I don’t think I’ve ever seen a TV show like The Last of Us, which is currently airing its first season on HBO.
Sure, there are plenty of movies and TV shows about pandemics, and there are more than enough in the zombie genre, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything that involves a fungal pandemic turning infected people into fungal zombies.
The series is an adaptation of the 2013 video game of the same name. I’m not a gamer at all so I was completely unfamiliar with this video game, but after talking to a few friends who played it all I heard was that it is one, if not the best video game of all time.
I was still pretty skeptical about the show before it aired. Video games aren’t my thing, I don’t usually gravitate towards the sci-fi/horror genre and after living in a pandemic, why would I want to revisit any of those sentiments, especially one that is worse than the COVID-19 pandemic?
Honestly, the only reason I even had the idea of watching this show was because it stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, both Game of Thrones grads who played Oberyn Martell and Lyanna Mormont, respectively.
Pascal and Ramsey play Joel and Ellie as they leave Boston’s “quarantine zone” and travel to the west coast, all the while battling monstrous infected. It sounds pretty straight forward for a video game, but the bond between 50-year-old Joel and teenage Ellie is at the heart of this story.
We are currently on three episodes and I can confidently say that it is one of the best first seasons of any TV show I have ever seen and believe me I watch a lot of TV.
Tragic, terrifying, sad, terrifying and downright creepy, The Last of Us shows what resilience, tenacity and the power of love can do. It really is a roller coaster of emotions.
Joel is tasked with accompanying Ellie on this perilous journey, and while we’re only down to three episodes, you can already tell that a father-daughter bond is about to begin that they’ve both been looking for. Video game players already know this, but the show’s writers are already doing a great job planting the seeds for it.
Episode three, which aired Sunday night, might be one of the best episodes on TV I’ve ever seen. People all over the internet have praised the episode and it really deserves every compliment.
Without giving too much away, the episode shifts the focus from Joel and Ellie to two minor characters from the video game, exploring their history and how they survive in an apocalyptic world. The show slowly tells us that even in the darkest and scariest of times, there is love that can be found. That is, if we’re lucky.
It was an unexpected episode and a nice break from the absolute terror and shock of the first two. I’m sure things will get back to their normal themes in the next installment, but it was great to slow down and just watch an epic love story unfold during the most difficult of times.
Now’s a great time to catch up ahead of next Sunday’s episode. Now that the third episode is over, it feels like the adventure is finally about to begin. I’m sure the rest will be just as heartbreaking as each episode, but with more action to look forward to I’m excited for what’s to come.
HBO just has a way of making ridiculously good television, and The Last of Us is no exception.
