The Biggest Flaw of The Last of Us Adaptation | Video Essay 

That Joel impersonation was actually on point. I didn't even plan it.

To me the biggest flaw is that some of the key elements from the main story felt a bit rushed, I was expecting the last episode to be the longest considering how much story there was still left, great adaptation but definitely having more time to develop the main characters would have benefited the show overall. great video btw.

Without infected, there is no danger, without the danger and fear there is no extreme need for the cure. In fact, without the infected, Ellie doesn't grow as a fierce fighter, bonding with Joel along the way. Wanted to love it I ended up liking it xx

You hit the nail on the head. I love the games, the show was good but... I just didn't care for Joel and Ellie as I did in the games. Their bond just did not feel strong. The lack of infected played a big part in this imo. In the game, their bond gets stronger as they constantly need to look out for each other as there is always a threat, be it infected or human danger. Everything felt too easy in the show. Their journey did not feel long. Appeared to be too much distraction, focusing on things that ultimately added nothing to the overall story.

I actually enjoyed the fleshing out of side characters, except I do think the Riley-Ellie mall bit was unnecessarily long, but I agree with you on basically everything else. As good as the episode 5 infected scene was, Kathleen's death was definitely dumb, she literally just stood there with her gun raised and waited for the clicker to kill her lol

I wholeheartedly agree. I think the biggest issue is that Joel and Ellie essentially become side characters to their own story. Instead of watching these two struggle through hunters and infected and occasionally coming across others, the show just rushes from one side character encounter to the next. Those side characters essentially become the focus of the show while Joel and Ellie take the back seat. That destroyed any opportunity for them to bond, for Joel to develop the paternal relationship with Ellie. And overall, it made the ending seem unjustified. Nothing has happened between them for Joel to feel such a strong attachment to Ellie.

Loved the adaptation overall but my main problem with it was the lack of presence of the infected. They seemed absent most of the time. They were terrifying and very well done when they were there. But the part that really made the world in the game scary was that one or ten could be around any corner any time even a horde just roaming across the countryside. I didn’t feel the dread really most of time unless they were already there. Also side note: the tendrils thing would’ve been cool as a replacement to spores if they used it more than that one time in episode 2 but it never came up again after that and it made me miss spores

This show has alot of flaws but it doesnt change my opinion i think this is a pretty good show and im looking forward to how they handle the golfing in part 2

Good points. What's most problematic about the Bill/Frank episode is that they never interact directly with Joel and Ellie. If you invest that much time in presenting two characters you need to place them in the main story. Like you thoughI felt the Kathleen part was the worst. She was just not very believable or well constructed. Joel and Ellie just seemed to cross the country too easily too. We needed to see more infected to make the threat seem more urgent. It's really odd that some people think this series is perfect. It has real flaws. The individual episodes, aside from #4, are all generally well done but they don't fit together cohesively.

Those cut-aways and ep3 ep7 are not bad on their own, but they take away scene time that we could spend with Joel and Ellie. If they really want those cut-aways, they need more episodes.

Refreshing to see a video essay properly critique something on it merits and not just trying to hate on it. Like most things in life you can still critique something you like. One point I would say though is about Bill and Frank’s story is that in a world where you know what is coming later on, it was a nice touch to see a somewhat positive storyline in this world. In the first game it makes sense that you needed to see what would happen to Joel if he didn’t had something to love. But with the direction that the story takes in part two, i think it was servering the overall story better that you could see what happens if you got lucky enough to get old in this world

You hit it on the head about the video game biasing your view on the narrative of the show. I’m like you with this show. Loved it, but I wanted some more…ie infected, Joel and Ellie. However, this is anecdotal, but my fiancée watched this show with me. She never heard of this game other than seeing it on our shelves. She absolutely hates zombie shows (TWD, etc). She absolutely loved this show and bought everything they were selling. Joel and Ellie’s relationship, danger in the world human and infected, and most of all understood Joel at the end, but hated that he lied to Ellie. “You only get betrayed by the people you trust”. Anyways, she will never play the game. She hates zombies lol. And she doesn’t want to watch me play it. She said this was the best show she’s seen, narratively, since Station Eleven. That’s enough for me. Also Mazin is a phenomenal writer and will take the criticism to heart. I’m sure there will be more infected next season and an overdose of Ellie and Joel before what we know happens. Great video. Cheers!

I thought it was fine but pacing was a big issue which worries me in terms of how the sequel will be adapted.

There were pacing issues and most of the bonding between them was off-screen. Also, while there were some excellent additions and changes, there were also some odd omissions. Overall I think it would have worked better as 2 seasons with 8 episodes, each around 45 minutes

To me, the first season should have been spent showing the time between Sarah's death and the introduction of Ellie. Show what Joel and Tommy did to survive during the collapse of society. Show the brutality of fedra and the birth of the fireflies. Knowing the world and the stakes and knowing exactly the kind of person Joel is would have had much more pay off when Ellie arrives and slowly breaks down his walls. Also, I know the show apparently had a huge budget, but apart from a few episodes, I didn't see where that money went to.

the original games whole point relied on the player gaining a connection with Joel an Ellie but the show seems to forget that and doesn't do it as well (with 4/9 eps diverting from Joel and Ellie), thus making the ending less impactful

Me and my friend did notice the pattern of a very active and emotionally intense episode, followed by a slower, but largely character-building episode the next week and so on throughout the entire season. Not that it was horrendous pacing, but as an og fan of the game it does feel rushed. I think they tried to give breathers and processing time between the emotional beats, but it doesn't work as well in the as in the game because the show can't slow down and sit in a moment like the game. A lot of subtle character building in the game happens as players are directing the characters across locations, and travelling at their own pace. This allows for way more autonomy over the story, something the audience of the show has 0 control over. Being limited to a set of episodes led them to sacrifice a lot of those smaller character moments that really solidified their relationship and so many gaps are missing.

