The Last Of Us: Episode 1 Recap

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The Last Of Us: Episode 1 Recap

Warning: spoilers ahead.

Anyone who stayed up last night (or this morning, I guess) to catch HBO's series The Last of Us, based on the popular video game, knows that it finally breaks the video-game-adaptation curse. Well worth the wait, the series takes the original source material, marinates it with love and serves it on a silver - nay, golden - platter. 

I couldn't resist breaking out my old copy of TLOU from last decade (oof), wiping the dust from the cover, and planting it into my PlayStation to get a sense of nostalgia. What struck me was how unique the concept of a zombie-fungus was in the horror genre, how flawlessly the cut scenes merged into gameplay, and how beautiful the graphics were for their time. But what I wanted (and got) from this adaptation from the Naughty Dog classic, was to see how Joel and Ellie's story would be developed into a series.

When you're lost in the darkness, look for the light...

The video game finds it start in medias res, with Sara as our focal point, and the discovery of the Cordyceps fungal infection as an IV-plot-drip through flashes of action, noise, and light. The first

chapter of the game plants us firmly in the back seat, quite literally, of a fast moving vehicle, navigating our place in a world engulfed in threat, violence and uncertainty.

HBO's series gives a lot more, forgive me, meat on the bone to an otherwise well fleshed-out narrative. It takes us out of the action, instead providing us with an establishing narrative from 1986, with a panel of environmental scientists discussing the fatal nature of a fungal infection upon the survival of the human race. This perfectly sets up the concept for viewers that perhaps weren't die-hard Naughty Dog fans, and gives us some insight as to how savagely this epidemic can, and did, take hold of the world.

From there, we meet Pedro Pascal's Joel, who gives a down-to-earth, grizzly performance as a weary father struggling to make ends meet for himself and his daughter, Sarah. One crucial part of video game adaptations is the necessity to build meaningful relationships, and breathing life into Joel's daughter Sarah was critical; we watch her go about her day, sourcing out Joel's birthday gift, interacting with the neighbours - generally living. 

If you're familiar with the game, you know that the first chapter sheds light on Joel's tragic backstory: Sarah is shot by an army officer while on the run with Joel from the Infected. Twenty years later, and survival hardened, Joel works as a smuggler of various paraphernalia in the FEDRA-run Boston Quarantine Zone. His partner Tess (a brilliantly worn performance from Anna Torv), Marlene (Merle Dandridge, who reprises her role) and of course, our Ellie (Bella Ramsey) make their first feature here.

@Chloe-W22's take on the first episode are just as positive...

"The dynamics of the first episode were exactly what I wanted, close to the story but I also enjoyed the fact I knew what was going to happen next. The surprise came from how close the story actually was but how well it was done. We made jokes throughout about if Joel would stop to bandage his hand to heal his health – even if he’d been shot in the leg or if we’d see him collecting pairs of scissors to make some shivs.

If you waited until after the end credits, there was a short ‘’The Weeks Ahead’ video and my gosh I am ready to sit down every Monday and take this all in. The trailer shows short clips from the Ellie and Riley’s arcade trip from ‘The Last of Us Left Behind’, Nick Offerman appears and much more. One question I had was will they include the Giraffe Scene IYKYK"

How does the series match up to the game?

Being blessed with such rich source material, I found myself grinning while recognising lines from the original video game script. Grounded with Pascal and Ramseys' riveting performances, and fleshed out with tweaks and nuances, their interactions with each other are electric to watch. The loss of Sarah still wears down Joel and he recoils at the prospect of another gutsy yet warm 14 year old girl taking his daughter's place. Ramsey balances this with Ellie's sharp wit, sense of childlike hope and a too-mature-for-her-age earthiness that sets up their relationship perfectly.

Despite the desecration of the Cordyceps pandemic- and ruthlessness of martial law, the world in which Joel and Ellie inhabit is nonetheless aesthetically beautiful. Mirroring the game's stark contrasts, hue and saturation, it could almost be mistaken as a copy and paste job. What lands really well is the fine balance between the beauty of nature taking hold, and the destructive force it can wreak on humanity. 

The final scene is hauntingly disturbing. When Joel, Ellie and Tess are held at gunpoint by the soldier Joel was smuggling pills for on their way out of Boston, a flash of Sarah's body is shown. In this moment we understand how trauma plays a key role in the formation of the bond between Joel and Ellie, and allows those in-the-know to understand how the DLC and Part 2 game came to their harrowing conclusions. Sarah's spirit is present in Ellie, and for that Joel will risk everything to resurrect.

 

9/10 - if the second episode follows suit, we could have the best video game adaptation on our hands.