S01.E02: Infected

[pezgirl7]

I’m at the point where I have to look away from the screen anytime they show the fungus or the zombies. I had no problem with the zombies on The Walking Dead, but these are triggering my trypophobia like crazy. Anyone else having this issue? Twenty minutes after the show ended, and my skin is still crawling thinking about the ones with the fungus exploding out of their heads. 😫

[Grammaeryn]

Anyone else from Boston trying to track their route? I think they walked by the Christian Science church, the flooded hotel could be the Copley Plaza. I’m of two minds on the museum - Faneuil Hall or Athenaeum. The field they ran to at the end is giving me Boston Common vibes. Ellie’s bite abandoned mall could be the Pru.

[cardigirl]

1 hour ago, Grammaeryn said:

Anyone else from Boston trying to track their route? I think they walked by the Christian Science church, the flooded hotel could be the Copley Plaza. I’m of two minds on the museum - Faneuil Hall or Athenaeum. The field they ran to at the end is giving me Boston Common vibes. Ellie’s bite abandoned mall could be the Pru.

I thought it was Faneuil Hall. Weren't they trying to get to the State house? 

[Capricasix]

7 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I’m at the point where I have to look away from the screen anytime they show the fungus or the zombies. I had no problem with the zombies on The Walking Dead, but these are triggering my trypophobia like crazy. Anyone else having this issue? Twenty minutes after the show ended, and my skin is still crawling thinking about the ones with the fungus exploding out of their heads. 😫

Oh, I can’t look at them at all 😄 I’m especially grossed out when the tendrils come out of their mouths 🤢 EWWWWW I get the creeps just writing that out! 

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, cardigirl said:

I thought it was Faneuil Hall. Weren't they trying to get to the State house? 

It was Faneuil Hall that they look down on, and see the swarm of Infected just kind of hanging out. They're walking along the I-93, I guess.

I think they double back and go through the Old State House, heading for the current State House.

[cardigirl]

17 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

It was Faneuil Hall that they look down on, and see the swarm of Infected just kind of hanging out. They're walking along the I-93, I guess.

I think they double back and go through the Old State House, heading for the current State House.

You're correct. The museum, which the OP asked about, is not a "real" place. This article explains it.  

But it was interesting to try and recognize places from the current Boston. 

[Macbeth1966]

I swore I would never again watch another zombie anything after I fled from "The Walking Dead."

But here I am.  As I have a great love for Grogu's dad. 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Macbeth1966

[tennisgurl]

This show is really doing things to my blood pressure, its so intense all of the time. I had a bad feeling about Tess making it out alive, but I was still sad to see her go so quickly. At least she went out like a total badass. Tess was such a great character, she was a quick thinker and survivor but also very human, with very human emotions behind her tough exterior. I miss her already but Anna Torv did such a great job at making her such a memorable character that I know she wont be forgotten. 

The cast really is excellent, from the main characters to the minor roles. Like last week with poor doomed Sara, the doctor from the opener did so much in such a short amount of time, I really got invested in her and my heart just dropped when she told the soldier that they needed to immediately bomb the city, including her. The way her hands started to shake but her voice stayed strong as she realized what they were dealing with and what they needed to do is going to stay with me for a long time. 

I know very little about the game beyond the very basic premise, but I think the show is doing a great job at building this world and how the fungus and this new society works, its very show not tell. There are some things I don't totally get yet, but I am sure that everything will be explained later, I am just really enjoying the ride. I did know about the infamous Clickers, and now we get to see them in their full, nasty glory, and they are just as horrible as promised. I love that they used practical effects and prosthetics, they really give you that feeling of discomfort. 

I have always thought that mold and fungi were really gross, but I think I might have a full phobia now. The empty cities filled with fungus creatures and creations are grotesquely beautiful a lot of the times, but other times, like the worst nastiest kiss ever, just makes my skin crawl. 

[smartymarty]

18 hours ago, overtherainbow said:

I don't think I'm going to be watching this show in the evening time again. Going to bed with visions of cordyceps zombie swarms and wiggly spores. The most terrifying scene for me was when they were watching the swarm from afar and later when you could hear them getting closer to the door. Ugh! I'm definitely hooked though. I never played the game (am aware of it though) so I don't have a lot of the same issues other people have with the show.

