The Last of Us Episode 1 was released and it’s epic!

So it’s finally here! The long-awaited series based on Sonys’ hit game The Last of Us finally sees the light of day. So far, however, only a pilot episode, but the event is still significant. The episode is almost an hour and a half long and gives some idea of where the show will go in the future. In honor of such a release, we put on our monocles and decided to analyze the most anticipated series of 2023 in detail.

How close is it to The Last of Us the game?

After seeing the trailer for The Last of Us, we were concerned that the series is unlikely to offer something new. All major events must remain unchanged, which would mean that we’d only have a pale copy of the great game. Our fears were confirmed partially – many scenes were recreated almost frame by frame. However, we have to admit that we have never been so wrong.

Familiar moments were expanded with background, emotions, and atmosphere. In simple terms, there is more life in the plot. Where the PC game formula forced the creators to add more action, the series can focus on the characters and their communication, and development. At the same time, what is happening does not feel like hastily glued frames for the sake of increased time. On the contrary, all events are sequential and take exactly as much time as necessary.

The Last of Us solves its main problem – it becomes interesting not only to fans. By the beginning of the epidemic, an outside viewer will not have questions about what is happening and why. No joke, the plot looks even more logical and detailed than in the game.

At the same time, you don’t have to worry about the main ideas of the plot. After the pilot, there was no doubt that the story would follow the beaten path, which means that all the main events would take place exactly in the same place as in the game. However, there were no changes in their story.

New story

The story is slightly changing. A little bit in the details, but other places are changed quite tangibly. For example, the prerequisites for the meeting between Ellie and Joel have been almost completely redone. In the series, this scene is shown crumpled and not as natural as in the game. In the original, Marlene hired smugglers in exchange for weapons. The leader of Cicadas knew about Joel and Tess’s activities and fully understood why they were so much more likely to complete the task before anyone else.

Now, the smuggling business of the main hero is limited to pills for dubious purposes. From a man delivering the remnants of former luxury to the city, the character of Pedro Pascal has turned into a dealer in illegal substances. And no one mentions the ability to survive behind safe walls. Under such conditions, it may surprise an outsider why a brave revolutionary trusts the life of the most important child on the planet to unfamiliar first corners.

However, there are also positive examples. Before the premiere, there was a rumor that the series would change the way the virus is transmitted – there will be no more disputes. Fortunately, the new version is not worse. Now the mushrooms are transmitted through bites which makes the local infected even more related to the zombies from Resident Evil. Nasty appendages from the mouth are included.

It is still difficult to estimate the total number of innovations in one episode, but there will definitely be more. In detail, the motivations of individual characters and even some of the events are another story. However, the general outline is more important here, which was treated carefully by the authors. A successful find with the infected leaves hopes for really interesting changes, which means that even lore experts might be pleasantly surprised.

Cool visuals and music

The visual style and musical accompaniment are definitely a success. The initial credits copy the game’s credits and its melody – but it still gives you goosebumps.

In the course of the story, you will hear painfully familiar motives more than once. The entire original sound is in perfect harmony with what is happening on the screen and only complements the overall mood. What can not be said about the new compositions. But perhaps the situation will change in the following episodes.

The trailers failed to convey just how much similar the show will be to the original. Dirty faded colors, gloomy people, and a sense of absolute hopelessness ooze from the screen.

Characters in The Last of Us

The cast for the main characters has been alarming since the announcement, and rightly so. Pedro Pascal is a great Joel. His persona is really dangerous and should be avoided. The external similarity at some points reached such a level that I involuntarily wondered if this was a frame from the game. Special thanks to the make-up and costume designers – all the outfits and important distinguishing features are recreated in great detail. The Internet is already full of frame-by-frame comparisons, which speaks for itself.

Ellie has only opened up a little so far, but you can already see how young Bella Ramsey is trying. Unfortunately, the specific appearance of the girl still affects the perception, and the image does not fully add up. But if the level of acting performance remains the same, there is hope to get used to it and stop paying attention. In any case, Ellie behaves exactly as she should – another plus in the piggy bank.

There is practically nothing to say about Marlene, however, she didn’t really matter in the game either. But Tess was controversial. Not only did they decide to make the woman less attractive than in the game, but the actress was also forced to walk the whole series with a disgusting black eye. Scenario-wise, this doesn’t really affect anything, and therefore the solution is strange. Against the backdrop of the absolutely incredible Pascal, actress Anna Torv is lost, and she doesn’t have much timekeeping. It’s a pity, a more detailed look at the relationship between Joel and Tess would definitely not hurt.

Tommy is just there. He will definitely play his role, but not in the next series. The other characters in the first episode are just added for the sake of background, so it’s pointless to discuss them.

***

The first series of The Last of Us causes only positive emotions. The show is worth watching for both fans and casual viewers – it will be equally interesting. However, plot changes do not always benefit the logic, but this completely gets overshadowed by the atmosphere, visual style, and music. HBO Max, don’t let us down! Looking forward to this masterpiece.