The Last Of Us Season 1 Wrap Up

[00:00:00] This is The Last Of Us Podcast on TV Podcast Industries. We are wrapping up the full season of The Last Of Us and announcing the winner of our Last Of Us World Ends Pub Quiz. On the first day, I set a fairly reasonable goal to make the best television show ever. That was our reasonable goal. I just want to say thank you. I love you guys. Thank you.

[00:00:37] Welcome back fellow survivors. This is The Last Of Us Podcast on TV Podcast Industries. Finally coming back to discuss a little bit of The Last Of Us and wrap up our Last Of Us World Ends Pub Quiz. I'm one of your hosts, Derek. Hello there, fellow survivors. I'm one of your other hosts, John. And rounding out this trio of uninfected, I am Chris. Yeah. Uninfected? I don't know about that. I'm still a little bit infected, to be honest. You've got the lurgy, but not the cordyceps.

[00:01:07] I have survived the man flu, fellow survivors. You'll be pleased to know. And it was so difficult to find. It was dreadful. I've still got it. It's lingering, as always. It is. It is. And passed on a little bit to me as well. But we'll get through this. We'll get through this. We're not going to talk a huge amount about our infections, but we will probably talk a little bit about cordyceps and the infections in The Infected Of The Last Of Us.

[00:01:29] We would be useless in a post-apocalyptic world if we caught the flu and not cordyceps or got bitten by a zombie or whatever. We'd be those characters dead in the first weekend, I think, is pretty much what would happen, right? Yeah. Hey, we'll give ourselves some credit. We would be at least two weeks. They said half the world died in a weekend in this show, and I think we'd be part of half that world.

[00:01:57] Yeah, maybe. I'd like to think better, but probably not. No shame, Chris. No shame. It's all right. It's all right. We wouldn't survive any other outbreak either. We have got a bit to talk about in this final wrap-up episode. We usually do this after we do a full season coverage, do a little bit of wrap-up, and mostly because, well, we had a pub quiz that went on throughout each of the episodes, and our wonderful fellow survivors have been sending all their answers to their pub quiz questions. We made them wait to the end of every single episode for the questions throughout the season.

[00:02:26] Should we kick off with the answers and the winner of the wonderful Last of Us Part 1 on PC or PS5? I think so, yes. I think we should. I think we should. But let us recap the questions and, this time, with the answers. Yes. So I'll kick off with Episode 1 from When You're Lost in the Darkness. The question was, FEDRA have identified three periods to full infection taking hold.

[00:02:54] How long does it take for someone bitten on the neck, the torso, and the foot to become fully infected? This was for three points. Mm-hmm. The answer is, for the neck and head, it is five to 15 minutes, torso and arms, two to eight hours, leg or foot, 12 to 24 hours. Yes. Given by a handy poster in the episode. Yeah.

[00:03:19] It was very kind of us to put three points on that one because it was all there written on the poster. It was. And it was one of those ones because we were talking about, at the beginning of the season, we were talking about things like The Walking Dead and all those other shows that have zombies in them and infected in them. In this show, they had a very handy guide to what happens to a character if they get bitten on specific points. And then we chose this as our pub quiz question and couldn't talk about it in the episode.

[00:03:44] And I felt it really difficult resisting talking about the amount of time it would take because you see people getting bitten on various places on their body throughout the season. Well, that's it. Always fun. I mean, I guess not only would I last less than two and a half weeks, but if I was bitten, it would probably be straight to the neck or head. It'd be a quick turnaround for that quarter set. Five to 15 minutes done. Five to 15 minutes done.

[00:04:11] But then I would never have the flu or a man cold ever again. I'd just have a fuzzy fungi brain, I guess. Yeah, it's a good thing. The fuzzy fungi brain is the best. If I felt peckish, I could just lop a bit off the top of my head and have some mushrooms. Yummy! Well, we do kind of see a little bit in the show that people may know that they're inside the body of this infected. They may, their personalities might still be inside there.

[00:04:39] Like that's pretty, that's way worse than having a flu, isn't it? Well, then I just wish the plane would crash on me. Right. There we go. Take as many flights as possible, John. There you go. Let's get on to episode two. Episode two, question two. This is the infected episode. The question was what musical instrument is on display in the room of the Bostonian Museum just before Joel, Tess and Ellie are attacked by the people? The clickers. And the answer is not a triangle.

[00:05:08] The answer is a drum. Yeah, a little confusion on this question. A couple of people got this one incorrect. But yeah, the drum is pretty prominent in the display case just before they get attacked. Yeah. Not a piano. No, it wasn't a piano. It was a drum. Yeah. Well, let's get on to the third episode. On episode three, long, long time. The question was which game machine does Ellie find while searching the building with Joel? We didn't realize at the time it was a really important video game machine.

[00:05:37] It was Mortal Kombat 2, which we see quite heavily featured in episode eight of the show because Ellie and Riley play on the Mortal Kombat machine in the mall. Yes. The memories. Yeah. So we had called out this question really excitedly because Mortal Kombat was being featured in the TV show and then it turned out to be quite a big story point later on in the season as sometimes happens. Yes. We also did accept Mortal Kombat here as well. We did.

[00:06:07] Yes. I don't think we shouldn't because it is a separate game, but it is. You are right. We'll be nice. We were being nice here. Yes. But for episode four, which was please hold to my hand. The question was what two movies from 2003 are listed at the Globe Cinema in Kansas City?

[00:06:28] So we have an interesting conundrum here because we had down as the answer Underworld and Matchstick Men. Both released in 2003, both very heavily highlighted on the marquee as Joel and Ellie are driving away from the marquee just after they've gone past it. Exactly.

[00:06:50] But there were a couple of instances where there was also Mystic River and American Wedding. And because there were more than one, we thought, OK, better go back and check. Better go back and check. And there is a moment in that episode where as they're driving towards the Globe Theatre, you can certainly see Mystic River. And I think you can make out American for sure. So guessing it's probably American Wedding.

[00:07:20] My pause wasn't very good. And then as they drive past and drive away, you see Underworld and Matchstick Men. So as a result, we will be accepting either Underworld and Matchstick Men or Mystic River and American Wedding. Yes. And all four films were released in 2003. So it's likely that they got that right. Yes, exactly. So well done for that. Eagal eyes. Even more eagerly than those.

[00:07:50] They were adding letters to the actual letters that were on screen to make up a movie. We should do that next time. Our questions should be that hard in future, John. It's so hard, we don't even get the answer correct. Favourite of those four films, anybody? Underworld. Really? Love Underworld. Oh, Matchstick Men of all four of those. Matchstick Men, absolutely favourite. Nicolas Cage, so good. Underworld, vampires, werewolves. Yeah, that's what the poster told me. Vampire, werewolves.

[00:08:19] And the trailer told me for Underworld, told me that they were going to feature those things. And it was terrible. So, no, not a fan. It was about as good a vampire and werewolf movie as the Twilight movies are. I know, not at all. You just have no taste, sir. Matchstick Men featuring Nicolas Cage, who starred alongside wonderful Pedro Pascal in the incredible weight of massive talent.

[00:08:40] I like Matchstick Men, don't get me wrong, but I've watched and gone back and watched Underworld way more times than Matchstick Men. I know, I've been made watch it with you. I know. Chris, do you want to take us on to the fifth question? In episode five, Endure and Survive, which issues of the comic Savage Starlight do Sam and Ellie have between them? Hmm. The answer is Ellie had issues four, five, six and eleven.

[00:09:09] And Sam had issues one, five, six and eight. Eight. Yes, absolutely. And if you answered, they had one, four, five, six, eight and eleven. Seven, we'll give it to you as well. Of course. Yes. You didn't need to separate the matches, the two of them. And I found out from a lot of our listeners that Sam's handwriting was very confusing to a lot of people. So it could have been issue 15. So I've given it to them if they put down one and five because there isn't an issue 15 in the comic book series.

[00:09:38] And I know that from the game. So there you go. So we know they got it right. They were just misreading his handwriting. So that's OK. Fair point. There you go. Collectibles making it to the big screen. Good stuff. That's question five. Onto question six on Kin. What is the name of Ellie's favourite astronaut? And we did joke about this. There's a reason why we asked this question because of a wonderful film called The Commitments. All you want to do is ride around Sally.

[00:10:10] Don't use your own accents. It's ride Sally Ride, not ride Sally Ride. Ride Sally Ride. Run the top. So altogether, lads, the answer to this question, Ellie's favourite astronaut is? Sally Ride. Sally Ride. There you go. Ride Sally Ride. Yeah, there you go. Thought I'd have a little joke at our Dubliner expense there. Excellent stuff. For episode seven left behind, the question was,

[00:10:38] What 80s movie poster hangs on the wall above Ellie's bed in their Federer dorm room? The answer is, in a space. I love that. See, I love that movie. That was a fun comedy movie. That was great. Dennis Quaid. Yeah. Fan. Actually, I want to watch it again now. I know. And Martin Short. I wonder how his... I love him as a comedian. I do really like Martin Short, but I wonder how his 80s material, how dated it is now, looking back. I don't care.

