When I was around 11, my stepfather got us a PS4 for Christmas. He got a few games for him as well, one of which was The Last of Us. He booted the opening sequence to show us the impressive graphics, and all it did was scar me from ever playing it.
In 2023, however, the first season of the TV adaptation came out and was universally acclaimed. Not wanting to be left out, I played through the first game so I would be prepared to watch the show.
The game was alright, with a really good story, and half-baked stealth gameplay. I watched the show, though, and thought it was way better than the game. It’s like experiencing the story without having to deal with the gameplay.
When I heard that season two of the show was around the corner, I bought The Last of Us Part II for cheap and played through. Again, really good story, somehow even worse gameplay. Now that the first episode of season two is out on HBO Max, I’m ready to compare and contrast.
Firstly, the production values are just as high as the first season. The sets and effects look great and hold up very well among other projects that rely heavily on CGI. The show has a very unique visual style that matches the game to a T.
While at the time of writing, we only have episode one to compare the story, it’s still good, but not as good as the first season. It just feels kind of meandering around the main events of the game. While adding story events is great and helped the first season a lot, it’s just unnecessary in this season.
This isn’t particularly a bad thing, defying expectations is usually always a good thing. It’s just surprising how much they are adding, and I’m worried it may affect the flow of the story. This is because Part II is much more streamlined and fast paced story wise than the first game. Adding too much could be detrimental to the pacing.
The casting is also mostly really good. Pedro Pascal continues his perfect fit as Joel, and newcomers Isabela Merced and Young Mazino are perfect as Dina and Jesse, respectively. And while we haven’t seen much of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby yet, I’m sure she’ll be great as well.
The only problem I have is with Bella Ramsey. They were amazing in the first season, and played younger Ellie perfectly. However, I’m not convinced they can play an older, more grizzled Ellie.
Ellie in the game was damn near feral toward the end of the game. She was scary, to both the characters in the game and the player. Ellie’s slip from the innocence of her youth was a huge part of the story. This is something I’m not sure Bella Ramsey can pull off. I would love to be proven wrong, and I think they definitely could. Of course, we’re a long way away from having to see this side of the character.
It’s not uncommon knowledge in the gaming scene that the Last of Us Part II was incredibly controversial when it was released at the tail end of the PS4’s lifespan in 2019. The game’s subject matter and themes drew the ire of a small, but very loud, subset of fans. The controversy was mostly forgotten about since, but came back with a vengeance at the announcement of the show.
In this current political climate, I only hope that the show remains faithful to the game. And while I’m sure it will remain as close as possible, I just think it’s important to mention that there are people who want this show to fail based on politics alone.
Overall, I’m happy with how this season is going. I have faith that the showrunners know what they’re doing. The work on season one is just fantastic and they can keep the momentum going easily. I can certainly recommend the show, even if you haven’t played the games.