I specified to Mr. Smartymarty that we would watch this first, then All Creatures Great and Small. I did not see the "kiss" because my hands were over my eyes. One must plan these things, people.

I'm old, so I don't understand how this is a video game.

[cardigirl]

19 minutes ago, smartymarty said:

I specified to Mr. Smartymarty that we would watch this first, then All Creatures Great and Small. I did not see the "kiss" because my hands were over my eyes. One must plan these things, people.
 

All Creatures Great and Small was horrifying in it's own way this week, too. 

[smartymarty]

30 minutes ago, cardigirl said:

All Creatures Great and Small was horrifying in it's own way this week, too. 

True. More hands in front of eyes.

[DesertCyclist]

A missed opportunity in the series, though not for the game since it was released in 2013, is that according to some studies fungal infections in humans are becoming increasingly common due to decreases in our average body temperature -- ironically due to advancements in medical science.

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, smartymarty said:

I'm old, so I don't understand how this is a video game.

I am old too but sometimes a gamer. I could definitely see what has taken place so far as potentially a port from a videogame.

I could picture (for example) a segment where the player as Joel has to creep silently for a while to avoid Infected and if they don't do it well enough, wasted. Then Ellie or Tess would make accidentally too much noise and you would have to avoid/fight off Infected. Then you get to the statehouse and have to search for clues and pick up loot drops (i.e. useful items like health boosts, weapons, food or other supplies). 

Getting to the statehouse and finding everyone dead in particular seemed video-gamey to me. "Sorry, Joel, but your battery is in another castle rotting ruin of a building!"

[nomodrama]

I was worried that Tess's sprained ankle would actually be something else. I was sad to see her have to sacrifice herself because she was infected. The chart from last week showed the time to full infection from a leg or foot bite was 12-24 hours, Tess seemed to be showing signs pretty quickly, and her hand was already trembling. 

Ellie is already starting to bug me in the same way that most kids/teens in apocalypse movies/shows always do, because they still don't seem to take dangers seriously enough and think it's ok to mess around. I get that it is a kid thing, but still. She sure got scared straight though. 

If the Clickers (which are terrifying and appropriately named) rely on hearing, you would think they would have thought of better ways to kill them, or different weapons by now to deal with then. The reliance on shooting off a ton of gun shots, making a whole lot of noise and wasting a whole lot of bullets seems to not be the best idea. They did seem really hard to kill though...and now there is the whole hive mind as well. It's a wonder that Joel and his brother have made it 20 years in this new world. 

I'm dying to learn more about the infected....like why some of them dry up and "die" while others live forever. What makes a Clicker vs any other type of infected. If the infected "want" to spread the infection, why would they tear someone apart rather than just bite them and let the cordyceps to its job? Hope we keep getting a steady stream of info. 

I've never been to Boston and now its on top of my list of places to visit. Even mostly destroyed it looked beautiful. 

[maystone]

6 hours ago, cardigirl said:

You're correct. The museum, which the OP asked about, is not a "real" place. This article explains it.  

But it was interesting to try and recognize places from the current Boston. 

I worked at the Harvard Peabody Museum for 12 years (best job of my life). And while it was too big to be mistaken for the Bostonian and way, way off the Freedom Trail, I have to say that they got the set design perfectly. I have to go back and watch the segment because I completely geeked out over the wood and glass cabinets and missed most of the action. I could smell the must through my screen! We had those in our older galleries, including a few right outside my office! (Obviously I'm still excited.) Really well done, crew. Well done.

I never heard of the game before the advertising started for the show. I was really hoping that Tess would make it through a few more episodes, but damn what an exit. I hadn't seen Anna Torv in anything else. I walked away from Fringe on the second episode. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere online now, because she's great. The depth and nuance that she brought to Tess was remarkable.

Loving this show!

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by maystone

[cambridgeguy]

1 hour ago, nomodrama said:

If the Clickers (which are terrifying and appropriately named) rely on hearing, you would think they would have thought of better ways to kill them, or different weapons by now to deal with then. The reliance on shooting off a ton of gun shots, making a whole lot of noise and wasting a whole lot of bullets seems to not be the best idea. They did seem really hard to kill though...and now there is the whole hive mind as well. It's a wonder that Joel and his brother have made it 20 years in this new world. 

