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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 260 | The Last of Us (HBO) Review Discussion and Spoilercast (Season 1, Episode 1) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-17 17:00:05
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2026-06
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Content

Welcome to the first of what will likely be many episodes of Sacred Symbols+ dedicated to HBO's brand-new, PlayStation-inspired series The Last of Us. Starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, the cable series based on Naughty Dog's classic kicks off with a bang, running for nearly an hour and a half and covering the first couple of hours of the 2013 PS3 game. The pilot straddles an interesting line: It's true to the original story, yet its own, completely unique thing, too. It has something to offer newcomers and series fans alike, and it's damn good, too. So let's chat about it, get a season-long dialogue started strong, and follow the light.

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Comments

Greg Hommel

I am so excited at the prospect of exposition on the lore. Even the tiniest departure from the game is much appreciated. I am also excited to see how people react to the twisted perspective of Abbey. Gamers are a fickle crowd and the leakage of the second game was a terrible prism to view that story through. This might be a second chance to experience these moral conundrums the way they were intended to be absorbed. Great discussion everyone. This is the most important thing going on in gaming. I am very pleased to put it under the microscope with you all.

Mike Po

Here's hoping for a Micah appearance in future episodes of this review series!

Joe Donnelly

Hey guys great episode. I'm curious if any of you caught the official podcast for this show. It has Neil Druckman, Troy Baker, and Craig Mazin. They talk about the making of the episode and how it compares to the game. Good stuff if you get a chance to listen.

Nicholas Coso

Great episode about a great episode!

Nikitas Gagas

Great discussion. I laughed hysterically for five minutes when Dagan said he jerked off after getting electrocuted. That kinky guy.

Anthony Martinez

I didn’t mind the virus not being spores in the air, because that makes it seem inescapable. You hit an infected person with a wrench and spores infect you when you breathe. Unless they keep the masks on forever. Spores from your clothes would be ever present

Klutch

Leftovers caught a stray damn. One of the best shows of all time. Season 3, and especially the finale, arguably the best ever. I think you will dig it.

Brandonnnnn

loved the episode. loved the discussion. also the leftovers is one of if not the greatest show ever made.

Cornelius

I don't want to seem negative, I love the last of us. But this was basically a shot for shot recreation of the game. Even the dialogue was the exact same in some parts. I hope they do more to differentiate from the game because otherwise anyone who's played the game won't get much from the show

Jake Buczek

Loving the adaptation so far. Was pretty confident HBO would knock it out if the park. My comment pertains to the fact that they set the show’s pandemic start ten years earlier in 2003 opposed to 2013 in the game. Part 2 of the game Joel teaches Ellie Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” off of 2013’s Lightning Bolt album. It becomes a integral piece of the narrative with significant meaning for Ellie. Now with the onset in 2003 that particular album would never have existed.(unless maybe PJ survives and continues to make records. Doubtful haha) Now do they just ignore this part entirely? Or maybe switch Future Days with an earlier Pearl Jam song? I’m curious to find out.

Surge!

Its solid all around but Joel loosing his nerve on the swat member was way too on the nose. We get it, his rage traces back to his encounter when he had Sarah in his arms, was it really essential to show a flashback from a moment we already saw 30 minutes ago?

MJ SKA BOI

🚂 All aboard! 🚂

Brandon Garvin

Was looking forward to this SS+, can’t wait to listen!

Joe Rowland

Oh hell yeah! First episode was great. Look forward to listening to you guys' take on it on the way to work tomorrow

Michael Ferrari

All I could think is the show felt so useless. Something about it felt really low budget, I don’t know if it was the sets, the lighting, or what. It felt like a cheese YouTube fan made project at times, and I never bought that these actors were the characters. That Ellie, “1, 2… fuck. You.” Was extra cringe, as if they’re begging you to be like “oh that’s so Ellie! Ellie says fuck so it’s her!” I wouldn’t say it was bad, but I would just prefer to play the game again.

Cannonball_Jones

One of the more common criticisms of The Last of Us as a game is that it doesn’t feel proud to be a video game—a claim I disagree with—but something I love about the show is how clearly reverent it is toward not just Naughty Dog’s video games but gaming as a whole. The show is subtle in its appreciation as not to hijack the focus for the wider audience but you know that the creators considered what goes through the mind of the gaming audience when someone wields a wrench as a weapon, or the likely inspiration from RE1’s first zombie reveal.

KomakiKhaos

My fiancée is watching the show without playing the game and the scene with Sarah broke her in a good way. She was expecting some half baked result because it is from a video game and loved the first episode

drew

I wonder if there gonna save the golf clubs for season 2??

A Hind D

Blown away by the show and so we’re the others in my house hood. Can’t wait for this review

AL022

I thought they gave very good promenonce in the opening credits to PlayStation and also in the closing credits

J_bandz

Can’t wait until they get to the part 2 characters I’m interested to see who they cast.

