#Recap and ideas – Destructoid
Table of Contents
Recap and ideas – Destructoid
Cityscapes, cordyceps, and cinders
The second episode of The Final of Us tv collection is right here, and no matter what any given viewer thinks of the present, nobody can deny that the creators are taking dangers. Whereas the premiere episode laid out a stable introduction to the collection, it nonetheless left lots of followers questioning what course the story may take within the coming weeks. However this week’s episode, “Contaminated,” set a complete new tone, for higher or for worse. Whether or not or not you favored it, there’s no denying that this second chapter laid all of it on the market and made some daring decisions. It’s as much as us to debate and determine if the modifications have been price it. Let’s break down the episode, and get into it.
Recap time
Episode Two: “Contaminated” — run time 52 minutes
The episode opens in Indonesia two days earlier than the outbreak is in full swing, the place authorities officers take custody of a professor of mycology (the research of fungi) from the College of Indonesia. At a lab, the professor goes right into a laboratory to check out a lady who was bitten by what seems to be one other individual. The professor flees in horror when she sees that fungi are rising inside the useless Contaminated lady, particularly after pulling still-wriggling fungal tendrils from out of the useless lady’s mouth. The terrified professor makes it clear that there isn’t any medication or remedy for this ailment, and she or he encourages the federal government official to bomb your entire metropolis with everybody inside. Roll opening credit.
Ellie wakes up in an deserted constructing to Joel and Tess watching her like a hawk. Joel continues to be skeptical of Ellie’s supposed immunity, and he encourages Tess to cease giving Ellie hope of residing due to her chew. After some extra back-and-forth about whether or not or not they need to take Ellie again, she reveals to them that the Fireflies have been taking her west to a base the place they’d attempt to discover a remedy. Joel is irritated and says he’s heard all of it earlier than, however Tess convinces him to maneuver ahead as a result of they’ll get what they need from the Fireflies regardless after dropping Ellie off. Ellie asks for a gun and each Tess and Joel say no.
Out within the open
They step out into the open metropolis and we get a shot of the enduring leaning skyscraper from the sport, which served as the primary large set piece. We get some backstory and character quips as they stroll by the ruined downtown space of Boston, and whereas going by a flooded resort foyer, Ellie divulges she doesn’t swim. She additionally does the bit the place she acts out being each a snobby resort visitor and receptionist, which for many who don’t know is a beloved (and considerably hidden) character second from the sport. One of many hallways on their typical route is caved in, so Tess has to go round, leaving Joel and Ellie are left alone to have a stilted dialog the place she tries to get to know him slightly bit higher.
Upon coming throughout a scene of dozens of Contaminated writhing round on the bottom in an enormous pile, Tess explains to Ellie that they’re all related in a form of hive thoughts by a community of fungal manner traces that develop beneath the bottom. She says that stepping on a patch of the cordyceps fungus in a single space can alert “a dozen Contaminated from someplace else.”
They determine to chop by a museum (one other iconic location from the sport) the place they discover a freshly-mauled man — Ellie says it didn’t look something like that when she encountered the Contaminated that bit her. After a tense stroll up the steps, the trio encounters two Clickers: monsters in a complicated stage of an infection who’re blinded by fungus rising out of their heads, and the collection’ most basic enemies. They make it out, and appear shaken however comparatively unscathed. After taking a second to catch their collective breath, we get the change from the sport the place Joel and Ellie touch upon the view from the roof of the museum.
Finish of the road
After they attain the Capital Constructing, which was speculated to be the meetup spot with the Fireflies, they discover that a few of them turned contaminated, and whereas the non-infected Fireflies tried to defend themselves, everybody ended up useless. When Tess frantically begins trying to find clues of the place to go subsequent, Ellie figures out that Tess was really bitten again on the museum and is now contaminated. Tess asks Joel to take Ellie to Invoice and Frank’s in order that she may go on to the Fireflies to assist make a remedy, and in flip assist “proper the wrongs” that Tess and Joel have enacted.
Joel shoots an Contaminated, which alerts a horde of extra Contaminated through the fungal manner traces. Tess begins pouring gasoline, grenades, and different ammunition onto the bottom and calls for that Joel and Ellie flee, and the previous of which reluctantly does so (Ellie doesn’t have a say, as Joel grabs her by the arm and drags her kicking and screaming out of the room). Because the Infect begin barreling in, Tess is having bother getting her lighter going.
One of many Contaminated slowly walks as much as a horrified-looking Tess, after which provides her a totally open mouth kiss in order that his fungus tendrils go into her mouth. She manages to ignite the lighter, and we see the constructing explode with Joel and Ellie safely outdoors. We finish on a shot of Ellie staring breathlessly into the gap because the Capital Constructing smolders behind her.
My ideas
This second episode was a doozy, so I’ll attempt to begin with the much less controversial stuff. General, this was a gradual 52 minutes. It felt like we misplaced lots of time repeating the identical factors in conversations, taking too lengthy to get to the purpose, or taking too many little pauses between actions that left every little thing feeling prefer it was lurching alongside to me. I additionally didn’t get an amazing sense of move with this episode. Certainly one of my associates that I used to be watching with described it as a collage, and I actually assume this picture conveys the construction of this second chapter within the story nicely. It felt just like the creators (so I suppose Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, on this case) plucked moments out of the sport and stitched them collectively just because they needed to incorporate them, relatively than contemplating why these moments labored so nicely within the sport.
