[Brad]

I haven't started The Last of Us yet, but I was planning to this week. Considering the main characters from the game, unless they deviate pretty substantially from the source material, I can't imagine there's much room for sex and romance. I'll report back on the first episode, but the spoiler-free headlines and memes I've seen so far suggest that it's going to be good.

Character origin story spoiler in case you haven't played the game(s):

The two lead characters are Joel and Ellie. Joel is a grizzled 40- or 50-something year old man who lost his daughter when the disaster struck 20 years ago. Ellie is a young teen girl, born post-disaster, who is carrying something plot-relevant. Joel effectively adopts Ellie and has a vaguely father-daughter relationship as they journey along to do a thing that might save humanity.

That is an oversimplification, for sure, but hopefully that explains why I doubt there will be sex and romance, at least not between the lead characters.

In other recent shows news, I just finished watching the new Willow series (8 episodes) and it was… fine. I was hoping to scratch the fantasy itch that Rings of Power only tickled. Willow is a nice enough romp through its fantasy world, and I feel like it stayed very true to the original movie. The pace is mostly good, with a couple of exceptions, but the writing quality wavers from good to wtf and back to good again.

Without getting into spoilers, there are some very strange and sudden tonal shifts and several points in the show that feel like plot holes, the writer ran out of time and had to rush something together, or the writing was handed over from one person to another mid-scene and blindfolded. Some of the characters are well written, but sometimes they're clearly "holding the idiot ball" (or "too stupid to live", as my wife calls it) in order to make plot happen more conveniently. I also get the feeling that the writers were leaning too hard into trying to be hip and cool to attract a young preteen/teen demographic. There's some seriously ham-fisted teenage romance angst and clumsy use of modern vernacular, which contrasts starkly against the pseudo-medieval backdrop. The actors all did a great job with the material they were given, though.

If you're just looking for a fun, family-friendly (no sex, just a kiss or two plus some dialog innuendo, and very little visual gore) fantasy romp without any major plot twists, it's a good way to spend about 8 hours. It wasn't terrible. It wasn't great. It was pleasantly entertaining, a decent middle-of-the-road fantasy adventure… much like the original film, now that I think about it.

edit: Oh! And importantly: it actually resolves the main plot thread by the end. There is a final scene to tease more for another season (not yet in development), but the conclusion is satisfying enough for me if that was all we got.