The Last of Us: Adaptation Done Right

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[@lgob7]

That opening scene of the two scientists on the talk show was outstanding. John Hannah's cool, calm, devastating speech about fungal infection and the danger it poses was horrifying. Perfect emotional set up for everything you described here. Really excited to see where this show goes.

[@jconner78]

This is John Hannah’s No Weddings/Infinite Funerals

[@basedesidisi1108]

I agree, it was a great framing device.

[@trinaq]

I love that you don't need to be familiar with the original games to like this show, and it stands on its own two feet, thanks to strong performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

[@redrews3]

Or rather, just the writers, directors, and influence of OG cast. The story will stand on its own, regardless.

[@greenapple1470]

Exactly! I showed my mom the pilot episode without telling her ANYTHING about it, except that it was based on a game. She loved it, and now we have to watch together every Sunday haha

[@user-yc3tf4wz2x]

@@greenapple1470 very wholesome 😀

[@lilmilontiktok]

@@redrews3 not at all

[@onlyechos6810]

Pedro Pascal nailed it in Sarahs death scene. The panic, how he is trying to comfort her in her agony. I was so touched by the tone of his voice alone. I can't even really describe all the facets of emotion he conveyed by basically repeating the same sentence over and over.

[@mattcollins3591]

Craig Mazin is a genius, once I heard he was adapting this (Chernobyl is one of my favorite mini series ever) I was smitten. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed

[@IncandescentWriter]

I didn't know he worked on Chernobyl. That's incredible. It's perfect.

[@spacejasontodd]

I had no clue he also worked on Chernobyl but after watching the first episode my first instinct was to compare the two shows regarding the way how they build tension, leaving me, albeit momentarily, genuinely anxious. Great to hear I was correct in that regard :)

[@sullyschwartz2365]

@イヴィ Except, seven episodes later, and all they've talked about behind the scenes of the past awful episodes is how THEY (the shitty writers) viewed the characters and how THEY wanted the game to be. They baited us with the first episode before burying us under bullshit. In fact, the same man you praise talked about how much he didn't like the violence of the game, when the violence plays into the fucking THEME of the game. Fucking idjets

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

I can EASILY say that the prologue of the show alone before the 20 year time skip is done BETTER in the show than it was in the game. And the game’s introduction was FANTASTIC already as it was so it’s incredible they were able to outdo that completely!

[@masamune2984]

While I don’t agree, it’s definitely equally as good. They compliment each other, more than one being “better” than the other 🙂

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@@masamune2984 fair enough if that’s how you feel but the Prologue just expanded upon everything that was done so much better than the game by focusing on build-up and revealing character, something that I loved on how it was portrayed compared to the game where we relatively jumped right into the action and start of it all.

[@othmanedag1962]

It's a pacing issue as a player I don't care about Sarah's adventure going to school fixing the watch but in the show it works

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@@othmanedag1962 uhhhh what? It's NOT a "pacing issue" at all as they don't have Sarah going to school or fixing the watch in the game AT ALL, it's ONLY in the show and they show that to gradually build up the rising tension of the virus outbreak going to come out in a normal world and how it's slowly effecting the people and environment all around Sarah as she travels around from how she sees a student's hand slowly twitching, to getting rushed out of a watch store, to us seeing an old woman get infected and how a dog reacts to her infection. It also builds up character from us the audience caring about Sarah's and Joel's normal lives with one another and how they care for one each other so we the audience can adore them even more so. There is no "pacing issue" for NEITHER show or game as they both have perfect pacing FOR each of their mediums on how they tell their stories. The pacing in the game is just perfect as it doesn't have that as you just jump right into the gameplay as we PLAY through it all as Sarah and Joel, the pacing in the show is perfect as we GRADUALLY build up everything from tension and observing the actions of the characters. The pacing is perfect for BOTH mediums on how they tell the story for the Last of Us. Simple as that.

