I'm sure both of you will be fine. — Expanding / I’m sure both of you will be fine.

new episodes of Last of Us premieres every Sunday night on HBO, and Ars’ Kyle Orland (who’s played the game) and Andrew Cunningham (who hasn’t yet) talk about them here every Monday morning. ‘s recap won’t delve into every plot point in the premiere episode, but it clearly heavy spoiler so watch the episode first if you want to go fresh.

Andrew: Last week, I talked about my concern that the show struggles to feel like an “adaptation” as opposed to simplistic apocalypse fiction. many This episode felt “videogamey” to me. Beyond zombie encounters, there’s something about bombed shells in recognizable locations that have been destroyed but strangely beautiful where nature has reclaimed itself, which feels unique to video games. It’s weird to think there’s “level design,” but that’s what came to mind for abandoned museums and flooded hotel lobbies.

Kyle: Well, one of the reasons is probably that this episode was directed by Neil Druckmann, who co-wrote and co-directed the game. So it’s not shocking that many moments in this episode play out as fairly direct re-creations of the game’s first encounter with Clicker. I half expected the prompts to be on screen. I wish the show was a little less loyal and a little more concise in most cases. It’s not very interesting as a passive observer compared to .

Andrew: Oh yes, sorry, “clicker”. I forgot, Zombie his fictional character is not allowed to use her Z-word. The clicker designs are cool compared to the old-school Romero zombies, but I think they were mostly lifted straight from the game. There are only a few monsters in the enclosed space to give you a sense of the flow of the battle before the more complex battle begins.

As someone who basically knows where this whole thing is going, does this episode surprise you?

It's time for another combat tutorial. — Expanding / It’s time for another combat tutorial.

Kyle: Well, from the beginning, I was kind of surprised to see a return to pre-outbreak times in the Indonesian scene.For me, most of the time it felt like I was wasting a lot of time looking up things I already knew. how Regardless of how the infection occurred, humanity still has to deal with the crappy aftermath. scene.

Andrew: It also means that this episode contains two instances of people talking about bombs without the cost of actually showing them. And it’s this sort of unremarkable flashback that sets the stage for perhaps a more interesting flashback. , agreed that it does not feel very necessary here.

But yeah, “generally I’m not interested in flashbacks that show what can be assumed given the information already available”.

Kyle: Yeah, after dozens of hours playing in the post-outbreak game world, I never once thought, “I want to know more about what caused all this.” It may be unfair because I fell in love with Ellie through the game… Do you still love Ellie?

Expanding / Only the youngest member of the cast can squat like this for an extended period of time.

Andrew: I liked her in this episode! Yes, obviously still a smart mouth. I’m sure some will find her one-note, but there are some moments of vulnerability and innocence in this episode I spoke about last week. A convenient audience surrogate for explanations about the world. All things considered, my second favorite child being escorted through a hostile wilderness in an expensive-looking vehicle by Pedro Pascal Sci-fi program. But there is a surprising amount of competition in that category.

Kyle.

Andrew:Yeah, like I said last week (and I probably keep saying?), it’s all tropy as hell, but is it so well done that you hardly care? The moment Ellie and Tess seemed tied, I knew Tess wasn’t going to make it out of the episode (the fact that there are less than three of them in all of the show’s promotional materials is another freebie). Even without knowing the game, he can see the unlikely bond between Joel and Ellie coming through from a mile away. Every beat in both major monster fights was textbook. Will monsters pass by without noticing them? Will Tess manage to wield a flaky lighter? You know the answer to both.

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Kyle and Andrew sneak through The Last of Us’ by-the-book second episode

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