The best relatively silent option would be a bow/crossbow, but given how tough they are you'd need one extremely lucky shot and/or have to travel in groups.  It would also make sense to raid the medieval section of a museum and grab a sword - it might be ineffective against a clicker, but would be just fine against the regular ones.

[Anela]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

I have always thought that mold and fungi were really gross, but I think I might have a full phobia now. The empty cities filled with fungus creatures and creations are grotesquely beautiful a lot of the times, but other times, like the worst nastiest kiss ever, just makes my skin crawl. 

Same. I've been side-eying the Lion's Mane that I took after a covid infection (and we also gave to my dog, for something else). Earlier on, a woman I follow, posted a video of her spraying some sort of little mushroom farm, and I noped out of there. I know it's silly, the various mushrooms supplements have been around for years. 

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am old too but sometimes a gamer. I could definitely see what has taken place so far as potentially a port from a videogame.

I could picture (for example) a segment where the player as Joel has to creep silently for a while to avoid Infected and if they don't do it well enough, wasted. Then Ellie or Tess would make accidentally too much noise and you would have to avoid/fight off Infected. Then you get to the statehouse and have to search for clues and pick up loot drops (i.e. useful items like health boosts, weapons, food or other supplies). 

Getting to the statehouse and finding everyone dead in particular seemed video-gamey to me. "Sorry, Joel, but your battery is in another castle rotting ruin of a building!"

I can see where the game mode would switch to a task (kill the clickers, for example), as well. I haven't played it, but I am a gamer, and have a lot of free ones in my epic games folder, waiting to be played.

I put something like Gilmore Girls on, to clear the head of anything on shows like this, or watch someone decorate cakes, or just make them in the first place. 

[Whimsy]

I have created a thread for game discussion. Posts referencing the game will now be removed. Many (maybe even most) of us have not played the game. Discussion can be found here.  

[Swartz]

Quote

I hadn't seen Anna Torv in anything else. I walked away from Fringe on the second episode. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere online now, because she's great. The depth and nuance that she brought to Tess was remarkable.

You're in luck because Fringe is on HBO Max. It's also on that Freevee tv.     Give it another chance. It does take around mid to late S1 for the shows story to really draw you and for its mythology to begin to come together.   S2 (especially mid S2) and S3 is some of the greatest seasons of tv that I've seen.   Anna was terrific especially in s3!

[Starchild]

5 hours ago, nomodrama said:

The chart from last week showed the time to full infection from a leg or foot bite was 12-24 hours, Tess seemed to be showing signs pretty quickly, and her hand was already trembling. 

The chart also said that bites in the face/head/neck would develop in about 1 hour. So they knew she had next to no time at all.

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, Swartz said:

You're in luck because Fringe is on HBO Max. It's also on that Freevee tv.     Give it another chance. It does take around mid to late S1 for the shows story to really draw you and for its mythology to begin to come together.   S2 (especially mid S2) and S3 is some of the greatest seasons of tv that I've seen.   Anna was terrific especially in s3!

Anna Torv is also very good in an Australian political thriller series called  Secret City on Netflix, plus she gets to use her real accent.

[Constantinople]

18 hours ago, Grammaeryn said:

Anyone else from Boston trying to track their route? I think they walked by the Christian Science church, the flooded hotel could be the Copley Plaza. I’m of two minds on the museum - Faneuil Hall or Athenaeum. The field they ran to at the end is giving me Boston Common vibes. Ellie’s bite abandoned mall could be the Pru.

I'm not bothering because it makes no geographic sense. Not that I mind, it's just typical TV/Movie geography.

Last episode they were talking traveling from Haymarket to the "Old State House". The implication was that the Old State House was on the other side of the wall (which seemed to be borne out since they crossed beyond the wall at the end of the episode).

Except the Old State House is about a two to five minute walk from Haymarket. I can't imagine they'd be on separate sides of the wall (Haymarket and State are adjacent stops on the Orange Line). And it doesn't have a golden dome.

The State House does have a golden dome. It's a little farther away from Haymarket, but still close enough that I would expect it to be on the same side of the wall. But it's on top of Beacon Hill, not on flat land. For that matter, they made it look as if the State House and the Custom house are on opposite ends of the same street, but they're not.

