So I am guilty of changing my score from 10 to a 9 after finishing the entire first season. I had previously rated the show a 10 after watching the first two episodes as those were quite possibly the best pilot and follow up episodes I've seen since Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead or Ozark. In my mind I always like to think of films as being scored out of 100 rather than 10 and if I had those options I would likely score this between an 85 and 90.
The first couple episodes lived up to the hype and I completely understand why the reviews exploded however after that the show looses some of that momentum which led to people calling it over rated. For a while it was holding steady at a 9.4. And rightfully so, the current score if 8.9 I think suits it much better.
Where things went wrong is that they devoted two full legth episodes to flashbacks which did nothing or very little to progress the story and found themselves playing catch-up in order to tell the whole story in 6 episodes which constituted and entire game. Now, I have not played the game but if you actually add up the runtimes of all the episodes you'll notice that they actually spent a little over 25% - a full quarter of the first season to these two episodes. You don't have to play the game to know that when you waste that much screen time on filler, you're going to be rushing to finish off the story with 75% of a seasons runtime.
Episode 3 has me in a love/hate situation. The episode contained on its own was splendid. The acting could not have been better and it was very interesting to see a preppers take on a post apocalyptic situation. Where things crashed and burned is that it was a complete derailment from the momentum the first two episodes built up and it progressed the story none. I think they should have either kept one of the characters alive to fit them into later parts of the story or added another 15 minutes or so of runtime and released it as a movie sometime between season 1 and 2 in order to fill the very long gap that we're now faced with. This way they would not have left viewers scratching their heads and wondering why they just watched a 76 minute filler episode so early in the season and it would have avoided all the unnecessary debate and flame wars between people who didn't want to see two late-middle aged and hairy men lock beards in a homoerotic love story which takes place in a zombie apocalypse and those who were enthralled in the wokeness of it and praising the show for doing it. I mean the acting and story was good enough for the box offices by far and it it seems like it would have just made so much more sense.
Lastly, I know there was a lot of controversy when Bella Ramsey was cast as Ellie because she has a completely different look about her than the video game version of Ellie. I will say that I can understand people's surprise and hesitance given the totally different demeanours of and types of characters that Bella has played before but also that she did a great job this season. I had no problems with her acting at all and it seems that she has won over more than a few skeptics alike.
Now the first season has Ellie as a young teenager and if the show follows the game, there will be some considerable time that's passed since leaving off in the story and Ellie will have grown into an adult in her 20's and has developed into somewhat of a Lara Croft, Tomb Raider-like character who is as gorgeous as she is lethal and bad ass. Honestly I think I will have a hard time seeing Bella play that type of role as effectively as she played young Ellie. It will certainly be a first for her and legitimate questions about miscasting may come seeping back into the conversation as a result.
So to conclude I would say that it was a little bit over rated and the criticisms of the show were completely valid and skepticism of casting was understandable but overall the season was a great run and has me eagerly awaiting the next. As to what it brings, let's hope that things hold up and we get a good follow up but that the show runners learn from the mistakes made in season 1. Less filler, less rushing and for the love of humanity, MORE ZOMBIES!!!
The first couple episodes lived up to the hype and I completely understand why the reviews exploded however after that the show looses some of that momentum which led to people calling it over rated. For a while it was holding steady at a 9.4. And rightfully so, the current score if 8.9 I think suits it much better.
Where things went wrong is that they devoted two full legth episodes to flashbacks which did nothing or very little to progress the story and found themselves playing catch-up in order to tell the whole story in 6 episodes which constituted and entire game. Now, I have not played the game but if you actually add up the runtimes of all the episodes you'll notice that they actually spent a little over 25% - a full quarter of the first season to these two episodes. You don't have to play the game to know that when you waste that much screen time on filler, you're going to be rushing to finish off the story with 75% of a seasons runtime.
Episode 3 has me in a love/hate situation. The episode contained on its own was splendid. The acting could not have been better and it was very interesting to see a preppers take on a post apocalyptic situation. Where things crashed and burned is that it was a complete derailment from the momentum the first two episodes built up and it progressed the story none. I think they should have either kept one of the characters alive to fit them into later parts of the story or added another 15 minutes or so of runtime and released it as a movie sometime between season 1 and 2 in order to fill the very long gap that we're now faced with. This way they would not have left viewers scratching their heads and wondering why they just watched a 76 minute filler episode so early in the season and it would have avoided all the unnecessary debate and flame wars between people who didn't want to see two late-middle aged and hairy men lock beards in a homoerotic love story which takes place in a zombie apocalypse and those who were enthralled in the wokeness of it and praising the show for doing it. I mean the acting and story was good enough for the box offices by far and it it seems like it would have just made so much more sense.
Lastly, I know there was a lot of controversy when Bella Ramsey was cast as Ellie because she has a completely different look about her than the video game version of Ellie. I will say that I can understand people's surprise and hesitance given the totally different demeanours of and types of characters that Bella has played before but also that she did a great job this season. I had no problems with her acting at all and it seems that she has won over more than a few skeptics alike.
Now the first season has Ellie as a young teenager and if the show follows the game, there will be some considerable time that's passed since leaving off in the story and Ellie will have grown into an adult in her 20's and has developed into somewhat of a Lara Croft, Tomb Raider-like character who is as gorgeous as she is lethal and bad ass. Honestly I think I will have a hard time seeing Bella play that type of role as effectively as she played young Ellie. It will certainly be a first for her and legitimate questions about miscasting may come seeping back into the conversation as a result.
So to conclude I would say that it was a little bit over rated and the criticisms of the show were completely valid and skepticism of casting was understandable but overall the season was a great run and has me eagerly awaiting the next. As to what it brings, let's hope that things hold up and we get a good follow up but that the show runners learn from the mistakes made in season 1. Less filler, less rushing and for the love of humanity, MORE ZOMBIES!!!