Poster developed by Craig Mazin, and Neil Druckmann
By: Roselin Cano
Load of people are excited about the new season of the HBO series, The Last Of Us including me. The TV series was very successful with 94% rotten tomatoes and has won a total of 8 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Throughout, the show there were many happy and heartbreaking scenes, and all together it put together an astonishing show.
The Last of Us is a horror/thriller post-apocalyptic show/video game, and it is originally a video game series, developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was turned into a TV series in 2023, created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, starring Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel Miller, and Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie Williams. Focusing more on the TV show, based on the first season, is about a fungal outbreak that is caused by a mutated Cordyceps species, and it destroys the world, and Ellie seems to be the only hope to restore humanity. Joel, who is looking for his brother, was offered a job taking Ellie to a location in return, he would have the equipment he needed to find his brother. Joel and Ellie now have to survive together, and the longer they spend together, the closer a father-daughter bond is formed.
Starting with the cast, originally, Matthew McConaughey was offered the role of Joel Miller, but he turned down the offer, and Pedro Pascal was soon cast. Pedro Pascal was the perfect actor for this role, he was able to capture the essence of the character throughout the show, and Pedro looked identity to the character. While the same can’t be said for the cast of Ellie Williams. Bella Ramsey is truly an amazing actor, but it’s one of those moments where there were better actors who could have portrayed Ellie better in acting and look-wise. Actors Kaitlyn Dever and Cailee Spaeny both fit the part for Ellie. However, Kaitlyn was not cast because she looked too old for the role, but she was cast as Abby Anderson for season 2. But, Cailee Spaney was perfect, she looked so much like the character and would have perfectly portrayed Ellie, why she wasn’t picked, guess we will never know.
I have watched so many apocalypse movies and TV shows, but honestly, The Last of Us has to be one of the greatest post-apocalyptic TV shows I’ve ever watched. Following the character throughout their journey and seeing what they’re going through, viewers start to feel an attachment to them. You can see character development throughout the show, and how much it not only impacts the character within the show but also the viewer. The setting, the music, the emotion, an example in the show, there is a secret code for the radio, ’60 – nothing in, ’70 – new stock, ’80 – X’ are the letters ‘B/F’. Ellie was then able to find out that ‘80 meant trouble. And at the end of the first episode, the song that came through the radio was Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode, released in 1987. This is foreshadowing their journey and how they will start to build a bond, and there will be disappointment and betrayal that lie ahead. “Ellie’s about to take a ride with her best friend, and Joel is a dangerous man. Joel’s about to take a ride with his best friend, he doesn’t know she’s his best friend yet. She’s a dangerous little girl” (Mazin)
Also, I love how in the show they included that even in an apocalypse humans are still the same. They kill, rob, commit cannibalism and even commit crime such as rape. It shows that even in dark times, humans are not going to change. You would expect that people won’t do stuff like that because the world is particularly over and everyone is just trying to survive. During episode 8, Ellie was captured by this paster, David, and while she was trying to escape, David was able to follow behind, leaving Ellie stuck at a cabin. And, when Ellie was able to attack, she was eventually overpowered by David, and as he held onto Ellie, he began to unblock his pants, saying “there’s no shame in love” before anything could happen, Ellie kills him. “It scars her in a way that forever changes her” (Druckman). The show embodies that a person goes through a lot in a journey, and Ellie, who is a talkative and funny child, has now been affected and traumatic because of a person’s desire.
The Last of Us overall show is surrounded by the topic of love and a father-daughter relationship. Joel, who lost his daughter at the beginning of the outbreak, locked his heart, and the whole world stopped for him. Taking Ellie was the start of his character development because he didn’t want to fail anyone else like he did with his daughter. “He can handle being shot at. He can handle being punched, kicked. What he can’t possibly fathom is going through the experience of losing another child again, and that’s what Ellie is becoming to him” (Mazin) In the last episode of season 1, the setting is in a hospital with a bunch of siolder, doctor, and nurse, and Joel had to choice to save all of humanity or saving one girl. He killed everyone to save Ellie because he saw Ellie as his daughter. The show was directed and written so beautifully, showing how love can impact and change a person, and the people you trust are the only ones who can betray you. The ending of season 1 was perfect.
Season 2 of the HBO series, The Last of Us, is going on a rollercoaster with more heartache and happy memories. I just hope that there is a happy outcome with Joel and Ellie. Spoiler, there isn’t. But I’m excited about how they will adapt the video game to the TV show. And, I hope all other fans enjoy season 2.
CITED WORK
Druckman, Neil. “The Last Of Us, Season 1 Episode 8, HBO MAX, 5 March 2023
Mazin, Craig. “The Last Of Us, Season 1 Episode 4, HBO MAX, 5 February 2023
St. Clair, Joshua. “What That Depeche Mode Song at the End of The Last of Us Means for Joel and Ellie” Menshealth. 17 January 2023, https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a42533868/the-last-of-us-episode-1-depeche-mode-song/
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