“The Last of Us” is a show on HBO Max that’s based on an action-adventure video game that came out in 2013 developed by Naughty Dog. The game has been viral for a while, making fans thrilled about this show finally being released Jan. 15 — with new episodes each Sunday. 

After years of anticipation, the critically acclaimed story game has received its TV adaptation. Their world, devoid of hope, has become inhabited by flesh-eating fungi that infect people. Through the emotional journey of Joel and Ellie, portrayed by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, you discover that there might be hope for humanity.

The casting of “The Last of Us” sparked controversy with fans who’ve played the game and fans who watched the show only. Fans specifically mentioned how the actress who played Ellie does not look like the character and doesn’t resemble her, but these fans are also acknowledging how both versions of Ellie share her personality despite having different looks. Although there are different opinions on Ellie’s casting, it surely adds something to look forward to see how well Bella Ramsey portrays Ellie. 

Coming from the perspective of someone that has not played the game yet, it’s interesting how the game came out in 2013 and HBO decided to start filming from July 2021 to June 2022. Personally, I would not have expected that after years of the game being out that there would be a TV adaptation of it but the way they explain things deeply at the end of each episode really amazes me. I’m also impressed by how detailed they made sure everything is. This is very important since after all, it is based on a video game which makes the details really valuable.

Looking at the first two episodes, you can really see how the directors did a good job by making sure of those details because the scenes from the game and the show are really similar. Even though the show is consistent with the similarities between the show and the game, there are slight changes. One of the changes that stood out to me was the timeline. In the game, the pandemic starts in 2013, then it flashes forward 20 years later. But with the show, they decided to have the pandemic set in 2003. This allows them to flash forward to 2023, making it more exciting to see what they come up with due to the timeline not matching the game. 

As I was watching episode two, I noticed that they added in this woman who was not in the original. I was confused because the show is supposed to be exactly like the game, but I’m excited to see why she was added. In the recent episode, we also got to see how the infected looked. They look scarier in the game to me but it’s still pretty cool to see how they would look in real life. We definitely get to see Ellie’s attitude more on the show, her character is a very expressive person and you can see a lot of that on the show than in the game.

So far they are doing an amazing job with this show. They recreated almost every little detail between Joel and Ellie and they also presented the amazing sceneries that were in the game really well in the show. The scene where they found the gift shop was so detailed. I was really surprised at how they managed to make the locations look the exact same considering the big landscapes that were in the game.

People are already saying that this is going to be the number one zombie show, but others dont agree because of other zombie shows like “The Walking Dead.” Despite this debate,, I’m really excited to see more of the scenes added to the show. I want to see Ellie and Joel grow their trust together and I’m super pumped for the action that’s coming our way in future episodes. 

“The Last of Us:”★★★★★