The Last of Us: Episode 4 Review “Please Hold My Hand”: 0/5 Please Hold My Patience!
-For the Uncensored!
The unlikely position of reviewing the Last of Us has been a marathon for a viewer who has obsessively played the game consistently for the last ten years. The show presents much of the world ruined by the world after the Cordycepts virus took over the world, and now twenty years later, much of it seems still intact. There are buffalo kept inside gated communities. To me, that was the biggest red flag I could see. Why wouldn’t the infected just smell the animals and then eat the animals? That was the biggest red flag there because somehow the infected only have some limited amount of hunger. Which is dumb because it doesn’t present the larger scope of what may happen if the animals become infected, either.
Another egregious affront is that while Joel and Ellie’s relationship is still presented, we are thrown into Kansas City, and we pass by Pittsburgh. And I’m like, WTF, where the fuck is Pittsburgh. And I thought, “Oh, they couldn’t film it in Pittsburgh because they are tired of being the brunt end of post apocalypse jokes.” And speaking of jokes, Ellie’s jokes featured in the game are now in the series, which as a hardcore fan of Last of Us, appreciates that Will Livingston, the LOU’s franchise fake joke writer, is in the series, too.
While those two positives are what kept me interested in the series, one thing is abundantly clear. Two negatives outweigh all of the good will proved. Joel and Ellie, who have to get along, saves Joel, but Joel doesn’t overreact like in the video game. Which really removes any character development between Joel and Ellie. Through this entire time, they haven’t yet been able to trust each other, and this really does make Joel start to trust that Ellie can use a gun, and protect herself and Joel.
(Note: This scene is what was missing from the series. It makes me as a video game fan frustrated to see, and how HBO really failed to care about the source material, or at least do some fan service. But then, no series, unless it’s yours truly care about fan service).
Another egregious affront is making the show convenient outright doesn’t belong. In Kansas City, the Quarantine Zone, held by a bunch of rebels, is infected with a Cordycepts, but Kathleen, series 4 antagonist, and a mercenary soldier (which many fans can tell is Jeffrey Pierce, who motion captures and provides the voice for Tommy, from the Last of Us game), find out the infected are inside a hole. And it shakes. And I was like, “That’s from Gears of War.” I literally lost my shit seeing that happen. Being a fan of both doesn’t mean Naughty Dogs might not be fans, but it erases any individuality from the Last of Us, and as a gamer, this is frustrating. That someone decided to put that grub hole inside the Last of Us and think no one would notice. Poppa Bruno notices the details, and for this, Episode 4 deserves to be criticized.
Final Analysis: 0/5
Positives:
· Jeffrey Pierces makes a cameo in the series.
· Will Livingston’s joke book makes its return.
Negatives
· They put a fucking grub hole in this series, which doesn’t belong here.
· Joel and Ellie’s character development is neatly tied up, and doesn’t exist in the original game.
· They totally write out the Pittsburgh sequence and place it in Kansas City. Again, doesn’t exist in the game.
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 20 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline Part 2: Chaos, The Data Chase, The Disintegrating Bloodline part 3: Solvè, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, The God of Curiosity, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One, City of Sand: Book 1: The Holy Terror, and The Voices Are Alive. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisBr88881650. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His newest book, The City of Sand: Book 2: Jerusalem Ignited, is out now: https://www.amazon.com/City-Sand-Book-Jerusalem-Ignited/dp/1365979660/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1G8HAWZP73ZFO&keywords=Louis+Bruno+City+of+Sand+book+2&qid=1675772880&sprefix=louis+bruno+city+of+sand+book+2%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. If you do Subscribe, you have long term access to the paid articles that some readers won’t get to see or access after the articles/books go private. If that doesn’t tickle your pickle, I am also selling merch from t spring, if you want to help support me in other ways. I sell hoodies, shirts, phone cases, and trying to find something there loved ones would like. Links here: https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/too-many-strings-not-enough. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/duck-fuckery. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/headless-corpo. Every like, subscribe, share, purchase helps. Thanks for reading.