^TagHBO Max

Grand Tetons peak at sunrise with snake river overlook in Wyoming, US

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 25, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Arts & Culture, Entertainment, HBO Max, Science fiction, Streaming, television, The Last of Us, TV shows}

The Last of Us, Episode 6

_{A tale of zombies and...communism?} _{Gary Varner

March 25, 2023

10

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Episode six starts out strong. We meet an elderly couple who has been living alone in Wyoming. Joel and Ellie break into their cabin and ask for directions in the rudest way possible—at gun point—which is a little over the top, and even the actors playing the couple seem to know it. As Joel sits beside the old pair, holding a gun and acting dour, the elderly man chats with him, sporting a bemused grin. Joel and Ellie get the directions they need and soon come across a group of men and women on horseback who hold them at gunpoint and check to see if they’re infected. Once it becomes clear that Joel and Ellie are fine, the riders ask Read More ›

Generative AI illustration of underground sewer tunnel

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 22, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Apocalypticism, Gary Varner, HBO Max, Science fiction, television, The Last of Us, Tragedy}

The Last of Us, Episode 5

_{The show is back on track and improving} _{Gary Varner

March 22, 2023

10

Arts & Culture}

At the end of Episode four, Joel was being held a gunpoint by a mysterious child. We also saw that Ellie was being held at gunpoint by another man as well, but before episode five reveals what has become of them, the writers first give us a flashback, explaining how the child holding Joel at gunpoint, whose name turns out to be Sam, and the man holding Ellie at gunpoint, Henry, the same Henry Kathleen has been chasing, came to find Joel and Ellie in the first place. The two brothers were on the run after FEDRA fell to Kathleen’s resistance movement. Henry was an informant for FEDRA, and he snitched on Kathleen’s brother, who was the former leader of Read More ›

Concept art illustration of post-apocalyptic New York city

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 18, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Apocalypticism, HBO Max, Kansas City, The Last of Us, TV shows, Zombies}

The Last of Us, Episode 4

_{After a derailing of the narrative, the actual plot makes a comeback} _{Gary Varner

March 18, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

After a tough episode three, The Last of Us decides to return to the plot, and we see the writing quality improve somewhat. We pick up with Joel and Ellie driving down the road, and to be candid, the scenes are interesting. There was, however, one giant plot hole during this sequence I couldn’t ignore. It’s a little thing, but as someone who grew up in Missouri, I found it hilarious. So, while they are driving along, they come across a herd of bison. The subtext behind the camera shot is painfully obvious, “Now that man is gone, the buffalo have returned. Nature is healing!” Of course, what the camera crew failed to notice, or at least, what they were Read More ›

wheelchair for physical assistance at nursing home, close up. Generative AI

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 16, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts & Culture, HBO Max, TV shows}

The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part 3)

_{Romanticizing a murder-suicide distracts us from the story and suggests an approval of euthanasia} _{Gary Varner

March 16, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

In the previous review, we discussed the love story of Bill and Frank, and how it must’ve only been written to appease the critics because, while it stirred some controversy, it contributed nothing to the plot. We started out following Joel and Ellie across the countryside, but then, we were unexpectedly forced to watch an approximately forty-minute flashback that literally showed Bill and Frank’s entire cliché and boring life together. And before we can return to the real story, we must see how the two meet their untimely end. This final sequence starts out with Bill getting into a gunfight with some raiders who are all dying horribly at the hands of Bill’s various traps. At first, Bill seems to Read More ›

Man and girl in post apocalyptic city. The last of us style. Generative AI.

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 4, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Apocalypticism, Fantasy, Gary Varner, HBO Max, Sci-fi, Science fiction, The Last of Us, TV shows}

The Last of Us Review: Episode 2

_{A rather slow episode despite the sonar zombies} _{Gary Varner

March 4, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Last time, we looked at the first episode of The Last of Us and talked about how it was well written, but if you are aware of the controversy surrounding this game and its sequel, then you know bad things are on the horizon. Once we reach episode two, the writing quality drops a little but not much. It’s still pretty good, at least, when it’s consistent with the source material. Ellie wakes up to find Joel and Tess staring at her with a loaded gun. Her guardians are having a hard time believing that she is not infected with the virus despite the fact that her wound has healed. There is a brief debate about whether or not to Read More ›