Why 'The Last of Us' Works (Review)

this video is brought to you by Squarespace when it comes to websites online stores Etc there's no place to build a beautiful online presence like Squarespace HBO's latest hit the Last of Us based off the critically acclaimed game has been a journey this winter as if seasonal depression wasn't hitting enough they really just had to give us an hour of misery every week no you know I ate it up every single time given the massive success of the game I can't remember the last time I watched something that came with so many expectations not only from myself but the fan base not necessarily because video game adaptations are always bad but because this is a video game that really means something to people it's like if they made them the Mario oh having played the game I would agree it's such a perfect story that you really don't want to see it get messed up you know and what is so funny is that this is like the best possible version of this we could have gotten right it manages to be so accurate and true to the source material while also expanding on the universe in a much needed way and yet people still for mostly questionable reasons find a way to trash this it's like what did you want so let's talk about it because I Carson runquist thought this was not only a really amazing adaptation but also just a really good season of television on its own let's start with the portrayals of Joel and Ellie by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay I thought they were both really great Pedro Pascal is amazing I love him he plays Joel in the same way he's portrayed in the game with this unbreakable shell around him I wasn't ridiculously familiar with him before this I only knew him from the Nick Cage movie but he really blew me away here and I just can't wait to watch him in whatever he does next it's a character that could easily be played very one-noted but you can tell just by looking at Pascal's face that the man is broken inside and the show is extremely good at letting his rage out at the right times and never overdoing but he would be nothing without Bella Ramsay as Ellie who really blew me away I'll be honest I wasn't exactly sold on her at first her edgy kid Behavior came off kind of not believable and a bit uh overdone to me but it makes sense because I don't even know if that earlier edginess is believable to her character she's a kid trying to let out her anger at anything and anybody of course course it's going to come across a little too much as the show breaks that character down Episode by episode Ramsay does a really fantastic job at slowly peeling back who Ellie really is you get to know her a lot more in this show than you do in the original game in my opinion she's both very clearly a child and someone forced to navigate the world the same way her 50 year old friend is without the life experience that got him to this place like I said the game is pretty much perfect but I think this is an example of why an adaptation can be a really good thing because I felt like Ramsay's performance is one of the many examples where the show is able to go a little deeper with something we were already familiar with see as far as performances go I really think they nail it this entire show it really adds to the story there was nothing wrong with the game don't get me wrong but you definitely feel a bit more with these scenes than you do in the game scenes from the game like that original one with Sam and Henry for example which was devastating as is is handled even more carefully and with more powerful performances here even if I already knew what happened in the show show decides to play it pretty beat for beat the performances Elevate these moments to such a degree that it does feel like I'm experiencing them for the first time all over again and that's what a good adaptation looks like I like the fact that the show doesn't entirely play things beat by beat all the time and it also doesn't entirely go off the rails on its own original thing all the time but when it does do those things it will commit in those moments how do I put this for example on one side the entire episode with Ellie and David is played out pretty much exactly how it is in the game because that's a devastating yet Perfect story that didn't really need to be tinkered with yet it still leaves you emotionally drained and on the other side in something like episode 3 with Bill and Frank the show commits to this expansion this new original story that we're not as familiar with and it works it doesn't try to blend that in too much with the original material it just sets it aside as its own episode as a way of establishing how this tragedy impacted people differently despite being fairly inconsequential to Joel and Ellie's Journey aside from the car and blah blah it still adds so much to the story because it gives us a glimpse into people ending their lives on their own terms surviving this whole thing you didn't think it was possible but they caught Bill and Frank did it it plants a sense of Hope in the viewer's head very early on which is so necessary for a show that makes you feel hopeless pretty much the entire time so I think that's what makes this adaptation work so well is that it does the necessary expanding you want out of an adaptation but it doesn't treat these expansions as here's my Twist on the story it's simply like well so this was also happening the entire time and this was also happening and also this thing that's going to break your heart was