The Last of Us episode 4, Please Hold My Hand, reached new heights, gaining the highest viewership than previous episodes despite the Grammys telecast. The episode put the series back on track, adapting several elements from the game. Here are the key differences and similarities between the TV show and the game.
Difference: Kathleen
The show introduced a new character who had no part in the game. Kathleen is a character created exclusively for the show but her role remains a mystery. One thing fans could relate to is that Kathleen can be seen looking for two boys, Henry and Sam. In the game, Henry and Sam are characters from the game.
Similarity: No Pun Intended: Volume Too
One of the light-hearted moments from the game is when Ellie reads jokes from a book to Joel when the characters stay idle. Good thing that the creators added this in the show too. No Pun Intended: Volume Too by Will Livingston is a joke book Ellie finds in an abandoned place and later recites some from the excerpt to Joel. This gives the duo a bonding moment to strengthen their relationship.
Difference: Kansas City
In the game, Joel and Ellie take Bill’s car and drive through Pittsburgh. Yet, Kansas City is featured in the show. Other elements like the Hunters overthrowing the FEDRA are directly derived from the source material.
Similarity: Henry and Sam
Episode 4 concludes with Joel and Ellie held at gunpoint by two kids. The kids are none other than the sibling duo Henry and Sam. They are popular characters from the game that fans are eager to see in the live-action adaptation.
The Last of Us Episode 3: The Emotion-Packed Episode Will Go Down in History as one of the Best in Television
Viewership of the series rose 12%, thanks to the untold story of Bill and Frank.
Episode 3 of The Last of Us showed viewers something they never expected. In a world of zombies and lost hope, the show showed that love and humanity exist. That there’s beauty in simplicity, even in desperate times. The episode, titled “Long, Long Time,” featured two of the Naughty Dog game’s characters, Bill and Frank.
Fans were confused at first because they never got to see Frank in the game. Apparently, Frank was already dead when Joel and Ellie met Bill. But it was a great idea that the writers steered clear of the original plot in this episode. It just gave fans the most bittersweet love stories in television history.
The episode starts with Joel and Ellie making their way to meet Bill, the tension intense after Tess’ death. The plot then goes back 20 years, showing Bill hiding from FEDRA in his basement. He was holding well on his own in the post-apocalyptic world for a few years and then Frank shows up.
Bill hesitantly allows Frank into his home for food and the love story begins. Their story sheds light on how love exists, despite all the horror and disaster the world has endured. The couple’s last day gave the emotional touch required to capture viewers’ hearts. It also shows how love can change a person’s personality for good, thanks to Bill. This also foreshadows how Joel would develop his affection for Ellie and how his fatherly instincts would take over to protect her at all costs.
The Last of Us Episode 2: Every Major Difference and Similarity Between the TV Show and the Game
Episode 2, aka “Infected” was a nerve-chilling ride with plenty of Easter eggs and differences from the 2013 Naughty Dog game. Beware of massive spoilers if you haven’t watched the show yet.
HBO’s The Last of Us is gaining the attention it deserves! The number of viewers has drastically increased since the pilot episode, bringing in 5.7 million viewers. The plot also stepped into a much darker path (can’t stop dreading the zombie kiss), paving the way for Joel and Ellie’s journey. Here are some of the major changes and similarities between the game and the live-action adaptation:
Difference: The Jakarta incident
Episode 2’s opening showed something the game did not cover. It was before the outbreak, two days before the incident, in Jakarta. Government officials take Ibu Ratna, a mycologist, a person who studies fungi, to inspect an unusual variant of fungi that invades the human body. The woman identifies the species and she knows humans can’t stop the looming apocalypse. She instructs the officer to bomb the place, which is later followed in American cities to slow down the spread.
Similarity: Ellie can’t swim
A good nod to the game. Ellie from the game can’t swim, so Joel had to get her across any water surfaces. Ellie from the show seems to lack the skill too.
Difference: Avoiding flour
The game didn’t have time to explore the origin of the outbreak so the information is limited. But The Last of Us show made sure to not leave any loopholes to viewers. In the intro. The officer told the mycologist that the corpse was retrieved from a grain factory.