[@othmanedag1962]

@@Gadget-Walkmen I said there would be pacing issue if they added that part in the game

[@sunsetman22]

John Hannah's speech at the beginning was an excellent introduction to the show, it reminded me of the scenes with the eyepatch doctor from Dawn of the Dead

[@inaki6404]

That whole scene at the beginning was just phenomenal. The way he delivers his final line “we lose” hits like a bomb to the chest knowing what’s coming.

[@elbryan9]

Can't say that I was terribly happy with the scene actually. Don't get me wrong, it was well done but I think maybe it should have been included later in the show rather than right off the bat. You gotta figure, a lot of the audience has played the game so they're already familiar with the story so, no big deal. But by the same token, a large part of the audience _hasn't_ played the game so they're not at all familiar with the source material. So by putting this scene right at the beginning, you've taken out all of the mystery as to why everything is happening as well as much of the tension and intrigue.

[@SuperSpasticNinja]

@@elbryan9 Actually it adds to the mystery. It reveals nothing other that, if a fungal pandemic hit, we'd be lost. And this segment will it have its importance in further episodes. They had another beginning and Mazin pushed for this while Druckmann disagreed. It was only much later that Druckmann saw his beginning didn't work and was boring (his words) and decided that Mazin's idea was the right call.

[@sunsetman22]

@@SuperSpasticNinja what was Druckmann's original idea for the beginning? really curious to know because the finished version works so well.

[@elbryan9]

@@SuperSpasticNinja I'm not following your logic. How does the scene add to the mystery? When things take a turn for the worst, people want to know why. So imagine what kinds of things are going through someone's mind that's never played the game if this intro wasn't there. The scene takes away all that mystery.

[@brandonburton5928]

I know this might get a rise but I love this take. It reinforces something that I think both games really try to hammer home: Joel doesn't want to be the main character. He wants to stay detached. He wants things to be simple so he can minimize loss. He's no hero. In the misquoted words of Michael Jordan: "f--- them kids"

[@pointfrogg]

Which IMO humanizes him alot more actually. The reality of his situation is no matter how bad ass he could be, he is simply powerless to stop the world from violently taking what he loves from him. It's comepletely reasonable to eventually become broken down, bitter and jaded and try to harden yourself so you don't get anymore mental and emotional stab wounds from the blows that WILL come. They cant take everything from you if you have nothing =/

[@toxicman9128]

I like how they developed both Tommy and Joel’s relationship more, but also developed FEDRA, which in the games were just kinda… the Military, but in the show it shows them being Military Dictators, hanging people and using slave labor rather than just LEOs.

[@tsuritsa3105]

It's amazing too how much we learn about characters from little moments in the show. For example - my partner has not played tLoU. She learned that Tess was a dangerous person or someone with dangerous connections not because she did something overt to show us this or because of something that was said, but rather because when Robert and his goons were holding her **they** seemed afraid of her, despite being the ones with the weapons at the time. The writers/directors did a great job of character and world building in the first episode. (I haven't seen EP2 yet)

[@kiera_rdh6697]

The last of us game is my husbands favorite story ever. Out of books, shows, movies, all of it. I don’t play games, so there was no way I was gonna miss experiencing this story with him in a new way and I’m hooked already! Looking forward to (hopefully) more analysis from you as the season goes on 😊

[@wyattrose5511]

Glad to see you back, man!! I was pretty young when the game came out, and I was an Xbox kid until my younger brother got a PS4. My Spanish teacher at the time raved about The Last of Us, and that was my sophomore year. I tried playing it off and on, but could get used to the controls. Then, COVID hit. I played it, easy to say, like a mad man. I was desperately waiting for the sequel, coming out in a few short months. And when it came out, I loved it. Seemingly being one of few positive voices, I just loved the still ever-emotional story, perhaps leaving you with a bigger, gaping hole in your chest. To now see the first episode of the show, I just now Druckman and company are taking this in the right direction and I can’t wait to see more.

[@Booya]

It doesn’t feel like just an adaptation, but an expansion.

[@fanimedusoleil]

I´m wondering if the first season is going to be covering the full first game. Because if they manage to keep it this tight and well-paced, damn. I might even be smitten enough to go through the trauma of Part II again in the future.

