The Last of Us is a critically acclaimed video game franchise that has been adapted into a television series. The series’ success is huge, with the excellent actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey playing Joel and Ellie, respectively. This adventure is told throughout an average of 15 hours in the game and nine episodes in the series. It takes us through a post-apocalyptic story in a world ravaged by a fungal infection (Cordyceps) that has turned most of humanity into zombie-like creatures, the fungus taking over the brain and being transmitted when a person gets bitten.
Even though she was bitten, Ellie did not turn into a zombie. She was immune to the infection and maybe the hope for a vaccine that could cure them and make the world a safe place again. So the task of taking her to a Firefly facility to work on this vaccine is put into Joel and Tess, who has to cross several states and get out of many dangerous situations to protect the girl.
The HBO series released its last episode for the first season on March 12th, 2023. The detailed work of the production remarkably reproduced scenes, props, clothes, and every other detail from the game. The collaboration between Neil Druckmann (creator of the game) and Craig Mazin is a win for videogame fans looking for a good adaptation for the big screen. Let’s check how some scenes compare to the original source.
Warning – This article contains major spoilers!
16Car Scene
One of the first recognizable moments from the game is the car scene when Joel, Sarah, and Tommy need to get out of their house and run away. The apocalypse has just started, leading to desperate people screaming and running around. Chaos everywhere. In the game, you see this part from the point of view of Joel’s daughter, sitting in the back seat.
From the camera placement to the signs at the end of the street and the police car passing at the same moment, this gave us the feeling that this would be a very true adaptation. You can check whole scenes and lines comparison available on the internet.
15Joel’s Daughter
At the beginning of the story, we meet Sarah. Living with Joel, we even see more of her day and follow her as she stops to get him a new watch for his birthday. Some fans pointed out that even the illustration on her shirt is the same as in the game. While trying to escape the chaos and the first infected, they both try to run away, just to be stopped by a guard. The scenes look pretty much identical, and even the lines are the same. The guard doesn’t listen to Joel and shoots them, hitting Sarah with a fatal shot and killing her. Even if you knew what would happen, it was still very emotional.
14“You Can’t Deny That View”
Ellie grew up in a government facility called FEDRA, meaning that she did not have contact with the outside world, unknown to most animals, nature, and things that we normally take for granted nowadays. This is a nice moment that marks her first contact, and Joel asks her about the view. Another time when the lines match, we are taken into her positive view of that world. Instead of focusing on that destroyed part and all the horrible things that happened, she is happy to admire it.
13Adult Magazine Scene
Taking out a laugh from viewers, this scene is one of the nice moments between Joel and Ellie after visiting Billy and Frank. In the game, there is only a mention of Frank and the fact that we have Billy’s husband. The series shows an emotional and touching episode about their relationship and their small world within the fences they have built to protect themselves from the outside.
After visiting where they used to live and getting a car, Ellie also manages to get an old magazine that turns out to be an adult one. She jokes about it, and it’s fun to see Joel embarrassed without knowing how to explain it to Ellie. The moment was taken out of the game just as it was, making fans very happy to see it again.
12Strangers in the Detour
One thing is certain: if you’re watching a movie and the characters say, ‘Let’s take this detour instead of going a long way’, you know something bad will happen. And it’s not different here when Joel and Ellie fall into a trap. A lone man walking in the streets asking for help suddenly leads to an attack, where they lose their car and have to fight against dangerous people living in the region. The episode in the series even explores how those people live and how they organize themselves, a nice addition to the story.
11Details in Hiding Places
After meeting new people on the way, they go underground to escape from people looking for them on the surface. The team finds one of the underground facilities that survivors used at the beginning of the apocalypse to keep children safe, entertain, and educate them. This is one of the details you find while playing. If you look around, signs and old objects are left behind, telling the story of those who were there in the past. One of those signs is shown in the show exactly as it is in the game.
10Playing Together
While spending time with Henry and Sam, Ellie and Sam play football with an improvised goal left by children from before. These moments are a remark that despite all the danger and life-or-death situations the group has been going through, they are just kids. There is innocence in them, and it’s great that they have this moment to play and relax, even if it’s just a little bit.
The scenes are very similar, with Henry speaking over as we absorb the details of the place. Also, it is a time for Joel to become less suspicious and let his guard down.
