The Last of Us wowed fans with a series that was simultaneously a dedicated adaptation and much bigger than the original video game. The first moments felt like a shot-for-shot live-action remake of the game’s tutorial and setup, but there was still room for expansion, like the hauntingly beautiful love story shown in Episode 3.
But with Season 2, the series is taking a different approach. Because The Last of Us Part II has such a vast story, the season will be adapted into multiple seasons, allowing for a slower pace and more attention given to the smallest moments in the plot. But the newfound freedom could potentially be to the series’ detriment. The first episode shows how this new strategy can backfire.
When you boot up The Last of Us Part II, the player is reacquainted with playing as Ellie with a tutorial following Ellie as she’s woken up for patrol duty in Jackson. Jesse is waiting for her, and as Ellie gathers her things, we hear her discuss the “wild” night she had last night. Slowly, over the course of Ellie’s conversations, the player pieces together what happened: Ellie and Dina kissed, Seth made a homophobic comment, and Joel confronted him about it. It’s one of the lower-stakes scenes in the game, but it’s a way to set up Ellie’s present circumstances within the video game’s narrative structure.
Meanwhile, the series begins even further back — the ending of the first episode follows Ellie at the big New Year’s dance, where she kisses Dina. We see Ellie and Dina kiss, we see Seth make a homophobic statement, and we see Joel confront him.
Here’s the conundrum: Is this a better viewing experience? The rule of thumb in visual storytelling is “show, don’t tell,” but this feels like a rare exception. There’s a magic in seeing Ellie not on this monumental day, but the morning after, dealing with the fallout while the player attempts to understand what happened. In the game version of events, we’re dropped into the story on the deep end, and instead of being spoonfed a big emotional climax, have to work backward and infer what really happened.
It’s not the only thing that is changed in Season 2 Episode 1 — we also meet Gail, the late Eugene’s wife and Joel’s therapist, and Ellie and Dina encounter a Stalker, a brand new kind of Infected. Sure, watching Ellie talk about these moments on patrol may not have been as interesting as seeing them unfold, but The Last of Us Season 1 made a great first impression by sticking to the script. Why not continue that in Season 2?
The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max.
FTTT
0 Comments