Sacred Symbols+, Episode 268 | The Last of Us (HBO) Review Discussion and Spoilercast (Season 1, Episode 5)
Added 2023-02-14 17:00:06 +0000 UTCEpisode 5 of The Last of Us' first season on HBO represents the midpoint of our adventure, and it's here that the danger continues to ratchet-up. Trapped in Kansas City and surrounded by an unfolding rebellion that saw the destruction of FEDRA in the area, Joel and Ellie must coordinate with a couple of fellow survivors in order to escape the area and continue their westward journey towards Wyoming. Join Dagan, Micah, Dustin, and Colin (that's me!) for a lengthy chat.
Meme referenced in show: https://ibb.co/SdBpX8s
Comments
Yes.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:55:12 +0000 UTCIt's gonna be fucking brutal.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:55:07 +0000 UTCNice idea.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:52 +0000 UTCFor sure.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:42 +0000 UTCGonna be a lot of that, unfortunately.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:37 +0000 UTCIndeed. I don't know how much they'll get into all of that in the show.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:29 +0000 UTCTotally.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:12 +0000 UTCThank you, I appreciate that.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:54:03 +0000 UTCGreat acting all around.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:57 +0000 UTCWell, we learn that she was never really a leader at all. It was a week.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:47 +0000 UTCYes indeed.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:35 +0000 UTCThe show doesn't spend time with much of anyone, so why would she be an exception?
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:24 +0000 UTCThank you.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:13 +0000 UTCThank you. She'll be making many more appearances.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:53:07 +0000 UTCIt was a neat sequence.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:52:59 +0000 UTCCool.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:52:52 +0000 UTCThanks for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:52:36 +0000 UTCI don't care about that at all.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:52:19 +0000 UTC=\
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:52:00 +0000 UTCTheir ratings were down.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:56 +0000 UTC=D
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:48 +0000 UTCIt's very cool.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:45 +0000 UTCSure thing.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:37 +0000 UTCI know, there's so much happening right now that's getting no attention, like.... and....
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:32 +0000 UTCGlad to finally talk about it!
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:11 +0000 UTCGlad you dug it.
Colin Moriarty
2023-02-18 19:51:03 +0000 UTCHenry isn’t talking to Joel during Sam’s death. Henry is thinking out loud, and is actually blaming himself, not Joel.
Corwin Boldt
2023-02-17 23:21:14 +0000 UTCMelanie Lynskey is a terrific actress but does often play soft-spoken, unseemly psychopath roles going all the way back to her first role in Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures(amazing film). While she's an exceptional actress this is not unfamiliar territory for her. As in the games it is a joy to watch Joel and Ellie's burgeoning surrogate father/daughter with each episode. I expect to cry during the Winter episode/s. I have to admit I was very skeptical about Bella Ramsey's casting as Ellie but she owns this role now as far as I'm concerned.
Nikitas Gagas
2023-02-17 17:25:04 +0000 UTCTotally agree with Colin about how spending hours with a character in a video game is a much different than watching them develop in television episodic form. A fun exercise I'm doing with my girlfriend, who has no familiarity with The Last of Us at all, is watching the episode and then playing Last of Us Part 1 until the point we are at in the show. It's a fun play along to see the differences, specifically how the gut punches differ when you are playing rather than watching.
James Pies
2023-02-17 07:43:02 +0000 UTCOne of the interesting things about the changes to Sam and Henry’s story is that it really foreshadows the decision Joel makes later on and the gravity of it.
Kenneth Oms
2023-02-16 13:29:22 +0000 UTChttps://www.inverse.com/entertainment/the-last-of-us-episode-5-bloaters-flaws This article talks about how "one dumb flaw ruined the most exciting scene." Clearly they've never played the game since that's how bloaters kill you in the game if they get close to you. People who don't know the source material shouldn't be allowed to write about this show
thefury4815
2023-02-15 22:06:39 +0000 UTCI have an inquiry for you guys that maybe you could touch upon on the next episode review. What's your take on the evolution of the infected? The purpose of the cordiceps is to take over a host to spread itself to other people. But as it mutates over time it becomes more ferocious in a way that it no longer seems like it cares for spreading. Seeing as clickers will rip you to shreds and bloaters will ultimately end your existence with a Mortal Kombat fatality. Just wanted to hear all of your opinions on this if possible! Thank you and good day!
