T.V. Review: The Last of Us (Season 1)
Screenshot: HBO Max
“In 2013, Naughty Dog studios gave gamers one of the most widely beloved games of all time, The Last of Us. Now in 2023, HBO is attempting to adapt the game to small screen with the help of the game’s creator, Neil Druckmann, and Chernobyl creator, Craig Mazin. Will this adaption suffer the same negative fate as many other attempts to adapt video games to T.V./movies? Or will it receive the same critical response as the game did?”
Synopsis
Adapting video games into movies or TV has tended to be a very cursed venture over the past few decades. Be it Silent Hill, Street Fighter, Doom, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, or everyone’s favorite from 1993, Super Mario Bros., video games have had a rough time translating to other forms of media. But with a strong narrative beloved by millions, will HBO’s The Last of Us serve as the benchmark for future video game adaptations? In short, yes it will. The Last of Us provides both fans of the game and newcomers a moving story set against the dark backdrop of a post-apocalyptic zombie infested world. The Last of Us is clearly a well-made show on its own, but the best parts come from the showrunners never forgetting the game that it is connected to.
How did we get here?
In 2013, video game studio Naughty Dog released The Last of Us for the PlayStation 3. The game received critical acclaim for its post-apocalyptic narrative, graphics, and gameplay. But if we’re being honest, the love for the Last of Us has nearly everything to do with the story of two characters on a cross-country journey taking on zombies and murderous factions alike in an attempt to hold on to some glimmer for a cure. The father-daughter relationship that develops between Joel (Troy Baker) and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) throughout their journey is beautifully told against the backdrop of a dark world, and caused fans of the game to beg for more. Although a remaster was released in 2014 for the PlayStation 4, fans would have to wait a while longer before they were given the next chapter of The Last of Us.
In 2020, fans’ prayers were heard and Naughty Dog released The Last of Us Part II for the PlayStation 4. If you know anything about The Last of Us series, you are likely well aware of the divisive nature of The Last of Us Part II. Once again, the graphics were stunning and the gameplay was engaging, providing the sequel with very positive critical reviews. Unfortunately, certain narrative decisions divided the fan base and had many people calling for Neil Druckmann’s head. Druckmann served as the writer and co-director of the first game, but his direction for the second game ended up causing The Last of Us Part II to have a Metacritic score of only a 5.8 from users, while The Last of Us garnered a 9.2. Despite the rocky reception, The Last of Us Part II still ended up taking home Game of the Year at the 2020 Game Awards.
Jump to January 15, 2023, when The Last of Us premiered its first episode on HBO and HBO Max. The Last of Us was created for TV by writer/director Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann. Game of Thrones veterans Pedro Pascal (The Mandolorian) and Bella Ramsey (His Dark Materials) took up the mantle of Joel and Ellie. The Last of Us was filmed throughout Alberta, Canada from July 2021 to June of 2022. The show has received positive critical reviews with an 84 on Metacritic, but once again appears to have divided fans of the game receiving only a 6.4 on Metacritic. But for this review, I’d like to provide the perspective of someone who hasn’t played The Last of Us, but has a decent knowledge of both games’ stories prior to
Spoiler-Free Review and Verdict
Season one of The Last of Us did things the right way when it came to adapting a video game for cable TV. We've seen much more negative receptions from critics and fans alike when it came to the Halo TV show on Paramount plus. That show infamously had show runners stating that they didn't look to the game when it came to making the show. But for The Last of Us, not only was Druckmann directly involved, but Mazin acknowledged playing through the game multiple times. We don't just have Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey guessing at their roles, the show runners brought in Troy Baker (Metal Gear Solid V (2015)) and Ashley Johnson (The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)), the original duo from the Last of Us games to help Pedro and Bella bring the characters to life. Even Merle Dandridge (Half-Life 2 (2004)) was able to come in to reprise her role as Marlene from the game.
When you watch this show as a fan of the source material, you can feel the love that went into turning a beloved game into a cohesive TV show. As a newcomer of the franchise, you're provided with a very competently made dystopian adventure with likable characters and an enriching story. You start the show and you're hooked from the first episode. The cinematography is brilliant showcasing nature slowly enveloping the urban environments, the CGI and costumes/makeup for the zombies sends chills through your spine as the growth of fungus turns people into monsters, and the additions to the original source material also play out really well. All the characters in this show feel believable and pull their weight. There are so many heart wrenching moments in this show, and I can see some squeamish individuals wanting to shy away, but if you've got the stomach for some sad moments, The Last of Us is well worth your time.
