“The Last of Us,” a show for gamers and non-gamers alike

Outside of the video game community, most of the world had never heard of The Last of Us before its series premiere on HBO in January. Today, it’s one of HBO’s most watched shows, and for good reason. In the past few months, fanatics have watched as the show and its two main characters, Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, have taken over the nation. The show closely follows the plotline of the video game version, and each episode has post-credit commentary from the directors and cast members about how they tied in the game and expanded upon its original narrative. Writers, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, have been both praised and critiqued on their expansion of the characters’ plots, especially that of the LGBTQ relationships between Ellie and Riley, and Bill and Frank.

The first episode premiered on Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. EST, and the finale premiered March 12 at 9 p.m. EST. In those two months, the world was introduced to a variety of characters and plot lines. The episodes take place over a wide stretch of time including flashbacks from the many of the main characters. The first episode opens with two doctors on a talk show in 1968 discussing and debating the likeliness of a pandemic. Dr. Neuman, played by John Hannah, introduces the audience to a fungal-induced pandemic. Essentially, he brings up an existing real-life fungus called cordyceps, which can take over an ant’s brain, forcing it to do its will, while feeding on its corpse. 

Once the characters are introduced, Joel’s daughter, Sarah, is gone just as soon as she arrives, shot by a soldier on his commander’s orders. Twenty years later, Joel’s newest and only remaining connection, Tess, played by Anna Torv, is introduced alongside Ellie and Marlene, played by Merle Dandridge. As Tess and Joel plan their escape from the QZ, or quarantine zone, Marlene intercepts them and asks, or demands, them to take Ellie and get her to the Capitol Building. Joel and Tess quickly find out Ellie is immune and could be the long awaited cure the world has been missing for 20 years. 

Obviously, they agree to the mission but not long into their trip, Tess is bitten by a zombie referred to as a “clicker,” and has to be left behind. Joel and Ellie are left to navigate both their long and dangerous journey as well as their clashing personalities. As the show progresses, Ellie and Joel are both forced to weather physical and emotional hardships. Deeper into the season, the characters face loss, a first for neither of them, and heartache, but through it all they have each other’s backs until the very end. They save each other’s lives too many times to count, and each time they are separated, they come together stronger than ever. 

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In the second to last episode, Joel is suffering from a stab wound, and Ellie is left to fend for both of them. She runs into a religious group leader named David, played by Scott Shepherd, who appears to be kind and forgiving, but she quickly finds out he is subjecting his followers to cannibalism and wishes to have her ‘by his side.’ As she escapes his attempts at attacking her and kills an uninfected human for the first time, she runs out to land in Joel’s arms as the episode closes.

The finale episode stands apart from the rest. In this episode the dynamic between Joel and Ellie is much different. The trauma Ellie endured in the last episode is evident in her sudden quietness and refusal to engage despite Joel’s uncharacteristic attempts to joke and conversate. This episode introduces a new level of beauty, love and loss to the audience as we see Joel sacrifice everything to keep the love he and Ellie have found. When the end credits rolled, the world was left in awe, just like with the game, as Joel keeps Ellie from the world and from herself.

The writers and directors of the show made a great effort to keep as many connections between the game and the show as possible, even going as far as to cast the voice of Joel in the game in the 8th episode, and the voice actor of Ellie in the finale as Ellie’s mom. Mazin and Drukmann were very intentional about only straying from the game when necessary for character development. The show wasn’t able to keep the audience hooked by allowing them to make decisions as the main characters like in the game, so they found a way to connect the audience on a different level. The writers do an incredible job of capturing the consuming nature of a post apocalyptic world while also narrowing the audience’s view into the close relationship between love and loss.