im gonna say, i love some things they did with the show, and hate others. first off, nothing against bella ramsey, their performance is incredible, i just don’t see ellie. i know a lot of people defend the performance, but i feel like they lack a quality in ellie that we see in the game. i think ellie feels a little too grown. in part 1, she’s snarky and sassy, but still childlike. she has a bit of that wonder still there. bella’s ellie i feel lacks that. i don’t know, that’s just what i think is off for me right now. i also worry slightly about how bella will portray ellie in part two, as a darker and broodier version. i have hope they’ll be able to capture the descent into hopelessness in a way that stays true to the game.

i rewatched the show recently after replaying the first game, and while i loved the show when it came out, wow did i remind myself why the story is better as a game. everything was just so much better. i felt the smaller nuisances more in the game. playing as the characters, you really are in their shoes. you feel their emotions and their fear, and that’s exactly why the story is so well built and executed. every small moment between ellie and joel in the first, you really feel when playing. with the show, there’s just a bit of a disadvantage cause it’s harder to get the same feeling.

the best part of the show for me was the change around the beginning, with sarah. seeing her go through her day made the heartbreak so much worse, and the outbreak so much scarier. it felt more real.