I’ve been getting a very short version of the Williams/Cox playing golf ad for a few weeks on YT and guessed it was meant as a super bowl spot. Now that the game is done, I hope so too are these ads.

Excellent episode. It was very exciting and very moving. When Ellie cut her hand to give blood to Sam, my heart broke, and I said out loud, “That’s not going to work, Ellie.” Before that, a knockout action set piece. Never played the game but I could imagine you’re Joel trying to shoot these fuckers before they get…

From my clock, it was 46 minutes. (And ended exactly where it needed to end.) I assume because the last episode was more than 70, almost a movie. I like shows being this length--it certainly is better than padding and bloating an ep and a series. And as part of the structure, Joel and Ellie’s adventures going slowly.

Alright, then I stand corrected. From a complex character pov, it might be interesting--or trite-- to have Joel be so traumatized that he initiates violence because that’s all he knows, and he often gets it wrong and kills innocent people.

After he almost ran over the first guy who looked wounded and called for their help? I’d have to watch the episode again. In any case, it probably doesn’t matter for the story’s sake.

I still can’t quite believe that Bella Ramsey is almost 20 years old. She is terrifc as a 14 year old. Ellie’s childlike enthusiasm—for arcade games, broken down cars, stupid pun books—is a damn delight. The emotional bonding between Joel and Ellie in this episode wasn’t anything original, but still heartfelt to see…

I couldn’t stop laughing through the sketch, which is a very unusual response watching, you know, Saturday Night Live. The Mario Kart sketch was fine. They did a similar thing with the Oscar The Grouch sketch a few years ago. Once you take a beloved children’s entertainment and turn it dark, it can lose its luster if…

Hey, you’re welcome. Sorry people are razzing you. Last week some person decided to be an asshole to me on the Last of Us reviews, so I know the feeling. Even meant as good-natured ribbing (which my experience was decidedly not—this guy must have been having a bad week and so lashed out), comments can come across as…

I didn’t know I would have feelings about an Oscar nomination, either. Thanks, ElectricSheep, for a civil, thoughtful discussion.

Yeah, I knew I was on shaky ground writing that. Sorry if it came across as patronizing. I agree that fuck the racists who would think that. I pretty much agree with your points, though, as has been pointed out, Davis has some real power and connections because she’s been in the industry for a while and everybody…

I thought that was Jodie Comer, who absolutely should do a rom-com.

I take your point, and absolutely the long history of only white nominees was a great injustice. I’m uncomfortable with a quota system where a black actor has to be nominated every year. You might retort why a white actor has to be nominated every year. And here we come to the deplorable fact that most casting is of…

The children have forgotten Frasier. What is a poor Gen Xer to do?

No, I think affirmative action is necessary to give more opportunity to non-white people and redress decades of bigotry. In the movie industry, absolutely there should be more diversity in front and behind the camera. For awards shows, the problem is different. I’m talking about some ideas that say we should set aside…

She was only a couple years older than me. I primarily knew her from 24, thought I think I saw her in other things--she was a constant presence on TV. I hadn’t known she was also a video game actor. RIP.

And before him, Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco. But it’s a motherfucker if James Bond and Dr. Melfi couldn’t do it.

Ha! Even though he’d look pretty older I think. I haven’t seen him in a while.

Discarded title suggestions for the Left Behind movie: The Antichrist Awakens, and The Last Antichrist. I guess you could say Left Behind: A New Antichrist Hope, but that flick would have been made by Satanists.

A very good episode. The only misstep was playing Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight, which has become an overused cliche to signal the waterworks in shows and movies. But very lovely and tender scenes with two fantastic actors. I was blown away by Offerman, showing Bill’s longing, trepidation, and vulnerability.…

I enjoyed how Charlie Keyser-Sozeyed her way into discovering Gavin actually wrote that song.