[00:11:07] I really like Only Murders in the Building. He's really good in that, but haven't seen In a Space for a while. The other poster that lots of you were trying to identify in the room is actually a Mortal Kombat poster that she has on her wall. So this was the movie poster. So well done to all of you who got that. Moving on to episode eight, entitled When We Are In Need. The question was, what is the name of the restaurant in Silver Lake? Yes, it is Todd's Steakhouse.

[00:11:33] And Ellie in that episode does basically carve a man with a knife. But that's a different story. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Freshest steaks in town, I guess? I guess so. Well, no. It depends. I'm assuming the body kind of burnt to a crisp and it was very well done. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. By the end of that fire. I guess at least the other people in Silver Lake managed to have barbecue that night. Oof. There you go.

[00:12:01] On the final episode, on episode nine, Look to the Light, the question was, what word game does Jill find as he scavenges for supplies on the outskirts of Salt Lake City? And the game was Boggle. It was. Yeah. I forgot about that one. There you go. There you go. I've never been good at it. I don't know. I don't know whether I've ever played Boggle. I have, but it's ages ago. Yeah. I feel like one of those games that was around when we were kids, but I don't think I ever got to play it.

[00:12:28] But it's kind of like, as kids, I remember being forced to play it because it's like being forced to play Scrabble as a kid. It's like, oh, this is like school. This isn't a game. An educational spelling game rather than- Oh no. Rather than something that you get to- I think so. If I remember. Yeah. Okay. Good stuff. It's like the game of life. As a, like a 10 year old, it's like, I don't want to know about finances and business.

[00:12:56] But it teaches your life skills, John. No, it didn't. Business studies taught me that. Good stuff. Well, that's it. That's all nine questions, nine answers. Yes. How many did you get, right? All of them. Yes. Am I entered? Thank you. Good questions. How about you, fellow survivors? How many did you get, right? Yes. We have 16 entrants for the poll quiz.

[00:13:25] That includes those of you who got the answers right and those of you who did add a reviewer rating to TV Podcast Industries and sent us confirmation that you did it because it was very difficult for us to pick them up. So if you forgot to send the confirmation, unfortunately, you haven't gotten an extra entry. But thank you very much for your rating. Yes. So I think we need to move swiftly on to our electronic tombola. Chris, take it away, games master. Sure. Happy to.

[00:13:54] Hey, Google, manually select a number between one and 16. Here's a random number, 12. Lucky number 12. Great stuff. Yes. Congratulations to. They say number 12 in the neurology is three. Hey, Google, stop. Hey, Google, stop. Just got an explanation for what the number 12 is.

[00:14:21] But the person who is attached to the number 12 is Kevin Coyle. Yes. Congratulations, Kevin Coyle. Excellent. I'll be in contact with you in the next couple of days to find out whether you want to have your copy of The Last of Us Part 1 on PlayStation 5 or on PC. If you do not have a PC or a PlayStation 5, as we've said all along, we won't be buying you one. We will look for an alternate prize for you instead of that. Yes.

[00:14:48] If you want us to buy it for you and you can go and get your own PlayStation or PC for it. The Last of Us Part 1 has officially been released today on PC, the 28th of March. Certainly has. So people are just about starting to play it now. Yes. Good stuff. Well done, fellow quizzers and survivors for your entries. And really well done answering those questions. They were difficult. So difficult. In fact, we messed up on one of them.

[00:15:17] But well done for those eagle eyed quizzers who also spotted. When you say we, are we not correct in saying that you are the games masters, therefore you? No, I've just called you the games master, Chris. It is the royal weed. The collective weed. So if I'm the games master, you're the question master. Yeah. No, I'm the quiz master. Oh, good master. I'm the key master.

[00:15:43] And it's kind of our responsibility to validate the questions as well, Chris. That is something we should really be doing as well. Yes. I never signed up for that in my interview. The royal weed. Good stuff. Well, congratulations once again, Kevin. For those of you who enjoy the pub quizzes, we still have an ongoing pub quiz over on our Star Trek Picard coverage. Six episodes in so far, four episodes to go. So 10 questions in total on the final season of Picard.

[00:16:11] So if you want to join us over there or if you haven't got the questions yet, pop on over to the website at tvpodcastindustries.com as well. And you can check out the pub quizzes section for all of our current questions. And I'll pop all the answers to these questions up there as well. Yes. Excellent stuff. Yes. Congratulations, Kevin. And congrats to everyone for taking part because taking part is the most fun we can give you. And it's the best prize. Fun. I don't know. I always, I'm too competitive.

[00:16:40] Actually, the best part is winning. Getting the prize. Yeah. But you know, like it is like, you know, it's like participation trophy. Yes. It's a virtual hug from us. You are competitive, Chris. That's why it's so funny when I beat you. Who's currently winning the Formula One Fantasy League? I do believe it's me. Yes. Well, who won last year? That person. The entire season. That's right. Yeah. It wasn't me. Good stuff. Great stuff.

[00:17:10] Well done, Kevin. That's the end of our pub quiz for Last of Us Part One. But we hopefully will have a pub quiz for Last of Us Part Two when that eventually comes out. Yes. Definitely. So looking forward to that. Maybe they'll have the remake of Last of Us Part Two available for PC at that stage. And for PlayStation 10 or PlayStation 6 whenever that comes out. Good stuff. We also got a bit of feedback in on the finale episode from Suzanne Nelson, who says, I loved this episode for a lot of reasons. Having Ashley Johnson playing Ellie's mom was too perfect.

[00:17:39] She did win a BAFTA for her performance as Ellie in the game. And I'm so happy she was able to play this small but crucial role that fleshes out the story even more. I really liked how they showed that Ellie didn't just shrug off the trauma of Episode 8. This was a much more realistic response to what she had been through and seeing Joel trying to coax her out of the doldrums, knowing a lot of time had gone by with the weather change and he wasn't giving up. Lastly, the ending.

[00:18:01] Joel going Terminator on everyone in the hospital was brutal, but in my mind he was thinking anyone I leave alive is armed and could possibly come after Ellie and I. I think that's why he leaves the two nurses alive in the operating room since they were the only two people he encounters without a weapon. As a pediatrician and a mom, would I have done what Joel did to save my daughter? Hell yeah. I hope I would have come up with a better lie to have been more convincing when telling her. When she turns 18 or 21, would I tell her the truth and let her decide what to do? I don't know. Makes for great television either way.

[00:18:31] I loved this adaptation. Looking forward to Season 2. Thanks for your great podcast and enjoyed the ride with you guys. Suzanne. Excellent stuff. Thanks Suzanne for the feedback on the last episode. Yeah, it is. It's one of those big talking points, isn't it? About would you do what Joel did?

[00:18:49] And I guess it's just really interesting that a show, you know, gets you to think, you know, is it the pain of Ellie for the rest of humanity? Or, you know, is that a sacrifice too far? You know, certainly if it involves her dying. So, yeah, you know, she wouldn't have felt any pain is kind of the explanation they have that she would have been dead.

[00:19:16] So as I said, it's a little bit almost more murky than the game. Or at least if you've, if you've, if you've seen it in the game, there isn't there. It's pretty much confirmed that Joel believes that the cure would have been found by by the fireflies. So lots of people who are kind of justifying their side of the argument would could say that, you know, there's no way the fireflies could have been able to develop a vaccine within that, within that environment in that hospital. You know, it just look at it kind of thing.

[00:19:45] But actually, it Joel believes that it could have been created there. So I still made his choice. Yeah, at least in the game. So we will probably see that play out in the future. But great stuff. Thanks, Suzanne. Yeah, thanks, Suzanne. Yeah, thanks, Suzanne. And I think, look, I'm the same. The more I watched, because I went back, I've watched the finale about two or three times now, definitely two. I think I watched it. It's called two and a half because I kind of skipped for you a few bits because I wanted to go into that.

[00:20:14] And just particularly rewatching the exact scene where he goes in and you have the nurses and the doctor. And I was like, oh, maybe like I wanted to see how they could set that up and who the nurse are, because we did find out Laura Bailey was one of the nurses as a cameo. She plays a voice, the main character in part two. So I wanted to see if there was a way that maybe we'll get to see. Anyway.

[00:20:37] Also, because Neil Druckmann, who's one of the writers and was the original writer and creator or the executive producer from the video game for one and two. And he did a kind of spoiler cast on this and as well talks about a few scenes and parts of it. And I think it all comes down to.

[00:20:58] And the way he likes it is that murkiness of would you choose to save the person you love at the greater cost for the world? Mm hmm. And like, I think more and more people, once you have a child, I think people automatically go, yes, I would save my child.

[00:21:19] And I think that the pseudo daughter relationship that Joel grows with Ellie automatically kind of overrides any other feeling of emotion or rational thought that he has. And I think, yeah, you're right in the game. It's a bit more, as you say, kind of black and white. And here it can be a bit more murky because they didn't fully get that.

