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

[Sterling Archer]

A recast might've worked better for some actions scenes but I don't think there's an actress out there that could pull off the impossible task of having like 4 different emotions every other scene while having to be funny, charming and menacing in a warzone filled with deviants and fukked up people in just 3 and a half episodes even Isabela Merced, who's by far this season's MVP wouldn't have been able to pull off "demonic Ellie" in a season structured and written like this one.

There’s several actors that could perform better. 2 of them are the women in the show right now. Isabela Merced is a great actor. Not just good. Not propped up because of her age or because of alphabet people. Just pure talent. She would have been a much superior Ellie. The girl who plays Abby would have also been superior. So no, Bella is not the end all be all to this role.

Part of the reason the writing sucks is because of the limitations Bella has as an actor. Despite how yall trying to make it so, she is NOT a great actor. She’s just ok. And her inability to pull a better performance in her scenes is exactly why they had to change her Nora scene the way they did.

As for writing in general, it’s ok when they are adding new scenes to the show. But anything that it specifically changes, it does a bad job at. Anything that is dialogue heavy, it is borderline bad.

 

[Deafheaven]

I will say even though she didn't give no oscar worthy performance or anything people need to give Bella a lil slack. I mean what was she supposed to do with these constant barrages of character assassination and goofy changes/motivations.

She know scars are crazy asf, wants to crash out to save one, jeopardizing Jesse getting home who she said she would do anything for. ASS
Shifts constantly between a psychopath, idiot, 14 year old, and a girlfriend on a whim/when the plot dictates its necessary. She is tonally all over the place.
All the corny little quips she did wasn't hitting
NOTHING she does is believable because the show did not set it up to be as such.

overall they just wrote a really really crap character for some reason. IDGI. It aint really Bella fault tbh.

Now actual criticisms of Bella is that she simply cannot emote very well but a good director would have worked around that as she was fine in S1 but considering this requires a much greater range of emotions she fell flat often.

 

[Deafheaven]

Part of the reason the writing sucks is because of the limitations Bella has as an actor. Despite how yall trying to make it so, she is NOT a great actor. She’s just ok. And her inability to pull a better performance in her scenes is exactly why they had to change her Nora scene the way they did.

As for writing in general, it’s ok when they are adding new scenes to the show. But anything that it specifically changes, it does a bad job at. Anything that is dialogue heavy, it is borderline bad. I

nikkas gonna keep trying to gaslight like we crazy for her to want to a weeee bit close to the source material

I agree on the changes. The biggest offender to me was Tommy. It reduced the sense of urgency considerably and honestly made it seem like two silly little ladies on a death wish instead of following in the path of destruction Tommy left. also omitted the whole "joel taught me this map shyt..." part which is wack because that was a cool part in the game once she uses it too

 

[Lord_nikon]

muhfukkas had Abby like saruman at the end lol

 

[Deafheaven]

Never played the game
Season 1 was so much better
This season sucks
Ellie, Abby are not equipped to do what they are showing them do (Solid Snake, Commando type actions)

Why would I be invested in watching an Abby season? She's had what, 20 kins on screen time this season?

Not coming back for S3

this is what i was wondering for show only folks. like what motivation/attachment would you have to see Abby story. And wait several years for it.

 

[Sterling Archer]

nikkas gonna keep trying to gaslight like we crazy for her to want to a weeee bit close to the source material

I agree on the changes. The biggest offender to me was Tommy. It reduced the sense of urgency considerably and honestly made it seem like two silly little ladies on a death wish instead of following in the path of destruction Tommy left. also omitted the whole "joel taught me this map shyt..." part which is wack because that was a cool part in the game once she uses it too

Yeah creative choice to make it Ellie being the one to wreak all this havoc is a miss. It’s not a huge deal because I honestly look at the show as an entirely different story. Like a different comic book writer for just another Batman comic. There will only be some similarities.

We know that Tommy was the reason for Ellie being able to do her thing in Seattle because in the game Tommy had the Wolves thinking he was a goddamn Predator the way he was killing folks. I remember the scene in the game when Ellie and Dina came upon some bodies and it even made Ellie cringe and when Dina asked “who could do this?” Ellie was like “…Tommy.”

Which just highlighted how crazy Joel and Tommy were back in the day. Removing that part from the show is a disservice. Especially considering some of the bullshyt they added or left in instead.