So long as as Frank & Bill don't live East of Boston, that is in the Atlantic or one of the Harbor Islands, I'm just going with the flow.

[DigitalCount]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:27 PM, paigow said:

Joel should have thrown the empty cartridges across the room...

I've seen it suggested elsewhere that he didn't know exactly where Ellie and Tess were relative to him at that point, so he might've been putting them in danger by doing that old trick. Presumably he'd have done it if they were all together when he needed to reload.

[mrspidey]

10 hours ago, nomodrama said:

If the infected "want" to spread the infection, why would they tear someone apart rather than just bite them and let the cordyceps to its job? Hope we keep getting a steady stream of info. 

I think the simplest answer would be that they don't actually intent to kill, but do so on accident because the cordyceps does not have perfect control over the body's movements. All infected are shown to be very clumsy.

Another explanation could be that they switch from "Infect!" to "Survive!" as soon as you start fighting them, so they focus on eliminating the threat instead.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by mrspidey

[PurpleTentacle]

I'm sorry. I have to complain right off the bat again. We have a bunch of very effictive anti-fungals. Now, so far I could suspend my disbelieve and say "sure, this particular fungus evolved an immunity to all of them and no new effective one could be developed", but the Professor just saying "there is no medicine", without testing any, that makes my suspension snap.

The scene with the water was a nice nod.

The fungus network underground that alerts the infected is a fun idea. Also it makes it a bit less believeable that they'll survive a trip across country. Guess we'll see on that count.

The acting is still top notch and I was a lot more entertained this episode. So things are looking up.

Edited January 25, 2023 by PurpleTentacle

[cardigirl]

15 hours ago, maystone said:

I never heard of the game before the advertising started for the show. I was really hoping that Tess would make it through a few more episodes, but damn what an exit. I hadn't seen Anna Torv in anything else. I walked away from Fringe on the second episode. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere online now, because she's great. The depth and nuance that she brought to Tess was remarkable.

 

12 hours ago, Swartz said:

You're in luck because Fringe is on HBO Max. It's also on that Freevee tv.     Give it another chance. It does take around mid to late S1 for the shows story to really draw you and for its mythology to begin to come together.   S2 (especially mid S2) and S3 is some of the greatest seasons of tv that I've seen.   Anna was terrific especially in s3!

Fringe is a wonderful show, thanks for the information that it's available on HBO Max. I'll have to rewatch. Definitely worth watching for Anna Torv, but the entire cast was great! John Noble and Joshua Jackson!  @maystone definitely try it again. 

[cardigirl]

12 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I'm sorry. I have to complain right off the bat again. We have a bunch of very effictive anti-fungals. Now, so far I could suspend my disbelieve and say "sure, this particular fungus evolved an immunity to all of them and no new effective one could be developed", but the Professor just saying "there is no medicine", without testing any, that makes my suspension snap.

I've been wondering about how they are fighting the infected, and why they don't use flamethrowers to burn them up. I think the idea behind bombing the centers of infection was that the explosion and subsequent fire would cause mass annihilation of the infected, and yet, 20 years later, there are centers of population that consist of militant uninfected people, and then there are the people who got infected. Why not burn them out?

How long does the host survive once the fungus takes control? Are they alive until killed? Why do they need to feed? I'm thinking too hard about this I guess, but we saw ducks and frogs, so there may be other wildlife that has survived, but if the fungus is just out to proliferate, and the only way is through infecting humans, I don't see how that works. 

Me not smart. 

[mrspidey]

32 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I'm sorry. I have to complain right off the bat again. We have a bunch of very effictive anti-fungals. 

The ones i know only work within days to weeks, not hours. They're useless in this case.

[cmfran]

I really want to like this show, but so far it feels like a retread of all the post-apocalyptic narratives I've seen many times before. Especially the zombie tropes. It's well made and acted, but I'm not sure I need another show about a quest with a magical child to find a cure for something. Meh.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 1/23/2023 at 5:29 PM, iMonrey said:

I'm not sure I'm following this very well. Joel and Tess were tasked with taking Ellie to a group of rebels that were stationed outside the quarantine zone because, why? 

But when they got there, they were all dead. So now Tess says Joel has to take Ellie . . . where?

