So, I've recently finished watching the finale of the HBO TV series adaptation of the acclaimed video game, The Last of Us and I decided it was time to do my own review of the series.
Now there are 9 episodes in total for the series, so rather than do 9 separate posts, I thought I would combine episode reviews into three parts, so I will cover 3 episodes each per post and will try and not to go to deep into each one to avoid making the posts too long.
So, with that all said, let's take a look at the first three episodes of the series and see how they compared to the game itself.
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD THROUGHOUT THIS POST!!!!
Episode 1 - When you are lost in the darkness
So, the first episode sets the scene with an intro scene in 1968 where a epidemiologist called Newman (John Hannah) goes on a debate show and talks about the dangers of fungus that could one day grow in humans. Newman further suggests that if any such fungus could mutate into humans then there simply wouldn't be a cure possible that would ultimately lead to the extinction of humanity.
After this we move forward to the year 2003 in Austin, Texas where we meet our main protagonist, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) who lives with his 14 year old daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker). And there are reports of strange incidents breaking out with people showing signs of infection and one such person turns out to be an elderly neighbour, who one night Sarah discovers has killed her family and moves to attack Sarah who runs out. Joel soon turns up however and kills the lady with a wrench and he flees the scene in a truck with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Sarah. During a chaotic scene on the streets we see people fleeing for their lives as infected run wild and Joel's truck is overturned and they are forced to run on foot. Sarah however injured leg in the crash, so Joel carries through the streets but they soon encounter a soldier, who is ordered by radio to shoot them, Joel survives and is saved by Tommy, who kills the soldier but Sarah is fatally wounded and Joel inconsolably sods as holds her in his hands.
The story then moves forward 20 years to 2023 where humanity has been ravaged by the Cordyceps fungal infection and the world has become a dystopian state with human survivors being rounded up into quarantine zones throughout the world. By this time, Joel is now a bitter, middle aged man who works as a smuggler along with his partner Tess (Anna Torv) as they live in a military controlled quarantine zone in Boston. Joel and Tess are on the hunt for a black market dealer named Robert (Brendan Fletcher) who sold them a car battery but double crosses them as he gave it to the fireflies, who are a resistance group who are opposed to FEDRA who run the QZ's.
On their hunt for Robert they soon encounter the leader of the Fireflies, Marlene (Merle Dandridge) who tells them she wishes to trade the supplies in exchange for smuggling a 14 year old girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and taking her to a hospital to which Joel and Tess agree.
And from here Joel, Tess and Ellie embark on their dangerous journey....
THOUGHTS
As intro episode for the series, this is a very good start to the series and remains largely faithful to the game although it does offer an introductory scene with the epidemiologists discussing the dangers of a fungal infection breakout, which did not feature in the game. But this episode perfectly sets up the grim tone for the series and just how harsh and cruel a world people now live in after the outbreak the cordyceps infection.
PERFORMANCES
As for the performances, the cast are all excellent and the casting is just about perfect.
Starting with Pedro Pascal who is excellent in his role as Joel, who is haunted by the death of his daughter and in the present has become a hardened man and a smuggler who trusts no one (except Tess of course!) and is reluctant to take on the task of smuggling Ellie. Pedro also has some really powerful moments in his performance and the standout one without question is the heartbreaking scene Joel's daughter, Sarah dies after being shot by a soldier and he breaks down in tears. Its an unforgettable stark moment and it packs a huge emotional punch.
Bella Ramsey is also terrific in her role as Ellie, the 14 year old girl who is to be taken to a Fireflies hospital in Boston although she remains tight lipped as to why she is going but we find out soon enough. Bella also has an amusing scene where Ellie being held captive is asked to count to ten and she counts slowly "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8..." and she then holds up her a middle finger and says "...fuck you!". It shows early on just how defiant Ellie can be and her somewhat hot temperament but it also shows her trust in Marlene, who has looked after her since birth.
Anna Torv is also great in her role as Tess, Joel's partner and a smuggler who works with him to recover a stolen battery but later agrees to smuggle Ellie in exchange for supplies. Anna's casting did receive some criticism from fans but she is really good in her role and plays the part very well as Tess is a tough bird and Anna shows that perfectly.
Nico Parker is very good also in her role as Sarah, Joel's daughter, who is of course an innocent, likeable kid and sadly dies early on in the episode however to the show creators credit, they did expand on her scenes a bit more for the TV show as her appearance is all too brief in the game before she dies. Although one criticism I did have with Nico's performance is the scene where she stands in horror looking at the infected lady who has killed her family and doesn't move FOREVER until the infected woman is about to run at her! I mean come on, it were me I'd be running ages before that!