[@pickle1517]

yes it’ll adapt first game

[@justsomeguyanimations]

Just cause you've resolved to reading everything, thanks for the amazing content. These breakdowns have gotten me closer to my own creations, and even gotten me through a pretty tough time.

[@BooksRebound]

If you like the wrenching narrative of TLoU, maybe check out Hellblade Senuas Sacrifice if you haven't already. It's made by a small team who cranked out a Double AA game with an incredible narrative. I cannot wait for the sequel. It's a game about psychosis that does an incredible job at portraying that to normies since they worked closely with schizophrenics and specialists to create a really accurate representation of what that's like. Great experience

[@crashpal]

Just my opinion but from same people enslaved and especially Heavenly Sword were a lot better both story and character progression wise than sensua

[@queenmellowdunchen]

I've been waiting for this all week! ♡_♡ Coming from someone who hasn't played the games, I can't help but theorise on what effects Ellie will have on Joel. The pilot points at a few key differences between Ellie and Sarah. The opening talkshow sequence down to Ellie's bite reveal, this was a damn near perfect 90 minutes. Question: does the Parasite cure the disabilities of the hosts or does it simply disregard them?

[@andreescalona8902]

Well, usually the canon of the games is different from the ones in the shows. The introduction here tells you that the fungi can even heal the host, but as far as I can recall, none of that is mentioned in the games. It's worth mentioning that the hosts are still alive when infected, though, as the fungus is parasitical and needs the host to be alive in order to evolve, so at the very least, it covers open wounds where other infections might come in from and 'feeds' the body to keep it going.

[@lucasmuller8640]

At least in the games, afaik there was no mention to the fungus being able to heal the host in any form. If you are talking about the scene with the old woman, maybe she wasn't totally incapable of walking. Mental/cognitive disease could be the thing stopping her from walking, or even just some form of muscle weakness that the rage/adrenaline was able to overcome.

[@queenmellowdunchen]

@@andreescalona8902 that's such an exciting thought!

[@queenmellowdunchen]

@@lucasmuller8640 oh yeah! that's a neat way to look at it.

[@twasnoon]

When you see "Directed by Craig Mazin", you just know it is going to blow your mind and would be immaculate!

[@andreescalona8902]

Let's hope this video ages like wine and not like milk

[@keythekidd]

Dude, my mom bought me this game years ago and since then it’s been my favorite franchise. Now I’ve gotten to explore my all time favorite narrative with her all over again in a way even I haven’t seen. I can’t wait til Sunday.

[@barrell_rider4869]

unlike most games the last of us is very story focused so when i heard this was getting adapted to TV i was actully hopeful and damn its actually really good

[@LaneMaxfield]

This sounds incredible! I'd love to see more of your takes on female characters. I loved your videos on The Devil Wears Prada and how to fix Reva. To me, it often seems like the content creators are divided into the camps that only talk about female characters who are well-written and the camps that only talk about the female characters who are poorly written. I love exploring the duality of masculinity and femininity in action and thriller settings, and I'd love to see more content that is actually trying to learn from both the failures and successes of these characters.

[@ajiththomas2465]

Honestly, one of the best videos about writing female characters ever to this day is Now You See It's "Writing Women" video, which does a fantastic job of showcasing 3 different ways/perspectives to writing female characters. Still holds up. If I'm to be honest about the whole "camp of well written female characters and camp of poorly written characters", quite a lot of media analysis content creators (usually the chuddy ones) are just low key sexist/misogynistic and they base their opinion about whether a female character is well written or not based on how they personally feel about the character, not in an analytic manner but a gut reactionary manner. Like, you could not do Ripley from Aliens today because half the Internet would be losing their shit and calling her "Woke Feminist Propaganda" or whatever ridiculous nonsense like that. The same thing with trying to make something like _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ today because that show goes hard on anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, patriarchy, and a lot more stuff like that.

