The Last of Us Season 1 Review

The Last of Us (2023-)
Season 1 - 9 episodes

Watch The Last of Us on HBO Max
Created by: Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America.

Verdict
While it's basically zombies, this series focuses on humans. Zombies just provides a sense of dread throughout. Episodes show us the world, dangers, and stakes. Each episode acts as chapter, ending on a great note that's usually some kind of cliffhanger. Over the season we see two characters begin to rely on each other. One of the best things about this show is the world building. We see characters struggling to survive and forcing their will on others. We see the protagonists team up and square off. It shows us an abandoned world that feels accurate. The world itself is one of my favorite parts. This season does emotional story lines and great action scenes equally well. It's a great, well-written season. I couldn't wait to watch each new episode.
Watch It.

Review
This is from Craig Mazin, writer of Chernobyl. That show was amazing. I'd watch each episode and watch it again the next day. I never do that with a show but it was that good. I had high hopes for this show, and it delivers. It's based on the video game of the same name.

This show is great. Each episode has such an emotional impact as it builds the world and characters. With every episode, the writing impressed. Episode three is a touching story about surviving and needing someone to share life with. Episode five is the big action set piece that gets wild. This ends really well, leaving you to wrestle with what happens and whether it was right.

This show, and the virus at the core, is even more relevant after 2020. We get an introduction to single father Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter before getting a few signs that something is up. The first episode does a great job of developing the characters by showing and not telling. When the situation devolves Joel, his brother, and daughter try to escape the city. It's a great sequence. From there we jump to twenty years later where the world has lived with this plague and adapted the best they can. I love the look of this world; devastated, destroyed, and overgrown. It's a great first episode that introduces all the players in this game, enough history to set the table for this world, and then links Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as the protagonists. This closes with the main plot kicking off as the main characters exit the quarantine zone. It's a great way to end an episode.

Episode 1 - Pedro Pascal plays Joel

Ellie was bitten but not infected. She's the cargo that Joel is hauling, though he's doubtful about her infection status. Ellie is a smart alec, but that's also how you make it in this world. She's still a kid in a lot of ways, but in this world you have to grow up quickly and her sarcasm is a shield.
Since the threat of the infected is ever present, the show is always intense. That gets even more stifling when the characters enter a dark building in the second episode. This show plays it slow and that only makes the tension higher. Scenes like this have been done, but this show does such a great job with the feeling, characters, and desperation. The second episode is nearly as good as the first.

In episode three, Joel and Ellie are heading West. Joel is grim and quiet while Ellie is the energetic kid asking questions, curious. Joel has lived this world, seen the breakdown in just a few days. He provides a history for Ellie that also serves the viewer. This segues to Bill (Nick Offerman) and how he's survived during this time. This is a longer episode but with the people involved in this show, you can provide them an indulgence. Bill's subplot when done in other shows feels like a diatribe, but it really works here. Bill's subplot does deviate from the games, but it does such a nice job to build this world, showing us how people live.

Episode 3 - Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal play Ellie, Joel

Episode five is the big action set piece. Joel and Ellie are trying to get out of Kansas. With this episode I wondered if this series was going to be a group of vignettes, but each episode gives us just enough of an introduction to new characters. Because of this episode's introduction, the rest of the narrative has a stronger impact. The escape starts off well enough, but with a show like this you figure it won't stay that way. We get an amazing action scene with infected "clickers" running everywhere, shots popping off, and danger everywhere.
The show doesn't stop there. This is a world where death is inevitable. Nothing lasts, everyone eventually succumbs to the infected. In this episode the action is top notch and the drama is too. This one hits hard, then hits harder. This is a really great episode.

A time jump in the sixth episode gives the show a sense of scale and time. Joel and Ellie get to see a town that's actually thriving. Joel admits his concerns about his mission while Ellie learns a little bit about Joel. Joel decides to continue the journey, telling Ellie he's giving her a choice, but you wonder if it's because he's starting to care about her.

Episode 2 - Anna Torv, Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal play Tess, Ellie, Joel

The seventh episode provides backstory on Ellie. There's an uneasiness throughout the episode and the writers know it. The viewer has an expectation throughout the episode, and we wonder if that will be met.

We look at two sides of justice in the eight episode. One side sees Joel as a killer, while Ellie sees this group as putting Joel's life in danger. This episode makes you wonder how many camps have a dark secret. This is a tough episode for the characters. This episode sets both of them up for an emotional finale.

Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie in the games, makes a cameo in the final episode. Now Joel is more talkative than Ellie, and that's a direct result of the last episode. We've seen this story unfold and now we have to weigh Joel and Ellie's relationship against what Ellie's immunity could mean for the world. We don't know if the cure will even work and that has to be something Joel is considering. Joel makes a decision to protect Ellie, and debating what he does is part of what makes the game great. Did Joel do the right thing? You can certainly debate it both ways, but you completely understand why he did it. The final episode is powerful, and it ends on such a great note, like all the episodes.