The Last of Us: A Review
It’s official.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the viewership of The Last of Us has surpassed that of House of the Dragon. So more people tuned in to watch this post-apocalyptic drama than the fantasy drama. But really, is there that much of a difference between 30.4 million and 29 million? What about Game of Throne’s 44 million viewers on the 7th season?
Numbers do tend to be an indicator of how popular a show is, though not necessarily how good a show is.
But I’m here to tell you that the numbers aren’t just hype. The Last of Us is proving to everyone that shows based on video games can. be. done. right. It is possible for good writers to transform games into decent shows in spite of the different experiences you get from each medium.
Image Source: Naughty Dog
Now, to be honest, I have not played the game. I don’t have experience with The Last of Us parts one and two, though I’ve seen some gameplay on YouTube. However, I do have experience playing similar types of games on the Xbox and Playstation. From what I’ve seen, TLoU has a higher “adaptability” than most other games I’ve played, simply because it’s more cinematic in nature. All well and good.
What’s more, the writer who was involved with the game is also involved with the show. Under these conditions, you’d have to screw up pretty hard to make a show that’s worse than the game it’s based on. Especially since that game is beloved by so many.
And because I didn’t play the game, I’m likely not going to be as hard on the show as other reviewers out there are. Most YouTubers I see reviewing it have given a lower score simply because of some of the changes that were made. I never experienced those changes, so my perspective is that of someone experiencing this story world for the very first time.
Lastly, this will be a SPOILER HEAVY review.
“But it did it better in the game…”
Maybe. Don’t really care.
Image Source: HBO
This is a dumb argument to make to those who haven’t played the game and who just want to enjoy the show. If I decide to play The Last of Us, it will be a few years down the road when I actually have the time and energy to devote to it. Watching a series on HBO Max is far less time and energy consuming than learning the mechanics and storyline of a big game like that.
My experience is proof that you don’t have to play the game to enjoy the show.
I give this argument a 0/10.
The “Zombies”
I have to get this out of the way first: I love that the fungus “zombies” are incidental to the story, and not the focus of it. They incite the story, but they are not what the story’s about. I was wary about starting yet another post-apocalyptic zombie show that was full of jump scares and constant survival and escape from monsters.
I’ve seen that story too many times already.
Image Source: HBO
The fact that the zombies are infected by fungus rather than a virus infected is a different take on the trope. This means that the people running around trying to kill everyone are actually alive, not dead. But they’re essentially still mindless zombies. They act like zombies. They look like zombies. They eat like zombies.
They’re zombies, and they look amazing.
The designs remind me a lot of the movie Anniliation (2018). If you’ve seen it, you probably know what I mean. But I’m extremely impressed with what the art and costumes department have done, and also how the actors portray the infected. They’re terrifying in a chaotic-manic sort of way. We’ve seen those kinds of zombies before, but not quite like this.
10/10
The Post-Apocalypse and the People Who Live There
This is probably the most peaceful post-apocalypse I’ve seen in a show.
Image Source: HBO
Yes, there is danger. There are infected screaming in the distance. But as Episode 6 illustrates, you could literally live for years in the wilderness and be perfectly fine. In any other action-horror show, Joel and Ellie would have stumbled upon two corpses instead of a helpful elderly couple whose enviable chemistry warmed everyone’s hearts.
I was actually surprised by how much actual warming this show did.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend this video by Like Stories of Old about how apocalypse stories feel different now. In the Last of Us, survival isn’t enough—and that’s one of the points that I love the most about this show.
The showrunners were able to build this post-apocalyptic world and use it as a catalyst for the characters and their journeys. The focus has always been on the characters, even when the episodes had flashback scenes at the beginning.
And although the story is about Joel and Ellie, we get windows into the lives of other characters, receiving a wider view of this world. It’s very well done, and very enjoyable.
10/10
The End
Image Source: HBO
Every story, in my opinion, hinges on its ending—whether it lands well or not. This is why I tend not to judge a show based on the first few episodes (unless there are really, REALLY big problems).
So did The Last of Us stick the landing?
I’ve already mentioned the story is not about zombies. Let’s talk about what the story is really about.
The story is about dealing with loss and grief and learning to love again.
Joel and Ellie, as the main characters, are both are thrust reluctantly into this adventure together in the beginning. Over the course of the story, they both change. Elie is a fourteen year old kid. Her main trope is that she is The Immune. In a world where an infection ravages the world, she is the only one who can save humanity because [insert scientific explanation here]. While her character is very fun to watch, it’s Joel’s character that fascinates me.
Firstly, Joel is essentially the main protagonist of the show. He’s the one who goes through the most pain, and his arc probably has the most change.
Secondly, he is not a nice guy. he’d sooner pop your kneecaps off than let you come between him and something he wants. He has good intentions, but he does not go about them in a noble way. In fact, that’s the only thing about him that changes over the course of the story. He is the nominal Anti-Hero or, in other words, the rough-around-the-edges murderer with a soft heart.
Joel’s arc is not one of redemption. It’s not a positive arc in the slightest. I don’t think he even cares about redemption. By the end of the season, all he cares about is Ellie and over the course of the eight episodes before the finale, we understand why he makes certain decisions. The context of the world around him explains so much about his character.
Joel has experienced so much loss, and he has opened up himself again to care about someone as a daughter-figure. If he were to lose Elie, it would literally destroy him.
So let’s talk about Whether Joel Made The Right Decision.
Image Source: HBO
The decision was between saving Ellie and potentially saving humanity (since the operation was invasive enough that it would have killed her).
The reason why this is a debate is because there are valid answers on both sides of the argument. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be a “thing” on social media.
To Joel, he did make the right decision. He saved Elie—someone he cared about more than anything else in this world. More than the possibility of saving the entire human race. Joel can survive in a zombie-infested world so long as he has someone to love and take care of. We can understand why he would do it, which makes it all the more heart-wrenching.
To the rest of the world, it was absolutely the wrong choice. Objectively, Joel’s problems are not nearly as dire as saving the human species from extinction.
Morally, lying to Elie about what happened also betrayed her trust in him. On the other hand, the pain of loss has blinded Joel to all moral quandaries regarding his lie. Joel isn’t interested in redemption. At least not yet. He literally cannot deal with losing someone he cares for again, and has taken extreme measures to ensure that doesn’t happen.
However you feel about this, the fact that this has got the internet all hot and bothered is a testament to the best kind of storytelling present in the show.
Last But Certainly Not Least…
Ah, the performances. Absolutely well done.
I cannot praise Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv, Lamar Johnson, Merle Dandridge, Nick Offerman, and all the supporting actors for how great a job they did at bringing their respective characters to life. There wasn’t a single mediocre or poor performance in the show. Well done, all.
My Score:
10/10
