The Last of Us lives up to fanbase expectations and promises something great
The Last of Us has some mighty expectations from its gamer fanbase. The success of a game-based show can largely depend on how fans of the original medium react. In this case, how will diehard fans respond to this live action interpretation?
Fans of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt were mostly thrilled with the Netflix adaptation, but then again, they also had an embedded fanbase with The Witcher short stories and novels as well. Nevertheless, they pleased the fans.
Nobody seemed overly excited or enthralled about the recent adaptation of Resident Evil and it has been cancelled by Netflix after one season. There have been many misses when it comes to the game-to-movie transition.
However, there were (and are) extremely high hopes that The Last of Us will pay proper tribute to the plot and emotional journey of the game’s protagonist, Joel, as he escorts Ellie across the wasteland.
Pedro Pascal, who appeared in one season of Game of Thrones and plays the title character The Mandalorian, has now attached himself to another beloved franchise, as Joel, the main character, a smuggler who must traverse this version of a post-apocalyptic world.
Joel’s goal is to chaperone Ellie across this devastating and dangerous landscape. Ellie is played by another Game of Thrones alum, Bella Ramsey, as the young lady whose well-being Joel is charged with keeping.
To the surprise of non-gamers, this series largely follows the story and emotional journey of the game, at that’s how the first season appears to be mapped out. In fact, the first episode has sequences that precisely follow the gameplay and aesthetic.
At the heart of the show, just as in the game, this unfolds as a character driven relationship between Joel and Ellie caught between the horrors of a zombie plague/fungus and the even worse horrors of humanity after the fall of civilization.
At its start, The Last of Us, has met those expectations and gives the promise that something great could emerge from this post-apocalyptic wonderland.
Gordo’s Grade: A-