[00:21:45] But I believe Marlene did kind of allude to it being, this is the way. This is the way that it will be kind of saved. Like they can do it. But I think, yeah, it's an interesting dilemma that we've hopefully explored more in part two. But I don't know. Yeah, that was a really interesting point from Neil Druckmann, who was saying that after the game, the game initially had come out.

[00:22:13] They were asking loads of people what they thought, what their decision would, you know, in the beta testing when they're testing the game before it's released. You know, they were seeing what other people's choices were. And he was saying that, you know, anybody who didn't have kids couldn't really predict. You know, they could choose whichever way. It was pretty much down the middle as to whether they would let Ellie die to save the world or save her. And he said anybody who had kids, 100% of them said they would save Ellie.

[00:22:40] And it didn't matter about the rest of the world because they were thinking of Ellie as Joel's child. And that's the sacrifice they would make. They wouldn't sacrifice her, especially because she isn't given a choice. And that part of it is really nailed in the show. They really do talk about that in the show. The idea that Ellie has no say in this at all. She's put to sleep and she'll never wake up effectively. So that seems to have really gotten a lot of people kind of going, OK, Joel was definitely right here. Even though he doesn't give her a choice after he does wake her up.

[00:23:08] He doesn't give her any option for whether she does want to make this decision or not in the future. So maybe he does. Maybe that's what will happen in part two. We're not going to spoil anything about that in the second season. So exactly. But for the moment, he has he has saved her and sacrificed the world. Do we need to save this world? At a certain point, you're like, it's fine. Like, just look, it's already got to hell in the handbasket. We might as well just let it go.

[00:23:36] That's a really good point, even if they do have a and we're going to talk a little bit more about our thoughts about the last of us season one, the full season. But it is a really good point. If you do get a cure for cordyceps now, 10 years on from when the virus has started with more than half the world dead and some of it gone to rack and ruin. Some of it taken over by monsters running cities and towns and fedra in some places.

[00:24:03] Just because you have the cure, it can't restore the world to what it was like 10 years beforehand. It just cures everybody so that cordyceps is no longer the problem. But how do you get yourself back to that prior society? Not everybody is going to form a place like Jamestown. Absolutely. And that is assuming that everyone wants to take it. Well, exactly. Very true. Very true. We have real life experience of that. We do. We do. So interesting. Thank you so much for that feedback.

[00:24:34] Should we go into our own thoughts and opinions and feelings on season one of The Last of Us? Yeah, absolutely. Let's take a quick look back at the full season of The Last of Us. Because, you know, we were talking about the episodes week by week, you know, and some things can get lost as the weeks go on. It was only a nine-week show. And a fairly straightforward story as well, overall, that we got from the start of the season to the end of the season.

[00:24:58] Overall, to say it again on our last episode, the show was based on the PlayStation game written by Neil Druckmann and directed by Bruce Straley from the publisher Naughty Dog. The show is written and executive produced by Craig Mason and Neil Druckmann, who wrote every episode. Both of them actually directed episodes as well during the season, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mason. Other episodes were directed by Lisa Johnson, Peter Hoare, Jasmilia Zbanek, Ali Abassi and Jeremy Webb.

[00:25:26] So a lot of directors in there, but including the writers of the show as well. Yeah. Taking a turn at directing, which is really cool. Definitely. Absolutely. So a really good, just good feel to it, you know. I mean, certainly having the original writer for the game, Neil Druckmann, being involved in the production and the writing as well as then the directing. Yeah.

[00:25:51] He's really kept, you know, his creative touch as it's, you know, been adapted into this show. So, I mean, that's really good. And Craig Mason, I think, you know, looking at some of the making of. Yes. You know, wanted that. Yeah. You know, wanted that collaboration. And so it's been, you know, sounds really healthy, really positive, really constructive, you know. Yeah. Yeah. There is a making of documentary now available.

[00:26:20] It was released on the day of the final episode on HBO and is now available on Now TV and Sky in Europe. So a quick half hour making of documentary where they go behind the scenes of a lot of the big moments throughout the series and talk about some of the other more emotional elements and the story writing elements of the episodes. Highly recommend that. It was a really good, really good 30 minutes documentary on some of the awesomeness behind the scenes. It was. It was a little quick.

[00:26:47] It did feel a little quick, but very much a drive by sort of look at it, I think. But it was good. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say it would make a great four or five hour documentary on the series. I would say you could easily do a long documentary on it. Yeah. Interesting.

[00:27:06] I think they might then hold off because they did do with God of War a kind of couple of docu kind of films slash breakdowns of both one and part two. Sony did that. So it'd be interesting to see if they maybe consider. But again, it's HBO slash Sony.

[00:27:53] Sony. 4K physical version of this will be available in June of this year. So you can get all nine episodes plus any behind the scenes stuff. So they may have a documentary on there. The extra features haven't been announced. So hopefully we'll get the full documentary on there because it's definitely like you can tell they're running through a lot of material that they have to edit it into a 30 minute program. You're right, John. That's it. That's a really good point.

[00:28:17] So hopefully they have a Lord of the Rings style documentary where it's commentary tracks and loads and loads of details from behind the scenes. Because these guys, as we know, since they have an official podcast, like to talk about this show as well. And it was highly successful. They're going to get Lord of the Rings style. More behind the scenes than actual content that they put out. Here's a seven hour documentary about a three hour film. Absolutely. Absolutely. I'd watch it. No problem at all. No problem at all.

[00:28:43] But let us get into our thoughts, though, of and wrap up and recap of season one of The Last of Us. Yeah, I think the way to do this is, John, we have a synopsis for the full season. I think you can read through it and we can interrupt you on some spots on what our thoughts are. So, John, do you want to kick us off with the start of the synopsis for The Last of Us season one? Sure. When a fungus infected the world in 2003, Joel Miller lost his daughter, Sarah.

[00:29:12] For the next 20 years, Joel did anything he had to to keep himself and his brother, Tommy, alive. Along the way, Tommy joins up with an anti-government group called the Fireflies. And Joel meets another survivor, Tess. And they settle into the Boston quarantine zone under the control of Federal Disaster Response Agency, or FEDRA. They trade with the outside world through survivalist Bill and his boyfriend, Frank. I'm going to come in on this one. Excellent.

[00:29:42] So, this episode, episode three, where we get the behind-the-scenes full story of Frank and his boyfriend slash husband, and their connection to the story, but more of a standalone anthology-like episode, with a loose connection to the main story, again, like it's still there,

[00:30:06] is to me still, I know it's early, we're three months into a year, one of the best pieces of TV this year. Absolutely. Ever. Hands down. No question. I would argue still some of the best writing, producing, directing, acting, everything else-ing, awarding, probably in the last couple of years. But again, there's a recency bias, because it is something I've just seen.

[00:30:36] So, I would have to kind of play it up against Watchmen, against some of the earlier games, against Red Wedding, etc. You would have to weigh it up, but I still think it is, honestly. It was taking out the representation side, right? Just taking out the sex. It was two people who fall in love. Forget about their sex, their gender, their sexuality. All that out.

[00:31:03] Just two people falling in love in a post-apocalyptic world, figuring out, then deciding to end it, on their terms and things like that. And you get this beginning-to-end story of a relationship over a number of years. Just emotionally impacting on a way I did not expect whatsoever.

[00:31:30] Delivered by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett is, again, just spectacular, because you get, from Nick Offerman, a delivery of a man unknown. Well, what we would assume is unsure of his sexuality before Murray Bartlett arrives. Maybe, we'll see. He says he hasn't. But, again, you'd have to, whether he was with someone else before that or a woman before that, we don't hear.

[00:31:59] But, anyway, just overall, look, I can't. I could soliloquy for another hour just on the individual points about why I love this episode, but I'm not going to, because we've done that in that episode, if you want to go back and listen to it. Absolutely. But, yeah, that's just my view. Yeah, yeah, absolutely loved that episode. And what's interesting, when you get to the end of the series and you see Joel's actual choice,

[00:32:24] the episode, the letter that Ellie reads from Frank about choosing one person and making sure they're safe, making sure they're kept safe, is really what feeds Joel's eventual relationship that he has with Ellie by the end of the season. It fuels his decisions. It fills his mind with that idea that, yes, okay, you can hate everybody in the world, but if there's somebody to love and somebody to take care of,

[00:32:53] you do everything in your power to keep them safe. Yeah. So a really important episode overall to kind of show why Joel developed how he did. Absolutely. I mean, I wasn't on the podcast for this episode, but I would agree with what Chris says, to be honest. You know, watched it, watched it again, and I think it's just a really standout episode from this whole season

[00:33:21] because, yeah, it just takes that sidestep from the main story and it delivers something that is of that world as brutal. I mean, you see him effectively fortifying his small sort of neighborhood, but out of it blossoms something that persists and endures within this new world.

[00:33:50] You know, you get to see that little connection with Tess and Joel when they're around to trade and having some food. It's that move through, you know, the awkwardness of the initial meeting, the recognition from Frank of Bill's tentativeness, I think,

[00:34:17] and how it blooms into Bill will do anything to protect his husband, his man in Frank. And ultimately, you know, the brutal twist at the end for Bill is that it's not cordyceps or raiders that take him.