[@LaneMaxfield]

@@ajiththomas2465 I'll check that video out, thanks! As for the two camps, what I mean is that we aren't having any problems making successful, popular shows and films starring interesting female characters or centering leftist messages: Knives Out, The Menu, Arcane, Encanto, etc. We also are making lots of shows and films that have those messages and characters, but just are not well done: Raya and the Last Dragon, Captain Marvel, the Star Wars sequels, every one of the soulless Disney remakes except for the first Cinderella one back in 2015, etc. What bothers me is that people will cherry pick the well-done or poorly done stories, and use those to argue that the message is right or wrong. If Alien were made today, some people would milk it for half a dozen different videos analyzing everything that made it perfect, and others would pretend it didn't exist in favor of attacking some bland anime rip-off that should have just been ignored into obscurity.

[@Shaathurray]

I would really enjoy a series following this show. Not long episodes, maybe the same length as this one. Kind of ealking through major pointa in each episode and hoe the translation is a bit altered but still captures the feel of the game. Would be pretty cool

[@heloisavillela8065]

I was so worried they would do a fast-paced, full violence show that almost disregarded the real emotional experience of the game, and I couldn’t be more wrong! The show is a perfect adaptation.

[@cinderheart2720]

Always a pleasure to hear your voice and insights.

[@YanBaoQin]

I look forward to your reviews, and learn a lot from them!

[@writerlairchannel2636]

I will wait for the whole season, but i am sure i will love it

[@jinmark9453]

Hope quality won't take a nose dive after few episodes.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@jinmark9453 I think that's pretty unlikely

[@jinmark9453]

@@LuisSierra42 really ? There is more shows that fall apart after season or two than VERY FEW consistent shows. Plus pilot shows are hooks and looks like it's working perfectly on you 👌

[@LuisSierra42]

@@jinmark9453 I think we would have been able to see the signs if the show was being handled by people who don't care about it

[@jinmark9453]

@@LuisSierra42 we can't see anything yet we only seen a pilot episode and you have no idea what motivation pass financial snowrunners have in mind so it's a null point.

[@Jibash]

New Year's resolutions can be draining on your mental health, so make sure not to strain yourself. Also, here, read this one!

[@anthonyrayes]

Happy new year SavageBooks. Yt vid of the week you surprised me with this one brother !!

[@joshmartin4914]

Just putting this out there as a suggestion, but how about a video on The Legend of Korra? Either your thoughts on it or how you'd change/improve it. Either way, I for one would love to hear your thoughts on the show.

[@spaceginger7627]

I fucking love pedro pascal. He was brilliant as mando.

[@Tundra03]

Thankyou Savage Books for your videos! Have really helped me with my writing. You also have an awesome voice 😂

[@ryhanon7]

Nice video. The overwhelming majority of prior video game adaptations have indeed been terrible - but they've also typically focused on games/franchises that are *VERY* difficult to translate into the passive movie/tv format. It's my view that some games just *can't* be adapted well - no matter the quality of the team working on it. Mortal Kombat for example - great franchise, bad movies/tv shows (although the campy original movie still holds a special place in my heart - despite how bad it is, I find it charming) - but it's also the sort of game that just doesn't have much to work with in order to take it from an interactive media to a passive one. The "story" in the MK games is barebones *at best* and even if it had a great story it's very hard to translate something like that because of the incredibly large cast. Hitman, as much as I *love* that franchise, is also an example of a game that just doesn't really have enough of a story, and the main character, 47, is practically a blank slate in all of the games. Again, it's very difficult to adapt something like that. The Last of Us, on the other hand, is a *great* candidate for adaptation because it's one of the few games that has a good enough story coupled with great characters (and not too many of them). On top of that, it's a very cinematic game - practically a movie already in many respects. That's not to say The Last of Us is *easy* to adapt (as I think all the same things can be said of Uncharted and that turned out pretty terrible) - you still need great writers/directors/actors/etc to bring it to life. But I think the reason so many previous attempts to adapt games have been bad is because there just isn't a clear path on how to get it from a game to a passive media while retaining the things people like about it.

[@jonathan0225]

With that execution, im certainly pumped how theyre going to handle the much awaited bill and tommy POV (tommy most especially knowing what lies ahead)

[@curiousworld7912]

I'm afraid I don't know video games from ancient Syriac, but this series sounds like it could be very good. You give a very compelling and reasoned review, so I will check it out. :)

[@mejabeck3211]

Love the observations in this video. Can’t wait to watch another one after ep 2 drops!

