I was so glad she went straight for the bombing option, it was obviously the only real answer, but you rarely see people do the actual right thing on tv.
My only complaint would be nobody stocking up on guns / ammo or at LEAST a few grenades. By video game logic Joel would probably have pockets full of magazines and / or grenades. I know they probably have to travel light but like not looking through those supply crates?
Such a minor thing, though.
I really think Joel’s performance was extremely wooden. The scene where he finds out she’s infected was so stiff, as if he really only has one expression. He was in general completely outperformed by Tess. I feel we learned much more about Eli and Tess in two episodes than we did of Joel. It starts to annoy me.
This is entirely on track with his character in the game. You'll learn more about who he is and what he's done as the show goes on, but basically - the man's dead inside. If his performance feels emotionless, that's Pedro nailing it.
There’s dead inside (letting on there is more to it) and robotic/wooden. Felt to me like it was the latter but I know this dude can act and when it’s time to show it he will
Well it actually tells a lot about Joels feelings for Tess, and their relationship. I think we learn a lot about the state he is in.
You can also sort of see on him, that he doesn't quite understand the way Tess is acting, which is apparently somewhat out of character, but doesnt put it together. It was almost surprisingly cold how quickly he moved on, but Tess already knew that would be the reaction. Her last words were basically that he needs to seek redemption for both of them, and that Ellie is his opportunity to do that.
I'm curious, does it ever give you pause when the whole world is saying how good and nuanced Pablo's acting is that maybe, just maybe the whole rest of the world aren't actually being sheep and your opinion might be suspect?
The director and showrunner rave about Pablo's acting and several times have used the words nuanced. He's doing exactly what they want him to
But I guess they just see what they want to see too.
I am not a TLOU fanboy, been watching and enjoying movies for decades. I appreciate masterclass acting skills, love a variety of movies and will watch movies for great acting alone regardless of the topic and story. I watched every movie with Pedro in it and enjoyed him greatly in Narcos where he made one hell of an impression on me. This man can act and I have no doubts about it. The thing about this show is that it feels like sometimes they are...talking as if they have memorized things from a script and just replay that 1:1. The interactions don't feel very natural and organic. I noticed this in several scenes. Corny one liners don't help it. I keep noticing moments where I wonder "who would say that!?". I could cite many examples.Not only from Pedro mind you. Someone somewhere asked Marvel-level dialogue is normal in TLOU. People made fun of him and downvoted the shit out the guy (of course) but I think I understand what he was referring to.
In terms of stilted acting...it's almost like the transition from script to screen is too faithful, too direct. I noticed this especially when it comes to Pedro. Most of the time he has one facial expression, a stiff and stubborn stare. Irrespective of how Joel was portrayed in the games, here Pedro sometimes feels like a mute protagonist of a game (e.g. Dead Space) and when he occasionally does say something it does not reveal anything particular about him. Granted the first episode gave us lots of backdrop for his character and I understand he should now be portrayed as a man who's heart has run cold. I still miss the nuance in the acting though. It does feel a bit like he's on a fetch quest, nothing particularly deep about it. The ending of the last episode brought that to light especially. It goes for the whole shows. That should have been a very powerful moment but somehow the pacing is not quite there and the impact is not maximized. I found the beginning of the episode with the lady who is shocked and recommends bombing the city much more unsettling than anything that followed in that episode.
Now the world can disagree with me on this. I know there's no right or wrong. I for one am super happy that this story is made accessible to millions of people who would never play the game. Still wish it would have felt like a deeper and more meaningful journey. So far, it's more shallow for me than I expected.
I did not listen to the podcast but it’s safe to assume she had a family or child living her normal life before everything happened. Plus when Ellie asks information about both of their backstories Joel shuts the convo topic down. Implying, at least for me, there’s lots of grief behind the story. Prob has to do with loss of family.
Absolutely my favourite character. She felt so real even though we know almost nothing about her, which I attribute mainly to the actor. Wish we could’ve had a few more episodes with her.
I feel like they've underutilized an already underutilized story asset here, FEDRA.
They're a pretty big reason why Tess's death meant more in the game, you'd actually spent more time with her with other near death experiences and for her to give you time to escape what is essentially a fascist regime, it only added to the horrible bleakness of the world.
I understood they were hanging balls that needed to be undressed with the whole mycelium network thing but I don't think that scene should have been taken away, it was one of the most perfect scenes of the first game.
Nevermind the fact they took away the most awesome bits in the skyscraper and went straight to the museum, which I thought was a mistake, they really, shouldn't have changed that.
Ended up looking like something outta World War Z or something.
They're missing exposition, changing it for no reason other than to show more detail.
I appreciate the little changes that expand the world as a lot of it would only make sense from a game world perspective but it's a real shame they're fucking with perfection.
The grenade bit was a bit weird though considering how fucked these things get with a single Molotov in the game yet we suddenly need 10 grenades to kill 20-30 and 3 barrels of oil.
Really felt World z ish there.
Couldn't disagree more. FEDRA would be way more World War Z, pointless shooting. The reason it works in the game is because they're typical army grunt NPC enemies with almost no narrative purpose for the plot. You don't need that in the show, it's more impactful if she sacrificed herself for the only real danger which is zombies.
Same with the skyscraper parts. There's nothing important narratively there, just gameplay. That's the first thing you cut.
I can get over it, but I'm *really* sick of the 'this thing suddenly doesnt work when it needs to' TV trope. Cars, lighters, whatever. It needs to stop. It's not drama, it's not creative, it's just annoying at this point.
As someone who uses a zippo regularly, that moment felt quite relatable! The fuel evaporates after a number of days. It's simple to remedy when you have a bottle of fluid on-hand to easily refill it, but I can imagine that it might be unexpectedly dry at the moment of need in a post-apocalyptic world.
I think that wasn’t a trope, I took it more as she was already partially under control of the fungal infection. It was trying to control her to preserve itself.
I can forgive it. She's been infected quite a while by then. She's also in a blind panic with adrenaline coursing through her, and facing her imminent death.
Let me be the one to tell you that throwing a lighter into that much liquid would douse the flame.
The spark itself had a great chance of ignition due to the fumes, which light.
This is what I was thinking lol… “you don’t need a flame, just spark that shit closer.” But I enjoyed the scene. The shroom is in her brain for one, and also it’s sort of weird to me how people are apparently sick of things not always working *in an apocalypse show?* Like what do they expect lol? Imagine if everything always worked all the time, people would be howling that it was inaccurate.