Ellie explained in the episode. These Fireflies were going to take her out west, where they have scientists looking for a cure. She doesn't know where exactly. So Joel is going to take her to "Bill and Frank", who presumably are or will hand her over to the Fireflies (I genuinly don't remember them at all)

On 1/23/2023 at 5:29 PM, iMonrey said:

I didn't get why these zombies had swollen brains coming out of their heads when zombies we saw earlier did not. I take it there are zombie variants?

It's the fungus growing on their faces. So it's about the length of infection. Like Joel said, some stay alive for decades.

On 1/23/2023 at 5:29 PM, iMonrey said:

How long do the zombies live, once they've become zombies? It seems like they would eventually die out naturally once there are no more hosts.

Joel said this episode, some a few months, some decades.

On 1/23/2023 at 7:15 PM, Dev F said:

Yeah, Ellie asks Tess about two possible variants she's heard about, "super-infected that explode fungus spores on you," which Tess doesn't seem to have encountered before, and "ones with split-open heads that see in the dark like bats," which Tess doesn't want to talk about. The latter are the clickers they encounter later.

Tess and Joel say both don't exist. It's a reference to [Edit: that what shall not be named], but in this show there are no spores and the clickers don't have a split face, because of practical reasons.

On 1/23/2023 at 8:09 PM, aghst said:

As noted, fungus can't survive the body temperatures of humans.

That's not actually the case. Ever had a yeast infection or heard of somebody who had one? Fungy can colonise your mouth, intestines, sexual organs, etc. All places that are just as warm as the rest of your body.

The temperature thing is just the shows mumbojumbo about why a fungus like that never infected mammals before but now does. Maybe it's even true for that particular fungus. But that's not the main reason why it doesn't infect mammals.

20 hours ago, DesertCyclist said:

A missed opportunity in the series, though not for the game since it was released in 2013, is that according to some studies fungal infections in humans are becoming increasingly common due to decreases in our average body temperature -- ironically due to advancements in medical science.

Can you link some of those studies? Sounds interesting.

17 hours ago, nomodrama said:

If the Clickers (which are terrifying and appropriately named) rely on hearing, you would think they would have thought of better ways to kill them, or different weapons by now to deal with then. The reliance on shooting off a ton of gun shots, making a whole lot of noise and wasting a whole lot of bullets seems to not be the best idea. They did seem really hard to kill though...and now there is the whole hive mind as well. It's a wonder that Joel and his brother have made it 20 years in this new world. 

If we were going by realism here, the clickers would be deaf after one close range gun shot and could certainly not make out the direction where it was coming from. So in a realistic world, guns would be the best weapons against them.

44 minutes ago, mrspidey said:

The ones i know only work within days to weeks, not hours. They're useless in this case.

From the moment you introduce the antifungals the fungus can't grow anymore. It just takes a while to completely go away. So that would be very effective, even with this magic fungus, that makes you into a zombie within hours.

Edited January 25, 2023 by PurpleTentacle

[Jodithgrace]

I was hospitalized with fungal pneumonia several years ago. And while I did turn into a zombie for a couple of days, (or so it seemed) I’m mostly normal now. There was definitely medication to treat it, but maybe not so in 2003. 

Im neither a gamer nor a big zombie fan, but so far I’m finding this entertaining. I think Ellie is a hoot. 

[DesertCyclist]

1 hour ago, cardigirl said:

flamethrowers

Spoiler

You actually loot one of those later in the game. :-)

 

[DesertCyclist]

1 hour ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Can you link some of those studies? Sounds interesting.

I believe it was this RadioLab podcast, but there's not a transcript.

[nomodrama]

6 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

If we were going by realism here, the clickers would be deaf after one close range gun shot and could certainly not make out the direction where it was coming from. So in a realistic world, guns would be the best weapons against them.

I disagree, what good is deafening one clicker if you essentially alert any others in the area of your presence. 

[Rickster]

7 hours ago, cardigirl said:

I've been wondering about how they are fighting the infected, and why they don't use flamethrowers to burn them up. I think the idea behind bombing the centers of infection was that the explosion and subsequent fire would cause mass annihilation of the infected, and yet, 20 years later, there are centers of population that consist of militant uninfected people, and then there are the people who got infected. Why not burn them out?

How long does the host survive once the fungus takes control? Are they alive until killed? Why do they need to feed? I'm thinking too hard about this I guess, but we saw ducks and frogs, so there may be other wildlife that has survived, but if the fungus is just out to proliferate, and the only way is through infecting humans, I don't see how that works. 