Verdict: 8/10
Review and Analysis (Spoilers)
Season one of The Last of Us (“TLOU”) consists of nine episodes, each one with a runtime of a little less-than an hour. The events of season one follow the events of the entirety of the first game, which takes roughly 15 hours to complete. Seeing as there are only roughly nine hours’ worth of episodes in season one, it’s clear to me as even a casual viewer that cuts had to be made to be made to accommodate the runtime, and I can imagine that a lot of the zombie and raider shooting galleries from the game were cut to make it work for TV. But the most important aspect of the game, the relationship between Joel and Ellie, was represented from beginning to end.
But if there's a criticism to be had, a common criticism was Joel and Ellie's relationship feeling rushed. This issue circles back to what we had mentioned before, how do you fit a 15 hour game into a 9 hour show? You can't, especially with the show runners adding an episode to expand on the relationship between Bill (Nick Offerman [Parks and Rec]) and Frank (Murray Bartlett [The White Lotus]), and another episode to cover TLOU's DLC (Left Behind (2014)) featuring Ellie and her friend Riley. Even though I didn't play the game, I felt that by the final episode of season one, the relationship between Joel and Ellie galvanized much quicker than what would be believable based on their relationship up to that point.
The game shows a lot more of the journey of Joel and Ellie than the show is able to. It's these quiet moments of Joel and Ellie talking on the road that would likely help fill in the gaps that feel missing from the show. In the second to last episode when Ellie is captured by a group led by a religious fanatic, we see Joel call Ellie his "baby girl" to comfort her, much in the same way he did his own daughter from the first episode. But despite the trauma of the episode, it didn't necessarily feel earned.
The biggest sticking point for me was the last episode. It really felt kind of rushed. We spent the entire season trying to get Ellie to the Fireflies so she can be used to find a cure. But once they get there, they're hit with a flash bang, Ellie is put on a table so that she can be subject to surgery that will kill her but potentially provide us with a cure. Joel goes on a rampage, rescues Ellie, lies to her about what went down, and the season one ends. Season one would have benefited from (at least) one to two more episodes. Just something to give the characters more time to deal with the reality of the issues before then. More time to question whether what Joel was doing was right or wrong, before he starts blasting.
In speaking with friends who have played the game, they describe this episode as being fairly close to the source material in regards to how it all went down. The issue for me is with TLOU's ending in general. Something that takes me out of the moment in the story is the idea that the only way to produce a cure is by killing Ellie. How can this doctor make such a determination after what we can only assume a few hours between the time Joel and Ellie are knocked out, to the time when Joel wakes up? It makes absolutely zero sense to me that the Fireflies would be gambling on a potential cure by killing the only immune person you've come across.
But I digress…
This show isn’t perfect, but it is really well done. Aside from the pacing issues in the last couple episodes, the only other thing I would ask for from the show is a little more action. As mentioned above, a lot of the gameplay comes from sneaking around zombies when possible and getting into fire fights with raiders. The show does the zombie action very well when it’s on screen, but I feel like there are times we forget about the zombies due to the characters having to deal with all the corrupted groups of people vying for power. TLOU’s costume designs for the zombies are really grotesque, featuring growths and malformations as the different stages of the Cordyceps takes its toll over time. All I’m asking for is just a little bit more of that.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
I've said it in a previous review, and I'll say it again here, I really am the target audience for stories having to do with fathers and sons or parents protecting their children (i.e., Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Star Wars [the original trilogy], The Mandolorian, Avatar: The Way of Water, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, etc.) Basically, this show is exactly my cup of tea. But even if you're familiar with the source material of TLOU (which I was), just knowing what was going to happen in a given episode isn't enough to prepare you for it because the cast in TLOU, especially Pascal and Ramsey, are so talented I found myself moved to tears on more than one occasion.
Some people might find the notion of a show adapted from a video game being able to make a grown man tear up a bit silly. But when you're a father, and in the first damn episode you have to watch Joel try to tell his daughter Sarah, "it's going to be okay," even though you know it's not, it's gut wrenching. When you watch as Henry has to try and come to grips with putting down his infected little brother (Sam) before ultimately turning the gun on himself, or when you see the beautifully done story of Frank and Bill's relationship from beginning to bitter end, it moves you. But I don't think just any script or any actor can cause this reaction in an audience. It takes a talented cast and a well written story (properly tweaked for this medium) to move someone. And TLOU has all of these things. If you're looking for something to watch, and if you have the stomach for it, TLOU is definitely worthy of your time.
