The Sword and Laser discussion

Episode 1 is very faithful to the Playstation game of the same name.

We spend a bit longer with Sarah than in the game (view spoiler)[obviously to get us to connect with the character before they Ned Stark her. (hide spoiler)]

I have high hopes for this series, as they are getting on with the story and not getting bogged down in too much exposition.

We have a brief section before and during the outbreak. Then straight into the world 20 years later. You don't need to be shown how we got to here. You get what is going on immediately.

Fungus "Zombies" still inhabit the areas outside the walls and the government troops have gone full martial law.

So far it's a 9/10 for Ep .1.

I only started the game last week and am only slightly ahead of where we end the pilot. I may hold off the game to avoid spoilers for the TV show.

I have high hopes for this series. Nice to see Bella Ramsey AKA Lady Mormount again.

I thought it was a solid first episode. I did watch the “game movie” of the two games, which is a compilation of the cutscenes with a few story-centric player bits, and I quite like how Mazin and Druckman have adapted it.

In the first game it’s all Joel all the time, so you don’t get to see other points of view. Expanding those roles really makes it feel much bigger. Plus, they spent a lot of money on it. Those CGI bits with explosions and crashes and planes flying overhead looked really good. And that driving scene from inside the truck is straight out of the game, but the seamless coordination of that was super impressive. The degree of difficulty for that is max level.

At some point I was thinking, “Wow, they really did a great job matching the actors to the game sprites,” and it turns out some of them voiced characters in the game. Most notably the actress who plays Marlene.

Kind of like how they got the actress who voiced Cortana in Halo to play her for the Halo TV series. Too bad Mazin didn’t do that one, too. He’s a big gamer, which he and John August talk about frequently on their podcast Script Notes.

I was surprised that both of the teen girls are actually British. Decent American accents, although Joel’s daughter was better. Dang foreigners taking Murican jobs.

I didn't remember much of the game as it had been years, but enjoyed the first episode. I wondered if it was too soon after Covid, (view spoiler)[especially with the opening 1968 discussions on "global pandemic" wars.. (hide spoiler)].... but I get emotional still about covid, so that could be me.

Trike wrote: "I was surprised that both of the teen girls are actually British. Decent American accents, although Joel’s daughter was better."

Sarah (aka Nico Parker) is Thandie Newton's daughter. You can see the resemblance.

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as mentioned above by Stephen made her name in "Game of Thrones"

Joel is Chilean. Tess is Australian. Are there any Americans playing Americans? 😉

HBO likes to recycle actors from previous HBO series.

Tassie Dave wrote: "Trike wrote: "I was surprised that both of the teen girls are actually British. Decent American accents, although Joel’s daughter was better."

Sarah (aka Nico Parker) is Thandie Newton's daughter...."

I really Like Bella Ramsey. She was a scene stealer in GOT.
I am not famaliar with the game, but I really enjoyed this first episode.

Ohhh… I wondered why Bella Ramsey looked familiar. She was that badass genius kid who ran her own house in GoT.

Trike wrote: "Ohhh… I wondered why Bella Ramsey looked familiar. She was that badass genius kid who ran her own house in GoT."

Yeah, she was freaking awesome!

Slightly off-topic, but Bella Ramsey is also good in the film Catherine Called Birdy.

HBO has a companion podcast as well with Troy Baker as host, Mazin and Druckman.

Steve wrote: "Slightly off-topic, but Bella Ramsey is also good in the film Catherine Called Birdy."

I wanted to see that !

I loved the first episode but something that really annoys me is the spores. I don't care about it being accurate to the VG I just care that it makes no sense at all and makes the zombies a lot less scary. What was the point of the wall zombie without spores and they can just burn bodies without consequences

I'm happy to accept the change. I'm sure it's to do with the basic issue of it being hard to tell who is who when everyone is wearing a mask. If they can remove that challenge and still tell the story they want, then why not?
Plus, one flaw of the games (it didn't bug me a huge amount, but a little) was the whole 'spores be here and definitely not over there' attitude, where they all seemed way too comfy removing their masks, 100% confident that whatever insignificant barrier they'd passed would keep them safe. So, I think dropping that aspect is fine.

