EFAP TV: Reacting to The Last of Us: Episode 1: When You're Lost in the Darkness

And so begins a new journey, through the world of The Last of Us but not in the medium one would expect.

[@RogueFox2185]

“The Fireflies knock on our door with their zebra veterinarians and you think I’m in danger Ellie? Wrong. I AM the danger, I AM the one who golfs!” -Joel Miller

[@Kernwadi]

Bjoootyful.

[@VerilyViscous]

Jo-el, no!

[@JoseMolina-jz9hh]

Oh noel

[@jamesthomas9619]

That's a subversion I'll take, Joel beats Abby's skull in with a golf club and Ellie spits on her corpse, then all will be right again lmao

[@deeta000]

Jeez, Joel

[@Longshanks1690]

Watched the entire thing, there were 0 zebras. How am I supposed to know who the good guys are if there’s no one helping zebras to tell me whose who??? 😭

[@Kernwadi]

Our Lord has returned! Rejoice peasants!

[@Kernwadi]

Also, don't you know that zebras are outdated? It's all about giraffes now.

[@vadandrumist1670]

Freeze-frame bonus.

[@R-A-9]

😂

[@Kernwadi]

"I feel cold, sort of dead... Like Joel hit with a golf club too many times." -The Last of Bagginses

[@DLV_Channel]

I smiled. 😆

[@Kernwadi]

@@DLV_Channel That's all I wanted.

[@sometingwrong905]

I actually laughed even happy I checked the comments for that one.

[@Kernwadi]

@@sometingwrong905 Your comment makes me very glad.

[@ericv00]

"Like golf spread over too much Joel"

[@ButtSolution]

Joel: "My daughter is dead...my whole family is dead...I truly am...The Last of Us Part 1" I clapped. I clapped when he said it.

[@benl2140]

My favourite part was when Abby said "It's golfin' time" and then she...OK I'll stop now.

[@Kernwadi]

I love jokes, doesn't everyone?

[@ethansnyder3401]

It was so good to finally see Din Djarin without a helmet. I cried. Hopefully we see baby Yoda and Ahsoka soon!

[@jmanjman2685]

I especially loved when one of the infected said: '' Its last of us time''

[@MagicOmelet]

@@Kernwadi underline Oblivion reference?

[@inertjefe3906]

Joel points at soldier: "Life is good, but it could be better." Soldier:(Automatic fire)

[@SwampGreen14]

"JO-EL NO!"

[@casbyness]

Did you say t...t....TOUCHES?!

[@josephjackson9679]

The Last Of Us is good, but it could be better

[@T1S_Mixes]

"No zebra shall be spared." -Joel, probably

[@Kernwadi]

In the new iteration he's more into hippos.

[@benjamingrant5970]

@@Kernwadi A hippo is just a less pointy rhino though. At the end of the day, they're both essentially just zebra like weapons. 🦛=🦏=🦓=🥛

[@Kernwadi]

@@benjamingrant5970 Amen.

[@TheWunWhiteWolf]

I do like the idea of them narrowly avoiding eating the yeast products in the beginning.

[@Kernwadi]

Wolf... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[@Bungowumperpuss]

Feast on my yeast 😩

[@MrAskmannen]

Are you refering to the pancakes they were planning to eat? Pancakes aren't made with yeast.

[@KGLordofhollows]

@@MrAskmannen The cookies the neighbors were having (in the morning feeding the grandma and later the one they baked) and Joel not getting a birthday cake.

[@MrAskmannen]

@@KGLordofhollows There ain't yeast in cookies or cakes either.

[@xrphoenix7194]

"There are no treatments for this, no preventatives, no cures, they don't exist its not even possible to make them" That's gonna be a fun line to come back to at the end of this story

[@rockdragon3]

my favorite part is when Joel is carrying Sarah and in the game, Joel is carrying her on his right, so when he ducks to the right, it's to shield her from the bullets. but in the show, he's carrying her on his left, so when he ducks right it inadvertently causes him to swing her INFRONT of him. so instead of shielding her he used her as a shield lmao

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

But in the game he should have been penetrated by bullets if they killed Sarah. Here it makes more sense that she was killed and he was only wounded. And of course, he blames himself for it and tried to end his life shortly after.

[@Gandalf-The-Gay]

"Now we are all bastards..." -J03L after becoming responsible for every death in the world

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I can't believe he shot JFK like that.

[@grandarkfang_1482]

Punished Joel Miller...

[@benjamingrant5970]

"Now I am become J03L, destroyer of zebra veterinarians".

[@vetrais7965]

There are really only 2 changes that I'm not a fan of is with this version. First off, changing Robert and Joel and Tess's chasing him down. That section of the game really set the pace of who Joel was. He was willing to kill and even slightly torture Robert to get the details on the guns and didn't flinch when Tess shoots him. With new Joel, he only chose violence once, and made it more reactionary than a choice. They allude to Joel being someone you don't want to mess with, but never really gave us a reason for it. Not saying that Joel was a murderous madman in the original, but it gave a "whatever the cost" toughness that just doesn't exist yet in this version. The other is small, but I think made a huge difference. The show version had the opening credits and title card before the outbreak even started. I would've left it between the end of their fleeing for safety and before the time jump like they did in the game. This worked phenomenally in the game by hitting that huge note with Sarah, and then basically seeing everything crumble. You had time for that to really sink in, enhanced by the beautiful soundtrack. By moving the credits and title card beforehand, you're left with just having a quick "20 years later" and no time to let that death sink in.

[@joshthehomesteader229]

Yeah Joel had become a brutal man by this point with a lot of bodies in his past. I'm just not feeling that in this portrayal

[@Deadsnake989]

When I first got to that section in the game Joel seemed like he was barely one step above a common bandit thug to me. Memory is a little hazy because I haven't played the game in a decade. But I think later in the game he either alludes to, or straight up tells Ellie he used to be a bandit. So I'm not a huge fan of them changing that about him. I think it was something that was really important to his character development.

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

Well he is pointing a gun to a kid. He seems really tough.

