It took more than ten years to come up with a satisfactory adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game, but the serie Of The Last of Us is finally among us. Not that the need was felt, since the original title was already a pillar of the videogame action-adventure and of the narrative quality of the medium, but given the desire to transpose it much more effectively, the way of the small screen proved to be. Structured in 9 total episodes of variable duration – from a maximum of 81 to a minimum of 46 – what should be in all respects the first season of a series ongoing debuted today exclusively on Sky Italia and NOW in original language with subtitles.
An ambitious production that presents itself as one of the big television events of the year, if not the biggest. The reasons are to be found in the mass phenomenon that the franchise represents The Last of Us and in a story that, however archetypal of the genre, between survival, post-apocalyptic world and pandemic, has been able to rewrite the qualitative canons of the same from within, giving life to a deep and exciting, tense and shocking journey across America and made above all of ties. With the review of first episode of The Last of Ustoday we inaugurate the first of the nine weekly recaps dedicated to the series, a project that clearly raises the bar of videogame narrative translation in all-round serialization.
NB: WARNING, SPOILERS FOLLOW
The end
Like many survival exponents but unlike many others, The Last of Us start from the end. Not that of the story, however, but from the end of the world as we know it today. In spite of the video game, whose events begin in 2013, in the series it was decided to set the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic in 2003, so as to make the current year that of the main adventure. A sensible choice that wants to somehow bring the events of the story written by Neil Druckman (here also co-author and executive producer together with Craig Mazin of the excellent Chernobyl to those unfortunately not yet completely archived of the Coronavirus. He succeeds perfectly and before entering the heart of the narrative he also emphasizes the actual danger they can represent fungi, nothing but fungi or at least some precise species.He does so by putting John Hannah in the role of Dr. Neuman in the mouth of a very tight semi-monologue on the dangers of a possible human fungal infection by the so-called ascomycetes but evolved.
The warning was given in 1968, to underline man’s extraordinary ability to ignore and the exact science of changes, such as the climatic one we are witnessing today. We are then catapulted into 2003 and we meet Joel (Pedro Pascal), his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) and his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Told just a normal day of their life – which coincides with Joel’s birthday -, everything quickly falls apart due to the unstoppable and sudden spread of the Cordyceps infection, with the protagonists trying to escape from the suburbs of Austin, in Texas, with a heartbreaking first epilogue. Sarah is in fact killed by an army soldier, profoundly marking Joel’s subsequent choices and also barbaring his character and morals. Twenty years later, in what effectively becomes a uchronia set in our 2023, the world has become a semi-desolate and post-apocalyptic wasteland.
In America the FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency) coordinates and manages several quarantine areas where the survivors of the infection can continue their lives. Joel is located in Boston, where he is known to be an excellent smuggler. Tired of the military’s authority, however, a few survivors form the Lights, a group of revolutionary militiamen with the aim of overturning the new status quo and seeking a cure for the infection. Surprisingly, it is one of the leaders of the Lights, Marlene (Merle Dandridge) who finds it in Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a rebellious teenager who is immune to the fungus. When Joel and partner Tess (Anna Torv) decide to go in search of Tommy, who has been missing for months now without any communication, the two find an agreement with Marlene to take Ellie out of Boston but without knowing the real reason for the “smuggling”. They will find out as soon as they leave the safe zone, a moment which also closes the opening episode.
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Lost and Gain in Translation
In the video game one is almost immediately catapulted into the sudden outbreak of the Cordyceps infection, creating in the gamer a sense of total bewilderment, of growing tension and terror as everything around catches fire, collapses, dies and ends. However, it is true that in the serial medium the interactive and almost total identification with the characters is lost, whose actions we no longer directly control, effectively becoming mere spectators. Lacking the gaming experience, the experience of the story also changes, being the series of The Last of Us the reduction in purity of the magnificent narrative element of the original title. It is something that is immediately noticeable to those who have played the opera Naughty Dogwhich will certainly feel a decrease in bewilderment and tension compared to what they experienced previously and first hand, but it is incredible how Mazin and Druckmann have managed to make up for this need for media translation while broadening the content horizon of the work and faithfully respecting it in the ‘soul.