And last of all is Merle Dandridge who reprises her role as Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies who was the voice actor for the role in the video game. And Merle does a fine job here with her performance and shares a good scene with Bella as Marlene and Ellie discuss what needs to be done.
SUM UP
So, overall this is a very good episode and good intro to the series although the pacing for it is a bit slow at times, so I don't quite think its a perfect one but its solid nonetheless and does its job for setting the scene of the show.
So, I will give it:
8 out of 10
Episode 2 - Infected
So, episode begins where the first left off pretty much with Joel, Ellie and Tess making their way toward the state house. However as Ellie is revealed to have a bite mark on her arm after they are held at gunpoint by a FEDRA soldier, Joel overpowers him and beats him to death, haunted by the death of his daughter to a soldier. Ellie reveals that she is immune to the infection as she was bitten 3 weeks ago and nothing has happened to her since and that she is to be taken to a medical facility out west run by fireflies who hope to crate a vaccine from her blood. Joel is reluctant to take her but Tess persuades him that they should as they will get supplies as a result.
However before they can get anywhere near the state house, a pack of infected block their route, so they instead proceed through a nearby museum, which unfortunately also has some infected known as clickers moving through it. The clickers attack the group but Joel kills them although Ellie reveals that she has been bitten again in the struggle. On arriving at the state house, the fireflies there are already dead and Tess reveals that she herself has been bitten in the neck and pleads with Joel to take Ellie with him to the medical facility, which he agrees to and he leaves with Ellie just before the place is overrun with infected and Tess meets her end...
THOUGHTS
Episode 2 of the series is another very good episode which continues to show the slow development of the characters but also continues to highlight the tragic tones of the series after we discover that Tess has been bitten and Joel stands to face personal loss once again in his life as Tess was his romantic partner as well as business partner. We also start to see shades of Ellie and Joel's relationship slowly begin albeit at this stage, Joel is highly suspicious of Ellie's so called immunity and is reluctant to take her any further. We also get what is a rather controversial scene near the end of the episode where one of the infected that breaks into the state house, french kisses Tess with their fungus coming out its mouth! Its a pretty gross scene it has to be said without any doubt!
PERFORMANCES
Performance wise again the cast are all on excellent form.
Pedro Pascal once again does a fine job in his role as Joel and does very well at showing his mistrust of Ellie's so called immunity. Pedro also get's some funny lines in this episode where Ellie asks him some questions about where he's from and his past and he keeps saying "Pass!" and "No more questions about me!". And then there is the amusing line where from Joel where Ellie keeps asking for a gun and she says "I have a spare hand" and he says to her "Congratulations!".
Bella Ramsey also again shows why her casting as Ellie was inspired as she shows a more playful side to Ellie's personality as they progress through the area to the state house. And Bella has a funny moment where she finds a reception desk and puts on a Southern accent as a receptionist as she wades through the water to move a unit and Joel says to her "You're a weird kid!" and she says to him back "And you're a weird kitten!" but then a skeleton pops up out the water and she says "Sorry!".
Anna Torv is excellent once again also as Tess, Joel's partner who unfortunately gets bitten by one of the infected later on in the episode and meets a tragic end as she is forced to blow up the house as it is overrun with infected and one of them plays tonsil hockey with his lips on Tess! Anna also has a good scene where she reveals her bite mark and she desperately pleads with Joel to take Ellie to the Fireflies facility and grabs Ellie's arm and shows her the healed bite mark she got earlier and says "This is real!" and tearfully asks him to "Save who you can" before Joel and Ellie run out.
SUM UP
So, again this is a pretty good episode with fine performances from Pedro, Bella and particularly Anna Torv here who poignantly plays Tess's end out very well and meets a rather disgusting controversial end with the now infamous infected "kiss" scene. Its also really good to see the clickers at last in the show as they are a key part of the game although we would later not see much more of them in the series, which is a pity. However again there are still better episodes yet to come and this is another solid one but still not one of the standouts.
And I will rate episode 2:
8 out of 10
Episode 3 - Long, Long Time
So, episode 3 begins with Joel and Elle travelling on foot to Lincoln, Massachusetts where Joel intends to meet up with Bill (Nick Offerman) to get some weapons and supplies. Enroute, Joel discovers a small housing unit where he stashed supplies of his own, however on exploring inside, Ellie sneaks down in the basement and finds a trapped infected, who she stabs in the head to kill them before they move on.