[@Birthday888]

On the other hand though, if they're making Joel more heroic, there's a higher chance that they'll make his death in S2 better than the shit we got. Plus, this is still the first episode, they might be saving the reveal of Joel's past. I don't disagree with your criticisms though, I also think the title card should have been left where it was in the game.

[@vetrais7965]

@@IncredibleGoliath except for the times they have done this. From just some quick googling I can tell you there are examples of this being done (OA on Netflix, Duck Tales pilot on Disney combined 2 parter without credits in first half, and Breaking Bad when they introduced Ozymandius to name a few). Also, there doesn't seem to be any rule on requiring credits at the beginning, more a general guideline. There's a pretty decent write up on Wikipedia about how this has changed over the years, with Star Wars being one of the first to break the mold.

[@Hollyclown]

I feel like taking away the spore aspect took a really essential part of what makes the infestation so terrifying. Instead of being just another zombie “I bite you” thing, you can easily just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It just being some spoiled food is a big copout.

[@shaynethegmann]

Like, they claim it's to make it more realistic but spores is literally how the fungus the disease is based off of propagates

[@Hollyclown]

@@shaynethegmann exactly! The game already based it’s premise off a real life fungus. You can’t get more real then that.

[@arcadestickgaming6601]

Well they revamped it into a hive mind sort of fungus. The fungus essentially works as a central nervous system. The fungus spreads through people and then it can grow into the soil or on the ground that it is surrounded by. A person who touches or steps on the fungal sprouts is as if someone disturbes a nerve in the human body. This in turn sends out a signal to all the infected whom are connected to the fungus physically, letting the hive know that it's being disturbed and rush over to that location as fast as possible. I think it's a good replacement for spores for the show

[@Hollyclown]

@@arcadestickgaming6601 idk, I’ll have to see where they go with it before I’m convinced. It’s a pretty big change.

[@chrisi1466]

It was still food in the game that initially caused the outbreak, the 2nd item you can pick up in the game is the Newspaper says that they were recalling all crops from South America, so it was still food based the spores are just how it spread after the initial outbreak. I don’t really mind the change, spores only show up 4 times the entire game, so I always thought it seemed super inconsistent on where they were and weren’t. If it really was spores it wouldn’t be The Last of Us it be There’s None of Us because nobody would survive

[@JasonJeffory]

In this world, they never got to see Return of the King. The trilogy was never complete for them. Extra layer of sadness right there.

[@Gandalf-The-Gay]

Remember when Joel killed literally everyone? Yeah, me neither.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

JustWrite wouldn't lie to all of us like that...Would he?

[@kingsweden4636]

That’s simply not true

[@takashi-lee3943]

What do you mean? Joel didn’t save that family, practically was asking to be beaten by that legend Abby

[@youdarnweebsgetoffmylawn]

Uhh, did you not watch the show? Joel was literally the one that put the fungus in all of the bakery products. He started the outbreak!

[@Charleroi92]

@@youdarnweebsgetoffmylawn That bastard!

[@tzuyd]

"It's weird to see jets, but I guess the air's where they'd be" Actually hilarious comment, and completely true to what anyone would be thinking

[@Soapy-chan_old]

i don't get it

[@childofslaanesh1251]

@@Soapy-chan_old The show acts like 3 jets (from the look military) screaming overhead is super crazy, and in reality at least in the US its just kinda normal.

[@Soapy-chan_old]

@@childofslaanesh1251 Ooooh I get it, thanks. That's a good one xD

[@tzuyd]

@@Soapy-chan_old For me it's like... I don't know. Maybe because I'm not American it's a slightly different take. But if I saw jets like that in the sky, I would be like 'wtf'. But then I would continue on. Rags' rationale as 'well, jets do belong in the air after all' struck me as a Douglas Adams-esque commentary on the nature and being of jets doing what they do :) Now, if I saw some jets flying through the water, I'd be like 'WTF!?!?!' instead.

[@Soapy-chan_old]

@@tzuyd Yeah that's why i like his joke there :) For me it would also mean that probably a war broke out, I'm in germany and I think the last time a jet flew over here was at the iraq war in 2003 I think.

[@Kernwadi]

"But, how did it make you... feel?" -Bilbo Baggins

[@NicTheGreek1979]

....like Pedro, spread over too much Pascal...

[@Kernwadi]

@@NicTheGreek1979 At least it's better than a wet Pascal Pedro.

[@stayotter]

"Sexual harassment" -- BlowBlow Bliggons

[@NicTheGreek1979]

@@hostmannsocrates4703 wouldn't surprise me if, for the 2nd season, they set it before the events of the 2nd game, and just make up some new sh*t lol.

[@speedyacorn2520]

Oh man I can't wait to see how everyone's lives got ruined by Joel

[@Kernwadi]

Yeah, I can't wait for Joel to explain how he killed the dinosaurs and started both world wars...

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@Kernwadi "Ellie stoped talking to me for 3 weeks after I used Homer Simpson's toaster to travel back in time and kill all the dinos in a frenzied rampage. On the bright side, it rains donuts now."

[@benjamingrant5970]

Joel was trying to steal Jeremy Renner's Snowcat plow when he ran him over. It wouldn't have been so severe, except he backed back over him about 3 times, just to be malicious....

[@Arcane_10_out_of_10]

@@Kernwadi To be fair, the sequel does explain the former in a 'show, don't tell' way, allowing the player to conclude that Joel ate all the dinosaurs in the museum flashback, hence there are nothing but bones remaining.

[@Kernwadi]

@@Arcane_10_out_of_10 Makes perfect sense to me.

[@kvltovpersonality6290]

My biggest worry with this show is what they're going to try and do to justify what happens in TLOU2 (Neil can be as cheeky as he wants, but we all know this is getting a season 2). The first game was about regaining one's lost humanity, even if it meant the world be damned. The second game throws this out the window by telling the audience that what Joel did was incorrect, that the world WAS going to be saved but Joel ruined it (not even in Abby's eyes, which would make sense, but just straight up tells YOU, the player, that he was wrong), and just goes with the most basic revenge story tropes to try and justify itself. It took the first story's ambiguity and nuance and just crushed it under two tons of narcissism. It basically told us "well, Abbey was saved by Joel, but he did something wrong to her in the past, so here's him being brutally murdered... okay now, after playing Ellie for 10 hours, it's time to try and undo all of that by now playing as Abbey. Okay, well you may not think she was in the right after playing here, but we're telling you she was, lol." Granted I DO think there is a possibility for the TLOU2 adaptation to improve upon it in a new medium, I just don't have faith that they won't drag the first story's game down to try and bring the second story's game up.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

As Spock would say, "The lives of the many, doesn't outweigh the life of Abby. Now save that psycho murderer!"