The most effective instance of this, I assumed, was the bit the place Ellie pretended to have a dialog with herself on the flooded resort’s reception desk. The resort is a fairly well-known (or notorious, I suppose) degree within the sport that comes a lot later than the place it was right here, however I’ll let that lie — modifications like which are normally fairly innocent. What I didn’t like about how this second was applied, although, was that Ellie went out of her manner from a transparent goal to partake on this second, seemingly for no different motive than for the present to grind to a halt and go “Hey, keep in mind when this occurred within the sport?”
When that second occurs within the sport, Joel and Ellie are already exploring the realm at a leisurely tempo, so it makes excellent sense that she would slack off for a second to have slightly enjoyable in an in any other case bleak day-to-day. It’s additionally only a lot later within the story, too, when Ellie is way more comfortable with Joel and feels freer to be herself.
Okay, I do know I’m already stepping into the weeds a bit right here. I get that they need viewers who’ve by no means performed the sport to have the ability to expertise its most iconic moments, however plucking them out of context takes away from their general affect, in my view. In the event that they needed to incorporate these moments, I believe they need to have been a bit extra cautious when weaving them into the move of the episode. It’s a cute second, however a cute second with out the help from the suitable context from the character’s arc or the general story leaves it feeling hole and devoid of any substance. I see this as a recurring sample over the previous two episodes, with the resort foyer being the apparent this time round.
Taking an opportunity
Keep in mind these dangers I discussed earlier? Yeah, it’s time to speak about these. We knew stepping into that they have been going to alter the best way the Contaminated “work,” so to talk, particularly by eradicating the element that the fungal virus is unfold by spores within the air. Ignoring the truth that that’s really how fungus spreads in actual life, they opted as an alternative to have Tess clarify to Ellie (or relatively, data dump) how the Contaminated are literally all related by these fungal manner traces that develop between them by the bottom. Digging deeper into the zombie lore stuff is their prerogative with the present; I used to be the one who requested them to do one thing to set it other than the sport, proper? However to me, spending all this time organising new guidelines about how the zombies work is a waste of valuable display time on one thing that by no means actually mattered to the collection within the first place.
The Final of Us is zombie fiction — the factor about The Final of Us, although, with its intense deal with character-driven storytelling, is that the zombies don’t actually matter. The fungus factor is a pleasant twist, however they may very well be shark zombies or zombies or straight-up aliens for all I care. What makes The Final of Us totally different than the rest within the already over-saturated zombie media market is its characters, and what it does with them. What makes the Contaminated essentially the most fascinating, in my view, is the high-stakes, strain cooker context they supply that builds the framework for some sturdy, satisfying, and finally actually transferring character work.
On the subject of the Clicker scene… it wasn’t my favourite. It was chaotic, however not in like an I’m-on-the-edge-of-my-seat type of manner. It was extra of an I-can’t-tell-what-the-hell-is-going-on type of factor. Between the acute shaky cam and incomprehensible cuts, it’s near-impossible to observe, even upon repeat viewings. It was cool to see Clickers, although, as a result of they’re a enjoyable monster. I simply didn’t assume the scene was shot or edited in a very compelling manner, from a horror standpoint.
We gotta discuss concerning the kiss
I’ll finish on the identical be aware that the episode does: Tess’ kiss. Anna Torv does an exceptional job as Tess and brings one thing new to the function (one thing I’m nonetheless holding my breath to see from Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal), however they actually misplaced me with the kiss. I’ve heard all types of explanations for why it’s there, together with the one from Mazin himself, however it simply… doesn’t work for me. It’s definitely gross. It’s definitely stunning. However I don’t like gross and stunning for the sake of it.
Look, I used to be an English main. There are any variety of “viable” causes as to why it could be in there, from nature’s final conquer man to the liminal bliss of the second between life and demise to some form of twisted sexual commentary I don’t care to explain even in a hypothetical state of affairs. My level right here is that The Final of Us has at all times been violent and brutal, however gross-out/physique horror has by no means been in its wheelhouse. It feels too tonally dissonant to work for me, however I suppose that’s one thing we are able to hash out within the feedback.
In conclusion
General, I believe what the present is lacking essentially the most for me up to now is a transparent sense of focus. It feels in all places, particularly on this second episode. Like a collage. We nonetheless have a complete lot of present left, so there’s a very good probability it might shock me alongside the best way, and even deliver me again round by the tip. I do know I’m further harsh as a giant fan of the sport, so I’ll have an interest to listen to what non-gamers consider the entire ordeal.
To this point I definitely don’t assume it’s the worst factor I’ve ever seen, however I definitely don’t assume it’s nice, both. As for now, I’m trying ahead to seeing the place all of it goes within the coming weeks. At the least whereas there are nonetheless episodes out forward of us, I can nonetheless have some hope that I’ll come out on the opposite aspect with a principally constructive view.
Take a look at the remainder of Destructoid’s protection of the HBO adaptation of The Final of Us right here.
