Helmed by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, The Last of Us season 1 is set twenty years after a mass fungal infection caused by a mutation in the genus Cordyceps sparked a global pandemic. The infection causes its victims to transform into hostile, cannibalistic creatures resembling zombies. The series primarily follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States due to her immunity from the infection.
Video game adaptations have had a long cursed history of being mediocre to downright terrible. On occasion, some developed cult followings of their own by certain fans or people who enjoyed the entertainment value. And in recent years certain video game adaptations based on simple games, like Detective Pikachu, Arcane, and the Sonic films, have done really well but for a long time there hasn’t been an adaptation that has earned mass recognition nor broken any major barriers, until now.
This adaptation of one of the most beloved cinematic games is absolutely phenomenal from start to end in its first season. It’s an adaptation that not only chose to stay true to a majority of its source material but also chooses to deviate from it at certain points, hugely improving upon the already amazing original story. It is so beautifully made and had so much effort put into it that it has raised the bar for what video game adaptations of adult games should be doing.
There are many things this series has that make it masterful and phenomenal but the core element that drives this series are the characters and their respective cast members.
We start off with of course the main two of this journey which are Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. They are both absolutely perfect in their roles completely embodying the characters in every single way.
Daddy Pedro memes aside, Pascal beautifully captures every single quality of Joel from the games being a cold man with morally grey views of people in this post-apocalyptic world as well as a broken man who has suffered great loss and is afraid of experiencing that same loss again as he grows attached to Ellie. His journey in this series is a brutal but beautifully crafted one, packed with strong emotion thanks to excellent writing and most of all Pedro’s fantastic performance that had me hooked from beginning to end. Pedro Pascal has truly shown himself to be an amazing talent in recent years and continues to do so with this series, bringing one of the best video game protagonists to life.
Then you have Bella Ramsey who is fantastic in her role as Ellie and embodies all the aspects of the beloved character. She has the humor, the sass, the pain she feels, and most of all the very soul of Ellie in her performance, making for a truly emotional roller coaster of a journey that she has with Joel in an unforgiving landscape. The two share perfect chemistry together on screen, easily delivering the best acting/character duo of this year in television hands down. Yes, it’s a duo that rivals even the Mandalorian and Grogu.
The casting of Joel and Ellie was the most crucial part of adapting this series since they were the main focus of the story but I was also hoping that all the supporting characters could be equally as compelling as the main two, and thankfully they were! There were some truly outstanding supporting performances delivered in this series that deserve just as much praise as the leads.
The most notable of all the supporting performances are Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank. Even when they only appeared in one episode together they truly delivered one of the best love stories ever put on screen when playing these two characters. They deliver such emotionally raw performances as two polar opposites who fall in love and manage to have a truly beautiful life together in a post-pandemic world. They are explored in a completely different direction from the game yet managed to be way more compelling compared to their video game counterparts as we get to see them fully explored layer by layer through phenomenal acting and writing. It’s truly one of the best things in television I have ever seen and I am really hoping that both Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett get massive recognition for their work.
Another pairing worthy of recognition is Lamar Johnson as Henry and Keivonn Montreal Woodard as Sam, a deaf, artistic eight-year-old child who is hunted by violent revolutionaries in Kansas City alongside his brother Henry. These two were allies that Joel and Ellie met in the game but here in the show they are expanded upon and fleshed out in new ways, making them more impactful to the story and making viewers feel attached to them just as much as the lead characters. I absolutely love the fact they used ASL (American Sign Language) to deliver such fantastic scenes and promote deaf representation in media, following in the footsteps of certain blockbuster franchise installments that also used ASL in a brilliant way.
We also get a wonderful performance from Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy who continues to be one of my favorite underrated actors of all time. He plays the role of the younger brother who desires a family like his brother used to have and a world in which people can return to peaceful living, something which Joel has lost hope in finding. It creates such an interesting dynamic between them that’s played beautifully by both actors and Gabriel Luna really cements himself as the kind of person we would all want to be in a world like this.
When it comes to human villains there are only two major ones that appear this season, including Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, leader of the Kansas City resistance, and Scott Shepherd as David, leader of a religious cult.
Kathleen is a completely original character who never appeared in the game but was created to give the group in Kansas City a face as well as humanize them in the eyes of the viewers. Melanie does an excellent job portraying a grief-driven individual who is willing to fight for her people while also achieving her goal of revenge by any and all brutal means, even if it means giving up her humanity entirely. The need for revenge can drive a person to commit the most horrific acts and radically change as a person, which is a theme likely to come up again in season two if it plans to adapt the related themes from the second game.
Then we have Scott Shepherd who also did an amazing job playing David, making him way more unnerving and disturbing than in the game. The very second he appeared on screen you immediately feel this gross tension about him that’s extremely unsettling and you feel him trying to dig his claws into people’s heads when he speaks to them, including when he encounters Ellie. When the true nature behind his seemingly harmless look reveals itself it’s horrific, revealing how the absolute worst of humanity can still exist even in a post-apocalyptic setting, leading to a majorly traumatic event for Ellie to endure.
