Day One

Unfortunately, Episode 4 continues the issues that have plagued the series so far most notably the portrayal of Ellie. The decision to bring this version of Ellie to life just doesn't work. The actress simply cannot carry the emotional weight of the character. Her performance feels hollow, forced, and at times almost like bad cosplay rather than a grounded, complex portrayal. There's a lack of depth, presence, and rawness qualities that Ellie demands, and here, they're sorely missing.

It's hard to stay immersed when every dramatic moment is undercut by a performance that lacks authenticity. It constantly pulls you out of the story, making it difficult to care about the emotional beats.

Beyond that, the pacing continues to be painfully slow. With so many key events to cover from the game, it's genuinely hard to believe they'll manage to wrap things up meaningfully in such a limited number of episodes. The slow pace might have worked in another context, but here it just makes the stakes feel diluted and stretched thin.

Disappointing overallespecially for fans who know how powerful this story could be.

Lover of the game here. Let me start this off by saying that I'm not allergic to changes, matter of fact, I loved most that occurred in the first season, but these have all been for the worse, and I can't force myself to enjoy the show anymore.

There is a very fine line, and the show shines when it ADDS to the story (like Isaac's background), not takes away from it. All of these changes so far have been completely needless and even worse, they've sucked out all of the tension, sense of urgency, danger and all of the atmosphere that devs of Naughty Dog crafted so masterfully. Matter of fact, atmosphere is a HUGE part of the game and without it, a lot of story beats just fall flat. And it is ironic that one of the biggest criticisms for the game is the pacing, but the pacing of the TV show is incredibly worse and makes the game look even better.

What baffles me even more is that Neil Druckmann is involved. I haven't seen a writer as out of touch with his work as this but here we are. And I say this as someone who has him as one of my favourite writers. And before any one cries "hE iS nOt a CreDitEd wRitEr uNtiL ePiSodE 6", mate, if you don't think he had any say in the scripting process pre-episode 6, then you are delusional.

Had you asked me a year ago what TV show I think would sweep the Emmy's, I would've said TLOU, simply because Part 2 is one of my favourite stories in gaming. But if you asked me this now - I'd tell you that all 3 of Severance, Andor and The Pitt will comfortably share its awards.

Oh and let me quickly touch on Bella Ramsey. Thought she was excellent last season, but she is simply not up to par for the role now. The script and particularly the childish dialogue isn't doing her any favours, but the holes in her acting are glaring.

The show is essentially the "CW PG-13" version of the game and honestly, I feel bad for the TV only audience who won't know any better.

This show has gone downward. I liked season 1 because of the tense father-daughter relationship between a rough and protective older man on one side and a vulnerable teenager on the other side. Joel's character actually carried the show. The makers of the show must have known that. Since there were some changes made to the original game story, they could've kept Joel's character for at least one more season and give him a more meaningful death.

Now the focus is apparently on a love story between two young women, a relationship that has no real tension. They are very alike, even have the same height. As does Abby. All small and thin but able to carry guns and fight much taller and tougher guys and zombies. I'm not saying that there is bad acting. I think a much bigger problem of the show is the obvious miscast.

Anyway, I'm not as intrigued in the show anymore, so I can say: "This was the last of episodes for me."

As one of few people who liked TLOU2 video game, I start slowly disliking the show.

We waste time on cringy, I guess what are supposed to be "heartfelt moments", but we rush through the most interesting action sequences that the story had to offer.

So far there is nothing this TV Show in it's second season, would do better than the overhated game.

I see people who hated TLOU2 and they are starting to say the game was better.

The unnecessary changes are the most painful of all things.

Why did they decide to leave Tommy in Jackson? He was an integral part of the story in the games.

Why is the tone switched to "we are on a happy trip" from the grim and dark tone present in the game.

That was one of the reasons, why I loved The Last of Us Part II, the darkness, the violent scenes, constant fights between protagonists who were ON THE JOURNEY TO KILL 6 PEOPLE! Here it feels like we are watching Date Trip, some sort of extended Honeymoon.

And the "I'm gonna be a dad scene"... c'mon. The interaction between Ellie and Dina in the game during these reveals was way better and more human than what we have here.

Maybe Neil Druckmann deserves more credit than people give him, because he isn't writing these episodes, but he did write the game.

It was understandable that Episode 3 of S2 was a bit unexciting and uneventful as it followed the incredible, action-packed, emotional Episode 2, an episode that changed the course and dynamic of the show. Some time to regroup and refocus was needed and Episode 3 provided that.

Breath caught I expected Episode 4 to push ahead with plot development and action and show us where the show is heading. There is a great, protracted action scene that is edge-of-your-seat stuff. It also highlights the shows origins as a game as it feels like it could be straight out of a video game.

There's also an introduction to a character who is clearly going to play a major part in the show going forward. The fact that he's played by a known actor (Jeffrey Wright) gives it away.

Unfortunately, however, that's the extent of the highlights of Ep 4. Much of the rest of the episode is spent on the dynamic between Ellie and Dina and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it just feels clumsy, contrived and boring.

This was always the problem with writing Joel out of the plot: Ellie isn't interesting and engaging enough to carry the show on her own and that's now coming home to roost. As long as Ellie remains the main character the show will always be a shadow of its former self.