REVIEW: The Last Of Us Season Premiere Proves That The Wait Was Worth It For Fans
After years of waiting for a TV or film adaptation of their favorite video game series, fans of The Last Of Us can finally rejoice. HBO unveiled the premiere episode of the new series tonight, January 15, and the wait was well worth it. Based off the Play Station video games series by Naughty Dog, the show opens in 2003 with single father, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) celebrating, or trying to celebrate Joel’s birthday. As the day progresses, Nico notices strange things happening in the area that finally culminates into the discovery of a fungus that infects the human mind. Once infected, the person becomes a man-eating monster forgetting the person they were before. Throwing the world into chaos, the pair, along with Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), attempt to flee, but tragedy soon strikes group and Joel finds himself facing a very different, lonelier world.
Fast-forward twenty years and Joel is now in a quarantine zone, trying to make ends meet. In the midst of this he teams with colleague, Tess (Anna Torv) to try and find his family. It’s the last twenty minutes of the debut episode when audiences are introduced Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who is being held captive by the rebel group, Fireflies. The reason for Ellie’s captivity is unknown but Joel takes it upon himself to smuggle Ellie out of the Quarantine Zone.
Directed by Craig Mazin and written by he and Neil Druckmann, the premiere episode is a gripping eighty-one minutes of excellent storytelling. The episode is the perfect amount of details and action to keep viewers on the edge of their seats while also building a foundation that will support the season that is to come. This shouldn’t surprise anyone as Mazin and Druckmann created the game that the series is based on. Their knowledge of the series places the premiere episode at an advantage because they were easily able to perfectly balance a story that fans of the video would love and newbies to the series would easily understand.
Speaking of the video game, fans will enjoy the attention to detail and the small Easter Eggs scattered throughout the episode, especially in the dialogue. Fans will also enjoy the action sequences that feel as though they have been lifted straight out of the video game itself, which makes it a fun and suspenseful ride.
The performances in this first episode are riveting. Both Pascal and Ramey, former Game Of Thrones alumni, return to the fantasy genre with ease. Pascal’s performance as Joel isn’t an easy performance with varying complex emotions, but he makes it look easy. Ramsey is great in her few moments, and these two, for the short time they are together onscreen, will leave viewers ready to see their chemistry explored in upcoming episodes.
As series premieres go, The Last Of Us is up their with the best. It is perfectly packed with action, great story-telling, and wonderful performances that will capture video game fans and new fans alike.