Troy Baker added that he already has two “Final of Us” tattoos, whereupon Craig Mazin revealed that he and Neil Druckmann additionally had their very own pact to get inked. “Neil and I made a deal early on in prep,” he defined, “and the deal was if the present does effectively, and we type of loosely outlined ‘does effectively,’ then he and I’ll each get a tattoo of Ellie’s switchblade.”

As one of many best-reviewed online game variations ever, with no finish to the watercooler buzz surrounding it, it is protected to say “The Final of Us” is doing effectively. Per Selection, the premiere was HBO’s second-biggest premiere for any present within the final decade, watched by greater than 10 million viewers in its first two days of availability. Which implies that it is now put-up-or-shut-up time for Mazin and Druckmann to get their switchblade tattoos. The one drawback? Druckmann has already made this promise twice earlier than.

“That is the third time I’ve made this deal,” he confessed. “I’ve made it on ‘The Final of Us I,’ then ‘The Final of Us Half II.’ […] And I’ve at all times backed out of it.”

This time, nonetheless, the pact is “public file,” Mazin mentioned, so “it is occurring.” And we will maintain them to that.

Whereas we’re making pacts, I really feel like there’s one other pact that must be made after “The Final of Us” episode 3. And that’s: cease utilizing Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” to underscore the tragedy of demise. We have seen this similar piece of music used to comparable impact in high-profile movies like Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival,” so when “The Final of Us” makes use of it to get the viewer’s waterworks going as two characters perform their suicide pact, it is like: alright already. That is sufficient distress porn. Let’s retire that music. And get switchblade tattoos!

New episodes of “The Final of Us” air Sundays on HBO and HBO Max