In what came as an amazing surprise, HBO is going to work on a television show for The Last of Us in cooperation with the director of the aforementioned game, Neil Druckmann. Representing HBO is Craig Mazin, the critically acclaimed writer of HBO's show, Chernobyl. All of this is adding up to be an incredible treat for fans of the evocative franchise, and there is now some question as to what the series will adapt. With Neil Druckmann as the main writer and Craig Mazin's experience with television shows, fans don't have much to worry about.
For those unaware, The Last of Us TV show has been confirmed to adapt the events of the first game, where Joel and Ellie attempt to reach a group of Freedom frights, but may go even further given that The Last of Us 2 releases later this year. The Last of Us is full of critical moments which really help drive the story and characters forward, all of which should not be skipped over even in television format.
Sarah's Death
The first playthrough of The Last of Us is often incredibly emotional, and this is made clear by the game's opening scenes. In such a short time, the player is able to build a connection with Sarah so that her death hits them almost as hard as it does Joel, and this death paired with the lengthy time skip really contextualizes Joel throughout the rest of the game. The number of call backs to this scene in particular, such as when Joel comforts Ellie at the end of winter or how he touches the broken watch Sarah gave him as he's lying to Ellie about the Fireflies, just wouldn't be as impactful without this.
The Last of Us: Left Behind
Although this is a somewhat unexpected entry, one portion of The Last of Us which should really not be skipped over actually came to the game in the form of a DLC. The Last of Us: Left Behind gives more context to Ellie's story and character by showing the day that she was bitten, alongside her friend and romantic interest, Riley. In the game, this is done in a sort of flashback manner, switching back and forth between that day and the days following Joel's nearly fatal wound.
Whether that flashback format should be used in television is up for debate, but it seems like it would be better to either do the whole thing chronologically (ie. start the series with this), or to do one big flashback episode rather than peppering in flashbacks throughout. Regardless, this moment really contextualizes Ellie in a way that no other scene does. Showing her before her time with Joel influenced her and deepening the complexity of her character. There is little worse than knowing that she had to watch her friend turn before her eyes, and then likely had to kill her.
Tess Sacrifice
Yet another character that didn't get a ton of screentime, Tess is really the reason the story happens in the first place. Unfortunately, she won't be one of the characters returning to The Last of Us 2, but without her pushing Joel to do the right thing in the wake of her bite, the adventure, the game, and of course the TV show would never happen. As a television show, though, it would be nice to see this scene play out from Tess' point of view and to let her show how awesome she is by taking down more than just a few soldiers.
Fans may have mixed feelings about Tess due to her harsh and bossy attitude, but none can deny that she was far more caring towards Ellie than Joel was at first, and that it was her sense of heroism in the face of death that made everything else possible. One wonders if things would have gone differently if it was Joel that died and Tess had escorted Ellie instead. Either way, Tess deserves a good send off in the upcoming television show.
Ellie's Discovery in Pittsburgh
After procuring a car from Bill, Ellie and Joel travel to Pittsburgh where they are assailed by Hunters. Naturally, Joel dispatches the lot of them, but something happens shortly after that shocks Ellie to the core. In order to get to into a building, Joel holds up a garage door to allow Ellie to prop it open from the other side. What she finds is piles of corpses of those the Hunters have killed and stripped of their valuables. Although Ellie had seen death before, this took things to an entirely different level for her, furthering her desensitization.
Ellie's story is an entirely tragic one, and the fact that her reaction to this sight was so tame already says a lot about what she's been through. Bearing witness to these sorts of horrors as well as the threat of the infected is sure to affect the mind in more ways than one, and all of this plays into the state of mind Ellie is in when she makes her first kill to save Joel from drowning at the hands of a hunter. She feels sick about it, but gets over it rather quickly, killing many more people in the following gun fight.
"You're Not My Daughter..."
Throughout The Last of Us, the player finds themselves wanting Joel to be more of a father figure for Ellie. She is the same age Sarah was when she died, and Joel's cruelty towards Ellie early on is clearly a defense mechanism to avoid the pain of losing his daughter. In a pivotal moment of the Fall, Ellie runs away from Tommy's dam after learning that Joel is trying to pass her off onto him, and when Joel finds her, they have this intense moment.
