The Last of Us - HBO Series [Spoilers after episodes have aired -- no game spoilers]

[PeteMoss]

I haven't watched the game and I'm not watching the show like a critic - and I've enjoyed it. And it is quite simple to understand or at least follows 'normal' show writing in that if something isn't spoonfed to you when the character is introduced - you get the gist based on how they are act or how others react to them - and you can be confident they'll explain it to you soon.

[dubc80]

Pretty neat article.

Keivonn Woodard, the little kid who plays Sam is a deaf hockey player.

Spoiler!

He has a American Sign Language interpreter at his games/practices, and the rink has a special lighting system to help him with stoppages and line changes funded by a grant from the Washington Capitals.

Unfortunately, his dad died very recently.

The below part was pretty neat though.

Keivonn spent three months in Calgary filming "The Last of Us" in early 2022, Mazin said.

The show gave Keivonn and his mother a list of nearby rinks if he wanted to go skating or play hockey, but there wasn't enough time until her son wrapped up shooting his scenes, his mother said.

"Keivonn's driver had a son who actually played hockey and he said, 'Hey, you can join my kid's team and play with them,'" Jackson-Woodard said. "He was just so excited to play. It was like a kid eating ice cream."



https://www.nhl.com/web/news/the-las...?tid=277350296

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

This Bella analysis/grading by the actors council of CP is unreal

You just said it yourselves ... she's 14. adjust expectations accordingly

I don’t know that it’s unreal, it’s not like she’s an oscar winner and untouchable. She’s been ok for a good chunk of it and I think it was fair to worry if she was just going to maintain being ok in general, which also made the last episode that much better. Everyone has actors they like and dislike in shows, though.

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

I haven't watched the game and I'm not watching the show like a critic - and I've enjoyed it. And it is quite simple to understand or at least follows 'normal' show writing in that if something isn't spoonfed to you when the character is introduced - you get the gist based on how they are act or how others react to them - and you can be confident they'll explain it to you soon.

Weirdly, I think 90+% of the people I’ve heard or seen mention of it being possibly confusing has been from people who know what happens.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Pretty neat article.

Keivonn Woodard, the little kid who plays Sam is a deaf hockey player.

Spoiler!

He has a American Sign Language interpreter at his games/practices, and the rink has a special lighting system to help him with stoppages and line changes funded by a grant from the Washington Capitals.

Unfortunately, his dad died very recently.

The below part was pretty neat though.

Keivonn spent three months in Calgary filming "The Last of Us" in early 2022, Mazin said.

The show gave Keivonn and his mother a list of nearby rinks if he wanted to go skating or play hockey, but there wasn't enough time until her son wrapped up shooting his scenes, his mother said.

"Keivonn's driver had a son who actually played hockey and he said, 'Hey, you can join my kid's team and play with them,'" Jackson-Woodard said. "He was just so excited to play. It was like a kid eating ice cream."



https://www.nhl.com/web/news/the-las...?tid=277350296

For a kid with no action experience, I thought he did pretty great.

Also think the actor playing Ellie is pretty solid too. She really manages to give off that flippant, sarcastic, uncaring, slightly awkward teenage vibe well.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by blankall

For a kid with no action experience, I thought he did pretty great.

Also think the actor playing Ellie is pretty solid too. She really manages to give off that flippant, sarcastic, uncaring, slightly awkward teenage vibe well.

Yeah, it is pretty wild that the show was running out of time and options to cast that role and they basically had to go onto twitter to ask for submissions. I hope to see him in more roles in the future.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

...

Weirdly, I think 90+% of the people I’ve heard or seen mention of it being possibly confusing has been from people who know what happens.

Not sure how anything that moves at the pace of TLOU could actually be confusing to anyone. Have we met 10 characters yet, in 5 episodes? 12?

[devo22]

this episode was outstanding. And even though I knew how it would end, it completely destroyed me again.

I thought Henry's casting was particularly superb.

[Wormius]

I don’t think I have seen it mentioned, but does anyone get Bruno Gerussi vibes when watching Pedro Pascal? I feel like they should be grabbing a coffee at Molly’s Reach and chasing after Relic.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by blankall

For a kid with no action experience, I thought he did pretty great.

Also think the actor playing Ellie is pretty solid too. She really manages to give off that flippant, sarcastic, uncaring, slightly awkward teenage vibe well.

Whoa, whoa, not an actor portraying teenage tendencies/undeveloped emotions very well. An actor not showing adult like emotions thru lack of acting skill!!!

[devo22]

a few random thoughts:

- Bella Ramsey has completely won me over during these last couple of episodes. I wasn't 100 percent convinced by her casting and the first couple oof episodes, but she's completely nailed it since.
- I thought Melanie Lynsky's character was relatively weak as an antagonist. She played it well, but her overall arc felt, well, a bit weak to me. Her being torn apart by the child clicker (which was excellent) was satisfying though.
- the bloater was great. I was a bit skeptical how it would turn out because these things can easily look really silly or gimmicky in a show/movie, but I thought they did really well.
- I haven't heard the podcast for this week yet, but I'm curious why they chose to make Sam deaf. I thought it worked well and the kid did a heck of a job, I was just really surprised to see such a change.

5 episodes in, it's still full marks for me. Mazin has done a wonderful job with his writing, they've nailed the casting and they've hit a really nice balance of staying true to vs. straying from the game. Super happy with how this season has turned out so far.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I didn't really think they needed the bloater. It did strike me as a bit video gamey. I agree with the rest of what you said.

Next episode should be a good one - I am a bit worried that the last two are going to be really rushed though.

[CroFlames]

- The show is so good that we are splitting hairs trying to nitpick. Bella's acting is great, but there is something about her. Maybe it's just kinda expressionless face. Again, just a minor thing, she is doing a great job.

- Pedro is also doing a great job. I prefer the OG Joel with that Texas accent, but Pedro's portrayal is great.

- The acting in the Bill and Frank episode was sublime, and it had to be because they deviated from the game so much.

- The kid zombie that slithers into Ellie's car then absolutely rekt Kathleen was awesome and scary with her gymnast movements.

- The little boy who played Sam was fantastic (as was Henry). The performance demands so much more when you can't use words, and both of them knocked it out of the park.

Fantastic episode. There is a reason it's called The Last of Us.

[Shazam]

It's great fun, episodes are nice and tight.

[Ashasx]

I thought infected existed to spread the virus? Can somebody explain why would a bloater rip somebody's head off, therefore preventing the virus from spreading to them?

[KTrain]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I thought infected existed to spread the virus? Can somebody explain why would a bloater rip somebody's head off, therefore preventing the virus from spreading to them?

Bloaters are different than regular infected. Don't overthink it.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I thought infected existed to spread the virus? Can somebody explain why would a bloater rip somebody's head off, therefore preventing the virus from spreading to them?

Presumably "this person is a threat, it is killing other infected who would otherwise spread the virus, I must stop it from doing that immediately", or some similar justification.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I thought infected existed to spread the virus? Can somebody explain why would a bloater rip somebody's head off, therefore preventing the virus from spreading to them?

My initial thinking is the guns had a lot to do with it.

We could probably sit down and hash out about 100 things humans do every day that are detrimental to our own survival.

[CroFlames]

This is what the bloater looks like with no shirt on in case anyone was wondering

Spoiler!

He's 6'6"

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

This is what the bloater looks like with no shirt on in case anyone was wondering

Spoiler!

He's 6'6"

The costume made him look fat.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

The costume made him look fat.

Its water weight.