Where do I begin? I was a big fan of the first game. Joel and Ellie invoked emotion in me I didn't know was possible to feel from a video game. After an amazingly perfect pilot episode, I thought this was going to be a series to rival Walking Dead or GOT.

Unfortunately, after episode two, things bog down in a hurry. The infected, the real danger in the show disappear and it devolves into a drama show. At least The Walking Dead had the good sense to spend a couple of seasons where the dead were the danger before it became a human drama story with largely hit or miss episodes.

The third episode in particular was insulting to say the least. Just when I'm fully invested in Joel and Ellie I get an entire episode of Bill and Frank who were glossed over in the game. Their relationship was merely implied and if not for a brilliant and emotional turn from Nick Offerman I might have stopped watching the series outright. There are ways to incorporate character development without actual filler episodes in a season one that only has seven episodes.

The biggest problem I have with the series, however, and the reason it couldn't manage even a 5 for me was the cast. Ellie's character is badly miscast. Bella Ramsay's Ellie is vulgar, snarkey, abrasive and totally unlikable. It's a chore to watch her scenes without shaking my head. The leader of the group in KC was an utter failure in casting. Does anyone think that anybody would follow that woman anywhere? I thought Tess was OK and true to the source material and as much as I dont like Pedro Pascal, he's not only a terrific Joel, he carried season one on his back. The misfire on Ellie is series killing for me though. How you could make the most important character in the franchise the least likable character in the series is unforgivable.