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Topic: The TV Show Thread

Posts 3,841 to 3,860 of 4,391

nessisonett

@Th3solution It’s not as if Melanie Lynskey’s a bad actress in the slightest, she’s brilliant in several things. Makes me think that she was just written badly, a character that didn’t quite feel human. As if the decisions and motivations felt like they were engineered for plot reasons.

Plumbing’s just Lego innit. Water Lego.

Trans rights are human rights.

LN78

@nessisonett I just saw a review that said that Lynskey's character came across like the Delores Umbridge of "The Last of Us" universe. Oh dear. She is a brilliant actor though - it was always a mystery to me why Kate Winslet got all the plaudits when "Heavenly Creatures" came out. I thought she (Kate) gave the weaker performance of the two.

Edited on by LN78

LN78

Th3solution

@nessisonett I don’t think I’ve seen her on anything else. I think you’re probably right though. The character was ill conceived and the lines awkwardly written.
@LN78 That exact thought crossed my mind actually! I thought it was because I had so much Harry Potter on the brain lately, but I agree with the Umbridge vibe. …which wasn’t exactly expected in The Last of Us universe. I’ll not go into further detail because I know you’re still waiting to watch it. If you like her as an actress then hopefully the character sits well with you. The episode as a whole was great.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Fight_Teza_Fight

Is it weird that I’m rooting for the Eagles because of It’s Always in Philadelphia’?

They’re in the early/middle of writing the new season as per the latest Sunny podcast.

‘Charlie’s Home Alone’ due to his weird pre-game rituals while the gang sees the Eagles win is one of my favourites.
A repeat closer for the new season would be fantastic.

Lives, Lived, Will Live.
Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece

zupertramp

I thought I was the only one thinking what the heck is going on with Melanie Lynskey here. Like I really like her. Great in I Don't Feel at Home..., great in Yellowjackets, Castle Rock. Probably several others I can't think of. But this just didn't fit her or something.

And I'm still unclear on what a deaf Sam adds to the story and how I'm not supposed to think of Lauren Ridloff's incredible performances in The Walking Dead and even to a lesser extent of A Quiet Place but all that aside I really loved this episode. Some heart felt moments, some action, some laughs... it was great.

Edited on by zupertramp

PSN: frownonfun
Switch: SW-5109-6573-1900 (Pops)

"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig

Pizzamorg

Wow episode 5 of the Last of Us might be the best episode so far, and that feels like a very high bar given the consistently high degree of quality this show has had basically all the way through. This episode felt like it brought together all the best parts of the first four episodes into one package, and I think I've been with this version of Joel and Ellie long enough now where I am properly invested in them, and am mostly no longer needing to contend with this itchy through in my brain that I'm just looking at actors in cosplay.

I will never emotionally recover from Phantom Liberty.

Th3solution

@zupertramp I didn’t even consider how the Sam changes were reminiscent of tactics in those other post-apocalyptic shows, but for me the new wrinkles to the character worked really well. I think it’s just added vulnerability and even more dependence on Henry, and therefore made for an even bigger emotional pay-off at the ensuing tragedy. It was a little manipulative in that regard but I thought the actor was so incredible in the role he was given that it worked really well. And Sam’s relationship with Ellie was every bit as convincing (if not more so) as in the game. Is Ramsey growing on you?

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

LtSarge

Just finished watching season 1 of DC's Stargirl on HBO Max. Awesome season finale and an overall great season! I seriously love this show, it's been years since I got in a binge-watching mood with a show. There were so many likeable characters and I quite like the concept of Justice Society of America (and the Injustice Society). I'm guessing it's kinda like a smaller version of the Justice League with less familiar superheroes, which is neat. I also like the idea that anyone can become these superheroes since they don't inherently have any powers of their own. The powers come from the suits/tools they have, which is a cool idea. Moreover, while most of the characters were unfamiliar to me, it was still nice to see some recognisable ones like Solomon Grundy that I know from the Arkham games.

