The Last Of Us' second season is bad television: aftermath.site/the-last-of-us... - ThreadSky

aftermath.site • 6 days ago

The Last Of Us' second season is bad television:

https://aftermath.site/the-last-of-us-season-2-hbo-tv-series-show-impressions

Comments

jlindey.bsky.social•6 days ago

So I'm not missing anything by not watching this season?

unaz666.bsky.social•6 days ago

Well, the author didn't like the game or the first season much either, if you're in those groups as well.

mediapundit.net•6 days ago

lol well that explains that

xeneth.design•6 days ago

Eeeh... that depends a lot on what you think you'll get out of it; if you've never played the games and you just want to be entertained and find out where the story goes, then you might not be missing much at all.

If you HAVE played Part 2 and had some sort of intense relationship with it...

xeneth.design•6 days ago

...as in, super positive OR super negative, digging back into those feelings might be interesting beyond what's on the screen.

Personally, I'm having a grand old time gnawing on what I hated about this story all over again, but I have a partner to put up with my ranting about it, YMMV!

dakkster.bsky.social•6 days ago

I love both games and so far I hate the second season m

dakkster.bsky.social•6 days ago

Wasn't the biggest fan of season one either. Too short, for starters.

xeneth.design•6 days ago

It sounds like this season might get... more time, but in my estimation that's not going to help them much with the adaptation.

I may not agree with ALL of Plunkett's take, but I am with him on the casting; only Dina has felt remotely "right" to me thus far.

mischwob.bsky.social•5 days ago

still a better lovestory than twillight

ultrawideo.celtic.digital•6 days ago

"Let's do a game of The Road" was a terrible idea in the first place.

fatchocobo.net•5 days ago

Having read The Road, this is 100% a correct take. It... is not good "game" material.

kwienke.bsky.social•6 days ago

Not talking about Luke specifically but I just got done taking a gander at the hate this show is generating and oh boy some gross shit.

bshatman.bsky.social•4 days ago

Liking TLOU in general is a red flag tbh

agentzeronine.bsky.social•6 days ago

Criticizing The Last of Us? Time to lump you into a bucket of bad people now.

oaklandishdude.bsky.social•6 days ago

I felt the exact same way about the first season, with the exception of one episode. So I didn't bother with a second.

turnbasedcarl.bsky.social•5 days ago

Seems on par with the 1st season. I wonder what changed? Could it possibly be the same bad faith haters of the 2nd game?

goemar.bsky.social•6 days ago

Yeah... I don't really know what's going on with Season 2. I liked the first season but this... just feels off?

It's not even the changes from the game: it just doesn't feel like a good show.

nathanleigh.bsky.social•6 days ago

Dismissing a complex and engaging (but flawed) narrative made by thousands of talented artists in one word because it didn't match what you would have made (despite having never made anything like it yourself) is cruel and beneath you. Is it bad? Or were your standards impossible and unrealistic?

senorincognito69.bsky.social•5 days ago

i become reticent to Last of Us for its politics more than anything else, but this is a rather odd nitpick when both games & show go out of their way to explain it? protagonist come from functioning communities, if you survived mushroom apocalypse for decades you got way to wash yourself

skyyks.bsky.social•3 days ago

What do you find objectionable about its politics?

senorincognito69.bsky.social•3 days ago

the whole "cycle violence" thing, theres a decent article on vice about it

https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-not-so-hidden-israeli-politics-of-the-last-of-us-part-ii/

skyyks.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks! I actually came across this article after I asked you why and didn't really understand the point. To me, the situation depicted in the series/game has nothing to do with the Israeli occupation of Palestine, even if the writer was inspired by his own personal experiences.

senorincognito69.bsky.social•2 days ago

Druckmann disagrees 🤷‍♂️

skyyks.bsky.social•2 days ago

I know, I'm just saying I think it's a bit of a stretch because this is not a story about a land being occupied or a colonialism project. Unless Israel and Zionism is the cordyceps that is, then yes.

senorincognito69.bsky.social•5 days ago

wait a moment, that paragraph is the only part that could be consider legit criticism in the article and then it just ends by saying "it sucks", lol

absolutereality.blog•4 days ago

No, Dina and Eillie go on a weeks-long trek to Seattle on horseback roughing it the whole way, and Dina looks like she just walked out of a salon the whole time.

