HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ Surpasses Even Sky-High Expectations

Despite being an adaptation of a video game that most fans would argue didn’t need one, there seemed to be enough things working in The Last of Us’ favor to make the project a success. Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann was working on it to make sure it was faithful to the game. Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin was writing it. It was on HBO. And when early reviews started rolling in, it seemed they really had pulled it off.

Yes, yes they did. Even getting my hopes way, way up ahead of the premiere of The Last of Us last night, even counting the series as one of my favorites in video game history, it actually exceeded my expectations. And listening to the conversation online (where the show was the #1 trend in the country last night), I can see I’m not alone.

Everything works. Everything. In terms of game-faithfulness, you can’t get much better than the essentially shot-by-shot remake of the intro the series opens with. There are loads of lines throughout the night pulled straight from the original script. Hell, even one of the same actresses shows up to play the same role she had a decade ago (Marlene). While we will see how some broader changes play out over time (no spores, so fewer people have to wear gas masks onscreen), so far the series reads like a blueprint of a truly faithful adaptation in an era when source material is routinely cast away (Resident Evil, Halo).

HBO, even going through massive cutbacks in the David Zaslav era, has clearly unleashed the floodgates to give The Last of Us whatever budget it needs. The production value here is off the charts, on par with any theatrical blockbuster in terms of how it presents first a collapsing, then ruined, apocalyptic America. They spared no expense, and it shows.

Finally, the cast, namely the central duo of Joel and Ellie (though Sarah, Tommy and Tess are also great). It was easy to have a good amount of faith in Pedro Pascal after his runs in The Mandalorian and Game of Thrones. Here, he’s a pitch-perfect Joel as everyone hoped he would be, turning in a performance that Joel’s original actor, Troy Baker, has said he wished he’d given in the game.

The real breakout story of the series, however, is likely going to be Bella Ramsey. While everyone remembers the breakout performance she gave in a few scenes as young Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones, she was a somewhat unknown quantity here. The showrunners said they audition hundreds of potential Ellies, but Ramsey was the one to nail it. And yes, I see it. Without question she has the Ellie attitude and persona down, and this is without referencing the original game. Fanboys made a big deal out of a quote where she said she was told not to play the game, implying that would make her performance unfaithful. Rather, all that meant is that she wouldn’t do an Ashley Johnson impression, and her own performance still fully captures the essence of Ellie regardless. She’s fantastic, even in just half an episode so far.

The show is stellar, and by all accounts, may only get better from here, as reviewers keeping dropping hints about a blockbuster episode three coming in two weeks. I honestly cannot believe they pulled this off to this degree, and this thing is going to be a monster for HBO.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.