Me not smart. 

I can’t take credit for this idea (saw it somewhere else), but…

If the fungus is spread by biting, can’t they develop bite proof suits? Kevlar, etc., Even heavy canvas? Seems a lot easier than defending against spores or a virus.

[Anela]

7 hours ago, cmfran said:

I really want to like this show, but so far it feels like a retread of all the post-apocalyptic narratives I've seen many times before. Especially the zombie tropes. It's well made and acted, but I'm not sure I need another show about a quest with a magical child to find a cure for something. Meh.

At least it isn't one of those shows where the newborn magically grows to the age of eighteen, within days or weeks, so that they have her dating right away. Just magically stops growing at eighteen, too. 

[paigow]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

If the fungus is spread by biting, can’t they develop bite proof suits? Kevlar, etc., Even heavy canvas? Seems a lot easier than defending against spores or a virus.

The super strength would likely smash the plastic face shield or rip one of your hands / arms off...  

[Quickbeam]

I worked in the 80s on a pediatric unit of immuno-compromised kids. Cancer, CF. As they would get to the end of life, they all developed fungal infections, primarily aspergillus. So…..this is old news. When your immune system lowers, the fungi move in. 
 

I was fished in to this series by Bella not realizing it is essentially a zombie based show. I hate zombies so not sure how long I’ll stay with it. I’ll miss Anna Torv, she was great. 

[bilgistic]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:55 AM, cardigirl said:

Fringe is a wonderful show, thanks for the information that it's available on HBO Max. I'll have to rewatch. Definitely worth watching for Anna Torv, but the entire cast was great! John Noble and Joshua Jackson!  @maystone definitely try it again. 

Talking this to Cast talk...

Edited January 26, 2023 by bilgistic

[bunnyblue]

Okay, I'm in. I thought I was over zombie apocalypse shows, but on the strength of Pedro Pascal and HBO, I decided to give this one a try. I feel episode 1 was stronger, mainly because of the opening 30 minutes with Sarah, but episode 2 kept me hooked. 

I didn't realize there were 2 different zombies until I read the comments here. These zombies seem a lot harder to kill than the ones from the Walking Dead. That, coupled with the fact that they are connected through vines, makes the Last of Us zombies incredibly scary. Also the fact that these zombies run. I would turn right around and go back to the QZ if I lived in that world. 

I loved Tess and am sad she's gone so soon. It was nice to see she had retained some compassion and wasn't as cold as she seemed in the first episode. I was actually expecting Joel to thaw first towards Ellie, and Tess to be reluctant to help her out.

So far, both places Joel & Tess have gone to has suffered an attack (Marlene's hideout and now the Statehouse) shortly before their arrival. I hope Joel & now Ellie aren't cursed like Rick and the gang over on the Walking Dead, in that once they arrive at a new location, that location is overrun and the previous residents are all killed. We'll see how things transpire at the next location Joel & Ellie travel to, but I suspect I'm going to be yelling at all future characters not to let Joel & Ellie in.

I got the feeling that Ellie was lying when she said she was alone in the mall when she got bit. I know nothing of the video game, so I don't know the answer one way or the other but it seemed to me she wasn't being entirely truthful when answering Tess's questions. I'm interested to see if there's more to Ellie's story.

Edited January 26, 2023 by bunnyblue

[Ilovepie]

On 1/23/2023 at 4:22 AM, Haleth said:

I'm not sure I should be watching this right before bed.  It's so creepy. <shudders>

Definitely not - when I went to bed last night I had nightmares of that scene with that thing "kissing" Tess - those tendrils moving into her mouth will stay with me a long time unfortunately. RIP to another great Anna Torv character - her time was short but impactful. Her speech to Joel was heartbreaking, and once more, Pedro Pascal makes the most of saying everything while saying nothing, at least here I can see his facial expressions! And kudos to a show for actually showing damage to his hand for beating a man's face in with it - I hate when people fist fight in shows and movies and their hands have no damage. Hair line fracture indeed.......

The other thing that grossed me out completely was when that doctor cut into the dead woman's leg. Ewwwww...........

On 1/24/2023 at 9:31 AM, cardigirl said:

All Creatures Great and Small was horrifying in it's own way this week, too. 