maraleia.bsky.social•4 days ago

This is so stupid

antiqueight.bsky.social•3 days ago

Rather glad I gave up at the end of season 1. And even then only my personal drive to see what happened was all that got me there. I don't play games like this, I usually don't watch shows so misery filled but the first few episodes caught my attention. Shame really.

antifolkhero.bsky.social•2 days ago

Disagree. I’ve enjoyed the way they’ve told the Ellie and Joel story. I think the flashbacks have the story depth and the acting is incredible. I’m not sure there’s a better show on TV right now.

engineeeeer.bsky.social•4 days ago

This feels like you just want attention. It's not perfect but it's far from bad.

doctorbiobrain.bsky.social•4 days ago

Damn, is Aftermath doing clickbait now? Really disappointing, I thought ya'll were better than that!

jaime-taco.bsky.social•6 days ago

I was hoping they'd change the story from the game to not be so bad but it looks like it's going there

lumier.bsky.social•6 days ago

Not liking something =/= bad.

absolutereality.blog•5 days ago

In my opinion, I think everyone should probably equivocate when speaking so as to likely not offend anyone with a differing opinion.

If you don’t like something, you say “I didn’t like it/Wasn’t for me“ etc.

“Not liking something =\= bad.“ is an absolute statement and is an objective statement.

lumier.bsky.social•5 days ago

Has nothing to do with being offended.

absolutereality.blog•5 days ago

Don’t you mean “_in my opinion_ it has nothing to do with being offended”

lumier.bsky.social•5 days ago

As it is my original statement, no, I know what I think.

absolutereality.blog•5 days ago

ohchxrlie.bsky.social•3 days ago

With how great season 1 was, I can’t believe this is written by the same people. They don’t develop characters at all (except the one who’s dead) and when they do, they make them more unlikable?!?! Unless the finale is the best episode we’ve ever seen I don’t think I will care about season 3 sadly

murkyfungus.bsky.social•6 days ago

Agree. Pacing of first two episodes was fine, since then we’ve been in the doldrums, in a rut with very little in the way of drama. With no Pedro to carry the show we’re stuck with a lead who has no charisma. She appears to have no inner life as a character. Getting more drama from Matlock.

skeezeykeez.bsky.social•6 days ago

It almost feels like every episode past the first two doesn’t have a director. Performers are making weird choices, eyelines are all wrong, and lighting / camera aren’t at the same level as last season. Plus tone. For all its flaws, s1 mostly nailed tone, where s2 has constant tonal whiplash.

turnbasedcarl.bsky.social•5 days ago

Saying "every episode past the first two" is a huge tell on what you really want to say. There's no difference in quality & there's been some incredible moments.

skeezeykeez.bsky.social•5 days ago

I think Bella is a capable actor and the internet backlash against her is horrendous so I totally object to what you’re implying; the specific things I’m criticising relate to direction and tone. The performances are rougher, but I think because they are decent actors, it’s more about Mazin.

skeezeykeez.bsky.social•5 days ago

I’ll also admit that I don’t love the clumsy Israel Palestine metaphor of the second game, so I was primed to be critical. I was hopeful because Mazin did a good job of honing the source material last season, and there are clearly still good moments, just on balance… show bad.

ttzera.bsky.social•6 days ago

I am not a fan of the show but there's a huge difference between saying it is bad television and saying you aren't enjoying something you already didn't like. There are so many things I can think that are way worse than this. Weird way to write an opinion piece.

arslegendi.bsky.social•4 days ago

It’s… not bad television? It’s an even more polarizing version of already polarizing source material, sure, but each potentially nuanced point of critique is then summarized by “shit sucks?”