With Jakarta being a big player in grain production and export, it is highly possible that the fungi could’ve spread worldwide from the grains too. We also saw Joel and Sarah coincidentally avoid having flour-based food in episode 1. The creators did a great job in the foreshadowing,
Similarity: “Can’t deny the view”
This is one of the softest, heartwarming moments from the game, and it was perfectly adapted in the show, too. And Joel looking at his watch right after the little conversation with Ellie indicated that he sees a glimpse of his long-lost daughter in her.
Difference: The zombie kiss
Viewers were stunned to see how the infected spread the infection to humans. One of the grossest ways, which was not in the game, was the zombie kiss. Seeing the spread of infection, happening through something intimate was equally scary and dreadful.
Similarity: Tess’ death
Tess’ death was something unavoidable in the adaptation. Though her way of death differs in both mediums, Joel’s fellow smuggler dies. And she gets infected right before it. In the game, Tess faces an army of FEDRA and tries to hold them off, giving a window of opportunity for Joel and Ellie to escape. Whereas in the show, Tess faces a big bunch of infected.
The Last of Us Episode 1: Every Similar Element Between the TV Show and the Game
The showrunners effortlessly seemed to bring in the elements of the game to live-action.
HBO’s The Last of Us, the live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s famed PlayStation game, premiered last Sunday, with critics, fans, and even gamers, praising the show’s brilliance in adapting the source material.
Although the series version would have to make certain changes (the timeline, the spread of the infection, and some more), it stayed true to the game version. The Last of Us made sure to bring the moments from the game to life, and they succeeded in the pilot episode. Here are the major similarities one can find between The Last of Us game and the TV show.
5. Joel’s house
The house where Joel and his daughter Sarah live looked straight out of the game. The showrunners made sure that the elements in the house looked like a replica of the game. And it paid off well! Gamers can also notice that Sarah’s outfit is the same as in the game.
4. The broken watch
The Last of Us game starts with Joel’s birthday, with his daughter gifting him his repaired watch. The show did not waste the potential of the affection expressed here and brilliantly recreated the moment in the TV show. Sarah’s “I sell hard-core drugs” line is enough for gamers to approve the scene!
3. The drive through the outbreak
The drive from Joel’s house to the nearby town at the start of the outbreak was so game-accurate. The elements, from the burning house to the road signs to the highway, everything was straight out of the game.
2. Ellie’s infection
Time skip to 20 years in the outbreak, when Marlene tasks Joel and Anna to smuggle Ellie out of the quarantine zone, the duo was not aware that the teen was infected. They only happened to find out after a FEDRA officer did a check on the trio before Joel killed the man. Ellie tries to convince them, saying the bite was three weeks ago and she wasn’t infected like the others. These elements were taken straight from the game and it was an accurate adaptation.
1. Sarah’s death
Get some tissues, ready folks. Sarah’s death was pivotal in the game as it changed the man Joel was. The incomparable loss made him lose faith in humanity and made him a hardened soul before meeting Ellie, 20 years later. From the painful whimpers to Joel cradling his dead daughter, the scene of Sarah’s demise from the game was very accurately depicted. It left gamers and fans equally depressed after witnessing one of the saddest moments in TV history.
Initial Reviews Say HBO’s The Last of Us is One of the Best Live-Action Adaptations Ever Made
Early reviews say the live-action version of Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed video game is one of the best adaptations ever made.
The transition from a video game to a movie or television series is a challenging act. The adaptation, be it live-action or animated, should live up to the game’s standards. The success rate of adaptations in Hollywood is quite low as the industry sometimes does not tend to do justice to the original piece. But that’s not the case with The Last of Us.
HBO has been leveling up in the television industry with some big hits, and the live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s great hit would certainly become one of them. The adaptation, under the same name, is set to premiere on January 15 and initial reviews are already praising the show’s brilliance.
Set in the post-apocalyptic United States, the protagonist, Joel, had to smuggle a little girl Ellie, who is apparently immune to the infection. After a premiere screening of Season 1 of HBO’s The Last of Us, critics praised the show for its brilliant retelling of the origin story. The show also seemed to flawlessly add new elements to the series, making it more interesting and moving.
The reviews also said the cast truly stole the show. Bella Ramsey as Ellie is one of the best parts of the series, saying the young Game of Thrones alumni grabbed the spotlight throughout Joel’s and Ellie’s journey. The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal brought Joel to life, making viewers feel the emotions from his traumatic past.
HBO’s The Last of Us consists of nine episodes, and the pilot premiers January 15.
