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Creators (Platform): Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann – based on the game series of the same name (NOW)
Publisher (Release): Warner Bros. Television Studios (2023)
Length: 9 episodes
Genres: Adult; Apocalyptic; Horror; Drama; Action
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
strong violence, gore, and body horror
themes of sexual abuse
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: must watch
👍 Pros 👍
Personal and emotional
Casting is faultless
Sounds and looks incredible
👎 Cons 👎
Underwhelming core plot
Pacing is poorly balanced
Underutilises its world
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
When a mere fungus devastates the world, humanity enters a post-apocalyptic landscape of martial law, rebellions, and hungry infected. Smugglers Joel and Tess happen upon Ellie, a young girl coveted by the Fireflies, an anarchist group fighting for the days of old. Convinced to take Ellie as their charge and transport her across the United States safely, secrets, lies, and death await them as a simple job takes on global ramifications.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
The Last of Us: Part 1 and Part 2 hit the gaming world hard with their incredibly well-told stories and explorations of choice and consequence. Gorgeous and unparalleled in the narrative sphere, it’s no surprise that a live-action adaptation finally came to fruition, bringing these wonderful characters and their stories to a larger audience. The show had large shoes to fill and legions of adoring fans who each had their own vision of what the show should do and who should bring their beloved cast to life.
Before Season 1 was released the fandom was a divisive place, especially with casting. It was dark, dreary, cruel, and a place I will avoid in future.
Thankfully, The Last of Us: Season 1 is a faithful realisation that settled many a fan’s worries. Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsay as Ellie stole the show, turning even those steadfastly against their casting into believers. Both embody and ensoul their roles, delivering pristine performances in a post-apocalyptic world.
The show is emotional, well-written, well-acted, and undeniably the new benchmark for video game adaptations. Sadly, and I feel it’s my own bias coming to the forefront, its lack of a real core plot and sharp focus on character development robs the show of momentum. Each individual episode works on its own, but as a collective whole, it’s too slow-paced and a little jarring with what it’s needed to cut to streamline it for TV, consequently becoming a little derivative of the genre.
🧩 Plots 🧩
The Last of Us: Season 1 nails its themes of finding purpose and redemption, but it largely fails to create a compelling core plot for viewers to follow. I know, I can already sense the sharpening of pitchforks but don’t come for me yet. Its focus on character development and personal arcs is second to none and it’s where the show truly shines, taking what made the games so great and bringing it to life for a wider audience, but it’s to the detriment of its post-apocalyptic story. While the devastated United States is a backdrop, it is sorely underutilised. Moments with the infected creatures are too few and far between, keeping the pace from ever picking up and creating an imbalance in progression.
Everything can change in a moment
The game does a much better job thanks to the dedication of the developers to mix gameplay with context. Much of that world’s pacing and progression comes from dilapidated areas to explore, infected to learn about, and conversations that take place on the go. The source material set a standard for immersion, and, as a consequence of the live-action medium, a lot of that nuance had to be removed to streamline the experience.
More than a package
It highlights that, as a whole, the show never picks up any real momentum. Individual episodes stand as emotional rollercoasters, but, as a whole, they don’t quite click. It doesn’t help that at 9 total episodes, its world and plots aren’t given enough time to breathe.
This impacts the finale, leaving the story feeling a tad anticlimactic.
…its world and plots aren’t given enough time to breath.
🎭 Characters 🎭
Where the show excels, however, is in its characters. Relationships and development are both enticingly rich, with each and every actor delivering the essence of their role perfectly. A big worry for many before the show started was how they would cast and depict the leads. Troy Baker (original actor for Joel) and Ashley Johnson (original actor for Ellie) are a difficult duo to follow, in fact, nigh impossible. Without them, the games and shows would be nowhere near as relevant as they are.
Characters provide the meat in an apocalypse (narratively, of course)
Luckily, the casting department knocked it out of the park. Pedro Pascal brings a solid vulnerability to Joel and Bella Ramsay steals the show completely as Ellie. Their crackling chemistry and dedication have to be commended because, without them, the show would’ve crumbled.
It’s their burgeoning father-daughter relationship that serves as the lynchpin for viewers, keeping us riveted to their journey. Joel’s mental health and the trauma he’s faced are better realised in this adaptation, adding layers only touched upon in the source material to create an even more vivid character. Balancing him out is Ellie’s lust for life and purpose, and Bella’s concoction of naivety and fight-me-world sass is as endearing as it is powerful. Their coming together is poignant and believable, and, arguably, no show in recent memory has done it better.
Bella Ramsay absolutely shines as Ellie
Supporting cast members tick all the right boxes, too. Not only do they compliment our protagonists but each carve their own mark and I cannot wait to see them further explored in future seasons.
Luckily, the casting department knocked it out of the park.
🎞️ Adaptation 🎞️
The Last of Us: Season 1 sets a standard for video game adaptations, one that fans of many a series across genres and mediums have been crying out for decades: be faithful. Season 1 does this with loving attention to detail while still proving it can surprise veterans of the story. Being faithful doesn’t mean don’t stray, it just means don’t mess with what works. The show likely benefits from the property’s creator Neil Druckmann being an integral part of development, delivering the stories we love while surprising us with better, more realised interpretations of others.
That’s a big boy
Creature and sound design are both crisp and effective (that first run-in with Clickers is exceptional), and the use of music from the game casts an entrancing spell of nostalgia while introducing new viewers to the timeless soundtrack of the games.
…Season 1 sets a standard for video game adaptations…
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
The Last of Us: Season 1 is the new benchmark for adaptations, bringing complicated characters and their respective arcs to life in such vivid and visceral ways while expanding on what makes them tick. It struggles to deliver a compelling story outside of its cast, however, underutilising its post-apocalyptic landscape and losing a lot of its context to be slimmed down for the medium. Pacing is inconsistent and, while individual episodes are rock solid, as a collective whole the show never picks up speed, leaving its undeniably emotional finale a little anticlimactic.
Despite this, performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay deliver crackling chemistry that goes a long way to smoothing out the cracks. Backed with superb creature design and a gorgeous soundtrack, The Last of Us: Season 1 is a TV event you do not want to miss.
The Phoenix Project 