The Last Of Us: from Critically Acclaimed Console to Critically Acclaimed Cable.

  

Critically acclaimed HBO series and video game adaptation, The Last of Us, is a dystopian post-apocalyptic drama that creates a world that fills viewers with a sense of dread. The show stands out by focusing on the development of its characters and the relationships between them, as well as the powerful, raw, emotional storytelling that grips audiences until they can feel the energy through their screens. We watch our main character, Joel Miller, on the day of the outbreak, receiving a taste of his life before the world ended, and that fills a good chunk of the episode. When we reach current day, 20 years later, we see what the world has become two decades after the apocalypse. We follow Joel, for the most part, and get a glimpse of how he survives in this world and why he chooses too. The pilot episode does not display survival alone, but what people become when survival is all that’s left.

The ongoing dilemma that The Last of Us introduces is really, “what does survival mean in a world that has already ended?” Joel stands at the center of this question, a man who has been broken emotionally by loss and personal tragedy. We are also introduced to Ellie, a 14-year-old mysterious girl, who we come to learn is one of, if not the only, hope for humanity. Throughout the series we will watch as they juggle loss and trauma, learning to love and trust one another, as well as what it will take to survive by any means necessary. It begs the question, “how do we maintain humanity in a brutal world?”

The pilot episode, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness”, gives viewers the sense that Joel and his family lived in a tight-knit neighborhood. They interact with their neighbors in a familiar and friendly way, as well as an urgent and protective way when the outbreak begins. This sight of community only lasts until we reach the outbreak.

We are sort of given the feeling back around 36 minutes into the episode, when we reach current day Boston. Audiences get their first glimpse of the FEDRA Quarantine Zone. The area is protected by guards and officers, and we’re slowly taken further and further into the makeshift city. A child, whose condition is assumed but remains unknown temporarily, is taken to be checked out. The FEDRA guards need confirmation of whether he’s infected or not. When the test result is positive, the child is killed, but not before he is made to feel safe. Further into the Zone.

We see Joel again, older, and are introduced to his role in this close society, which is necessary for survival. We see how desensitized he’s become to the world around him, going about his life like any person would because they have to. There are signs with restrictions and curfews, people working odd but necessary jobs to survive and feel humanized, officers at every corner, and necessities you can purchase with ration cards. Money is a thing of the past. There are even public executions for violating the rules of the Zone.

Joel is a smuggler and a drug dealer. He does any job he can to get by comfortably. But what is comfortable in a world like this? He has connections, and we learn that he obviously has a plan to leave and break out of the zone as he discusses a truck with an officer in the midst of their dealings. Then we meet Tess, a woman meeting with a man named Robert over him screwing her over. We found out that she was in need of a car battery and asked for his help. This is a piece in the puzzle of Joel’s objective. During this meeting, there’s an explosion. When Tess leaves the building, we see that it was an attack of sorts. She is beaten and taken by FEDRA officers when she tries to explain that she is not a “firefly”. The Fireflies are a militia who have revolted against the rule of FEDRA and the brutal enactment of martial law. Next, we are introduced to our other main character, “Veronica” (Ellie). A 14-year-old, defiant girl. She’s chained to a wall, and it’s made obvious she’s been held for a while under some sort of observation. She states that people are looking for her.

While the pilot doesn’t spend a ton of time delving into Joel’s life before the world was flipped on its head, it doesn’t need to. We watch the most important day of his life and observe the most important relationships he had; his daughter, Sarah, and his younger brother, Tommy. While we don’t know initially why Joel needs a truck, we see later that he hasn’t received a signal from where he believes his brother is, in days. His objective is to find him, and he’s doing it by any means necessary. All he wants is to find Tommy, who seems to be the only important thing left of his past. It gives the audience an understanding of the fact that we will probably see this journey take place throughout the series. When we get back to Ellie’s plot, it leads to more confusion. It’s unclear why she’s being held and what the Fireflies ultimate goal is. What do they want with her? Where are they taking her? What is her “greater purpose”? When Joel and Tess find the battery, they also find Ellie and Marlene, who is the leader of the Fireflies, and their stories merge. Their journeys, despite the worldly different goals, become one after a bit of negotiation.

The pilot does a good job of leaving viewers with just enough confusion and questions. They want to come back for more to see how the journey plays out. How will these characters who are forced to travel together get along as allies of convenience? They all have loud qualities to them, each of them being very emotional and hardheaded. How will this affect reaching each of their goals? Will every goal be achieved? We get to see bits that we hope will lead somewhere and learn more about the necessity of survival in what is now a brutal humanity.

   

(Editor: Sophia Cervantes, Image coordinator: Kyra Blundell, Producer: John Flores)