JChimichanga
2023-02-15 21:26:12 +0000 UTCI quickly forgave the whole blood medicine thing because of how much better they did their deaths vs the game. All the actors brought their best in that moment.
NeO JD
2023-02-15 16:42:32 +0000 UTCThat was the only part from this ep where I felt it surpassed the game. The rest felt slightly off to me.
Ryan Zimm
2023-02-15 15:44:15 +0000 UTCReally enjoying these. They are actually increasing my enjoyment of the show itself. Is anyone else concerned at the pace though? With only 4 eps left....I feel like they are going to have to rush or skip a lot from the game. As Colin pointed out, there hasn't really been enough Joel/Ellie....hopefully they still stick the landing
Ryan Zimm
2023-02-15 15:43:29 +0000 UTCMy dearests, the one thing that really struck me this episode was the way Ellie audibly gasps with horrifying terror when Henry shot himself, and then the tears streak down her eyes. It was like just a second or two, but it felt so authentic. This series has amazing acting and this one moment to me totally quells any doubts about Bella Ramsey’s acting skills. After full 4 episodes before and all the emotions and roller coasters of this one, right at the end such a high impact performance moment for me. Cheers and thanks for all your work.
Manuel Nascimento
2023-02-15 14:55:39 +0000 UTCThe first rule of film/tv is show don’t tell. My issue with Kathleen is you never actually see her being a competent leader. We only see her being a terrible leader and single mindedly chasing Henry until it ruins the entire city. That combined with her unconventional look and voice for a leader overall doesn’t draw me into the character.
DeucesBruh
2023-02-15 14:50:51 +0000 UTCOn, and Neil also talked about the blood being a question some viewers might have, and how easily a cure could work. It was just a way of answering that question as well.
Cai
2023-02-15 10:10:59 +0000 UTCI think the idea between Sam sitting by the window is that he knows the blood didn’t work. He’s turned around looking outside so he can see a last sunrise as sight is something he values, and because he knows his infected self won’t hear Ellie. And when it comes to Ellie’s naivety with the blood, it’s planting the seeds about how much she wants to be a cure and help (and will justify her anger towards Joel a little more in Part 2).
Cai
2023-02-15 10:04:03 +0000 UTCI really don’t understand the love for Kathleen as a character. There is a difference between the idea of a PTA mom becoming a revolutionary and the execution of it. Nothing hints or shows HOW she did this. She doesn’t come off as intelligent enough to plan it out, she doesn’t come off as overly tough to do this either and shows much more of a soft side about her brother, while at the same time showing how her brothers death clouds her judgment. You mean to tell me that no one is pushing back against her using ALL of their resources to find one guy. Her right hand man even says this and she ignores it. This leads to their entire resistances downfall and that was the person everyone was following? With how some of these people are very military like, I highly doubt they would have went along with it. Henry and Sam are done well and so is the scene with the sniper and the ensuing chaos with the infected. The show is overall very mixed for me in some of these episodes. A lot of the praise it’s getting are things the walking dead has done in more brutal, visceral, and intense fashion years and years ago.
PairOfShuse
2023-02-15 07:33:17 +0000 UTCProbably my favorite episode so far…thanks as always for the thoughtful discussion
Napoleon in Rags
2023-02-14 22:44:26 +0000 UTCLove it when you have Micah on, wish she was a regular on one of the shows.
George
2023-02-14 22:01:39 +0000 UTCYou are describing all Minnesota sports! All of them, cursed, and it's all The Vikings fault. 😭
Bambi_Cobblestone
2023-02-14 21:05:33 +0000 UTCDude I fucking HOLLERED when that happened. I feel like things like that (and the way the Clickers have been featured) can be directly attributed to Neil being involved as heavily as he is.
