The Last of Us
By Leslie Urena ('24)
The zombie apocalypse. It’s a genre that has become a staple in pop culture, forever immortalized by iconic shows like The Walking Dead and movies such as Train to Busan. The genre is popular for a good reason; the idea of an apocalypse is enticing to think about. It’s not just easy, but entertaining to daydream about how to survive daily life in a world where the flesh-eating dead are roaming the streets. The reason we can take this so lightly is that we know, for the most part, that this would never happen in real life.
Photo courtesy of PlayStation
In 2013, game developing studio Naughty Dog released its addition to the genre. Their new interactive game, The Last of Us, became a smashing success. By its first week, it had sold 1.3 million units, and 17 million by 2018. The Last of Us offered a new angle to the apocalypse, with its foundations being rooted in reality. The description of the game offered by Naughty Dog is “Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States.”
The game takes the existence of a real-life fungus, Cordyceps, and twists it to what it could have the possibility of doing if it mutated to infect humans. In the game, the zombies are referred to as “infected.” Infected have been overridden by Cordyceps, which has not only rewired their brains to only focus on spreading the infection, but also makes its hosts stronger than ever before. One must keep from being bitten by an infected and be careful not to inhale fungus spores, which are both means of contracting the fungus. These zombies don’t just stalk toward you, but can also hunt you down and rip you apart.
An Infected!
Photo courtesy of Polygon
Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly
But new types of zombies and gameplay elements that The Last of Us brought forth weren’t the only things that made the game as successful as it is. What many fans say made them love the game was its overarching theme: that survival isn’t rooted in violence and ruthlessness, but in the ability to form relationships and make connections with others. The development of the relationship between the main characters Joel Miller and Ellie Williams is what makes the game as popular as it is.
To continue the story, an additional game in the form of downloadable content was released, titled The Last of Us: Left Behind in 2014, following Ellie’s life before the events of the main game. In 2020, The Last of Us: Part II was released, which also followed Ellie and what her life became after the events of the original came. With seemingly no part III in sight, the only other direction to take the beloved game was adaptation.
Photo courtesy of PlayStation
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Creator of the video game and co-president of Naughty Dog, Neil Druckman, had been originally offered a movie deal to adapt the original game. However, it was eventually scrapped, with Druckman feeling the source material was too long and complex for a simple movie adaptation. From there, he moved on to meet with show producer Craig Mazin, who worked on the critically acclaimed Chernobyl and had been a big fan of the game since its initial release in 2013. Together, they pitched the show to HBO, which gave them the resources to adapt the game into the massively successful series it is now.
To fill the shoes of Joel and Ellie left by the actors in the game, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, were Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. They may look familiar, for both appeared in Game of Thrones, where Pascal played Oberyn Martell and Ramsey, the young Lady Lyanna Mormont.
Though there were many doubts as to their capabilities upon the announcement of their castings, both have crushed all doubts with their incredible performances. They’ve earned praise from fans, the original creators, and Johnson and Baker themselves. Fans of the game may also recognize numerous original cast members’ cameos throughout the show, the most recognizable being Merle Dandrige’s reprisal in the role of Marlene.
The show’s popularity is undeniable. It earned 96% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% audience score. Its pilot, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” was viewed by 4.7 million when it aired on January 15, 2023. From there, it went on to grow and grow, earning 8.6 million viewers by its finale, “Look for the Light.”
Joel and Ellie
Photo courtesy of Tom’s Guide
While part III of the game is still up in the air, a second season for the show is most definitely not. Fans can expect Joel and Ellie to grace their screens on HBO again in the upcoming years. Not much has been revealed so far, but Druckman has stated that season two plans to only cover half of the story in The Last Of Us: Part II, being that the game is over 20 hours long. So it seems for the next few years, we’ll have to settle for updates and various rewatches until we see Joel and Ellie again.
Cover photo courtesy of HBO Max
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