The Last of Us – A Perfect Adaptation

what makes a great or even perfect adaptation ever since the release of The Last of Us on HBO there has been endless discourse about how incredible the show is and why is that what makes people like this adaptation so much what makes this the greatest video game adaptation of all time when so many others have failed we've seen countless video game films and TV shows crumble apart anytime they deviate even slightly from the original narrative so why do I say that the last of us is a perfect adaptation when the show has made deliberate changes to the plot and pacing of the game because adaptations aren't about blindly following the source material at every little juncture adaptations are strongest when they recognize the themes mood and characters of the original game while paying close attention to the new medium they're adapting The Narrative to people fall in love with the source material because of those themes because of that mood because of those characters so if an adaptation successfully honors the themes and mood and characters of the original game then you've got a product ready to be loved by old fans and new fans alike adaptations suffer when they reconstruct the core of the source material not because they didn't copy every single set piece and dialogue from the game take for example the Silent Hill movie I want to be careful here and not call this film outright awful or bad because that's a subjective judgment I wouldn't like to make about a piece of art that many people worked hard on instead I want to clarify that it's a poor adaptation of the original Silent Hill series solely because it fails to fully capture the themes of the original narrative as an adaptation it does succeed at Loosely following threads in the original game's narrative and it does capture the sheer dread and creepiness of the original series at times but what it misses is the core of what makes Silent Hill well Silent Hill it even glosses over simple aspects like the allegorical nature of Silent Hill's monsters and how they're a manifestation of the characters psyches I could go deeper but seeing as this is a video about The Last of Us I want to refocus our attention to why I think that the Last of Us overcomes that missing piece that so many other video game adaptations have failed to accomplish before I want to show how the Last of Us on HBO fully captures the core of what makes the original game what it is from its themes to its mood to its characters and so much more and I do want to say that even though this video is mostly going to focus on the narrative elements of the game and the show I'm not discounting the impact that the writers directors cinematographers editors makeup artists costume designers and so much more have on making the final product as amazing as it is so without further Ado let's take a look at why I think that the Last of Us on HBO is a perfect adaptation before I begin I'd like to preface this section of the video by emphasizing that I don't think the show or video game is necessarily better than the other it isn't really fair to make that judgment because each artistic medium is vastly different in what they require what works in the video game wouldn't necessarily work on TV and what works on TV wouldn't necessarily work in the video game so to make things simpler I'd just like to say that I love both the show and the video game and this video isn't meant to convince you to like one more than the other it's only meant to show you why I think the show is a worthy adaptation so with that in mind let's move on earlier I mentioned that the biggest indicator of success for an adaptation is its ability to capture the core of the original experience down to its themes and mood and characters and that's exactly what the Last of Us on HBO excels at despite the various changes that are made throughout the show the changes actually service and even Elevate the themes of the original game every change is made to expand upon the source materials ideas whether that's the deep and emotional moments or to further develop a particular theme for example one of the primary themes of The Last of Us is the consequences of tribalism and if you're not sure what tribalism is then the simplest way I can put it is to think of the term tribe as a social group tribalism is the idea where people have such strong loyalty to their own tribe that they end up in conflict with other tribes because they only wish to advance the interests and wants of their own social group regardless of if they have to commit evil acts to do so so for example Joel killing all of the fireflies at the hospital to save Ellie who's a part of his tribe or as a real world example just about anything that has to do with humanity and the way we group ourselves political parties Sports rivalries National patriotism and so on and so forth anyway this theme of tribalism is expanded upon in the show in various ways the most obvious way is how much more humanized every tribe in the show is whereas in the game many of the groups outside of our protagonists aren't fully fleshed out take for example the hunters that Joel and Ellie encounter in Pittsburgh we learn from bits and pieces that their former qz residents set overthrew fedra but other than that we don't see much more from them except for their bad side they're murderous sadistic and downright desperate it's easy to hate them it's easy to see them as nothing but evil it's easy to see ourselves as part of Joel and Ellie's tribe and we'll do anything we can to protect them even if it means to kill every last one of those Hunters in the show however the hunters are replaced with a much more nuanced group instead of Pittsburgh Joel and Ellie find themselves in Kansas City and their first encounter with the hunters plays out much differently Joel and Ellie get into a fire fight with the hunters and after Joel gets ambushed by one of them we find out afterwards that he's just a young kid he begs for his mother and pleads with Joel and Ellie to spare him and this is where we start to see tribalism in full force Brian just like Joel and Ellie cares most about his own tribe he's not some empty killer with only pure bloodlust on his mind he has a family he has personal values he has a community he wants to protect it's just that unfortunately for him he's coming to conflict with a tribe that isn't his likewise when we meet Henry and Sam they represent an even clearer example of tribalism in the show than they do in the game