To say HBO's The Last of Us had a high bar to clear would be putting it mildly. For one thing, it would need to adapt one of the most critically acclaimed video games in history to a different medium. But to be successful, it would also need to speak to new fans in an urgent way, while carrying along the fans who'd been there since 2013. To simultaneously satisfy a generation of PlayStation gamers' expectations while surprising them enough to feel like more than a series of cutscenes.

In this installment of Frame Rate—the first of (at least) two episodes we're dedicating to TLOU—Jaime, Patrick, Micah, and Dan (Ferlito, who came back just for the occasion!) explore the first season of this landmark television series in depth. Please—please—make sure you've watched all the episodes of season one before listening to this, as we go very much into spoilers.