![The Last of Us: Left Behind [1x07] β¦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction](https://img5.samsuka.com/storage/4/rt/ww/c6f9d9-019e7b8d-bbf9-7341-ac83-deacaade516e.jpg)
The Last of Us: Left Behind [1x07] β¦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction
Added 2023-02-27 05:38:46 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here's the next episode of TLOU and one I've been looking forward to! Thanks so much for tuning in, as always! π [Direct link here.]
β¦ KL
Comments
Yep, the game hits so hard in such a good way! That's super fresh in your mind so it makes sense you're preferring that experience more.
kaiielle
2023-02-27 16:58:19 +0000 UTCI don't disagree with anything you've said, which leaves me wondering why I feel the way I do. For me the Riley part is probably not about the length of time spent with her, but that stark switching between scenarios kept punching for me each time it switched. Overall, it also had an extra emotional hit for me with Ellie becoming the protector instead of Joel. The Bill and Frank episode was an excellent piece of storytelling and I really enjoyed it, no complaints as a comparison there. I actually felt more connected to Henry and Sam in the show than in the game, so again props for that. As you say, it's probably an immersion aspect. The show is all about the characters, and it should be. I'm just wishing for the impossible - the added dimension of the environment, something only time spent within it can achieve. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying the show, I just can't escape that feeling of missing a little something, and I wish I didn't feel that way. Let's be honest, it's probably just because the game is still so fresh in my mind and nothing will quite live up to that feeling of discovery the first time.
James Hadden
2023-02-27 16:51:24 +0000 UTCValid feelings! I won't delete them at all and totally understand. I do find it interesting you say this because the Left Behind DLC is less than 2 hours long and a large amount of that time is Ellie in combat/supply searching, which we don't need much of for the show. This episode was almost an hour long. So the runtime of the Riley stuff is very close to being the same amount of time between the show and game. In the main game, we get a lot more time with Ellie and Joel of course, lots of little conversations that's impossible to put in the show because they didn't know if they were getting a Season 2 or not so gotta fit the story of the first game into 9 episodes and draw people in without relying on game stuff like 1) Combat and 2) Meandering/exploring/looting. Because that'd be boring for a TV show. So the huge expansion on Bill and Frank is something I'm so glad we got for the show instead of how it's done in the game. Time spent with Henry and Sam in the game is not that much longer than in the show. Even Tess, too. I think it's pretty impossible to replicate the exact feelings in a viewer for the show who is also a video game player. In the game, you're controlling them, you're more immersed. It's gonna hit different. For me, I love both for what they are. They complement each other really well. I like that in the future when I want to experience the story without having to kill infected I can just fire up an episode of two of this show.
kaiielle
2023-02-27 16:15:44 +0000 UTCThe following comments refer to how I feel about the episode in comparison to the game, so I hesitate to post this, and I'll understand if you choose to delete it, but I'd like to put it out there. I find myself unable to separate my views of the tv show and game. I guessed this would only be a single episode and so wasn't surprised it only focused on the flashback (save for two tiny moments with Joel) due to time constraints. What I loved about the left behind part of the game was the constant switching between the flashback and Ellie frantically searching for medical supplies for Joel. For me, it keeps it all grounded within the world they currently inhabit. The flashback with the bright lights and colours of the mall, the joy within the moment, contrasted with Ellie having to go it alone in the cold and bleak (different) mall, just enhanced the whole experience and narrative. There was nothing wrong with the arcade game moment in the show, but I personally loved the intimacy of Ellie closing her eyes and imagining the game as Riley described the action. A friend of mine has one issue with the show to do with the fact that as a viewer you get introduced to a character for one episode, at the end of which, they die, and therefore has a hard time buying into these characters knowing they won't be around beyond this moment. Due to the extended time within the game I never felt that way. I appreciate that the media is a different format, but the feelings I had during the game have stayed with me in a way these fleeting moments of the show don't. Reading this back, it's a pointless post, but I've written it now. It's not meant to be a downer on the show, more of a celebration of the game, and what enhancements that format brings to a story.
James Hadden
2023-02-27 11:49:13 +0000 UTCDespite already knowing how it would end, it was still a highly emotional conclusion to the episode, mainly due to the performances of Bella and Storm (Riley was great). I loved the visuals of the mall, with the bright lights and colours, it gave a real sense of returning to a lost world of joy and wonder.
James Hadden
2023-02-27 10:50:35 +0000 UTC
