First impressions of The Last of Us series

When I heard that HBO was adapting the game The Last of Us, one of the jewels from developer Naughty Dog, I was very skeptical. As a loyal fan of the original, I simply believe that you can't improve on perfection. And I was right. You can't. But you can do it differently. And in that "difference," you can simply excel.

I think I can hear all those voices doubting the casting. They're grumbling about minor changes and the time jump to the modern era. And some very stubborn fan inside me is still shaking their head at certain decisions stemming (I fear) purely from the demands of modern society.

But let's not pull out the shotgun while the clicker is still far away.

I really liked a quote from YouTuber Dekon, which every die-hard fan of anything should take to heart (yes, I'm talking to you, "haters" of The Witcher series).

"See them as two different things. As long as the actors can capture the core essence of the original characters, it doesn't matter what they look like."

I have to sign off on that. Just because something new is created doesn't mean the old one ceases to exist. You still have the game. You still have the books or comics.

And so, let's enter the world of The Last of Us series.

The first part is spoiler-free.

In the second part (if you want to find out what I don't quite like compared to the original version), we won't avoid spoilers. Be warned, it's a longer read. Don't worry, though; I'll warn you before the approaching "dangerous part"!

Quarantine: Spoiler-free review of the first episode of The Last of Us

The first episode of The Last of Us, titled When you’re lost in the darkness, has an 81-minute runtime. The opening scene is absolutely brilliant. Probably the best moment of the entire episode, because it shows something you won't encounter in the game. It allows you to understand and perhaps even compare what's coming in the series with what we've experienced in recent years.

The subsequent scenes are a beautiful combination of gaming nostalgia and pleasant jokes. I had to laugh several times because the relationship between Joel and Sarah is more fleshed out here and gets more space (even if not by much). Overall, the viewer gets a clearer idea of how things work for the Millers. I almost regret that the passage isn't longer.

Well… and then comes the big "finale," which spans the entire second half of the episode. From that moment on, the first episode becomes the very The Last of Us we all want and expect. The longer runtime allows for a better look at how the world works after the catastrophe. What is important, what is necessary, and where the boundaries of humanity have been completely overgrown by ugly mycelium.

The Last of Us: Episode I quite rightly has a general rating of over 90%. It's tense, entertaining, moving, and exhausting. It will keep fans of the original on their toes as they constantly hunt for easter eggs, and I firmly believe that those unfamiliar with this world will be captivated by what once captivated me. A world in flames and the tragic fate of a man trying to keep living in it.

Now we are getting out of quarantine…

Are you sure you want to enter?

Don't say I didn't warn you! So, are you ready?

Danger Zone: Analysis of the first episode of The Last of Us (spoilers!)

I suspected the TLOU series wouldn't be a flop the moment I found out how much work Neil Druckmann (the author of the original game) would have on it. He sent all of Hollywood and the notoriously famous director Sam Raimi packing when they wanted to film The Last of Us in the style of a feature-length megalomaniacal blockbuster (back in 2014). Fortunately, Neil remained faithful to his idea and the source material. He promised to show us things we couldn't see in the game (which I'm looking forward to). In interviews, he was always very honest about the changes and explained why they happened.

One such big change is the absence of spores, through which people can get infected by the insidious fungus. Instead, we find "tendrils" in the series. An interesting idea, definitely a disgusting visualization! I really like this change! It's a small detail, but it got the huge fan community up in arms anyway.

Gas masks belong to TLOU just as much as shotguns, bows, or broken scissors. In the original source material, Ellie's ability to breathe in these disgusting dusts even helps convince Joel that she is truly immune. How they will deal with the tendrils in this sense in the series, and whether they will include this element in the plot at all, we have yet to discover.

Another big thumbs up from me goes to the filmmaking team for a lot of imaginative details (scenes copied exactly, posters, photos, Sarah's t-shirt), but also for such trifles as mirroring a scene. There are two that caught my eye – first, the scene with the couch where Sarah gives her father a watch, and second, when they drive past the burning Louis farm after chaos breaks out. In the series, the house is to the left of the road. In the game, it's to the right.

I don't know why, but I see a deeper idea of some kind of multiverse in it. In one universe, we follow the story of one Joel and his loved ones, and in the mirror universe, another variant of him.

While visually the TLOU series serves up everything we want – and much more, it's more complicated with the actors. I'll look at each one gradually and say something about them. And if you've made it this far in your reading, you have my deep respect! You probably understand that I'm very interested in TLOU, so I'll continue. I want to warn you in advance that, in my opinion, all the actors work great… in their own way. But…

Young Sarah Miller, Joel's daughter, played in the game by the petite blonde Hana Hayes, has transformed into the long-haired Nico Parker in the series. Nico is excellent! As I wrote above, I would definitely like more scenes with Nico and Pedro in these roles. Nico is just as pure and innocent, but compared to the game's Sarah, she seems somehow… tougher. Actually, I'm a bit sorry about that, because her death didn't hit me as hard as it did in the game.

