HBO’s The Last of Us is Beautiful and Disappointing

This post contains spoilers for both The Last of Us (2013) and the HBO TV series.

I first experienced The Last of Us in 2013. Joel and Ellie’s journey across a crippled America was a thrilling and harrowing experience that has never quite left my mind since then. I remember some moments in vivid detail, from the first encounter with the terrifying clickers, to quiet contemplation; discussions of future aspirations if the world had not fallen in the way it did. There was something haunting and beautiful, a soft melancholy to the world slowly being reclaimed by nature, and life thriving despite the downfall of humanity. There is clearly a reason that Naughty Dog’s seminal work is revered in such a way that it is considered by many to be one of the greatest video games ever created, so naturally when hearing about HBO’s plans to adapt it into a television series, I definitely had my reservations. Fortunately, my worries seemed to be unfounded, as HBO’s adaptation is incredibly faithful to the vision set out in the original. It manages to retain its identity, whilst still adding some meaningful changes to keep the show feeling fresh to those familiar with the source material (looking at you Bill and Frank). Set and character design, overall structure and narrative remain largely unchanged, showcasing that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann truly understood what worked about the original. I found other additions to be rather compelling, such as explorations of the state of the world as the outbreak was occurring, however, as I delved further into the series, I began to feel as if something was missing.

The narrative that is put forth in the game is at times suffocatingly bleak; its characters move through its world experiencing complication after complication until eventually, a breaking point is reached, this being Ellie’s conflict with David at the end of the second Act. This overall darkness of tone means that moments of calm land with elevated importance. The best example of this is of course the giraffe scene. The decision on the developer to withhold this important moment of levity for so long is crucial for it to land so well, and the significance of the break in tone is immediately apparent. The overall tone of the narrative is so dark and so oppressive that suffering becomes the norm, and it is because of this that the tender moment between the pair and the giraffe cements them as an inseparable ‘father-daughter’ duo. The reason this works is also the reason that in the show, the payoff of this moment feels unfortunately unearned. HBO’s pair certainly have their own share of horrific experiences, but the failure to commit to this seemingly unending bleakness means that it just doesn’t hold the same weight as it does in the original. The intense suffering of the characters was integral to the story, and these increased moments of light heartedness present in the adaptation, whilst not ruining it, definitely reduces the impact of the giraffe scene, unfortunately so. Perhaps this is as simple as an oppressively bleak narrative being inaccessible for some viewers, however I feel as if the story genuinely suffers due to this choice.

The second issue I have within the show is Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of Joel. It may just be my own biases that cause me to view him in this way, as I am very familiar with the source material and Troy Baker’s Joel is solidified in my mind, but I feel as if Pascal’s performance just doesn’t portray Joel as the person I know him to be, and his performance feels quite one note at that. An important aspect of Joel’s personality is that, after being beaten down by the difficult life he has lived, he feels little more than a broken husk of his former self. Baker’s performance expresses this clearly, but his performance and characterisation is much more complex than this. Despite his monstrous choice at the narrative’s finale, Joel is such a likeable character that there is genuine debate as to whether or not he was justified in his actions. Baker’s Joel is undeniably charismatic, has moments of seemingly genuine happiness, he gets believably angry when confronted with difficult situations, and clearly has a hampered ability to show affection for those he cares for. Unfortunately Pascal’s performance does not reach the same highs as Baker’s. His characterisation of Joel is generally flatter than the original, and left me feeling like he lacks the same fire that Baker’s Joel had. He had at least some drive despite being beaten down by the world, and to me, that’s what made him so compelling as a character.

Another aspect of the original that resulted in it being so highly regarded was its commitment to subtlety and a general “show, don’t tell” attitude when it came to environmental storytelling. Rather than overtly feeding the audience a lot of information, it allows them to draw their own conclusions about events long passed, without feeling needlessly obtuse. Whilst the narrative on its own is extremely airtight, some elements of it are implied rather than outright stated. The best example of this is again, David and his capture of Ellie, and the interactions between the two. David is intentionally indirect in how he talks about things, and whilst not outrightly stated, it is heavily implied that he wished to continue on with Ellie living in his community as his “partner” of sorts. The subtlety in which this plays out allows for some degree of audience interpretation, and often the imagination can be significantly scarier than what is outright stated. When the time comes, this allows the audience to fully empathise with Ellie and her violent outburst against David. Contrast this to how the show portrays these events. While structurally, this segment is quite similar, David’s intentions are all clearly laid out. To me, this lack of subtlety leaves the sequence feeling less impactful overall, which results in later points in the narrative subsequently carrying less weight as well.  The overall lack of subtlety and the tendency to spoon-feed the audience information, whilst not outright spoiling my enjoyment of the series, left me desiring something that places more weight on the audiences’ ability to draw their own conclusions about events. Even things such as the initial cause of the outbreak, which is plainly stated in the show, was mostly left up to the audience to figure out on the original, being subtly hinted at through conversations and notes scattered around the world. Again, this doesn’t ruin the show at all, but just left me feeling somewhat disappointed when this aspect was handled expertly in the game.

While I enjoyed HBO’s adaptation of one of my favourite works, I finished the series feeling as if they didn’t quite nail it in exactly the way that so many are describing. Overall the show was excellent, and sets the standard for television adaptations of video games in future, but I feel as if it stumbles in some key areas in which the original was known for. The failure to commit to a tone that, whilst bleak, defined the original and allowed for some incredibly tender moments of light in the otherwise unending darkness hurts the experience overall, whereas the original embraced this melancholy and was stronger for it. Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of Joel, whilst strong, feels a little too one-note in comparison to Baker’s stellar performance in the role. Pascal has a tendency to suppress the emotional range of Joel, and in turn the character loses a lot of his nuance but also general fiery attitude. Furthermore, the overall lack of subtlety in the way the narrative is presented is in my opinion a step back from the original, which allowed the audience to draw their own conclusions about happenings within its world. Now, there are parts of the show that I think ended up being wonderful additions, such as Bill and Frank’s story and especially the final altercation between the group and Henry and Sam’s hunters, however more often than not I found myself more intrigued by the way moments were framed in the original. Still, The Last of Us is special and revered by many, and it is undoubtedly a good thing that this thrilling story has been experienced by many more people than it would have been otherwise.