in the game Henry and Sam serve a purpose by being a parallel to Joel on Ellie's Journey but their rules in the show connect them to the tribalism theme in a really poignant and thought-provoking way when Joel and Ali first meet Henry and Sam we learned that the leader of the Kansas City resistance Kathleen is out for vengeance against Henry which explains her blinding Rampage throughout the town Henry reveals to Joel that he had effectively sacrificed Kathleen's brother in order to get life-saving medication for Sam's leukemia and he posits an interesting moral quandary to Joel because of his actions he tells him I am the bad guy because I did a bad guy thing and that quote is crucial to understanding everything that the last of us is all about in the face of tribalism the term bad guy is all relative that's why Joel has no response to this statement of course we love Henry because he's on our side our tribe so of course we don't think of him as a bad guy for doing whatever he can to save Sam because that's what you do you protect your tribe with whatever means necessary but he sure as hell is a bad guy to Kathleen and the Kansas City resistance they too will do whatever it takes to protect their own tribe and get Justice for those they lost Henry's story in the show reveals to us the core issue of tribalism is what we do for the people we love evil if it isn't then doesn't that mean that Kathleen isn't so evil either obviously there are moral differences between Henry and Kathleen But ultimately their motivations are the same this is what makes the show so brilliant by humanizing the tribes we're meant to hate we can learn to understand them and why they do what they do we can learn to empathize with them just like we can with our own tribe and that's the only way to overcome tribalism to be able to empathize with one another this is a Core theme in The Last of Us even the cannibal group that's led by David is humanized in the show as terrible and selfish of a man David is he operates by the basis of tribalism as well his people and that includes himself comes first before all else when he comes across the deer that Ellie killed he doesn't think to leave it behind his group is desperate starving and Clinging On to any part of community they can even if stealing the tear is immoral David is certainly willing to do it with no hesitation the same goes for his willingness to feed human flesh to his followers it goes without saying that he's a sick twisted disgusting man but we can at least understand why he's willing to go that far we don't have to like it we don't have to support it we just have to be able to see things from his point of view no matter how out of line it is from our own personal values and that's when we realize that other tribes are more like us than we think HBO is The Last of Us successfully captures the theme of tribalism from the game and amplifies it tenfold and by virtue of humanizing the side characters more these characters aren't just a means to an end or plot movers like they often are in the game they aren't just obstacles meant to be overcome these characters are individuals that exist in this world they're not just fleeting Encounters in Joel and Ellie's Journey they're not just faceless enemies for Joel to gun down they have lives that are fully their own what distinct Advantage TV shows have over games is the ability to constantly split perspectives without it being too jarring because of this we get to explore the lives that the side character is much deeper than we could in the games and HBO is The Last of Us absolutely Nails these characters with a beautiful Precision I can't think of a better way to honor these fan favorites Henry and Sam have a much more tragic and impactful story in the show their core relationship Remains the Same protective loving dependent but it's made all the more painful by all the brilliant changes made in the show Sam being deaf increases his dependence on Henry likewise his history with leukemia makes his life even more fragile and heartbreaking and it shows just how much Henry loves his brother to the point that he gave up everything just to save him and that's why Sam sees Henry as his superhero Henry's life and every action he takes is centered on protecting his brother so it's no surprise that Sam feels this way in one episode we see Sam draw a hero with an orange mask wrapped around his eyes and we later see a beautiful orange reflection cast upon Henry's eyes that mimics that orange mask it's such a sad symbol in the show because it reminds us just how important Henry and Sam are to each other so when Henry ultimately fails to protect Sam it hurts us even deeper to our core and they're not the only characters strengthened by their fleshed out backstories the episode on Bill and Frank is an absolute standout as opposed to the harsh cynicism in the game Bill and Frank's relationship in the show is a wonderful wholesome change that Services the story in a deeper way than just Bleak depressing sadness of course that isn't to say that their story in the show isn't sad quite the opposite actually it's bitter heartbreaking but beautiful not hopeless Bill's decision to accept love and hold on to it to the very end shows us that Purity love and companionship can exist in this awful world and while people might not like this change I argue that it's a necessary addition to the story that makes the adaptation even greater because Bill and Frank's relationship shows us what's truly important our love for each other and just how much more empty the world will be without the ones we hold dear to us the bill and Frank episode gives us just one more reason to understand why Joel makes his choice at the end of the story love is what drives Joel to choose Ellie over the rest of humanity and that's what I mean when I say that the show expands upon themes moods and characters already present in the game HBO is The Last of Us doesn't take away it amplifies it truly makes us care even more about a story we already know and love for instance the show gives us more time and insight into Sarah which makes her death all the more painful and because of this it's even more impactful when we see Joel protect Ellie by killing the federal guard we see flashbacks to Sarah and the show is able to magnify just how much Sarah's memory haunts Joel long after her death the show deepens emotional moments like that even the Looting and Scavenging isn't trivial in the show as it is in the game and yes while resources are scarce