In the build-up to The Last of Us, I found myself both excited and incredibly nervous. As a lifelong fan of the game, I was worried it would end up being just another lacklustre video game adaptation—but I’m so glad to have been proven wrong.
Both leads are excellent, with Bella Ramsey in particular standing out. As someone who didn’t love the casting initially, she completely blew me away. I don’t think there’s another actor in the world who could embody Ellie so perfectly. Pedro Pascal is also great as Joel, though slightly less accurate to the character he was portraying. Still, he brings a lot of heart and delivers a great dramatic performance. The chemistry between the two is undeniable.
I think The Last of Us is at its strongest when it expands on the source material and introduces new ideas. Episode three, Long, Long Time, is undoubtedly the standout of the season and a perfect example of this strength. In the game, Bill was a relatively minor character, and Frank had already died off-screen—so who would have expected their love story to become one of the most beautifully crafted hours of television in recent memory.
The Last of Us is certainly not flawless, though. I didn’t feel fully emotionally invested in the characters or the bond between Ellie and Joel. There are some pacing issues, and the infected are heavily underexplored—often feeling largely absent from the show. While I think it’s a strong adaptation and easily one of the best video game adaptations we’ve seen, it handles most elements just slightly less effectively than the game. The ending, in particular, is where this is most apparent; the weight of Joel’s decision wasn’t portrayed with nearly the same impact or significance.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely nervous heading into season two—it’s a far more difficult game to adapt. But hopefully, I’ll be proven wrong once again, and we’ll end up with another solid season of television. Despite its flaws, season one of The Last of Us is a really strong adaptation of one of my all-time favourite video games. I’m both nervous and intrigued to see how they tackle part two; it’s going to be a very difficult task to adapt such a complex story, but the writers have given us no reason to doubt them so far.
Review by Jacob Wolfe
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