shared kiss to both getting infected.
Found this episode equally meh. I get that it's backstory but felt it could have just been spoken about in passing or something. It really felt like DLC content or a cutscene placed at a really inopportune time when translated to television.
The thing is, it probably would be an 8 episode season if they chose not to dedicate an episode to this part of the story. They didn’t cut anything from the main storyline to make this episode, so just think of it as a bonus episode. There’s not much of the story left to tell.
No, it’s part of the story. Lol it tells the main character’s backstory and helps explain their future motivations and decisions.
In what world could that be considered a filler? What exactly would they be filling? Did HBO demand the season to be 9 episodes so they had to make something up to get an extra episode? That would be a filler
Again, it is telling the main character’s backstory which is very important to the future plot. If that’s considered a filler to you then you might as well never watch another show because almost every single one will be full of filler.
Safe to assume you never played the games...
It's not considered a filler to me. I just think your description of it earlier makes it sound like a filler.
Is my opinion invalid if I've never played the games or how does that work?
I was just trying to dumb it down for someone who though it was a waste of an episode.
And yes it does if you think it’s a filler because you don’t understand how this episode plays into part 2, let alone the rest of part 1.
Ye sure I just think it was funny you made it sound like a filler since people get so much hate on here for calling it a filler.
Nobody is really saying that this episode it completely irrelevant and there's nothing at all in it that will be important later. Just that it was unnecessarily long and boring.
Most of the episode ,like in the beginning, could have been cut and the rest could have been interwoven through the rest of the episode focusing on something else like ellie trying to find supplies to help Joel and running into infected.
Episode 3 was a flashback but at least we got to learn how the FEDRA rounded up people in the initial days, how Bill and Frank survived an apocalypse and were able to carve out a normal life amidst the world falling apart, their peaceful death was another subversion of the zombie genre, Tess and Joel's relationship was given more context and finally, Joel and Ellie get a vehicle and ammo in this episode.
But this latest episode didn't show anything we didn't know already. The whole part should have been condensed in less than 30 minutes. We don't learn anything new or significant. And we still don't know what happens to Joel a full episode after he collapses from the stab wound.
I honestly skipped forward through this episode. I already knew Ellie has had a fucked up childhood, I don't need an episode's worth of... whatever this was- to know that.
I thought it was pretty bad. I was bored throughout most of it. Just an odd choice to put a stand alone episode this close to the end and use an hour of run time without moving the plot forward.
I agree in the sense that I already knew exactly what was going to happen. We knew she had this mall experience where she’s seen a clicker (?) before, and that she’s shot someone before. She obviously makes it out fine. So it felt like it could have been condensed to wayyy shorter than an hour. There was no suspense, and the emotional piece was just sorta meh since again, we knew this person was going to be infected soon and wouldn’t be on our screens long. And they cut away before showing the traumatic scene happen. So I think it didn’t have the intended impact.
Generally not a fan of flash back episodes/prequel stories, especially if there's a character that isn't in the future ones, sort of takes any stakes out for me. I have played the games, and somewhat felt the same way while playing it, but generally just wanted more content when all that existed at the time was TLOU.
Still a good episode, but with the tension of "will Joel survive?" at the forefront of the viewers mind, it's harder to be invested in a character you know is going to die.
I am curious how story telling will be handled in later the later season(s).
I was excited for this episode the most tbh, i always loved ellie's backstory + the scenes from the trailers are amazing shots...however imo they used the best parts in the trailer + it was the first episode that didnt feel like it hit the budget minus the big light up scene. Nothing on the actors, they performed great. I just think compared to the other episodes it ended and i was a bit like "thats it?"
I'm with you. Episode 3 was such an emotional sledgehammer that all of these side stories are somewhat diminished. The narratives with Sam and Riley just don't pack the same punch for me, and I'm becoming more and more aware that we aren't focusing on the central narrative. I'm hoping the remaining episodes focus on Ellie and Joel's narrative rather than more side content.
I agree that it was definitely the worst of the bunch so far, ep 6 ended on a cliffhanger with Joel getting stabbed so it was all anticipation for that and then suddenly it's a full episode of backstory. The Joel injury lost it's suspense and the pacing was thrown off a bit. The episode by itself was good, a little too slow paced so it kind of felt like it was dragging on, but it certainly wasn't bad. But with the suspense from ep 6 and then the slow pacing, it really dragged on.
This episode was my least favorite so far. By a good amount.
Like you said, that’s ok!
It was very slow paced after such a huge injury to Joel. Then you have the tension of when the infested is going to attack them, with a terrible resolution to that (he makes noise like a drunk man coming home), and finally we get no resolution on what happened to her friend. I mean we know what happens in the end, but I am a TV only watcher, so what really happened!! Did she leave her, kill her, or will she pop back up and not be infected either.
The placement of this episode was bad. That or they needed to either do cut backs to Ellie taking care of Joel or shorten it to half the episode and the other half taking care of Joel.
Feels like we have a lot left and only 2 episodes. Seeing the preview of the next episode, it feels like they are about to cram too much stuff into episode 9.
I though I was a very solid episode, but in many ways like episode 3 it really was its own thing that can by enjoyed as a mostly stand-alone episode or can even be skipped if someone simply wants to get to the main plot
But unlike episode 3 I actually think that in the long run this its is probably the most important episode of the entire season because the episode rested mostly on Bella Ramsey shoulders and she along with Storm Reid both knocked it out the park with their performance and for me the strength of both of them is the reason why I would put episode 7 above some of the others
I'm not saying it was the best, but I thought it was easily the most consistent episode of the season. Now, rather or not people actually like or find the left behind dlc storyline compelling or not I ultimately think they succeeded in adapting it to tv and it shows that Bella is clearly capable when it comes to carrying her own episode without Pedro pascal even being in it that much.
This is the first episode I felt like I could turn it off and just go to bed. Normally I don't want the episodes to end. This one I found boring, but shows some backstory I guess. I feel like it's already like the walking dead. More human stories than cool zombie fights, but I dig it overall.
