Pour l'éternité (S01E03)

It takes a lot of creative courage to put a spin-off episode in the middle of a series that doesn't really move the plot anywhere, stretches a short section from the video game to 80 minutes, and manages to piss off fans of the original and newcomers alike. It's every liberal's dream come true and yet it doesn't have a drop of woke ideology in it. It's just an endlessly sad story of two elderly guys who have created their own world of reason, sanity, and love in contrast to what was going on behind the fence. When Ellie reads Bill's letter, it becomes clearer than ever that in this mycological marasmus, every single person is in fact "the last of us." (31/01/2023)

The local clique of mostly Slovak homophobic (mentally antiseptic) buffoons did not disappoint. Let’s be nice to them; they don’t have an easy time of it in the world, and they feel their end is near. What bothers me more than Brokeback Mountain is that this episode occasionally falls into sterile romantic pathos. That Bill and Frank’s storyline has changed against the game and isn’t nearly as cruel, which I understand dramaturgically. The third episode wants to show a microcosm of the world in which humanity still resists the apocalypse and to thus create a contrast to the brilliant second episode. The ending is resolved superbly (because it works with the hint) and both of the lead actors are excellent. Despite that, I’m already looking forward to when attention is turned fully back to Joel and Ellie. By the way, The Walking Dead had already made these digression and I venture to say that it sometimes did it better! (31/01/2023)

A unique bromance in a world of ruin and suffering. Fragile, touching and unapologetic. In the first minutes it doesn't look like that at all, but gradually the two partners win you over bit by bit – unless are a bigot looking for something that isn't there. Everything important about a meaningful relationship of any gender is simply here. (13/07/2023)

What can I say? It tickled me emotionally, but it didn't tear me apart. It's just that, while I'm happy to wait for further developments and maybe change my mind in hindsight, I really don’t think that this is an effective and appropriate way to tell this, at its core, terribly rudimentary video game plot. I enjoyed the way Bill built his closed world the most, but it was hardly worked with afterwards. They lived in harmony for decades until Joel predicted gang raids, which eventually happened once… and then peace again. The connection to the main line was very tenuous, though I understand Joel's current psychological motivation after reading the letter. Like I said, I'll see after watching the whole series, but I'm starting to think the creators are just polishing a turd. So far, it only shows that these post-apocalyptic themes have been exhausted – it would be more appropriate to adapt the story kaleidoscope of “World War Z” in this style. (31/01/2023)