'The Last of Us' - Season 2 Thread (NO GAME SPOILERS!) | HBO | Neil Druckmann stepping away from creative involvement

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Plot armor is thiiiiiiiick.

That's how the games are. There's a ridiculous amount of plot armor. So either you do a faithful adaptation and people complain about how wild it is that these people are still alive OR you try to make it more TV friendly and then the gamers come in talkin bout it ain't faithful.

Video game adaptations are the toughest to do and this show is among the best to do it.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Yeah without Ellie going through the battles she just seems like she has a lucky charm shoved up her ass. Like what's the point of all this if she can just magically escape situations to get to the next plot point?

That's how the games are. They always magically get out of situations.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I just don't see any scenario were they could've had this TV version of Ellie be the ninja assassin she is in the game breh. They would've had to come up with a brand new storyline of her getting military trained in Jackson after her 16th birthday or some shyt

Exactly.... and this is the problem that most shows face when adapting a video game. Video games at the end of the day do not make much sense in the real world because you can literally survive anything.

 

[HiiiPower]

@Jmare007 Without future spoilers, how close was all this in the show finale to the events at this point in the second game? I only played parts of the second game

Main plot beats are pretty accurate

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Main plot beats are pretty accurate

Well then.... they made their choice that Ellie wasn't going to be mowing down 100 people a day and that's a choice that 50% of people are going to dislike. If she's doing that, people who are more invested in TV structure are going to think it's retarded. The people who are more invested in the games want her to be more like an action hero. No chance of pleasing everyone

 

[Jmare007]

@Jmare007 Without future spoilers, how close was all this in the show finale to the events at this point in the second game? I only played parts of the second game

It's pretty much the same. They skipped a couple of gameplay encounters with Ellie, were you basically learn about the WLF and get some Seraphite lore as you sneak your way through Seattle trying to find Abby and her friends.

There's some changes here and there but we basically get all the major plot points and encounters up to this point of the story. The only important thing they changed was Tommy staying in Jackson and then going to rescue Ellie and Dina. In the game, Tommy is the one that takes a 1 day lead on Ellie -he tricks her and goes alone to Seattle- so finding him (and following his blood path) is a major reason why you stay in the city in the midst of all the warfare fukkery between wolves and scars.

They finished the season exactly at the point most of us theorized they would once we all found out they were following the exact same narrative structure as the game.

 

[Jmare007]

Well then.... they made their choice that Ellie wasn't going to be mowing down 100 people a day and that's a choice that 50% of people are going to dislike. If she's doing that, people who are more invested in TV structure are going to think it's retarded. The people who are more invested in the games want her to be more like an action hero. No chance of pleasing everyone

I think it's fair to criticize them for wanting their cake and eating it too. I think the decision of making Ellie and her journey more realistic is the right one for a TV show. But the way they executed it left a lot to be desired, mainly because they tried to do too much in very limited TV minutes.

It's very easy to understand why Ellie is disliked by portion of the audience. The show has not given TV watchers a good reason to get behind her, at all. And watching a show with a MC that's not fun or compelling to follow is a tall task.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

It's pretty much the same. The skipped a couple of gameplay encounters with Ellie, were you basically learn about the WLF and get some Seraphite lore as you sneak your way through Seattle trying to find Abby and her friends.

There's some changes here and there but we basically get all the major plot points and encounters up to this point of the story. The only important thing they changed was Tommy staying in Jackson and then going to rescue Ellie and Dina. In the game, Tommy is the one that takes a 1 day lead on Ellie -he tricks her and goes alone to Seattle- so finding him (and following his blood path) is a major reason why you stay in the city in the midst of all the warfare fukkery between wolves and scars.

They finished the season exactly at the point most of us theorized they would once we all found out they were following the exact same narrative structure as the game.

Cool cool.... so why are people talking about changes? From what I can see, it's just the Ellie being an action hero shyt that's been reduced and in a television structure, if you are trying to keep it more grounded in reality, those alterations likely have to be made.

 

[StatUS]

That's how the games are. They always magically get out of situations.

No, you as the player get them out of those situations because it's a video game. Then a cutscene plays to further the story. It's not usual plot armor I care about. I'm speaking on in the show where the plot is just moving by her escaping instead of fighting her way through things a bit. There's a completely different relationship that people have with Ellie based on this.

I understand she can't be female John Wick but then you have to figure out how to make it work and they really haven't.

It's a completely different journey from the game but doesn't mix with how the story portrays the cycle of violence and vengeance.

The first season worked because it's mostly on how humanity/family can survive in the worst situations.

It's just not written well enough this season and hopefully they figure it out next season.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

It's very easy to understand why Ellie is disliked by portion of the audience. The show has not given TV watchers a good reason to get behind her, at all. And watching a show with a MC that's not fun or compelling to follow is a tall task.

I don't dislike her. She's a kid on a revenge tour. Should she be more matured at this point? I don't think so. Even teenagers who have seen a lot and been through a lot and have had to grow up fast are still kids and do a lot of dumb things. Ellie might have some mature outlooks on life but they aren't going to be fully cooked as a teenager. It's like a kid who takes a couple civics classes and now think they know all about how the government operates.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

No, you as the player get them out of those situations because it's a video game.

Exactly and therein lies the issue. YOU are getting them out of ridiculous situations to advance the story. In a TV show, you are not in control... they have to follow a narrative structure that would make sense from point A to point B without throwing on endless amounts of plot armor.

 

[Mister Terrific]

Ellie in the games is a fukking demon who somewhat enjoys killing. They really nerfed her in this.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Ellie in the games is a fukking demon who somewhat enjoys killing. They really nerfed her in this.

To the Van Lathan's of the world, that would only serve to make her MORE unlikable..

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

A 2 to 3 year wait to come back with Abby as the lead is asking for disaster as the casual viewer won't care about the game like that or might have an attachment to Joel.

Lots of shows have completely flopped and gotten cancelled due to those types of decisions.

 

[987654321]

Should have been like 12 episodes. I hope Zaslav randomly chokes to death on goose dikk.