Please Hold to My Hand

How do they make it look so real? Did they actually bomb a planet to make this series? The production design is outstanding; this footage must be from an alternate reality. I am so immersed in this world and my heart rate was constantly a little too high for comfort.

This show is a masterclass in making tense television. It doesn't matter what situation Ellie and Joel are in because anything could still happen at any moment. Not only is the production design a big help, but so are the performances. Pedro Pascal is simply outstanding as Joel. You can read his body language and facial expressions like a book. Every episode is so detailed and well-made; you can rewatch this episode five times and still discover new things.

A very slow episode with not much happening, Joel and Ellie are great as expected, however Melanie Lynskeyv as Kathleen is not at all convincing as the leader of a group.

Also direction feels lacking compared to previous episodes, the cinematography feels weaker in combat scenes. However, I am sure the production will get better as time goes by. Sound design for gunshots and the reverb could also be better.

As it stands the show has two amazing leads with a strong grasp over their characters but the pieces around them are lacking. Either way the Last of Us remains a very fun show to follow and fans have a lot to look forward to if the show does justice to the First games story telling experience.

A fairly solid episode ... (SPOILER FREE) Featuring guest performances from Melanie Lynskey and Jeffrey Pierce ( who played Tommy in part 1 and part 2 of the games), we are introduced to a solid, and far more riveting episode compared to the more emotional and sombre tone seen in the last. I heavily enjoyed this episode as it provided both complex and mature themes as well as showing some much deserved (and possibly needed) character development for both Ellie and Joel, who didn't receive much development in Long, Long Time (episode 3) due to heavy focus on both Bill and Frank instead.

While there was heavy criticism for the narrative choices and differences in the previous episode, I am glad that the creators chose to make original characters for this episode as it affects the events that occur. Both Jeffrey Pierce and Melanie Lynskey gave great performances for this episode and are contenders for best guest drama actor/actress at the Emmy's along with Anna Torv (Tess), Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett (Bill and Frank).

9/10.

After catching up on some movies and other shows I have fell a little behind on The Last of Us, so I'm taking today to catch up on the two episodes I missed.

Now Episode 104 "Please Hold to My Hand" starts out fantastically with Joel and Ellie being the center point of the episode. Some great cinematography, really making this apocalyptic world so eerily beautiful. There's always been something beautiful to me about nature retaking man made environments.

Unfortunately though the episode took a bit of a down turn for me when they introduced this group that attacked Joel and Ellie. While I love antagonists who are developed and fleshed out, the biggest problem is this groups leader Kathleen. She's not threatening in anyway, and she has no real presence. Her right handman is more threatening than she is. But Kathleen I just can't take her seriously and every scene with her in it just bored me.

Other than Kathleen the episode didn't do much to progress anything. The introduction of Henry and Sam is great so it'll be exciting to see how they play out in the next episode.

One last thing and this is just a nitpick as a gamer, I wish they kept that execution during the shootout in the drugstore. Joel kills one of the attackers by cutting his throat open on a broken fridge door. Irregardless of my nitpick that scene was great and it added a new level of tension that the game I must say didn't.

Overall it was a good episode but not as good as recent episodes in the season.

IMDb: 7/10 Letterboxd: 3/5

Watched on HBO Max in 4k Dolby Vision.

I like Melanie Lynskey in the other movies she starred in. Unfortunately, Melanie didn't feel convincing & threatening enough to be a vindictive rebel leader. IMO, if someone else like Anna Torv (as Tess) switched roles with Melanie Lynskey, it probably would have been a better fit for Anna Torv to be playing as the rebel leader and Melanie playing as Tess; it feels a lot more convincing. However, Anna was great as Tess too because she was able to convey a soft & tough exterior -- the qualities to pull-off the character of Tess!

I think it's Melanie's soft-spoken voice & the fact that I've seen her acted in more timid-like characters, which is the reason why I think she failed to convince me that she was right for the role as a rebel leader. Maybe I need to watch more future TLOU episodes for Melanie Lynskey to prove that she has the rebelliousness & leadership qualities that are required to play the role of a vindictive rebel leader, to get me to change my mind.

Besides the miscasting, I have enjoyed all the episodes thus far!