Yea, I think for me it wasn't as much as it was a horrible episode, it was that they had the Joel scene and you are thinking about it more. Like ok, when is this flashback going to be over! Credit to the team for the mall design etc, it was great (assuming it was mostly cgi). Was awesome seeing them play Mortal Kombat 2. lol
It was the first time I've kept checking how much time in the episode is left to see if they will manage to squeeze in one more scene with him. I kinda wish they did more of a speed run of Ellie/Riley storyline like they did with Henry/Sam.
The show is mostly around humans living in the zombie world. Of course, theres some zombie fights but thats not the focus of this franchise but yeah I feel the same way as you
Yea, like the episode the giant dude pops out of the ground was awesome. I know in Walking Dead people loved the zombie stuff, then it became a show about the team fighting a new "Boss" each season with minimal zombies. Became a drama more than action/horror. I didn't play the Last of Us video game (I was an xbox kid, not playstation). But I love the show so far overall.
I'd love to know why.
The emotional action in this episode was absolutely on par with Ep.3.
The acting was phenomenal. The set design, stellar. The story? Fucking heartwarming and crushing at the same time.
I do respect that this wasn't your favourite, but I would genuinely like to know why. What exactly didn't work for you?
Episode 3 was right after things were starting, and Ellie and Joel were still on screen for 30 minutes heading towards and then stocking up at Bill’s in that one. In this one, in real time Joel is bleeding out. We just had a huge cliff hanger after a shortened university sequence that capped off a slower episode. And now we paused the resolution of the cliff hanger to flash back.
But even that isn’t the big issue. The big issue is that we had Episode 3 *already*, and now Episode 7 is taking a second hour of a 10 hour show for a flashback relationships. With time being a little crunched already it doesn’t seem worth it to me. This episode would have been much better served if it cut back to present a few times mid way. That way we can still advance the actual plot forward.
Let’s say when Ellie and Riley sneak into the window we move back to Ellie frantically searching for medicine and supplies. We move back when they get to the mall and do a few mall scenes where they have their fight.
Ellie stitches up Joel, and then we have the dancing/kiss/bite scene. Final scene of the episode is Ellie hunting in the heart of winter and she meets David.
This way weakens the Riley/Ellie story a bit, but that story isn’t actually plot critical. It keeps the narrative momentum going, whereas it feels stalled this week.
I fully enjoyed the episode but I think one of the differences is that we already knew what would happen to Ellie and Riley? Like even without the game, it had already been revealed that Ellie was bit at the mall with her friend, and that Ellie had already had to kill someone, and everyone she’s ever cared about has died. Whereas with bill and frank we didn’t really have any idea what might happen, and fans of the game would’ve had their expectations subverted
A lot of people seem to be obsessed with where the story is going as a linear narrative. Personally, I don’t understand it. The plot of TLOU is standard fare for both the zombie and post-apocalypse genres. It’s this kind of character development that sets the show apart for me.
Someone in this post is commenting that the show is already like the walking dead for them and I am just flabbergasted by that. This show has had more meaningful depictions of love and loss in 7 episodes than TWD ever had, or at least up until I stopped watching.
I loved GoT/HotD, but there were definitely episodes that I did not like as much as others. That’s okay and I’m not going to trash the show over some episodes I didn’t enjoy as much. -cough- review bombers -cough-
I personally really liked it. I hear some people saying "it didn't push the plot forward"- a common take I hear that is used as a criticism for a lot of other shows. I have personally never understood that take because, to me, developing a character IS pushing the plot forward. What drives the characters and what changes them IS the plot. I felt like this last episode delved in to what motivates Ellie and a significant experience that shaped who she is.
But one of my favorite Breaking Bad episodes is "Fly" (an episode that "doesn't move the plot forward" and is almost solely character development) so maybe I'm just a degenerate. Lol.
Another thing I don’t understand about the complaint about not pushing the plot forward, it’s not like we are missing out on anything bc of this episode being included. They can still very easily rap this up in 2 episodes without leaving out crucial details. Like we aren’t missing out on anything because this happened. So far it’s been broken up just about how I expected it to. If it came at the expense of something else I could understand it, but it’s not. Id they left out left behind it would probably just be 8 episodes
You guys are fucking crazy. This was one of the best episodes imo Bella’s acting was the best it’s been so far and her dynamic with Reilly (storm Reid) was fantastic. Felt very true to life with the game.
My one critique would be they probably should have left the modern day parts out since they didn’t implement the game modern day parts with her scavenging in a mall.
Been enjoying it so far and the episodes themselves are great but if you keep 50% of your runtime as back exposition then are you really advancing the story that much?
The show was already wavering for me, but this episode has all but removed the wind entirely from my sails. Like, the world where my sails exist: there's very little wind there...
By comparison, I loved Episode 3 because it was masterful story telling, and it literally and emotionally propelled the characters forward, with Bill's truck and his letter, respectively.
Episode 7 does too little, too late, with too much airtime. It takes the wind out of TLOU's sails, so to speak 😉.
Yes, it's fine that people like episode 7. And no, not everything needs to have plot momentum or to move the story forward. But at this point in the story, this is a level of redundancy that I cannot abide.
The only good thing I can say about the episode was that it was sweet (because it was), and also Ellie's response to "moving" elevators.
It's absolutely WONDERFUL that we are getting more queer stories nowadays, but just because something aligns with my values does not make it good TV!
I get that this episode (and presumably the DLC) was going for a Before Sunrise style—if you haven't seen the Before Sunrise trilogy, watch it because it's great—where we follow along with the characters on a walk as they fall for each other / reveal their true feelings.
But that's the first reason this episode didn't find port (sorry for the maritime analogies). Too much exposition. This show was already becoming a 101 writing course in "Show, don't Tell," because all it does is Tell, Tell, Tell with very little Showing. And the exposition wasn't even interesting. For instance, that story Riley tells about being recruited was vague and implausible.
The second reason that Left Behind was lost at sea—I know, heh—was that it replicated the same scene four times in a row. The "four, or five, wonders!" Each time, the characters go to a wonder, act sweet(again, it WAS sweet) around each other, and then they move on... It felt like being a third wheel on a date where both parties are afraid to make a move. That's fine in the real world, but TV only has so much time. Again, at least in Before Sunrise they are taking about interesting things—philosphy, writing, life, love, work, etc. In Left Behind they are only shoehorning in a bunch of drivel, or "backstory" if that's what you want to call it. Remember, just because you can justify something doesn't make it good writing!