Josh Gamez
2023-02-14 20:43:50 +0000 UTCI geeked out so hard when they started the set piece with Joel in the snipers nest. It felt like damn near a shot for shot (no pun intended lol) recreation of the game and it wasn't until then that I realized it might be my single favorite gameplay sequence in the game.
Josh Gamez
2023-02-14 20:42:28 +0000 UTCNiel Druckman and the actor who plays Henry in the game have both confirmed that Henry is not blaming Joel when he says “it’s all your fault” he is talking to himself.
Dustin
2023-02-14 20:09:04 +0000 UTCShoutout the Minnesota Timberwolves. A sad, sad franchise lol
king_ryan_james
2023-02-14 20:08:18 +0000 UTCThis right here! Exactly why I don’t use my console for streaming and use an Apple TV
Dustin
2023-02-14 20:07:40 +0000 UTCKathleen was a bad character, I didn’t care for her motivation or execution. Some of her dialogue was pretty cringe and poorly acted out.
Mateusz Kuklinski
2023-02-14 19:43:05 +0000 UTCI’m sure this has been pointed out by now but in the small chance it hasn’t; how cool is it that they gave us The Bloater’s game execution (grabbing you from behind and ripping your head off/in half) but they did it to the one actor on the show who is in the video game in Tommy’s VA. Just an exceptional level of detail/reward to those of us who have played this game 100 times
A Hind D
2023-02-14 19:38:01 +0000 UTCIt is the Minnesota Timberwolves, they play in Minneapolis. This Minnesotan is currently walking in the snowy rain listening to your episode, thanks for keeping me company!
Tonys_Always_Write
2023-02-14 19:36:25 +0000 UTCColin you probably should be watching shit on TV apps anyway. Your TV is probably on the Game setting on your PS5 input as it lowers latency, if it’s not it should be. But that makes for not so great viewing experience for shows. If it doesn’t look as good make sure to change tv settings to where you want it on the TV app and you won’t have to touch it again. It’ll remember.
Bogey
2023-02-14 19:19:03 +0000 UTCThey need to up the gore. Getting tired of this being a show for little tiny babies
Dog Soup
2023-02-14 18:25:44 +0000 UTCCan't believe Dustin didn't know anyone who was having a superb owl party.
Curse These Metal Hands
2023-02-14 18:06:18 +0000 UTCThey get way better ratings by avoiding the Super Bowl, so people aren't given a choice. Those first 24 hours an episode airs is ultimately the most important; get as many people in as possible. Also so people have time to talk about the show, since most will be talking about the game now (which I thought was great).
Hidari Shotaro
2023-02-14 17:53:08 +0000 UTCNothing says love more than TLOU show in review on Valentine's Day
Card Captor Corey
2023-02-14 17:17:20 +0000 UTCBest episode yet. TLOU invokes strong emotions, and the Henry and Sam moment is always heartbreaking, but while watching the post credits Behind-the-Episode section, and seeing that the actor portraying Sam was actually deaf, and watching him interact with the cast and crew- idk if I’ve ever cried harder watching a TV show
John
2023-02-14 17:12:19 +0000 UTCHere for the meat tray appetizers. Just while I’m waiting for the meat buffet on Friday.
Nicholas Hardacre
2023-02-14 17:06:20 +0000 UTCI’ll be glad when TLOU quits sucking all the air out of the room. Fuck me to tears.
Michael
2023-02-14 17:03:54 +0000 UTCFinally. Episode came out 2 days early and ive been waiting for too long because of that. Very curious to what yall thought of the horde at the end lol.
Jordan Bailey
2023-02-14 17:02:54 +0000 UTCBy far the best episode of the season so far. My wife was devastated for Sam and Henry.
Michael Mashpotato
2023-02-14 17:02:29 +0000 UTCFirst!
Mateusz Kuklinski
2023-02-14 17:00:15 +0000 UTC
