I enjoyed the first episode a lot! This has been widely described by the critics as one of the best video game adaptations ever made, and by some as the best. I will say that, based on the first episode, it's already the most compelling one I've ever watched, and I mean by a wide margin.

Narratively, it's basically the opening chapters of the game except with a lot more narrative fill-out in (and a few actual changes) in place of the game's heavier reliance on fights with the infected for game play purposes. The actors are fantastic; especially Bella Ramsey as Ellie, who I think has been wrongly maligned for having a different body shape than the game character. The role of sound is the standout aesthetic feature of the show for me so far.

That said, the question emerges as to whether or not the existence of this show is merited. Are the new narrative additions worthwhile? I tend to think of TV or film adaptations of video games as just marketing gimmicks whose actual purpose is to sell more copies of the games they're based on rather than to have autonomous merit of their own; a motivation that typically yields uninspired results. So I have been admittedly skeptical of the merits of this show existing in the first place from the outset. Or at least I was until I saw the first trailer. I knew from that point that real effort had been put in and that I wanted to give the show a chance. I got HBO just for it! But we still haven't answered the aforementioned question. The answer, based on one episode, is...honestly, at the end of the day, I'd still rather be playing the game. I think overall I preferred the comparative simplicity of the game's opening aesthetically. I'm enjoying the show, but mostly because I enjoyed the game it's based on, in other words. That autonomous merit hasn't yet emerged strongly for me.

That said, the critics have almost universally characterized the first two episodes as the worst in the series and the third as the best -- the one that firmly establishes the merit of the series' own autonomous narrative -- so I'm looking forward to getting there! Based on my experience watching the first episode, I'm absolutely going to press on, no question.

The first episode was ok, not amazing but a decent start.

I thought the first episode was quite good! I’d give it around 8.5/10. Very faithful at times, different at other times—but not in a negative way mostly. Only change I didn’t like was not including the scene with Sarah in her home where she sees the explosion on TV, and immediately out the window. Always found that really well done and chilling.

I loved it.

But then they add some amazing scenes like when the old creepy lady started to open her mouth behind sarah , that was fucking creepy , reminded me of the ring movie 😱

I enjoyed the first episode. If they keep this level of quality, it's certainly one of the better video game adaptations out there, especially for live action.

I plan to talk more about how I thought about this first episode in a while, maybe tonight.

I wanted to prod about this first. 

I feel like there are a lot of ways to answer that question. 

For fans of TLOU the game, does it have merit?

For people that don't game, does it have merit?

As a fan of TLOU, I mostly felt like I wanted to just return to the game. This did an amazing job of translating the game to a tv show. It feels worth watching to me as a fan, but it doesn't feel like I would miss that much if I were to just play the game. It's in a weird middle ground for me. I'm going to watch it, probably going to get it on blu-ray, and I'm certainly going to love watching the rest of it. But it doesn't replace the game in any major sense. If I had the choice of one or the other, so far it's pretty clearly the game.

But I also know people that don't game that game, and I'm absolutely thrilled this exists. Because I think this is a chance for them to get into the experience. And I think there's a chance for them, it might end up being the other around. Where they don't need to play the game, they might not feel the game has enough differences to be better, but they can still enjoy the world as part of the TV show.

When I'm evaluating the quality of a TV of film adaptation of a video game or game series, I have two simple tests:

1) Would I still like this show if the game or games that it's based on didn't exist?

2) Do I like it as much as or better than the game or games it's based on?

Based on a sample size of one episode, TLOU TV adaptation so far for me is the first game adaptation to television to even pass the first test. That means it's worth continuing to watch. It also means that your non-gamer friend or relative you might wish to interest in this story might actually be able to develop a genuine interest. The second test it has not yet passed for my taste though. However, the critics almost universally promise me that episode 3 will change my mind about that, so I'm eagerly anticipating getting to that one!

In the kitchen of the neighbor’s house, yes? Yeah, it was a pretty good scene. Poor Buddy Garrity from FNL. :(

I’m still a little in the middle on whether I’m into the fungal material coming out of the mouth. At first I found it cool but shortly after felt it bordered on cheesy. You liked it?