[@jgg0207]

im so excited for these videos!

[@merchantarthurn]

Being familiar with the story of the game I was so sure I'd be bored by the show - even if it did the story well, I thought "well if it's 1-for-1 I'm not interested". I was so happy to be wrong. The thing I was most surprised by was the changes they made to the fungus - I'd heard they'd removed the spores because it'd be "unrealistic" and I remember rolling my eyes because I'm tired of anti-cinemasins-ding style writing... but even with the mycologist, they didn't sit down and go "well usually this spreads by spores and it's a good thing they don't because bababa". Instead, they changed the mechanics to be something viscerally horrifying, far creepier and scarier than what is in the game (though the 'alert from a distance' would have been annoying in the game). They didn't just remove something for logic's sake, they adapted the mechanics to have it better suit the medium - just like the story. It's far more tense when at any moment, a zombie or a patch of the fungus might call a hoard, and doubling down on how the body is literally just a vessel for this organism to puppet by showing the fungus growing from the mouth and the orifices of the dead is just. An incredible choice. (I love that they leaned into the beauty of it too - the person on the wall and the mushrooms growing out of the museum were as gorgeous as they were macabre, I love it)

[@merchantarthurn]

I also like that because we can see Ellie on her own now (Winter not included as that's relatively late), they can set up that she's mayyybe been a bit fucked up by being born in this apocalypse. I can't wait to see how that affects the mood of the scene in Winter where she... y'know. I think that had to be done given you won't have the personal feeling of scrambling around - if the viewer doesn't get catharsis from active participation, it has to be built in another way

[@rellyWrotethat]

i knew this was in great hands soon as i learned craig maizin was behind the pen

[@TheMarine316]

Whenever I hear someone say “they’re nervous about a game being adapted” I can’t help but RME, as if their life is dependent on a show being as good as the game, even if it sucked you’d be fine… fortunately it’s excellent

[@mrarcade2504]

Haven't had time to see the episode yet. But so looking forward to it

[@KhaoticPhoenix]

Video idea: favourite Single line of dialogue from any medium...

[@jellyboy3303]

Can't wait for ep2 tmrrw

[@MFT9170]

Maybe it's just child nostalgy but I really liked Prince of Persia. Maybe if I compared it to the game story, I would find it unstatisfying, but as a standalone piece not taken too seriously I enjoyed it.

[@Villainz]

Wholeheartedly agree with this!! Great video man!!

[@albaheadtheovertross]

I have a bunch of thoughts to sort through about critical analysis of this show; it's great so far for the reasons you'd expect if you know the game, but that raises questions about audience expectations, the respective strengths of each medium, and the intersection of hype, content creation, and criticism based on a single episode. I don't begrudge anyone their interest in performing or consuming such analysis, I just think the meta side of it is more interesting at this particular stage. On the show itself and what's presented here, I like the observation of Sarah as initial protagonist. It would have felt cheap if she was dispatched as quickly as in the game.

[@lightningmonky7674]

Fantastic editing! 🔥💯

[@Sinjinja]

It's still very early, but the first episode was very good for people familiar with it and I'm pretty sure for people new to it as well. All of the changes they made all seem to make sense for the purposes of pacing and practicality. I don't know how I feel about the removal of miasma factors in, as I genuinely consider that a big part of the horror of the world.

[@loganwelty7094]

Excellent breakdown mate

[@ChildlikeMan]

Still contend that the original 1995 Mortal Kombat is unironically great

[@bamrainey]

Absolutely agree. I honestly always thought that everybody has a consensus about first movie being the greatest game adaptation ever until I saw this video. I mean, what is so bad about the first movie? Considering the source material is not exactly a storytelling masterpiece. So I think they did an awesome job with what they had.