[@Daily_Bassist]

But even then, we now KNOW where the story goes after this part ends. Joel gets clubbed, Ellie becomes a vicious murderer, and one of the worst people in the series is supposed to be the most sympathetic POV character.

[@RogueFox2185]

That’s why I’m skipping out on this show, if all roads lead to Abbyzilla then there’s no point in seeing him get clubbed by her to death in live-action.

[@spendsshanks6050]

@@RogueFox2185Facts

[@5omewhiteguy211]

Couldn't agree more friend. I. Going to be discussing alot of that in my upcoming 1st podcast episode. Theres also a part of me that wants to see the show be faithful to part 2, and then see TV media completely reject it. That way, we can see if it's just "gamers being bigots" or if they will accept that the pacing and characters of part2 are just sub-par

[@thevoicej2511]

I really like the opening scene with Fedra being nice to the kid they euthanize. In the games we got almost no characterization of Fedra and only a little for the Fireflies. The Fedra lady trying to make the infected child feel safe is nice. In the game Fedra seemed just like an evil military dictatorship.

[@Arcane_10_out_of_10]

I agree, it sets the tone after the time jump - FEDRA is not taking any risks, but also shows that some humans in the post-outbreak are not devoid of empathy.

[@tomjames9681]

I kind of want a scene where Joel picks up a Scissors and Ellie tells him he needs a binding to make a handle, then Joel gets annoyed at the fact a scissors has a perfectly good handle already.

[@DigiMyst]

Please keep this format going! There really aren't many movies to cover these days

[@engineerforthefuture8593]

Loved the constructive analysis you guys provide. I will say that the spores have been replaced by something new and potentially equally threatening which plays into the biology of fungi in quite an interesting way. How they execute the concept throughout the show is yet to be seen, but I really loved how they used it in Episode 2. Would love to see you guys cover the whole show!

[@joshthehomesteader229]

Yeah I worry about their ability to lay ground rules for the world and stick to them consistently

[@engineerforthefuture8593]

@@joshthehomesteader229 we'll just have to wait and see.

[@asimplewizard]

@@joshthehomesteader229 at least on episode 5 it incorporated everything we learned and gave us a pretty badass horde scene.

[@SpicyToTheDeath]

Weird seeing a positive EFAP episode about a tv show, hope this show keeps it that way

[@stevepickford3004]

I hope we can see more positive reviews in the future too

[@deathsdoor07]

They like Andor.

[@stevepickford3004]

@@deathsdoor07 and they don't cover it but she hulk, batwoman etc get breakdowns of every episode through all seasons. It's good to see something positive. Let's hope they don't drop it if its decent

[@dougalbadger4918]

Their videos watching the lord of the rings were also really positive

[@jackmrsich3178]

@@dougalbadger4918 Half the time was them praising the movies, the other half was making weed jokes.

[@Batmans_Pet_Goldfish]

Oatmeal raisin cookies with a little bit of cinnamon in them are god tier.

[@wadenbeisser2491]

Raisins are the invention of the devil. Sweet sweet grapes with the soul sucked out of them leaving the dried out carcass behind. People who like raisins scare me. They truly do.

[@samuelrichards5521]

@@wadenbeisser2491I will pelt you with raisins, January 29th.

[@wingsoffreedom3589]

@@wadenbeisser2491 raisins are awesome I like um in granola and yogurt, my oatmeal, salads, tuna wraps and sandwiches, raisins are awesome.

[@Tundra.]

@@wingsoffreedom3589 Get thee gone, Satan! Leave this child of God! Let him be spared this misery of the foul Raisin and taste of your glorious salvation! Exorcizamus te!

[@wingsoffreedom3589]

@@Tundra. cease your heresy!

[@Tranewreck17]

1 hour? Unbelievable. Was hoping for at least 3. My only complaint is no one seemed to recognize Christopher Heyerdahl in the opening scene. He’s an incredible actor and certainly not a NPC. I look forward to more, thanks!

[@BuckFuttHoles]

That was a great start to EFAP TV! Velma? Never heard of it. Definitely keep blessing us with these, you massives

[@tylercoon1791]

Velma what? Norville who? Those aren’t even words!

[@bZman]

It has been erased from their minds due to the sake of sanity

[@Gandalf-The-Gay]

I love all of you, my Massives. You'll always be dear to my heart.

[@stevealford230]

... gaaaaaaay.

[@Kernwadi]

I feel kinda bad for this show... Even if it turns out to be great, it'll always have the curse of TLOU2 being canon looming over it. I know that the topic of TLOU2 is rather dead at the moment but It'll never cease to impress and 'depress' me how much was destroyed by that game. Potential for one of the greatest video game franchises of all time... Crushed by a golf club in it's second big instalment.

[@drummerboi661]

Among other things...

[@MegaDarkness5000]

It's kinda like Star Wars atm, all roads lead to Jake Skywalker.

[@leonardodavi2695]

Yeah the moment Abby shows up I'm abandoning ship.

[@spendsshanks6050]

@@leonardodavi2695Better to not even jump on

[@Heartshapedbox81]

It didn't even need a second game.

[@Kernwadi]

"I feel thin, sort of stretched... Like Joel's brain spread over too much floor." -Neilus Druckmannius

[@Kernwadi]

Maybe the real zebras were the friends we've made along the way...

[@somerandomrpgenthusiast8451]

Something interesting I remember reading about is that with insects infected by cordyceps, the fungus takes over their muscles and motor functions but not all of their brain, so for example an infected ant is still ''conscious'', in a way, as the spores burst through its body. It would've been interesting (and damn grim) if the infected still retained their consciousness, essentially trapped in their own bodies.

[@ProjectRedfoot]

Duuuude...

