The following is a spoiler-free review of Season 1 of The Last of Us. The series premiere debuts on HBO on January 15th.
The best adaptations don’t just imitate their source material but aim to enrich for those familiar with it, while also acting as an entry point for those who aren’t. HBO’s The Last of Us does exactly that: a brilliant retelling of one of video games’ most beloved stories that rebottles the lightning of what made it so special to many in the first place, letting it strike again to stunning effect. Thanks to a pair of phenomenal lead performances and a beautifully executed vision of what it is to find hope and love in a world hellbent on denying it, The Last of Us thrills from the first episode to the last.
The shape of the story will be familiar to any who have played the original game, but that’s not to say you’ll know exactly what’s coming next since deviations are frequently taken. A post-pandemic world where pockets of humanity aim to keep afloat amongst a sea of infection, it’s a place brought to stark realisation by showrunner Craig Mazin, aided by the creator of The Last of Us video game, Neil Druckmann. The setup for the plot circles around Joel, a smuggler tasked with couriering a teenage girl west in an America ravaged by a deadly fungal pandemic for the past 20 years. Of course, things don’t go smoothly as danger lurks around every corner in both human and post-human forms, ready to break their ever-tightening bond.
Pedro Pascal, meanwhile, brilliantly steps into the well-worn shoes of Joel Miller, southern fried drawl and all, carrying himself in a convincingly experienced and world-weary way. He’s often brooding and quiet – acting as a foil to Ellie’s infectious energy – and able to powerfully express deep emotion through a single look of his eyes. He fits the role perfectly; stoic in the face of adversity and able to position himself at each end of Joel’s emotional spectrum, from warmly caring to ruthlessly violent.
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