Andrew Frascella

I'm pretty mixed on it. I don't buy Pedro as Joel yet. He just seemed like he was being Pedro Pascal. He lacked nuance and Sarah's death did not really hit me like the game.

Kenneth Oms

Haven’t finished the episode yet, but wanted to write in and say I’m happy for Dagan and Ben getting some love and show time. Both bring great elements to every topic. Ben really shined during the forbidden west spoilercast so I’m happy to see him on here. However, I am a Dagan stan.

Dog Soup

I went in skeptical but it was a great episode. I almost wish I wasn't familiar with the story. The sense of dread in the first half was perfect.. Loved the show's version of Tess

Tasteless Box of Mashed Potatoes

Watching it a second time with a more awake brain. I look forward to listening afterward. Keep up the good work, and take care of yourselves.

Hidari Shotaro

The only part that I didn't like was the intro interview, I really hated it. One of the best parts of TLOU is going in blind and not knowing what's going on. You don't need to blatantly tell the audience, "hey fungus zombies see you soon." Felt insulting to the viewer's intelligence. It also very obviously blames global warming.

Bogey

I found it really interesting how many times they point out how they just avoided eating something. They didn’t get pancakes, Joel didn’t eat biscuits because of Atkins, Sarah didn’t eat the oatmeal cookies, Joel forgot the cake. Sounds like the infection is spread through yeast, which is a type of fungus.

Cole

First episode was fantastic

Sam

For those watching the series this will be great content, I'm sure. I'm a little said that, since I have no interest in the show, I won't be getting as much value from my subscription for the next eight weeks. But the content has to be driven by what the LSM crew are passionate about. Enjoy everyone!

TL

I'll be listening shortly. I'm ready to hear your thoughts. The only opinions I want more than Sacred Symbols is all the complete newbies to the story, its awesome to see non-gamer reactions to the show.

Brandon V

Great start. Also, The Leftovers is a masterpiece.

John

Maybe this has already been answered in comments, but an interview tells us that they changed the virus from spores to bites so that they didn’t have to have the characters wearing masks during large chunks of the show

RD_21

For the people not watching the show for now (no access to HBO+), is this going to eat an episode of SS+ for 9 weeks?

Michael Limauro
>>99815761

My fiancée loved it too never having played TLOU. But she doesn’t like the infected designs since they are “too scary” lol. Great show so far, despite some subtle changes from the intro of the game.

Michael Mashpotato

Im so glad they didn’t kill the dog 😂. Ellie so far is awesome. Her talking about Joel mumbling in his sleep and her mentioning the broken watch gave me a good chuckle.

Will Ellis

Guys yes. The last of us is great and all. It’s accepted amongst the humans. What I cannot abide by though is dagan, with his stupid words and animation drawings he does, talking smack of the leftovers. My literal favorite show. You can see a lot LOST’s DNA in the show. It’s a short enough series that it’s easy to rewatch and I get more and more out of it every time. So please give it a shot Colin. And take your time. So many factors of the human experience it deals with. From the hopeful to the tragic and also the ridiculousness and purposeless ness that we as people go through.

Robert Byers

Loved the pilot, only about 30 minutes into this episode of SS+. Maybe a small recommendation for you guys, try to listen to the podcast hosted by Troy Baker before recording each week. Craig Maizon did one for Chernobyl and it give a lot more info into why they made certain choices. Answers a lot of your guys’ discussion on the TV show open and why they did it. Personally I liked it as an intro

Matthew Jones

Thank you for that Solo take!!! It’s absolutely the 2nd best movie just behind Rogue One from the new slate of Star Wars. Did a nice fist pump listening haha

LastStandMedia
>>99825594

Oh, I'm definitely gonna get to it. It's rare for Dagan to diminish anything, though, so this is interesting.

Stray_Bullets

I guess I’ve not heard Ben’s voice much prior to this. He sounds like George Lucas DVD commentary. That’s not a diss. It’s nice. Great job on this coverage and analysis of the show. Excited for your continued thoughts. The first episode was essentially as perfect as it could be in my opinion.

Robert Schultz

Pretty surprised on Colin’s take that Bella feels older than Ellie as I had the exact opposite reaction to seeing her on screen. I think the casting works for the first season when Ellie is younger, but I worry that Bella is one of those people that will look 13 or 14 until she’s 30

Xavier Gomez

As someone who had a hate/love relationship with the walking dead for 11 seasons, I’m excited to watch something post apocalyptic that I know should deliver every week. Played the game multiple times and I have to say I was really impressed with Gabriel Luna as Tommy. Not just the impression of his voice but even the body language. Can’t wait to see more of him down the line. Thanks for the content every week! Makes the warehouse hours fly by!

Bogey

Will Chris be joining you guys on any of these episodes?

Aaron B Vick

Not sure if this was the intention, but the beginning segment involving the news broadcast seems to be a little homage to the original Dawn of the Dead. These two properties dealing with zombies and zombie-esque monsters, I think maybe that was the intention.