also Happening by the way and it doesn't get in the way of the story we all know and love it just gives it more depth now what you lose when you take time to build the world of the story is action if there is one thing there is significantly less of in this story compared to the game it's the combat and listen I wasn't expecting us to just follow around Joel and Ellie for hours and hours even the game is pretty sparse with when clickers are around and I don't know if I'd call that a problem like there's there's still plenty of violence and you got to remember the urge to come back to play a game is completely different from the urge to come back and watch a show when you're playing a game the urge comes from how fun it is to play the game and playing the game is most active when you're killing infected so of course it's gotta do a lot more of that but a show relies on your emotional investment in the characters so it makes sense to sacrifice combat for World building and learning more about these people but man is the action really cool when it happens it's rare but when they do fight off some Infected I mean when they introduce that bloater for the first time get the [ __ ] out of here these action scenes are done really well everything from the crazy detailed makeup to the attention to tension the airtight edit every now and then they'll use the gruesomeness of the kills to kill off someone you were really hoping they would kill and it's the most satisfying thing in the world and I feel kind of bad but I'm like oh man I'm so glad that person's dead see on one hand I'm like if you think this is a bad show because there isn't enough action you have a a baby boy brain and don't know how to sit your ass down and watch some drama but also I have a baby boy brain we gotta remember that and I would not complain if they just coded this show in satisfying kills it'd still be a pretty good time but you gotta remember these kills are only as satisfying as they are because they're earned and they feel that good because of the build up and because we care about the characters and we care about the characters because we spend so much time with them so I guess to summarize there's a sort of magic to this show that I've hinted at a few times when talking about it it's the fact that at the end of every episode I feel this sort of emptiness you rarely get a happy moment in this show even in episodes like the bill and Frank one when the characters die on their own terms and live happily in love together until their final day even if that is sort of a happy episode in a lot of ways it's still just so devastating it Teeters on becoming a parody of itself at certain points like in episode 7 you can't even really enjoy most of these happy moments because you're like dreading how this is gonna end and usually with a show you can't just have characters wallow in Misery the entire time they need to win every now and then but the last of us is mostly miserable yet somehow I'm always looking forward to the next episode what is that about well that just proves how real this relationship between Joel and Ellie is how hopeful their connection feels without ever feeling cheesy it never loses sight of the grittiness and the horrible situation they're in but it also builds this connection in a way where you're like I want to see them survive this it is almost a really corny show but it never feels even a little bit like that which is kind of a miracle on top of being well acted well directed expansive true to the source material and nail-bitingly tense I think it's safe to say as far as post-pandemic media goes this is one of the best examples without directly citing the actual pandemic we lived through and I think that's cool that we have something like that I can't wait for season two I doubt anything controversial is gonna happen there so thanks for watching go watch The Last of Us inform your own opinion and before you head out I really want to thank this week's sponsor Squarespace now Squarespace if you didn't already know is a place where you can go online to build your brand whether that be an online store a Blog a portfolio you name it if you've been looking for an excuse or a sign from the universe to make that website of yours this is that sign they have professional portfolio designs where you can create galleries for your work as well as password protected Pages for clients me personally I'm a big fan of their videoblock feature I use it to show some of my favorite videos and films in a way that matches my style plus they have a built-in mobile web designer which makes it so that any website you make it's going to look good no matter what platform it's on while still matching that unique style of yours the best part about about it all though is that if you go to squarespace.com Karsten you can get 10 off of your first purchase so seriously give it a chance give you know support the channel support Squarespace do what you got to do thanks for watching thanks Squarespace response from this video and as always I'll see you in the next one [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Karsten Runquist

Views: 96,596

Keywords: the Last of us, Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Game, Playthrough, Walkthrough, Show, TV, Film, Filmmaking, Video Essay, Art, How, HBO, Bill, Frank, Joel, Ellie, Explained, Ending, Analysis, Movies, Review, Rant, Masterpiece, New, 2023

Id: YCgPnqA6sSw

Length: 9min 24sec (564 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 14 2023