The story then shifts back 20 years to where the breakout has just taken place and as occupants of Lincoln are evacuated from the area, one of them Bill hides out in a bunker until they have gone and he afterward proceeds to ransack weapons stores and arms supplies and builds himself an electric fence and trip wires to keep out any infected or raiders.
A few years later as Bill continues to live alone, he one day encounters a man named Frank (Murray Bartlett) outside who bargains with him for a shower, meal and some clothes, which Bill reluctantly agrees to. However after the meal, Frank finds Bill has a piano and he plays a song "Long, Long Time" that is dear to Bill and the two men kiss and sleep together.
Three years later, Bill and Frank still live together as a couple and Frank befriends Joel and Tessa, who offers to work out a smuggling operation and Bill reluctantly accepts as he mistrusts anyone except Frank and Joel warns Bill that raiders will break through his fences before long. This then cuts to a fight scene where Bill fights off raiders and is shot as a result.
The story then skips forward by ten years where Frank is terminally ill and with not long left to live, he chooses to die by being given a lethal dose of sleeping tablets by Bill, who spikes his drink also as he doesn't want to live without Frank and the two men after dinner retire to the bedroom as they await their deaths.
The story moves back to the present where Joel and Ellie arrive at Bill's place and discover a letter written by Bill, which details their deaths and also he leaves all his supplies and truck to Joel. Joel and Ellie soon gear up and leave the scene.
THOUGHTS
This episode was considered by many to be the best out of the entire series but for me personally, I thought it was weakest episode and I felt that it was somewhat disappointing that they opted for the romantic story over the scenes between Bill, Joel and Ellie which I really enjoyed in the game and missed seeing them banter together. However I guess the series to its credit was trying to do some things different and they opted for trying to deepen Bill's character and explore his homosexuality more which is implied in the game judging by the hanging corpse he cuts down which he claims to be a "brother" of his and later Ellie finds a men's magazine belonging to Bill found in his truck.
PERFORMANCES
Performance wise again the regulars are on good form here with Pedro providing some good moments and notably the scene where Joel tries to explain the origins of Cordyceps spread and he believed it to be in food supplies such as dough and rice. Its good that they tried to put some theories in the show rather than just leave it to the viewer's imaginations as it is more vague in the video game. Pedro also has a good scene where Joel and Tess have a dinner outside with Bill and Frank and Bill keeps checking his gun and putting it away out of habit. Joel talks with Bill about supplies but as Bill keeps checking his gun, Joel tells him "Keep that gun out of my face" and Bill finally puts it away.
Bella also does a fine job again here as Ellie and in this episode as the two of them hike together they slowly begin their bond although it is in its early stages here. Bella gets interesting scene where Ellie stumbles along an infected trapped under rubble in a basement and she uses her flick knife to kill it. She also has an amusing moment where she reads from Bill's letter and gives a creepy "heh heh heh" laugh as she reads part of it.
As for the supporting cast, Nick Offerman does a fine job in his role as Bill, who is a lone survivor that lives alone after the infection breaks out but later meets the stranger Frank and begins a romantic relationship with him. Offerman's dialogue is more sparse here than it is in the game for Bill but he nonetheless does a good job at showing Bill as a loner and his connection with Frank is the only meaningful link he has in his life.
Murray Bartlett also does very well with his character Frank, a stranger who later becomes a couple with Bill and he is the positive counterpart to Bill's negativity as the two of them start their relationship. And although I was a bit uncomfortable watching their sex scene, I have to say they still played their relationship nicely and Bartlett does a fine job at showing Frank's humanity and warmth and his terminal illness near the end makes it all the more devastating and sad.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, Episode 3 is a good one but I personally found it was a bit overrated however Bill and Frank's romance did have its moments of charm but I still missed the original banter we got between Bill, Joel and Ellie in the video game. Perhaps though it was easier for them to do this as Bill's scenes in the game are pretty action heavy and that's something this series to an extent avoids for character development. I also found the episode to be pretty heavy going towards the end with the double suicide of Bill and Frank being a real downer even if it was well played by both actors.
So, suffice to say to say that Episode 3 is my least favourite of the series even though it has its moments, it takes you out of the main story at the same time and I still prefer Bill's interactions and his personality in the video game than here.
So, I will rate Long, Long Time:
7 out of 10.
So, that's it for this post guys and I will be back soon with Part 2 where I will look at episodes 4-6.
Until then bye for now!
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