The Last of Us (Season 1)

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I was so, so excited for this one to come out. The game is one of my favorite pieces of media across all mediums, and I was pumped that it was getting the full HBO treatment with a big budget, celebrated actors and established filmmakers. I thought for certain this show would be a good adaptation that everyone would be excited about.

Well I think I was mostly right! I think this show was a huge hit. The story is undeniably very impactful and emotional. Pedro Pascal is like, the most famous person alive right now, and I thought he was solid as Joel. It was a lot of fun watching this week to week and watching the world feel all the things I felt.

With that said, I think it fell short of the game for me. It's impossible to not compare as they are often shot-for-shot identical. However, I think that where the show differed, it was a net negative and ended up hurting the final product as it wasn't able to build up the characters in a way that really hits you in the same way. Most of this is just small things with Joel's development. Him wanting to get back to Tommy. Him not hitting the guy with the car. Not ever firing the first shot. It makes TV Joel feel a little too tidy and makes the final climax feel a bit unearned, or even bizarre. I feel like this was similar to a Daenreys in King's Landing situation.

I guess I just didn't buy this version of Joel that much, and that is my biggest complaint. Bella portrayed a slightly different Ellie than in the game, but ultimately I thought it worked and I even grew to prefer her performance in a few ways. Otherwise, mostly everyone worked well. I liked the Bill and Frank episode and appreciated the changes, and loved the Sam and Henry episode, though admittedly I think it's because it was identical to the game. I thought the Ellie and Riley episode was the weakest one and just didn't do anything for a story that desperately needed more time and fewer flashbacks. Then, again, the finale just didn't work for me and that was my biggest disappointment. In the game, the ending happens and I just watched the credits awestruck. In the show it's all so rushed and awkward.

Anyways, that's a lot of mirco-analysis. As a whole, I thought the show was good, but in light of the game, it just isn't the same masterpiece.

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