[@ChildlikeMan]

@Bam Rainey I agree, it perfectly captures the atmosphere and the fun, dark vibe of the original games

[@ihaveaname699]

I think it's really interesting how you mentioned Sarah being the main character for the first half of the episode. I don't have a PlayStation, but most of my interest was because I play video games, and...... also, I skimmed the Wikipedia page. So I spent most of it waiting nervously for Sarah to kick the bucket and the infected to take over. But my mum didn't know any of that, I guess, so she was really upset when Sarah died. Like, actually wanted to know why they'd killed her, I guess. And that was baffling to me, but I think I get why now! It's really interesting how they literally make her the protagonist for a bit to emulate playing as her, that's absolutely genius and I can't wait for episode 2 honestly

[@王征服]

On the topic of your next vid, would you be willing to comment on the "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" show? I'd love to hear your thoughts and analysis on it.

[@Mic-Mak]

Excellent video essay as always. I agree that the show made a lot of good decisions, and in my opinion, the opening scene was by far the strongest. It's what gripped me. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by the rest. I know I'm in the minority, and it's very hard to criticize this show without being associated with the toxic fandom. That said, none of the pivotal moment from the game that we saw in the pilot hit me emotionally. And I've never even played the games. I've just watched a ton of playthroughs. That's how much I love this story. I'm gonna keep watching, of course, but so far, it's just ok for me.

[@DarthBiomech]

It might be a pretty petty nitpick, but I don't like how they removed the "but sir, there's a little girl..." line from the soldier. I dunno, it just didn't felt right that this guy from TV show didn't even tried to object, and was just "yes sir, yes sir". But on the other hand, considering that _this_ is the issue I have with these series, damn, is it possible? Are we finally witnessing a GOOD live action videogame adaptation? I hope this show won't get GoT'ed.

[@karolchruzik1919]

As far as TV adaptations go triple A games that pretend to be interactive movies is safest bet out of the pool. Impressive they still look for ways to reinvent the story when game even gives you good camera shoots.

[@mathiaskolding3241]

I agree!

[@lei6786]

I think I'm the only one who thinks that the videogame version is far superior and better than the television version 😅

[@F2t0ny]

The original Mortal Kombat movie was GOOD

[@tOPjon1]

I want "dislike" counts to come back. I'd say I also want "freedom of expression" to come back as well, but it's likely only you and I, and those paying the bills with my wallet, know that was always an illusion.

[@Sushiphu]

Personally I'm waiting until this season to be done before watching, the showrunners have already said they've made several deviations. If I've learned anything from the last of us part 2 Druckmann knows exactly what we want and rather then give it to us he'd sooner use it as vehicle to sell his "genius".

[@dragonstouch1042]

I mean, they could be pushing to make the ending more gray. I mean, given the portrayal of the Fireflies, I don’t really trust them at the moment

[@Sushiphu]

@@dragonstouch1042 there's that, but even just from the trailers it seems there will be a lot of side characters added instead of relying on just Joel and Ellie. I've heard that some of these are going to be based off of notes that were found in game which could go either way. So I'm just more wait-and-see than hyped right now.

[@Sushiphu]

@@karakurie Like I said I'm still being cautious. neither Neil or Craig were the original story creators and it their decision to remove the spore element makes me all the more concerned that they dont have a great grasp of what set TLOU apart from something like The Walking Dead. Not to mention I'm assuming they'd also be adapting the story of TLOUp2 if the show get's any longevity, but it is what it is. I'm happy people are enjoying it, I think I'm just a little burned out.

[@Rocksteady72a]

The opening scene was really smart in picking and choosing from the game what could work in a TV medium and what could be expanded upon. Honestly, my only reservation about the show is how unlikeable this version of Ellie is (except for the radio scene, which I really liked). In the game, she has a notable sense of wonder and charm, but ofc with the cursing and such. But the show seems to only take that surface level impression of "oh, she's that kid that curses and stuff" and forgot to convert the other defining characteristics of her that made Joel and the audience connect to her.

[@suto5704]

A Peacemaker video would be cool if that's something you're interested in doing

[@thenoteworthy1298]

Every time I see Sarah die (and I’ve seen it a lot, once on the original version for PS3, at least twice on the remaster, once on a playthrough of the remake), it tears me to shreds over and over.

