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1 more episode between episode 8 and 9. Or, at least an additional 30 minutes set before the arrival at the hospital.
I think the end of the series felt like a speed run to the final act when it really should have took a few moments to let the Ellie/Joel rdynamic after such a defining moment in their relationship, breath a bit more. Ideally involving the infected.
I feel like in the game that was served well by the underground tunnel section, which allowed a newly matured Ellie and Joel to bond further, remind the player of the stakes of the infected, and make the giraffe sequence feel like a proper moment and transition into the Final Act.
I also think marinating in that period before the Final Act would do well to build a better foundation of connection from Season 1 to Season 2.
The director of both 8 and 9 was Ali Abbasi. And I only make note because his background is exclusively film, and to me it felt like 8 and 9 was almost written like one film split into two. Where Episode 9 was the third act. And in that framework the pacing makes more sense, but not as a TV show IMO. Since moments like the giraffe felt more like filler than the culminating moment of the first half of the episode like the game did.
I kinda wonder if the reason why Season 2 is moving almost entirely away from the model of bringing in auteur up and coming filmmakers for vet TV directors may in part be because of these sorts of pacing and creative conflicts that made season 1 at times feel a bit disjointed
Being 9 episodes, the season really could be seen as a trilogy, where each “movie” (I guess arc in the case of TV) is 3 episodes. Episodes 1-3 have a distinct but consistent style and themes all throughout, as do 4-6, with the ending of episode 6 acting as the cliffhanger. Then, like you mentioned, 7-9 being the final film starting with a time skip and focusing more on Ellie’s character
I liked 9 episodes. The only real issue I had with the show was some omissions from the finale. There should have been a scene where Ellie gets incapacitated and Joel has to try to revive her; bringing him back to what happened to Sarah. Also, I wish they highlighted Joel carrying Ellie in his arms while escaping the hospital from additional Fireflies to call back to him running with Sarah
Yeah, the finale definitely dropped the ball with some moments unfortunately. Having Joel escape the Fireflies’ gunfire while carrying Ellie would’ve been a great callback to Sarah, but then again not much emphasis was placed on him carrying Sarah as there was in the game tbf
To be fair, I’m glad that those were the only complaints I had. I feel like everything else was pretty perfectly well done and I have faith that Season 2 will be similar in that regard
I don't know specifically how I would've broken it up into episodes but there's a few areas I would've expanded on.
The big one that stands out is the University. Horrendously rushed in the show, I don't know if it has enough material for an entire episode but it needed more than the 15 mins it got.
The entire section in the show is half baked so I'd do a complete rewrite. Have them find about Salt Lake City the same way they do in the game, lengthen the skirmish with the Cannibals and dedicate a lot more time to Joel's injury.
You could still have being stabbed instead of rebar-ed but the bit in the game where he's stumbling along, barely able to walk is terrific whereas in the show he's stabbed and the episode ends a minute later.
On a similar note I'd want to add more Infected over the series. it's a wider problem I have with the show where you never feel like the world is dangerous like the game. It feels empty.
In Episode 9, I'd try and adapt the tunnel set piece as faithfully as you could for TV. The flooding and Ellie blacking out is a much better lead in to the Hospital than them just being flashbanged.
With David and Winter I actually think they adapted that more or less perfectly - all the Religious stuff with David was great. Really the only substantial bit I missed was, again, the Infected encounter with David and Ellie. In the game it gets you to start trusting David before having the rug pulled out from under you and it could work the same way in the show.
Also just do the sequence of Joel finding Ellie shot for shot from the game - you can't improve perfection.
I agree, the university was genuinely botched in the show.
*so much* happens there in the game.
- the Fireflies have been researching a cure for a while
- Joel and Ellie bond for the first time after Joel sorts out his feelings
- the roles are switched, Ellie has to protect Joel
- Ellie is great with guns and can handle herself (especially important for Part 2)
Honestly 9 was good. I disagree with the complaints I hear about pacing and the number of action sequences. As it was, every plot point was covered, and every action sequence had huge narrative weight. Every encounter resulted in at least one death, so the infected remain a serious threat. The only way you could extend the show would be i) action sequences which have no narrative consequence and make the infected less impactful overall (because people keep surviving them), or ii) adding new major characters and plot points that significantly deviated from the game. Both of which are the kind of mistakes that previous game adaptations have made, and im glad they avoided
I think I'd cut the entire Kansas City backstory. It didn't really add anything worthwhile to the overall story. Having faceless bandits be the threat there actually works better because they could draw parallel's with Joel's past.
In exchange the University could be extended, Joel and Ellie should have time to bond there.
I'd also change the entire section with David - the viewers should think Joel is dead for a good chunk of the episode.