In the game, you almost don't believe Hana's Sarah can tie her own shoes. Nico, on the other hand, is very confident, brave. It wouldn't surprise me if she died in Joel's arms resigned and composed (sorry for the morbidity).

Smuggler Theresa Servopoulos, better known as Tess. I have nothing to add to the casting of Australian actress Anna Torv. Paradoxically, I never liked her; the character of Agent Dunham from the series Fringe didn't appeal to me at all. Yet, when I saw her on the HBO posters, it made me happy. Anna can portray an unyielding, tough person who isn't afraid to walk over dead bodies. As my husband would say – and I apologize for the vocabulary – she has the right "badassery" in her face.

Gabriel Luna as Tommy hasn't had much space yet. But I also have a good feeling about him. An interesting added line in the series is Joel's desire to find his brother after they fell out thanks to the Fireflies. Definitely a new dimension that I welcome.

Bella Ramsey might not look like Ellie, but I understand what Ashley Johnson (the game's Ellie) meant when she said she has her spirit, her essence. She's properly sassy, loud, and talks back. I enjoyed her a lot in the trailers. She doesn't have that much space in the first episode, but I believe that despite the huge resentment from the audience, the smart casting brains didn't make a mistake here either.

Well… and then there's Joel.

To understand me, I consider Joel one of the best-written and portrayed characters in the history of audiovisual production. The complexity of his personality, balancing on the edge of a caring protector and a murderous maniac, fascinates me. It only took the first few minutes of the game, and the complex personality of this man totally blew me away. So you probably understand that my demands for Joel's portrayal are very high.

Pedro Pascal is an actor on the rise and the best universal dad in the universe. From Sarah, through Alistair from WW84, to Baby Yoda. Pedro takes care of everyone! When he was cast in the role of Joel, it seemed like a nice idea, I just wasn't sure if I would believe any animal aggression from that nice Chilean-American actor. In the end, I believe it, but his take on Joel feels completely different to me – which isn't necessarily bad! It's just different.

For this article, I tried for a long time to identify what the main difference is. And I know it now.

Pedro's Joel is still struggling with his past (see the flashback and the subsequent beating of the F.E.D.R.A. guard's face). He's tough, uncompromising. Indifferent. But for now, I'm missing that dimension of a caring father that I saw in the original game actor Troy Baker (and Troy didn't even have children at the time).

I could point out exactly the individual scenes in the game where Joel acts as a father/protector – you recognize them mainly by the tone of his voice. After all, Troy, as a voice actor, had to rely more on emotions in his voice than in his face. Especially when you realize that the game was released on PS3. You can't talk about any big graphic details there. Only thanks to the metamorphosis on PS5 did the "classic" acting talent of this Texas native awaken.

I would best compare those "daddy swings" to zipping on the road. Joel tries to be tough and uncompromising. But once in a while, the good cop flies into the bad cop's lane. He has to suppress it and go back to the bad cop again.

Honestly, I really miss these little things in Pedro's Joel. For now (!) his version feels very flat to me.

The game's Joel tries at all costs to distance himself from what was. If something bad happens, if he loses someone, he refuses to talk about it (almost the entire game). He's quite unyielding in that. Even when Ellie tries to get him to talk, she often just gets a gesture or a one-word stop so she doesn't try any further.

In the game, after Tess sacrifices herself for Joel and Ellie, Joel says: "You don’t bring up Tess – ever. Matter of fact, we just keep our histories for ourselves."

This scene illustrates his PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and the need to deny serious facts very well.

The flashback shown in the series therefore seemed different to me, quite cliché (an actor like Pedro could do it even without an obvious cutaway) and it started too soon. Well… again, if I take into account the development of the plot in the game. At this time, Joel doesn't trust Ellie at all. Of course, I understand what the creators intended. But Joel must have met a lot of children in the quarantines over those twenty years. That he would develop such a strong association in a second through a completely unknown (and infected!) girl is too purposeful.

Call me a nitpicker, but that's how I feel :D

I should probably end it now. I'll allow myself one last criticism, and that is that all the beautiful dialogues from the beginning of the game were, for some reason, rushed in the series. Or they disappeared between several characters talking at once. The dynamics of telling what happens in 2003 is condensed for my taste. Rushed. That's a huge shame. If the pilot episode had been 90 minutes, it wouldn't have mattered as much. Scenes like leaving Joel's house, Sarah's death, or finding out that Ellie is infected could have been more emotionally intense because of that.

Yeah, and Pedro didn't say when putting Sarah to bed: "Goodnight baby girl." That was a shame. This address is extremely important in the game and, in my opinion, should have been clearly heard. Unfortunately, in the series, it's drowned out between the sobs of the dying Sarah.

I could probably argue about TLOU for a very long time, but I'd rather stop now. If you've made it this far, I bow again, thank you for your attention, and don't forget to form your own opinion on the series!

It's definitely worth watching! I'm looking forward to the reactions of viewers who have never played the game. Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments on Facebook and Discord.

author Eva Lassler