The Last of Us S1 Ep. 1 Personal Highlights

Mark this down guys. Mark this down as a historical moment in entertainment history. The moment where a video game adaptation just about fully succeeded in effectively embodying and honoring what made the source material so beloved by its fanbase into live action. The Last of Us series premiere is out now and has officially, in my book, broke the video game adaptation curse. There’s just so much here that was done right in literally the first episode alone that I’m actually almost in disbelief of how great it was. And as an added bonus, it so happens to be adapting one of my favorite games of all time. It's like a dream come true that I'm still questioning if it's real or not.

You guys have to understand that, back in my day, the only video game movie that we all had to happily cheer about was the first Mortal Kombat movie in 1995 which was a fun sort of guilty pleasure gallery of nostalgia with a killer soundtrack. Everything else that came out before and after was either an embarrassment to the gamer fans or just barely entertaining enough to give it a pass (but a far cry away from the potential that it had). Now yes, there are other adaptations that became celebrated such as Arcane, Castlevania, Detective Pikachu, and miraculously Sonic somehow. However, these properties didn't quite change the perspective entirely for the genre's more popularly sought after live action landscape.

A Perfect Opening To Set The Stage For Everything

Here enters the series premiere for HBO’s The Last of Us series which seems to have done everything in its power to reflect what the game offered in visuals, tone, storytelling, and character writing. In just the first quarter of the episode alone, they let the fans know that the team behind the series has actually paid attention to the material (you literally have Neil Druckmann involved who help created the game) and knows what the fans would expect going in  The opening flashback interview scene with the TV broadcast of two scientists debating about the global threat potential that micro organisms have was the perfect way to kick things off giving us context on the fungal outbreak foundation of the story. It’s also a great way to set the serious and grounded feeling tone for the horrific events to come. 

Successfully Adapting One Of The Game's Most Celebrated Moments

The score playing along the opening titles sounds like it was ripped right out of the game immediately taking me back to the countless of hours that I spent playing both game titles. If a video game adaptation causes you to have flashbacks playing the game in a positively nostalgic way then you know something’s being done right in some form (even if it’s just for a split second). The beginning set up for our characters and family component shown through Sarah’s ventures alongside the outbreak being teased through visual storytelling was utter perfection. I got quickly attached to this small family, and that’s without the help of the game, seeing them as actual three dimensional human beings with lives and personalities that are about to experience something cataclysmic.

There’s a dread inducing feeling of impending doom that births from the subtle and not so subtle teases that we get of the infection slowly taking over the world around our characters. You have teases such as the classroom scene with Sarah being distracted by another student's twitching hands reflecting light off of his bracelet, the sights and sounds of emergency vehicles rushing by during her jewelry shop visit, the old lady neighbor spazzing out in the background while the dog later stares at her, and the military jets soaring over the town. All of this eerily lays down the bread crumbs for what would later be the big apocalyptic moment to come which the audience can connect to more through this innocent little girl’s perspective.

That’s what made the opening of the game so powerfully immersive and emotionally investing which is why I feel the team behind the HBO series actually did their homework. Honestly, this entire portion of the episode felt like an extensive opening cut scene and gameplay tutorial which is high praise for any video game adaptation to be given. And then…we get to the big moment, the outbreak. This is the scene that I was really anticipating from the trailers wanting to know how close they’d capture one of the game’s most iconic segments. And guys, they did not disappoint. This scene had me grinning from ear to ear with some of the details taken from game but also completely new and changed for the series. All of it works exceptionally well to make franchise fans and newcomers feel the scope and terror of the outbreak unfolding. 

From the surrounding chaos of Joel and Tommy trying to navigate through all of the pandemonium in the streets while Sarah terrifyingly reacts in the backseat, to the explosive spectacle happening as a result of the outbreak, you really do feel the tension of the situation as it plays out. Now yes, there is of course the added element of immersion missing from playing the actual level where the scene is taken from. However, there’s simply no getting around the disconnecting wall between being a player experiencing a moment with personal control over your character and being a viewer just watching no matter how good an adaptation is. However, I do think that they managed to visually capture enough of the Day 1 outbreak to mirror the tension and chaos that was felt playing it.