[00:34:40] It is age and health, just, you know, in a sense, natural health problems. So it's just really an exceptional piece of TV for sure. I think the other side from this is I actually just really liked how this opening started. I mean, not only in terms of how close the whole eruption of this infection occurs

[00:35:10] and Joel, you know, that drive with Tommy, Joel, and Sarah in the car. Not just simply that representation, but again, it's what the show did really well about adding elements and having, you know, that initial opening with John Hanna, you know, whether it's entirely scientifically accurate or not, it actually makes it something where it's within the realm of possibility

[00:35:39] because these fungus do it to ants. Yes, we're a more complex creature to an extent. I guess there is... You can argue sometimes now. Well, exactly. You could very easily argue, sometimes not. But I think, you know, that whole setting is really, really good. And again, I think seeing, you know, the first kind of outbreak with the neighbors,

[00:36:08] with the tendrils coming from Granny's mouth. Yeah. And just some of that atmosphere created with that buildup. It just captured the genre really, really well. But also just infused it, to some extent, in the realms of possibility. Yeah. You know? So it was really, really good. Yeah. I absolutely loved that opening. It's such a great idea. And then throughout the next couple of episodes,

[00:36:37] where we got some flashbacks to the early times or the times before, to kind of, again, continue to kind of ground that in the idea of, it is possible that this may happen or might happen in some circumstances, I thought was a really good way to establish the show as we went on. Yeah. And even as well with going back to, you know, Southeast Asia with the professor of mycology.

[00:37:04] You know, again, just another little layer here of the, you know, in this case, just it's reflecting the doom that she feels that will happen with the doom that is being felt by Joel in this quarantine zone, you know, or the expression of this infection and how it's played out effectively. So it was really, really nicely done.

[00:37:34] Yeah. Good stuff. I think that's the first couple of episodes. John, do you want to continue on with the synopsis? Yes. When Joel loses contact with Tommy, he and Tess make a deal with the Boston leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, to deliver a young girl called Ellie to another faction on the outskirts of the city in exchange for weapons, supplies, and transport to get them across the country to Tommy. They learn that Ellie has been bitten, but is the only known person to have not become infected. And it's important for the future of the world.

[00:38:04] But when they reach the Firefly outpost, everyone is dead and it is overrun with infected. Tess sacrifices herself and Joel reluctantly brings Ellie to Bill and Frank as she needs to be saved. Yeah. Yeah. Big loss in the second episode. We see the death of Tess. But we also have one of our biggest moments of fear and horror from the game as we meet the clickers for the first time in that episode. Fantastically brought to the screen.

[00:38:34] The noise of them was just brilliant. It was exactly the kind of disturbing noise that I remember from playing the game many times. And the movement of them was scary as hell watching them on screen. And you could feel the terror in that scene as they made their way across the outskirts of Boston. I absolutely loved that. Such a great episode. A great performance again from Anna Taurav. Oh, absolutely. In the role of Tess.

[00:38:59] It's great to have someone of her quality in the show for even just that small episode. One of the things that I've loved about the season overall is everybody that they've cast in small roles and big roles have made a big impression in their small time on screen. Absolutely. I absolutely enjoyed Anna Taurav in this role. I felt, you know, we talk about Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal's chemistry.

[00:39:26] I really just, even in the fleeting moment, just enjoyed the chemistry of Tess's character with Joel's as well. You really got that sense. You could see that, you know, what he does after she sacrifices herself, why he would do that for her.

[00:39:49] And that's really, really great when, you know, it's like getting John Hanna to do that delivery of the, you know, the 1960s academic. It's like a really just inserts themselves and hit the ground running in terms of the chemistry, the performance and all that. So I really enjoyed what she brought here.

[00:40:14] And again, yes, unfortunately, was never going to survive too long into this season. But absolutely crucial that they have these wonderful, brilliant actors doing this because, you know, it really adds just to the richness of this. I think so. I really enjoyed that. Again, we get to see more tendril action.

[00:40:43] I really, really enjoyed this seeing them sort of moving around on the ground in sync with one another and then seeing that, you know, all the threads that the fungus put down through the soil, how they connect. And it's almost like a communication system for them. The mycelial network. Yeah, the mycelial network.

[00:41:06] So I really enjoyed that seeing it, you know, play out then in the state building, I guess. And it bringing the horde of infected towards the state building. The only thing I would say is, again, whether it's within this debate of did we have enough clickers or infected in the show or not?

[00:41:33] I personally think in general there were enough because it otherwise you dilute the the effect of them. But I would like to have seen this whole concept, which I think is has been brought in by the TV show and wasn't in the game. I'd love to have seen this concept of that communication, just seeing it because I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

[00:42:00] And it really connects in with, you know, these extensive networks of of fungus within the soil. And I would have liked to have just seen that again because it was almost like, oh, my God, that's amazing. What a great idea. And it's like, don't see it again. Yeah. So I would have liked to have seen that. But I mean, it's small because it's a small little gripe, I guess, if it's a gripe at all. But I just thought it was so fantastically done. Yeah.

[00:42:30] Really clever addition to it. And I was like, oh, I want to see more. I want to see that happen again. And we didn't. So I just I just wonder, you know, having played the game many times and died many, many times at the game, having this added to it, where if you step on a piece of of cordyceps somewhere, it alerts other other infected to come and come and attack you in your location. I would die 100 times more, I think.

[00:42:59] So if they can make it work and I'm sure they can, I'd say that's going to form a part of it. I know Neil Druckmann was saying on the official podcast that the minute he heard the idea from from Craig Mason, it was one of the pieces that they kind of workshopped together in the minute. The idea came out, Druckmann kind of went, oh, my God, why didn't I think of that for the game? That would have been amazing. So if we do get a Last of Us Part 3, which there are discussions about, I would suspect that this will play a part in the game. Well, that's true.

[00:43:26] Because, I mean, in the game anyway, you have to tread carefully because of the noise. But, I mean, it wouldn't actually be too much of, you know, a leap forward because you'd have to tread carefully. Like you saw in the museum, you know, this idea that they're connected. Except that it alerts all infected in the area.

[00:43:53] So rather than just the one that you can possibly get away with and possibly kill if you're attracted to your location. Yes. I revise my time of death to two and a half hours now if this infected have. They do have, there was a game on the Sony PlayStation called Days Gone, which is another zombie one. Infected horde technology where you had hordes upon hordes of zombies running after you. Oh, yes.

[00:44:21] Just saying Naughty Dog could talk to Sony Bend, grab that technology, and that could be part of Part 3. Absolutely. They have the technology to build this. Yeah. That was the most fun I've ever had in a zombie game, actually, Days Gone. It was such a fun game when you're on your own fighting off a horde of zombies. It works really well. Anyway. And on a bike. Yeah. It was like Sons of Anarchy. Yeah.

[00:44:47] Interestingly enough, though, they didn't have the engine for building a bike. So essentially, the bike is actually a four-wheeled car folded on top of each other. Interesting. Because the game engine couldn't build a bike. So it's literally a bike, a car in half. Weird. Squashed. That's so weird. For me, look, I loved the clickers. I loved all the zombies. I loved the story more, the connection, the emotional piece, and what it's like to live in that world. Yeah. Absolutely.

[00:45:16] I'm not saying no to more action sequences next season. Yeah. Again, without knowing what comes in part two, I'm like, yeah, I actually would like what we got at the end of season one with Joel Doe going all Rambo. Okay. I could do with a Rambo sequence of clickers. Right. Kind of. And or the swall clicker we got.

[00:45:45] It's like swall Groot, but swall clicker. And just get one of those. The big one we got at the end where we have Sam. Ah, yes. The bloater. Yes. That's also a very cool scene from later on in the season. But John, do you want to continue on with the synopsis where we are at the moment? Yes. Arriving at Bill's town, they find the couple are dead, but have left a message for Joel to keep hope alive and survive for love as they did.

[00:46:11] With no other plan, Joel and Ellie take Bill's car and get back on the road to locate Tommy in order to use his connections with the Fireflies to get Ellie to the Firefly scientists. On the road, their antagonistic relationship begins to soften, but they get stuck in Kansas City in the aftermath of an uprising. The brutal reign of Fedra in the city was ended by a group of civilians led by Kathleen, who is on a mission to find and kill anyone who worked with Fedra.

[00:46:40] Particularly a man called Henry, who handed her brother to Fedra in exchange for medicine for his young brother Sam. In exchange for their help getting out of the city, Joel and Ellie protect Sam and Henry from the searching forces. As Kathleen and her group catch up with the brothers and Ellie and Joel, a huge group of infected overrun them, killing Kathleen and her group as Ellie, Sam and Henry are lucky to escape.

[00:47:09] But Sam was bitten, and as he attacks Ellie, Henry kills him and takes his own life. Oof. A pretty emotional episode with Henry and Sam. There are two episodes with Henry and Sam. The big two-parter of the show. A lot more time spent here in Kansas City this time, in the TV show rather than Minneapolis in the game. I think this worked really well.

