April, 2023
By Camila Juarez- Najera, Staff Reporter
The Last of Us on HBO is a video game adaptation that has taken over the world since its release on January 15, 2023. Fans of the video games by Naughty Dog, or apocalyptic shows in general, have tuned in to watch Ellie and Joels journey across America set twenty years after the outbreak of a fungal infection. *Spoiler free*
Way before the TV show’s release, The Last of Us Part I and II by Naughty Dog had gained millions of fans thanks to the amazing graphics and emotional storyline. Shortly after the second game came out in 2020, it was announced that there would be a television adaptation. Everyone knows that adaptations can go two ways; good or bad. Therefore, everyone was pretty nervous about it. The cast was announced and we got Pedro Pascal playing Joel and Bella Ramsey playing Ellie. Everyone looked like their character, except for Bella Ramsey. She didn’t look anything like Ellie and most people were bummed out about that, saying that she wont play the character well and that it would ruin the show. Fortunately, she proved everyone wrong and the show became a big hit.
The show starts off on day 1 and takes place right here in Austin. The day starts off normal but throughout the episode it takes a turn for the worst as the mutant Cordyceps fungus infection spreads. We get a timeskip of 20 years and we see Joel’s day to day life. Humans have adjusted to this life and quarantine zones were made by militia where they trade for food, medicine, and weapons. These groups often resort to violence and it divides everyone. Joel wants to obtain a specific thing but in order to get it, he has to transport a girl who might have a key to the vaccine and save the world. This girl is Ellie, and he has to get her to a lab that is across America. It sounds easy by itself, but in this world, there’s humans who have gone mad and also the infected themselves. There are many stages of infection and the more time they spend with the disease, the more dangerous they get. In their trek, Joel and Ellie experience emotions of joy, sadness, confusion, etc. While watching this journey, you feel like you are also a part of it. The actors’ and actresses’ amazing performances really make it feel real.
If you’ve played the games, you’ll know that season 1 has done a great job on adapting the game to a series. The storylines and characters have not changed and if you compare scenes side by side, you could barely tell the difference. Everything down to the mannerisms and settings have been almost perfectly accurate. This is the reason why many fans approve of the show. Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal do a great job on portraying their characters and are able to capture the unique personalities of Ellie and Joel. Season 1 has ended, but season 2 has been confirmed and hopefully they continue with what they’ve done and not change the plot. Season 2 will be based off the second game which is full of much more emotion that Bella and Pedro will have to capture. If you are even a tiny bit interested in the games, they are definitely worth playing. If you haven’t watched the show yet, stop what you’re doing, grab some snacks, blankets, tissues, and start the journey.
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