In short, this is an absolutely fantastic show and I can't wait to watch the next season!

LtSarge

zupertramp

@Th3solution yeah it's a minor quibble I have, the Sam and Henry changes, because yeah it's either manipulative or tokenism (there has to be a deaf person in every post-apocalypse now even though they make up far less than even a percentage point of the population at any given time). And then let's throw cancer in there as well, after we just had an episode where someone else was terminally ill* in zombie land. Idk, it's just at some point it gets to where they are laying things on a little thick but I know there's other instances where I give shows/films a pass on that so like I say, just a quibble I can overlook. Kathleen less so. Just an eye-rolling decision that was the more I think of it.

And Bella Ramsey... She's not a bad actor, I'll concede. She's just not Ellie. I'm actually far less enthused with Pedro Pascal just as an actor generally but his Joel has definitely grown on me but this is just not Ellie. But it's cool, I'm just ignoring that. It's not like she's extremely important to the story lol.

*Before I get "well actually'd" I'm fully aware leukemia isn't really a terminal illness but I contend it is far more likely to be after the fall of civilization.

PSN: frownonfun
Switch: SW-5109-6573-1900 (Pops)

"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig

Th3solution

@zupertramp Well actually… 😜… nah, just kidding 😅. I’m sure people in the apocalypse would tend to die from many treatable diseases. In fact, the dilapidated state of the world 20 years into the apocalypse would likely be much different from a medical care standpoint and I’d go so far as to say that if people have trouble finding food, batteries, fuel, and ammunition, there’s unlikely to be chemo and medicines laying around, even one precious dose. Certainly the shelf life of those things are much less than 20 years, I’d wager. In fact, every consumable besides the Hostess Twinkies would be spoiled, expired, degraded, or inert. Apparently Twinkies last forever, just like McDonald’s french fries.

But yes, the tokenism (never heard the term before but I like it) is heavy and requires another layer of suspension of disbelief. Like you say, the representation of the chronically ill and disabled in the apocalypse would realistically be far less, not more.

But I tolerated the changes in this episode more than some of the others because it pushes the narrative effect on Ellie’s state of mind better than some of the other plot changes, which didn’t really affect the story conclusion and where it’s heading.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

zupertramp

@Th3solution yeah I normally don't watch shows in this way (meaning slowly as the episodes release) so it's hard to gauge some things and how much they impact the overall viewing experience. We'll see if I feel like watching the whole thing through again once they're all released. I'm curious what a binge watch would do for the show compared to this drip feed style. Sometimes it makes a difference, strangely enough.

PSN: frownonfun
Switch: SW-5109-6573-1900 (Pops)

"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig

zupertramp

Oh and I recently watched Scenes from a Marriage and omg, just amazing. Like ever since Oscar Isaac's whole "I'm too high art for anymore blockbusters (unless I need another house)" comments I been kinda unenthusiastic about any of his projects but geez the man can act. And then Jessica Chastain there's no question but then the two of them together in this they just exceed all expectations. I've never seen the original, so I have no idea what has been retained but performances aside the writing is also stellar. Very true to life. Reminded me a bit of the more emotionally crushing bits in the film Closer. So if you're into relationship viewing I highly recommend it if you enjoy flawless acting, a great script and y'know, cathartic sobbing lol.

PSN: frownonfun
Switch: SW-5109-6573-1900 (Pops)

"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig

PegasusActual93

@Th3solution
Twinkies do not in fact last forever that is a myth and I don't know where that myth even comes from as they only have a shelf life of 25 days. No food or drink product for humans lasts 20 years aside from water. That's why I laughed at the part where Joel and Ellie ate 20 year old Chef Boyardee. At most that would last 5.

Born too early to explore space and born too late to explore Earth, but born just in time to explore memes.