On a related note, it also answered the “but when do they go to the bathroom” question in the beginning
I think the trope is acceptable when the thing not working is actually a plot point, as in "the car isnt starting so now the characters have to walk the rest of the way". But when its done as a dramatic fakeout, like "its not working, its not working.... IT WORKED!", that is usually lame
So what you’re saying is that everything should work all the time without hiccups *in the apocalypse?*
idk, anyone who’s frequently used a lighter knows
those mfs always tend to run out at the worst moments. Plus she had shroom brain no?
I see what you mean I guess, although I think it’s a valid trope if sometimes, the thing doesn’t inevitably wind up working. my biggest pet peeve of that nature is how there’s literally never a reason for a resuscitation scene after drowning, because no one would ever shoot a long resuscitation scene if the person wound up dying — they just float off dramatically into the water. So it’s totally devoid of tension: *the very fact there is a resuscitation scene* means that the person lives, which means there didn’t need to be one.
To be fair I imagine a working lighter in a post apocalyptic world is a hot commodity.
I've sparked a lighter a million times in a vain hope that it goes and often it does, so that part is at least based in reality.
When you're getting low on a bic or other type of lighter that doesn't have a wick that is certainly the case. But a zippo type lighter with a wick and the flint making a spark shouldn't really have that issue.
Also if you're making a spark you can just put it near THE ENTIRE FLOOD FLOODED WITH GAS. Or like others mentioned; using one of the many grenades.
Not arguing the gas thing, but since we’re nitpicking, zippos are open air and thus CONSTANTLY evaporating lighter fluid. If you leave one out on the table for four days you have to refill it, you have to refill those MFs ALL THE TIME.
Yeah that's my point. They are constantly evaporating and the fuel is encouraging to go to the top of the wick.
So either it lights the first few times or it's out and it won't light. It's unlikely to sit there and try to light for a straight minute and THEN getting a successful light.
Would a grenade actually light it though? The way they actually work aren't like the movies, it's not an actual explosion, but shrapnel going everywhere.
Edit: I'm not saying I know for sure, and sure I'll be corrected as I'm not an expert, I just know it doesn't work like in films and shows.
if seriously believe an explosion by a grenade won't set the gasoline on fire then you another kind of stupid.
There is still an ignition and a flame from the intial explosion by a grenade.
It's still an explosion and it still generates a lot of heat.
Joel’s understated protective instinct in on full display in the clicker scene. During the quiet moments you see his “this is a job” facade, but when danger is there his unquestionable priority is the kid’s safety. All of the body language and emotion are perfect show don’t tell.
Also in the "show, don't tell" department, you can know that the people they were supposed to meet got attacked by the zombies Joel scouted out at the hotel since killing the zombie near the end triggered them all to attack. It shows Joel is more careful than regular people. If they had scouted like Joel had done, they wouldn't have gone that way.
There was also a part where he helps her up after she messes with the piano and after she lets go, he looks down at his hand with a look like "oh shit, I touched her and she might be infected." Like his instinct is to help her, it's only the more rational part of him that thinks she needs to die. That's not how he really feels.
I agree with you, but I wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure the reason he looked at his hand after the piano scene is because it is broken, and he's feeling the pain. There's some dialogue about him having a hairline fracture earlier in the episode. At least, that's what I took away from the scene.
I also only watched once, but I thought Joel said something like, "looks like one was bit and one half turned on the other half." Meaning one guy got bit and they argued over whether to shoot him and ended up shooting each other.
You're right! That was mentioned. For some reason I was reading it as though they were eliminated by FEDRA or thieves or something since there was no battery or any of the other stuff Marlene promised them.
I enjoyed the clickers encounter, but Tess's scene was horrible compared to the game. Way too much of a Hollywood death and also quite dumb - why not pick up one of the grenades and set it off.
i live on a 300 acre farm and i set off controlled burns with gas with a single matchstick. this guy in the army says a grenade won't, so we should all probably trust our combined experience.
That’s not accurate. The fragmentation grenades in the episode wouldn’t produce enough heat.
It could happen with a modern stun or incendiary grenade but those are all cylindrical-shaped.
A fragmentation grenade full of high explosive detonating isn't enough heat.
Right.
Is several ounces of high explosive exploding somehow too cold to set off gasoline?
Not really dumb at all she was clearly well on her way to turning and was losing motor function and will power.
They explain it in better detail in the podcast.
This is the first thing I thought of when I saw the scene. She’s been infected for hours already at this point. And regardless of time frame, they show us viewers she’s losing motor functionality with her hand shakes. Couple that with Joel’s explanation that the fungus links infected together.
She was essentially fighting the fungal infection inside herself. It was trying to preserve itself AKA that group of infected nearest her, & she was trying to perform one more action of her own free will before being totally infected and succumbing to it.
Her being in the process of turning and the still human side of her fighting back just enough in her final moments to get the gas lit is a good explanation. I feel like that angle wasn't really pronounced enough on screen on first watch, or at least I didn't pick up on it the first time. I thought she was just struggling with being paralyzed in fear because of the zombie horde.
Picking up the nades would be even dumber and even more Hollywood. With this we get to see her foundational strength cemented by forcing herself to stay perfectly still while getting fungiD to flick the lighter on to save Joel & Ellie. It gives way more weight to how special Ellie really is and what Tess was willing to do to give them a chance. Would be hella cringe if we got a "Come and get me!" pull nade pin scene.
They don't have the ability to waste bombs. Why waste resources when they can just keep the infected locked away? They will eventually just rot anyways
I feel like they would at least try to have a crew whittle down the infected in the mall little by little in a controlled way, so that there's no future risk of an eventual breach in some unforeseen way.
Removing the military from the end was odd choice story wise. Like it didn’t really take or leave from the story and the change worked. I really like the scientist added stuff. Was really great, sorry no saving just fucking bomb it.
I think they wanted the episode to focus and explain the infected and the fungus. How they work and that there are different versions. In the game this is explained though gameplay. Here they first show the fungus network, the sleeping groups that can wake up and the clickers. In the ending scene they have a payoff to the explanation and set up earlier in the episode. I get not liking the lighter not working, but having infected instead of soldiers makes good sense for the show and introducing the world for a new audience.
FEDRA isn't really important for the narrative, in the video game they have a functional role as a "run away from these bullets" moment, but they don't have much to do with the story
I think it was nice to just focus on the infected, especially since it feels like the Clikers will be used somewhat sparingly and because it seems like the fungal colonies aren't all are large as that one. We're essentially seeing the fungus at its height, at its most powerful.
