Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Gamer observation deep cut. The mom of the daughter whose dad Joel killed from David's camp…is that the same mo-cap actress who played Mel in TLOU2???

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Different actress according to IMDB. Mel in TLOU2 is the same actress that plays game tester Rachel in Mythic Quest.

The mom last night is a trans actor that has a IMDB bio that would glitch forum16.

Quote:

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Ari is a trans actor and host and is the proud parent of two kids. They are currently based on unceded Treaty 7 territory in what is colonially known as Canada.

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https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4039914/

Thanks, guess this is the wrong thread for that anyway.

AvsB said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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In the next episode preview…

That shot of the person from behind running through the woods.

That Ashley Johnson, or could it be Abby when she's running towards the hospital in TLOU2?

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You are spot on. That is her. AJ (Ellie's mom in the story) you can clearly see her face and pregnant at 0:14 of the ep 9 trailer. She is wearing the same army jacket you see from behind in the woods.

Season 1 Ep 9 trailer

I also have a good idea on why Ellie is "immune" based on this trailer: As far as I can tell this is never really hashed out clearly (other than the recorder memos in the SLC hospital) - Check out the trailer and watch at .5 or .25 speed. Whil ein child birth, Ellie's mom is attacked by infected woman. Ellie's mom is bitten during child birth but before Ellie is born. So the fungus has been transferred to Ellie via the umbilical cord. Maybe the fungus can't survive without a viable host and a baby child doesn't have enough to allow for fungus to survive. So it "infected" her but not "INFECTED" We know from Part 2 recordings that Ellie has a version of the fungus already in her brain that is basically blocking the new bite from infection.

Also look at the room Ellie is born in....sure looks a LOT like the opening home screen from the game, no? That window and curtain on the right?

Also..also...based on background from trailer at 0:16...I think we might be getting giraffes!

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think you're right on with the theory on Ellie's immunity as well as the window.

As far as the lady we see in the trailer, think it's obvious this is a flashback showing Ellie's mom which coincides with your theory on Ellie's immunity. However this doesn't look like AJ to me. I'm gonna guess she's playing a nurse in the operating room or one of Marlene's right hands and gets axed off by Joel when he goes full beast mode at the end……only fitting since Ms. Ramsey got to kill Troy Baker in episode 8.

Edit: Nevermind…..you're right on who AJ is playing. Pretty cool that's how they worked her in to the show honestly. Looking forward to it!

My guess is that AJ comes back in a flashback scene (duh!) when Marlene is talking with Joel inside St. Mary's. If we remember Marlene and Ellie's mom were friends. So she (marlene) will tell the tale of Ellie's birth and upbringing. It will be more of a visual gut punch when Joel meets here at the end of the episode in the parking garage.

this one episode is going to make a lot of people HATE Joel!

I think some of our fellow entertainment board folks are going to actually understand Joel's decision more so than gamers did when it first came out, likely because many of them have children

From the NGT:

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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The finale is supposedly only going to be 45 minutes. Kind of a bummer.

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Oh that run time makes perfect sense to us

Excellent episode. Sad there is only one more left and it is so short.

I hope this results in a bump in Baker's non-voiceover work. He did a great job and was very compelling on screen

I fell behind for a couple weeks, but finally got caught back up. I think I like everything about this show except the girl playing Ellie. I still feel like she's missing Ellie's charm.

Part 2 of Sony's conversation with the creators/actors

Game to show comparison for episode 8

Awesome episode. The bloodied nose of Bella Ramsey in the cell next to S2 image of Ellie was just so, so perfect. David was great - loved the cameo from Troy Baker. He was absolutely giddy in the BTS at the end. I remember how stressful the fire lodge level was, incredibly intense. Neil & Craig and Co are knocking it outta the park - and it's showing in the weekly HBO numbers. Is this the most successful (early I know) Game to SHOW adaptation in recent memory?

I took the mistake of clicking the non-gamer thread and these yahoos are discussing the intricacies of holding a hunting rifle and field dressing a deer and how to properly cook human meat. Friendly reminder to avoid NGT

cr0wbar said:

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Awesome episode. The bloodied nose of Bella Ramsey in the cell next to S2 image of Ellie was just so, so perfect. David was great - loved the cameo from Troy Baker. He was absolutely giddy in the BTS at the end. I remember how stressful the fire lodge level was, incredibly intense. Neil & Craig and Co are knocking it outta the park - and it's showing in the weekly HBO numbers. Is this the most successful (early I know) Game to SHOW adaptation in recent memory?