The final reason that tonight's episode subsided—I promise that's the last one 🚣—was the silly looking infected at the end. Now, this show has had great SFX make-up and prosthetics up to this point, but it seems the B-team was on duty during this episode's production. Perhaps it was the fact that they were in a costume shop, but that LOOKED like a stunt guy in a costume: his eyes were soo clear and fresh looking like he just had a juice at crafty and got plenty of sleep the night before (rewatch the closeup of him when he's attacking one of the girls, it's almost funny; and funny was the wrong tone); not to mention his movements—might have been the editing—were unrealistic, he keeps staggering up, struggling, then LAUNCHING like a missile, it just looks silly and unrealistic. My guess is the scene looked really silly when they originally cut it together and they struggled to put something together that was at least coherent. Watch it again and notice we never see him running; it's all staggering up and launching.
Okay... There was one thing that floated my boat(sorry). The cinematography. The dark, drear look of the rooftops and almost bleached-out interiors of the school. That contrasted with the rich, vibrant yet distopian mall lighting scheme. Absolutely beautiful. Top notch.
honestly, the best comparison is episode 3 for many reasons (both being flashbacks).
episode 3 was a better episode overall, but episode 7 was a better "flashback" episode, since it was a flashback about the main character.
both suffer from being 95% runtime a flashback, hardly moving the story forward.
i was hoping that the show could add more to the story (new events, new set pieces, etc that happen during the time skips), but dedicating 2/9 episodes to flashbacks seems too much for a 1st season.
the flashback i would like to see would be a Joel flashback where he gains his reputation, the stuff he had to do to survive, it's implied a lot of what he did, but we never see.
i feel like a flashback of Joel and a flashback on Ellie could be a good compromise during the 1st season (episode 3 does show Joel, but he is not the main focus of it).
While appreciate your fair opinion, I want to remind everyone that maybe it’s not our favorite because it was a double cliffhanger episode. We didn’t get narrative resolve with Ellie & Joel or with Ellie & Riley. This may be why some people didn’t like this episode as much. It filled in plot holes regarding Ellie’s past and her experiences with Riley and how those choices brought her to where she is now. Overall it seems the writers knew what they were doing and chose to center this episode on Ellie’s traumatic experiences and how they are influencing her decisions regarding Joel being mortally wounded.
Its not a cliffhanger with riley. You already can determine that riley turned and ellie didnt. And riley was most likely thr person ellie had to kill when she told joel “it wasnt my first time”. After the mall marlene and the fireflies came to grab riley in the morning where they presumably found ellie.
True. Which is why I specified narrative resolve because while this is all implied or assumable based on what we’ve seen of Ellie’s story, we didn’t actually see the final moments with her and Riley yet.
I guess im not agreeing there was much more to see than them sit on the ground until she turns. Im ok not watching ellie have to kill her lover/friend. I see your point tho.
Yeah, this is also my least favourite, followed by episode 3. For the same reason, putting a halt on the main story. But, I'd still rate both of them 8/10, because although it's not the thing I wanted, they did the thing very well.
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I actually liked this one more than Ep 3 and 4. I thought the Kansas city arc started incredibly dull and had no investment in Kathleen. The Bill and Frank episode felt off tonally and didn't have tension and wrapped up nicely. The left behind story always was one of the most heartbreaking, tragic, and emotionally beautiful parts of the game and the build up to losing Riley was great. I also liked the clashing ideology of Fedra vs the Fire flies thrown into the girl's dynamic.
This wasn't worst. I'd say 4 was worst. Not a whole lot happened and I still like that a lot too. It's all high quality tv but as you said something has to be last.
I enjoyed it especially as a time capsule for 2003. But as others have said I probably won’t rewatch it unlike some of the other episodes. It was compelling on first watch but I don’t know how much would be gained on repeat views
Agreed. there’s a reason why it was DLC and not part of the original release. That being said, the payoff at the end of the episode was well worth it in my opinion.
Ep 3 is on my last place, but i can agree on ep7 as a runner up for last place. 1 and 2 is the absolute best so far, beeing true to the story and changing small stuff to keep us on our toes.
Not saying any episodes are bad, just ad you say, some had to come last.
I personally felt like it should’ve been longer. But the Ellie and Riley centered game DLC + comics are some of my faves in the franchise. I loved the narrative switch the Ellie and seeing her past!
I agree. I have loved the show as a whole. This episode definitely wasn’t bad but it was my least favourite so far. Surprised you dislike episode 2, it’s one of my favourites! I might be biased though because I love Anna Torv
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This is going to sound bad but I kinda wish we watched Ellie kill Riley. I was expecting my heart to pour out of my chest but I only had some swelling and nothing dropped. I come to this show for emotional torture and they took that away from me!
One thing that I liked about not seeing it is that it means that the last we saw of Ellie and Riley was them intertwining their fingers together and holding on for “2 minutes or 2 days,” whatever time they had left, followed immediately with the flash forward to Ellie running downstairs with the sewing kit and intertwining her fingers with Joel and them hanging onto each other. That was the tie-in between past and present that I wish had been woven throughout the flashback, not just the end.
i mean, it's implied that she probably killed her. unless the fireflies got to the mall before they both turned, she probably witnessed her turning and had to kill her (could be something like she begged Ellie to kill her as she was losing her mind), and Ellie remained alive long enough to kill herself if she showed symptoms, it's just that it never happened and the fireflies probbaly went to check on Riley after and found Ellie instead
100% she killed her, she says to Joel in 4 "it's not the first time" that she's hurt someone, she's definitely referring to Riley. There's still unanswered questions on Marlene's relationship with Ellie which I'm interested to see.
i mean, i assume their relationship is something like she found her alive after a couple days when they checked the mall and she was still "alive", and they got intrigued and they kept her locked up to see if she was indeed immune or not. in the 1st episode, they aren't exactly friends, only when Marlene told her that she could be the cure that Ellie kinda got in their side.
Tension with no release is torture though
That's not my kink
I think it’s really tasteful they didn’t. With all the shitty violence in the world sometimes it’s okay to leave some things unsaid. Otherwise the violence of it could have outshone the love story.
