When We Are in Need

Give Bella Ramsey her flowers. Bella deserves an Emmy for this masterful performance. I shed a tear watching the last few scenes of this episode. I cannot believe how talented Bella is.

The build up and story behind the new characters, especially David, was great. Did not feel rushed and it was perfectly timed and executed. This story is honestly one of my favourite stories and seeing it adapted into an amazing TV show is a dream come true.

I cannot begin to explain how incredible the dynamic between Pedro and Bella is. The line when Joel said "I got you baby girl" just broke my heart, the mountains they both would climb over to see each other prosper and be alright is so powerful. Nothing can stop the love they have for each other and it shows through their actions way more than their words. I'm in love with this show.

I only have one complaint about the episode and it's a very minor one I'll drop at the end, but other than that I wish nothing to change about this episode. First, Winter in the game, then the show.

The Winter segment of the game is possibly the most well written and designed gaming content ever made. A few years ago I bought and read a bunch of screenwriting books to learn all the elements of a well written movie/book. This segment checked all of those boxes. The well developed villians, crisis of belief, good pacing, and all the other bells and whistles.

This. Episode. Kept. ALL of it.

Everything the game got right was kept and the additions enhanced the base story. The issue I've had with the previous episodes is most of the changes try to force you to care about temporary characters that didn't exist in the game or were completely inconsequential. Here, the additional dialogue and characters were still focused on one point: the darkest moment in Ellie's life to this point. Kathleen's character was pointless because she could hace been removed and little would change. The girl in the settlement was the one to break the facade of a post apocalyptic utopia.

I hope the creators look at the success this episode alone is pulling and keep that model. Still pleasantly surprised with the results so far.

Goddamn. Bella Ramsey has just won me over with this episode. I was loving her acting so far, but this episode was just beyond anything I've seen from a 19-year-old. I have no idea how some people think she wasn't the best actress for this role. Completely mesmerized by her performance.

Also, this episode was simply so raw and animalistic. It really depicted what it's like to have to survive with basically no means.

Ended up crying, of course. The ending really was something special. I don't wanna spoil anything, so please just watch it asap.

Cant believe there is only one episode left! It's absolute perfection.

Ellie(Bella Ramsey) is flawless. The acting over all is on other level. The episode is epic and Ellie does the job. Adrenaline roller coaster ride. The loyality and feelings in this episode would really hit hard down to the core of your bones. Do not miss out this gym if you are really want to see something which makes you stick to the screen with your eyes wide open. The vibes of a freezing frosting weather and hunt for a survival would get you there after watching this episode. I never thought it would be as good as the Game itself. But I gotta accept I was wrong and it does the job. Awesummm.

As the weeks go by I and I review each passing episode I now find myself re-reviewing the series rather than just the episode itself. This one here was near flawless in every aspect with my one and only complaint being that I could see the twist coming from miles away and didn't have much shock and awe from it. Aside from that small gripe, this episode's quality is why this is currently my favourite show. A highlight here is Bella Ramsey really showing off her acting chops and given the initial reaction to her being cast, good on her!

About the main series, I am starting to feel like with only one episode left in its 9 episode first season that there may have been a bit too much time wasted in its two full length flash back episodes. A LOT happened in this 50 minutes of runtime. So much that it felt short. But at the same time earlier this season we had a 76 minute flashback episode and then a 55 minute one a few episodes later. Neither of which added to a progressed the story much (but despite that I personally liked them both in their own respects).

So I'm anxiously awaiting next weeks season finale but if I had one thing I could change in season 2 I would make it so there was less time spent on flashbacks, perhaps weaving them into longer episodes rather than devoting 22% or more of a season to flashbacks which do little to story progression or deep character development. What I would really love is for them to bump the episode count up to 12 or more but unfortunately that's unlikely given how things are these days.