This is a matter of taste. The expansion and additional writing filled out the show and set up a future for the series. All the stories "independent" of the main duo thematically loop back to the story (not just the plot.)

keeping in mind i haven't finished the show yet, but i also have kept a critical eye on the show while watching-and i say this as someone really interested in how media translates (i love literature, writing, art, etc), and who wholeheartedly supports disloyal adaptations and the need for changes in media translation. and i think there's a lot that the show did right, and also a lot that i just felt the game did better as vacuum media, and then a fair amount that i thought the show just fell short of. i think there were problems in adaptations where they changed some of the characterization and relationships and that changes the entire pacing of the show compared to the game, which made it feel more rushed for me. also the show seems to spell things out a lot more for us, or narrate things, and i prefer subtlety. and i thought there were specific moments i could pick out that i could tell the blend of game into show was just pretty seamed. i also think the show does better small writing than big writing, while i didn't have a notable criticism of the game's writing.

The biggest flaw is Pedro pascal didn’t use a Texan accent

thank you for making valid points and criticisms and not just hating to hate

Part 1 works as well as it does because of how great Joel and Ellie were. Everything about them is incredible, to include the acting and dialogue. They are extremely well crafted and the entire world is built around their interactions. In the show, they cared more about the world and some themes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it misses what made the first game great and in the end it’s just a pretty good but not spectacular show.

I whole heartedly agree with you that they didn't spend enough time focusing on the ever growing relationship between Joel and Ellie. Because that's what the main storyline of the game was about and why it was so successful. It's not so much a journey to get a cure, more a journey from abject devastation to finding hope and a warmth in your heart again. They really needed to focus on that because like you said audience members watching a TV show don't get as emotionally involved as a gamer does controlling the action of the two main protagonists. I also felt a few more fight scenes with Joel and Ellie taking on the infected should have been aired because that's another way that you see the two being pulled closer and closer, as they go through those experiences together, covering each others backs. Like you I've enjoyed the series but it needed to be longer. The 'Left behind' episode was good, but totally in the wrong place, meaning that all the tension at the end of the previous episode was lost. It completely messed the continuity up of the story at that point. Because there was only one episode left after Ellie dispatched David it all got rushed for me. Ellie being distant and quiet with Joel was of course natural after what she'd been through, but it created that distance between them again, even though it wasn't a personal thing. Because of that they needed at least one more episode, if not two, in order to focus on how much closer Joel and Ellie had become and how much they meant to each other. Bringing them closer to each other again.They tried with the giraffe scene and Joel telling Ellie he'd got hope again because of her, but it all felt a bit rushed. In the game because they'd spent so much time on that changing relationship you really felt that by the time they'd reached the fireflies and the hospital they'd become inseparable and that they'd literally die for each other, and because of that it really made the ending hit so much harder. My only other issue is I wish they'd just left the two characters exactly as they were in the first game and not changed them. In other words don't make Ellie too tough, cold and streetwise when she was cocky, funny and vulnerable in the game and don't make Joel all weepy with Tommy and having panic attacks when he was cold, distant, but decisive in the game.

Your points are all so on point lmao, but yeah everything you said especially about the ending falling flat is my exact feelings, I think it’s because they really chose for the show to be a fan service rather then a good show, they chose to make the main story whatever since it doesn’t have to impress those who already know it, and instead they made it interesting by expanding on All our unanswered questions

Thank you for sharing this. It was exactly what I've been saying to my friends and during the week to week releases I was shocked to see that reviews for each episode were as high as they were. Glad to see a good and honest critique of the adaptation

Great essay. I made similar points about this. I care about the story so deeply, done first 5 times, including on Grounded mode, 2nd twice through and adored that too. I honestly just never warmed to Pedro/Bella like I did Troy/Ashley, it didn't feel like the chemistry was there, despite their best efforts. Look at the way Ashley Johnson looks at Troy Baker in interviews and you'll see what I mean, they're so in sync and it really made the original story fly for me. I say this even while totally appreciating and respecting the show and understanding why they dragged it in slightly different directions, it was a very good piece of television. I feel now like it just needed 15+ episodes if the intention was always there to deep dive on side characters, in ways I enjoyed them more than the leads. Bills episode was fully incredible, as was Henry's and David's. I also remember the scene with Ellie leaving Joel wounded and it almost trying to trick you into thinking she may leave him, when in the game it'd be completely out of the question by that point, you just knew how attached they were as the audience. Also Joel feels a lot weaker in the game, physically and emotionally, and I felt it really hurt his character. He forces Ellie to choose who to go with from Tommy's camp, even knowing she wanted to stay with him which is really cowardly, even if it is in self doubt more than selfishness, he puts her needs above his fears in the game for the most part and I think they missed an opportunity changing that moment from the game. Also his PTSD like flashes felt unnecessary, we know he's very damaged, it exaggerated his age for me and took away from the pillar he was as a lead in the game. I really don't think they gave enough opportunity to flesh out the building of the relationship on which the whole series is focused. It's like they went from odd couple to father daughter in 40 minutes and lost significant plausibility.

