As someone who has never played the game this show is based on, I can only rate it on the quality of the show itself. Unlike many who seem to have decided it was worthy of a 9 or 10 before they'd even seen it, I'm updating my review (down to a 5 from a 6) after 8.5 episodes (the point I decided to quit watching). To say this series is completely underwhelming would be an understatement. The first 20 minutes of the first episode were great, setting the scene for the unfolding pandemic. Everything after this, besides episode 5 which was the only noteworthy episode (definitely worth a 9/10) is by the numbers, slow paced, seen it all before but done better. Bella Ramsey's character Ellie, was instantly and continues to be dislikeable, with no redeeming features. Pedro Pascal as Joel is excellent but he is the only positive in this achingly tedious show. In episode 4 we were introduced to Kathleen played by the totally miscast Melanie Lynskey. The person responsible for casting in this show is clearly a poor judge of character. Even the action scenes are lacking tension or excitement. I stuck with it hoping for another episode as good as the fifth, but alas the next 3 episodes have left me bored stiff. So I'm I'm baffled by the high scores and positive reviews given to this show.