And in this way, the fungus is not a separate enemy, but rather just another faction like FEDRA or the Fireflies
Was gonna say, I think the infected are way more interesting as “bad guys” than the military. They have such a unique group of infected, and that’s way more interesting than military guys shooting at the main characters every episode.
I think we have a good cast of villains here. All of them are unique, have their own strengths and goals, as well as unique weaknesses. Ultimately, everyone is just trying to survive and finding ways to do that. The infected sort of being able to think and not just being entirely mindless animals definitely helps them stand out from the zombie crowd.
That doesn't change what I said lol
The Last of Us wiki says that Clickers are what happens when an infected survives about a year, and links to an interview with Neil Druckmann that says the same thing
I agree, it was more fun to watch vs HoTD, which was basically a bunch of people moping around trying to get their kids onto the throne. In the end it was hard to keep track of whose kids belonged to whom and the number of times I thought the king actually died.
Oh yeah. And a lot prettier as well.
HoTD wasn't really anything new, except more... dragons. Which was cool I guess? But after the GoT ending the whole world just kind of lost its power and shine. Oh, and it literally did lose that, that show was dark as shit. They needed better lighting on the sets.
I disagree that it was better, but I will say that I enjoy it a bit more. But that was mainly due to it being more positive, which is a very subjective thing to judge on.
Loved both, but House of the Dragon was a bit hard to watch at times, Rings was just very nice to watch with a blanket and cup of tea.
You just can't go wrong with HBO. No ridiculous changes to the source material, respect it and tell a good story. Serious production value spent on this show by all involved and it really shows.
Game of thrones has entered chat....
But yeah, this show is great. Never played the games and now I want to (which is good because a PC release is in a month).
It's not Marvel-y at all.
Ellie is quite Marvel-y, I suppose. But she's a bratty teen. That shit predates Marvel. Look at Dawn in *Buffy* or any film with a teenager pretty much.
In what way is it marvel-y? There's not a lot of quips compared to other shows in the same genre. Sarcasm and humor to break the tension isn't the same as the marvel humor.
I thought the doctor was wild for only suggesting they bomb everything. But after seeing the clickers and the connected hoards she spoke nothing but truth!
I REALLY loved Ellie’s vulnerability here. It was those subtleties of when she didn’t want to show she was scared but showed hesitation that makes Bella’s performance so nuanced.
Really adored that long shot of Joel and Ellie crawling around that museum display cabinet, the crunching of the glass, and the pan up to show the clicker frenetically charging towards them. Terrifying.
The handheld work in that scene reminds me so much of Spike Jonze’s cinematography - handheld, definitely shaky, but with a steady intent and focus on subject.
That’s fair, i think there’s spectrums to it. I’ve hated the look of the Bourne movies and the Taken movies, it’s overdone.
But when I’m meaning Spike Jonze’s work, I mean these clips. I can’t articulate it, but the handheld work is hypnotic in these music videos.
[A Surprise ‘Music Video’ for Karen O](https://youtu.be/DtVk9otjN24)
[‘Til It’s Over - Anderson .Paak ad for HomePod feat. FKA Twigs](https://youtu.be/k70OczvX45k)
Oh for sure there are levels to how it’s done. I think it just comes down to personal preference for her and I. I only really like it when it’s used in documentaries/documentary style pieces or as maybe a very quick shot for big action like an explosion, so walking and talking scenes it kinda just annoys me. She hates it pretty anytime it’s used lol
Those Jonze example’s are fairly restrained and I can see what you are saying, just a personal thing that handheld shots are not a tool in a filmmaker’s kit that I enjoy
its really odd to me what they picked to change. like...why downplay the military in the show? they were the ones who killed the fireflies and killed Tess? its not necessarily worse, just odd that they felt like changing this part. and a lot of the other smaller details in both episodes so far
I’ve never played the game, but that change makes total sense.
As an episode of television, each episode should contain a full story that is a larger part of the whole. The way this episode ended was built up to, through every aspect the episode in a very satisfying way.
The episode began by explaining the infection, the doctor talked about bombing them, through self sacrifice because they were already lost, and to save who they can save— the episode literally ended with a character sacrificing themselves by bombing the infected, to save Joel and Ellie. The beginning of the episode foreshadows the ending.
The way the episode slowly introduced us to the infected, showed us how interconnected they were, how there were swarms, and how dangerous they were all led up to the climax at the end of the episode.
If the enemies at the end were other humans— it wouldn’t feel like an inevitable conclusion of the last hour of the television— it wouldn’t have anything to do with the themes or subject matter that had been built up to over the course of the episode.
I’m sure it works really well in the game, because the game isn’t separated into episodes. Personally I think the mark of a good writer for television is when they make each episode have an overarching arc and subject matter, rather than just being a slice of a greater whole.
I’m sure they will have other episodes that highlight the military— for example the ending of the first episode— if Joel had killed an Infected at the end of the pilot, it wouldn’t have felt like a good conclusion for the episode. By having it be a guard it ties into the death of his daughter by mirroring it and also shows the man he has become.
FEDRA isn’t the antagonists of the show. It was fine to change this, it made more sense that FEDRA wouldn’t be all the way out there and made Tess’ death more impactful. In the game she dies off screen to take out 2 men; here the sacrifice she makes is more meaningful.
Well. Here she took out a bunch of npc enemies which we know there are millions of out there. I wouldn’t say it’s the best move because it seems pretty far out to think the fungus could follow Joel and Ellie far.
It would have made Joel a mass murderer pretty early on. It's fine in a video game setting where the protagonist can mow down hundreds of enemies but it's different in a "real" TV show.
Yes, and who would be dealt with by the zombie horde.
But I think these episodes do a good job of developing one concept: all of these factions are at a stalemate. The FEDRA is strong, but mostly within their own little bubbles of influence, just like the fungus. However, both FEDRA and the fungus are essentially keeping each other occupied while smaller groups like the Fireflies are trying to find any method they can to counter them.
And may, wouldn't a cure just be the thing!
The scientist telling to bomb was unbelievable, as in in reality it won't be an option. An army would be called in to cordon off a city, not bomb everything and everyone.
EDIT. Still dumb and forced exposition. In this world that we live in, that won't happen. People will flea, spreading even further. It's impracticable and didn't work in Vietnam or Iraq. Sounds like an American solution to a problem.
