Game news The Last of Us HBO: The series as great as the video game? Our opinion on the first season!
Published on 03/19/2023 at 08:20
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While the series The Last of Us has been waiting for months, it is already time to take stock of its 1st season. Did Ellie and Joel’s adventures on the small screen live up to Naughty Dog’s cult video game? Fasten your seat belts: here is our opinion on the HBO show.
Yes, the first season of The Last of Us series is already over… On the night of March 12 to 13, 2023, HBO released the ninth | last episode of the TV show (on Amazon Prime in France). A conclusion almost identical to that of the Naughty Dog video game – which moreover left us with a mixed impression! It must be said that the bet of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann was not won in advance. The creators had to condense 14 hours of “gameplay” into ten chapters of 45 min to 1h30, within a work where the budding relationship between Ellie and Joël occupies a central place… To complicate the task, The Last of Us, it’s a cult title that players know by heart. How to tell the same story by satisfying the newcomers and the regulars?
A great start
From the outset, The Last of Us series shows that it wants to see “further” than the basic game, taking advantage of the language specific to the small screen… Often, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann bet on flashbacks and several points of view , to, for example, introduce the scientific nature of cordyceps – first and second episodes – or even dedicate an entire section to a specific character (Frank and Bill, chapter 3).
These additions, which land at the start of the HBO show, give a frankly brilliant impulse to the whole ! From the start, the series reassures about its complementary nature with the title of Naughty Dog. We can also note the presence of a lot of new scenes, in particular to reveal the functioning of the FEDRA (local army), the Fireflies and bring more depth to certain characters, such as Kathleen (episode 4 | 5) or even David (episode 8).
Big balancing act
At first, there is therefore no problem, the series The Last of Us spins on the hats of wheels. The cast is solid, the sets are superb, the writing is impeccably accurate. But the show comes up against a major problem: its de facto resemblance to the video game, which defuses the dramatic potential of various scenes (Sarah, Tess, Riley, Sam, Henry). At least, that’s the case for those who’ve played the Sony exclusive before. As a fan, our opinion of the HBO job is skewed… Before Episode 1, we knew what The Last of Us was “supposed” to look like.
Consequently, the sequences that marked us the most are those that bring fat to this post-apo universe, like the superb episode 3 entirely dedicated to Bill and Frank. Above all, throughout this first season, Craig Mazin | Neil Druckmann disseminated new details that reinforce what we knew in advance : the arrival in Jackson (city normally introduced in The Last of Part 2) which concretely highlights Joel’s trauma; a discussion between Sam and Ellie where the heroine shows her willingness to use her immunity wisely! There are good ideas.
Success despite everything
With the help of unseen scenes and relevant writing choices, HBO manages to give – despite a limited time in front of the camera – a real progression to the relationship between Joël | Ellie, played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey… It’s simple, the two actors are made for the role and form a duo just as striking as the protagonists of the original software! Too bad the conclusion of their adventure is a bit rushed, resuming “shot by shot” the end of Naughty Dog. A problem (no doubt) for players – while others will discover a striking ending that has lost none of its power.
So what is The Last of Us series worth in the end? It must be said that the guys at HBO have done a great job, managing to satisfy new fans and connoisseurs of the original game. Even if the show misses a few opportunities to go beyond the basic material and forgets promising aspects along the way (the science of the virus, the connection that unites them) difficult to spit in the soup, it’s a great adaptation. See you for season 2, which has already been formalized.
Find out more about the universe of The Last of Us
