The Last Of Us Has A Story Problem

on June 14th of this year 2023 the last of us will turn 10 years old yeah yeah that's great and all but let's look back at what we've got in the past decade since this series began there have been five major releases under this IP four of which have been the same story retold in slightly different ways seems like the approach to this franchise so far has simply been to Coast off the original story for reference naughty dog's other Golden Goose Uncharted saw all four major installments released between 2007 and 2016. yes four unique stories and three multiplayer experiences in just nine years and that's not even mentioning the PS4 remasters for the first three games which came out in 2015. so why haven't we seen this same level of narrative progress for the last of us there have been plenty of releases under this IP but the focus has not been on driving the narrative forward it's instead been on looking in the rear view mirror pretty much the only time naughty dog is straight away from the original game with a new narrative that being The Last of Us Part Two well let's just say that was much more divisive game than the almost universally beloved first one I personally feel this is the biggest hurdle The Last of Us must clear if it's going to maintain its status as a major franchise the solution to this problem well it seems pretty simple to me tell a new story let me explain The Last of Us Part Two disappointed a lot of fans sure there were some people who liked it right off the bat or should I say club and many who have come around to it in the year since its release but this group is hardly comparable to that of the first game after part two's initial release it seemed like the cool thing to do was absolutely dunk on this game and people did exactly that for a little while it felt like the last of us might be dead in the water it failed to meet expectations while simultaneously alienating a large portion of the fan base in the process but Sony and naughty dog weren't so quick to give up on this series and it appears to be coming back with a mighty vengeance last Fall's release of the Remake the last was part one got us back to the tried and true story seems like they just said okay people really didn't like part two so let's just keep doing part one and now with the HBO show which is the original story apart from some ultimately inconsequential changes to the overall narrative it's clear we're still milking that cow surely they won't try to feed us the same story for the fifth time right to be fair I don't think this is all on naughty dog I think most of these decisions were actually Sony's doing and without their influence we might have seen a very different lineup I really can't say if naughty dog would have moved forward with a TV show because for the most part it seemed like they were opposed to adaptations of their games we saw how this battle between Sony and naughty dog played out with Uncharted the movie Naughty Dog kept their hands off that ship and let it sink on its own but it seems clear that naughty dog and Neil druckman are pretty happy with how the show turned out ultimately the success of the show shouldn't really come as much of a surprise though because it's the same story yes there are changes and surprises as showrunner Craig Mason puts it but what do these add to the franchise as a whole the changes presented in this show can't have an impact on the games at least not without it feeling clunky infection via spores is completely non-existent in the show whereas it plays a substantial role in the games this isn't really something that can be easily transferred over for the sake of consistency so it seems clear these are two very different projects with different goals but they both share the same plot and therein lies the issue at least in my eyes why not tell a new story with the show this is probably the most common complaint when the show was originally announced to be following the first game's narrative a lot of people said why do we need to see this story another time that's a valid question still in the wake of part two's controversy this show presented a golden opportunity to sidestep all of that baggage and if done right it could have far exceeded what we ended up getting but they chose the safe route so what could we have seen from this series the world of The Last of Us is so rich and just begging to be explored more why couldn't we introduce a non-gamer audience to this apocalyptic dystopia through a fresh story why couldn't we go somewhere we've never been before or at least somewhere we haven't seen very much of we got a little taste of this at the end of part two when Ellie makes her way to California the atmosphere is completely different from anything we'd seen prior with new groups like The Rattlers and this whole slave trade plot line this was all conceptually great but it felt paper thin because it was shoved in at the very end I remember thinking to myself how much of this game is left it was cramped constricted by the confines of the story and seeing how factions part 2 also appears to be taking place in California this kind of feels like it was added to the game as a way to test out level design the part that really frustrates me though is that there were glimpses of a world outside the main narrative within the opening sequences of the Show's first two episodes our first cold open taking place in 1968 introduces the idea of the cordyceps existence on a late night talk show we get a great explanation of the threat these organisms pose to humanity while also building up tension and sprinkling in a little bit of global warming social commentary in there because you know it's Naughty Dog the second opener places Us in Indonesia where the outbreak started we get to see the fear in this woman's eyes a professor of mycology as she essentially confirms to us the audience there is no escaping this it's already too late both of these moments are chilling and I was fully invested here I think that's because I desperately want something fresh from this world I thought each episode of the series would start with one of these short external scenes but they just kind of stopped after the second episode okay I don't know about you but I would have loved to explore for Indonesian war and seeing firsthand what happens in the literal hot spot of the outbreak I think it would have been so cool to expand Way Beyond what we've seen in this world so far but Neil druckman has made it very clear he does not want to explore characters who don't relate to the main narrative and The Last of Us is basically a love letter to Americana so projects set outside the US might be off the table okay fair enough so if exploring other characters and other countries is out of the equation so be it but why not explore more of what we already have what about those early years between Tommy and Joel maybe it's soon after outbreak and were placed right in the Heart of Texas Joel is still grieving Sarah yet he and Tommy can't even process her death because the world is quite literally crumbling around them and if it's set in Texas you can go ham with the Western aspects of the franchise you know having Gunslinger shootouts and whatnot talk about Americana sure this idea would fall under the dreaded prequel storyline but there's 20 years of potential right there and the Left Behind pulled off a prequel plot excellently while still weaving it into the main storyline but maybe a Last of Us Project without Ellie just wouldn't fly that makes sense well why not explore what happens in between game one and game two this was actually my prediction for the show's second season after the first few episodes there's a lot that can be explored in those five years between part one and part two sure there may not be as much action during this time but the show isn't about action it's about