Fungal And Faithful - The Last Of Us By HBO (Review)

Video game adaptations are plagued by endless creative differences, production companies and writers always trying to improve its source material. Pure hubris results in most of these stories failing for a commercial audience and for fans of the games. As adapting the source material, keeping it faithful and making it accessible is a mammoth task. I am happy to report The Last of Us by HBO finally breaks this curse inducing trend by honouring the games source material while enhancing it for television. For the most part. It’s beautiful, dark, nuanced, and emotional. The show variation creates just enough differential material to make it a worthwhile watch for game fans and newcomers alike. It will create topics of discussion for years to come. The “was Joel or the firefly’s right argument” is alive and well. Trust me.

Video review here

For those that don’t know the premise. Here is an eye level explanation. Fungal zombies invaded the world leading to our main character losing his daughter. 20 years pass and he has to overcome his emotional baggage to transport a young girl who is immune to a saviour group. Sounds basic but this narrative is award winning. Watch the show and play the game. You will agree. Each of the nine episodes of its debut season allows an opportunity for improvement and a showcase for its original 2013 video game counterpart to come to life in live action. One such overall enhancement is the fungal apocalypse origins. It is vastly expanded upon in numerous ways. From its origins to how it evolves and communicates. Other changes such as Joel and Tess's relationship. Tess’s demise, and Bills life are fundamentally changed. That will be up to each person to decide if these changes are for better or worse. Ultimately, it’s a mixed bag for myself.

While I seriously enjoyed my viewing of HBO’s version of one of my favourite video games of all time. I would be lying if I did not take issue with aspects of the show. One painful problem is its underutilisation of its key threat. The infected themselves. It does not ruin the show, but for gamers watching this TV adaptation, the comparison is hard to ignore. As a result of episodes either not showing a single infected or not focusing on the fungal threat at all to build the problem and find its solution. The TV adaptation world feels far less threatening. Outside of episode five having a huge battle with our fungal friends, we rarely saw them. Episode 8 especially, which lacked a crucial bonding scene between Ellie and David when they were attacked by infected is entirely absent. Which made Ellie trusting him less believable, but she did. This just made no sense. But it did in the game because we had that segment. Less infected means less danger. Less danger means humans can handle the infected and they are not a problem. Which begs the question if the infected are barely an issue, why do we need a cure? – this just makes the entire purpose of Joel and Ellies journey in my opinion, somewhat redundant. It opens a can of worms that creates plot holes.

This is also because the narrative has such a back and forth pacing. Its either hurtled forward like a canon to get to the point due to lack of time or alternatively it completely halts to focus on less important things. A prime example is the university section of the game. It is shoehorned into a 10-minute rushed segment at the tail end of the episode involving Tommy, rather than being an episode itself where Joel and Ellie could have bonded further on screen against infected. In turn showing the world is dangerous and needs Ellies immunity. Whereas in comparison, Bill got an entire one-hour episode dedicated to his gay romance that utterly changed his arc in the story when compared to the game as he never met Ellie or furthered their journey first hand. The DLC from the game becomes its own episode here and again, it could have been a 10-minute flashback rather than a full hour of mostly filler. Left Behind was far much more fun to play than watch. Both Ellie and Bills episodes, while beautifully crafted felt superfluous in the grand scheme of let’s fix the world and get on with things. The importance of showcasing Joel and Ellie’s journey and bond, needs to be the primary goal here. Not deviations. The show handles its time poorly in this sense due to the inconsistent episode lengths.

Luckily nearly every other aspect of the show is a masterpiece. Its cinematography, art direction, set design, and realistic nature transferring the game to its show adaptation works flawlessly. Certain shots, scenes and whole character arcs are ripped straight from the game. While others are minimally or fundamentally changed to enhance for a TV audience. We also have two key actors bringing Joel and Ellie to life on screen. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey respectfully portray the characters we have loved for a decade beautifully. Raw emotion of their developing relationship is prominent throughout for the most part. In some cases, even better than video game form. Pascal especially captures Joel like he was born for the role with complete ease. Although the TV version is far more damaged and less self-assured. Even suffering from panic attacks at one point. Ramsey for me at least took time to warm to as Ellie. She's more brash, commanding and slightly caricature like at first before slipping into her role after a few episodes. She gets more open and vulnerable as the episodes progress and that is where she shines. Joel is the mirror opposite, becoming tougher as the show goes. Luckily, as a duo they work incredibly well, and the chemistry was clear. Scenes where Joel discusses his daughter to Ellie were just magical. What surprised me was new dialogue between the two. Pay attention to the final scene of the show for a line that will make your heart swell. There is some brief cameos from actors involved with the game but the stand out is Ashley Johnson. Who now plays Ellies mother. A great addition that adds a new theory for Ellies immunity.

What I can proudly praise the show for is its depiction of brutality. Moments of Ellie abusing an infected who is trapped under rubble is utterly bizarre. But it makes sense through the eyes of a curious teen learning about the horrific world she inhabits. She needs to learn how to survive. Later in the season a horde of infected that includes the destructive bloater tears through some humans as if they were tissue paper.

This is the turning point of transmedia adaptations. Video games finally have a chance to showcase their nature and importance to a larger demographic than before thanks to this show. Much like the critically acclaimed video game, The Last of Us in TV form is bound for greatness. A grounded story with realistic brutality of a torn apart world and believable characters you can relate to with ease. All these key points gel intrinsically in-between its incredible set designs, carefully crafted cinematography and musical score created by Gustavo Santaolla that induces a thematic tone emotion whenever its required. It’s an undeniably exciting and emotional tale, portrayed by actors that took characters we knew and improved upon them. When your only major problem is a lack of episodes and small subjective changes, you cannot fault the core experience. I wanted more and cannot wait for a season two. Is it perfect? certainly not. But it’s the best video game adaptation available right now. I rate the show an 8 out of 10 and it will go down in TV history as a must watch experience and as the titular blueprint for further video game adaptations to follow in its infectious success.

By John Perry