[00:47:34] I kind of liked the idea of spending time in this world with these characters getting to know more about the other groups. This is not Fireflies. This is a group that are trying to overthrow Fedra in Kansas City. So I love the kind of extra side of the world that we see through these characters. Definitely. Yeah. I mean, again, it's this addition, isn't it?

[00:47:55] It's that here, not to say that Boston Fedra was particularly great, but it seems as though Kansas City Fedra were just, you know, got a hot, basically let the run of themselves, really. You know, the power corrupted. They were brutal. They were violent. And ultimately, we're very good at turning people against other people in the city.

[00:48:23] And, you know, we're offering things, which ultimately puts Henry in this position in the sense that, you know, he exchanged information to help his brother to get medicine for his brother, Sam.

[00:48:38] So I thought this was, again, another great little bit of, I mean, in many respects, it's more of an expansion of Kathleen's situation and the reason for this non-Fedra organization being there in Kansas City.

[00:48:57] And that expansion is really good because it just adds to why Joel and Ellie are moving through, you know, this city. You know, it's there to some... It adds to the danger that's there as well, yeah. And, yeah, it's the danger. It's getting the bloater.

[00:49:19] And I think, you know, as we all said at the time, you know, one of the favorite bits of gameplay was really brought to life here with the sniper in the house as they try and make their way to him to effectively stop him. And you have that moment with Joel where he's willing to let him live if he doesn't do anything. The sniper. Yeah, the sniper. Yeah, yeah.

[00:49:48] But he goes to warn his group led by Kathleen that he's found, you know, Henry, Sam, and these other two that had been involved with the ambush right at the start. So I think this has such a great balance of both these episodes of a real emotive story.

[00:50:14] You know, certainly with Henry and Sam, but also with Kathleen's position, coupled to this, you know, battle for survival, not at the hands of infected, at least not initially. But at the hands of other humans. Yeah.

[00:50:32] And then seeing, you know, I guess, an evolutionary or development of the runner slash clicker and to the bloater. So this was another great moment.

[00:50:49] And I mean, I think for me, again, the characters brought in here and the actors, you know, in terms of Melanie Linsky, who played Kathleen, but also Lamar Johnson, who plays Henry and Keevan Woodard, who plays Sam. They're just really good.

[00:51:35] And in the end, the medicine he uses has no power over this particular infection. You know, any control over this fungal disease, effectively. And he is the one that has to take him out to stop him from biting Ellie and from then attacking even himself. And just that, you know, his entire world.

[00:52:03] And you see it in his eyes, in how he responds. His whole world collapses and he takes his life. And it's just really poignant and quite devastating, actually. Absolutely. So this is, again, just, I think, fantastic TV. And I do think they get the balance right here. I mean, yes, I definitely want to see more tendrils than that.

[00:52:29] But I think, you know, here you have the balance of, you know, the relationships between, you know, Joel and Ellie. Then suddenly with another two and their relationship. But the wider relationship with the particular city that they're in with Kathleen. And then you have on top of it, a really quite sweet action sequence with the sniper slash horde. Absolutely.

[00:53:00] Amazing. You know? Yeah. So, again, just top notch for me. Yeah. Everything you said, John, is true on that. Every aspect of it. What I would love to see more in part two, the next season, is we did get glimpses of other stories here. So we get glimpses of the school underneath where apparently they had heard stories of people going into the tunnels and living there for years. What happened to those? Did they get eaten?

[00:53:29] Did they go back upstairs? Like, I want to know more. We get stories of the Gestapo-like Vedra aspects, the SS versions of the Vedras. Like, I would love, I don't know if I would love, I'd be very interested to see an anthology of the world of The Last of Us. Because you get this option.

[00:53:58] And I really don't mean like a long, season-long anthology. I mean like each episode is a different story. Like, what happened to the people in the tunnel? Well, what happens when you have like a Nazi Germany-like kind of SS in Vedra? What would happen when, do you remember in the Frank and Bill episode where people got on the buses and then we saw their bones? Yeah. Like, a story of that.

[00:54:27] Like, all these tiny things that they kind of just hint at, give you a bit of like, here's the beginning and here's the end. Right. I'm like, well, give me one episode of something of those stories. Yeah. Like, what other cool evolutions of cordyceps could we get? Like, did the cordyceps ever go into a giraffe or a bear or a vulture and take over? And is that cool?

[00:54:56] Could we see it with other warm-blooded animals? Like, in the Serengeti there is just an army of roaming, like, cordyceps tigers and lions in the Serengeti in Savannah. Like, all these things feed my imagination. Right. That's really why I love these types of pieces. And especially these episodes where Joel, like, you could have easily just got Joel and Ellie to and from through that and then out.

[00:55:26] Like, you didn't need all this extra material. I think, yeah, traditionally it would probably have been that Joel and Ellie would have run into Kathleen and would have dealt with their group and fought their way through or traded their way through or something like that. But adding in the characters of Sam and Henry to that traditional story and showing how they've survived for their 10 years of this experience, you know, and what they've gone through. I think that adds so much in the game.

[00:55:51] And now expanding the story of this group that's overthrown Fedra in the TV show is another great way to expand the stories overall. It's interesting. A couple of the points that you mentioned there, Chris, the things that you wanted to expand on. And some of those are literally just dealt with as a note that you read in the game. So you know exactly what's happened to that school underground, exactly how that ended. Didn't end well, as you can probably tell because it's empty. But it's all it's all there.

[00:56:21] And in the background on the screen, they've made loads of great nods to it. There's loads of little things that you can see if you pause the screen, if you know the game that they are referencing how it all ended and how it was. How it was there as a society for a time, I suppose. So so I love I love the attention to detail they played. And of course, having someone like Neil Druckmann on board and Craig Mason is a big fan of of the game. Those two combined, making sure that you can see everything on screen with everybody else involved, being big fans of the game.

[00:56:49] Just kind of expands the world without you having to have a 10 season show. I can expand that world within these nine really tight episodes about Joel and Ellie's story. I think I think that's that's really cool for me. And one of the things I just wanted to mention, just, you know, the the the amount of infected that are shown in the show. I think that's really realistic for the timeline of where the story takes place. We're 20 years after the initial outbreak. You know, there's been so much time has passed where loads of things have happened in the world. Loads of people are dead.

[00:57:17] You know, all those initial moments where people are turning and and turning, turning into infected and killing their friends or killing people that are around them. A lot of people, the only way they've survived is to learn how not to do that. So it wouldn't make sense to have every episode of people being really surprised by cordyceps infected people because they're the people that died first. It's kind of it's kind of like I know it's only 20 years or I know it is 20 years, but they've probably evolved pretty quickly because if they didn't evolve, they're dead.

[00:57:45] And to avoid being caught by infected in those situations. I think all I mean is just that particular thing, because it was a new development, I wanted to see it again. Even if it was in with the swall group like mushroom. Yeah. You know, and those group not necessarily. I didn't. I think they have the balance kind of right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[00:58:11] Because I love that the reason that we have this massive horde attacking Kathleen and her group, the reason why we have that is because the people who are in Fedra in Kansas City pushed all of the horde out over the last few years, pushed them out to this area that Joel and this and his group and Kathleen are all walking by and happened to break open effectively. So they drove them all underground into the tunnels.

[00:58:37] Yeah, it's the fault of what Fedra did to clear out the city of Kansas City of the of the cordyceps infection that has caused this. So another again, another realistic ish thing that can happen, you know. So you probably wouldn't have hordes and hordes of the infected sitting around everybody everywhere waiting in pockets because they probably would have killed everybody in that city anyway. So I really like that attention to detail. This isn't a show that's taking place a year or a couple of months after the outbreak. We saw a bit of that in the first episode.

[00:59:07] It's taking place 20 years afterwards, which just makes sense. So good stuff. You look at Boston. Boston had hordes of them just rolling on the ground or just actually the very first one we see is the one that has been plastered to a wall and has grown to become part of the wall. Yeah. And they were like, OK, yes, that wasn't there the last time they used it, which was a couple of years ago. But you see the impact of just that. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Good stuff. Yeah. Love that scene.

[00:59:38] Love those moments with Kathleen. I thought it was a really big moment for the characters. Again, there's a really big reason why they have those scenes in there. So, John, do you want to continue on for the rest of the synopsis? Sure. Three months later, Joel and Ellie finally reach Tommy. He's living in a working commune in Wyoming called Jackson with his new wife, Maria. Joel wants to offload Ellie on Tommy as he fears he is too old to protect her.

[01:00:05] But Ellie pleads with him to continue to the Firefly scientists in the University of Colorado because she would be terrified with anyone else. They find the university deserted as the scientists have moved on to Utah. But as they leave, Joel and Ellie are attacked by a group of raiders. Joel kills one of them, but is severely wounded in the encounter. Ellie gets him to safety, but the situation is dire.

[01:00:30] Despite Joel telling her to leave and go back to Tommy, Ellie takes inspiration from the memory of her girlfriend Riley. Live every minute, no matter how long you have, and she finds a needle and thread to stop Joel's bleeding. As Ellie nurses Joel back to health, she hunts a deer and encounters David and James from a nearby town. She agrees to trade some food with David in exchange for penicillin to treat Joel, but David has an ulterior motive.

