Show suffering the same fate as the game when it comes to peoples criticism of the story and plot
I don’t think it’s exactly the same. Pedro is a bonafide star. The only star the show had. Cutting him loose after two episodes is gonna hit different than in a game with immediate access to the entire story, and where the gameplay can offset prestige.
This season also wasn’t very good imo. Eps 2 and 6 were great. The rest…. ehhh. I think the showrunners were clearly afraid of the blowback from the game. They made so many changes to soften the loudest critiques (like revealing Abby’s motives at the start, completely removing Abby’s physical stature, and Ellie accidentally killing Mel) they heard from the game, when they should have stuck to their guns.
Also, it didn’t bother anyone else that for all the ground they cover in Seattle, nothing is really happening? They basically surrounded three set pieces (the subway, Nora, and the aquarium) with exposition and time stamps. The Wolves have enough men to invade an island, but they never really encounter them at all? They have dogs, but Ellie — who basically was bumbling all through Seattle — can just sneak through a hole in the floor and poof, Nora found?
I thought they were gonna have TOO much story for 7 episodes, but it turned out they didn’t have nearly enough because they prioritized giving Abby her own season. And unlike season 1, I would argue that most of their attempts to add new storylines didn’t work this time.