Joe

I’m absolutely pumped y’all are doing a spoiler cast for each episode. Haters be damned!

Zack E

I’m pretty sure in the game Tess and Joel were going after those guys to get back their guns. While in the show, they are going after them to get the car battery (apart from the revenge factor) Feeding more into the new narrative that Joel is actively trying to go look for Tommy from the start. Also, does any HBO show have any splash production company screen besides the HBO screen? I think it’s just more HBO style than anything.

Andrew McGregor

Loved the first episode, going in I was skeptical about Bella Ramsey as Ellie, but thought she was perfect. Was good to be able to experience one of my fav games stories with my wife, who doesn’t play games much.

Andrew McGregor

Also what’s the thought of where we land with season 2. Will they jump straight into the plot of the 2!d game, or will they fill in some of the time between the first and second game. Maybe intersperse some of Abby’s earlier life with her dad and the outbreak from their perspective.

Joshua Jones

To add to Dagan’s point of the infected being more scary, Tess shrieks when they see one, in the games they are much more nonchalant about them

Grimm Carousel
>>99858913

This is the conundrum they have. Season one is going to be the 1st game. So if this is a big hit are they going to drag TLOU 2 out over the course of lets say three seasons or will they at some point need a completely new story for the show like how GoT had to go beyond source material.

Harley Carlson

Having not yet played the games in this series, I didn't really have any expectations for the show (other than being a sad dad story XD). but I'm honestly blown away by this first episode. This is already shaping up to be one of the most high-caliber television shows ever produced. As mentioned many times, that really isn't surprising coming from HBO. They rarely miss. Once this is all said and done, I think I am more excited than ever to finally jump into these games and see what differences exist and what liberties were taken in the show. The question is, is the recent PS5 remake the definitive edition of the first game or would the PS4 remaster suffice? Also, will you have any pre-recording threads for future episodes to bring listener feedback into the equation?

Isaac Hodgson Downs

Did anybody catch the uncharted reference at the burn pit?

Connor Peterman

I feel the opening news segment was an incredibly intellegient addition. I was definitely interested in this show pre release but that was the point it actually sunk in "they are going to change things about the show and be Smart about it." I'm hooked.

Keith Mc Carthy

I cannot and will not tolerate Dagan shitting on The Leftovers

thefury4815

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the dvd being a nod to part 2

Christian Cugini

Love the pilot so much. My least favorite part was Ellie’s seemingly unfazed reaction to Joel beating the brakes off the FEDRA dude. In the game she seemed shocked. Loved the clicker on the rooftop at the end of the show.

Aswad Charles

The actress, Nico Parker who plays as Sarah, is Thandiwe Newton’s daughter When you see the resemblance you can’t unsee it

Max Stahl

Pedro and Bella were pretty safe picks, from an acting standpoint. I think that whomever played Ellie should've been someone that both looked unassuming and was deceptively tough. Having Ellie look a little like Sarah helped. With that said, they probably won't have a bad dynamic, just a different one. It remains to be seen if it'll reach the same heights as it did in the game. I'm looking forward to it.

Levelupbrady

The first time I played The Last of Us I cried for the first time in a video game (you know when). With the show, I did the same and I knew it was coming. So far they have done a great job. But of course, I had all the faith in Craig Mazin who did Chernobyl (which was amazing).

Levelupbrady

If you got HBO Max to watch The Last of Us, do yourself a favor and watch Station Eleven. It's also about a pandemic and the end of the world. Amazing show.

Josh Gamez

All I can really add to what you guys discussed is: shout out to that stunt actor that played the Runner in the store. That dude was hurling himself around with zero regard for anything in his way. Talk about maximizing your screen time. Lol

Justin

Hey team. I’m happy you are doing this review and I loved the first episode of the TLOU! Totally fine with whatever direction you guys want to take this but my preference would be for you not to spoil the game/show as you go on to discuss each episode. I haven’t played the game (I know!) and I actually held off once this show was announced so I could watch this fresh. I know I am probably in the minority here, but just wanted to throw out my opinion and see if anyone else felt the same. I would love to hear you guys talk about the series as experts on the game, maybe that just isn’t possible without spoiling it. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Todd Jakaitis

It’s a cheap show that tries to portray fantastical and brutal imagery in a way it cannot afford and that the medium of live action television does not support, but since it is Sony, Colin will praise it

Beau!

Not sure if this was discussed but is it odd that Bruce Straley is never mentioned when talking about TLOU? He was co-director on the game. I wonder what the story is there.

Seth Zentner

Anybody else think the next episode might be the Left Behind episode

Andy

How awesome would it be to do a flash back in the show, like in the first episode, but this time it’s in a bar and they are watching the same ABC talk show on a rerun, they pan away from to tv and show Nolan North at the bar and toss in another character from the last of us in that time frame. That would be cool and basically confirm uncharted is in the last of us world.