I enjoyed season one and the first game is one of my all time favorites. The 2nd game was one of the biggest letdowns ever in any entertainment medium so I've been lacking motivation to watch the 2nd season.
As someone who has not played the game, season 1 was entertaining enough as it was fun to look at Calgary and see what buildings they digitally altered to fit the post aopocolyptix state, and which ones were fine as is
Again, full disclaimer, having admittedly no history with the game - it is pretty tough to watch this season, to be interested or invested
Pedro Pascal was watchable and generated a bit of good will. Oh well. Whatever
As someone who has not played the game, season 1 was entertaining enough as it was fun to look at Calgary and see what buildings they digitally altered to fit the post aopocolyptix state, and which ones were fine as is
Again, full disclaimer, having admittedly no history with the game - it is pretty tough to watch this season, to be interested or invested
Pedro Pascal was watchable and generated a bit of good will. Oh well. Whatever
You are basically following the path of many that played the games.
Actually enjoyed the first Joel free episode. Although I have a fear the show is going down a Walking Dead type path with bad guys from various post-apocalyptic tropes being introduced one after the other.
Yeah I'm mildly concerned about the militia factions / G.I.Joe chatacters and if they wind up bring reminiscent of what we've seen in every other post apocalyptic series or movie.
Hopefully doesn't water down what's been pretty solid to this point.
I honestly prefer watching raiders, scavengers or random groups of civilians trying to survive over organized and armed forces.
Even that cult was kind of neat.
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Last edited by TrentCrimmIndependent; 04-29-2025 at 03:44 PM.
One thing I noticed since the premier is that this season seems too “clean”. Everyone has perfectly fitting designer clothing, they all have brand new designer winter jackets, they’re all wearing brand new watches and nice jewellery. why do they all have perfect hair and good make up? Even accounting for the fact that everyone in a television show is gonna be wearing some make up the fact that they all have perfect hair like they all just got back from the salon hurts the immersion.
It really takes me out of the post apocalyptic scavenger Society when they’re all looking like they just ordered new wardrobes and had it delivered by Amazon yesterday.
The first season did such a good job of making Joel and Ellie and all of the other characters look and feel like they lived in a post apocalyptic society. And I get that Jackson has some amenities and they probably have some trade routes and trade partners but it all feels too clean.
I’m still not feeling good about the direction we’re heading but we’ll see how they handle it when they get there.
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Felt like the most videogamey episode yet.
Rummaging through drawers for supplies is my jam.
Did they move a bunch of ladders because they couldn't get to other parts of the map? Haha I'll never watch the series because to me it's the most overrated game practically of all time
I haven't played the game, but it sure felt like a lot of "stealth" levels, not being detected, caught in flashlight beams, sprinting for an exit when safe...
I think the problem is two fold: Ellie isn’t that compelling of a character and you’re really given more reasons to dislike her than like her through the first two episodes of this season, and Bella Ramsey is a far weaker actor than most anyone on the show and especially Pedro Pascal, which was manageable when you had Pascal, and is kind of unfathomable if you don’t.
Apparently the Abby actress was once considered for the role of Ellie. Would have been a significantly better choice, imo.
I’d go beyond “isn’t that compelling of a character.” As written this season, Ellie is one of the most unlikeable protagonists in popular streaming. Her sneering, reckless, tough-talking schtick just comes across as dumb and annoying. I guess they’re trying to make her super teenage-y. But everyone in my household - including my teenaged kids - hates the character. And the cringe dialogue she has to voice exposes Bella Ramsey’s limitations as an actress.
I expect the death of Joel turned off a bunch of fans. It’s made worse by the fact we’re now left mainly with cringe-Ellie. And judging by the casting of Abby’s friends (and the styled, clean look that Cecil pointed out), the show-runners are leaning hard into the Young Adult demographic. Can’t wait for more love triangles in the episodes to come.
(Sorry for the nero - just got caught up on the episodes last night).
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If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
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Is a lot of the dialouge lifted directly from the game? It sure seems like it is the type of thing that would work OK in that situation, quick quips, give the characters personality but not written by people who actually know how humans interact.
I played the game and despite my reservations about the second game I’m still willing to give this season a chance.
I will say I’ve enjoyed the first four episodes quite a bit. It’s not at that top echelon of television but I’d still place it well above a lot of the mindless fluff that we see on television these days. It’s a solid compelling drama.
I’ve read a fair amount of criticism over Ellie and Dina and their relationship and dialogue. I agree it feels rushed, I agree neither of them are strong enough actresses to make the fairly pedestrian dialogue feel particularly compelling but ultimately I don’t have a ton of complaints.
Other than my issues with the immersion due to the cleanliness of the show I find myself watching start to finish every episode without getting bored or rolling my eyes.
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Ya, it's still a great entertaining show. But I can definitely see some weaknesses compared to other big budget HBO shows, and it does feel like a lot of that goes back to the source material.
I’d go beyond “isn’t that compelling of a character.” As written this season, Ellie is one of the most unlikeable protagonists in popular streaming. Her sneering, reckless, tough-talking schtick just comes across as dumb and annoying. I guess they’re trying to make her super teenage-y. But everyone in my household - including my teenaged kids - hates the character. And the cringe dialogue she has to voice exposes Bella Ramsey’s limitations as an actress.
I expect the death of Joel turned off a bunch of fans. It’s made worse by the fact we’re now left mainly with cringe-Ellie. And judging by the casting of Abby’s friends (and the styled, clean look that Cecil pointed out), the show-runners are leaning hard into the Young Adult demographic. Can’t wait for more love triangles in the episodes to come.
(Sorry for the nero - just got caught up on the episodes last night).
Yeah. I haven't played the games through myself, but i've watched the cutscenes because they are really great.
And Ramsay comes across like an almost completely different character in the show. I don't know if it's on purpose to make show Ellie her own, or if that's just her trying and not doing so great, but it's strange. (sometimes I get Nelson vibes from her tough voice )
This season I keep thinking "what does she see in her?" around Dina's undying love for this character who's shown few if any redeeming qualities from what we've seen of them together.
Ramsay's Ellie worked a lot better in season 1. May have to watch and compare to figure out why that is. I'm going to guess it's because she shared the screen with Pedro/Joel most of the time and they balanced each other out.
It's no disdain for the actress either as she was wonderful in GOT. But perhaps in this case the casting was a miss.
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