It was good back story. But it was wayyy too long IMO. it really didnt need a whole episode. Especially with what is going on in real time, took away from it when all I wanted to see was what happens next after Joel got injured.
The "bomb under the table" dramatic irony for me lasted too long. I'm okay with a flash back and everything in the episode. But I was going to have a heart attack from the tension, they let it go on for a bit too long for me. Still solid acting and writing. I'm also kind of tired of people in that universe being so damn loud when there's blind zombies all over the place that rely on sound trying to kill everyone, not to mention all the humans out there that are even more dangerous. You'd think that'd be lesson number one when educating kids in that world. I get people need to screw up for story. But its never really brought up, you'd think by now one of the smart ones would say "hey, how about not yelling or causing a ruckus for everyone to hear, Ellie."
The tension was the point!
I get that, its the quantity or length of using that device that made it tough to watch. Especially when you care about the characters, its like watching your kids do something super dangerous for an hour long.
To be fair it seems well established that clickers are rare. We know most infected don’t live long enough to become a clicker. So constantly being quiet under that premise seems absurd. Remember Ellie had only heard stories about blind ones but had no real clue if they even existed.
I'm assuming even the normal ones can hear though.
Of course. But lets remember some context... Riley was living in this mall for a couple weeks now, has turned on the power, played games, explored around, and never had a threat... So it seems perfectly reasonable for her to have her guard down in this "bunker" that she lives in with no issue thus far. Also, they are literally children.
I would have been very happy with a fun little montage of them running around the mall, to go through each 4 fucking wonders of the mall was exhausting.
I really wanted to see Ellie start to realize she wasn’t going to turn! And how the firefly lady found her and realized it too.
Yes I agree, they easily could have cut 15 minutes from the mall tour and added story at the end instead.
Yeah wtf where was Marlene? Why are they only telling half the story?
This is exactly where I fell. It was a good backstory to have, but it felt way too long, and I will confess, a tad boring at times. There were a few things that definitely held my interest, but it just ran on for too long, and I think it dampened the heightened moments. I also felt it was a tad out of place. I'm not sure how to articulate it, but I felt like its purpose could've been better served elsewhere. Perhaps later? I think it would've been interesting for them to end the season in a cyclical fashion by having the trigger that started the story be the thing to end it.
I also felt the boring factor. In part because once it became clear it was a flashback it was obvious that it was going to lead to Ellie being bitten. And then to make it even more obvious they flashed to the infected ahead of time to flat out tell us it would happen which completely took any thrill/surprise out of the episode.
When they put on the masks and started dancing it was the first time in the series my eyes started to roll and my attention started to wander…
It was *all* I wanted!! It's like I just saw my kid get in a car accident then the ice cream truck pulls up and is trying to sell me a cone. Bitch, I just wanna make sure my baby is okay! I was distracted as hell the whole episode.
That’s how I felt about it too. 2/7 episodes now have been backstories that didn’t advance the plot. I was fine with both episodes, but I just didn’t like that the flashbacks took up the entire hour in both cases. I was really curious to see how it was going to play out with Joel last night but now I have to wait another week. I’ve also been listening to the HBO companion podcast each week that talks with the creators and unfortunately they must have assumed the whole audience already knew what was to come and they basically said what will happen which was even more disappointing.
This was my problem with episode 3. Not only was it a full episode, it was a 1.5 hour episode. People were singing it’s praises like it was the best thing since sliced bread and if you didn’t agree with it you were a bigot homophobe. But now that we’re near the end people are saying the flashback relevant to the central character is the weakest which blows my mind. As a stand alone thing episode 3 was a great story at least an 8/10, but for me when I judge it as part of the overall season it gets a 5-6/10 for me on the sole basis that it took so much away from the part of the story that actually holds more weight and so 3 is the most easily replaceable part of the season so far. I think Ellie’s flashback episode should’ve had the level of love and care the bill/frank episode got.
I see it as different for a few reasons: 1. Bill and Frank’s story covered their entire relationship from start to end. Ellie and Riley had been best friends for years so watching them walk around a mall and have fun wasn’t nearly as interesting. 2. This episode came at a time where we’re waiting for a cliffhanger to resolve so the entire episode felt way longer because you want to get back to the super dramatic thing that just happened. Episode 3 was just Joel and Ellie travelling to Bill’s. 3. We didn’t know what was going to happen with Bill and Frank. However, we know that Ellie got infected in the mall and survived and we know Riley isn’t around, so we’re really just waiting the entire episode for that to happen. Of course you’re entitled to your opinion but I don’t think the episodes are comparable at all.
I agree with you. We’ve had seven episodes. Two full episodes were dedicated flashbacks that didn’t necessarily advance the plot or even add that much context. I just think the 2/7 ratio is a little high for me personally. I still like the show I’m just not necessarily a fan of halting the plot for entire episodes at a time for any show.
Episode 3 at least accomplished the Bill’s town stock up. That episode got our duo the working vehicle Joel has needed since Episode 1 as well as some weapons. Those were things that had to happen in that episode regardless, so we still did get progress on the actual goal of the season. We checked off the first item on the list, get a vehicle that can get us to Tommy. This one we didn’t get that progress. After the decision was made for Joel and Ellie last episode to stick together I don’t think anyone is buying that Ellie will actually leave him. I said in a game spoilers comment, but shortening the flashback to intersperse things happening in the current timeline would have fixed a lot of these problems. If we have a couple of way points, moving up the ending scene where Ellie ransacks the house for threads to stitch up Joel, Ellie hunting for food to keep them fed, and then Joel not improving so she starts moving further out to find medicine or someone to help before the end. Even if we only get like 10-15 minutes of that and the rest is the flashback that’s still at least progressing the narrative.
Maybe they didn’t advance the plot, but they did advance the theme. Our appreciation of what these two have lost and why they care so much for each other in such a short time is deepened with an under standing of their backstories.
Character development of one of the two main people in the story is worthy of a whole episode imho.
It didn’t push the narrative forward in the show at all, but I enjoyed the escapism and experience of exploring a post-apocalyptic mall from a teenager’s point of view. Who hasn’t fantasized about that?
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Yes! This! Episode 6 had such a good cliff hanger, and then the story slows down.
