Surprised there wasn’t a weekly thread for this. The S2 finale was tonight. S1 was one of my favorite shows of the year with one all time great episode (3) and several other excellent episodes (1, 8, and 9). This season had 2 excellent episodes (2 and 6) and the rest were just good. Felt more like a game with distinct action sequences and such.
Being terminally online, I was spoiled for the big thing this season, but that’s it. Watching a review I was also pseudo-spoiled for something else from the game. Not a plot point, but something that’s perhaps relevant if I read into it too much. So, I could go into S3 without knowing how things turn out, but I’m feeling the itch to go pick up a playstation and play through both games.
I know in the game Abby was jacked and a lot of game players didn’t like the casting (they’re also upset about Bella Ramsey, albeit I think for a different and gross reason), but I thought she killed it.
Well, I really enjoyed this ‘season’ and appreciate the incredible production values and the time it took to pull all this off. But… this business of 6 or 7 hours of story with a year or two gap before the next installment really stinks, IMO, of course.
I heard that Neil and Craig have said that they won’t finish the story in the next season, either. They’re hoping for a green light for season 4.
I guess one positive thing is that Neil is adamant that the show won’t get ahead of the game, Game of Thrones style. And given that there’s been no confirmation of a TLOU 3, current TV plans end at the same spot the current narrative ends.
I was “fine” with a wait after S1 because there was a very natural ending point. This season is ending on a cliffhanger.
I know the second game was significantly longer than the first, but I thought it was a bit less than 2x, not 3x. And I thought there were some moment this season when it felt like filler so I would be worried about bloat.
If you think about the structure of the second game, there are more or less three acts, each about a third of the gameplay. We just finished the first act of the game in this season.
Yeah. It ends on a cliffhanger / shift in focus. Pork_Rind mentions it’s the end of one of the acts in the game. Feels that way. Must be hard to structure a show that doesn’t line up that well with TV conventions. If there are two more acts of roughly the same length I’d much prefer they do like 12 long episodes or a 15 episode season. If I end up not playing the games there’s no way I avoid spoilers for two more seasons.
Hmm. Well cable only has so many timeslots so they’re limited in what they can show while you can put as much as you want streaming. I’d guess it’s that.
Just watched S2E7. Interesting, but not compelling IMO. Especially compared with last week, which goes to show, Pedro Pascal was kind of the heart of this show. I know logically why Joel had to die, but that doesn’t make the others any more compelling. Maybe Abby, in time. Weird place to end a season, especially since it will be a while before S3. At least Squid Game will continue only six months later.
I felt this was a weaker season than the first and while it had some effective moments it did not work as a season of Television. I never played the games but from what I understand the switch from Ellie to Abby is straight from the game. For a game that’s fine but for TV this would have worked much better if they went back and forth between Ellie and Abby. I am not sure any nuance or parallel they try to present between the two characters will work when it will be two years before we see Abby’s side.
That said there were some good moments. I liked the argument about Community Ellie and Jessie had (RIP Jessie) and Abby’s pregnant friend whispering “Is it out” as she dies was horrifying and sad.
Hoping we learn the show is coming back sooner than expected given the structure they are using.
I was going to resubscribe to Max just to watch Season 2 but from the comments here I think I will just pass. Had no idea what was going to happen to Pedro.
I do not play any video games so maybe that’s why it comes as a surprise.
This is the second thing I was “spoiled on.” I don’t think I agree with you, and it’s my understanding that the transition was even more stark in the game; the reveal that the Dr was Abby’s father was much later in the game I believe.
I think I disagree because Ellie has been making very stupid and selfish decisions all season. At the end of ep2, even knowing Abby’s motivation, I was on her side. But I’ve become much more sympathetic and I’d probably say I’m on her side at this point and excited to learn more about her. This also feels like it would be super effective in a game and I’m sad that I didn’t play these games when they came out.
The dying pregnant woman scene gave me Walking Dead vibes where Rick’s wife was giving birth in the prison compound.
If Ellie is indeed dead, big if there, I’ll be fairly content with the plot shifting to Wolves vs Seraphim vs Federals (if any are left in Seattle metro).
I’m vaguely aware of the structure of the games, so it’s been kind of spoilered for me. But narratively speaking, I’m assuming Ellie is still alive and season three will be some sort of confrontation and resolution between Ellie and Abby.
I mean I think we all get it. Ellie and Abby are two sides of the same coin - we get to see each sides perspective of having their father and people they care about killed by some lunatic.
The only problem IMHO is that Ellie with her inherently violent, stupid, selfish and dishonest nature is actually a lot less sympathetic compared to Abby.