The first season adapts the entirety of the first game, including all of the major plot points, characters, and events, with some notable deviations and add-ons along the way. Those who have played the game will very much love this series even with its changes, and those who have never played the game will also love this series because it does a fantastic job getting people invested in the characters and the story from the first episode to the last. It’s a perfectly structured series that explores the humanity and development of its characters in this post-apocalyptic world.
Rather than being a typical zombie series that focuses on infected beasts of all shapes and sizes, the series instead focuses primarily on Joel, Ellie, and the supporting characters they come across, as well as a multitude of themes that explore the complex nature of humanity. This is a human story, not a creature feature.
The freaky fungal monsters are present in this show and they look amazing as well as provide an excellent amount of horror and tension, but they aren’t the main focus nor are they used excessively. They are used just enough to establish themselves as a constant threat in the story as well as give a truly terrifying display of what led to the fall of human civilization and modern life as we know it.
The most immediate threat in this series is people and their constant desire to survive at any cost, which is equally as dangerous as the infected. Like the game, this series highlights the relentless and realistic brutality of human survival in a scenario where society has been broken and there is no united ethical authority to control it. It is only multiple factions and individuals all fighting for themselves, making hard choices that come with great consequences. This includes having characters facing the choice of how far they would go to protect their loved ones. It doesn’t hold back on showing the most violent sides of humanity and finding ways to absolutely rip your heart out with some devastatingly tragic or traumatic scenes.
But not everything in this series is constant doom and gloom. We get several bright spots in this vicious world that show that even in the darkest days so many beautiful things can rise above it, things such as love, laughter, and reminders of what human compassion can be capable of. It’s all written and shown perfectly without coming off as preachy or overly dramatized as some have done with post-apocalyptic stories.
This series hits you in so many ways emotionally that you are guaranteed to be sobbing for days or weeks even, especially with powerful episodes like the third episode “Long Long Time” following the story of Bill and Frank, a masterfully structured episode that shows the longevity of relationships within the pandemic. Even at nine episodes this season perfectly adapted and improved every aspect of the original story of the first game and I love the fact that it’s able to get people who are unfamiliar with the game so hooked into it, rather than completely isolating them as many video game adaptations of the past have done.
This series features grounded, vicious, and realistic action that brings in nail-biting tension and shows that unlike the game itself, there are no health kits to protect these characters. One wrong move or moment of hesitation can lead to someone’s death at every turn, constantly keeping viewers on edge. While there is graphic gore shown with the action it doesn’t feel as overly gratuitous compared to something like The Walking Dead or House of the Dragon. It is used in proper dosages to make certain scenes have more of an impact rather than be an overly stylish publicity stunt to get viewers talking.
The technical elements including editing, cinematography, sets, and effects are another major high point of the show that I feel is not often discussed. Obviously, with HBO involved, you’re going to have a lot of budget to work with to make the technical elements flourish on screen but I can honestly say this is perhaps the most well-made and most beautiful show I’ve seen HBO create.
The cinematography is drop-dead gorgeous, highlighting both the beauty and the darkness of this ruined world. Sure I may love colorful fantasy worlds as much as anyone else, but there’s something about showing the untamed wilderness and hollow shells of well-known cities that can feel more captivating than big castles or alien landscapes. I also have to admit I’m very biased toward how beautiful the settings of the show are since they filmed a lot of it in Alberta, Canada where I was born.
CGI is used in the series but it all looks really damn good and is only used in appropriate places. But that is nothing compared to the absolutely outstanding use of practical effects in this series, especially when it comes to the creatures. There were so many moments with certain creatures that I was expecting to be fully CGI but it was shocking to learn that most of it was entirely practical, using real people in extremely complex prosthetic costumes. Everything was real and on screen in front of us, from the vicious clickers to the titan-like Bloater. They were committed to making all the nightmarish beasts of the game come to life in the best way possible and for that I give massive praise to the entire practical effects department for going the distance.
I also need to give huge praise to the music of this series which is composed primarily by none other than the same composer who did the music for the game, Gustavo Santaolalla. He and David Fleming composed the score for the series and it is truly beautiful in every single way from the opening theme to the rest of the series. There is also a number of well-known songs that pop up throughout the series that are cleverly used to contribute to the story being told rather than being something to block out the silence. Some songs are used to foreshadow the fates of certain characters or their arcs while others exhibit certain themes that echo certain events in the show. It’s absolutely genius!
As of writing this, season two has already been announced, adapting the story of the second game, which was extremely divisive. When they do make the second season I really hope they don’t radically change the second game’s story in response to toxic fandom demands and instead make the changes or improvements they feel work for the show since they actually know what they are doing. I am eagerly looking forward to season two regardless of what anyone says.
This series has completely changed the standards of video game adaptations. A lot of the upcoming adaptations that are specifically about narrative-driven adult games should be taking serious notes and deliver something just as masterful as this show or at least something of similar quality in its own way. I’m going to give The Last of Us Season 1 an A+ = 100.
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