[@kingkocoa4467]

Part 1 alluded to that if I remember correctly. The Runners are definitely conscious and trapped in their bodies. They’re gone once they progress past Runners though.

[@FunnyMonkey781]

Interestingly the 1st Dying Light did thos with its basic infected. There are instances where a small bit of a zombies humanity would come out and they would flinch or even tell you to stop.

[@THEghost13579]

The first game touches on this, as Sam and Ellie talk about this in the first game in the scene just before sam turns.

[@SwampGreen14]

@@kingkocoa4467 True. In the building full of spores outside the QZ where the runners are introduced you can hear of the females crying as she eats a corpse. Thats grim af. Imagine being forced to consume a raw human body, all the while being semi-conscious, but trapped in your body.

[@mariokarter13]

"Do you wanna watch sports or the new show based on The Last of Us?" Abby: Why not both?

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

“Do you wanna watch sports? Specifically golf?”

[@RossTheNinja]

Debbie looks like that swimmer. The one with the big shoulders and the balls

[@tylercoon1791]

Oh boy, we get to see the EFAP boys watch our favorite non-beloved character! Edit: Wow, that was surprisingly decent. It just goes to show that if you do the thing, and you do it right, and you don’t fuck it up, it works. It just works.

[@Frost3yte]

Theres a couple of things I didnt like, The way joel and tommy got split up just feels worse to me, the way it happened in the game just felt right, it also builds Tommy's character of being the guy who'll do anything for family. Ellies portrayal in this so far is just... Bad... Shes way too cocky, curses way too much, and the whole scene in the apartment before Tess came back, she was just way, way too aggressive.

[@jonnejaaskelainen]

I see and appreciate the JonTron reference.

[@FringeSpectre]

"Edit: Wow, I now think the show is good because I watched EFAP cover it and like it, so it's okay for ME to like it!" That's how your comment sounds.

[@tylercoon1791]

@@FringeSpectre no, the first part was a reference to a video EFAP covered by Cosmonaut where he described Joel as ‘not a beloved character’. I do genuinely enjoy the show being very accurate.

[@helloneighbour2408]

@@FringeSpectre considering the low amount of success of video games -> show, it's completely reasonable to go into this thinking it will suck. Being pleasantly surprised is fine.

[@discatmatt]

I truly believe "All roads lead to Abby". I played a good chunk of the first game and just couldn't get into it. My brother in law was singing the praises of this show and I didn't want to say anything negative. I truly hope everyone enjoys what happens in this. Excellent work, Mauler, Rags and Fringy; God bless you with excellence!!

[@TheEdgysaber]

MauLer doing his broadcaster voice at 14:52 fucking got me lmao 🤣💀

[@aqua96870]

Can't wait for the scene where Joel gets his scythe and black cloak

[@RampantDaydream]

I can’t wait for Joel to bomb several orphanages with a herd of dead zebras.

[@jakebobenrieth709]

Yeah, that was pretty decent, I was nervous that it was gonna be a lot worse and I'm still nervous that it's gonna fall apart at some point but I really hope it doesn't, thank you guys for another lovely EFAP TV strombo.

[@asdergold1]

Eh, WandaVision.

[@jakebobenrieth709]

@@asdergold1 Oh yeah didn't WandaVision completely fall apart at the end once the TV sitcom stuff stopped?

[@MegaDarkness5000]

@@jakebobenrieth709 Isn't the first 3 ep that are really good but once ep 4 happened it all fall apart.

[@asdergold1]

@@jakebobenrieth709 More like after the first 2 episodes it started to go bad, by episode 6, if I recall, it became garbage. Then the last episodes happened.

[@jakebobenrieth709]

@@asdergold1 Yeah I haven't seen anything about it since the EFAP video so I don't really remember it but I really hope it doesn't go all trashy.

[@odigity]

Whenever one of these comes out, I think to myself: "They could have watched Buffy instead."

[@Kernwadi]

Maybe it'll actually turn out to be good this time, chances are higher than usual.

[@The_Sleepiest_Socialist]

@@Kernwadi it is.

[@Kernwadi]

@@The_Sleepiest_Socialist Good stick.

[@Kernwadi]

@@The_Sleepiest_Socialist Also, I'll need more episodes to fully believe that.

[@The_Sleepiest_Socialist]

@@Kernwadi finally! Thanks for mentioning Shad’s ABSOLUTELY STICK.

[@AIMLESS-NAMELESS]

God that scene from the original game when she dies is still so impactful

[@dualwieldroxas358]

Kung Fu Panda is honestly a great movie

[@Avarn388]

dualwielddroxas358 The first two are fantastic and I even like the third film even though it is a big step down from the first two. If I had to pick, the first film had a better story but the second film is my go to for how great the character work is in that movie and also having Shen is one of my favorite villains in an animated film(on top of Wolf from Puss N boots 2).

[@IceChillxen]

1 and 2 are fantastic movies. Third one, not as much.

[@vadandrumist1670]

Be prepared for the live action remake.

[@benjamingrant5970]

@@vadandrumist1670 Simo Liu in a "furry" costume? It'll score bigger box office than Avatar 2.

[@vadandrumist1670]

@@benjamingrant5970 I don't see where you get the confidence from. Pick your poison: Live Action Mulan + Live Action Lion King, or Live Action Mulan + Cats.

[@MBS-HomuZombie]

I still think it's a shame they removed the spores, so much they could do with it. Moments of almost pure silence and blindness would be somewhat refreshing in the age of constant action. That said, i guess there could of been the risk of overrelying on it to push the story (ninja spore kills). i don't get why they made one of the guards a somewhat-character just to kill him off (i assume he's dead), feels like a waste for something that was added. Overall, it's a decent start. Here's hoping they can keep it up... would make for a nice change of trend.

[@ericv00]

Killing actual characters is good for setting consequences and stakes. It's better than killing droves of dehumanized people. And it sells just how brutally pragmatic Joel has become. You feel the death of that guard more than you would have otherwise and that is by design.

[@thecod2345]

I think the spores removal was essentially a necessary evil for the sake of not having to film with a mask of some sort. Ultimately I think the removal isn’t the worst especially considering how much creepy shit they do with the mouth growths.

