User Reviews

As a neurosurgery student, I find the medical information and facts in this series quite impressive. However, I do have some comments:

First, FEDRA's actions in terms of containment, stabilization of society, and setting examples for law violators are justifiable. In the face of a global disease outbreak that could kill millions or turn people into monsters, the military has the right to eliminate anyone who breaches the rules. Whether by killing those who leave the walls or by other means, these measures are necessary because there is no guarantee they haven't been exposed to the disease. In a world where morality has lost its meaning to creatures no longer human, a military dictatorship is a natural and expected outcome. I don't care about the opinions of those who disagree, because the reality of microbes is starkly different from an idealistic, colorful world.

Initially, I was bothered by the actions of the resistance because I am against revolution. However, as the episodes progressed and I learned they were working on a cure, my opinion changed, even though they were violating FEDRA's containment system. I appreciated many of Bill's actions at the beginning of the series, but he disappointed me greatly by the end. His mental decline and the loss of his daughter led him to irrationally see Ellie as his daughter, resulting in him killing numerous Fireflies to get her back. This act, especially his killing of the surgeon in a world with few doctors, demonstrates his poor mental state.

I know I've said a lot, but I love details in series like this. The methods and morals of many characters in 70% of movies and series seem naive and irrational. The main character's reckless and illogical decisions stand out, especially in comparison to real-world events like the COVID-19 pandemic, where we didn't resort to killing people. In similar life-threatening situations, decisions must prioritize the survival of the human race.

I was surprised by the ratings of the final episode. If a real pandemic occurred and someone like Bill made similar decisions, it would lead to a catastrophic loss of life, causing immense suffering. His actions would prevent billions of potential lives and cause widespread grief, as families would lose loved ones. Such decisions, if made by people like Bill, would spell doom for humanity. This sentiment extends to my disdain for the medical ethics community that keeps people alive against their will.

If you think, "This is just fiction, why criticize it as if it were real?" my remarks might not concern you. But for everyone else, the difference between fantasy and science fiction is significant. Fantasy might depict someone pulling a snake from thin air, but science fiction deals with realistic concepts like viruses, fungi, and bacteria that could potentially behave as shown in the series. Science fiction introduces scientific concepts that can profoundly affect us, making it fascinating to see even partially accurate scientific ideas in such works.

The Last of Us TV series is a masterclass in storytelling, with Pedro Pascal delivering a phenomenal performance as Joel. He brings depth and nuance to the character, perfectly capturing the complexity of a man haunted by his past. The show's atmospheric tension, paired with its thoughtful pacing, makes for a gripping experience. The supporting cast, particularly Bella Ramsey as Ellie, shines alongside Pascal. The show's themes of love, loss, and survival are expertly woven throughout, making for a compelling and emotional ride. A must-watch for fans of the game and newcomers alike! However, if you're coming from the game, expect minor differences from the storyline.

As a middle aged woman, the last of my thoughts was to watch a zombie movie but then, I stumbled into this and I got instantly hooked. Every single character is unique and visibly broken, after all is a post apocalyptic movie so it makes perfect sense unlike the avalanche of cheap horror movies where they all look healthy and with their hair always in place. The atmosphere is so depressing that the pain of every single character is almost palpable. Joel and Ellie did an outstanding job in showing their fear and anger but so did the other characters. This is not a zombie story though the undead are like that due to a virulent pandemic infection. When global tragedies like that happens, the true nature of a human is revealed. At the very beginning, Joel is running away by car with his daughter and his brother, along the way they see a family of 3 with a little child desperately asking for help but Joel refuses to help them thus condemning them to certain death at night in a place crowling with infected. It may be a coincidence or fate but soon after he will have to experience the death of his own daughter. This series is a journey into rock bottom feelings yet, when you are lost in the darkness seek for the light. A masterpiece in every single aspect: thank you for giving us this. I want more!

This series combines the apotheosis of each facet of TV story telling.

I felt the distinct superiority the series enjoys over most contemporaries in all areas. It does every thing better. It is the Usain Bolt, Don Bradman, Djokovic, Schumacher, Tiger Woods (take your pick) of tv.

