It’s finally here! HBO has adapted everyone’s favorite lesbian video game for screen. At a whopping one hour and twenty minutes long, episode one takes the time to recreate key scenes while building something new. Let’s break it down.
The Last of Us opens with a scientific panel discussion. Experts talk about the dangers of cordyceps: “A fungus that seeks not to kill, but to control the host.” The nervous TV host asks if cordyceps will ever take over human beings like it does insects. And the scientist says no – that the conditions aren’t right. But if the earth got warmer, it would be possible. And humanity wouldn’t stand a chance.
Fast forward to 2003. Dubya is President. Dido’s on the radio. And global warming is taking hold of the planet…
Like the game, our first real glimpse of the world comes from Sarah Miller’s eyes. Sarah is a young teen girl on a quest to make her dad’s birthday special. She cooks him pancakes complete with eggshell and schools him on geography when the news reports explosions in Indonesia. And breakfast is a snapshot of Sarah’s family life. She’s being raised by Joel, a single dad struggling to keep his construction business afloat, and her Uncle Tommy, who still has some growing up to do.
Though they have places to be, the Millers stop to talk to their elderly neighbors while Mr. Adler feeds his frail wife biscuits. Sarah’s a sweet kid as well as a smart and a t one – she promises to visit her elderly neighbors after school. As Joel pulls out of the driveway, a bumper sticker reveals he’s a Gulf War veteran.
After school, Sarah takes the bus downtown. Though she’s disturbed by the police cars and fire trucks screaming past, our girl is on a mission. She goes into a repair shop to have Joel’s watch fixed. The clocks ticking on the walls have obvious symbolism: time is running out. As more warnings are issued on the radio, the shop closes early, and Sarah hurries home.
She sits with wheelchair-bound Mrs Adler and does her homework while their home help bakes. But Sarah turns down the offer of a bun, because her dad promised to get birthday cake. She borrows a DVD to watch with him – Curtis and Viper 2, our first Easter Egg! – and behind her Mrs Adler twitches. Oblivious, Sarah heads home, watching military jets speed past overhead.
Joel is late home after a job went wrong, and he forgets the cake. But he’s delighted with the watch, which Sarah jokes she paid for by selling hard drugs. She falls asleep during the film. Joel gets a call from Tommy, who needs bailed out of jail again, and puts Sarah to bed.
An explosion wakes her up in the middle of the night. A terrified Sarah searches for her dad. The house is empty, and the neighbor’s dog barks at her door. Though the TV warns people to stay indoors, Sarah tries to take Mercy home, but the dog runs away – and the Adler’s door is already open. Sarah slips in a pool of blood in the kitchen, and spots Mr Adler clutching a bloody wound on his neck.
Behind the kitchen counter, Mrs Adler feasts on her home help nurse. Sarah runs. And Mrs Adler follows with deadly speed. Joel arrives just in time and kills Mrs Adler with a tire iron. He bundles a shellshocked Sarah into the truck with Tommy. Already the infected swarm the streets.
Tommy suggests they stop for other survivors who have a kid. But Joel shuts him down with no hesitation: he wants to protect Sarah at all costs.
The Millers run into a traffic jam as mass panic takes hold. Burning debris from a falling plane hits the truck, and they crash. Their plan of escaping to Mexico proves short-lived. Just like Sarah. (I’m sorry.) Joel carries her from the wreck, only to be held at gunpoint by a soldier, who is ordered to kill them both. Joel runs – but not before Sarah is shot. Tommy arrives in time to save Joel. But Sarah dies in her father’s arms. And Joel is a broken man.
Fast forward again, into the present day, and a young child approaches the ruins of Boston. FEDRA soldiers man the checkpoint and bring him into the Quarantine Zone, tied to a wheelchair. Posters warn that coughing, slurred speech, muscle spasms, and mood changes are all signs of infection. Though the boy shows no symptoms, the soldiers test him. And the machine flashes red. A soldier spins a fairy tale of food and toys while her colleague gives the boy a lethal injection.
The soldiers send truckloads of bodies to be burned. Joel dumps the boy on a fire pit and goes to collect his ration coupons, along with a new work assignment. But Joel has a job FEDRA didn’t approve. He sneaks away from a public hanging to sell drugs to a guard, who warns Joel to stay indoors for the next few days – FEDRA are cracking down on the Fireflies.
Joel’s business partner Tess finds herself in a tight corner, held captive by rival crook Robert until a Firefly bomb frees her. But Tess is in even deeper trouble when FEDRA soldiers take her for a terrorist.
Finally we get our first look at Ellie, a teenage girl with Converse-clad feet chained to the radiator in a Firefly hideout. Fireflies test her regularly for signs of infection, but there are none. Ellie is foul-mouthed and full of attitude.
Meanwhile Joel trades contraband for information about Tommy, who has gone missing. He’s warned that “there are worse things than infected out there.” But Joel goes home to plan a path to his brother, mixing booze and pills until he passes out. Tess climbs into bed beside him, bruised and beaten. But in the morning she’s determined to retrieve the battery Robert stole, which Joel needs for a vehicle to rescue Tommy.
Marlene, leader of the Fireflies, returns to the hideout. She’s every bit as tough as FEDRA, but with one key difference: Marlene wants to restore democracy and rebuild society. She dangles hope in front of her followers, in the shape of Ellie.
Marlene visits her prisoner, revealing that she kept the Fireflies from shooting Ellie – and has been watching over her since she was a baby. Ellie accuses her of being a terrorist, but drops it when Marlene mentions Riley. She tells Ellie “You have a greater purpose than any of us could have imagined.”
Joel and Tess go on a hardcore revenge mission, but Robert is already dead, shot by Fireflies. Marlene was wounded in the fight. She convinces Joel and Tess to take Ellie to a Firefly meeting point in exchange for the battery, plus lots of loot.
Joel and Tess take Ellie back to their apartment, where she cracks their radio code in a minute: ‘60s songs for nothing, ‘70s songs for something to trade, ‘80s songs for trouble. She’s a quick thinker with a smart mouth – which gets on Joel’s nerves. Ellie points out that his watch is broken, though Joel continues to wear it.
At night the trio escape Boston QZ. Ellie, who has never been outside FEDRA walls, is in awe. But FEDRA soldiers patrol the area, and they’re caught out of bounds. Ellie panics when a soldier tests them all, stabbing him in the leg. And when he raises his gun to retaliate, Joel has a flashback.
Triggered, Joel beats the soldier to death while a shocked Ellie watches – and Tess discovers her positive test. Ellie swears her bite is 3 weeks old – longer than anyone has ever survived without turning. In the distance infected scream. They flee from incoming soldiers while Joel’s radio crackles to life with ‘80s classic “Take On Me.”