Joel tries to convince Ellie that she'll be safer with Tommy, but Ellie brings up the loss of his daughter, Sarah, saying "I'm not her, you know." This sets Joel off, and the two proceed to argue. At the climax of this argument comes one of Joel's best quotes, "You're right. You're not my daughter... And I sure as hell ain't your Dad." This moment was truly sad as it crushed the hope that many players had held onto, but it also planted the seed for such a relationship to develop now that it was out in the open.
Ellie Kills David
What Ellie goes through during the winter portion of The Last of Us would be incredibly harrowing for anyone, much less an 14 year old girl. Imprisoned, beaten, belittled, and nearly chopped up and cannibalized, Ellie truly was never the same after the winter. After escaping on her own, Ellie stalks through the camp of the other survivors, systematically killing several of them before finding herself locked in a diner with David, the man who she had mistakenly begun to trust earlier on.
After a bone-chilling fight in the burning diner, Ellie finds herself pinned to the ground with David atop her. The harrowing part, though, is that David doesn't seem like he is going to kill her, but rather do something arguably worse. Terrified, Ellie desperately reaches for David's machete and cuts off his finger, rolls over on top of him, and proceeds to utterly mutilate his face. Joel rushes in at the last second seeing Ellie wildly flailing, and the two share the most tender moment yet together. This character progression, along with the fact that Ellie saved herself rather than needing Joel, are vital to The Last of Us' story and should in no way be removed.
Joel In The Operating Room
This extremely controversial moment shows the masterful storytelling of The Last of Us better than any other. After learning that Ellie will need to die in order for the Fireflies to extract the virus from her and develop a cure, Joel goes on a murderous rampage, killing hordes of armed Fireflies in the facility and eventually making his way to the operating room. What makes this moment such a great example of Druckmann's writing is how caught up in the moment the player feels. Many players feel justified about what they're doing, even though they are clearly trying to right a wrong with yet another wrong.
The short time the player spends in the operating room as Joel at the end of the game is also a defining scene. There are three, unarmed surgeons in the room preparing to operate on Ellie. Although one steps forward with a scalpel in an attempt to stop Joel from taking her, the other two simply cower in the corner out of his way. The surgeon with the scalpel must be killed in order to progress, but the fate of the other two surgeons is entirely in the hands of the player.
This opens up a conversation for how gameplay from a story-driven experience like The Last of Us will translate on screen. After killing the first surgeon, the player is faced with a choice which many made without even knowing it. Several players claim that they killed the other two surgeons without sparing a second thought, sometimes with brutal and unnecessary methods such as a flame thrower or shotgun, and many didn't even know that the two surgeons could be left alive at all. So how will the climactic scene be recreated for television? Will Joel be as ruthless as a vast majority of players were, or will he kill only those he needs to rescue Ellie as some more cautious players did?
Joel's Lie To Ellie
Ellie was unconscious from the moment Joel pulled her out of the water in the tunnel till the time she awoke in the back of Joel's car on the way to Tommy's. Because of this, she had no earthly clue what transpired at the Fireflies' hospital, and being naturally curious, she asks. Joel lies to Ellie, saying that there are hundreds like her and that it hasn't done an ounce of good in finding a cure, but Ellie remains suspicious.
After getting to Tommy's town, Ellie gives Joel one more chance. She requests that he look her in the face and tell her that everything he said about the Fireflies was true, and he does so. This lie hurt players the most, as they are the ones that truly understand the scope of it, but it is insinuated that Ellie isn't sure whether she believes him. This interaction ends the player's time with Joel and Ellie, and will likely be very important in the upcoming sequel, The Last of Us 2 as a reason why the Joel and Ellie have grown so estranged over the years.
A particularly compelling detail about Joel's lie to Ellie which is very difficult to notice without keen eyes and a knack for symbolism is Joel's body language. Joel explains to Ellie how difficult surviving can be, but urges her to keep finding something to fight for. Right at that moment, he stutters, touching the watch that Sarah gave to him on his birthday all those years ago. This kind of subtle nod to previous events is so impactful to the story, but also easily missed. Thankfully, Druckmann's inclusion in the writing process should see that important moments like this don't get skipped.
The Last of Us television show will hopefully meet expectations, and with an all-star team it seems likely they may even surpass expectations. One of the great things about a The Last of Us series is that it allows even non-gamers to experience the incredible story that Druckmann has laid out for players, furthering players' capability to share the love they have for the game. The timing is no coincidence either, as The Last of Us 2 will be releasing this May, driving interest in the series to an all time high.
The Last of Us 2 is due to release May 29th, 2020 exclusively on PS4. The Last of Us TV show is in the works.