[@MBS-HomuZombie]

@@ericv00 I would agree but we didn't get that. We barely got anything for the guard to get that payoff. All it gave was a "oh wow, of all the guards it was that one dude". Hence why i said it was a waste as we could of gotten that payoff if we had more time.

[@MBS-HomuZombie]

@@thecod2345 Yeah, that's probably why they removed the spores. I still don't agree with it, i think there was plenty of potential for having the gasmasks being part to the story. Personally, the mouth growth/tendrils didn't really do much for me, at least for what i've seen so far. Maybe they'll expand on it in later episodes that will make the trade-off worth it.

[@ericv00]

@@MBS-HomuZombie You think it would have had the same level of impact if he was a nobody with not even the tiniest shred of connection or humanity about him? You know, a level 2 impact isn't as good as a level 10, but it is still better than a level 0. Mostly, in media, we get level 0. I'll take the 2.

[@Chris-yz7cs]

Ellie eyes are so far apart ,when she cries she has to wipe her ears.

[@Te_l_egramEarlyAmerican]

Thanks for watching Expect more videos soon Hit me up I've something for you 🎁🎁🎁

[@galacto8769]

I’m so glad they decided to use prosthetics for the clickers. If this was Disney you KNOW they would have just said “fuck it… CGI!” But they made the right call and they look GORGEOUS

[@benjamingrant5970]

If it was Disney produced, the show would also be set on Tatooine.

[@galacto8769]

@@benjamingrant5970 Joel gets captured by a pack of zombies and then dedicates his life to avenging them

[@benjamingrant5970]

@@galacto8769 Joel: "I grew up surrounded by fungus...."

[@galacto8769]

@@benjamingrant5970 two and a half episodes are dedicated to Sarah’s life before the outbreak

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

@@galacto8769 And then in the finale Joel rides a giant Rat King into battle with Fireflies. Also, David shows up and gets killed.

[@canderoussnurd4265]

They turned Joel into a psychopath! And worse still so many people keep using the line “Joel was always unhinged”. Are you dense?! Did you not get enough oxygen as a child?! Joel having PTSD is not the same thing as Joel having psychotic issues. He doesn’t kill, beat and torture people because he’s out of control or because he enjoys it. He does it to survive and to save Ellie! When he tortures the two guys from the town and then kills them it’s not because he heard voices tell him that or so that he could have something to Jack off too later. He did it to save Ellie. He was in full control and did what he did precisely. That’s not being “unhinged”. That’s being pragmatic and loosening your morality so that you can survive. It’s so frustrating to know that most people are so stupid. They can’t tell the difference between a crazy man and a survivalist. No wonder people vote the way they do, they honestly can’t be bothered to think beyond the surface level of anything.

[@Dont_Randomly_Ban_Me]

Deffo wanna see these for the rest of the series

[@blackdragoncyrus]

I can't believe Pedro Pascal is playing a mass genocider.

[@Kernwadi]

How progressive.

[@ethansnyder3401]

What? Because Joel saves Ellie?

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

Well he almost destroyed the world in WW1984, nothing new for him.

[@HerohammerStudios]

Really wish they'd switched the actresses for Ellie and the daughter. They had such a good chemistry in the beginning and I just don't think Ellie has even near the same acting chops

[@Kernwadi]

The casting choices were a bit bizzare overall. I'm not saying that they're bad actors, just that I've seen at least a dozen casting lists created by fans where the actors look nearly identical to the game characters.

[@sivad1025]

I agree. The first actress was great and set high expectations. And then came Ellie as wooden as could be

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

The moment when Joel made a double jump, hit the Goomba on its head, and yelled "I can move shit with my mind? Woohooo!" I felt that. It resonated with my deepest crevices.

[@telroak7754]

seeing the comparison of the scenes in the show with the scenes in the game really shows how much better is the delivery of lines and the expressions of the characters in the game. the show is certainly faithful in that regard but the actors to me are falling short in the parts that matter.

[@Te_l_egramEarlyAmerican]

Thanks for watching Expect more videos soon Hit me up I've something for you 🎁🎁🎁

[@sivad1025]

Especially Bella Ramsey. This show is perfectly competent, but her performance has really hurt my ability to get invested

[@isaackane4931]

Kinda funny that this is the third time Pedro Pascal's had a role where he's the father of a child that looks nothing like him.

[@nont18411]

Ans a second time that he had a role of a guy getting his head exploded by a super muscular villain.

[@yinnyonline]

the soldier at the start didnt miss joel, joel was just using sarah as a meatshield. she's covering basically his entire torso and if joel wasnt holding her, he would have died 100%. seems completely realistic for the soldier to hit her and not joel in that situation. lucky, but totally possible and justifiable

[@Te_l_egramEarlyAmerican]

Thanks for watching Expect more videos soon Hit me up I've something for you 🎁🎁🎁

[@justadude3789]

"It has overwhelming critical acclaim..." so did part 2 "...including the fans" it's only one episode. We'll see how it ends fringy we'll see how it ends

[@majdjinn5042]

Lack of spores is still the worst decision they made. They'd have to get rid of the brain scooping idea or it's just a pointless want to cure you from the fungus.

[@Charleroi92]

Thing is they mentioned the spores in episode 2. It confused me as well, considering what the execs mentioned

[@asdergold1]

It's only downhill from here. Remember WandaVision?

[@snakeguy8646]

@@Charleroi92 I hope they do stick with what the lady said in episode 2 where she blatantly says there is no cure, only culling or in Ellie’s case, lucky genetics, maybe it’ll be a thing where the only reason the doctors are so convinced there is one is just pure desperate delusion to save the human race

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

@@Charleroi92 Ellie mentioned it as a rumor she heard.

[@gogetters6639]

One of the problems with the game is that brain scooping wouldn't have accomplished anything if we're talking anti-fungal, just a pointless death by a bunch of idiots playing scientists.

