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People have always been sceptical of video game adaptations into films and TV shows because the directors sometimes deviate from the games' original story to make the plot more dramatic, and sometimes the video game plots aren't suitable for a silver-screen adaptation at all.
When the video game series The Last of Us was announced to be adapted into a TV series back in 2020, there was scepticism surrounding it too. How will the post-apocalyptic action-adventure game's live-action adaptation be handled? Will it satisfy video game fans?
Creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin didn't disappoint at all, as the series passed every test with flying colours.
The series has drawn everyone's attention since the first episode, and the introduction of The Last of Us's post-apocalyptic world was flawless. Saying that the journey of Joel Miller and Ellie from Boston to Utah to find a cure for the deadly fungus was eventful would be an understatement.
A few changes had been made to make the scenes dramatic enough for a TV series, but they did not make the show any less entertaining.
In the game universe, there are different types of zombies infected with the cordyceps fungus, and their grotesque appearances would be hard to portray on-screen. But the show didn't disappoint; the Runners, Walkers, and Bloaters were all perfectly portrayed, and the viewers could easily comprehend how deadly they could be.
The major part of the show was the relationship between Joel and Ellie and their character development. Pedro Pascal was the perfect choice to cast Joel, as he has been seen portraying father figure-like characters in other shows too.
Joel lost his daughter 20 years ago. Through many hardships and encounters in the show, he and Ellie have a strong father-daughter bonding, even though they don't acknowledge it and are not biologically related.
As seen in the season finale, Joel turns from a person who just cares about Ellie getting to her destination to be experimented on to find a cure to a protective and empathetic father who will go through hell to keep Ellie safe.
Ellie also goes through massive character development from her past encounters, notably from her interactions with the Sam and Henry brothers and the cannibal cult led by David. She turns from a rebellious teenager to a deeper understanding person who sympathizes with Joel's struggles after he loses his family. Their father-daughter relationship was eventful but heartwarming to watch.
The show follows every major event from the game and stays true to the source material, which makes it a successful adaptation.
The perfection of the show can be said using the quote from Homelander from The Boys, "It was perfect. Perfect. Everything. down to the last minute details."
Now that Joel has killed everyone in the Firefly hospital and rescued Ellie, what will be their future fate? Will they face revenge from the remaining members of the Fireflies? The sequel game depicts that happening, but how would it be portrayed on screen? Only the next season can tell.