9Brothers Meet Again
After the introduction, we don’t see Tommy again. Joel is looking for him, which is one of the reasons he accepted taking Ellie on this journey. Finally, the brothers do meet, and they have a touching moment. Although the scene is just like the game, Pedro Pascal’s acting and expression give the show even more depth. You feel just how happy he is to see his brother alive and well. Then, we get to explore a bit of what is going on with Tommy and another gathering of people organizing themselves differently from what we have seen so far.
8Detail Accuracy
While exploring the University that Joel and Ellie find in their journey, it is just incredible the attention to detail that set production put into building the scenes. They walk through corridors and rooms that look just like what you would find if you played the game. This is also when Ellie finds monkeys, seeing those for the first time in her life. A carefully built scene that managed to quickly scare the viewers in both media. While exploring, Joel notices that the Fireflies have left in a hurry, and their journey has not come to an end. They will have to track them again and keep looking.
7Ellie and Riley’s Photograph
After finishing the main story, you get additional content in the game. This is the story of Riley and how Ellie was bitten for the first time, which was introduced in episode seven of the HBO show. It is a nice break from the story and a great exploration of Ellie’s feelings now that she is on her own trying to take care of a sick Joel. In this memory, Riley takes her for a fun night in an old shopping mall with carousels, arcades, and loud music.
They stop by a photo booth to register the moment, making fun poses. One of them is the that illustrated above, and Ellie kept it with her as a remembrance of her friend and this brief moment of fun.
6Joel and Ellie Discuss
Before continuing their journey, when they spend time with Tommy, Ellie overhears Joel asking his brother to take her to the Fireflies. He feels he is not good enough to keep her safe, and his brother is younger, stronger, and faster. This makes her angry with Joel, especially because everyone in her life left her, and she thought it would be different with him. The scene hits the mark for accuracy with the videogame, even with the lines being the same. Ramsey and Pascal deliver a great performance, and the script makes us understand both their sides and thought processes.
5Ellie Kills David
After being attacked and nearly killed by David, the group leader that found the two of them, Ellie kills him with a knife in a frenetic rage. This is a powerful scene beautifully delivered by Bella Ramsey, adding a lot to the version we have in the game. The similarity between both media is incredible, for both the place that they are in as much for the camera work. Also, the adaptation works very well to convey the hide-and-seek action that players need to execute in the game and give a fast pace to the sequence that culminates in this cathartic moment.
4Stairs Everywhere
In the last episode, there was a moment that was a great nod to an action you must go through many times while playing the game. There are some areas that you cannot reach simply by jumping, so it’s very common that Joel gives a boost to Ellie. She gets up and lowers a staircase for him to go up. This moment also has an extra meaning and goes just as players would expect since she drops the staircase and runs outside to see something new and strange to the girl.
3Giraffe Scene
One of the great moments in the game, before we get on our way to the last sequence and a lot of action, it’s when Ellie and Joel find the giraffes. It’s the first time Ellie sees one, and a nice moment when they get to feed the animal and enjoy the beautiful view of many giraffes out there. They are not alone, and maybe give a glimpse of hope that life can survive in this place. Also, we get to see how Joel cares about the girl now and how relieved he is to see her laugh again after enduring many traumatic events.
2Last Time to Talk
Before heading to the Fireflies hospital or being abruptly found by them in the show, Joel tells Ellie that she does not have to go through with all this. They can come back and live with his brother Tommy or even just live on their own. The change that Joel’s character goes to is out in the open in his episode, and he is not afraid to show how he cares for Ellie. Even with his advice, she still decides to go through with it. They went this far and did so many things, so she might as well get to the journey’s end. This is a cut scene in the game, so it’s even more just like the scene from the show.
1Carrying Ellie Out of the Hospital
After being told that Ellie would die for the Fireflies to try to develop a vaccine, no one can stop Joel from reaching her and taking the girl out of that place. He had the duty of care and wanted to allow her to choose whether she got to sacrifice her life. Also, as we know from the first episode – and it’s nicely crafted as a mirror moment – he is not letting what happened to Sarah happen again and makes everything he can not to lose another daughter. It is one of the great scenes from the game and is perfectly reproduced in the show, closing the series as one of the best adaptations of video games we have seen so far.