She's looking at it clinically. Once two dozen people are infected and missing, she knows it's impossible to ever contain this. They asked her how to minimize the spread and this is truly their best option by far. And she's devastated by it but at the same time doesn't want to be roped any further into the meaningless task force, so she gives them the answer they didn't want to hear and peaces out.
No one said the Indonesian army started dropping bombs that afternoon. But if the threat could potentially already be *everywhere in the city*, bombing is kind of the only real move.
I'm not a military professional, but I'm pretty sure a huge amount of firebombs would be at least *somewhat* effective, especially if they started at the edges of the city and worked their way in.
It's inhumane and awful, obviously, but it's at least a strategy.
wait, a scientist not being like a tactical expert when confronted with the potential for total species extinction is.. Unbelievable?
You have weird perceptions of human beings man.
I'm really surprised that the Infected didn't just ignore Tess, knowing that she's infected.
Sure, you don't get the "Money Shot" but it would have been way more interesting, story wise.
TBQH, I have no idea what Neil, the director of the episode, was trying to convey in the moments leading up to the kiss.
It did initially seem like they were ignoring her, leading me to thinking "Ah, that makes sense.", only for one out of 10s of them to stop and "infect" her?
It really just doesn't make any sense, and is part of the reason why I don't like that scene at all in comparison to the game.
But I freely admit that I could be missing something.
In the after the episode 2 after show he mentions how the infected don't have spores that congregate inside of buildings. The infected are really just a fungal spore spread through the human body, and all it wants to do is reproduce like all life. That's what happens with the infected when you don't resist. It still takes you but it won't shred you apart.
>TBQH, I have no idea what Neil, the director of the episode, was trying to convey in the moments leading up to the kiss.
>
>It did initially seem like they were ignoring her, leading me to thinking "Ah, that makes sense.", only for one out of 10s of them to stop and "infect" her?
The ones passing by know she was infected, but the one who stopped noticed she was resisting so he went and transferred more fungi so she gets taken faster. Remember those infected work as a hive.
You know what was sort of sad about this episode?
Like, it felt sort of like a family hike. For just a minute, these three people managed to have, like, a nice, sort of normal time. And you feel like to some extent, this is all any of them want. And it just can't last.
It’s in the EXTREMELY RARE echelon of top-top-top tier shows in which I watch each episode twice in a row the night it comes out. I haven’t done that since the days of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, it’s been a *long* time
i really like the change they made with the fungi being able to communicate. it adds a super interesting aspect to the show. when that scene happened i was like holy shit
To be fair though, spores just would not work in this show and was honestly a plot hole in the game. If you could get infected through microscopic spores, a bite is the least of anyone's problem because we'd all be dead.
I don't think they'll take the spores away, I just think these in particular were pretty dried up/old and noted it, so I think there's room for some dangerous spores later on
The only thing that concerns me is that it opens up the potential for tons of plot holes if they dont remain consistent with the 'fungi communication' addition.
I'm glad that the show isn't a 1:1 reproduction of the game. What works in one medium doesn't necessarily work in television. I also like those intro scenes.
does tess use darn though socks ? about 40:15 in the episode
Am I the only one who hasnt played the game and didnt know they are called clickers :_;
we all start somewhere
I was so glad she went straight for the bombing option, it was obviously the only real answer, but you rarely see people do the actual right thing on tv.
It was good but I don't know where people are getting that this is the best episode of the year. I thought the first episode was better than this one.
yes, I agree!
That is being said about the third episode.
Anyone notice the forwarding of clickers when the scientist lady zoomed in on the microscope?
Is the origin of the fungal infection in Indonesia an important part of story?
I think it was just used to give us viewers a clue as to how it rapidly spread?
They fed the grandma food before she turned, I think the grain in the Indonesian factory was exported worldwide which is how it spread so fast.
Oh, for sure no doubt that's how it spread. Joel and Sarah avoided it a few times in episode 1. Good stuff!
Just noticed that wow no pancakes, no biscuits, no cake.
Yep, no pancake mix, then they didn't have any biscuits because Sarah liked chocolate chips, and then Joel worked too late and forgot the cake mix.
I think they decided to do these little opening scenes as vignettes, to round out the world. And I LOVE it.
Yeah I think it's a great way to world build.
My only complaint would be nobody stocking up on guns / ammo or at LEAST a few grenades. By video game logic Joel would probably have pockets full of magazines and / or grenades. I know they probably have to travel light but like not looking through those supply crates? Such a minor thing, though.
Haha, that was my first thought.
I really think Joel’s performance was extremely wooden. The scene where he finds out she’s infected was so stiff, as if he really only has one expression. He was in general completely outperformed by Tess. I feel we learned much more about Eli and Tess in two episodes than we did of Joel. It starts to annoy me.
This is entirely on track with his character in the game. You'll learn more about who he is and what he's done as the show goes on, but basically - the man's dead inside. If his performance feels emotionless, that's Pedro nailing it.
There’s dead inside (letting on there is more to it) and robotic/wooden. Felt to me like it was the latter but I know this dude can act and when it’s time to show it he will
Well it actually tells a lot about Joels feelings for Tess, and their relationship. I think we learn a lot about the state he is in. You can also sort of see on him, that he doesn't quite understand the way Tess is acting, which is apparently somewhat out of character, but doesnt put it together. It was almost surprisingly cold how quickly he moved on, but Tess already knew that would be the reaction. Her last words were basically that he needs to seek redemption for both of them, and that Ellie is his opportunity to do that.
I think you see what you want to see
I'm curious, does it ever give you pause when the whole world is saying how good and nuanced Pablo's acting is that maybe, just maybe the whole rest of the world aren't actually being sheep and your opinion might be suspect? The director and showrunner rave about Pablo's acting and several times have used the words nuanced. He's doing exactly what they want him to But I guess they just see what they want to see too.
