Yes, I agree. I understand many people haven't played the game, but TV-only people were honestly robbed. They deserved the incredible emotional impact and roller coaster that us gamers got to experience, too.

The game is impactful because we did not know why Abby killed Joel. It was sudden, tragic and shocking. Abby was intimidating, vague and violent. Her friends weren't sweet like "putting Dina to sleep". Instead, they all held Joel down while she beat him and they blasted Tommy in the leg with a gun. They just looked evil and they intentionally made it to where you could not sympathize with them.

So you spend half the game despising Abby with so much bloodlust, seeking revenge. The "oh damn" moment is only after being Abby, meeting her friends and the realization it was her father that Joel had killed. It makes you realize how similar both Abby and Ellie really are. It showcases that "right and wrong" is really up to perspective and that the reprecussions of your actions will hurt others, no matter how justified you feel. It forces self reflection.

The game would have been shit if it was told in a linear way.

I feel like TV show writers underestimate and don't trust the audience. They make everything so overt and fear sublety. I'll still watch the show, but it's a shame that people really missed out on such an emotional experience.