Dan

Apologies in advance.

DJariya

I thought it was a really good start. I found the 1st act pretty riveting. Nico Parker was awesome as Sarah. It's a shame the character was short-lived. I thought she really carried the 1st act and was almost the protagonist. She's a splitting image of her Mom. She would have been perfect for a flashback sequence in Westworld. Pascal was good as Joel. It was a good set up of him being a tortured man years after Sarah's death and his brother being MIA.

I know a lot of this was probably shot on green screen in some Canadian sound stage, but I thought the world they set up looked good. I'm looking forward to more. I did watch the short behind the scenes feature that HBO usually puts out and they gave some nice details and background for those unfamiliar with the game, like me. Ramsey spoke with a pretty thick English accent in the interviews.

Jason

So Pedro Pascal is a loner, and part of a group of survivors, who is unwillingly tasked with escorting a child with something special about her through dangerous territory in order to take her home.

Nice to see him branching out like this.

Deftones

That was definitely Bighead from SV as the TV show host.

The producers have said if this goes past S1, they are likely to split game 2 plot into two seasons. Makes sense since the scope of that game is way bigger.

God damn this is fucking amazing. Even if I know everything that is going to happen, still going to be a hell of a ride. This is pretty damn visually stunning.

I loved how prominent Joel's guitar was at his house.

Why So Blu?

Oof, glad I don't have fucking ads.

Dr. DVD

Playing the first game and probably going to finish it first then binge this series. However, I have played enough to see that they obviously nailed this adaptation. I liked that they followed the same set up as the game of making it appear that Sarah was going to be the main protagonist and then shocking you with her death. I was also amazed at how many game details they implemented for fans that still managed to work for it as a series. I hope this creative team or HBO decides to adapt Red Dead Redemption if they can take this approach.

Decker

Happy to find that Alan Sepinwall will be doing weekly recaps for this series. It means he really liked it, and those recaps always give me a lot of background that helps me enjoy those series that much more.

MrX

I watched it this morning on HBOMax and Mazin talked about that part on the Inside the Episode feature they run after every episode. He talked about it was meant to be the opposite of Sarah’s reaction when Joel killed the infected old lady.

I’ve played the game and I thought it was good. The scene in the truck when they were trying to escape looked like it was almost shor for shot from the game.

I didn’t realize Merle Dandridge, who plays Marlene, was the voice actor for her in the game,

Abob Teff

The companion HBO podcast is interesting. Touches on many of the points in the short "after-doc" but goes into a little more detail. Same format as the one they did for Chernobyl. Either Mazin or Drucker states there are lots of breadcrumbs in the first episode that will pay off throughout the rest of the series.

I know they mentioned Riley already and changed the nature of Marlene and Ellie's relationship ... wondering what else was planted that I missed?

spainlinx0

Never played the game, but I always meant to. I enjoyed the first episode. I'll definitely keep watching.

mugwump

Took me longer than I care to admit to recognize Anna Torv beneath all that filth and make-up SFX. I liked how closely it hewed to the opening of the game. I never got around to playing the second one so I'll have to blow the dust off the PS4 and remedy that before the second season.

Inhumans99

Never played the game, but this was great. I missed the TV airing so I watched it on HBO Max. Nice to see Anna Torv on tv, and the girl who played Sarah needs to get more work in tv/film asap.

DJariya

The girl who played Sarah is Thandiwe Newton’s daughter Nico Parker. She will most definitely get more work on other projects.

Abob Teff

I had to look up to see who Anna Torv is … Mindhunter! Sucks that they canceled that show.

DJariya

Anna Torv is probably best known in the nerd/geek circles as Olivia from the FOX series Fringe.

I thought she was good here.

dino88

Loved it. Just finished up my second playthrough of part 1 with the remake, so everything is very fresh in my mind. I actually hadn't played either game until around this time last year and somehow avoided all spoilers. It's definitely my favorite story in any game I've ever played. I went into the show with high expectations and was not disappointed. The sound of clicker at the end of the episode had me giddy. I can't wait for the Bill episode.

The use of the word "breadcrumbs" was a deliberate choice.

nickdawgy

I thought it was great.

RichC2

Off to a pretty healthy start: https://deadline.com/2023/01/the-las...rs-1235224124/

4.7m viewers on Sunday, that's the 2nd best behind House of the Dragon over the last 12 years. The viewing audience generally expands a bunch in the weeks that follow.

Why So Blu?

Liked that creepy scene where the old lady started convulsing, but was all blurry in the background, in the beginning of the episode.

Geofferson

Yes! Good to see her on the small screen again.

I haven't played the games but I liked this for what it was. Will definitely be tuning in for the rest of the season.

Artman

Finally - a video game adaptation that is just made like a regular film/show. Yes, the truck sequence is mostly a direct nod to the game but it doesn't stand out (in a bad way) as a game sequence.(POV's happen like that all the time in film) Yes they do copy a lot of the details (clothing, etc) but it still feels like it's own thing. Personally, I don't understand the mentality of needing to see things exactly like they were in the game - that's the game, this is an adaptation - outfits, actors looks, etc should be secondary to just making a great film/show.

ViewAskewbian

The game was so amazingly cinematic in the way it was made that I gather we'll see a few direct port overs.

What the show added that wasn't in the game (ie: the plane) I loved.

GoldenJCJ

I debated whether I should complete the first game before the series started. I decided to wait since, personally, I derive more enjoyment out of watching a TV show or movie unfold than I do with a video game. I’d rather not be spoiled for the show.

I’ll play the first game once the season is over.

Finisher

Holy crap didn't realize it was her.

Love post apocalyptic so all in here. Can fill in now that Walking Dead's over. The infected here are way more menacing, an actual perpetual threat.

movieguru

The plot sounds similar to one of those Star Wars spinoffs that on Disney+ that I saw my daughter watching before.