Based on what the new The Last of Us trailer has shown, Joel and Ellie will be encountering an older couple that was not present in the original narrative. Additionally, Bill’s partner Frank will have a significant role, which is an interesting change since he was dead at the time of the original game. With Ashley Johnson also playing a woman that many believe will be Ellie’s mom, the show is clearly changing some things up. However, this is the right call, as TV is a very different medium from video games.
Why The Last of Us on HBO Needs Changes and Additions
When looking at the story of the original The Last of Us game, the narrative is a lot shorter than most realize. If all the combat and exploration is removed (and a good portion of it will be given the switch to television), gamers are left with around five hours of cutscenes and another hour of major in-game story moments. Considering that the HBO series is nine episodes long, with each episode likely coming in at around an hour, three extra hours of content is needed.
While there will surely be some action and intense encounters with infected enemies, as well as David’s group and the Fireflies, extra dialogue and character interactions will be necessary. While some new moments between Joel and Ellie will likely be delivered, and working Left Behind into the narrative will help, additional characters are a must. Expanding on Bill’s story with Frank is a solid route to take, and potentially seeing Ellie’s mother could be an exciting moment for show viewers and gamers alike.
Though the dialogue in The Last of Us is master class, there simply needs to be more of it in a proper TV series. The sequence with Joel and Ellie in the car before the ambush, for example, could be made longer for television and reveal more about each character. Joel’s relationship with Sarah can be given more screentime, too, making viewers connect with the father-daughter pairing for an entire episode as opposed to a few minutes. Conversations will not be getting broken up by groups of enemies nearly as often as they are interrupted in-game, so they need to be fleshed out more to accomodate that.
Though purists may want a one-to-one adaptation of The Last of Us, it is hard to imagine that being possible in the chosen format. The story is much too long to be told properly in a blockbuster film, but it is a bit short in its original form to suit a nine-episode series. While a shorter six-episode limited series could have worked, the story of The Last of Us 2 also deserves to be told one day, so turning it into a proper show makes sense. Beyond that, fans have been requesting spin-offs for The Last of Us for ages, and the show provides an opportunity to learn more about certain characters just like some hypothetical spin-off games would.
Though it may be scary to see new scenes inserted into a beloved story, the reality is that it is a must for adaptations. From The Walking Dead to Avengers: Infinity War to Harry Potter, beloved stories have received changes or altered moments to better suit the medium they are being adapted for. As long as the spirit of the story is kept intact, and the right people are behind the new scenes – which certainly seems to be the case for The Last of Us on HBO – there is little reason to be concerned.