[@krakenmckraken9128]

All roads lead to abby aside, the line delivery just isn't as good as the the game. I'm just not feeling Pedro's Joel at all. Not feeling Ellie's delivery either. Her's feel particularly rigid. And the added scene with Joel asking about Tommy over a 3 week radio silence. I feel like it takes away from it a bit. I had the impression that they hadn't spoken for much longer, like years. Especially with him being married and joel not knowing about it. No spores? And that Tess jumpscare when she sees the body? I would think Tess has been around the block and seen her share. That was a bit much. "Turned my brother against me," again was more forward than how the game handled it and I swear these added scenes just degrade it imo. On its own it'd be ok but damn I'm not a fan. I actually like the change with joel staring at the soldier reminiscent of the beginning but tess or ellie should've been involved before joel lunges on him. The dude was literally locked onto him and would've blasted him.

[@zoeadkins9095]

So far, so decent! It's certainly far better than a lot of TV that's been pushed out lately. I know it's not exactly a high compliment but, nonetheless, it seems solid. Fingers crossed it keeps up!

[@P.T.S.E.]

When Joel and Tommy gets separated is basically the copy of Resident Evil 2 opening, when Clair and Leon gets separated.

[@Kernwadi]

"I am The First of Us..." -Bilbo Baggins

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Abby is clearly the First of Us, Neil Druckmann demands it.

[@Kernwadi]

"Y'all got a towel or anything?" -Tommy

[@jmarra07]

As someone who was arrested for the one and only time, on a Friday, I can confirm that if you do not get bail on that Friday, you will have to stay in custody until the following Monday.

[@darthswagins9056]

would love to see yall cover this going forwards. Very interested in seeing how this turns out

[@Arcane_10_out_of_10]

I would very much like to see you guys reviewing episode 2.

[@krissuyx]

They cast Pedro because he's got experience with getting his head smashed in.

[@tzuyd]

Surely they could have found someone to play Ellie who didn't look like they had Aspergers though

[@jonnywaldis8275]

Or write her so aggressively unlikable, definitely the weakest part so far. They seem to think her posturing makes her tough but, real talk, a kid with that attitude wouldn't survive long in a man eats man world.

[@tzuyd]

True. Joel's a better man than I would be in this situation.

[@helloneighbour2408]

@@jonnywaldis8275 just like the game though

[@bedroombunny9529]

I don't trust the writing team on this project for a second. They've already admitted that they are happy to change things from the source material and Druckmann himself has already shown he is willing to retcon things that happen in projects he worked on to suit his own narratives. I am happy to be proven wrong but I predict that the honeymoon we are currently experiencing is going to wear off pretty soon when they start changing things.

[@Danimao]

This show is off to a really strong start! My only concerns so far are related to the Fireflies. I fear they are going to remove all ill feelings towards the Fireflies and show them as a truly pure and good faction without all the extra layers and dubious intentions. I hope this season ends up being great, but I fear that the narrative will suffer by the end of the Season to justify TLOU2.

[@Kernwadi]

So far I'm not sold on this show, not yet. I've seen and heard some good things but I've also been burned too many times to just put my trust into it. Maybe EFAP will be able to swing my opinion, one way or another. But for that I'll also need to so at least couple more episodes to see if the quality won't start degrading.

[@sacredbeastzenon]

You shouldn't be sold. There's only two episodes out.

[@Kernwadi]

@@sacredbeastzenon That's what I'm saying, so far the things I've heard were good, but I need at least couple more episodes to see if they writing quality won't start falling apart or if they won't steadily inject politics into it.

[@kenkaneki3873]

@@sacredbeastzenon EFAP is sold on it lol

[@Kernwadi]

@@kenkaneki3873 Most of the time, if not almost always, I trust their opinion on media, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Maybe this show will really be good.

[@sacredbeastzenon]

@@kenkaneki3873 All I heard is that they think the first episode is good.

[@Spartan_5271]

I am cautiously optimistic, but I am also assuming that they are gonna milk the shit out of the Fireflies being good people instead of the horrifically evil people that they are. And considering that they are gonna make multiple seasons for Season 2, it's also gonna milk Abby being a good person instead of the terrible person she is

[@daggeranddoctor]

“They’re saying it’s mostly people in the city.” I grew up surrounded by city.

[@user-ex9ti7ds3m]

It took me until this video to realize why the actress playing the daughter looked so familiar, that’s Thandie Newton’s daughter!

[@Ancor_Vantian]

I didn’t know that. Now that you mentioned it, I can totally see it. At 15:56 pause, it’s like a younger version of Thandie.

[@benjamingrant5970]

And it took me until I saw the credit listing to realise Tess was Anna Torv from Fringe...Straight up didn't recognise her.

[@benjamintherogue2421]

When compared to the game, I think the acting in the show is actually worse. I'm interested in seeing where this goes because we've seen more than enough series start out decent only to intentionally drive straight into a tree. I'm anticipatinf that for this. I'm just not going to be watching it myself.

[@benjamintherogue2421]

I HAVE BEEN VALIDATED!

[@alloutpotato7939]

My biggest gripe is still with Bella Ramsay. Her acting is fine, but she just DOES NOT look the part of an apocalypse child. She looks like a coddled child from LA she's so soft and round, it bugs me SO much. Like, they could have had any other woman to play Ellie, and it probably would have worked. Otherwise it's fine. I don't think they're doing a good job differentiating it from the game, it seems more just a one to one with a few changes here and there edit: Seems like they're starting to majorly deviate as of ep 3, and it doesn't suck. So that's cool :)

[@CptnCardboard]

It makes zero sense that spores wouldn't be a factor. None of the biology in this show makes a single lick of sense. The scientist opener made me cringe inside out, not just because it's so inaccurate to how fungi work, but because it is so blatant and forced as far as exposition goes.

[@FloofenPoof]

I feel like the game was somewhat justified in the military guy at the start missing, the show less so. In the game he says something like "but, there's a child" when he gets the orders to shoot, implying he is horrified that he has to do this, so I could see him being shaky, his aim being off, perhaps he's not even looking I mean he wasn't trained for this, suddenly you have to gun down crazy sick people and then you have to kill a seemingly healthy child while her dad begs for their lives. In the show he just says "yes sir" a bunch, and sure he could still be horrified it's just not shown at all.

[@Stillhung0ver]

One to one dialogue? yeah no sorry the tone is all off, gives it a completely different feel and screws with the characters. It's the "dumbledore said calmly" example.