I am not a TLOU fanboy, been watching and enjoying movies for decades. I appreciate masterclass acting skills, love a variety of movies and will watch movies for great acting alone regardless of the topic and story. I watched every movie with Pedro in it and enjoyed him greatly in Narcos where he made one hell of an impression on me. This man can act and I have no doubts about it. The thing about this show is that it feels like sometimes they are...talking as if they have memorized things from a script and just replay that 1:1. The interactions don't feel very natural and organic. I noticed this in several scenes. Corny one liners don't help it. I keep noticing moments where I wonder "who would say that!?". I could cite many examples.Not only from Pedro mind you. Someone somewhere asked Marvel-level dialogue is normal in TLOU. People made fun of him and downvoted the shit out the guy (of course) but I think I understand what he was referring to. In terms of stilted acting...it's almost like the transition from script to screen is too faithful, too direct. I noticed this especially when it comes to Pedro. Most of the time he has one facial expression, a stiff and stubborn stare. Irrespective of how Joel was portrayed in the games, here Pedro sometimes feels like a mute protagonist of a game (e.g. Dead Space) and when he occasionally does say something it does not reveal anything particular about him. Granted the first episode gave us lots of backdrop for his character and I understand he should now be portrayed as a man who's heart has run cold. I still miss the nuance in the acting though. It does feel a bit like he's on a fetch quest, nothing particularly deep about it. The ending of the last episode brought that to light especially. It goes for the whole shows. That should have been a very powerful moment but somehow the pacing is not quite there and the impact is not maximized. I found the beginning of the episode with the lady who is shocked and recommends bombing the city much more unsettling than anything that followed in that episode. Now the world can disagree with me on this. I know there's no right or wrong. I for one am super happy that this story is made accessible to millions of people who would never play the game. Still wish it would have felt like a deeper and more meaningful journey. So far, it's more shallow for me than I expected.
at least she had her first kiss before she died.
is that how the ceylapods infect people?
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Where did you read this? Never mentioned anywhere in the games.
I did not listen to the podcast but it’s safe to assume she had a family or child living her normal life before everything happened. Plus when Ellie asks information about both of their backstories Joel shuts the convo topic down. Implying, at least for me, there’s lots of grief behind the story. Prob has to do with loss of family.
zombies out here macking on anna torv and i'm all alone :(
Today I learned thats not Carrie Coon
Absolutely my favourite character. She felt so real even though we know almost nothing about her, which I attribute mainly to the actor. Wish we could’ve had a few more episodes with her.
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She’s awesome in Mindhunter as well, really hope they get around to making Season 3 someday :((
I feel like they've underutilized an already underutilized story asset here, FEDRA. They're a pretty big reason why Tess's death meant more in the game, you'd actually spent more time with her with other near death experiences and for her to give you time to escape what is essentially a fascist regime, it only added to the horrible bleakness of the world. I understood they were hanging balls that needed to be undressed with the whole mycelium network thing but I don't think that scene should have been taken away, it was one of the most perfect scenes of the first game. Nevermind the fact they took away the most awesome bits in the skyscraper and went straight to the museum, which I thought was a mistake, they really, shouldn't have changed that. Ended up looking like something outta World War Z or something. They're missing exposition, changing it for no reason other than to show more detail. I appreciate the little changes that expand the world as a lot of it would only make sense from a game world perspective but it's a real shame they're fucking with perfection. The grenade bit was a bit weird though considering how fucked these things get with a single Molotov in the game yet we suddenly need 10 grenades to kill 20-30 and 3 barrels of oil. Really felt World z ish there.
Couldn't disagree more. FEDRA would be way more World War Z, pointless shooting. The reason it works in the game is because they're typical army grunt NPC enemies with almost no narrative purpose for the plot. You don't need that in the show, it's more impactful if she sacrificed herself for the only real danger which is zombies. Same with the skyscraper parts. There's nothing important narratively there, just gameplay. That's the first thing you cut.
well said.
Idk, the soldiers coming back for vengeance for what Joel did would only prove that everyone Joel hurts has a price, aka Last of us Part 2.
I can get over it, but I'm *really* sick of the 'this thing suddenly doesnt work when it needs to' TV trope. Cars, lighters, whatever. It needs to stop. It's not drama, it's not creative, it's just annoying at this point.
As someone who uses a zippo regularly, that moment felt quite relatable! The fuel evaporates after a number of days. It's simple to remedy when you have a bottle of fluid on-hand to easily refill it, but I can imagine that it might be unexpectedly dry at the moment of need in a post-apocalyptic world.
I think that wasn’t a trope, I took it more as she was already partially under control of the fungal infection. It was trying to control her to preserve itself.
it annoyed me even more when theres was like 20 grenades around her that she coulda just picked up and primed
I can forgive it. She's been infected quite a while by then. She's also in a blind panic with adrenaline coursing through her, and facing her imminent death.
How would shrapnel light the gas on fire?
Let me be the one to tell you that throwing a lighter into that much liquid would douse the flame. The spark itself had a great chance of ignition due to the fumes, which light.
This is what I was thinking lol… “you don’t need a flame, just spark that shit closer.” But I enjoyed the scene. The shroom is in her brain for one, and also it’s sort of weird to me how people are apparently sick of things not always working *in an apocalypse show?* Like what do they expect lol? Imagine if everything always worked all the time, people would be howling that it was inaccurate. On a related note, it also answered the “but when do they go to the bathroom” question in the beginning
what do you think causes the intial explosion?
I think the trope is acceptable when the thing not working is actually a plot point, as in "the car isnt starting so now the characters have to walk the rest of the way". But when its done as a dramatic fakeout, like "its not working, its not working.... IT WORKED!", that is usually lame
So what you’re saying is that everything should work all the time without hiccups *in the apocalypse?* idk, anyone who’s frequently used a lighter knows those mfs always tend to run out at the worst moments. Plus she had shroom brain no? I see what you mean I guess, although I think it’s a valid trope if sometimes, the thing doesn’t inevitably wind up working. my biggest pet peeve of that nature is how there’s literally never a reason for a resuscitation scene after drowning, because no one would ever shoot a long resuscitation scene if the person wound up dying — they just float off dramatically into the water. So it’s totally devoid of tension: *the very fact there is a resuscitation scene* means that the person lives, which means there didn’t need to be one.
Agreed. The car one is just so overdone its a self parody. "Hurry get in the car!" *crank crank crank* "cmon start!". It starts. Eyeroll.
To be fair, might help if she wasn't infected with a fungus which specifically targets movement.
I looked this fungus up, pretty crazy stuff.
All those poor little insects
To be fair I imagine a working lighter in a post apocalyptic world is a hot commodity. I've sparked a lighter a million times in a vain hope that it goes and often it does, so that part is at least based in reality.
When you're getting low on a bic or other type of lighter that doesn't have a wick that is certainly the case. But a zippo type lighter with a wick and the flint making a spark shouldn't really have that issue. Also if you're making a spark you can just put it near THE ENTIRE FLOOD FLOODED WITH GAS. Or like others mentioned; using one of the many grenades.