So, I agree with a lot of your complaints - however, I was at HBO for over 15 years- I worked on shows from the Wire, Sopranos, Deadwood etc. all the way thru season 1 of Westworld. A first season, especially of such an expensive show, is a GIANT financial bet - you're betting on the Showrunners, you're betting on the writing, the directors, the cast, the crew, the CGI folks, editors and the HBO folks shepherding the project along. Discovery wants return on their purchase of Time Warner and I guarantee you nobody can be sure of success until it airs and people's reactions to it. I think if they had more certainty, they'd have given enough $ for 12 episodes - with more expansion of characters and more fungal zombies to kill (not a lot more, but a few would have been nice). I saw many shows that I read the pilot script (True Detective season 1) and was blown away - it was the best I ever saw & I was convinced they had a hit - and then I saw the pilot script for the Leftovers and thought "meh, I don't get it" - only to now love it as an all time favorite. All that to say, as Studio executives, it's hard to know before you start shooting, what you've got - LoU had to be fantastically expensive with huge sets, tons of extras, heaps of apocalypse set dressing and tons of CGI - so you say "here's a bunch of $, go get em" and hope for a return of your investment. But you do limit it - notice episodes got leaner over time, felt rushed at the end - that's budget. LoU is a real hit for HBO, so I'd expect they'll trust everyone and Season 2 will be even better.

My only real problem with the show is the lack of time we get with Joel and Ellie. The game takes 14-20 hours to beat and in this show it’s only 9 one hour episodes. So with the bill and frank episode and the Ellie and Riley episode takes that down to 7 not including the first episode where Joel and Ellie don’t meet till the end of episode 1. We just don’t get enough time with them for their relationship to seem real. Yeah it’s a few weeks or months between episodes but we don’t see that progress it just suddenly they go from hating each other to loving each other. You see and feel their relationship develop in the game so much better than the show.

I agree with just about everything that you said. The driving force for the whole game was the gradual build up of Joel and Ellie’s relationship. We didn’t get much of that, compared to the side characters and what was going on around them. I loved the show, and it was a very faithful adaptation. But it lacked in what I would consider the most important thing. Joel and Ellie. Also more infected would’ve been nice. They had ample opportunities to throw an infected scene in the final few episodes. You should do your longer essay. I’d be curious to see what you have to say.

I don't really have a problem with fleshing out the side characters, to me it's wonderful world building. The issue comes from the show's runtime. It's not that too many episodes focus on other characters but there are too few episodes overall. If the show had a runtime of 12 episodes and the 3 we're missing all focused on just the struggles of Joel and Ellie it would make their journey feel as long as it actually is. Spacing out the encounters with others and giving more time to show how dangerous a dystopian world full of infected really is.

The biggest flaw is that the infected have a story to tell. This show wanted so badly to make the infected unimportant but they really are. They spent so much time telling side stories. They forgot the third main character, protagonist just as much as Joel and Ellie, the infected.

Wish they kept the Bill and Ellie banter. Also wish they had David and Ellie fight off infected.

After the David episode I wanted to see some growth in their relationship by showing them working together vs other humans and zombies like in the game.

I never played the game, and this video is 100% the view that I had on the show. I’ve seen nothing but glowingly positive views on the show, and the whole time I’ve been like “yea it was a good show, but I’m not understanding the level of hype that this is getting”. I mean the obvious comparison everyone wants to make is to the walking dead and how much faster paced this is to that show. My response to that is 1. They’re from 2 different eras of TV 2. Slowing down the pacing of the last of us (not as slow as TWD is at some points) would have really helped this show

The last couple of episodes dropped it from “I Adore this show” to “I really liked it”. You hit the nail on the head with the constant sidetracking with side characters. Another issue with the infecteds absence for me was a seeming decline in the tension of action scenes. The 8ths fight with David being the exception. I also personally wasn’t a huge fan of the way they did the hospital scene as what compelled me personally was how the game made me feel mad and ready to kill everybody which sets up the second games themes so beautifully. The montage just didn’t make me feel like that but that could definitely just be me

I agree with everything you said! The left behind episode was too long compared to the length of the season. My few nitpicks are that Tess dying like that was unnecessarily gross, the fungi guy kissing her?? Come on. Poor Tess. Also I feel like they wrote Ellie to be so edgy and almost mean? I have absolutely no issue with Bella Ramsey but the way they wrote the character is a bit off I think. Also the "I'm too old and weak to protect her" from Joel was kind of s strange choice. Also I feel like they left a lot of the gore out? Many scenes would have benefited from showing the audience how gruesome the world is. I also understand that too much of showing the violence makes its impact lesser.