 

[King Static X]

Also, Ellie in season 1 said that she can't swim. In this season's finale, the boat capsizes, AND she is wearing a heavy backpack that would weigh her down.

Ellie would've 100% drowned in the water. Convenient plot armor strikes once again.

 

[Nero Christ]

Yeah creative choice to make it Ellie being the one to wreak all this havoc is a miss. It’s not a huge deal because I honestly look at the show as an entirely different story. Like a different comic book writer for just another Batman comic. There will only be some similarities.

We know that Tommy was the reason for Ellie being able to do her thing in Seattle because in the game Tommy had the Wolves thinking he was a goddamn Predator the way he was killing folks. I remember the scene in the game when Ellie and Dina came upon some bodies and it even made Ellie cringe and when Dina asked “who could do this?” Ellie was like “…Tommy.”

Which just highlighted how crazy Joel and Tommy were back in the day. Removing that part from the show is a disservice. Especially considering some of the bullshyt they added or left in instead.

Yea they’ve really muted how psychotic the characters they want you to root for actually are and it makes the story feel more generic.

Finale was so-so to me. Not bad just missing the punch to make you feel relieved at surviving everything and getting back to the theater and then the dread coming back at a 100 when Abby shows up.

I also agree with the poster who said Mel’s death was improved on, it just Ellie’s character was put in a position once again due to how weird they wrote her to really sell how that moment breaks her into giving up on chasing Abby.

 

[Nero Christ]

Also, Ellie in season 1 said that she can't swim. In this season's finale, the boat capsizes, AND she is wearing a heavy backpack that would weigh her down.

Ellie would've 100% drowned in the water. Convenient plot armor strikes once again.

Joel teachers how to swim in between the two games…it’s brought up early in the game. Mazino once again not paying attention to the source material

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

If Ellie was more psychotic people would absolutely have an issue with that as well. There's always people who whine about "I have nobody to root for" in shows where the main characters are multi layered and nobody is really "good"

 

[987654321]

Also, Ellie in season 1 said that she can't swim. In this season's finale, the boat capsizes, AND she is wearing a heavy backpack that would weigh her down.

Ellie would've 100% drowned in the water. Convenient plot armor strikes once again.

If you had just PLAYED AND FINISHED BOTH GAMES you’d see that it was the same. Just didn’t know how to swim in the first one but swims in a storm in the second one.

 

[Deafheaven]

If Ellie was more psychotic people would absolutely have an issue with that as well. There's always people who whine about "I have nobody to root for" in shows where the main characters are multi layered and nobody is really "good"

cap.

history shows well written grey morality or even flat out bad characters are well received.

GOT was the holy grail for tv for years and had a couple truly benevolent characters at best

Breaking Bad is possibly the greatest show ever and everyone is a piece of shyt





Ya'll really jumping completely out the window to warp reality to absolve this show of its flaws, this is wild

 

[King Static X]

Joel teachers how to swim in between the two games…it’s brought up early in the game. Maximo once again not paying attention to the source material

If you had just PLAYED AND FINISHED BOTH GAMES you’d see that it was the same. Just didn’t know how to swim in the first one but swims in a storm in the second one.

That's the game, NOT the show. The show never shows Ellie learning how to swim.

Also, even if Ellie can swim, it is still highly likely she would drown. The backpack would be enough to sink her.

Further, swimming in rough water like that is difficult even for an Olympic-level swimmer (which Ellie certainly isn't, even if she can swim).

 

[Deafheaven]

That's the game, NOT the show. The show never shows Ellie learning how to swim.

Also, even if Ellie can swim, it is still highly likely she would drown. The backpack would be enough to sink her.

Further, swimming in rough water like that is difficult even for an Olympic-level swimmer (which Ellie certainly isn't, even if she can swim).

Folks want you to abide by/follow the games rules when convenient and then when its some goofy out of character, want more cordys/action, or weird lame shyt they go, well what do you expect its not a videogame


nasty work.

 

[987654321]

That's the game, NOT the show. The show never shows Ellie learning how to swim.

Also, even if Ellie can swim, it is still highly likely she would drown. The backpack would be enough to sink her.

Further, swimming in rough water like that is difficult even for an Olympic-level swimmer (which Ellie certainly isn't, even if she can swim).

Do y’all want it to be like the game or not?! Be perturbed about not being told a character had learned how to swim in a show about post-apocalyptic mushroom zombies brehs. This ain’t even a discussion until you finish the second game!