[@briancs9771]

Confetti 412 at global supine or harbinger the cloth bear is not.

[@katienichole6905]

Every second we got that wasn't in the games strikes me as something that could have been. Based on trailers, I feel like we're getting some time in Oklahoma, something I think I heard they did want to get into the game but had to cut (do not quote me I am not 100% on it). Point stands all the same! Whatever is added, I feel like it was either carefully planned or storylines that never made it into the game but were certainly in it's early drafts.

[@jadonberg9364]

It seems like we're marking a shift in video game adaptations. This is the third good one (that I've seen) just in the last two years.

[@TalkForALiving]

This was an enjoyable review. Can you review the Fallout tv show next?

[@gaiusfulmen]

"Literally all of them".

[@titoleon3101]

The Last of Us was always a movie that interrupted itself to let you shoot at things between scenes, so adapting it was never a big challenge.

[@sato9293]

I think that is an oversimplification. I am not an expert writer but what we usually take for granted in videogames such as gameplay, progression and exposure vary significantly in a tv show. The writers still need to pull the plot to fill up the gaps.

[@zionleach3001]

I actually might want to watch this.

[@originaozz]

Now I would really love your take on Chernobyl from the same creator. That was what sold the adaptation for me.

[@savagebooks7482]

I have a video on Chernobyl! Check out my video list.

[@Zsinj3]

I know that it isn't and wasn't some masterful piece of art, but to me at least the Prince of Persia movie did what it intended to do: make a funny summer action flick with two charismatic lead actors. Is it a great story? No. Was it a fun two hours? Yes. The big difference becomes what the art of the source material was. Prince of Persia has never been a game series about deep introspection or revelatory philosophic discussions, it's an action game where you mess with time. The Last of Us on the other hand began its life as a story that became a game, and it is treated like a story you partake in rather than a game you play. Where the Walking Dead cartoon games try to make you part of a story but seem to fall a bit short, the Last of Us makes you feel the story in a way very few games have even approached before. Watching the behind the scenes for the original game's mocap you find out that the actor for Joel had a genuinely hard time filming the loss of Sarah as a father himself. His struggle comes through and anchors you emotionally to the character so that as you escort and get to know Ellie you're drawn into the eventual conclusion of the first game naturally and almost desperately. Because of this difference and this weight I was also worried when the show was first announced and gradually eased into excitement as the cast and director were revealed. HBO seems to have understood that the Last of Us may have been presented as a video game, but that its draw and heart was in the story it told and have taken seriously the translation of that onto the live action screen. I look forward to more episodes and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey's performances.

[@jacqueshardin4601]

I have a suggestion for a book coming in February. Amygdala by Sam Fennah is something I have been looking forward to since I first discovered his channel. Go check out the animatics and book trailer, I think you will be intrigued.

[@rugby681]

This is a great analysis of the show. However, I disagree that we get to know Sarah as a person in the show anymore than the game. Yes we follow her for longer, but we don’t really learn anything about her personality, or her wants and desires. At least nothing that isn’t centered around Joel.

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Hm, how very interesting, I hope it continues to do well.

[@TiMoThY211991]

Totally agree with you about this being a great adaptation! One particular show that was based off a Video Game world that was absolutely Not a soulless cash grab that you didn't mention, though, is Arcane. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP. You will not regret it! Granted, though, it is a very different type of adaptation, as that game is not story based like the Last of Us is.

[@AralucarD]

Alright HBO. Your next project: RED DEAD REDEMPTION.

[@savagebooks7482]

Oh lord lets let them handle one industry defining game at a time haha

[@revivalakame]

NEVER eat anything someone try’s to give you

[@JamesonHuddle]

I'd be careful with that new years resolution, some of us are assholes ;P Thanks for telling me about the show, I guess I have to watch it at some point now.

