Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by a fungal outbreak, “The Last of Us” guides viewers through the journey of Joel and Ellie as they navigate this bleak world in hopes of saving humanity.
“The Last of Us” is a television adaptation of its video game counterpart released in 2013.
The first season of the show features nine episodes.
Each averages about an hour, and are filled with enough action, suspense and drama to satiate any palate.
A talented special effects team and movement specialists bring the infected creatures from the game to life.
In the first episode, we witness Joel’s story begin with heartbreak through the loss of his daughter at the beginning of the Cordyceps outbreak.
There is then a 20-year time skip to Joel living the life of a smuggler in a quarantine zone (QZ) with his partner Tess.
Joel and Tess run into the leader of a resistance group named the Fireflies while looking for Joel’s brother Tommy. Marlene, the resistance leader, is wounded and begs the two to take a young teen girl named Ellie across the country to a Fireflies base working on a cure for the infection in return for a car battery.
The duo decides to accept Marlene’s offer.
The following episodes take us along for the journey as we watch Tess die, discover Ellie’s immunity to Cordyceps and see the bond between Ellie and Joel slowly develop.
The tear-jerking story of Joel and Ellie experiencing loss and pain together highlights both the dark and light sides of hmanity.
Viewers should take away the idea that even in the darkest of times, there is hope to keep pushing forward.
Keeping the adaptation true to the game, the developer, Neil Druckmann, is working to write and direct the show.

Druckmann and co-writer Craig Mazin created one key difference throughout the entirety of the series, the personification of every character you meet.
Many video games, including “The Last of Us,” refrain from delving deeply into the backstory of the main character’s enemies and allies.
This TV adaptation offers the chance to expand upon these people, drawing the viewer in for a more engaging experience.
Where the video game presents a simple obstacle of human enemies for the player to take down, the TV version offers something more.
Viewers see a QZ taken over by a group of citizens that rebelled against the post-apocalyptic government known as FEDRA.
The leader of the rebellion does it all in hopes of bringing justice to her brother that was murdered.
As an enjoyer of the game, witnessing the stories of previously insignificant characters added a whole new dimension of intrigue.
The game is now more than a simple story, it is a world.
The personification is also visible in episode three which focuses on the love story between Bill and Frank.
Bill was initially only portrayed as a simple friend of Joel’s with Frank already being dead.
This episode also promotes acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community via Bill and Frank, as well as Ellie also being labeled as a lesbian.
There has been backlash regarding the representation by “true fans” of the game despite the game itself already having the same LGBTQ+ characters.
With over 21 million viewers, “The Last of Us” can truly make an impact for LGBTQ+ acceptance across the globe.
“The Last of Us” brings up another important topic through the origins of the Cordyceps outbreak.
In the TV show, the outbreak is a result of rising temperatures allowing Cordyceps to grow inside of a human host.
Global warming is said to be responsible for the rising temperatures, which we are feeling the impacts of in today’s world.
The work and effort put into the show by both the creators and actors has made it quickly rise to the fame it deserves.