Each department head is a master in their game. And the story is complex. Deep. Tender at the core but vicious, down right evil at times.

It shocks, awes, moves, tickles and eventually has you begging for more.

The camera movements are just the right shape and size. No angle wasted. Creates immediacy. Can't blink for a second.

The colour palette I found intriguing. It's a post apocalyptic world full of zombies but even the fungus infecting the zombies manifests as almost designer , floral , colourful patterns. There is beauty in horror. Even the cannibals we see in e8 have some earnestness about them. And the leader some charisma.

The plot itself (an ex con ushering an important girl across strife- invested US) is an odyssey where they encounter a host of people. Each encounter and the subsequent journey offers up interesting characters , plot development , twists etc. And the twists are really gnarly. They change the complete story arc and the relative values we had assigned to various elements in the story.

In a lawless and moral less world , what form does the basic survival instincts take. What really are the basic instincts. What is good. What is bad. What is evil. Who judges it all. Where really is god.

Who do you sympathise with. And till when.

What is a good outcome. What is a bad outcome.

What is common to all ? What sets some apart.

Are just some questions I tossed in my mind while watching LOU.

Specifically , episodes 8 and 9 are the best TV episodes I have seen in a long, long time. A couple of average episodes too but not too bad.

This is story telling done right. A series to remember in a glut of above average but trite or formulaic works. Per do and Bella are brilliant and so is the supporting cast.

I love the Last of Us video games. I love the story of those games dearly, played them as they were released.

So I was cautiously optimistic when this show was announced. HBO is easily the best network producing narrative fiction on TV so that gave me confidence. But then again, they have their misfires as well.

I'm happy to say that this show exceeded my expectations! It captured the spirit of the original story very well and allowed me to recapture the feelings I felt playing the game all those years ago.

The best thing about the show is how phenomenal the production is. The VFX, makeup, costumes, production design, creature designs, editing, cinematography, and music are all absolutely fantastic. Many of these elements are recreations of designs and ideas from the original game but the original game is so perfect, I'm happy they decided to faithfully realize it in beautiful fashion. HBO proves yet again that they are committed to next level quality in television in a way that no other studio has managed to match.

As far as how the story and characters land I'll say it's a mostly faithful adaptation where there are a few changes to the original story. Which is great because the original game's story is absolute perfection. In terms of its changes, some work a little better than others. I loved the expanded role of Bill and his lover. Their love story was really touching and surprisingly effective at fleshing out the themes of the story. Another strong change was how Henry and his brother were adapted. Henry's brother being deaf and so much younger made him even more immediately sympathetic. The added material in the first episode fleshing out Sarah and Joel's life before the outbreak was a completely natural and warranted change that I loved.

My only gripes are that I don't like some of the casting decisions. Pedro Pascal is perfect as Joel, different than in the game but in a good way and the original actress for Marlene was surprisingly fantastic in the show. Whereas Bella Ramsay never really won me fully over. She's somehow less likable and charming than Ellie in the original game. She doesn't have the charisma that the original Ellie had and her bad attitude feels less like a mask and defense mechanism and more like an attitude problem. I also, wasn't really feeling the actress who played Tess although that may be a result of her relationship/chemistry with Joel feeling somewhat underdeveloped. And I actually think the actresses for Kathleen and Riley were genuinely terrible casting choices. Kathleen's actress just didn't fit the menacing and violent nature of her character. She was unconvincing as the terrifying, ruthless leader she was meant to portray. And Riley's actress just wasn't believable in her performance at all. Her performance felt like a school play to me.

In fact, that was easily my least favorite part of the whole show. Ellie and Riley's relationship being fleshed out takes away from Ellie finally spilling her guts about it in the end. Plus I think the way it was executed lacked emotion, believability, and basic logical consistency.

But apart from that, I loved this show. I'm happy it introduced this story to a whole new demographic of people. Highly recommend this one.

This show suffers from a contrived setup and a lack of direction for the main storyline.