OMG you are so right!!!!!! We watched this while we ate dinner because I didn't think I could stomach eating while watching The Last of Us and it was a good call, but dang, I was tearing up while I was trying to eat! This show and the dang horses! I had to watch an episode of UK Ghosts after Last of Us to calm down before bed! ;-p

[eelpout]

On 1/22/2023 at 8:14 PM, peridot said:

I don't get why Ellie is so nonchalant about being infected. 

I don't get why Ellie is so annoying.

[Hana Chan]

On 1/27/2023 at 1:10 PM, eelpout said:

I don't get why Ellie is so annoying.

She's a teenager. Show me any 14 year old that you don't want to shove through a wall a few dozen times a day.

[Lady Whistleup]

I just watched this. Tess purposely sacrificed herself in the end so Joel and Ellie could make a break for it right?

[conquistador]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:27 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am old too but sometimes a gamer. I could definitely see what has taken place so far as potentially a port from a videogame.

I could picture (for example) a segment where the player as Joel has to creep silently for a while to avoid Infected and if they don't do it well enough, wasted. Then Ellie or Tess would make accidentally too much noise and you would have to avoid/fight off Infected. Then you get to the statehouse and have to search for clues and pick up loot drops (i.e. useful items like health boosts, weapons, food or other supplies). 

Getting to the statehouse and finding everyone dead in particular seemed video-gamey to me. "Sorry, Joel, but your battery is in another castle rotting ruin of a building!"

For me, the most video game-y moment was the bookshelf falling over, blocking the passage behind the trio. This is something you will see in video games, in order to close off areas that have already been completed - basically forcing the player to continue to make progress. It also makes for a natural saving ”check point” (e.g. if you come to a dangerous area full of cclickers).

[Anela]

23 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I just watched this. Tess purposely sacrificed herself in the end so Joel and Ellie could make a break for it right?

Yes, because she was infected. 

[conquistador]

Receive this good-night kiss, my dear. Bisou 😘

[CarpeFelis]

On 1/23/2023 at 1:18 AM, DigitalCount said:

2) the scene where Joel is reloading his gun and the perspective tightens on his face was one of the most tense things I've watched in recent memory. I was thinking "that thing is going to be right next to him by the time he gets a fresh reload" and whew lad, there it was. Really appreciated the delicate movements as he was trying to make no sound putting the spent casings in his pocket while keeping the flashlight on his shoulder.

Seems like he should have taken the spent casings and thrown them across the room to distract the Clicker.

[Kel Varnsen]

I noticed Anna Torv wasn't in the opening credits so I figured she wouldn't last too many episodes. I didn't figure she would go out this fast though.

Also the last show I watched that had fungus as a major plot point was A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. So when the scientist at the beginning said there was no treatment I wondered, did they try horseradish?

 

[Cheezwiz]

Am catching up on this after all the hype. Was reluctant to watch, as I got tired of the zombie genre after the first couple of seasons of The Walking Dead.

I will say that for me, the most chilling hair-raising parts of the show were the talk-show prologue in the first episode, and the flashback to the mycologist in Jakarta in the second. My hair was standing on end in both of those scenes. The depiction of everything going to hell in a handbasket was stressful and felt very real - it looked to me exactly how things might go down if a catastrophic global event like this happened. Let's just say real life events over the past few years have me taking a very dim view of humanity, and the show seems to be depicting this well.

I loved the world-building with nature taking over man-made structures, but otherwise, the show felt like a re-tread of every post-apocalyptic zombie trope I've ever seen, and consequently I was kind of bored with all the rebel/contraband trade stuff. I really like Anna Torv & Pedro Pascal. Was sorry to see Torv go, but she went out in true badass fashion.

I will sit at a table for one, and say that I truly hate HATE the character of Ellie. I get that she's supposed to be a smart-alecky teenager, but I can't stand her. Not sure if it's the actress or the writing (dear show-writers, can we have a teenager who is not mouthy or snarky 100% of the time? Please?), but I have been rooting for the fungus monsters to devour her. I know that is not going to happen because she's magically immune and is supposed to be the saviour for humanity, but the portrayal is really getting in the way of my enjoyment of the show.

I'll stick with it for awhile longer, but it's not quite living up to the hype for me.