(HBO Max)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. “The Last of Us” has planted itself as the best adult video game adaptation in recent memory, and perhaps of all time, if they can stick the landing. The actors play their roles perfectly as the hopeful and heartbreaking saga of a post apocalyptic world emerges.
Our tale is about Joel, a survivor who 20 years after a fungal outbreak, has to smuggle a girl outside of Boston to gain a car battery so he can see his brother. What soon transpires is a story about found family, grief and loss, but also hope and love.
The differences between the game and the HBO Max show are few due to it being very faithful and having the director, Neil Druckmann, of the game on hand as an executive producer. Many story beats such as the opening set in 1968 with the scientist speaking on fungal evolution, Sarah’s atypical school day, and the anti-climactic confrontation with Robert were changed from the game or changed to add context and more motivation for the characters.
In the original game, the prologue begins with Sarah waking up and having Joel and Tommy drive her to safety which in the show is more fleshed out with pre outbreak scenes. Robert’s death is also different. Tess shoots him In the game, however the Fireflies kill him in the show. The biggest difference is the reason that Joel and Tess agree to smuggle Ellie out of the Quarantine Zone. in the game, the main motivation to smuggle Ellie is for a shipment of weapons while the show has Joel worried about making it to see Tommy in Wyoming, in which he needs a car battery.
Episode Two, “Infected,” picks up during the in-game chapter, “The Outskirts,” with Joel, Tess and Ellie attempting to get to the state building to rendezvous with the Fireflies. Here, the trio goes through an American History museum infested with the game’s most famous infected, the clickers. These blind creatures are very dangerous and also tough to kill. The story lines were the same, but the main difference was showing how the infected can be alerted. We see an example of a mycelium, which is a hive mind of fungus. When one steps on a tendril or patch of fungus, it sends a signal to the rest of the tendrils, awakening the infected. Finally, the other big difference was the opening scene in Jakarta where a professor of mycology gives the grim recommendation to bomb cities and areas that were exposed to the cordyceps.
These differences all work to not only add to the story at large, but also streamline the process between the mediums of gaming and television, with some aspects like the mycelium being used for the show compared to spores for the game. Gameplay wise, it would have been very difficult to maneuver through the level not knowing if you were about to touch a patch of fungus to alert the infected. Meanwhile, the show takes a different approach with eliminating the spores mechanic in the game which allows the show to not have characters wearing masks, but also the aspect of airborne infection. These subtle yet important changes add so much to the viewing experience and enrich the mythology of the show and game.
Check in next week for the episode 3 analysis which appears to be about the in game chapter, “Bill’s Town.”
“The Last of Us” streams every Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.