First things first. This is not the same story from the game. It bares a striking resemblance and it definitely draws inspiration from the original story, but this is a soft reboot.
It's also pretty well done. The atmosphere and sets are on point and the casting is mostly excellent as well. The actors for Joel and Ellie have great chemistry, which drives the story, and the rest of the cast does a good job of supporting them. The show even relies heavily on old-school practical effects instead of pure CGI, which deserves a big thumbs up.
However, there are issues.
An entire episode is dedicated to an alternate version of Bill and Frank's relationship. It's touching and heartbreaking, but comes at the cost of air time for central story development. All for side characters who will never appear again, not to mention it's a significant deviation from the original for no good reason.
There's also a jarring miscast in a later episode. Melanie Lynskey is a talented actress, but she utterly fails to deliver as a cold, sociopathic leader of a post-apocalyptic rebellion. She seems so out of place that I was waiting for some surprise twist revealing her true nature that never came.
The violence in general has been reduced to near PG levels, especially compared to the game. This is a strange decision, as HBO is known for adult content with very violent shows that were incredibly successful. The graphic violence in the game was an essential part of the storytelling. It highlighted what it would take to survive in world with no laws or government.
In another strange decision, there's a noticeable lack of infected in a story about them being the whole reason the world ended. Dealing with them in most episodes is also super easy, barely an inconvenience. Along with the toned down violence, it's as if the producers were aiming more for family viewership rather than a purely adult audience.
The worst offense though is how Joel's character has been made feeble. He's literally a shadow of the game character, who was a ruthless killing machine with a triple-digit body count. Experiencing his brutal physical prowess was important. It gave contrast to him becoming emotionally vulnerable again by caring for Ellie. In the show, he's stripped of his agency and literally has to beg for help at one point, diminishing his character growth.
I get that condensing a 20 hour interactive game into nine episodes fit for a broader audience comes with compromises. Looking at the number of different directors involved, all wanting to put their mark on the work and inject their own agendas, I'm shocked it turned out as good as it did. The last two episodes were the most authentic, so props to director Ali Abbasi. But maybe all this meddling with the story bodes well for season 2. I'm actually hoping for a complete rewrite, as the second game was a disgusting piece of misery porn.
It's a good show. Definitely give it a try. That being said, the people who never play the game are truly missing out. The original story still haunts me after all these years. It was something special and the whole reason this show gets to exist.
It's also pretty well done. The atmosphere and sets are on point and the casting is mostly excellent as well. The actors for Joel and Ellie have great chemistry, which drives the story, and the rest of the cast does a good job of supporting them. The show even relies heavily on old-school practical effects instead of pure CGI, which deserves a big thumbs up.
However, there are issues.
An entire episode is dedicated to an alternate version of Bill and Frank's relationship. It's touching and heartbreaking, but comes at the cost of air time for central story development. All for side characters who will never appear again, not to mention it's a significant deviation from the original for no good reason.
There's also a jarring miscast in a later episode. Melanie Lynskey is a talented actress, but she utterly fails to deliver as a cold, sociopathic leader of a post-apocalyptic rebellion. She seems so out of place that I was waiting for some surprise twist revealing her true nature that never came.
The violence in general has been reduced to near PG levels, especially compared to the game. This is a strange decision, as HBO is known for adult content with very violent shows that were incredibly successful. The graphic violence in the game was an essential part of the storytelling. It highlighted what it would take to survive in world with no laws or government.
In another strange decision, there's a noticeable lack of infected in a story about them being the whole reason the world ended. Dealing with them in most episodes is also super easy, barely an inconvenience. Along with the toned down violence, it's as if the producers were aiming more for family viewership rather than a purely adult audience.
The worst offense though is how Joel's character has been made feeble. He's literally a shadow of the game character, who was a ruthless killing machine with a triple-digit body count. Experiencing his brutal physical prowess was important. It gave contrast to him becoming emotionally vulnerable again by caring for Ellie. In the show, he's stripped of his agency and literally has to beg for help at one point, diminishing his character growth.
I get that condensing a 20 hour interactive game into nine episodes fit for a broader audience comes with compromises. Looking at the number of different directors involved, all wanting to put their mark on the work and inject their own agendas, I'm shocked it turned out as good as it did. The last two episodes were the most authentic, so props to director Ali Abbasi. But maybe all this meddling with the story bodes well for season 2. I'm actually hoping for a complete rewrite, as the second game was a disgusting piece of misery porn.
It's a good show. Definitely give it a try. That being said, the people who never play the game are truly missing out. The original story still haunts me after all these years. It was something special and the whole reason this show gets to exist.
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