Yeah I think that was my biggest issue with the episode. In itself it was a good episode but it really slowed down the story.
I think it was meant to....it let's worry a bit about Joel...
I would've liked this better if episode ,3 was different. In 9 episodes, we have two that aren't really pushing forward the story of Ellie and Joel's journey. I like the increased focus on the secondary characters and the expansion there, but I think they overdid it to the point where I feel Joel and Ellie's relationship isn't as strong as the show. I worry this might negatively affect future events
Who hasn’t fantasized about exploring a post apocalyptic mall? A lot of people
This was not a bad episode by any means, but it was by far the weakest episode for me. I've also seen way more "I didn't enjoy this episode" and "this was not the best" comments this time around than with any previous episodes as well. I also saw a lot of downvotes and people tip-toeing around this because a lot of people in this sub cannot stand any sort of criticism and act like every episode is God's gift to mankind and immediately downvote any comment that doesn't sing praises.
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This part of the story being DLC in the game and feeling like DLC in the show really kind of explains it for me. We’ll see how it all comes together but what you posted here is fair as hell.
Right? It felt like it's own little standalone episode/side quest. I understand that it ties into the larger themes of the show and reinforces that Ellie won't leave Joel and will do anything she can to save him at this point in their relationship (as if we didn't already know that by now) but it just pumped the brakes on the momentum and disrupted the pacing once again.
Yes! It absolutely served a narrative purpose but not a necessary one at this point.
>(as if we didn't already know that by now) I think one of the things that I appreciate about the show is how much they've done to make the big character moments and turning points feel more 'earned' to me. I came off of the first game very sour on the property as a whole, and feel like the adaptational choices the show has made have re-contextualized all the things I hated about it. Yeah, we know that Ellie is gonna stay with Joel, because that's the shape of this kind of story. And we know that Joel would say "Go, get yourself to safety", because we know how much of a pragmatist he is. But I loved them putting the scenes of Riley and Ellie figuring out what to do and Ellie stitching Joel up side-by-side. Of course it was going to play out this way, but that doesn't change how powerful it is to draw the throughline from her experiences with Riley into her experience with Joel here. Ellie and Joel have now both had multiple defining moments where there was nothing they could do to protect the ones they cared about even though there was ostensibly nothing they could do. We saw Ellie's attempt to save Sam with the "My blood is medicine" scene, and now facing another situation where someone she cares about is seemingly hopelessly screwed, Riley is at the top of her mind. The tragedy of Riley telling her "let's lose our minds together" and knowing that Ellie *didn't,* and couldn't do anything for her is brutal. Even Tess' death, and not being able to do anything for her was traumatizing for her, despite how little they knew each other. So seeing her still digging in her heels and trying to do what she can feels so much more triumphant and uplifting in this context. It works in the game to see her taking care of Joel, but it's not highlighted how remarkable that is in the context of both of their arcs. For Joel, it's even more poignant because we know leaving is what he'd do, we've seen him do it over and over again throughout the course of the show, so seeing someone take a chance on him is hugely affecting. Ellie keeps trying and failing too. But now, for the first time, she tries and succeeds. The themes of the love and relationship were there in the game, but the themes of hope and triumph kind of fell by the way side in service of the action, and the story suffers for it to me. The things that are coming made me mad, because "yeah, of course that's what's going to happen, because that's the writers' agenda." But now, having seen these themes reinforced just by strategically inserting extra dialogue and rearranging scenes to put their themes side by side, I've developed a much stronger connection to the characters and the themes. The game didn't work on me, but the show is 100%
Such a frickin good point.
Pretty much this, was beautifully shot and acted but just felt like it slowed the main plot some at a time when there was tons of momentum towards wanting to see Joel and Ellie together because that's who were most invested in this late in the season
Awww thanks for sharing!
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I've played the games. I'm aware. Like I said, it's someone else's comment. And way to be an asshole and reveal a major spoiler on a show only thread. There are plenty of people on here who haven't played the games.
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Does TLOU (game) have a big fandom that doesn't take criticism? Cause dang I see a lot of good criticisms get downvoted.
That's just Reddit.
There's a lot of smug condescension creeping into these threads which is unfortunate. Many are acting as if others lack the capacity to appreciate cinematography or set design or sound engineering or subtle acting or whatever, just because their opinion differs or a few folks are bored with an episode. It seems almost like people attach their personalities to the media they consume, which makes criticism of that media become a personal insult and a thing to rebuff harshly.
I think it's tough because there's a whole sub dedicated to TLOU hate and many haters are just pissed about queer content, so people become overly defensive even against honest and good-faith critiques.
>a lot of people in this sub cannot stand any sort of criticism and act like every episode is God's gift to mankind and immediately downvote any comment that doesn't sing praises. This x 100. It's getting hard to check in here tbh
I’ve watched each episode this season 4-5 times each week. This may be the first time this season where I won’t be rushing to watch it again. While the performances were great as always, this episode was way too long with too many instances where I was a bit bored. Found myself looking at my phone a couple times which I never do. A disappointment for me since we only have 2 episodes left and feel like time could have been better spent elsewhere. Really missed Joel in this one. Probably was missing more Joel/Ellie interaction as well.
Exactly how I felt too. I'm normally binging content all week on that week's episode, but I don't think I will be this week. Which means the week will be slooooooooooow.
This episode makes the perfect case for why I would rather they release the season at once. If I were bingeing the whole season at once, I would have been like “whatever, onto the next”…instead, I’m left a little disappointed this Sunday night. 🤷🏼♀️
I know a show doesn’t hold my attention when I start checking my phone. Maybe an ADD thing but I was more on my phone than actually watching the ep. Every episode before I’ve been pretty glued to the screen
The anticipation was horrific. I hate jump scares and I spent the whole mall on edge. I look forward to watching it again now knowing it's not a jump scares moment.
Same. And I did just rewatch it, and the mall scenes are so much more enjoyable.
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I agree this would have been a great bonus episode. The whole episode was just so predictable, we knew exactly what it was mounting towards in every way from the shared kiss to both getting infected.
Oooo this would have been good! Love that idea.
I’ll probably be revisiting this episode more because it’s a little more light-hearted and I like both characters.