Just watched the second episode, and am amazed at how fantastically they are adapting this. No spoilers but THAT scene (you'll know when you'd seen it) was SO scary and tense, and I've completed the game multple times so hadn't expected to react like that. The changes so far make sense to me as benefitting the medium, and the performances so far - incredibly spot on!

Christos wrote: "I loved the first episode but something that really annoys me is the spores. I don't care about it being accurate to the VG I just care that it makes no sense at all and makes the zombies a lot les..."

I only watched the game movie, but I never could figure out the spores. It was like they were concentrated rather than everywhere, which didn’t make sense in some instances. But that’s video games for you.

Video game logic is easy to handwave away, because of the way the numbers work. In City of Heroes it is far more damaging to get punched with a fist than to be shot with a missile. In Halo rockets and grenades only hurt the other team and you, not your teammates.

So changing that sort of thing for TV makes sense.

It’s kind of like having a no-peeing section in a swimming pool. Works really well I’m sure.

They have to have 'no spores" sections or the actors would have to wear masks all the time.

Imagine watching a show where you never got to see Pedro's pretty face for a whole season. 😉 (and most of the 2nd season.)

I can live with a few gaming conventions being used. Of course the science doesn't work with fungus zombies, but I can let it go for the sake of a good story.

In a game that has fungus controlled zombies, society collapsing etc, the most unbelievable thing I've seen so far in this show was in Ep. 4.

20 years after the outbreak, Joel siphons petrol (Gasoline) out of a car and pours it into his ute (truck) and drives away.

Anyone who has tried to put 2 year old petrol (gasoline) into a whipper snipper (weed whacker) or lawn mower (lawn mower) knows that it is hit or miss if you can get the machine to start and if it does, it runs like a dog. Try 3 year old petrol and you've no hope of getting it started. 20 years, no way.

^ My favorite part of The Walking Dead was the well manicured lawns, several years into the Zombie Apocalypse.

Tassie Dave wrote: "In a game that has fungus controlled zombies, society collapsing etc, the most unbelievable thing I've seen so far in this show was in Ep. 4.

20 years after the outbreak, Joel siphons petrol (Gasoline) out of a car and pours it into his ute (truck) and drives away."

My motorcycle sat for about 7 years and the gas in the tank basically turned to varnish. Gas will last maybe 3 years, 5 if conditions are right, but yeah, not 20

There’s also an on-screen title in ep. 3 that says, “10 miles west of Boston” that clearly shows massive mountains. 😂 If you’re 10 miles west of downtown Boston, you’re still in Boston.

Even assuming they’re referring to the far western outskirts of the city, which is West Roxbury, there aren’t any mountains. I have friends who live in Wellesley, which is roughly 8-10 miles west of Roxbury… it does *not* look like the Rocky Mountains. It looks like more Boston. 🤣



Actual 10 miles west of Boston:


It’s silly, but couldn’t they have found some dilapidated neighborhood in a flat-to-slightly-hilly area to film in? I mean, they’re spending more per episode on The Last of Us than they did on Game of Thrones, fer cry. ($8-10 million versus $6 million.) They could afford to send a crew anywhere to get footage.

On another forum I frequent, I did get a feasible solution to the petrol (gas) conundrum. The FEDRA and Hunter's vehicles are, obviously, running on some recently processed fuel. It is possible that the vehicle that Joel siphons fuel from is a recently abandoned vehicle running on post-apocalyptic fuel and not 20 year old petrol (gas)

Trike wrote: "There’s also an on-screen title in ep. 3 that says, “10 miles west of Boston” that clearly shows massive mountains. 😂 If you’re 10 miles west of downtown Boston, you’re still in Boston. "

People had something to say about that geographical error.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/lat...