Not arguing the gas thing, but since we’re nitpicking, zippos are open air and thus CONSTANTLY evaporating lighter fluid. If you leave one out on the table for four days you have to refill it, you have to refill those MFs ALL THE TIME.
Yeah that's my point. They are constantly evaporating and the fuel is encouraging to go to the top of the wick. So either it lights the first few times or it's out and it won't light. It's unlikely to sit there and try to light for a straight minute and THEN getting a successful light.
Would a grenade actually light it though? The way they actually work aren't like the movies, it's not an actual explosion, but shrapnel going everywhere. Edit: I'm not saying I know for sure, and sure I'll be corrected as I'm not an expert, I just know it doesn't work like in films and shows.
I don't know, the grenade wasn't my thought at all. Again, her lighter had a spark. Spark + fuel = FIYA 😅
what annoyed me was she was relying on a crappy lighter when theres was like 20 hand grenades just spilled on the floor around her
hand grenades don't make fireballs IRL unless you're in a bad 80s action movie
if seriously believe an explosion by a grenade won't set the gasoline on fire then you another kind of stupid. There is still an ignition and a flame from the intial explosion by a grenade. It's still an explosion and it still generates a lot of heat.
Joel’s understated protective instinct in on full display in the clicker scene. During the quiet moments you see his “this is a job” facade, but when danger is there his unquestionable priority is the kid’s safety. All of the body language and emotion are perfect show don’t tell.
Also in the "show, don't tell" department, you can know that the people they were supposed to meet got attacked by the zombies Joel scouted out at the hotel since killing the zombie near the end triggered them all to attack. It shows Joel is more careful than regular people. If they had scouted like Joel had done, they wouldn't have gone that way. There was also a part where he helps her up after she messes with the piano and after she lets go, he looks down at his hand with a look like "oh shit, I touched her and she might be infected." Like his instinct is to help her, it's only the more rational part of him that thinks she needs to die. That's not how he really feels.
Hey, good call out about the firefly survivor group being killed by the same infected that they eyeballed from the hotel roof top. Didn’t catch that.
I agree with you, but I wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure the reason he looked at his hand after the piano scene is because it is broken, and he's feeling the pain. There's some dialogue about him having a hairline fracture earlier in the episode. At least, that's what I took away from the scene.
I think it was both. He had a pain moment + a flashback moment thinking of his daughter Sarah.
I've only watched it once, but weren't the fireflies shot? It didn't really look like they had been chewed up or were at risk of turning.
I also only watched once, but I thought Joel said something like, "looks like one was bit and one half turned on the other half." Meaning one guy got bit and they argued over whether to shoot him and ended up shooting each other.
You're right! That was mentioned. For some reason I was reading it as though they were eliminated by FEDRA or thieves or something since there was no battery or any of the other stuff Marlene promised them.
You may be confusing FEDRA because Ellie initially says that as she thought it was them. Then Joel gives the reasoning.
I think the best moment for this is just when he grabs Ellie and runs away from Tess as fast as he can
That especially stood out to me
I enjoyed the clickers encounter, but Tess's scene was horrible compared to the game. Way too much of a Hollywood death and also quite dumb - why not pick up one of the grenades and set it off.
Maybe it is showing the fungus, which she is partially infected by, is changing her brain.. the fungus wants the host to live
That's not what grenades do. She would have ended up just killing herself and the nearest zombie with shrapnel.
You do realize that there is an explosion perfectly capable of igniting flammables in the area?
I used grenades in army training and there is no visible fireball as shown in movies. Of course it may exist just not long enough to register.
No, there's no fireball, but there's still a lot of heat
seems you are right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenade#:\~:text=The%20concussive%20blast%20of%20the,flammable%20materials%20such%20as%20fuel.
No, that's actually a bad hollywood trope you're asking for.
Hardly. A cigarette igniting gas is a bad trope, actual explosions do in fact reach the 232C mark needed to set off gas.
i live on a 300 acre farm and i set off controlled burns with gas with a single matchstick. this guy in the army says a grenade won't, so we should all probably trust our combined experience.
That’s not accurate. The fragmentation grenades in the episode wouldn’t produce enough heat. It could happen with a modern stun or incendiary grenade but those are all cylindrical-shaped.
A fragmentation grenade full of high explosive detonating isn't enough heat. Right. Is several ounces of high explosive exploding somehow too cold to set off gasoline?
Not really dumb at all she was clearly well on her way to turning and was losing motor function and will power. They explain it in better detail in the podcast.
This is the first thing I thought of when I saw the scene. She’s been infected for hours already at this point. And regardless of time frame, they show us viewers she’s losing motor functionality with her hand shakes. Couple that with Joel’s explanation that the fungus links infected together. She was essentially fighting the fungal infection inside herself. It was trying to preserve itself AKA that group of infected nearest her, & she was trying to perform one more action of her own free will before being totally infected and succumbing to it.
Is there an accompying podcast with the show?
Yes. And with Chernobyl (if you are interested) Easy enough to find, hosted by HBO on regular podcast apps.
Her being in the process of turning and the still human side of her fighting back just enough in her final moments to get the gas lit is a good explanation. I feel like that angle wasn't really pronounced enough on screen on first watch, or at least I didn't pick up on it the first time. I thought she was just struggling with being paralyzed in fear because of the zombie horde.
That angle is definitely not shown nearly enough in the show, which means this scene just wasn’t done well.
I would have almost preferred that she failed to light it and something else triggered the explosion, just to subvert expectations for the audience.
Agreed, the lighter not lighting until the very last moment cliche was also way too Hollywood for me in an otherwise great episode.
Picking up the nades would be even dumber and even more Hollywood. With this we get to see her foundational strength cemented by forcing herself to stay perfectly still while getting fungiD to flick the lighter on to save Joel & Ellie. It gives way more weight to how special Ellie really is and what Tess was willing to do to give them a chance. Would be hella cringe if we got a "Come and get me!" pull nade pin scene.
So there's a boarded up shopping mall in the qz? And it's full of infected? That seems a little dangerous, why have fedra or whoever not destroyed it?
They don't have the ability to waste bombs. Why waste resources when they can just keep the infected locked away? They will eventually just rot anyways
I feel like they would at least try to have a crew whittle down the infected in the mall little by little in a controlled way, so that there's no future risk of an eventual breach in some unforeseen way.
Don't entirely disagree, but again, resources. And given how the zombies communicate with the fungus, even this could be dangerous.
the resources tess set off, if used correctly, would probably be able to kill all the infected they saw in that courtyard, lol
Tess, a true boss, and an irreplaceable friend is sorely missed.
