Apocalypse Wow

The Eternaut

The new apocalyptic show The Eternaut just debut on Netflix today (August 30). This Argentina show is based on the 1957 comic book El Eternauta by Héctor G. Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López.

The original story had many sequels and was tied up in copyright disputes for many years. The English translation to the comic wasn’t made available until 2015, via Fantagraphics Books, after the Argentine courts gave the copyright to Oesterheld’s heirs.

For the Netflix show, it started off with a group of friends getting together to play cards. That night, there was falling snow, that just killed anyone that came in contact with it. Since the group was indoors, they were saved… and soon enough the star of the show, Juan, played by actor Ricardo Darín, needed to get back to his wife and daughter.

They figure that you could not touch the snow, so he covers himself head to toe with clothing and a gas mask, courtesy of the home owner, who said he got it from his time in Europe.

Juan started walking to his apartment (I don’t understand why he didn’t just get into a dead person’s car and drive there?)… and that’s when the title card came up. Forty minutes into the show, and we finally get the title of the show: “The Eternaut”. I’ve had to look up the meaning of that title, apparently this is a term that was created by Oesterheld, and is a combination of ‘external’ and ‘naut’, combine meaning external navigator.

I thought the show could’ve spent a little more time with Juan’s journey, but we quickly find ourselves at his apartment in the second episode and he meets up with his wife. They found out that their daughter is missing, so now he and his wife needs to find their daughter.

Anyway, there is are moments in the show that doesn’t make any sense to me. For example, they fight over the car… What I don’t get is why don’t our card playing group just take an existing car on the road. The people driving all died with their keys in the car, they can just borrow it and go where ever they want.

Since I’ve read the synopsis of the original story, I know where the story is heading and the secret behind the snow. I wish I had not read about it, so I could have been surprised when the story takes that twist.

Still, this is a pretty good story about survival and about an ordinary man under extraordinary circumstances. Well worth checking it out, if you don’t mind reading subtitles.

The Last of Us: Season 2

As you know, I’m playing The Last of Us: Part II the video game, in anticipation of the second season of The Last of Us.

With the second season of The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie are living in Jackson, with Joel’s brother. It sounds like it’s been many years since the mushroom apocalypse that destroyed humanity. We see that the two are going out on patrol and killing any infected.

Since I’m playing the game, I can see a weird divergent in the television show. The changes they made, well it seems to make more sense to me.

In the game, Joel’s brother, Tommy, went after the killers, but in the show, they took him out of the equation because they created a massive attack on the town and Tommy had to stay behind to rebuild the city.

In the show, Ellie and her girlfriend, Dina, sneaks off to track down the killers… while in the game, it’s Tommy’s wife Gabriel, is the person that gave the two girls their mission (to bring Tommy back home).

I’m sure there are going to be many other changes in the game and tv show, and like I said, I like the new story changes. It doesn’t really change that much and fundamentally the show is about a revenge quest.

What I don’t like is that we’re seen less and less of the mushroom infected creatures. It’s like the game and show will just focus on the two groups in Seattle: The Scars and the WLF.

That’s just only part of my problem – the fact that the story isn’t about the fungus, but it’s now more about the humans. My other problem is that Joel (Pedro Pascal) is out of the picture, and Tommy’s story is left behind, the story is just going to be on Ellie. And I guess on Abby, if the show decides to follow her storyline. What made the first game (and show) so good is the chemistry between a father-figure and daughter (Joel and Ellie) and their journey through America… is completely different in the second game and show.

I know the video game divided the fanbase, with so many fans rage-quit or were just very critical of the game. That may be the case with the TV show, as it becomes humans killing humans for revenge. Like, as if the show turned into Kill Bill, except it’s Kill Abbie.

Look, I enjoy a good revenge story, as I previously mentioned. I am enjoying the show so far… but with no star power of Pascal, I wonder how many viewers will stick around. I know HBO/Max have stretched out the show to at least another season, so, in my opinion, the story won’t be completed just yet. Ellie has to track down at least five people to murder, so it’s going to take time to close out her story.