This is silly.

feinberg.bsky.social•6 days ago

Meh, haters gonna hate.

nhinca.bsky.social•3 days ago

Ellie smashing her hand into the cake represents everything I cannot stand about that character. There is only so much snark I can tolerate and she exceeds it by 500%. Whenever I complain about the show the gaming crowd corrects me. So I'll ask, is game character Ellie this annoying?

berryproductions.bsky.social•3 days ago

Only you can answer that. I dont find Eillie annoying in the show, I find her funny. Go and play the game and find out for yourself!

domenicamendes.com•4 days ago

📌

dekonj.bsky.social•6 days ago

I kind of don't blame the show. It has the exact same major problem the 2nd game had: terrible pacing. But at least with the game you can keep playing until you've had your fill. Witj the show, we get one single hour a week for these ppl to tell this story, and it just doesnt work.

dekonj.bsky.social•6 days ago

And its a shame because the story is one worth telling. While a story about how revenge is poisonous and that violence is a cycle until broken isnt exactly new, the approach of showing these 2 people at different points of that same path is interesting. They really should have planned this out more.

iamgregordeee.bsky.social•6 days ago

saratorvik.bsky.social•3 days ago

Well, that's just like, your opinion, man.

blueskyindata.bsky.social•3 days ago

You were early on this, now it's trending. See how your take compares to everyone else's: https://app.siftree.com/search/public/bluesky-stream/docs/a/batch_bluesky-stream_1747656902474_41?gt=1747062000000&lt=1747666800000

soupy912.bsky.social•3 days ago

It is absolutely outstanding. You’re completely wrong lol

urcostark.bsky.social•3 days ago

The Last Of Us' second season is excepcional television

vejituh14.bsky.social•6 days ago

Why would someone who didn't like the game think they would like a show based on the same story? Makes no sense but of course this means show = bad

mormonpartyboat.bsky.social•5 days ago

if the movie has so little creative substance to itself that nobody can like it without also liking the game, that in and of itself is worthy of substantial criticism

separate from that, that the criticisms in the article of the game have one basis and the criticisms of the show have another

spaghetti.expert•6 days ago

that's stupid. You're saying people should only review things they know they will like.

vejituh14.bsky.social•6 days ago

Not saying that at all, they said they didn't really like the first season, they obviously didn't like the second game, this season is about the second game so obviously they would dislike it. It's fine to not like it but why write an article on something you already disliked in another media

spaghetti.expert•6 days ago

Because his job is to review popular media.

turnbasedcarl.bsky.social•5 days ago

Perhaps don't give the review to someone so clearly biased. That's not being honest with your audience.

stormypanda.bsky.social•5 days ago

“STOP HAVING OPINIONS I DONT LIKE STOP IT STOP IT STOP HAVING OPINIONS AAHHHH”

This is you. Quit whining.

arcendus.bsky.social•5 days ago

You think disliking a story told using one medium means it's "biased" to dislike the same story told using a different medium? If so, respectfully, I don't think you fully understand the meaning of the word "bias".

vejituh14.bsky.social•6 days ago

He's a game review/ talks about game media. not popular media, he said so himself. His job is not to talk about "popular media"

gelatinouscylinder.bsky.social•6 days ago

are you suggesting that game reviewers are not popular media reviewers?

video games, the media that makes more money than the movie and music industry *combined* is somehow *not* popular media?

spaghetti.expert•6 days ago

you're allowed to just not read his article. you're being a weird white knight

genrouthier.bsky.social•6 days ago

It is possible to dislike something told in one media and like it in another. And it’s possible to just watch something and give it a chance just in case and still not like it.

unaz666.bsky.social•3 days ago

Calling something "bad" is different from not liking it.

genrouthier.bsky.social•3 days ago

“Bad” and “not liking” mean two different things. You can like something objectively bad as well.

Please.

starbot.newgrounds.com•4 days ago

Because video games and movies are different mediums

There are many video games movies that I don't like but I still like the game itself, there are a few video games I dislike but I ended up liking the adoption

The same can apply to books / comics to films

tonymonyana.vibes.cool•2 days ago

There’s nothing wrong with it smh

aromaofbagels.bsky.social•6 days ago

I feel like it has the same problem the game did for me. All the logic about being quiet and unnoticeable went out the window like they’re not scared anymore.
Also other reasons, but you need the suspension of disbelief first

munchflower.bsky.social•4 days ago

No, it's not.

meridianchaos33.bsky.social•4 days ago

Ellie sucks. She has no instinctive loyalty. You can’t learn it. You have it or you don’t.

meridianchaos33.bsky.social•4 days ago

Episode 6 is very good and now I hate Elli, more than I did.

dakkster.bsky.social•6 days ago

I've only watched the first two episodes of season 2 so far, but I haven't been a fan of the narrative changes. I also thought the first season needed at least five or six more episodes, because it felt rushed and the relationship between Ellie and Joel came off as rushed.

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