I took the mistake of clicking the non-gamer thread and these yahoos are discussing the intricacies of holding a hunting rifle and field dressing a deer and how to properly cook human meat. Friendly reminder to avoid NGT

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Probably on the most successful point. I think you could make a case for Arcane maybe. Or if you want to stretch and say the Witcher is one (even though it's based on the books), but Last of Us probably still beats them out.

Will be interesting to see if any of the many upcoming adaptations that are in production find the same kind of quality. Doubtful because HBO always seems to take that next step beyond any of the other streaming services in terms of quality control, but you never know how they might surprise us.

Odds are won't be watching tonight the wife got no sleep overnight and we've been driving all over hells half acre this weekend…..

So even though I know the ending curious for any surprises they'll throw at us gamers for the season finale so I'll see y'all in a day or two….

Hope it's epic!!!!!

Well gamers

Did the finale follow the game?

LB12Diamond said:

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Well gamers

Did the finale follow the game?

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Second half did for sure. The mom part was added (was Ellie's voice actor from the game which was a nice touch).

Great episode.

That was just about perfect, loved the new material from the opening scene. Makes Marlene's death even more tragic, but I still want to know why she was hanging out in the parking garage.

In the game, the giraffe scene may have been my favorite scene. Didn't think it held quite the same impact on the show, but that may be just me.
Otherwise I think this series was fantastic and worthy of one of the all time great games.

Thought it could have been a longer episode. Felt a little rushed to me and showing more detail/context/dialogue/action would have been better. Still hits the main points pretty well.

Overall I think the show is a good adaptation of the game. Some parts hit higher than the game, but some parts hit lower. Might just be only me, but I felt Pedro Pascal's representation of Joel came off a little flat. Troy Baker's was much more expressive. His subtle badass sarcasm with "That's alright. I believe him." or his vengeful anger with "You'd just come after her." hit so much harder than Pascal's. Pascal just comes off like a monotone psychopath. Minor gripe, but Troy's accent was much better too.

Thought Bella did a great job overall. Different, but really really good. She was INCREDIBLE in episodes 5 & 8.

I'm really happy more people are being exposed to this awesome narrative, and I think they have stuck the landing overall. Just wishing for some things to have been better, but you can't have everything.

Just saw that Laura Bailey (Abby in part 2) was one of the nurses in the operation room. Small cool Easter egg knowing what happens to Abby and her dad in that room!

Am I wrong in hating that Marlene says Ellie doesn't know she's going to die? That's a change from the game, right?

Episode was a bit rushed but overall fine. Loved how they ended it. The change above bothered but still a great job on adapting this.

Ellie didn't know she was going to die in the game either.

Ok so I completely misremembered that.

Saxsoon said:

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Joel Killing spree was awesome

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Joel Wick

Not much to add from what's already been posted but just finished watching and thought it was incredible and I can't believe the season is already over.

Makes me want to run through the game a third time now. I wonder how much game sales have gone up from non-gamers or those that just never played it since the show started.

Lastly, I think Pedro Pascal is working his way into my top 10 favorite actors of all time. Loved him in Narcos and he's so damn good in this show.

ETA: I really love the inside the episode feature after each one. They do a great job of story telling and showing the behind the scenes.

I also like that Ellie told Joel that her one kill was Riley. Saw people in the non gamer thread a couple weeks ago speculating on that and wishing they had explained. They got what they asked for

Reading the reactions in the other thread, I think we're going to have some rage quits next season

This cracked me up.

where was this scene in the last of us finale pic.twitter.com/IkYJyQ4PsV

— anth (@up2anth) March 13, 2023

The season (and the finale in particular) felt pretty rushed, but overall enjoyable

FightinTexasAg15 said:

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Look for the light. @clmazin and @Neil_Druckmann to develop the series adaptation of #TheLastOfUs, coming soon to HBO: https://t.co/z9c2h86EYw pic.twitter.com/AkT6fET4Im

— HBO (@HBO) March 5, 2020

I guess after the success of The Witcher, HBO wanted in on a video game adaption series.

Loved the game so should be cool to see

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Can't believe this was 3 years ago