[@savagebooks7482]

Aren't we all at heart haha

[@TheMobsta602]

u said everything I couldnt say

[@elbryan9]

Thanks to Hollywood's well established track record of piss-poor videogame to movie adaptation's over the decades, I was pretty apprehensive even though TLoU has what would seem like a pretty easy storyline to adapt to film. But the same thing could be said for the Resident Evil series and look how that turned out. But so far, I'm pretty happy with it. I got a few nitpicks here and there, but so far so good.

[@Bori.1776]

It’s one episode and people are already coming to conclusions.

[@tb543]

First , great content ..💯💯 , keep up the great work

[@Caleb_adrian]

I loved every moment of the episode to a point where the 1hr 20 min run time flew by. Sarah's death felt twice as painful in the show. My only complaint is how the acting was done revealing Ellie's immunity...it felt kinda inorganic for some reason. I think I just expected it to be a bigger moment in the episode.

[@raydiabolico]

Flatfaced Pittbull playing Ellie, yeeeee

[@jaredbraun3993]

I'm still on the fence

[@vidvaaninsaan1503]

How do you get the movie clips? The show movie clip that you are showing?

[@TheKeyser94]

It funny that non of this channels is touching the elephant in the room. What HBO would do when they reach to the second game? Also, how you can fail to adapt a game that is practically a movie itself? It would be all good and dandy when they finish the first game, but the fun begins when they have to adapt the second game, if they would touch it at all.

[@RubenGarcia-pt8tp]

Can someone tell me if this video has spoilers? Thanks

[@ivanvelazquez1783]

Before I even watch the video let me just say calm down mate we’re only one episode in and it was an ok episode 😅😂

[@UndergroundRose]

Just curious, what is "Genuine art"?

[@futseb]

Seems like the entire industry just realized that video games had really good stories to tell and it was time to do them honor. For decades, video game adaptations have been trash. Now with two writing masterpieces of writing that are Arcane and this show, things must have changed. There is a Fallout TV show on production. I really hope they won't screw this one up.

[@mannythegrandfather2291]

Please, give us a review of Puss in Boots 2 as well!!

[@angellover02171]

The Last of Us and it's sequel would be a great book if it was written but it's a video game and now a show.

[@adrianabalbuena2682]

Neil Druckmann is a genius in every sense of the way ❤

[@SayMy_User_Name]

I find it extremely odd that people r praising this adaptation like it’s some amazing feat.. like what adaptation bro? The game might as well be a movie, all they have to do is copy it lol there’s nothing to adapt .. I’m not saying the show is bad, in fact I think it’s pretty decent, but it’s not the most difficult thing to take a story that’s already been told with cut scenes with dialogue and just translate it to a tv show .. it’s completely diffeeent trying to adapt a friggin super Mario bros or sonic game into a damn movie than it is to take an already fleshed out video game story n just turn it into a tv show lol

[@savagebooks7482]

Adaptations across any genre are innately difficult. The Last of Us was a good choice because of how story driven it is, but the game's appeal is also super combat heavy and the show just couldn't do that. So it had to create an entirely new medium to keep an audience engaged between sections of plot-heavy info. It really is a lot harder than it seems.

[@felicitys3621]

I LOVED the first episode and I can’t wait for the next few episodes. Also I was wondering what your thoughts on Andor were and what you liked about it?

[@ricey23]

episode 1 was great, I'm holding off excellent until I've watched the season and definitely holding off perfect until I've seen the show to it's conclusion.

[@codemanthe2nd343]

👍

[@jlburilov]

This time I disagree with your analysis.. I think the dynamic between Jole and Tommy is chaged and it changes Jole motivations and charecter. Same with him killing that soldier. In the game he is so cold, so checked out and buried deep inside himself... That killing is done out of necessity and practicality. Its even when Tess dies, he grinds on... And through time he's anger at Ellie and the world melts away and he becomes to care for Ellie like he did for Sarah. Because she is what he has left. He even goes so far to seek out his brother who he has basically written off. Its not in my oppinion a necessary change or a good one, how ever it is an adaptation.

[@GarthVonMaraner]

Not a perfect adaptation - Joel didn't die as much as he did in my playthroughs. 😅

[@DanielVargas-tn9fn]

Too early for you to make this statement. I'll have to see at least the first season.