The incipit is already a clear example: Hannah’s monologue makes clear the dangers, causes, prophylaxis, evolution and consequences of the fungal infection by lowering the guard threshold and surprise of the viewer, who, however, in the moment of the adventurous and spectacular sequence of fugue – translated in a superlative way – will not lose that mixture of emotions and sensations that give weight and meaning to the scene. Especially, if you’ve never touched joypad or read of The Last of Us, the surprise remains intact as well as the value of the opening, while for gamers the original will always remain superior even if the adaptation can be said to be successful. This is probably the reflection made by Druckmann and Mazin: why re-propose the same sequence without new solutions if it will always remain better?
More fruitful and interesting to consider it differently, anticipate information, give a quick but exhaustive background and a series of information without walk’n’talk during construction, sudden explanations in media res or various documentations (as happened in the videogame). Equally, so as to conceptually tie the mission to the thematic of ties – lost, found, forming -, Joel is given a more human purpose than arms trafficking as MacGuffin to get to know Ellie and accept the mission to escort her out Boston. A solution that respects the soul and essence of the story while modifying a small element which, however, concretely improves and strengthens the narrative experience.
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The journey begins
That of The Last of Us is one of the best and most centered and compelling series premiere seen in recent years. It marks an important qualitative evolution for videogame transpositions and also teaches to respect the heart and sense of a story both in content and in form. Mazin’s direction is clean and obsessive, eager to frame the perfect image without however derailing too much from the visual binaries already scripted by the game, at least the essential ones. She succeeds in the difficult task and builds a sumptuous episode in almost every aspect, concentrated in packaging an obsequious product of history and worldbuilding but at the same time fresh and engaging. Boston devoured by nature, with its golden glimpses in the skyline, is an astonishing portrait of the atmospheres of the video game, identical but with a different and perhaps more concrete force. There is not a technical detail out of place and also photography and music by Gustavo Santaolalla (already composer of those of the video game) help to perfect the transpositional, brilliant and refined vision.
Also Peter Pascal e Bella Ramsey they warm up just right as Joel and Ellie, and it’s the latter in particular that’s convincing across the board. The resemblance doesn’t matter because she is Ellie in eyes and spirit, edgy and sarcastic, cynical and warrior. Ramsey brings her grit from her Lyanna Mormont of Game of Thrones inside her Converse and Ellie’s pigtail, making it her own, enhancing certain aspects, emphasizing others. Pascal also brings character and personality to her interpretation, which she knows is both poignant and muscular, profoundly human and dichotomous. They obviously give their best when they are together, which in this first episode happens little and at the end. But you have to take my word for it, for now: you haven’t seen anything yet.
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Conclusions
In conclusion of this first review, The Last of Us presents itself as an ambitious and high quality adaptation. In a first and absolutely convincing episode, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann give background and opening contents of a survival project that has its roots in travel and bonds, giving an initial but substantial taste of worldbuilding and the narrative value of the story with the goal of surprising fans who are already loyal to the video game and captivate new viewers. Respect for the original work and together with its prudent and intelligent structural expansion give the exact measure of the intentions of the authors and production, while Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey help to give character and emotion to the product, still in progress and ready to leave you breathless.
Because we like it
- John Hannah’s opening monologue, perfectly introductory, well written, timely and excellently acted.
- Respect for the original material: the escape sequence, the world building, the very soul of the story.
- Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are already fully convincing, barely warming up in the roles.
- Direction and technical care are of the highest level.
- Gustavo Santaolalla’s music enters the heart.
What’s wrong
- The transition to the serial medium, even if physiological to the project, makes you lose a pinch of bewilderment and tension given by the interaction and direct identification with the characters.