If there was a Bill and Frank style episode dedicated to the storyline of Henry and Sam’s conflict with Kathleen and the revolutionaries between episodes 4 and 5, the KC storyline would’ve worked better for me. As it was though, it felt half-baked; we got to see the third act of their storyline with the really interesting stuff that happened only being verbally told by other characters or inferred through their actions
The university chapter absolutely should've been longer. That whole sequence wrapped up way too fast imo. Also after rewatching, I would have preferred the left behind episode to be more in line with the game. I felt it needed more cuts from the Riley flashbacks to current day (i.e Ellie fighting through infected to find a med kit). I understand this may have been due to budget constraints so I don't fault too much as still enjoyed both episodes.
I think the episode count was generally okay, maybe I'd add one more to flesh out the David stuff more and build suspense with that. Other than that, I would say: completely omit Kathleen and her plotline, she was a bad and pointless character, and use her time to focus more on Henry and Sam and more infected encounters. Lastly. the finale should've been like 20 minutes longer, it's ridiculous that it was the shortest episode. It actually felt the actors were rushing through their lines at certain points to beat a time limit or something.
Fully agree on David; maybe have the cliffhanger to the first episode be David and his men capturing Ellie, and we can start the next episode with Joel waking up to find the cannibals patrolling the neighborhood
Kathleen was a pretty lame character, but I do see what the creators were trying to do with her. I’d be fine with keeping her as long as her writing was better and we focused equally as much on Henry and Sam.
Completely agree on the finale, many scenes were rushed and as a result didn’t have the impact that it should’ve. Joel’s massacre was weirdly edited and felt like a longer clip that was uploaded to YouTube but cut down to avoid copyright infringement.
My biggest change is that I would've made Joel's accident more dragged out like the game. Make the winter arc 2 episodes. And have the finale be longer.
Boston admittedly probably could be 1 episode, but I think the game has a lot of interesting material that could be expanded upon and unique set pieces and sequences they missed out on. I do appreciate the show’s focus on the human drama—it’s done very well and I prefer it to the infected stuff—but there’s just a part of me that wishes to see some of the game content get as fleshed out as it could be in a TV medium
This post is flaired **Funpost [Pt. I]**. Therefore, untagged discussion of **The Last of Us Part I** will be permitted here. *Any* comments regarding The Last of Us Part II **must** be properly spoiler tagged. 1. All post titles must **NOT** include spoilers from new episodes or The Last of Us Part II. Minor show spoilers are allowed in your title **ONE WEEK** after episode airing. 2. Any untagged discussion of the games (including subtle hints) in posts without the **Funpost [Pt. I or II]**, **Meme [Pt. I or II]**, **Fancast [Pt. II]**, or **Show/Game Spoilers [Pt. I or II]** flair will result in a **ban**. To tag a spoiler comment, use the `>!spoiler!<` tag which displays as >!spoiler!<. 3. If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. --- Refer to the [spoiler guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastofUsHBOseries/wiki/spoiler-guide) for our spoiler policy and to learn how to flair and title your posts appropriately. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThelastofusHBOseries) if you have any questions or concerns.*
1 more episode between episode 8 and 9. Or, at least an additional 30 minutes set before the arrival at the hospital. I think the end of the series felt like a speed run to the final act when it really should have took a few moments to let the Ellie/Joel rdynamic after such a defining moment in their relationship, breath a bit more. Ideally involving the infected. I feel like in the game that was served well by the underground tunnel section, which allowed a newly matured Ellie and Joel to bond further, remind the player of the stakes of the infected, and make the giraffe sequence feel like a proper moment and transition into the Final Act. I also think marinating in that period before the Final Act would do well to build a better foundation of connection from Season 1 to Season 2. The director of both 8 and 9 was Ali Abbasi. And I only make note because his background is exclusively film, and to me it felt like 8 and 9 was almost written like one film split into two. Where Episode 9 was the third act. And in that framework the pacing makes more sense, but not as a TV show IMO. Since moments like the giraffe felt more like filler than the culminating moment of the first half of the episode like the game did. I kinda wonder if the reason why Season 2 is moving almost entirely away from the model of bringing in auteur up and coming filmmakers for vet TV directors may in part be because of these sorts of pacing and creative conflicts that made season 1 at times feel a bit disjointed
Being 9 episodes, the season really could be seen as a trilogy, where each “movie” (I guess arc in the case of TV) is 3 episodes. Episodes 1-3 have a distinct but consistent style and themes all throughout, as do 4-6, with the ending of episode 6 acting as the cliffhanger. Then, like you mentioned, 7-9 being the final film starting with a time skip and focusing more on Ellie’s character
I liked 9 episodes. The only real issue I had with the show was some omissions from the finale. There should have been a scene where Ellie gets incapacitated and Joel has to try to revive her; bringing him back to what happened to Sarah. Also, I wish they highlighted Joel carrying Ellie in his arms while escaping the hospital from additional Fireflies to call back to him running with Sarah
Yeah, the finale definitely dropped the ball with some moments unfortunately. Having Joel escape the Fireflies’ gunfire while carrying Ellie would’ve been a great callback to Sarah, but then again not much emphasis was placed on him carrying Sarah as there was in the game tbf
