Historically, the zombie genre has always been used to hold up a mirror to humanity and show us what we are capable of doing, all our light and darkness, when our society is pushed to the very limit. Few, if any, video games capture that essence as well as Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, released in 2013 for the Playstation 3. The game is not exactly a “zombie game” in the traditional sense, instead using the societal collapse brought on by such an apocalyptic event to bring out the best and worst of its characters. Considered as many as one of the best video games of all time, The Last of Us was a fantastic game; a skillful use of narrative and characterization and immersive gameplay. Indeed, the game series are some of the most cinematic games out there today, and an adaptation whether to film or TV was a no-brainer. After a number of attempts, HBO released its first episode of The Last of Us today.
Taking place in a place and time close to our own, The Last of Us begins by immersing us into the daily life of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Sarah (Nico Parker), who live in a normal American suburb. The two of them are very close and go about their day, but something about this day feels off: the sound of fighter jets overhead, the occasional police car or fire truck, random vaguely heard snippets from the news. The first half of the movie is a total banger. It’s a masterclass in tension as things build up to a mid-episode sequence that almost perfectly matches the first game’s prologue. It’s one of the most memorable television moments of the year.
We meet Joel again twenty years later, in a post-apocalyptic world that is vastly different. The US Military has imposed strict rule over the few remaining cities, where its citizens barely scrape by and are met with severe punishment if they ever break the rules. The episode’s second half takes its time establishing this new setting and expanding on its world, even more so than the original video game. Aside from the military, there are the Fireflies, led by Marlene (Merle Dandridge, who reprises her role from the games), an organization determined to return democratic rule to the country, and there are pockets of bandits and slavers in the vast lands outside the cities. Joel has more or less adapted to this new environment, though occasionally his past haunts him. He and business partner Tess (Anna Torv) work as smugglers when they are tasked with taking a young girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), to somewhere outside the quarantine zone they live in.
There’s so much packed into one episode, yet even with a feature length runtime (85 minutes), there’s still much to explore in the bigger world. Craig Mazin (best known for the critically acclaimed Chernobyl) is a big fan of the game, working closely with series creator Neil Druckmann and promising to flesh out important elements and side stories from the game that were either cut out or not elaborated upon. There’s evidence of some of that here, and it’s exciting to see how things will go from here on out.
If anything, the first episode of The Last of Us is compelling storytelling and compelling television. The verdict is out as to how it will play out over the next few episodes, but things are looking very promising and this may prove to be one of the year’s standout series.