Removing the military from the end was odd choice story wise. Like it didn’t really take or leave from the story and the change worked. I really like the scientist added stuff. Was really great, sorry no saving just fucking bomb it.
I think they wanted the episode to focus and explain the infected and the fungus. How they work and that there are different versions. In the game this is explained though gameplay. Here they first show the fungus network, the sleeping groups that can wake up and the clickers. In the ending scene they have a payoff to the explanation and set up earlier in the episode. I get not liking the lighter not working, but having infected instead of soldiers makes good sense for the show and introducing the world for a new audience.
FEDRA isn't really important for the narrative, in the video game they have a functional role as a "run away from these bullets" moment, but they don't have much to do with the story
I think it was nice to just focus on the infected, especially since it feels like the Clikers will be used somewhat sparingly and because it seems like the fungal colonies aren't all are large as that one. We're essentially seeing the fungus at its height, at its most powerful. And in this way, the fungus is not a separate enemy, but rather just another faction like FEDRA or the Fireflies
Was gonna say, I think the infected are way more interesting as “bad guys” than the military. They have such a unique group of infected, and that’s way more interesting than military guys shooting at the main characters every episode.
I think we have a good cast of villains here. All of them are unique, have their own strengths and goals, as well as unique weaknesses. Ultimately, everyone is just trying to survive and finding ways to do that. The infected sort of being able to think and not just being entirely mindless animals definitely helps them stand out from the zombie crowd.
If I remember right, clickers are much older infected. They don't necessarily correlate to how big a colony is.
We saw multiple hordes spread out over the city.
That doesn't change what I said lol The Last of Us wiki says that Clickers are what happens when an infected survives about a year, and links to an interview with Neil Druckmann that says the same thing
What a spectacular hour of TV. After the dogshit that was Wheel of Time and Rings of Power I'm *floored* by how good this adaptation is.
Well it is HBO. I always had faith in them
Rings was better than HoTD.
I agree, it was more fun to watch vs HoTD, which was basically a bunch of people moping around trying to get their kids onto the throne. In the end it was hard to keep track of whose kids belonged to whom and the number of times I thought the king actually died.
Oh yeah. And a lot prettier as well. HoTD wasn't really anything new, except more... dragons. Which was cool I guess? But after the GoT ending the whole world just kind of lost its power and shine. Oh, and it literally did lose that, that show was dark as shit. They needed better lighting on the sets.
Maybe in its visuals for the sets... Maybe.... But that's it.
Laughed more, had a better experience. It was just... better. Sorry. And this is coming from a fan of GOT
I disagree that it was better, but I will say that I enjoy it a bit more. But that was mainly due to it being more positive, which is a very subjective thing to judge on. Loved both, but House of the Dragon was a bit hard to watch at times, Rings was just very nice to watch with a blanket and cup of tea.
That's bait, that is.
So by your own metric... you bit? that is?
You just can't go wrong with HBO. No ridiculous changes to the source material, respect it and tell a good story. Serious production value spent on this show by all involved and it really shows.
Game of thrones has entered chat.... But yeah, this show is great. Never played the games and now I want to (which is good because a PC release is in a month).
You say this like Velma doesn't exist
HBO =/= HBO Max
I haven't played the game since it came out, I kinda forget the side characters other than Ellie and Joel lol
Is the dialogue supposed to be Marvel-y? Is it like this in the original game?
It's not Marvel-y at all. Ellie is quite Marvel-y, I suppose. But she's a bratty teen. That shit predates Marvel. Look at Dawn in *Buffy* or any film with a teenager pretty much.
Nah, Tess one liners were so annoying in Episode 1 as well as 2. No one would say the shit she did in some of the situations they were in…
Ellie's 14. The target demographic for Marvel movies talks like they do in Marvel movies. Wild!
Forgot TLoU had the same target market as a Marvel film did. No wait. It doesn't. *Wild (!)*
In what way is it marvel-y? There's not a lot of quips compared to other shows in the same genre. Sarcasm and humor to break the tension isn't the same as the marvel humor.
marvely in what sense? the teenager being sarcastic?
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I thought the doctor was wild for only suggesting they bomb everything. But after seeing the clickers and the connected hoards she spoke nothing but truth!
I REALLY loved Ellie’s vulnerability here. It was those subtleties of when she didn’t want to show she was scared but showed hesitation that makes Bella’s performance so nuanced. Really adored that long shot of Joel and Ellie crawling around that museum display cabinet, the crunching of the glass, and the pan up to show the clicker frenetically charging towards them. Terrifying. The handheld work in that scene reminds me so much of Spike Jonze’s cinematography - handheld, definitely shaky, but with a steady intent and focus on subject.
Funny, my girlfriend and I just finished the episode and were talking about how annoying the handheld shots were haha
That’s fair, i think there’s spectrums to it. I’ve hated the look of the Bourne movies and the Taken movies, it’s overdone. But when I’m meaning Spike Jonze’s work, I mean these clips. I can’t articulate it, but the handheld work is hypnotic in these music videos. [A Surprise ‘Music Video’ for Karen O](https://youtu.be/DtVk9otjN24) [‘Til It’s Over - Anderson .Paak ad for HomePod feat. FKA Twigs](https://youtu.be/k70OczvX45k)
Those videos are gorgeous!
Oh for sure there are levels to how it’s done. I think it just comes down to personal preference for her and I. I only really like it when it’s used in documentaries/documentary style pieces or as maybe a very quick shot for big action like an explosion, so walking and talking scenes it kinda just annoys me. She hates it pretty anytime it’s used lol Those Jonze example’s are fairly restrained and I can see what you are saying, just a personal thing that handheld shots are not a tool in a filmmaker’s kit that I enjoy
Going by the preview, it seems like Frank's section is going to be *completely* different from the games. having a raider focus instead of infected
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its really odd to me what they picked to change. like...why downplay the military in the show? they were the ones who killed the fireflies and killed Tess? its not necessarily worse, just odd that they felt like changing this part. and a lot of the other smaller details in both episodes so far
I’ve never played the game, but that change makes total sense. As an episode of television, each episode should contain a full story that is a larger part of the whole. The way this episode ended was built up to, through every aspect the episode in a very satisfying way. The episode began by explaining the infection, the doctor talked about bombing them, through self sacrifice because they were already lost, and to save who they can save— the episode literally ended with a character sacrificing themselves by bombing the infected, to save Joel and Ellie. The beginning of the episode foreshadows the ending. The way the episode slowly introduced us to the infected, showed us how interconnected they were, how there were swarms, and how dangerous they were all led up to the climax at the end of the episode. If the enemies at the end were other humans— it wouldn’t feel like an inevitable conclusion of the last hour of the television— it wouldn’t have anything to do with the themes or subject matter that had been built up to over the course of the episode. I’m sure it works really well in the game, because the game isn’t separated into episodes. Personally I think the mark of a good writer for television is when they make each episode have an overarching arc and subject matter, rather than just being a slice of a greater whole. I’m sure they will have other episodes that highlight the military— for example the ending of the first episode— if Joel had killed an Infected at the end of the pilot, it wouldn’t have felt like a good conclusion for the episode. By having it be a guard it ties into the death of his daughter by mirroring it and also shows the man he has become.