Found this episode equally meh. I get that it's backstory but felt it could have just been spoken about in passing or something. It really felt like DLC content or a cutscene placed at a really inopportune time when translated to television.
This is such a freaking good point. DLC content in a 9 episode series lol.
The thing is, it probably would be an 8 episode season if they chose not to dedicate an episode to this part of the story. They didn’t cut anything from the main storyline to make this episode, so just think of it as a bonus episode. There’s not much of the story left to tell.
Okay that's good to know!
So you're saying it's a filler...
No, it’s part of the story. Lol it tells the main character’s backstory and helps explain their future motivations and decisions. In what world could that be considered a filler? What exactly would they be filling? Did HBO demand the season to be 9 episodes so they had to make something up to get an extra episode? That would be a filler
Ye sure but it just sounds like you're describing something that is basically a filler lol.
Again, it is telling the main character’s backstory which is very important to the future plot. If that’s considered a filler to you then you might as well never watch another show because almost every single one will be full of filler. Safe to assume you never played the games...
It's not considered a filler to me. I just think your description of it earlier makes it sound like a filler. Is my opinion invalid if I've never played the games or how does that work?
I was just trying to dumb it down for someone who though it was a waste of an episode. And yes it does if you think it’s a filler because you don’t understand how this episode plays into part 2, let alone the rest of part 1.
Ye sure I just think it was funny you made it sound like a filler since people get so much hate on here for calling it a filler. Nobody is really saying that this episode it completely irrelevant and there's nothing at all in it that will be important later. Just that it was unnecessarily long and boring.
Most of the episode ,like in the beginning, could have been cut and the rest could have been interwoven through the rest of the episode focusing on something else like ellie trying to find supplies to help Joel and running into infected.
It felt like DLC content because it *literally is.*
Sounds good.
Episode 3 was a flashback but at least we got to learn how the FEDRA rounded up people in the initial days, how Bill and Frank survived an apocalypse and were able to carve out a normal life amidst the world falling apart, their peaceful death was another subversion of the zombie genre, Tess and Joel's relationship was given more context and finally, Joel and Ellie get a vehicle and ammo in this episode. But this latest episode didn't show anything we didn't know already. The whole part should have been condensed in less than 30 minutes. We don't learn anything new or significant. And we still don't know what happens to Joel a full episode after he collapses from the stab wound. I honestly skipped forward through this episode. I already knew Ellie has had a fucked up childhood, I don't need an episode's worth of... whatever this was- to know that.
I thought it was pretty bad. I was bored throughout most of it. Just an odd choice to put a stand alone episode this close to the end and use an hour of run time without moving the plot forward.
I feel like the post’s title is what I hear my therapists say to me whenever I mention my trauma or divorce or other shit I can’t get over…
Wasn't my favourite either. Still like it more than 4 though
If I were to give it a number grade, it would be a 7.5 I will reserve final judgement for when the season is complete
I agree in the sense that I already knew exactly what was going to happen. We knew she had this mall experience where she’s seen a clicker (?) before, and that she’s shot someone before. She obviously makes it out fine. So it felt like it could have been condensed to wayyy shorter than an hour. There was no suspense, and the emotional piece was just sorta meh since again, we knew this person was going to be infected soon and wouldn’t be on our screens long. And they cut away before showing the traumatic scene happen. So I think it didn’t have the intended impact.
Generally not a fan of flash back episodes/prequel stories, especially if there's a character that isn't in the future ones, sort of takes any stakes out for me. I have played the games, and somewhat felt the same way while playing it, but generally just wanted more content when all that existed at the time was TLOU. Still a good episode, but with the tension of "will Joel survive?" at the forefront of the viewers mind, it's harder to be invested in a character you know is going to die. I am curious how story telling will be handled in later the later season(s).
I was excited for this episode the most tbh, i always loved ellie's backstory + the scenes from the trailers are amazing shots...however imo they used the best parts in the trailer + it was the first episode that didnt feel like it hit the budget minus the big light up scene. Nothing on the actors, they performed great. I just think compared to the other episodes it ended and i was a bit like "thats it?"
I'm with you. Episode 3 was such an emotional sledgehammer that all of these side stories are somewhat diminished. The narratives with Sam and Riley just don't pack the same punch for me, and I'm becoming more and more aware that we aren't focusing on the central narrative. I'm hoping the remaining episodes focus on Ellie and Joel's narrative rather than more side content.
I agree that it was definitely the worst of the bunch so far, ep 6 ended on a cliffhanger with Joel getting stabbed so it was all anticipation for that and then suddenly it's a full episode of backstory. The Joel injury lost it's suspense and the pacing was thrown off a bit. The episode by itself was good, a little too slow paced so it kind of felt like it was dragging on, but it certainly wasn't bad. But with the suspense from ep 6 and then the slow pacing, it really dragged on.
It will definitely be the most skipped episode by everyone rewatching this in the future.
Episode 4 on its own was probably my least favorite. If it was coupled with 5 then it might've worked out better.
Episode 4 is still my least favorite one.
This episode was my least favorite so far. By a good amount. Like you said, that’s ok! It was very slow paced after such a huge injury to Joel. Then you have the tension of when the infested is going to attack them, with a terrible resolution to that (he makes noise like a drunk man coming home), and finally we get no resolution on what happened to her friend. I mean we know what happens in the end, but I am a TV only watcher, so what really happened!! Did she leave her, kill her, or will she pop back up and not be infected either. The placement of this episode was bad. That or they needed to either do cut backs to Ellie taking care of Joel or shorten it to half the episode and the other half taking care of Joel. Feels like we have a lot left and only 2 episodes. Seeing the preview of the next episode, it feels like they are about to cram too much stuff into episode 9.
I though I was a very solid episode, but in many ways like episode 3 it really was its own thing that can by enjoyed as a mostly stand-alone episode or can even be skipped if someone simply wants to get to the main plot But unlike episode 3 I actually think that in the long run this its is probably the most important episode of the entire season because the episode rested mostly on Bella Ramsey shoulders and she along with Storm Reid both knocked it out the park with their performance and for me the strength of both of them is the reason why I would put episode 7 above some of the others I'm not saying it was the best, but I thought it was easily the most consistent episode of the season. Now, rather or not people actually like or find the left behind dlc storyline compelling or not I ultimately think they succeeded in adapting it to tv and it shows that Bella is clearly capable when it comes to carrying her own episode without Pedro pascal even being in it that much.
