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Again, startlingly faithful to the game in most ways, and I'm understanding better the slight deviations they've made. I really relished how surprisingly upbeat Station Eleven wound up being and get how that resonated with critics, but that only makes me happier that a show as dark as Last of Us is willing to get seems to have still found such a big audience given that this episode is such a tip of the iceberg.
"Book guy stuff"
I'm settled into the change from how the fungus operates in real life and the game. I read an interview where Druckmann explained that you can hand wave spores being confined to certain dark, underground areas in a video game but in real life they cling to objects and spread so aggressively you'd essentially always need to wear a mask no matter where you were. Then I came across mycologists (new term for my thesaurus!) saying essentially the same thing, while also explaining how mushrooms have these internet-like networks that can communicate where moisture is most conducive to growth. Fascinating, and it's cool they still found a real world parallel for the spread.
It also solves a narrative issue players might've been curious about going forward: in the game, Tess is killed by FEDRA agents tracking their party, which allows for some hide and seek gameplay escaping the state house. That network effect allows them to bypass that kind of stuff and is definitely effective in its own way. It'd be silly for this show to feature as many combat encounters as the game does, and going forward I imagine this will help them continue to bypass prolonged sneaking/combat situations. Smart.
Lastly, I did take slight issue with the Clickers. First of all, I can't believe this show nailed how terrifying they are, so I doubt a non-player would care about this at all. They brought the vocalizations over from the game which are perfect, and they look like hell on Earth. And yet...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIHDP8sksFM
It takes all of six seconds for that link to establish how overpowering those fuckers are in the game, yet we see multiple shots of Joel and Tess fending them off. I'm fully aware this is a nitpick but I always loved how Clickers acted as a kind of meandering game over screen. The ones in this episode seemed just more eager to get their chomp on rather than steroidal. On that note, Tess' death involved a Runner (the basic zombies) acting pretty damn cognizant, which can easily be traced back to that hive mind alteration but still felt a little watered down compared to the source's infection progression.
----no more "Book Guy Stuff"-----
Again though, BRISK. I'm just nitpicking for those who might be curious, otherwise at this point I've got zero worries this'll be an awesome show whether someone's played the game(s) or not. What a win for Sony and HBO. Unlike the last episode, this one didn't even borrow so heavily from the cinematography of the game and settled into its own rhythms, while still allowing us geeks to keep an eye out for the line reads and moments when it does.
~~~~~~~~~ "This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517 Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz
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