When HBO dropped The Last of Us, most of us already knew the mountain it had to climb. Turning one of the most beloved video games ever made into a series? That’s a proper tough gig, mate. The result, though, is a strange mix of brilliance and frustration — a show that hits deep emotional notes but sometimes feels like it’s trying a bit too hard. It’s gorgeous to look at, heavy to feel, and somehow still rough around the edges.
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A Landmark Achievement in Faithful Adaptation
If there’s one thing this series nails, it’s loyalty. Like, almost scary levels of loyalty. Critics keep calling it “the best game adaptation ever,” and honestly, that’s not just hype. It sticks to the game’s storyline with almost religious devotion — Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) trekking across post-pandemic America, fighting off both monsters and memories.
You can see how much care went into the visuals: the crumbling buildings, the eerie quiet of empty cities, even that giraffe scene — yeah, they nailed it. It all feels cinematic yet familiar, like you’re walking through the game again but through someone else’s lens. For longtime fans, it’s pure nostalgia. You can tell the creators genuinely love what they’re adapting.
Still, that same faithfulness sometimes makes it feel… predictable. Like watching a play you already know by heart — still brilliant, but you can see the moves coming.
The Double-Edged Sword of Pacing and Expansion
Here’s where the cracks start to show. The first season spans nine episodes — sounds decent, right? But trying to fit an entire emotional odyssey into that space ends up being a bit of a balancing act, and not always a graceful one.
The show takes detours — sometimes beautiful ones, sometimes not. The third episode, about Bill and Frank, had folks split right down the middle. Some called it the best TV of the year; others reckoned it slowed everything down. To be fair, it’s a stunning love story, but it almost hijacks the main narrative. Because of that, Joel and Ellie’s relationship — the emotional spine of it all — feels rushed in spots. The game let you live those quiet beats; the show sometimes skips over them in a hurry to move the plot.
Strong Leads and Underdeveloped Support
Pedro Pascal, man, he’s unreal. You can practically feel the weight of Joel’s grief just sitting on his shoulders. Bella Ramsey’s Ellie is the spark — stubborn, funny, fragile. Together they sell every glance, every bit of unspoken trust.
But not everyone shines. Some of the side characters barely get the time to breathe. A few — like Melanie Lynskey’s Kathleen — just don’t land. She’s meant to be terrifying, but something about the performance feels off, like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit. The writing spreads thin, and it shows. You start to miss the depth the game gave its side arcs.
A Tone Caught Between Grit and Accessibility
The series tries to tone things down — fewer jump scares, more quiet dialogue. It works, mostly. You get these lovely moments of calm that feel more human. But it also softens the edges too much. The violence is there, but not nearly as raw as the game’s. Sometimes deaths happen off-screen, and it just doesn’t hit the same.
And tonally, it wobbles now and then — switching from bleak despair to slow-burn character drama without much warning. It’s not bad, just a bit uneven. You can feel the showrunners trying to make it more accessible, but in doing so, it loses a little of that gut-punch grit that made the original unforgettable.
The Last of Us: A Triumph with an Asterisk
So, yeah — The Last of Us is massive. It’s haunting, gorgeously shot, and filled with powerhouse performances. It’s easily one of the best game adaptations ever made, no question. But it’s not perfect.
The pacing slips, the focus drifts, and a few characters fall flat. Still, when it works — and most of the time, it does — it’s something special. It proves that game stories can make the leap to TV without losing their soul.
It’s not the flawless masterpiece some were hoping for, but it’s close. Close enough to remind us why we fell in love with Joel and Ellie in the first place. Proper stuff, really — just not quite legendary.
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