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 summary doesn’t delve into every plot point in the episode, but clearly heavy spoiler so watch the episode first if you want to go fresh.
Andrew: I’m back again! Flashback, that is!
This isn’t as big a departure from the action as Bill’s episode was a few weeks ago, but it does mean that last week’s cliffhanger has barely been resolved. , it seems that sticking a decades-old unsterilized needle into an open wound is as likely to kill him as it saves him…
Kyle: If the flashback here seems a little out of place, perhaps this story was part of the game’s “Left Behind” DLC, created and released after the first game was released. I’m not totally against putting it in the show’s narrative here.It’s important background to go somewhere else.
Considering how we first met Ellie as a prisoner on the show, for taking a little more time to show us what it was like for her to grow up as a normal kid under the FEDRA version of society. I am undoubtedly grateful to
HBO
Andrew: Yeah, I have no problem with episodes. Those watching this in the future when it’s possible to watch the entire season in one go probably won’t be bothered by the delayed cliffhanger.
However, I think this can be frustrating in fiction. It’s the urge to show/explain every little thing about the character instead of implying things or making them a little mystical. I don’t really care here, but Truw Extends to a second or third season.
Viewers, have you ever wondered how Ellie got the knife? How did Bill get the truck?! Stay tuned next week!
Kyle: As long as you don’t fill up on 50 years of Star Wars filler, I think you’ll be fine…
Andrew: Anyway, those things aside, this episode was the first time I got to spend a lot of time with Ellie and Joel, and I’m grateful for that. Flashback to a few days ago? several weeks? Month? Before the start of the series, Ellie is not a potential savior of mankind, but a teenager with a bad attitude at FEDRA High School.
Kyle: I think the game is set a few weeks before Ellie meets Joel.
It was nice to see a well-acted version of Riley here that acts as a foil to push and pull Ellie in interesting directions. I think it is quite difficult. The pattern of “Meet new characters. Watch connect with characters you love. Oops, they die in her one or her two episodes” has already played out a bit. Too often you can go to that well…
HBO
Andrew: 2 people 3 people crowd Last of Us Space, and if you’re going to spend time with Ellie and Joel, you better come up with an exit strategy. , what if you were just allowed to leave and carry on with your life?
Kyle: These characters tend to stay with you for a little longer, even when they’re often artificially lengthened by gunfights and such, so I think they feel a little different in the game. within, but the timing of the break at the end of the episode doesn’t seem all that predictable.
Andrew: That said, let’s give some props to the set designers who seem excited to be working on something that isn’t another run-down residential area. There are a lot of fun details in the design of the mall. Didn’t, but the existence of an abandoned mall with all the anchor stores intact is very true to the early ’00s.
Other “Social Collapse September 2003!” What I Liked: Of course, the mall has a pop-up Halloween store and Ellie is listening to a cut from 2002’s Riot Act (Pearl Jam’s last space album) . (Unless Eddie Vedder survived the apocalypse, of all the alt-rock stalwarts, honestly, he’s the one I’d bet on.)
