It’s such a strange thing, because if you independently pitched me “Rian Johnson creates a show about a wandering detective who always knows when someone’s lying, and it stars Peter Dinklage!” I’d be SO excited. But so much of Charlie is Lyonne and her whole vibe.

Please change immigration appointments from in person to online!

I’d be wary of wanting a less faithful adaptation considering many of your issues with the season - namely your frustration with Ellie’s goal - stem from Mazin’s changes to the game.

I’m here!

Yeahhhhh. I like the show a lot but this is a case where I think faithfulness to the game bites them. The POV change works A LOT better when you're immediately tossed into Abby's shoes, not as a cliffhanger where you have to wait two years.

I loved it but wish they’d taken an extra year and released one 13/14 episode season instead of two 7 episode seasons two years apart

But it’s a great season of TV that keeps its focus right where it should be: on the people. The writing’s sharper, the direction’s tighter, Bella’s even better than the first season, and you can bet your butt that when Pedro Pascal cries, the audience cries.

Qualms? Yeah, a few. The WLF/Seraphite conflict is always on the fringes and I think new viewers may be frustrated by the lack of context and information being saved for Season 3. I also wish Ellie was on her own more often, she’s most compelling when completely alone.

The Last of Us Part II is known for being dark, even oppressive, but Craig Mazin somehow finds ways to make every notable sequence more brutal. Think you’re prepared because you’ve played the game? You’re not - especially during a horrific scene late in the season finale.

The expanded scope allows Season 2 to add depth to a number of characters - Dina and Seth (!) get compelling new scenes, and Jeffrey Wright as Isaac - even though he doesn’t have much screen time - gets much more to chew on than he did in the game. Can’t wait to see more of him.

Not to jinx it but you should be fine, we’re a long ways away from the HBO Go days of not being able to handle sudden traffic

I believe the returns are mostly the killer using AI deepfakes as a super-charged version of the Scream 3 voice changer.