[@helloneighbour2408]

welp more power to ya

[@thisguydan]

I'm not afraid of many things I see on TV... But Abby...that thing terrifies me.

[@xenocross5129]

Don't know for anyone else, but the show seems pretty meh. I completely understand why people would like it, but I'd like to express why it's not as good as it could've been with the following arguments: I wont be talking about the questionable casting, acting and bland cinematography but mostly the many contrivances and coincidences they've inserted that were never there before. How about a random plane crashing right next to their car? Close enough to knock them out for a bit, but not do much harm. Apparently a car crash isn't flashy enough. Tommy being too stupid to go around the car to immediately reunite with Joel? Tess being tied up for some dumb reason, only for a ducking bomb to explode and kill/knock out everyone but her? Joel talking with a guard, only for that exact guard to stop him outside the city (this one wasn't as bad as the ones before). That's some pretty lazy writing. And the worst thing is, this stuff adds NOTHING to the story and I have no idea why they even added them. They diverge from the original narrative, only to go right back to it, making the overall pacing of the plot worse and sometimes the scenes that are the same from the game and the show don't quite fit as well as in the original plot. For example Sarah seeing a zombie eating a person's face just to be really shocked when Joel kills it. In the game she saw him run inside the house and kill someone chasing him, and she's obviously shocked when her dad kills a person. In the show she sees the thing eating someone, then it chases her and her dad luckily appears to help her and luckily has a blunt weapon in hand, while in the game he ran inside to get a gun after getting chased himself (funnily the zombie wasn't chewing, but just standing there for the dramatic head turn). Her wondering out to see the zombie eating someone before Joel kills it adds nothing, and makes her reaction more unnatural as it was trying to kill her. And she doesn't even know if it's dead, Joel hit it in the show, while he shot it in the game. Ones quite deadlier. It's still fine overall, but I think I've made the point of why its quite a bit worse. Another thing that hurts the narrative is the opening where the scientist explains the virus. Firstly I haven't seen someone being allowed to smoke on US TV, don't know why they did that. In the game you see how everything goes through Sarah's eyes. She wakes up in an empty house, hears explosions in the distance, hears a tv report and Joel's phone blowing up with messages from Tommy. The atmosphere slowly builds up only for Joel to burst in kill someone, you have a car scene and all hell to break loose once they reach the city. In the show they ruin the atmosphere and build up, only to show us a zombie eating someone's face (technically it was eating hair for some reason). They add scenes to pad out the runtime, but those scenes either add nothing or actively diminish the impact of the coming scenes. There are some other scenes that I think either open questions, are contrived or just unnecessary, like the little girl wondering outside the city, Ellie being tied up and acting weirdly about the fireflies and etc. I won't go too deeply into them, because I've already written an essay that no one's gonna read, anyways. Another issue I have with the show is the bad expository dialogue. "Do I look like your mother? I'm the leader of the fireflies". Surely there was a more natural way to let us know that. How about just showing us the others taking orders from her? Than there's the casting and the acting which I don't really like, but won't go too deeply into. I just want to say that Bella Ramsey's acting is surprisingly bad. My overall opinion of the show is that it's just mediocre at best so far.

[@cheaplyskate4088]

I read it

[@AndyJP]

Fools! Oatmeal raisins are my favorite cookies! Tell your grandmas!

[@kwazhims3lf]

i cant.. rags ruined her so bad she came down with a a severe case of dead

[@eriktatos]

Love all y’all’s commentary please keep following the show ❤

[@Te_l_egramEarlyAmerican]

Thanks for watching Expect more videos soon Hit me up I've something for you 🎁🎁🎁

[@pangling2217]

I don't know. I'm still sceptical.

[@ihearvoices8881]

Are they really that faithful when we got this casting? Ramsey looks nothing like Ellie, Pascal looks like a cosplayer and Sarah - I don't know what they were smoking when they picked that actress. Also, Ellie's personality seems considerably off compared to the game so far.

[@BertzTriscut]

They've made a lot of changes to Joel's character. They're small, but I can garuntee that they'll be used to justify altering the ending and justifying the second game's story.

[@benjamingrant5970]

I read a leak online,the season finale has Luke Skywalker fly in and save them from robo-Zombies, and takes Ellie away to train.

[@SuperMegaGaelourde]

@@benjamingrant5970 No no you misheard. They aren't taking her to train, they're taking her to a train, specifically a Train to Busan to kickstart the zombie adaptation extended cinematic universe of HBO. The Z.A.E.C.U.H.B.O.

[@cardellkenith]

What changes have you noticed so far?

[@benjamingrant5970]

@@SuperMegaGaelourde Let me axe you, will this be the be the same H.B.O fanatical Z.A.E.C.H.U.B.O Universe though?

[@SuperMegaGaelourde]

@@benjamingrant5970 Oh absolutely it's all connected. Can't wait for the marvel zombies crossover where Joel beats up zombie iron man

[@the13thwardsadam92]

i really want you guys to keep reviewing these! its nice to have you guys going over a show that isnt bad every once in a while

[@tylerdavis6389]

Mauler, the trope name that you're looking for is "Lone Wolf and Cub".

[@darkbum1510]

Okay, so now I watched the second episode and it's still pretty strong. I'm not sure, but I think I'm detecting slight animosity towards Joel (in the sense that the show seems to want to tell the viewer that Joel isn't "the good guy" (whatever that means in this context)), so far it's just a slight tingle in the back of my head though and I'm not sure if I'm not just imagining stuff. *SPOILER* I like the idea of the Cordyceps being sort of a network, notifying Infected about things, I guess it's an interesting way to make up for removing the spores. They still follow the story of the game quite firmly, of course cutting down on the travel time, but with the meaningful stuff and powerful action setpieces alive and kicking. Tess sacrificing herself in order to destroy Infected instead of soldiers is... I'm pretty neutral on that, so far, nonetheless a powerful move, as it is in the game. That strange Infected "kiss" (as weird as that sounds) threw me off hardcore though, felt a little too campy and almost like parody to me. Yeah, I'm sure it's supposed to be creepy in an instinctual way, but the scene in the beginning of the first episode achieved that same thing way better.