[01:01:00] The raider that Joel killed in the university was a member of David's town, and they hunt him down to punish him. David takes Ellie for himself, but the rest of his raiders are killed by the injured Joel as he seeks out Ellie. But she fights back herself and escapes David's clutches, murdering him when he reveals his true intentions to her. Covered in blood, Ellie falls into the arms of Joel, who tells her, I've got you baby girl, and takes her to safety.

[01:01:28] After their long journey from Boston, Ellie and Joel finally arrive in Utah, where they are captured by fireflies. As Joel awakes, Marlene explains that Ellie is getting prepped for surgery. The firefly scientists believe they can get to the root of her immunity and create an antidote to save the world, but it will cost Ellie her life. Unwilling to lose her, Joel kills them all, including Marlene, and takes the unconscious Ellie to safety.

[01:01:58] As Ellie wakes up, Joel lies to her, saying she wasn't actually the key to the cure. The scientists have many other subjects to test on. Ellie acknowledges Joel's lie to her as they end their journey in Jackson. Ah yes, the acknowledgement. This is the one. This is the question. Does she believe Joel? Nope. I know we just talked about it in the last episode. We did.

[01:02:28] I know we've spoken at length, but it's just such a good one. It sets up perfectly for season two, but it is going to be like a minimum of like 18 months plus before we get season two. So I think we can... It will be discussed on the internet for a while. Well, I suppose what's so interesting about it is it's exactly the same way as the game ended,

[01:02:51] and the game had no possibility of a sequel and almost seven years between the first game and the release of the second game. So while this now looks like a potential cliffhanger, and I would say most of the speculation of does she believe him or not, is probably coming from people who play the game and know exactly what that, yeah, okay, Joel, actually means at the end of the episode. Unfortunately, the second game is out there.

[01:03:14] So if you don't want to be spoiled about the second season, don't find out what people are speculating will happen in the second season because everybody knows. Don't get spoiled if you can possibly avoid it. If you want to get spoiled, play the game rather than seeing what people are saying on the internet about what happens in the second game. Yes, don't play golf. I don't get that, but I'm assuming it's a game reference because I am going to be that guy. There's no way I can wait.

[01:03:39] I'm going to play the game, Last of Us Part 2, some point in 2023, just so I don't get spoiled. I think it's what, like a 25-hour main front-to-back story plus probably double that with the amount of death. We'll see. I think I'm about halfway through it again and played it for about 12 hours in the last couple of weeks since the series ended. So I think I'm about halfway through the game. So yeah, probably about 25 hours.

[01:04:08] But it is an interesting ending to the show. There is a bit of a time jump between season one and season two. So this isn't – when we say cliffhanger, it's not like it's going to start the next season with Joel turning around and going, Hang on a second. Did you believe what I said? So it's not that kind of cliffhanger. It's more how does their relationship develop in a second season if this is how they ended their relationship in the first season. So there is that.

[01:04:35] But before that, the previous two episodes, episode seven and eight, had so much going on there, so much motivation that pushed Joel and Ellie to where they become or where they end in the final episode in episode nine. I love the agency that Ellie has herself to save herself in the moment when she's dealing with David. She is competent.

[01:05:01] She is able to take care of herself and is able to get herself out of the situation. I love that choice that they have because the traditional choice, especially in this – I think you've talked about this phrase many times, Chris, the lone wolf and cub storylines. The absolute story is the lone wolf being Joel is the one that protects the cub and then eventually pushes them out to go and live their life on their own. That's not this story. This story is Joel thinks he's the one that needs to protect Ellie. Ellie protects herself.

[01:05:31] She becomes the one that is self-actualized by being able to deal with any comers. She's always been feisty. She's always been able to react to other people by this, by that change in episode eight, the things she has to deal with on her own. She's going to survive this herself. So I do love that kind of part of the storyline. But she is broken at the start of episode nine, the big moments that we all loved as gamers, seeing the giraffes come out,

[01:06:01] which calms Ellie down a bit and sets her back to a bit of normality after the trauma that she's gone through, I think still works really well in the show, as well as it did when we had the traumatic experience of playing that for about 40 hours, trying to get through one of the most difficult segments of the game. Finally seeing this moment of lightness with the giraffes was really cool. So I loved that that still worked in the TV show as well. It did. It did.

[01:06:28] I did ask you, what about the giraffes? I keep hearing about giraffes. It pays off even in the show. I think my exact response to Chris when he asked about that in like episode three or four off mic, he asked me about it and I went, you're not supposed to know about the giraffes. You only know about them from memes on the internet from people who've played the game. So stop asking. If it works, it works. If you keep looking for them, it won't work for you. It has to work.

[01:06:57] And I was looking in every episode going, wait, are we going to get giraffes? It's like, ooh, snow giraffes. Are we going to get like the woody jacket? No, no, no. And it works perfectly. And once again, it's more of a character moment. It's not like you're going hunting giraffes or anything like that or giraffes are attacking you. It's much more of a character moment and a character building moment for these two wonderful central characters in Joe and Ali. So love that. Oh my God, attack giraffes. That would be so cool. Pretty sure you could just hide under their belly maybe.

[01:07:26] No, they can get their heads under their belly. Yes, they can. And they use their necks as weapons against each other. I'd be pretty terrified standing underneath an animal that size. But that is not this show. No matter how much you want to push it in there, Chris, you've asked for cordyceps, giraffes, and now attack giraffes. I don't think we're going to get that in season two. Battle giraffes. I know, but you put a big saddle on them. It would be great. Oh my goodness.

[01:07:48] I could see you as an ancient king harnessing, domesticating the giraffes for military purposes. Exactly. Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, I think, you know, I thought the ending was great. I thought it was really a cherry on top because of it not being as such the happy ending in a personal way in terms of this relationship.

[01:08:17] You know, it's been through those ups and downs. And you have here this moment of distrust creeping back in effectively because Ellie consents that Joel's telling a big porcupine effectively. And, you know, it's also, as you say, to the growth of Ellie.

[01:08:41] And, I mean, again, I think one of the other great episodes is her flashback, her memory of Riley. Absolutely. And you see how much, you know, the references to her, whether it's the Mortal Kombat console, because you see them playing Mortal Kombat.

[01:08:59] And I think that, you know, the connection of survival that she has and what impacts her to stay with Joel. All the puns that keep her happy. All the puns. Exactly. All come from Riley as well. And it's really good. And in Kansas City, where she says she has killed someone, you know, you can sense it in this moment, even though we don't see it.

[01:09:26] And to me, it's up there with the Bill and Frank episode. That one as, again, that really carefully crafted sidestep in this world adds to Ellie as a character, which actually is really important because of that final episode.

[01:09:46] And with what she goes through in episode eight with Dave and James's crew at the lakeside town. So I think, you know, it really adds to that. It's also, you know, I'm really pleased we get to see Tommy back and Gabriel Luna. I really enjoyed him at the start.

[01:10:15] And again, it's good to have him back here in episode seven, six or seven, I think it was. Seven, I think it was. And have that dynamic coming in because that's where you get to learn a bit more about Joel. I just remember that line where he says, these things we did, we murdered people, you know.

[01:10:38] And that's when you start to really hear and see that, you know, Joel has a ruthless, very ruthless side to him. As you were saying, the reason why probably most of these people, including the elderly first people couple in the hut have survived is because they've got a good ruthless streak. And, you know, inside of them.

[01:11:06] But you even hear that from Tommy's wife, Maria, saying, you know, that's the story she's heard about Joel as well. She's telling Ellie, you can't trust him because of the things he's done. And Ellie rightly responds, well, so did Tommy. He did those too. And you forgave him, right? So love that exploration. Love those ideas of what Joel had done in the past. You saw little flashes of it earlier on in the season so that it prepares you in some way for how brutal and how violent he's going to get in that final episode.

[01:11:32] When the choice is save Ellie or the world, it's going to be save Ellie for Joel. And the other side of this, certainly from that episode where they reach Jackson, is just the level of tension that Craig Mason provides and the directors and the writers provide by not showing the infected.

[01:11:56] Because this was one where, because of the warning from the couple, the elderly couple in the cabin about that's the river of death, don't cross over and all that. And, you know, it's just, it's the power of those words. It's the kind of the snowy silence as well.

[01:12:18] And just there was a level of tension in that episode where I was expecting something to jump from, you know, the forest or, you know, what, how was Jackson going to be defended? Or would there be some kind of attack or some issue around Jackson that just layered in sort of the unknown tension? Yeah. I mean, I thought they pulled it off really well. Did a great job.

[01:12:48] Did a great job. Similarly at the University of Colorado, you know, and also with David and James's crew. Yeah. And it's interesting, isn't it? You know, we have said, you know, obviously it is an action game. It is an action adventure game with a lot of story in it, you know, but what they've stripped out are those first person shooter bits. And really, when you're playing the game, it's only two or three infected that you're fighting against. And that encounter can take a couple of hours, you know, to get through.