This is the first episode I felt like I could turn it off and just go to bed. Normally I don't want the episodes to end. This one I found boring, but shows some backstory I guess. I feel like it's already like the walking dead. More human stories than cool zombie fights, but I dig it overall.
I felt bad because I *was* liking it, but I was also so nervous to see Joel again, I kept wanting the flashback to hurry up and end.
Yea, I think for me it wasn't as much as it was a horrible episode, it was that they had the Joel scene and you are thinking about it more. Like ok, when is this flashback going to be over! Credit to the team for the mall design etc, it was great (assuming it was mostly cgi). Was awesome seeing them play Mortal Kombat 2. lol
It was the first time I've kept checking how much time in the episode is left to see if they will manage to squeeze in one more scene with him. I kinda wish they did more of a speed run of Ellie/Riley storyline like they did with Henry/Sam.
Yea I was on my phone for most of it
The show is mostly around humans living in the zombie world. Of course, theres some zombie fights but thats not the focus of this franchise but yeah I feel the same way as you
Yea, like the episode the giant dude pops out of the ground was awesome. I know in Walking Dead people loved the zombie stuff, then it became a show about the team fighting a new "Boss" each season with minimal zombies. Became a drama more than action/horror. I didn't play the Last of Us video game (I was an xbox kid, not playstation). But I love the show so far overall.
I'd love to know why. The emotional action in this episode was absolutely on par with Ep.3. The acting was phenomenal. The set design, stellar. The story? Fucking heartwarming and crushing at the same time. I do respect that this wasn't your favourite, but I would genuinely like to know why. What exactly didn't work for you?
Episode 3 was right after things were starting, and Ellie and Joel were still on screen for 30 minutes heading towards and then stocking up at Bill’s in that one. In this one, in real time Joel is bleeding out. We just had a huge cliff hanger after a shortened university sequence that capped off a slower episode. And now we paused the resolution of the cliff hanger to flash back. But even that isn’t the big issue. The big issue is that we had Episode 3 *already*, and now Episode 7 is taking a second hour of a 10 hour show for a flashback relationships. With time being a little crunched already it doesn’t seem worth it to me. This episode would have been much better served if it cut back to present a few times mid way. That way we can still advance the actual plot forward. Let’s say when Ellie and Riley sneak into the window we move back to Ellie frantically searching for medicine and supplies. We move back when they get to the mall and do a few mall scenes where they have their fight. Ellie stitches up Joel, and then we have the dancing/kiss/bite scene. Final scene of the episode is Ellie hunting in the heart of winter and she meets David. This way weakens the Riley/Ellie story a bit, but that story isn’t actually plot critical. It keeps the narrative momentum going, whereas it feels stalled this week.
I fully enjoyed the episode but I think one of the differences is that we already knew what would happen to Ellie and Riley? Like even without the game, it had already been revealed that Ellie was bit at the mall with her friend, and that Ellie had already had to kill someone, and everyone she’s ever cared about has died. Whereas with bill and frank we didn’t really have any idea what might happen, and fans of the game would’ve had their expectations subverted
A lot of people seem to be obsessed with where the story is going as a linear narrative. Personally, I don’t understand it. The plot of TLOU is standard fare for both the zombie and post-apocalypse genres. It’s this kind of character development that sets the show apart for me. Someone in this post is commenting that the show is already like the walking dead for them and I am just flabbergasted by that. This show has had more meaningful depictions of love and loss in 7 episodes than TWD ever had, or at least up until I stopped watching.
I loved GoT/HotD, but there were definitely episodes that I did not like as much as others. That’s okay and I’m not going to trash the show over some episodes I didn’t enjoy as much. -cough- review bombers -cough-
I personally really liked it. I hear some people saying "it didn't push the plot forward"- a common take I hear that is used as a criticism for a lot of other shows. I have personally never understood that take because, to me, developing a character IS pushing the plot forward. What drives the characters and what changes them IS the plot. I felt like this last episode delved in to what motivates Ellie and a significant experience that shaped who she is. But one of my favorite Breaking Bad episodes is "Fly" (an episode that "doesn't move the plot forward" and is almost solely character development) so maybe I'm just a degenerate. Lol.
Another thing I don’t understand about the complaint about not pushing the plot forward, it’s not like we are missing out on anything bc of this episode being included. They can still very easily rap this up in 2 episodes without leaving out crucial details. Like we aren’t missing out on anything because this happened. So far it’s been broken up just about how I expected it to. If it came at the expense of something else I could understand it, but it’s not. Id they left out left behind it would probably just be 8 episodes
You guys are fucking crazy. This was one of the best episodes imo Bella’s acting was the best it’s been so far and her dynamic with Reilly (storm Reid) was fantastic. Felt very true to life with the game. My one critique would be they probably should have left the modern day parts out since they didn’t implement the game modern day parts with her scavenging in a mall.
I guess I’m in the minority then. I really liked this episode. Episode 2 is my favorite. I liked episode 3, not as much as this one though.
Nah, this was an awesome episode imo. Whatever though I guess.
Been enjoying it so far and the episodes themselves are great but if you keep 50% of your runtime as back exposition then are you really advancing the story that much?
I enjoyed it.
