The Last of Us: An Overall Review

*Spoilers Ahead*

Imagine living through a flu-like virus that used the rising temperatures to change hosts. Seeing someone turn into a “zombie” would certainly be scary. Well, this video game to television adaptation is about just that. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, “The Last of Us” is about a virus from fungi that spreads due to bad crops and almost destroys the world. This show kept us on the edge of our seats all the way through. Though the majority of the show is similar to the video game, there are some differences that you can spot if you have played the game.

Actor vs. Character

Most of the characters were pretty spot on compared to their video game counterparts. They very closely resemble their counterparts and even act similarly. For example, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) sounds almost exactly like Joel from the video game. One actress who doesn’t quite resemble her character is Joel’s daughter Sarah Miller (Nico Parker).

All of the actors went above and beyond with their characters and made sure that the majority of the TV show resembled the video game. They truly make the scenes emotional because it looks like they put everything into it. Episode 1, the last time we see Sarah Miller, took us on an emotional ride. We hardly saw her, yet Nico Parker and Pedro Pascal took that scene to a whole new level.

The Biggest Differences

As this is an adaptation, there are obviously going to be a few changes along the way. They were mostly minor but definitely stood out.

Time jumps- The most apparent one was the time difference. In the TV show, the initial outbreak occurs in 2003 as opposed to 2013 when the outbreak originally happened in the game. Although this didn’t really affect much in the show, this was a change they had to make so that it would be set in “modern times.”

Cordyceps spores- These spores are only shown in the game and not really in the TV show. The infected have spores that make the infection semi-airborne, making it easier to acquire the virus. In the TV show, it gets a lot more personal, as vine-like threads come out of a clicker’s mouth and into the others, making them more traditional. Clickers are the third stage of the infection, making them more fungus than human.

Trusting David- In the game, Ellie comes across a large pack of infected people, and David helps fend them off. This makes Ellie trust David momentarily. She even believes that the food he gives isn’t human meat. In the show, the complete opposite occurs. She doesn’t trust David for a second on anything. She seems to figure everything out pretty quickly. In both the game and show, these events lead to a brutal battle between the two. 

A Brutal Death-Ellie’s reaction to what happens next changes drastically from the game. Formerly, Ellie had to be dragged away by Joel because she wouldn’t stop hacking away at David. The adaptation shows that the fight ends with her traumatized with what happened.

What We Can Expect

Due to such popularity of the TV show, we will be expecting a second season based off of the “Last of Us 2.” Chances are, there will be more than one season for the second game, so there is definitely something to look forward to. 

The Review

This TV show was nearly identical to the video game. Most of the main ideas of the game remained present in the show, making it one of the better adaptations of video games. The characters show how much the others influence them and how in so many ways which makes this look more better. However, the ending felt really rushed and definitely could have been better by going more in depth. Overall, this show is a must binge show because it really keeps you wanting more.