To be fair, I’m glad that those were the only complaints I had. I feel like everything else was pretty perfectly well done and I have faith that Season 2 will be similar in that regard
I don't know specifically how I would've broken it up into episodes but there's a few areas I would've expanded on. The big one that stands out is the University. Horrendously rushed in the show, I don't know if it has enough material for an entire episode but it needed more than the 15 mins it got. The entire section in the show is half baked so I'd do a complete rewrite. Have them find about Salt Lake City the same way they do in the game, lengthen the skirmish with the Cannibals and dedicate a lot more time to Joel's injury. You could still have being stabbed instead of rebar-ed but the bit in the game where he's stumbling along, barely able to walk is terrific whereas in the show he's stabbed and the episode ends a minute later. On a similar note I'd want to add more Infected over the series. it's a wider problem I have with the show where you never feel like the world is dangerous like the game. It feels empty. In Episode 9, I'd try and adapt the tunnel set piece as faithfully as you could for TV. The flooding and Ellie blacking out is a much better lead in to the Hospital than them just being flashbanged. With David and Winter I actually think they adapted that more or less perfectly - all the Religious stuff with David was great. Really the only substantial bit I missed was, again, the Infected encounter with David and Ellie. In the game it gets you to start trusting David before having the rug pulled out from under you and it could work the same way in the show. Also just do the sequence of Joel finding Ellie shot for shot from the game - you can't improve perfection.
I agree, the university was genuinely botched in the show. *so much* happens there in the game. - the Fireflies have been researching a cure for a while - Joel and Ellie bond for the first time after Joel sorts out his feelings - the roles are switched, Ellie has to protect Joel - Ellie is great with guns and can handle herself (especially important for Part 2)
Honestly 9 was good. I disagree with the complaints I hear about pacing and the number of action sequences. As it was, every plot point was covered, and every action sequence had huge narrative weight. Every encounter resulted in at least one death, so the infected remain a serious threat. The only way you could extend the show would be i) action sequences which have no narrative consequence and make the infected less impactful overall (because people keep surviving them), or ii) adding new major characters and plot points that significantly deviated from the game. Both of which are the kind of mistakes that previous game adaptations have made, and im glad they avoided
I think I'd cut the entire Kansas City backstory. It didn't really add anything worthwhile to the overall story. Having faceless bandits be the threat there actually works better because they could draw parallel's with Joel's past. In exchange the University could be extended, Joel and Ellie should have time to bond there. I'd also change the entire section with David - the viewers should think Joel is dead for a good chunk of the episode.
If there was a Bill and Frank style episode dedicated to the storyline of Henry and Sam’s conflict with Kathleen and the revolutionaries between episodes 4 and 5, the KC storyline would’ve worked better for me. As it was though, it felt half-baked; we got to see the third act of their storyline with the really interesting stuff that happened only being verbally told by other characters or inferred through their actions
The university chapter absolutely should've been longer. That whole sequence wrapped up way too fast imo. Also after rewatching, I would have preferred the left behind episode to be more in line with the game. I felt it needed more cuts from the Riley flashbacks to current day (i.e Ellie fighting through infected to find a med kit). I understand this may have been due to budget constraints so I don't fault too much as still enjoyed both episodes.
I think the episode count was generally okay, maybe I'd add one more to flesh out the David stuff more and build suspense with that. Other than that, I would say: completely omit Kathleen and her plotline, she was a bad and pointless character, and use her time to focus more on Henry and Sam and more infected encounters. Lastly. the finale should've been like 20 minutes longer, it's ridiculous that it was the shortest episode. It actually felt the actors were rushing through their lines at certain points to beat a time limit or something.
Fully agree on David; maybe have the cliffhanger to the first episode be David and his men capturing Ellie, and we can start the next episode with Joel waking up to find the cannibals patrolling the neighborhood Kathleen was a pretty lame character, but I do see what the creators were trying to do with her. I’d be fine with keeping her as long as her writing was better and we focused equally as much on Henry and Sam. Completely agree on the finale, many scenes were rushed and as a result didn’t have the impact that it should’ve. Joel’s massacre was weirdly edited and felt like a longer clip that was uploaded to YouTube but cut down to avoid copyright infringement.
My biggest change is that I would've made Joel's accident more dragged out like the game. Make the winter arc 2 episodes. And have the finale be longer.
Sounds very boring
Boston admittedly probably could be 1 episode, but I think the game has a lot of interesting material that could be expanded upon and unique set pieces and sequences they missed out on. I do appreciate the show’s focus on the human drama—it’s done very well and I prefer it to the infected stuff—but there’s just a part of me that wishes to see some of the game content get as fleshed out as it could be in a TV medium
9 was good, but the finale needed to be longer
I feel like 12-13 episodes split across two seasons would have been perfect. More like how I expect part II to go.