*there will be spoilers for both the show and game below
THE Last of Us has been a huge hit for HBO since its release about two months ago. Tens of millions turned out for each episode as Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) trekked across a zombie-ravaged post-apocalyptic United States.
Wrapping up with an intense and violent finale that’s familiar to the tens of millions of gamers who have played through The Last of Us since its release in June 2013, one can’t help but compare the two experiences.
As someone who has played through the game a couple of times, while I appreciate what the show was able to accomplish – it is still easily the greatest adaptation of a video game ever made – some of the changes and choices in the adaptation held it back from being a truly great television show.
However, it’s not as simple as saying the changes to the plot = good, straying from source material = bad, or even vice versa. While The Last of Us is very faithful to the themes and plot of the game, there are a few places where it falls short.
Not enough action
Probably the biggest change from the game to show is the change in genre.
The Last of Us was an action survival game, where the player controls Joel as he escorts Ellie on their journey. Joel has to scrounge through limited resources and ammunition in desperate situation after desperate situation, in both combat and stealth situations.
The show, on the other hand, cuts out about 95% of the game’s action. There are major setpieces, specifically at the end of Episode 5 where human rebels face off against a horde of infected, including Clickers and a Bloater – employed like a video game boss.
However, for the most part, there’s a lot of travelling. Sure, there’s tension and suspense, but the show lacks the desperation and danger of the game. The cordyceps-infected zombies that have been a big part of the marketing aren’t even in half the episodes.
I’m not saying that all the action from the game should have been kept, after all, that would be repetitive and would turn Joel from a tough everyman into an action movie character. But a couple more violent encounters would really heighten the struggle of these characters.
A lot of this is because the show isn’t about the action, it is ultimately an HBO prestige drama that is more focused on relationships, specifically the relationship between Joel and Ellie. Their relationship is also what elevated the game from the hordes of other zombie titles.
Not enough time
Speaking of which, while the performances between Pascal and Ramsey are deserving of all the praise – they both captured the essence of the characters despite never playing the game – there’s still something missing, at least for someone who has experienced the game.
On paper it works, there is a sense of progression. It just feels like we don’t really see them together that much. The show is about nine hours long, but a lot of that is spent on side characters and the two leads spend a decent amount of time apart.
In comparison, the game never cuts away from Joel and Ellie. It also takes about 15 hours to beat.
Yes, all the subplots with Bill, Frank, Kathleen, Henry and Sam show all the different ways that people will do whatever it takes to protect or avenge those closest to them. That’s one of the big themes of the show. They linger in the back of our minds as Joel goes on his rampage in the finale.
But the focus on the other characters takes away from the limited time between Joel and Ellie. This is ultimately the biggest challenge to this adaptation, some things go by too quickly due to the runtime of the show.
We need to buy into the strength of the relationship, so that when Joel makes his final decision it makes sense on a visceral level.
These are just some things from the game that can’t be translated to live action. There are just too many limitations to working in the real world compared to the virtual world. A lot of work obviously went into the show, but there are limits to what can be done.
Ultimately, a lot of my issues come from holding The Last of Us in high regard and comparing the show to one of the best narratives in gaming. For the majority of people who did not play the game, they might not share these criticisms, for them the Joel and Ellie relationship works well enough.
It’s a very good show, some things were just lost in translation when the story was transferred from one medium to another.
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The also took part in a junket interview, with actor Ashley Johnson, who played Anna, Ellie’s mom in a flashback in the finale. She also famously played Ellie in both The Last of Us games.
Here is the interview, condensed for clarity.
The Vibes: What was it like coming back to The Last of Us after all these years?
Ashley Johnson: Coming back to this after being a part of this story and this franchise for over 10 years at this point, it’s incredibly surreal. Which is the only word that sort of matches the feeling.
Generally, when a video game is brought to the screen, the voice actors are not usually a part of it. This was a whole different thing. I don’t think Troy (Baker, who played Joel in the game and has a role in episode 8) and I thought we would be included in this.
