I have no idea why this show has such the high rating it does. It's boring. Beyond boring. Much more boring than The Walking Dead became.

This show is based around a fungus type virus (based on the very real Cordyceps fungus which is one of the most horrifyingly beautiful organisms on the planet. This thing is the source of nightmares. So, it would seem to fit right in in a post-apocalyptic show.

Problem is, it's barely in the show.

I'd bet, in the entire first season, there is maybe, *MAYBE* 30 minutes of screen time combined in all the episodes, the rest is just boring exposition dialog. The show stays very close to the game from which it is adapted but all the tension in the game is forgone for hours of wasteful dialog.

After watching the entire season, two episodes were a complete waste of time. Those are the episode with Bill and Frank and the episode which just should have been called "How Ellie Got Bit" both were boring and did not really move the story along in any meaningful way. Sure, there was some backstory to Bill, which we meet in the game, but it still felt forced and unnecessary in the over scheme of the first season.

Being an HBO show it's shiny and they hired decent actors to play the roles, however, that can't save the show from the fact that's it's so boring, you could watch the first 10 minutes of an episode, get the gist of what's happening then skip right to the last 15 minutes and I'd bet you wouldn't miss much.

The thing about the game is that there are moments of intense tension with small sections where you can catch your breath. That tension isn't captured in this adaptation, mainly due to the lack of the real danger, the infected.