Jelena Gorbaciova

I really wanted to like this show, but I can't. The live adaptation of the game is just a powerpoint summary, not a story. Firstly, I've really enjoyed the original TLoU game. It had a brilliantly paced storytelling. High-stakes fights against truly terrifying and dangerous enemies was followed by heartfelt quiet moments that focused on character development. As the story evolved, so did Joel and Ellie. I don't have enough words to praise the stellar performance by the motion-capture actors, especially Troy Baker as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie. The TV show is just bland. There is no human connection to the charracters and I couldn't care less about their fate. The plot jums from one cut scene to the next without giving the viewer any real substance. The only impressive thing is that it somehow manages to be both rushed and dragged out at the same time. After a the first 5 episodes I thought to myself that maybe it's just the nostalgia that I'm clinging on, so I went back and rewatched the analogous scenes from the game. And I cried, just like I did when I played the game. The actors performance, the camera angles, the strategic pauses and accents, all of it is just much better. I was ready to welcome any changes as long as they enriched TLoU story, or at least held on to the essence. But instead I got a dry and lifeless summary of the events with rather uninteresting 'protagonists'.