I'm really hoping that season 2 isn't TLOU Part 2. We need more of Joel & Ellie because, frankly, based on episode 7, Bella Ramsey can't carry a show yet.

you’re so right. i was so surprised seeing that they made the last episode so short, because in the game there’s still quite some time in between david and the fireflies, but instead they just skipped right too it. i thought they were going to redeem themselves a bit by showing more joel ellie and infected for the last episode, before the fireflies. i also wanted to say that i loved how they expanded on the side characters comparison to the game, but if you’re going to focus that much on them , you have to make up the joel and ellie time. it felt like they were replacing joel and ellie’s screen time just a bit to focus on the other characters. and so i think for the pacing between joel and ellie to be better they should’ve made the show like 10 episodes long.

Fair criticism. This is actually the exact type of thing I want MORE OF in TV. Streaming TV shows is the only audio visual medium where episodes can be standalone short films. I think this advantage is underutilized.

Honestly, the pacing is all over the place. Sometimes episodes feel rushed and other times it feels like it's taking forever to progress. The characters while played by the actors well; were an inferior version of their game counterparts (tommy being far from what he was in the game as a leader everyone can look up to)

Great video! I agree. Having played the game and knowing what to expect, I felt the show was great but didn't hit as hard, a big part of that is things seems to move very quickly, almost rushed with Joel and Ellie in the show vs the game.

The show was as fleshed out as it could have been with the resource limitations of this type of media adaptation (game to film). Just as from novel to film, there is only so much ground that can be covered when condensing a 15 hour experience to a season of television while also expanding. While I agree with your points and the fact that the show on its own falls short because it ends up feeling thin: as a fan of the game, the expansion of the universe was more than satisfactory. The show works best as a complimentary piece to this universe and i’m excited to see what they do with the next chapter(s).

Really excited to actually watch the show for myself. I only ever watched a letsplay of the game so im inrerested to compare the two and see how they'd feel from that perspective.

As someone who did not play the game and did not know the story, I had the same reaction. I felt like the show did an inadequate job of building up the relationship between Joel and Ellie. I think it would have been a better show if they had focused more on their relationship, even if it meant some deviation from the game story. Having said that, it wasn’t a bad show. I still enjoyed it. I just feel like it could have been better than it was. I understand that Joel goes away early in the second game and I think that if they just move on to the second game story and Pedro Pascal is gone after the first episode, the show may lose a lot of viewers, particularly if Ellie has to be replaced with an older actress.

usually when it comes to video essays I disagree with, they very often find a way to make themselves very irritating for anyone who doesn't agree with it, but this is a great video. would highly suggest you make your 12 page nitpicky essay a thing.

I think the reason they’re spending so much time on characters that aren’t Joel and Ellie is to make Abby’s story feel more fluid in Season 2 and not just interjected into the story

I for the most part enjoyed the show but I also agree it wasn't from perfect. As a massive fan of the game series, I am in the unfortunate position of being able to point out everything good that was missing in the series. I think my biggest issue is one of the things you talked about that being the pacing of the show. I think limiting it to 9 episodes was a huge mistake, especially with the timeline they planned to use. The fact the preoutbreak and summer season takes up the first 5 episodes of the show was a bad pacing decision, as it left only 4 episodes for the fall, winter, and spring season plus the expansion, one per episode. While I understand the summer season was the longest in the game it was not over half of it and it really took away from what they could put in the remaining half. Episode 8 in my opinion was the biggest example of a rushed timeframe due to this. In the game, the winter season is probably one of the most stressful as you are put in the perspective of Ellie as you fight against enemies way stronger than you in a cat-and-mouse game that lasts hours until a final climax where you fight David, and are finally reunited with Joel. The moment is probably one of the most emotional in the entire game as after hours of struggle you finally beat all odds and are safe in Joel's arms. In the show everything happens so much faster, with the entire episode lasting I think 50 minutes you really aren't given much time to build up any suspense or stress, everything just jumps from one event to another. You almost immediately find out that David is probably not looking to be besties and is part of the group that attacked Joel, Ellie is captured minutes into the pursuit, Ellie escapes not long after her capture, and David is killed just after her escape. All this leaves the final moment far less satisfying than in the game, they are also missing another key element Ill get to, but in the show when Joel and Ellie reunite its kind of seemed easy like there was very little struggle for either character to reach that point. There are more examples of this in other episodes but episode 8 was the greatest offender. Another issue was the general lack of application of a soundtrack to follow serious moments throughout the show. In the game, the music is in every scene and it hits you hard, in the show they made the music more as background for shots of Joel and Ellie traveling. There were a few times like in episode 9 with Joel in the hospital, but for most important scenes, like when Joel and Ellie reunite in episode 8, or Joel collapses in Episode 6 or when Sam and Henry die there is no music before and during, only sometimes after. There is an emptiness that can be achieved by complete silence but I don't feel it in the scenes provided. I've watched edits where the HBO show is intertwined with the music that played during the game at that point and the scenes hit 10x harder. The last of Us would not be nearly the same without its soundtrack and I was hugely disappointed with its underutilization. I really hope in season 2 they change this, but I have a feeling that its just not Craig's style for a soundtrack to play this role so I'm skeptical. I also believe there was too little Joel and Ellie throughout the runtime of the season, while I did like episodes 3 and 7 they did not have a place in a series this short, they definitely could have been integrated better and played alongside the main story then separately. Like could you imagine if Ellie met Bill and Frank, Bill would be so comprehensive of letting a child roam around his village while frank would be so caring kind of like Maria just as a homosexual uncle figure instead of a Mother figure. Or what if during the left behind episode spliced between moments of Ellie and Reily we saw Ellie desperately gathering supplies and bringing them back to Joel trying her best to save him which, could have shown a stark contrast between her succeeding in saving Joel where else in the end of the episode she failed to save Reily. Overall I just didn't get the same connection or attachment to the characters as I got from the game, and it sucks because I believe Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are both talented and could have done it better if they were given the chance. Especially after watching their interviews together, they are so cute why wasn't it like this in the show. If Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker both looked at them and believed with their hearts they were Joel and Ellie why didn't I get the same experience, what were I missing that could have been. Maybe I'll get to see it in season 2, I just really hope they don't kill Joel off too fast since they are doing 2 seasons for the second game which leaves a lot of room for slowing things down. In conclusion, the show was decent, and while I did talk a lot of negatives here I do believe it held a lot of value, especially for people who have played the main game, do I think it is one of the best shows of all time? No probably not, but was it better than the manufactured garbage that's mostly coming out now? Yeah that's for sure. OH and episode 9 was just perfect like omg I was quite underwhelmed with the show as a whole and then they finish like that, like damn Craig, you really know how to finish strong! Edit: Forgot to mention the fact in episode 8 Pedro pascal didn't fight Troy Baker was probably the biggest disappointment I had since it would have been the perfect easter egg for people who played the game and would have been Ironic as hell. Or if they wanted to take it even further what I was thinking they could have done is have Troy as one of the guys Joel tortures for information and after kills him with a golf club just for extra irony points