[01:13:18] So by stripping those elements out and focusing on the story, that is a great story to focus on. And it did such a good job bringing this to the screen. You know, you're not even in the game. You're not focused on the just the encounters that you have. Those are things you just want to get past to continue the story. So I like that they cut a lot of those out and kept them in the show sparingly.

[01:13:42] So there's still the tension in the background of what could happen to you if you go off the path, if you get lost, if you go into a place that is infested. But these are people who have spent 20 years avoiding places like that. So it makes a lot of sense when you don't see them on screen. So I think that's a good job. Any final thoughts on the episode, guys? Anything else that you wanted to bring up? Thanks very much for the synopsis, John. That took us through all the episodes of the show. But anything else you wanted to bring up about the show overall?

[01:14:08] I just want to say I would give the show five mushroom risottos out of five. I mean, just as a rating, you know. Similarly, you know, with other shows that we've covered, it really was great. Just the construction of it, the storytelling, the investment that you had with these characters and their situation.

[01:14:35] And even the peripheral, you know, in inverted commas, characters that came in for one or two episodes. It was just really, really well crafted. And I really enjoyed it. For me, it's just one part we haven't discussed. And it's a very quick detail is what I saw in some of the kind of more online pieces, which was the visual effects. So like the giraffe scene where everyone was like, it's not a real giraffe. It was a real giraffe. And blue screened around.

[01:15:05] Like the clickers and the cordyceps and the little tendrils we talked about, even in the very first episode coming out of Granny's mouth. Yeah. Or the tendrils that kind of kissed into Tess and she snogged the hell out of the infected. I think the infected snogged the hell out of her. Yeah, either. Potato, tomato. Probably consent there. Yes. Consent is key. I just, they were great.

[01:15:35] Like they weren't phoned in. And I know it's a small thing, but it did add to the realism and the overall quality. Absolutely. And you could have just had it, like you could have phoned it in. You could have, not phoned it in, but I wouldn't expect it from HBO, but it could have happened where they just didn't look great. But overall, like top notch. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

[01:15:56] And I'd highly recommend the, I know it's only half an hour, but I highly recommend the making of that go into a lot of detail behind all the elements that they brought into the show and all the, all the visual effects work that they did, the stunt work that they did. And it's all very interesting because there's actually a lot of stuff that was replaced by visual effects that was on set.

[01:16:14] So for example, the scene we talked about earlier on with the bloater and the, the young kid who's a small clicker who were talking about the fact that she is a, she is a contortionist. But they completely rebuilt her in the digital world, in visual effects so that they could do some extra things that even her as a contortionist couldn't do to make her even more creepy. So they did have the performance on set. Of course, that's the reference point.

[01:16:40] And they expanded on that using visual effects, which is, which is excellent as well. So, uh, such a great job on all of that throughout the season. So, um, yeah, really looking forward to some more of, uh, of the last of us, uh, when we get to, uh, when we get to the next season, it is really interesting because I know everybody is really happy with the show. I know Craig Mason is really interested in the show and Neil Druckmann's really looking forward to telling the rest of the story and maybe moving on to, uh, the last of us part three at some point in the future.

[01:17:07] And in, in terms of games, but this is going to be a finite story. This will definitely only be a few seasons of, uh, of a HBO show. This will not be something I think, uh, that'll have lots of spinoffs and it'll go on for the next 20 years. It feels like a show that has, uh, everybody that's involved wants to tell the best story possible and to do it in the shortest time period. So maybe, uh, two more seasons to cover, uh, the last of us part two. And if the last of us part three is already in development, then maybe we'll get another season or two to cover that.

[01:17:37] In the future, but that could be quite a while away. So, uh, yes. Yeah. Very much looking forward to, uh, to getting back to the last of us in a couple of years time. Yes. And it will be a couple of years because currently Craig Mason is working on post-production of Borderlands. Uh, the video game turned, uh, now movie slash T I think it's a TV show, but don't quote me. That seems like a weird fit for, for Craig Mason. Yeah. This one is even weirder.

[01:18:08] Cowboy Ninja Viking. Okay. Yep. That is another one he's working on. And then finally, Craig Mason is writing the new untitled Pirates of the Caribbean project. Well, there you go. There you go. All in production at the moment. I know that, uh, Bella Ramsey has spoken about it, uh, in interviews saying there's a possibility they will start filming, uh, from June or July of this year. Um, Neil Druckmann has said they've already started breaking the story for, uh, for part two.

[01:18:35] So, um, given how popular it is, we, we may have to only wait a two year gap like we used to with Game of Thrones. Um, so I'm hoping that they'll clear the decks and, uh, and come out with, uh, with a great second season of the show, uh, pretty soon. Great stuff. Thanks for that, guys. Thanks for running through season one. I'm sure we'll be, we'll all be talking about it, uh, without the mics in front of us the next time we, uh, we all meet up in person again. So, uh, yeah, so to our fellow survivors, keep sending in your thoughts about the show.

[01:19:04] We'd love to hear if you're catching up on the show, if you're coming, um, coming at it a bit later than, than most of the people I'm watching the whole of the season. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Email us to feedback at tvpodcastindustries.com with your thoughts about the season. Yes, yes, yes. Please do. Now, gents, we did ask for some reviews as part of our, as an optional extra entry for those who, uh, wanted to, uh, give a review for an extra entry on the, uh, the, the pub quiz.

[01:19:34] But, I thought it'd be nice to read them out. Some really nice ones. That's not just those who kind of put in for an extra entry. Some people just gave lovely reviews in general. So, we just thought, yeah, let's read some of these out because they are just really nice. It's a nice way to end our coverage of this show. Absolutely. Yeah, it was really nice to hear, uh, just some of the feedback that we got. And even just in emails to us, um, over the, of course, the last couple of weeks. Lots of, uh, lots of great thoughts about, uh, about our Last of Us coverage.

[01:20:01] Um, Jesse Fieros says, I've been loving the coverage of the show as well as others. First time entering a pub quiz. Can't wait for your coverage of The Boys. Uh, yeah, The Boys season four coming up later this year. And The Boys spin-off show. Uh, another show that we're going to be covering. Um, later on this year as well. So, uh, so thanks, Jesse. Yeah, thanks so much, Jesse. And of course, there will be a pub quiz for The Boys. There probably will, yeah. We have done for all the previous seasons. That's true. That's true. So, um, you can enter into that as well. Yeah. Great stuff. The bot quiz. Yes. The bot quiz.

[01:20:31] They're the corporate sponsor. We all bring in the corporate sponsor now. That's how we do it. That's it. Next up, we also have some, uh, a review from Justine Lara-Millar, who had this to say. Thank you for doing this, guys. I love the positive energy and excitement you bring when you do podcast recordings on some of my favorite shows this year, like The Bad Batch and The Last of Us. You guys are a breath of fresh air in the podcast scene. Keep up the awesome work. Thanks, Justine.

[01:20:58] And we've said this before for those who kind of, we talk about this quite often. We really only podcast the stuff that we want to podcast them on about. There's enough negativity out in the world. There's enough negative podcasts. What's the point in being another one now that we will talk about? We always look for silver lining, even if it's sometimes we don't enjoy an episode or things like that. Overall, we will always bring the positive sunshine rays where possible. Hopefully a breath of fresh air.

[01:21:27] Yeah, even if we were just to do shows that we like and want to podcast about, there's still too many of those anyway. So we tend to look at shows that we're going to enjoy all of. Absolutely. So thanks so much, Justine. Yeah, thanks, Justine. Glad you're also listening to The Bad Batch as well. That is certainly kicking off as well. Well, it's almost finished. Towards the end. It's really getting good. So yeah, thanks again, Justine. Philippe Gorgel says,

[01:21:56] fellow friends, keep podcasting. If you're looking for a podcast that's both friendly and positive, and that delves into the latest TV shows and movies, then you should definitely check out TV Podcast Industries. This podcast is the perfect antidote to all the negativity that can sometimes surround fandoms, as the hosts always manage to find the bright side of things. One thing that sets TV Podcast Industries apart from other podcasts in this genre is how friendly and welcoming the hosts are.

[01:22:24] They're genuinely interested in sharing their love for TV and comics with as many people as possible. TVPI is definitely a podcast you should check out. Keep watching, keep podcasting, and we will keep listening. Nice. Excellent stuff, Philippe. Yes. I'm so glad you're listening to us. And again, I think, you know, like with Justine, thanks for sort of spotting that, you know,

[01:22:50] we definitely want to have positive spins on stuff. I mean, you know, creative writers, the directors, the production staff, the actors, you name it, they, you know, they certainly aren't setting out to do something bad at all. Certainly given, I guess, the contracts and the money involved amongst other things.

[01:23:14] But I mean, you know, if it doesn't work and it doesn't hit, you know, I guess that's one of those bits of gold dust that you just can't necessarily foresee or you can't account for in the business that is TV. So, I mean, even if we don't like things, which luckily that hasn't been too many. Well, we've cancelled a few podcasts. We have cancelled a few.