[@joshthehomesteader229]

Yeah I'm getting really suspicious with the joel stuff. I'm worried they are pushing the needle ever so gradually to make Joel's actions by the end to be bad ones as a retcon in order to bolster their decisions in the second game. Just have to wait and see I guess

[@fls128]

They're trying to push the whole "anti hero" thing on Joel even though he was literally just a hero in TLOU 1.

[@darkbum1510]

@@joshthehomesteader229 Yeah, that's the feeling I'm getting too. The problem ultimately is that we have become so accustomed to any male character in postmodern media being put down and chastized for the choices and actions, that we automatically default to that explanation, when it's actually just supposed to be two characters clashing over what a man has done. As you said, we have to wait and see. I'm not ready to drop the ball on this yet, but I sincerely hope that this was just Tess and Joel clashing, and Ellie being sassy.

[@darkbum1510]

@@fls128 Nah, man, that's taking it too far. Joel is a dirty, hardened man, even in the first game. Remember when they had the car and the robbers attempted to stop them. Joel said "He ain't even hurt", implying that he knows full well the tactics of these kinds of people, simply because he is or at least was these kinds of people. The whole struggle with Robert in the beginning, Tess' comments in the beginning of the game, it all shows that Joel definitely isn't a hero, but develops into someone you can sympathize with along the way. I just hope that the follow the same character arc in the show aswell...

[@jonnywaldis8275]

Haven't watched episode 2 yet but to me the most glaring detail in the different depictions of Joel is his uncontrolled emotional killing of the soldier he knows at the end of episode 1. Game Joel is ruthless, deadly and reliable, whereas this one moment gave me the impression that series Joel will be more of a dangerous violent mess, a rabid dog one might say. And we all know the end awaiting a rabid dog. Only time will tell, whether that scene was truly meant to describe the character or just poorly executed.

[@MagicOmelet]

Please don't change it so we see Abbys Dad in the end like they retconned it in TLOU2. That was by far not the only problem with part 2, not even mentioning Joel's death

[@ardeo6597]

Yes please continue with this format, great to get your take on this show

[@reginaphalange9417]

18:58 « I’m a fan of the creepy granny » 😂

[@benjamingrant5970]

Rags'sss'ss ruined her!!!

[@kylefrank638]

Of *course* it had to start out with someone saying "global pandemic"... the show, pointing out that "pan-" means "all", but failing to realize (just like news stations do) that "pandemic" already implies "global" It physically pains me

[@asimpletoad5645]

More of this. Good stuff. Liked the Velma one too. (not the show, but your video)

[@StupidWeb]

20 minutes in. Not looking too bad. I like having good things again. Or at least passable pretty good things

[@JoseMolina-jz9hh]

28:40 idk why this scene reminded me of Lake City Quiet Pills by Nexpo ... a seriously creepy expose... and eerily enough the guards words "only make two things" is resonating

[@Spartan156]

Remember kids, don't get arrested on a Friday night of a holiday weekend, the Judge wont be in until Tuesday.

[@Kernwadi]

That's a surprisingly good advice.

[@Kernwadi]

When it came to casting; In my subjectively objective opinion... It's not that the casting is bad, it's just not what I expected or wanted. I got so used to how characters look in the games that I can't imagine them looking any other way. I don't really understand why they chose those specific actors, again, they aren't bad or anything, they do a good job... but I've seen a lot of casting lists done by fans where the actors look nearly identical to the game characters. It's just a bit odd for me and I'll probably never be able to get used to their looks.

[@Kernwadi]

@Hostmann Socrates Yop, pretty much that. However, in my opinion the diversity casting isn't really a problem here because Pascal's complexion is white enough... It's just that his face, eyes and beard aren't "Joel enough".

[@Kernwadi]

@Hostmann Socrates I wish it could become one, I'd be proud.

[@edwardirwin3478]

@@hostmannsocrates4703 Josh Brolin would have been perfect casting, i'm imagining his character from No Country for Old Men with some tweaks here and there

[@jorgefoyld8538]

It's not bad casting it is the deliberate and systematic replacement of white characters by the anti-wh*te Hollywood clique.

[@helloneighbour2408]

@Hostmann Socrates LMFAO JOSH BROLIN??? No fucking shot. you're trolling

[@FloPm3ister]

His voice changes a bit thruout. There’s a couple times where he has a nice strong distinct Texas accent. But then it will morph back to sounding like max or just a standard voice. Or in the second episode, the mando voice came right out.

[@xgusROX]

This format is great

[@iamthewizardwhoknocks2845]

How is this different from the Batwoman format?

[@ShadQuakeFix]

Imagine, following the source material makes this work.... crazy!

[@SupremeCommanderBaiser]

Just wait. Neil will f it raw.

[@ladywithpinkglasses]

We're gonna see Abby in the lab in the finale. I'm pretty sure about it. Neil is not gonna miss that opportunity...

[@leonardodavi2695]

The moment her face is shown on screen I'm out.

[@Ceyx000]

Wha...what's happening? Where am I? ... WHADJA BRING ME!

[@wolfieflame2886]

At first I was worry of how they will handle it, especially with the changes of spores but so far, they done a pretty good job for the first two episodes with minor changes. I'm still not sold on Ellie’s actor yet (even though they are some scenes of her that I like) but we would see on how the future episodes goes.

[@jcore0981]

If you close your eyes, Bella Ramsey does a great job impersonating Ellie. Unfortunately, she looks like Greta Thunberg.

[@Eon233]

How so? Post Sarah was just bad and the changes made were worse then the game plus the change to the Tess death is just creepy in a not cool way and makes her look weak and scared

[@wolfieflame2886]

@@Eon233 Hmm I'm not sure, I kind of like what they did with Sarah and the whole setting up the outbreak, they didn't have to do that and just copy right off the game but they did a pretty good start with it. But I agree the tess’s death was off a little especially that whole kiss from the infected, I'm not sure what they were trying to pull from that.

[@tsitzel4949]

I can’t possibly get invested in this show knowing it’s inevitable conclusion. Golfing with friends. I bet my bottom dollar they’ll rewrite the narrative to make the fireflies unambiguously the good guys, and joel bad guy.