Well thought out essay. My only complaint is that the no spore thing and hive mind work well. If spores were airborne the world would not survive at all. No one would be here. The hive mind works for the whole stepping on the fungi. Mycelium in real life connects all the green in a forest. In this world it works because the mycelium will target your direct location. The changes were necessary to make it as realistic as possible and have interesting suspense in the story.

Well thought out and well presented. Keep it up.

Great essay, in my opinion, regarding the "Halt episodes", even though, they felt disconnected from the main journey, I don't think they were near to pointless, because without them, Ellie and Joel would be extremely lucky. Every character introduced has a backstory that explains why they help Joel and Ellie. I feel like these backstories contribute with the journey, and how it develops, because without them, we would not know why a character would help them, and it would feel forced. Ellie's backstory is no different, part of the reason she stays for Joel when he gets stabbed and tells her to go is because she recalls Riley and then decides to stay, to not leave him behind we can see this at the end of said episode, right when she was about to cross the door. Although introducing characters and seeing them die may seem repetitive, I do think each death teaches us and the characters different lessons, which ultimately contribute to the decisions taken by the characters, however, it would take a longer commentary to explain the ways each of the deaths contribute, but as an example, Frank dying and changing Bill in a way that he now feels like sharing his goods with people he met As for Kathleen, the only reason we could think of to justify her just standing instead of shooting is constantly thinking on what her brother would've liked and the fact that Sam is with Henry, but the character itself does not seem empathetic towards other characters which contradicts it so much, not much to say about it.

I never played the game but I had similar thoughts to yours, so I don't think these complaints are just from people who played the game. Show overall was good, but not great. Main complaints were that it felt rushed, disjointed. I think the show needed about 20% more meat to it.

The worst episode by far is Left Behind….the Riley flashback that we didn’t need and could have spent more time with our two main characters……I felt like I was watching Degrassi

really loved the video! so insightful and you captured how I felt really well. I think it’s just a lot of pacing issues. they wanted to please the gamers but also keep the story flowing, and it ended up being really great, but with issues that did affect it from being perfect. great video, subbed!!

As someone who's played the games, the show is just fine. I like it expanding the world rather then just focusing on Joel and Ellie (especially the Bill and Frank episode, nearly cried). I can see it being a mixed bag tho for anyone who didn't play/watch the games.

I definitely feel ya man, the repetitiveness was a bit much. Aside from the Bill and Frank episode, which I thought gave justice to Bill both in perspective and closure, every other episode just seemed to view all side characters as meaningless annoyances. If nothing else, choosing to let some of these characters live could of brought new ideas into not just later Seasons but also ideas for the 3rd Part of the Video game, plus it would of brought more intrigue and dialogue. And what the heck man, there could of been a little more interaction with the infected than what was offered!!! What was shown made it feel that it wasn't that big of a catastrophe, or at best, more of an isolated incident confined to the more urban settings. I get they want to highlight the 'Love' factor since they compound and harp on that note hard especially during the first 4 episodes but there's more to this story than emotions. And the "Rushed" aspect was especially significant with the last two episodes, which seemed back when they were filming that maybe they thought it wouldn't of made it that far so they opted to condense so much into 45 minutes because if it did go bunk they didn't want to spend any more than necessary. Well, I hope with the success that it has made will bring an absolute banger into Season 2 with more thought and "Love" into the episodes, and for Pete's sake give us more interaction with the infected!!!