Th3solution

@PegasusActual93 Haha! My tongue was firmly in cheek when I posted that about Twinkies. I’m not even sure if the urban mythology surrounding the crazy shelf life of Twinkies extends to our friends over in the UK and Europe. If they have any sense about them they don’t have Twinkies over there! 😂

But yeah, not sure about why that myth was started. But the McDonald’s fries is something I saw done in the documentary “Super Size Me.” There was some supplemental content that Morgan Spurlock did where he left out burgers and fries from various restaurants and filmed their gradual decomposition each day. The McDonald’s fries stayed looking fresh and unaltered way after everything else was covered in decomposed slime and mold. It was definitely not natural! I’ve avoided McDonald’s fries ever since! 😅

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Octane

@PegasusActual93 I have a 5+ year old tub of gochujang paste that is still perfectly fine. Canned stuff can last for a while as well. I wouldn't trust water though, microbes are far more likely to thrive in water than in a dried or heavily salted/sugary produce. Canned stuff is sterile, I'd eat it after 20 years in a apocalypse.

Octane

LN78

@PegasusActual93 There are videos on YouTube of people eating canned corned beef rations ("Bully Beef") from WWI. It was completely disgusting (as it was even in 1916) but still perfectly edible.

LN78

PegasusActual93

@Octane
You are going to have to drink water eventually to survive, got to purify it somehow. Some stuff lasts longer than others but canned food is still not edible after 20 years. Sure it would be less risky than other options but I still wouldn't trust it. And I especially wouldn't make it a part of my regular diet as you are just begging to get extremely ill that way.
@LN78
I don't know how eating 100 year old food in any capacity wouldn't kill you. Not to mention it was 1916 and our standards of food quality especially meat in wartime was not nearly to the standards they are now. This was the same time period when Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle" which shined a light to the public on just how disgusting the meat industry was at that time.

Edited on by PegasusActual93

Born too early to explore space and born too late to explore Earth, but born just in time to explore memes.

JohnnyShoulder

@Th3solution Twinkies could mean something totally different where I'm from! 😆

Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

PSN: JohnnyShoulder

zupertramp

See now we're getting into "who is mowing the grass" territory that many did with TWD. Me, some things you just gotta roll with. 20 year old chef boyardee? Meh, it's plausible. Air tight and chock full of preservatives... I can suspend disbelief on that one. Also coffee. Like I just can't imagine 20 yr old coffee tastes very much like your morning Folgers but oh well, it's fiction and fungus doesn't work like that anyway.

PSN: frownonfun
Switch: SW-5109-6573-1900 (Pops)

"One of the unloveliest and least enlightening aspects of contemporary discourse is the tendency to presume that whatever one disagrees with must be very simple—not only simple, but also simply wrong." - Elizabeth Bruenig

Kidfried

Episode 5 was really good, but especially the second part. I don't think (trying to) give depth to Kathleen did anything for the story. Those scenes felt more like they belonged in The Walking Dead. A lot of the best changes the TV series made from the game were when they changed perspectives. I think fully focussing on Joel and co would have made this episode better, but...

That second part of the episode, now that was something. Amazing action scenes and very gut-wrenching drama. Probably the strongest bits in the series so far.


Currently I'm replaying The Last of Us Part One. I'm a bit behind on the tv series, but that's purposely so, so the scenes in the series hit harder. I'm really enjoying the remake, and against my expectations feel like I'm getting my money's worth rebuying this game... again! But that was not the point. The point was that I notice the series has also increased my appreciation of the game.

I have already noticed so much dialogue, scenes and shots that were recreated one by one. Just goes to show how great direction and writing for The Last of Us really was. With regards to Ellie though, I am now fully convinced of my (minority) opinion: Bella Ramsey is the definite Ellie for me. As a teenager, but also as a 'survivor' Ramsey is so much more convincing to me than the game's character. Ellie in the game is kind of written like an adult sometimes.

Kidfried

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