[01:23:42] Then, you know, it's generally whilst we might say, yeah, we didn't like it. We still look for the good stuff that we can pick over from that corpse, I guess. Well, of an episode. Of an episode. Usually the whole season combined tends to work out. Or movie. Mainly it's been a movie and certain episodes. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We have covered a couple of shows that we absolutely adored and didn't get past the first season as well.

[01:24:11] You know, that's the other side of it. There's definitely three that come to mind that didn't get second seasons, even though they were stunning shows, just didn't get enough people watching them. So, that can happen as well. Thanks, Philippe. Yeah, I completely agree. And thank you for definitely pulling in the keep watching, keep podcasting, keep listening because it's always a nice... It means you actually do care. Absolutely. Yeah. We're not going to stop podcasting anytime soon. It will take a miracle to stop me talking. Yeah, there you go.

[01:24:41] Let's be honest. Next up, we have a review from Clyde Wheeler who had this to say, these guys obviously have a passion for genre TV and do in-depth dives into quite a few shows. I don't watch all the shows they review, but really do enjoy their coverage of the Marvel shows and The Last of Us. Thanks, gentlemen. No problem, Clyde. Yes, Marvels are bread and butter because I love it. God, I love it. And Secret Invasion's coming in June. So good. Yes.

[01:25:10] Got that news yesterday and I'm so excited. Yes, it wasn't even announced. I went on to my Disney Plus account and saw a date attached to it because I kind of check it pretty often because I'm a Nick Fury fan. Can't wait for the show to come out. And saw it on my account that Secret Invasion's coming 21st of June. I booked it into Chris's diary so that he knew exactly when that was going. Well, I guess they're going all espionage on us as it is Marvel's James Bond. There you go. Covert. With Nick Fury, I guess. Yes, yes. That version of Nick Fury was inspired by James Bond.

[01:25:39] I know you might think that you're slagging me, but you're not. In space. Not in space. Good stuff. Thanks so much, Clyde. Yep. Thank you so much, Clyde. Kevin Coyle also sent his thoughts in. He says, I'm a huge fan of every single one of your podcasts. I'm constantly recommending you to all of my co-workers. You all deserve a rating of five Grandpa's Werther's Originals out of five. I realize that I'm now committed to dishing out 15 Werther's Originals, but you are all definitely worth it, Derek John and Chris. Your New York admirer from across the pond, Kevin. Excellent, Kevin.

[01:26:09] Thank you. I love Werther's Originals. Yes, you picked Derek's favorite suite. Yes. I love the precursors. He sits back with his slippers and his dressing gown. I was going to say, his 70-year-old. Sucking on a few Werther's Originals. So I reckon all 15 of those would go straight into Derek's mouth. There are more the suites that I like when I'm traveling. Because I'm a big suite fan.

[01:26:37] I like pretty much anything, but Werther's Originals are the ones I like to have on me when I'm traveling. So when you're sat in the armchair by the fireplace, you think you're traveling somewhere, do you? Well, the chair moves up and down, John. There's a recliner, after all. Good stuff. Thanks so much, Kevin. Well, it's really good to hear your feedback and your thoughts about the podcast as well. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks so much, Kevin. Yes. Thank you so much, Kevin.

[01:27:01] And who knows, if we ever make it back to New York Comic Con, in my case, we'll definitely shout. We would love to drag you over to New York Comic Con with us at some point, Chris. Definitely. Finally, Bullet Hole gave us a five-star review and said, I've listened to these guys for a few years now and try to catch every episode. Over the years, they have also recommended shows that I would not have watched, but now are some of my favorites.

[01:27:28] I love that I can listen at work in the office with no fear of bad or offensive language. Very entertaining, like meeting up with three mates in the pub and talking about TV shows and films that we all like. Like, yes, excellent stuff. Thank you so much, Bullet Hole. It's very nice of you. It really is. And I guess, yeah, it is great that we just have that kind of matey sort of chit-chat about us, actually.

[01:27:57] The profanity police, i.e. Derek, is the one you have to thank mostly for that. There you go. Because myself and John, every now and again, just slip up or purposely put something in. Give me an extra editing task. Yes, exactly. Just keeping him on his toes and in practice. Exactly. If we were perfect, no one would listen and you would get bored, Derek. Yeah.

[01:28:25] I make you as perfect as I can with editing. But no, thanks so much, Bullet Hole. Well, yeah, the idea that it feels like you're in a pub, mate, is great because basically this was our virtual pub for about six years before COVID. And then was our virtual pub during COVID and has been our virtual pub since COVID. So this is exactly what we do when we meet up. So great that it comes across like that as well. And when we do meet up in a pub or each other's homes, then I guess it does get slightly more sweary. It does, yes. Yes.

[01:28:55] Possibly shouty, although that could be the music in the bar. And definitely more alcohol. And definitely more alcohol. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. Good stuff. Thanks so much to everybody for sharing your reviews and feedback. Some of those are just literally emails to our email inbox over the last couple of weeks just talking about the show and the coverage of The Last of Us. Thanks so much. I'm so glad you all enjoyed our coverage of The Last of Us. Another show that I've really enjoyed watching and I think we've all enjoyed talking about. Definitely. So, yeah, really glad that we put that on the schedule.

[01:29:23] And remember, it was suggested by our listeners that we were going to cover that because it wasn't on our schedule originally. We already had two shows that we were going to cover in January and February and we squeezed it in alongside the other shows that we were covering. So, I'm delighted we did. Yes, definitely. Especially because we got to see Pedro Pascal's face. Yes. Because at the moment we just hear his voice in The Mandalorian. But that is the way. What can we do? Another show we're not covering, unfortunately.

[01:29:49] We are covering The Bad Batch every week, which finishes up this week with the final two episodes, the second season of the show. It's been really, really good. Actually, it's almost weird. It's like as if when it was paired side by side with The Mandalorian coming back, they left all these excellent stories that they've been putting on. It's like this perfect connection to The Mandalorian. You watch that and then The Bad Batch or watch The Bad Batch and then The Mandalorian some weeks because sometimes I really prefer them up to The Bad Batch, to be honest. Well, controversial as it may sound.

[01:30:19] And I do like The Mandalorian. I do think I've been enjoying The Bad Batch a little more the last few weeks. And the other side of that is, I think it was you that mentioned it, saying, yes, they really need to have The Mandalorian as a GPS voice where they go, this is the way. Take a left. This is the way. It would work, wouldn't it? It would work.

[01:30:49] It would actually. It would. You were on the right way to get there. This is the way. There you go. Good stuff. Thank you so much for joining us for our coverage of The Last of Us. To you guys as well, of course, John and Chris. Why, thank you, sir. All three of us here for that show. We will, of course, be back with The Bad Batch. We are also continuing our coverage of Star Trek Picard, the final season. A couple more episodes of that season to go as well. And then we will continue on with loads and loads more the rest of the year in 2023. 2023.

[01:31:18] So if you're looking for the full list of that, you can just pop on over to our website at tvpodcastindustries.com. Our wrap up and preview of 2023 comes out, came out at the start of the year, and there's a list of everything that we're going to be covering this year. Pretty much. Yeah. At least everything we know so far that we're going to be covering. Definitely. Exactly. And if you like what you hear and you want to support us, you can head on over to patreon.com slash tvpodcastindustries. And you can support us for an ongoing monthly amount that you choose.

[01:31:46] And we will very much like it and thank you for it because it helps keep the engine running, the podcast servers going, and the lights on. Beyond that, you can want to just give us a one-off donation. Of course, you can support us that way too by heading to buymeacoffee.com slash tvpi where you can buy Derek a coffee as he edits into the wee hours of each and every night. But you don't want to do that? Can't do that?

[01:32:16] No problem. Why not leave us a review? Because it's important. It gets the word out there. And the more five stars, the better. Because it's all about discoverability. And more people hearing our beautiful dulcet tones in their ears. Don't want to do that? Don't worry. Why not just share the podcast? Because sharing the podcast is what, gentlemen? It is, of course, sharing the love. Yes, of course.

[01:32:44] Especially if you want to go and share that love by killing an entire building full of people and a doctor and leaving the nurses alive. That's another way you can share the love. We don't recommend it, but it is a way you can. Yes, let's not do that. No. But thank you so much, fellow survivors, for joining us. We do hope you are listening on as we cover The Bad Batch and Star Trek Picard.

[01:33:13] And, of course, I cannot wait till Season 2 of The Last of Us. Get yourselves in gear. HBO is all I can say. But in the meantime, of course, keep watching, keep listening, and keep surviving. Yes, and huge congratulations as well. Again, to Kevin Coyle, who won our Last of Us World's End pub quiz. And we'll be getting a copy of The Last of Us Part 1 on PS5 or PC. We'd love to hear your thoughts when you're playing through that as well, Kevin. I'll be in contact very soon.

[01:33:43] Yeah. Great stuff, Kevin. Yes. Congratulations, Kevin. And thank you for everyone for listening. We'll speak to you again soon. Bye. Bye. Bye. And that's the end of this story.