They filmed it during COVID. That's why a lot of the scenes were only a handful of people, that's why only 9 episodes, I think they did amazing all things considered.

I haven't played the game, so I come at this opinion from a different place than you have. After Episode 8 I decided to watch the cut scene movie from the game in order to familiarize myself with the narrative it presents and how close does this adaptation follow it before the conclusion of Episode 9. First, I feel 2 or 3 more episodes should have been made. This would have allowed for more character development to the side characters and understanding of how they got to their point of power or survival in the story. Seeing how the game didn't have any narrative on Kathleen a further episode on her rise would have added something missing from how humanity is surviving in these tough times. I feel there are 3 main narratives happening here; the different solutions to surviving as seen in FEDRA, Kathleen, Bill and Frank and the others, the development of new feelings/ existence-reasons of Joel and the growth to Ellie as she comes face to face with her needs to survive in the wilds of the world and not the wilds of FEDRA school. I feel the adaptation showed her change from troubled student to David face mutilator in a much clearer fashion. Then again, it could have just been Bella Ramsey doing such a superbly nuanced performance of this. Second, playing the game creates a connection to characters that no adaptation can replicate, as is true with reading the novel a film is based on would do. Not playing the game allowed me a blank slate on which to build upon. I enjoyed the watch and think I may need to play the game once it comes out later this month for PC.

Great commentary. I was not familiar with the game and so came to the adaptation fresh. I enjoyed the first three episodes but then became very disappointed with the writing as it moved forward. I had trouble articulating to myself what exactly it was, but your video essay did a great job of that. I could not agree more with your criticisms. Would love to see the nitpicky longer version, too. Keep going!

I agree with you on the lack of infected and I really enjoyed the show. I do however think that side characters like bill and frank, Sam and Henry weren't as much expanded on but changed. For example in the game frank hated bill to the point his last written words were that dying was better than being with him. Also in the game Sam and Henry were part of a bigger group passing through Pittsburgh and got ambushed by the raiders. I don't have an issue that they did this but I don't think it's fair to say they were expanded upon ass much as changed to portray the story they want to tell.

"Best video game adaptation" is not really much of a complement. It was a great video game story and an even greater TV show.

Best part of the show was John Hannah at the begining. Sets the doom perfectly. The show let him down thereafter imo. Best video game adaptation is definitely Mortal Kombat form the 90s imo!

Having played the game, I loved the back stories. I think they were mainly for people who didn't know the story and it replaced a lot of the game play. Overall I think they did a brilliant job of adapting the game. I had a little less sympathy for Joel at the end than I did playing the game though strangely.

The fact that we wanted more of this series than less means they did an awesome job

Well I humbly disagree with all of you, I think this is the best we could have gotten, I really think they nailed it.

I really enjoyed the show (coming from someone who enjoyed the game) But I think one of the flaws of the show was that they took interesting stories from the side characters, made an episode on each of those stories but forgot that as a series, the episodes are disconnected from the lack of interactions between Ellie and Joel. I started looking forward to the stories of the side characters more than when we have to go back to seeing Ellie and Joel travel.

I kinda wish there was more infected but other than that the show was perfect

Totally agree with you. I did enjoy the show but I didn't feel the connection between joel and ellie that I got from the game. It makes me feel like the second season events won't have as great of an impact as they should.

It’s a pilot season, they’re character n world building. All the characters revolve around Joel n Ellie. I do not want EVERYTHING being about them. The theme is how scary Love is, bc it results in loss. A common literary theme. Just like the game, the infected aren’t the horror, protecting Love is.

For me, the budget, or lack there of, was responsible for the show’s shortcomings. Too few infected, lack of time to develop the key relationship, and rushed storylines in multiple episodes. I can understand HBO being cautious with a VG adaption. But compressing the first game into 9 episodes left too much out. And doing it on the cheap left out even more. On another note; I was terribly disappointed they chose to expand some characters but Ish’s story was cut down to a single drawing. I agree, it is unquestionably the best VG adaption ever made. But the potential was there for it to be even better.

The show doesn’t hit as hard as the game does purely because there isn’t much of a lurking danger to come and kill Joel or Ellie as there is in the game. The last 5 or 4 episodes don’t even have infected in it which is ok, but where is the threat that is going after these characters we love? Even Bill and Frank’s episode had more danger in it than most of the show. I think that’s why most of the game fans don’t like the show is because Joel doesn’t have plot armor but he really doesn’t have much to fight other than The clickers, David, and I guess the fireflies? The only time we see someone competently hurt Joel is when that kid comes up from behind him and Ellie has to “save” him. Other than that, the fireflies don’t even feel like they are trying to fight back, it’s lacking the difficulty that it had in the game where Joel could die at any moment.

To be honest watching the series is just like Watching a full summary of the game. People just don't want to accept that lot's of content from the game was cut on the show which literally make the show just an average series. Seriously they got me with the first half of the series because of the expansion and fleshed out characters but the actual theme of the game was not present in the series which is the zombie apocalypse and the dark side of humanity. I agree of what you said about the hivemind concept which was never elaborated on the show. I don't have a problem with episode 4 but episode 5 is a little bit off because the the new characters that we don't really care about. And for episode 8 seriously I think it's better if they made David as who he is in the game rather than being a preacher with a cult which was already used multiple times on this kind of horror genre. Anyway hope season 2 will be more expanded and explained well.

