Family Style Network

 This week's episode was a breather from all the darkness and heartbreak to establish the beginning of the relationship between Joel and Ellie. This connection will be key for the rest of the darkness and heartbreak to come for the rest of the season.  This episode gave us a lot of scenes that came directly from the game. Ellie looking at the porn magazine in the truck is shot for shot the same. Joel is frozen in fear when she asks "Why are the pages stuck together" this was a great moment of levity. Bella Ramsey continues to crush it as Ellie. Bella has locked into this character and it is a pleasure to see her continue developing her own spin while honoring Ashley Johnson's take in the games. Just cause the episode was a breather, doesn't mean it didn't have any action. Another scene from the game is when the truck crashes into the laundromat. One change is Ellie saves Joel from the last hunter instead of him killing each one. I'm curious what the payoff...

 This might sound like a fanboy opinion because I made it pretty clear in the first review of this show that I was a big fan of the video games but we really are in the midst of something special. This episode really cemented that idea for me. It is the biggest deviation from the games but it also confirmed some things for the fans of the games and gave newcomers 2 characters to fall in love with and that's what the games and show have always been about, Love.  We never got to meet Frank while he was alive in the games. You come across him and a suicide note while searching for supplies and that's it. You meet Bill and he helps you get into a vehicle so that the journey west can begin. There was a scene in the game where Bill mentions his partner, Frank and I always got the impression that he was more to Bill than just a business partner and now I have that feeling confirmed. Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett took the lead this week and gave us an instant classic of the series...

 The Last Of Us delivered another thrilling episode. Introducing us to the clickers for the first time. Seeing clickers on the screen was even more horrifying than in the game. The practical effects on the actors were incredible; they even brought back the actors who created the noises for the clickers. The Last Of Us also added some more lore about how the pandemic started with a cold opening set in Indonesia. I loved how they added this and the talk show opening in the first episode to really explain and deep dive into how this all started. It was never really explained well in the games so I hope they continue this as we go deeper into the season. Another major change the show has made is that the infected have tendrils inside their mouths instead of spores you can breathe in. They also added how the tendrils act as tree roots for the infected to figure out where people may be hiding which would have been really cool to have in the game so hopefully, if they make another ga...

 Just as a fair warning to everyone each review will contain spoilers so if you haven't watched the episode maybe come back to this once you have. I'll try not to bias with these reviews but that was a great start to the season. As a huge fan of the games I was worried about scenes like Sarah's death not hitting the same as they did when I played the game but it turns out that it won't be a problem going forward.  I think my favorite part so far is how Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin were able to add more context and expand on scenes from the games. For example, the scene where Sarah goes to get Joel's watch fixed for his birthday is maybe nothing but it wasn't shown in the game so it was just a nice little expansion that I enjoyed. Fans of the game shouldn't worry though, I had plenty of moments throughout the episode where I was like that Leonardo Dicaprio meme where he is pointing at the tv. The episode was very faithful to the opening of the game. They ob...