and limited in the game especially on grounded mode there isn't any emotional way to those resources those resources are there to make you feel desperate from a gameplay perspective in the show however there's impact in every little thing Joel and Ellie take each item they scavenge means something to them from Bill and Frank Joel and Ellie take their clothes from Henry and Sam Joel takes Henry's backpack from Tommy Joel takes his rifle Joel even takes something from Tess albeit in a more metaphorical way he takes her promise bringing Ellie to the fireflies all of these things that Joel and Ellie take with them are parts of these people they carry with them on the rest of their Journey these aren't just things their soul their conscience their meaning because what these items represent is what happens to us after loss parts of ourselves live on in other people when we're gone and that's something that Joel and Ellie will carry with them for the rest of their lives Joel carries Tess's hope he carries Bill and Frank's love he carries Henry's protectiveness he carries Tommy's forgiveness and on his wrist he carries Sarah everywhere with him like a lingering spirit broken just like the watch given to him on his birthday even Ellie carries Riley along with her She carries the pun book that was given to her as a gift as she holds Riley so close to her heart that she even begins to find family just like Riley had wanted for herself and she finds that family in Joel that's why all these things they carry with them are so important in the show each item represents every part that's made our characters into who they are today and I love that part about the show it doesn't shy away from taking narrative risks in order to provide the source material with extra support because that's what the adaptation does well supporting the original narrative with changes to make it stronger clearer and just a little bit more refined that's why it's important for the show to be deliberate and Hyper cautious about any of the changes it makes even down to the little details because the purpose of all these changes is to service the original narrative fortunately HBO is The Last of Us was and is in good hands because even those tiny changes made all the world of difference in the show for example expanding upon the lore was an excellent choice for the show while I understand the story arc of The Last of Us is a very Joel and Ellie Centric narrative I do think it was wise of the show to give us more answers about the lore it showed us Clues to the origin of the cordyceps brain infection it told us more about outbreak day it told us more about how everything fell apart and because of this it just made the apocalypse feel more real and impactful in a way that widens the scope of the story's trauma to all of humanity which is also why I thought it was genius that the show paid respects to the native population in Wyoming it shows us a more diverse and realistic representation of the kinds of people who could and did survive this outbreak out of all the little details in the show however what I think is the most important is its awareness of The Last of Us Part Two for the sake of withholding spoilers All I'm gonna say is that the show is careful to introduce themes characters and moments important to the story arc of part two season one of HBO's The Last of Us lays a perfect foundation for what we're about to witness in the upcoming seasons and because of its dedication to accurately representing the themes moods and characters of The Source material we can expect to see a show that continues to honor this beloved story but what I want to end this video on is it about the actual content in the show itself for me the reason why it's a perfect adaptation goes beyond just a commitment to the source material I've been waiting for this show for a really really long time I've wanted to see Joel and Ellie's Journey adapted on the big screen for a decade now and it's surreal to finally be able to watch it I feel as if I've been on this shared Journey with other fans and the creators of The Last of Us this journey to show the world just how powerful video game narratives can be the last of us has played a huge role in practically half my life is influenced my creativity my art my passions it's a big part of who I am as a person and that's why I've made so many people who've never experienced the game before watch this show watching everyone slowly fall in love with Joel and Ellie and all the other characters over the course of the show was the greatest feeling I could ever have and that's what makes HBO's The Last of Us the perfect adaptation it introduced people to this world and these characters and made them love them just as much as I do I feel connected to everyone who's now become a part of this community it sounds absolutely sadistic but watching People's pain tears and anger brings me back to my own feelings about The Last of Us I've now relived a thousand emotions that I'm thankful to have felt about this series because that's what I want to feel about art I say it every time on this channel but art is most powerful when it makes you feel something and HBO is The Last of Us certainly succeeds at that whether that's love hate anger sadness forgiveness regret or any other feeling out there the last of us has entered your heart and that's where I'll stay for the rest of time I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed this show just as much as I have Perfection is a relative subjective term but for me HBO is The Last of Us is undoubtedly worthy of that title [Music] if you enjoyed this video essay don't forget to like And subscribe if you'd like to see more content similar to this I make videos about all things writing related I'd also like to thank my Patron Edith Lopez Torres for helping make this video happen if you'd like to support me further please check out my patreon I'll leave a link down in the description below and if you've got some time check out some of my other videos too I really appreciate you watching this one and to everyone who made it to the end here thank you all for watching and I hope you have a great rest of your day foreign

Channel: Reginald Writes

Views: 381

Keywords: tlou, the last of us, hbo, bella ramsey, pedro pascal, joel, ellie, video essay, analysis, adaptation, video game, tlou part 2, the last of us part 2, the last of us part 1, tlou 1

Id: 2U5H2g86wGY

Length: 24min 50sec (1490 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 02 2023