The creators really embraced the "tell don't show" approach. This is especially evident in the last episode. In the matter of a couple of episodes, Joel went from "I don't need you" to "I will slaughter innocent people for you". When did that happen, did I miss something? There's a time gap between the events of the last two episodes; why not take this opportunity to demonstrate how the bond between Joel and Ellie grows in the aftermath of the previous episode? When it comes to the finale as a whole, it seemed that the writers had no clear understanding of what they wanted to do with it, so they threw in random bits of conversations and interactions that are so disjointed it's frustrating to watch. The tension or suspense that should have been there is rarely present. The subject of the infected is barely touched upon. From what I gathered, they are pretty scarce and don't pose a big threat to others.

They spent an unforgivably long amount of time as they delved into exploring this jumble of supporting characters, only to have them all killed at the end of each episode. None of the significant scenes and dialogues were given time to really sink in, looking like a series of checkpoints, something which was better executed in the game.

The only light in this never ending darkness is the actors, especially Pedro Pascal. However, the series on the whole is pretty superficial, mainly because the screenplay had no clear direction.

We are faced with the best (for now) film adaptation of a video game, what we have in front of is literally the video game in every way. Let's analyze this series calmly, first of all we can say that the music is well suited, from goosebumps and especially often music becomes a "secondary character"I was particularly impressed by the use of music in the final scene in the hospital where Joel massacres everyone. The cast is perfect even if Bella Ramsey say that not very similar to Ellie, but despite this we say that there is not too much lingering. While the rest of the cast is simply stellar as if the characters of the video game had come out to appear in the series. On the plot there is nothing to say, simply majestic as the video game, well adapted and faithful to the video game product. Now let's talk about the thing that would have worried me most and that is the realization of the infected, absurdly these monsters are made too much but really too well, I was amazed by the quality of this series. This series is a spectacle for the eyes with brilliant shots and breathtaking settings. I have only one concern at the moment, I'm afraid I'm not ready to see THAT scene in season 2, now we are all too attached.

Usually video game adaptions are rubbish (resident evil, sonic) And it isn't as good as naughty dog's spectacular digital, virtual adventure (which I actually played after I saw the show) the headline said it all. The Last of Us is one of my favourite dramatic emotional tv shows spanning about ten, hour long episodes each gripping and authentic- quite thought provoking diving deep into different points and topics. Very Immersive. It's a bit slow paced for a post apocalyptic outlast though with lost of boring dialouge especiallyfor a VIDEOGAME ADAPTION. It's not a far fetched, chaotic apocalypse, more of a ruin of an aftermath as the result of a fascinating and terrifyingly real fungal infection (ophiocordyceps) terrifyingly manipulating the body. It compares to the walking dead and 28 days later but In my opinion it trumps them all, gripping you in dark and gritty emotion with quirks and twists that have you sympathize with the characters. The father daughter relationship between Joel and Ellie is just spectacular. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey really portrayed the classic video game protagonists so well. The grizzly old man, lost in the past of the outbreak and ellie the curious, feisty 14 year old, cute but dangerous. It really stays true to the game. Even an episode based upon its prequel dlc, left behind and one focused on bill and his relationship which feels awkward but key. The awesome, unique infected which I was excited to see only showed up once or twice in the most generic forms which disappointed me quite a bit. Though the bloater looked great! Bit I love the drunken, antagonistic humans. And David was a great villain, a strangely real obsession with ellie and appearance who shows up at the darkest times. It just shows the terror of cannibalism and what a global pandemic can do to human kind. It shows that the real monster are - well the flesh eating infected but you know also humanity itself which really makes you wonder if man deserves to survive or if nature itself should just take over completely. But I do think it really just shifts its focus to the survivors which is interesting but a bit boring sometimes. The end was great too. It just shows the bleak, depressing impact and story. She could've saved the world, the last hope and he chose the flip side. All this for that. That's the powerful, most moving part. Then you look at all their backstories. The sad and rightful deaths. Then the swear - the lie. Since the sequel successor, part II was amazing (though I didnt agree storywise) I'm definitely hype for season two.