the characters we could have shown how Jackson was built while furthering character Dynamics and really giving everyone their fair share of screen time including Dina this idea also would have allowed more room for the infected to appear in the season because they were pretty sparse in the first one and sure there wouldn't be an overwhelming physical threat during a season like this but there would be the threat of Ellie finding out the truth Ellie might be haunted by this suspicion about Joel's lie that she just can't shake and Joel is constantly trying to divert the conversation every time it comes up if they did this story it would not only give Bella Ramsey more time to age into the role of older Ellie but at the same time it would Prime the next season perfectly for the story seen in the second game but no Jackson has already fully established and sustainable and it's confirmed that season 2 will pick up right where the second game starts oh well I don't know what your stance on the Last of Us Part Two is but I know I'm in the camp of not loving it or hating it there are aspects of it I like really like actually and there are aspects I don't like but it's pretty safe to say part two single-handedly lost a lot of Goodwill this series had going for it and I'm sure there are some fans who have completely abandoned the franchise altogether before part two there was a pretty clear opposition to a sequel because a lot of people felt the first game ended on a perfect note and for a long time it felt like that might be the case but now we find ourselves in a Pandora's Box situation the box was opened with the announcement of part two and there's no going back anymore we know what happens to Joel and Ellie and the whole crew my concern is that the last of us won't be able to cover from The Arc set up in the second game and this honestly won't be much of an issue if this was meant to be a small scale IP but there are clear efforts to make the last of us a mainstream title not just amongst Gamers the show was greenlit for the explicit purpose of getting non-gamers on board in factions 2 which will hopefully come out within the next Century seems positioned to attack the multiplayer and Battle Royale markets there is a clear push to move this series Beyond just an isolated story but if that's the case they need to actually move beyond the first story we've rehashed part one enough and it seems like we're about to start rehashing part two pretty soon I think people who played part 2 have come to terms with what happened to Joel but new viewers who are tuning in just now I think we're going to have a repeat of what happened two years ago except this time it'll be Pedro Pascal stands I do not want to see how that plays out for anyone on the wrong side of this man not to mention the ability to play as Abby which is one of the most effective devices used in the game to earn her character into the good graces of the player while that'll be absent in the show dedicating multiple scenes or even entire episodes to a character doesn't guarantee your audience is going to like them in the end it loses that visceral feeling when you are playing as the quote-unquote villain of the story and you need to kick Ellie's ass someone you've spent dozens of hours with there's an intrinsic difference between playing as a character and watching a character look I know part 3 is almost inevitable with the amount of effort they're putting into this franchise if it is happening part 3 will absolutely have a fresh story that hopefully wraps everything up nicely and makes the pain of part two worth it I feel like part 3 can only benefit from a lighter more hopeful story centered around acceptance not only for the characters but for the players as well although all within reason of the story I really don't want another Last Jedi Rises Skywalker situation somehow Palpatine returned God no and I am in no way advocating for them to rush this process I know these things take time and it's incredible we can craft artificial worlds so accurate to reality the way we do but there have definitely been some diversions from the development of this game and that has absolutely affected the timeline for not just part three but factions two as well whereas season two of the show is already greenlit and they might even begin filming by the end of this year with part three not even confirmed yet it's easily years away especially if Neil druckman is pulled from the game to work on the show more so until we see the next game it appears we're continuing to retread old ground for the foreseeable future this video was originally intended to be much more negative toward the show because I was pretty disappointed with it compared to the many who loved it but after watching it from start to finish twice I've started to come to terms with the fact that this is just a different take on the classic story I can acknowledge its merits as a piece of live action television but I still feel like this season could have been so much more for me it honestly felt like a hollower version of the game there was just something missing and sure I'm biased I've played the first game like seven times and this series is very close to my heart because I've been there since day one so it's honestly pretty weird to see these moments play out differently After experiencing them a certain way for the past decade but I feel like that's the only position the show can be in if it's a direct adaptation of the game the game and the show were bound to be compared and favorites are bound to be chosen each iteration of this story is inherently In Contention with those that came before it for the games it's pretty obvious part one is the superior version because it mostly boils down to better graphics and gameplay improvements but when you're talking about a TV show with different performances different visuals and characters that act differently under the same circumstances well that puts the two at odds with one another there was so much effort to make part one and part two look graphically identical and they actually did it they finally created a seamless cohesion between these two projects but then they immediately interrupted this cohesion by introducing a very different version again ironically they kind of cannibalized their own zombie franchise I have a feeling pretty soon we're going to be hearing a lot of people say I like the game much more than the show or oh I like this show way more than the game when it could have just been everyone's saying I love The Last of Us and in my eyes this only further divides a fan base that's already very divided so only time will tell if the last of us can actually land gracefully or if it's just headed straight for impact [Applause] thank you hey if you made it this far thanks for watching this is essentially my debut into the world of video essays so I figured might as well start with a pretty controversial one but what do you think do you think this is a serious issue for the last of us or are you happy with how they've handled this story so far leave a comment down below and if you enjoyed it maybe leave a like And subscribe if you're interested in more videos like this there will definitely be more until next time

Channel: Ryan Jamison

Views: 21,077

Keywords: The Last Of Us, HBOMax, TLOU, The Last of Us Part I, The Last of Us Part II, The Last of Us Tv Show, Season 1, Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsay, Season Finale, Future of The Last of Us, Joel, Ellie, Joel and Ellie, Abby, Part 1, Part 2, Uncharted, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us Has A Story Issue, Video Essay, The Last of Us Video Essay, LOU Part I, LOU Part II, The Last of Us Season Finale, Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson

Id: xxbr0TY3psg

Length: 14min 30sec (870 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 16 2023