When we were asked, we were stoked and to be able to continue to tell this story and be another part of it and to also play Ellie’s mom, it’s really special.
I don’t even know how else to describe it but I’m so unbelievably grateful and happy to be a part of it and that the story is now going to be told to people who have never played the game.
Most of my family, like my mom, they’ve never played the game, they don’t know what it’s about, they know nothing about it. Now watching the show they’re like “Oh, so this is what you were doing?”, “Wait, you were playing the little girl?”
So, it’s nice because now I feel that story is being brought to people who never played the game. I’m more than excited about that.
What was it like filming your intense scene in the finale?
AJ: Just a great family show is what we like to call it.
It was really intense. The pregnancy belly was about 30 pounds, which was nice because it added that weight, but running was interesting. It was symbolic in a way because she was carrying a lot of weight. The fact that this is how Ellie came into the world, says even so much more.
It was terrifying, anytime that I filmed with the infected or the clickers in game, of course, they’re not in the prosthetics or the makeup and we’re in mo-cap suits and we’re sticking to each other with velcro and you’re just imagining what’s around you as opposed to seeing it.
Being there in person and seeing the makeup of the Clicker, it was wild and very intense, but I had such an amazing time working against Kelsey (Andreis, stuntwoman) who helped, her bodywork was so great.
Being able to reconnect and do these scenes with Merle. The scenes we had done together a decade ago of me playing Ellie, her still playing Marlene, and now being able to say as Anna, “hey, we’ve known each other our whole lives” and giving backstory to Marlene’s character and also showing how Ellie came into the world.
As heavy as those scenes were, I had so much fun and whenever I feel like you’re on a set and there’s a lot of special effects, or especially working with a baby, there’s a lot of factors that go into it that can be a little stressful, but I had a blast, I just was having so much fun and I’m just so stoked I got to be a part of it
What was it like working with Bella Ramsey, seeing her play a character you first brought to life?
AJ: There have been so many different versions of this over the past 10 years of trying to make it into a film, of different people attached and I truly feel like this wasn’t able to be made yet because Bella wasn’t old enough. I feel like Bella is Ellie brought to life.
I actually first met her on set when I was filming this scene. A lot of Neil’s (Druckmann) and Craig’s (Mazin) prep for this, for Bella and Pedro “don’t watch anything because we want this to be your take on it and to have the space to make it your own.”
That’s what’s so wild to me, the fact that she still has so much of that essence of Ellie, like it’s just there. When we met I just felt an instant connection to her and we do have a lot of similarities in our mannerisms and we both were awkward in introducing and getting to know each other.
I’m already such a huge fan of hers, after watching through the full season now she absolutely blew me away. I think she’s such an incredible actor and what she’s done with Ellie has sort of taken her to a different level, I can’t wait to see what she continues to do.
What do you think about the divisive ending, what would you have done?
AJ: I feel like Anna would have done the same thing. Instantly we know she lies so her baby can live. I had this feeling last night when I was watching the scene where he’s going through the hospital.
It hit me harder than the game I think because that part of the game is gameplay. You’re going through the hospital, you’re going through the different levels, you’re taking out the Fireflies, you may get shot by one, so you die and then you respawn.
I think there’s an element of, while you’re playing it it’s not necessarily lost on you that what you’re doing is pretty terrible, but I think watching it and just being an audience member and not playing through it, it hit me a lot harder.
This group and also having the knowledge of the second game, this was a group of people really trying to make the world better. It’s not the right decision, what he does, but I understand it.
Also for caring about these characters so much, going on this journey with them across the country. You want so badly for them to have this little bit of happiness in their life.
Now after these events, I thought it was just so beautiful to watch from the game to this, and how their relationship from this point on feels so much more fractured because it felt so much heavier. I thought it was beautifully done. – The Vibes, March 18, 2023
* You can now stream the full first season of The Last of Us on HBO GO