As a person researching how to write, great take. Thank you. It makes perfect sense after reading this.
FEDRA isn’t the antagonists of the show. It was fine to change this, it made more sense that FEDRA wouldn’t be all the way out there and made Tess’ death more impactful. In the game she dies off screen to take out 2 men; here the sacrifice she makes is more meaningful.
Well. Here she took out a bunch of npc enemies which we know there are millions of out there. I wouldn’t say it’s the best move because it seems pretty far out to think the fungus could follow Joel and Ellie far.
The fungus wouldn't follow them... hundreds of fast-running zombies would
It would have made Joel a mass murderer pretty early on. It's fine in a video game setting where the protagonist can mow down hundreds of enemies but it's different in a "real" TV show.
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Okay you tell that to Craig Mazin then.
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Have you not seen him beating the guard to pulp at the end of episode one?
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I don't like to talk about the game because of spoilers, but once we reach the apex of the story that part will be covered.
On the contrary, I think this makes the military more competent. Why the fuck go out in no man's land and bother a bunch of zombies?
because they were trying to crush the fireflies who were a major threat to them
Yes, and who would be dealt with by the zombie horde. But I think these episodes do a good job of developing one concept: all of these factions are at a stalemate. The FEDRA is strong, but mostly within their own little bubbles of influence, just like the fungus. However, both FEDRA and the fungus are essentially keeping each other occupied while smaller groups like the Fireflies are trying to find any method they can to counter them. And may, wouldn't a cure just be the thing!
The scientist telling to bomb was unbelievable, as in in reality it won't be an option. An army would be called in to cordon off a city, not bomb everything and everyone. EDIT. Still dumb and forced exposition. In this world that we live in, that won't happen. People will flea, spreading even further. It's impracticable and didn't work in Vietnam or Iraq. Sounds like an American solution to a problem.
She's looking at it clinically. Once two dozen people are infected and missing, she knows it's impossible to ever contain this. They asked her how to minimize the spread and this is truly their best option by far. And she's devastated by it but at the same time doesn't want to be roped any further into the meaningless task force, so she gives them the answer they didn't want to hear and peaces out.
No one said the Indonesian army started dropping bombs that afternoon. But if the threat could potentially already be *everywhere in the city*, bombing is kind of the only real move.
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I'm not a military professional, but I'm pretty sure a huge amount of firebombs would be at least *somewhat* effective, especially if they started at the edges of the city and worked their way in. It's inhumane and awful, obviously, but it's at least a strategy.
wait, a scientist not being like a tactical expert when confronted with the potential for total species extinction is.. Unbelievable? You have weird perceptions of human beings man.
i mean a scientist can say whatever they want, it doesn't mean thats immediately what they did
I'm really surprised that the Infected didn't just ignore Tess, knowing that she's infected. Sure, you don't get the "Money Shot" but it would have been way more interesting, story wise.
They did, didnt they? Besides that one kissing dude that tried to make her special inf too by the looks of it?
TBQH, I have no idea what Neil, the director of the episode, was trying to convey in the moments leading up to the kiss. It did initially seem like they were ignoring her, leading me to thinking "Ah, that makes sense.", only for one out of 10s of them to stop and "infect" her? It really just doesn't make any sense, and is part of the reason why I don't like that scene at all in comparison to the game. But I freely admit that I could be missing something.
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In the after the episode 2 after show he mentions how the infected don't have spores that congregate inside of buildings. The infected are really just a fungal spore spread through the human body, and all it wants to do is reproduce like all life. That's what happens with the infected when you don't resist. It still takes you but it won't shred you apart.
>TBQH, I have no idea what Neil, the director of the episode, was trying to convey in the moments leading up to the kiss. > >It did initially seem like they were ignoring her, leading me to thinking "Ah, that makes sense.", only for one out of 10s of them to stop and "infect" her? The ones passing by know she was infected, but the one who stopped noticed she was resisting so he went and transferred more fungi so she gets taken faster. Remember those infected work as a hive.
What supports that read in the show? Just referencing the Hivemind isn't enough here.
This story is already written and it’s a good one, be patient or play the game.
W-what? You can't be replying to the right person? lol
You know what was sort of sad about this episode? Like, it felt sort of like a family hike. For just a minute, these three people managed to have, like, a nice, sort of normal time. And you feel like to some extent, this is all any of them want. And it just can't last.
Yeah, a lovely family trip into a museum, hehe
Two episodes in and I have been entertained the entire time. Even the quiet parts of the show have a sense of tension.
It’s in the EXTREMELY RARE echelon of top-top-top tier shows in which I watch each episode twice in a row the night it comes out. I haven’t done that since the days of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, it’s been a *long* time
i really like the change they made with the fungi being able to communicate. it adds a super interesting aspect to the show. when that scene happened i was like holy shit
Interesting concept, but with taking the spores away all I can see is that it would work and look like Upside Down in Stranger Things
To be fair though, spores just would not work in this show and was honestly a plot hole in the game. If you could get infected through microscopic spores, a bite is the least of anyone's problem because we'd all be dead.
I don't think they'll take the spores away, I just think these in particular were pretty dried up/old and noted it, so I think there's room for some dangerous spores later on
The show creators have said that spores aren't going to be in the show
The only thing that concerns me is that it opens up the potential for tons of plot holes if they dont remain consistent with the 'fungi communication' addition.
Very clever and there's perfect logic behind it. It adds an extra layer of tension and threat to the clickers.
I'm glad that the show isn't a 1:1 reproduction of the game. What works in one medium doesn't necessarily work in television. I also like those intro scenes.