Will The Last of Us make everyone happy? On this evidence, it’s certainly making a good stab of it. A pulsating series of scenes serves as a blueprint for the show moving forward: a melancholy journey that sees its characters delicately walking a tightrope between violent outbursts and tense standoffs in a world that wants them dead. Along the way, they cross paths with Ellie, her hardened mix of steel and moxie enough to put any lingering doubts over Ramsey’s casting to bed. In an extended sequence, Joel and Tess hunt down Robert, a slimy smuggler who has pawned off Joel’s truck battery just as he was about to head out to find his lost brother. Considering that the game’s co-lead Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and the Fireflies are introduced as afterthoughts, it’s clear there’s a pacing problem.ĭespite the slower tempo, the episode ends on a high note. On top of that, there’s some fatigue due to the fact The Last of Us exists alongside a multitude of other dystopian shows, and the premiere has a bumper 80-minute runtime that should have been cut down in the editing booth. After the relentless pressure of the horror-heavy first half, the latter portion feels like a safer pilot – and potentially the result of two episodes being squished together (the initial episode order was ten, but the series ultimately ended up being only nine). It’s here where the episode runs out of steam slightly. When even shoelaces cost ration cards and people are executed for leaving the QZ, it’s little wonder that Joel (his haggard, well-worn face garnished with a salt-and-pepper beard) and partner Tess (Anna Torv) engage in shady deals in back alleys and dimly-lit rooms. Terrorist group the Fireflies are additional wildcards, with figures like firebrand leader Marlene (Merle Dandridge) trying to blow up the system from within. Twenty years after Sarah’s death, citizens are hemmed into ‘QZs’ (Quarantine Zones) while mushroom-ravaged clickers and raiders roam outside the walls in Boston. Where the first half echoes A Quiet Place, the second feels like an even bleaker take on The Walking Dead. It speaks volumes that her loss is not only felt by Joel, but ultimately by the show itself.look for the light The emotional context is aided by both Pedro Pascal – heavy with grief, delivering an incredibly raw and intense performance – and Nico Parker’s peppy presence. Thanks to the show spending more time with Sarah than in the games, it’s a gut punch that hurts even more this time around. After some miscommunication, Joel’s daughter is shot and dies in his arms. A soldier approaches Joel and a wounded Sarah. The gentle twangs of a banjo are deployed effectively throughout to intensify, but never overpower, the episode’s more emotional beats. That’s accentuated further by Gustavo Santaolalla’s powerful and restrained score. Director and co-showrunner Craig Mazin’s masterful use of the camera depicts all hell breaking loose from Sarah’s point of view, adding to the suffocating tone as things go from bad, to worse, to catastrophic. Joel and Sarah attempt to head out of town amid congested highways and pitch-black streets. The first half of the episode broadly follows the game’s prologue section while feeling not too dissimilar to A Quiet Place’s Day One sequences (ironically a film that took inspiration from The Last of Us). It won’t send pulses racing instead, it slowly begins ratcheting up the tension of an episode that fast becomes a horror film in miniature. Set in the 1960s, the scene – which does not come from the games – is dryly written and doesn’t skimp on the heavy-handed exposition as it introduces the show’s main threat and the world to follow. The opening minutes focuses on a team of scientific experts debating the likelihood of a viral fungus epidemic spreading across the world. The Last of Us’ first scene is a sobering reminder of its mission statement: this is a TV show first and a direct adaptation second. Fortunately, the premiere does the almost miraculous: it expands on the games – and often betters them. HBO’s adaptation of Naughty Dog’s PlayStation classic not only has to appeal to a legion of fans who will nitpick every minor change from the games, but it also has to stand out among a crowded marketplace of post-apocalyptic dramas teeming with zombie-like threats. The Last of Us has a thankless task ahead of it.
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