I think too many people were expecting a show that was specifically meant for the video game fans. There's nods and winks here and there, but the storyline doesn't do that. It's not just a video game adaptation to the writers, it's like any other post apocalyptic series. I didn't know the game beyond a few key points in the story, but learning more about the game framed the show more negatively for me because then I had that expectation. The pacing works best if you go without the shadow of the game and sit with the storytelling elements rather than the plot points. Ellie and Riley's stories were meant to reveal key elements to the world building including how the youth sees their society and how they react to larger organization like Fedra and the Fireflies and I like how they take the time to build on it for viewers who are new to the story.

6:06 i really liked the kansas city episode because i think it plays on the second game’s narrative of the cycle of violence. through kathleen and her cynical villainy, joel (and more importantly) ellie are explicitly and violently shown what the costs of getting your revenge in blood are. but wow fantastic analysis!!

I DEMAND the nitpicky essay!

13:37 I actually think it is a problem because it makes the urgent necessity for a cure something... not so urgent. Cordyceps doesn't pose a huge threat as it looks like people have been thriving relatively well, like the ending of a pandemic. The weight for a cure feels kinda stupid, imo.

You're right, it was disjointed. I enjoyed the episodes but the main 'journey' felt squeezed. Episode 9 was so well done, but the journey to it did not feel as built up as it had in the game, there was less investment in the characters or something. I think with some more time and a few more episodes they might have nailed it more, but I also imagine that writing episodes for the main journey might have been challenging without being able to rely on gameplay sequences to progress things... Like you can't have the characters sneaking and shooting their way passed infected and climbing things every episode, so what do you write for them to do and say? What's the story structure of these extra main journey episodes? I think they did an excellent job with the adaptation, there was something lacking compared to the game that I couldn't put my finger on but think you've hit on what it was partly, the disjointedness. The episodes were fantastic as standalone episodes but they didn't blend into each other that seamlessly.

The "disjointed storytelling" as you put it wasn't really the problem. It gave us great storylines that were more compelling than the journey of Ellie and Joel. The problem was they abandoned that style to set up a rushed finale in the hospital. In another timeline, assuming we would only get 9 eps again, I would either have sacrificed the bombastic, natural ending at the hospital for more of the world and characters to be fleshed out, OR a more fitting idea would be an extra long final episode that ends with the hospital. As a non-player of the games, I loved every episode except the finale. As a whole, the only things I would have changed about the show on would be the overuse of tropes, particularly the phantom bites and the surprise attacks. I lost count of the phantom bites count, but after Riley and Ellie both got one i became more aware of it, then of course we had to see Ellie's mom get a phantom bite the final ep. The surprise attacks are expected since it probably happens in the game a lot, but soooo many of them are used to force us into a new plot point, and I started to question how good at being in this world Joel really was since they kept getting surprised so often.

I've never played the game. From that perspective, I enjoyed the series so far. But, as another commenter eluded to, I'm watching a show about a guy transporting a girl across country, in a world overcome by a weird fungus plague. I'm not watching a drama. There is a fine line. Some back story is necessary, and useful. But i don't want another walking dead (which I did enjoy for a while, until it became a drama). So far, that line has been walked very closely.

I haven't played or watched last of us but i will come back to this when i inevitably do

JP 0:00 / 17:43 The Biggest Flaw of The Last of Us Adaptation Video Essays... That they exist?

I didnt like kathleens story much but everything else was perfect imo. I think its just cause I already knew these characters and already cared about them, so that's why i enjoyed the expansion of other characters much more than a casual viewer whos never played the game.

I agree. Great adaptation and because of the link with the game it felt as enjoyable and engaging as those top tier shows you mentioned. But just as a show it's probably slightly below.

i still think that the video game curse is s a thing because we got arcane on netflix and that was nothing less than amazing and now last of us hopefully we can hone this to continue creating excellent shows but we are still yet to replicate this success with films and thats what im worried about

I would love to see more TLOU content if you made it! I haven’t played the game but almost everything you said was a flaw for me as well. As someone unfamiliar with the game, the problem with the “introduce/kill off new characters + long flashbacks” story structure is that it made me more interested in the side characters than Joel and Ellie. And those episodes would always end with a feeling of forward progression in Joel and Ellie’s relationship which DID interest me, but we spent so little time digging into their relationship that the next time we’d get a new side character or a flashback that the show spent a lot of time with, I’d end up more interested in that again. It’s not that I’m uninterested in Joel and Ellie, but it feels like the writers are relying a bit on audiences already being invested as a result of playing the game. The way the side characters were written felt like an amazing complement to the story but I wish we had a longer season so we could’ve given Joel and Ellie’s relationship more focus. Also, side note, it really bothers me how much handholding Mazin and Druckman did in their podcast because it feels like they had so little faith in their audiences that they had to TELL us how to interpret the show, and it’s frustrating because I think I would’ve found Joel/Ellie more interesting if I had an organic experience of watching their journey.) And because I just came at it cold, a lot of it didn’t land for me. Although from the spoilers I already know of the second game (god damn, Mazin and Druckman spoiled so much in their podcast!), I think this season will be very rewatchable.