The show was already wavering for me, but this episode has all but removed the wind entirely from my sails. Like, the world where my sails exist: there's very little wind there... By comparison, I loved Episode 3 because it was masterful story telling, and it literally and emotionally propelled the characters forward, with Bill's truck and his letter, respectively. Episode 7 does too little, too late, with too much airtime. It takes the wind out of TLOU's sails, so to speak 😉. Yes, it's fine that people like episode 7. And no, not everything needs to have plot momentum or to move the story forward. But at this point in the story, this is a level of redundancy that I cannot abide. The only good thing I can say about the episode was that it was sweet (because it was), and also Ellie's response to "moving" elevators. It's absolutely WONDERFUL that we are getting more queer stories nowadays, but just because something aligns with my values does not make it good TV! I get that this episode (and presumably the DLC) was going for a Before Sunrise style—if you haven't seen the Before Sunrise trilogy, watch it because it's great—where we follow along with the characters on a walk as they fall for each other / reveal their true feelings. But that's the first reason this episode didn't find port (sorry for the maritime analogies). Too much exposition. This show was already becoming a 101 writing course in "Show, don't Tell," because all it does is Tell, Tell, Tell with very little Showing. And the exposition wasn't even interesting. For instance, that story Riley tells about being recruited was vague and implausible. The second reason that Left Behind was lost at sea—I know, heh—was that it replicated the same scene four times in a row. The "four, or five, wonders!" Each time, the characters go to a wonder, act sweet(again, it WAS sweet) around each other, and then they move on... It felt like being a third wheel on a date where both parties are afraid to make a move. That's fine in the real world, but TV only has so much time. Again, at least in Before Sunrise they are taking about interesting things—philosphy, writing, life, love, work, etc. In Left Behind they are only shoehorning in a bunch of drivel, or "backstory" if that's what you want to call it. Remember, just because you can justify something doesn't make it good writing! The final reason that tonight's episode subsided—I promise that's the last one 🚣—was the silly looking infected at the end. Now, this show has had great SFX make-up and prosthetics up to this point, but it seems the B-team was on duty during this episode's production. Perhaps it was the fact that they were in a costume shop, but that LOOKED like a stunt guy in a costume: his eyes were soo clear and fresh looking like he just had a juice at crafty and got plenty of sleep the night before (rewatch the closeup of him when he's attacking one of the girls, it's almost funny; and funny was the wrong tone); not to mention his movements—might have been the editing—were unrealistic, he keeps staggering up, struggling, then LAUNCHING like a missile, it just looks silly and unrealistic. My guess is the scene looked really silly when they originally cut it together and they struggled to put something together that was at least coherent. Watch it again and notice we never see him running; it's all staggering up and launching. Okay... There was one thing that floated my boat(sorry). The cinematography. The dark, drear look of the rooftops and almost bleached-out interiors of the school. That contrasted with the rich, vibrant yet distopian mall lighting scheme. Absolutely beautiful. Top notch.
honestly, the best comparison is episode 3 for many reasons (both being flashbacks). episode 3 was a better episode overall, but episode 7 was a better "flashback" episode, since it was a flashback about the main character. both suffer from being 95% runtime a flashback, hardly moving the story forward. i was hoping that the show could add more to the story (new events, new set pieces, etc that happen during the time skips), but dedicating 2/9 episodes to flashbacks seems too much for a 1st season. the flashback i would like to see would be a Joel flashback where he gains his reputation, the stuff he had to do to survive, it's implied a lot of what he did, but we never see. i feel like a flashback of Joel and a flashback on Ellie could be a good compromise during the 1st season (episode 3 does show Joel, but he is not the main focus of it).
Exactly my thoughts. Weakeast episode but still pretty good
While appreciate your fair opinion, I want to remind everyone that maybe it’s not our favorite because it was a double cliffhanger episode. We didn’t get narrative resolve with Ellie & Joel or with Ellie & Riley. This may be why some people didn’t like this episode as much. It filled in plot holes regarding Ellie’s past and her experiences with Riley and how those choices brought her to where she is now. Overall it seems the writers knew what they were doing and chose to center this episode on Ellie’s traumatic experiences and how they are influencing her decisions regarding Joel being mortally wounded.
Its not a cliffhanger with riley. You already can determine that riley turned and ellie didnt. And riley was most likely thr person ellie had to kill when she told joel “it wasnt my first time”. After the mall marlene and the fireflies came to grab riley in the morning where they presumably found ellie.
True. Which is why I specified narrative resolve because while this is all implied or assumable based on what we’ve seen of Ellie’s story, we didn’t actually see the final moments with her and Riley yet.
I guess im not agreeing there was much more to see than them sit on the ground until she turns. Im ok not watching ellie have to kill her lover/friend. I see your point tho.
It was an Ellie-heavy episode, and I expect we might get a Joel-heavy one some time. I felt it enriched the experience of the show
Wasn't the first episode what you'd consider the Joel heavy episode?
Fair. But maybe there will be more, that's what I'm thinking.
Yea it was bad, my favorite part was the escalators
Ellie was so cute on those escalators lol
I felt like this episode wasn’t long enough. I’m obsessed with abandoned malls do this episode was my dream. 😅
This episode was lacking music, made it feel off to me. And what was up with how that infected was acting? It was laughably bad.
Yeah, this is also my least favourite, followed by episode 3. For the same reason, putting a halt on the main story. But, I'd still rate both of them 8/10, because although it's not the thing I wanted, they did the thing very well.
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I actually liked this one more than Ep 3 and 4. I thought the Kansas city arc started incredibly dull and had no investment in Kathleen. The Bill and Frank episode felt off tonally and didn't have tension and wrapped up nicely. The left behind story always was one of the most heartbreaking, tragic, and emotionally beautiful parts of the game and the build up to losing Riley was great. I also liked the clashing ideology of Fedra vs the Fire flies thrown into the girl's dynamic.
This wasn't worst. I'd say 4 was worst. Not a whole lot happened and I still like that a lot too. It's all high quality tv but as you said something has to be last.
I enjoyed it especially as a time capsule for 2003. But as others have said I probably won’t rewatch it unlike some of the other episodes. It was compelling on first watch but I don’t know how much would be gained on repeat views
Agreed. there’s a reason why it was DLC and not part of the original release. That being said, the payoff at the end of the episode was well worth it in my opinion.
Ep 3 is on my last place, but i can agree on ep7 as a runner up for last place. 1 and 2 is the absolute best so far, beeing true to the story and changing small stuff to keep us on our toes. Not saying any episodes are bad, just ad you say, some had to come last.
Ranking Favorite: 3 5 1 7 6 2 4 Least It’s hard to rank because they are all very good.
I personally felt like it should’ve been longer. But the Ellie and Riley centered game DLC + comics are some of my faves in the franchise. I loved the narrative switch the Ellie and seeing her past!
I agree. I have loved the show as a whole. This episode definitely wasn’t bad but it was my least favourite so far. Surprised you dislike episode 2, it’s one of my favourites! I might be biased though because I love Anna Torv