Apparently that picturesque landscape was filmed in Kananaskis, AB, Canada, near the Sheep River Falls. (2,000 miles west of Boston)

I’m reminded of an 80s action flick, I think starring Jean Claude Van Damme, that supposedly takes place in Chicago, but in driving scenes you can clearly see the mountains and palm trees of Los Angeles in the background.

Tassie Dave wrote: "On another forum I frequent, I did get a feasible solution to the petrol (gas) conundrum. The FEDRA and Hunter's vehicles are, obviously, running on some recently processed fuel. It is possible tha..."

Kananaskis is beautiful. I spent a weekend there with my sister at this nordic spa. We also have camped there years ago.


I have never played the game and I get some of the issues. I get it. My question is why would Joel drive right up to that city and then expect Ellie to get him through it with a map? I feel like the motto " avoid all cities" should be a thing. I kept yelling at him to back up and leave.

Trike wrote: "There’s also an on-screen title in ep. 3 that says, “10 miles west of Boston” that clearly shows massive mountains. 😂 If you’re 10 miles west of downtown Boston, you’re still in Boston.

Even assuming they’re referring to the far western outskirts of the city, which is West Roxbury, there aren’t any mountains. I have friends who live in Wellesley, which is roughly 8-10 miles west of Roxbury… it does *not* look like the Rocky Mountains. It looks like more Boston. 🤣"

Fungus, dude! It not only turns folks into zombies, but it plays pure havoc with geography too, what with the mountains cropping up out of nowhere and all that. It’s really not surprising that civilisation fell.

Boston could use some mountains

Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth wrote: "Fungus, dude! It not only turns folks into zombies, but it plays pure havoc with geography too, what with the mountains cropping up out of nowhere and all that. It’s really not surprising that civilisation fell."

Joel: “I’m Joel, this is my companion Ellie. Let us in, we are on an urgent quest to get out of Boston!”
Bill: “How are there mountains in Boston?”
Joel: “Mountains may be found in Patagonia, or Nepal, or exotic Alberta. They may be found anywhere.”
Bill: “Are you suggesting mountains migrate?”
Joel: “Perhaps, if geologic conditions were right. With the fungal infection changing all manner of things, who can say?”
Bill: “What, mountains travel on the back of a mushroom?”
Joel: “It doesn’t matter! We have urgent business!”
Bill: “Listen, the largest fungoid body covers several miles, but even that immense size pales in comparison to the trillions of tons of a single mountainous peak!”
Joel: “I’m not interested! Let us in!”
Frank: “It could be carried by an African mushroom.”
Bill: “African mushrooms aren’t migratory.”

That's the interesting thing about Massachusetts, it does turn rural fairly quickly. We lived near the New Hampshire border (50 mile drive from Boston) for a few years and they referred to me as "the kid from the city." Corn grown across the street from where we lived, apple orchard next property over.

Then I moved to Los Angeles and you could drive 50 miles and still be in LA. The endless strip mall culture gets a little wearing. Of course the endless summer is a whole lot easier on the bones than the freezing winters of New England.

Trike wrote: "Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth wrote: "Fungus, dude! It not only turns folks into zombies, but it plays pure havoc with geography too, what with the mountains cropping up out of nowhere and all that. It’s..."

Ha! It took me until African mushrooms to get the reference!

Okay, I all but screamed when I realised why that panting girl in the last episode who wasn't Bella Ramsey sounded so much like Ellie! Ashley made that role so much more emotional than anyone else could have. I bloody loved that!

She looked like an older Bella Ramsey too.

The voice actor for Joel in the game was in last weeks episode too.

Yeah, not used to seeing Ashley with brown hair, so it threw me a bit. The resemblance is a happy accident. I thought Troy did a good job on that last episode, but the role Ashley played in this felt extra special.

i enjoyed the whole season. A solid 5 stars.