And of course we can’t talk about this scene without addressing the ending with Sara’s death which, like everything else on the show, is handled pretty well. The performances are great and the strong emotional connection that the game succeeded in creating is also delivered here. If I had any nitpick (and I do emphasize nitpick here), is that I wish we had a slightly more extended version of them trying to escape the close calls of the infected. I supposed this is the gamer side of myself talking but I'm remembering struggling through the fiery town streets and alleys with infected people, innocent bystanders, and environmental catastrophes happening all around which was absolutely heart racing. The show takes a more focused approach on Joel just trying to get Sarah out alive which was definitely the right choice. 

I guess I just couldn't help but imagined how an even closer adaption would've looked onscreen.

Getting The Most Crucial Element of The Last of Us Right

After the big climactic outbreak moment happens and Sara’s death lays the emotional foundation for our story moving forward, now is where I feel that we've truly entered source material sensitive territory. My thoughts once the "Twenty Years Later" setting card flashed onscreen was "Wow, I can't believe they did it. They successfully adapted one of the biggest scenes from the game. They've allowed many of us to take a big sigh of relief trusting their vision for the show going forward. However, now comes the really tough part." Now is where all eyes are glued to every single detail surrounding the pivotal establishment of Joel and Ellie and the game's distinct post apocalyptic world. 

I’ll just say right out of the gate that the moment we flash forward to the future, I was able to take another sigh of relief just from the awe inspiring direction alone. The visuals and overall set design of the FEDRA outpost looks as though it was directly ripped right out of the game which is fantastic to be able to say as a fan. Everything from the rusted over and vine covered cars, to the worn down buildings and overall color palette utilized masterfully mirrored certain interior and exterior settings from the game. They really went out of their way to make this series reach as closely as possible to the imagery that gamers would’ve absorbed when spending hours playing and they glaringly succeeded.

The world building of the outpost is also well executed establishing the strict authoritative rule over the town’s safety against other groups as well as the general economy. We see how and where Joel is set up in this new world as a man with a questionable moral code and implied violent background doing dirty jobs while trying to find his brother. We’re also introduced to familiar faces from the game like Tess and Marlene who are, not only well adapted in overall performance, but given more time for potential development. That’s gonna be the interesting beauty of this series. Not just experiencing what will be taken from the game, but just as importantly, what will be altered, brand new, or expanded upon.

I think I’m already feeling something a little more layered between Joel and Tess that I don’t entirely remember from the game which is an exciting thing to come across. As for Marlene, how awesome is it that the series opted to get the actual voice and mo-cap actress from the game to reprise her role in the series? Come to think of it, how often does that ever happen in any video game adaptations? But guys, no matter how well they've adapted certain side characters from the source material, what it really comes down to is our two leads being Joel and Ellie. And well...they nailed it. Pedro Pascal perfectly embodies Joel in tone and performance (that outer somberness with a raging inner turmoil) as does Bella Ramsey perfectly captures the observational, playful, witty, and edgy attitude of Ellie. 

If there were any concerns about these two fantastic actors missing the mark in bringing these characters to life, I feel that this episode completely shuts down those fears. Just the few interactions shared between them alone already sold me on their characters being exactly as they were in the game. And though I would’ve been open to slight alterations, I’m more than happy to see that they've decided to stick very close to what the fans know regarding their personalities. And as for the revelation of Ellie’s immunity (a huge plot point in the game's escort mission centered story) is handled just as well here. 

Last but not least is Joel’s inner pain surrounding the death of his own daughter which I thought was also handled delicately and powerfully put onto display. The moment he sees the FEDRA officer's gun light threat as a present day reminder of the soldier that killed his daughter leading to him  bare handedly pummeling him to death was chills inducing. The look of both fear and curiosity on Ellie's face during Joel's rage out on the officer as well as his own guilt being seen as a potential monster in front of her was a heart wrenching dramatic pillar setting up the venture to come. 

Capping things off is that final haunting shot of the fallen buildings paralleling one of the most recognized visuals from the game which genuinely gave me chills. Guys, I don’t know what more I can say except that I’m beyond satisfied and relieved with what I saw from this premiere. They took my dream of finally seeing a game that I love be exceptionally adapted and made it come true in just one episode. This truly is a moment worth celebrating for gamers like myself that have waited literally decades to see a cinematically potential-filled video game actually be taken seriously with its live action counterpart. 

Episode Rating: 10/10