I think as someone who has never played the games, the only episode where I really felt like my time was wasted was with the flashback episode with Ellie and that other girl. It felt *way* too long.

Good Analysis and I generally agree with the exception of the last episode. My least favourite episodes were 5 and 4. I agree the Kathleen character failed as she didn't feel real for all the effort they made to humanize her. It generally felt rushed. I really felt it fumbled on the last episode. In sharp contrast to episode 8, it felt like a low energy version of what is in the game, and Joel's actions felt more cold blooded and homicidal. For me that is a huge deal since it undermines season 2 if they are going to follow the same story as the second game.

yes there were a plenty of flaws but... let's get real it was a great series.

I thought they rushed Ellie and Joels relationship which is the most important thing about the TLOU story. Like when I sit down and think about it, I feel like Ellie and Joel were not very fleshed out in their relationship, and this (for me) really devalues the emotional moments in the show where they try to show how much they’ve bonded. For example, the giraffe scene, post-david fight, etc. I think they either should've added 2-3 more episodes that are Joel and Ellie-Centered, or make episodes 3 & 7 into Joel and Ellie episodes.

4:06 I like that they added this, but I wish they kept the part in the game to show Joel what would happen if he abandoned Ellie

I was frustrated by Bill’s episode… I loved that we got to see more of his story and I love Nick Offerman but having them die together didn’t hit as hard as finding his partner’s body and that note in the game. I feel like it really pushed Bill’s character and it was just so well done, I was so disappointed that they changed it.

Not enough infected! But great overall.

Maybe that's just my interpretation of Kathleen in this moment, but i kind of felt like her monologuing and talking around killing Henry insteadt of actually killing Henry when the opportunity finally presented itself, could possibly have been her doubting her own actions up until that point. Like you said she was very well aware of the fact that micheal would not have wanted that and in the end if you're acting against the wishes of the person you're avenging, you're really not avenging anyone but yourself.

(Excuse my mistakes,English is not my language) but... The biggest problem with this show is that the writers are trying to be social workers and take the story as a tool to attack or "fix" social issues. Neil fucking Dorckham is obsessed with portraying Joel this toxic "masculine" old broken man, who went crazy and started mass-shoting health workers 🙄. Because he is selfish and want this little girl all for him self. Witch is NOT TRUE, I started to believe that rumors about Neil is not the original guy who created the story. He stole it from another person. If you pay attention to the storytelling, you would notice that "the last of us part one and part two are completely different in the way of writing, understanding of a character and depth. The last of us is a story about lost and two people find hope and warmth in each other. It is about a struggle between the rational side of humanity (portrayed in Marlin) and the ethical and morality in humanity (joel). It is about the innocent childhood dreams and aspirations(Ellie believeing she could change the world) facing the dark reality and mature world (Joel knows the world get worse not better, because he's been through it and saw it). In that world, clickers became a part of nature. Just a parasite humans can easily overcome or coexist with them. The real monsters are human themselves , every suffer Joel been through is caused by a person, not the virus. He knew that if, in fact the fireflies found a cure "witch is something he never believed in," it would make that world even worse. So he won't let Ellie die for a lost cause. Joel is not a selfish or a bad guy,he simply knew better. He lied to jer because she wouldn't understand, she is too young. (Lying is not the big of a sin in that world, dosen't make him a monster, grow up). Beautiful massage and beautiful story but stupid Hollywood fuckers ruined it in the name of "making political point". Toxic masculinity, gun control and school shotting,we should let kids take life-changing decisions/surgeries, any kind of father figure or parents is toxic and pathetic. I'm not an American, why would you ruin this for the international audience who are not involved in the U.S. politics. Im soooo angry. I never hated a person as much as I hate that Neil DORKHAM. Nothing is worse that a shallow and lame man trying to be deep and philosophical. I'm so done with Hollywood.

its easy for this show to be good. the original story in the game was very flushed out for a game so i didnt expect it to be bad. but .... they definitely could have sone a better job. the lack of infected was a real let sown for me.

I loved this adaptation. Wish there were more zombies though. And the finale hit me the same way, which is to say I didn’t get it?

yeah, i wish we saw more of joel and ellie and more infected

Ellie bit David and told him that he is infected so maybe he believes her and that explains why he going to hunt her down and ... even though the building is on fire

the halt episodes are to pay tribute to the hive.

I think it would have been fine to have more languorous scene chewing. This is a simultaneously grotesque and beautiful post apocalypse and there’s no real rush in the overall plot. Could have taken a page from Call Me By Your Name or 28 Days Later in this regard. Some story beats obviously are punctuated with urgency but most of it doesn’t need to be rushed and as a result there’s something immersion breaking about a constant sense of urgency when the narrative itself doesn’t necessitate that urgency. This leaves only the people who are making the thing were being rushed, and so it’s a little immersion breaking because you just intuitively sense this alien urgency arises from within our own world.

0:02 Arcane and other animated adaptations of video games: you didn't have to cut me off...