The Last of Us aired on the HBOs streaming platform in January 2023. The series already gained a lot of good reviews and is acclaimed by critics to be the best adaptation of a video game. With the first two episodes aired, what will the third episode have in store for us? Spoilers ahead, if you haven’t washed the show yet.
The Last of Us season 1
The series is an adaptation of the world-acclaimed video game “The Last of Us” made by the Naughty Dog company. The series is written by Craig Mazin of the “Chernobyl” fame and the games co-creator Neil Druckmann for HBO. The first episode premiered on Jan 15, 2023, on HBO Max and was already well-liked by video game fans and new fans alike. The premier has the second-best views on the platform.
the last of us (2023) pic.twitter.com/cqx3tY75qx
— screencaps (@screenscaps) January 23, 2023
The HBO series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and The Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey as Ellie. The premise is the same as the game. The timeline of the series, however, is a little different from the game. A fungus infects humans turning them into zombies called clickers. The series follows Joel and Ellie as try to make it while surviving in an apocalyptic world.
The Last of Us: Episode 1 and 2 synopsis
Episode 1: “When You’re Lost in the Darkness”
The opening scene is set in the 1960s when a group of scientists is discussing a potential viral fungus epidemic. They are seen debating the likelihood of this infection spreading among humans. This scene is not from the game but written exclusively for the show. It sets the scene for all the very grim events to follow. The rest of the episode follows the prologue of the game.
Time jumps to September 23rd, 2003, on Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) birthday, he sets out for construction work with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). While his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), gets ready to go to school. They are seen joking about how old Joel is getting. In the evening, the show quickly turns violent when we can hear the panic and the noise of something going very wrong in the background.
Joel, his daughter, and his brother try to escape the turmoil by driving out of town. We can see the chaos happening in the backseat of the car from Sarah’s point of view. Then Joel and a wounded Sarah are approached by a soldier on the street. Due to some miscommunication, the soldier shoots Sarah, killing her.
The Last of Us HBO Episode 1 When You’re Lost in The Darkness Synopsis:
“The Miller family's life is turned upside down by a mysterious outbreak in their hometown.” 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/sCtJFbkTmm
— DomTheBomb (@DomTheBombYT) January 15, 2023
Part two of Episode 1
The second half takes place 20 years later in 2023. The premise is set in the post-apocalyptical world. People are hemmed into Quarantine Zones (QZs) in Boston run by Federal Disaster Response Agency (FED and are executed if they try to leave. The cost of living is very high and the conditions in the QZs are getting worse. Fireflies a group of terrorists is trying to break the system from within.
When Tommy fails to contact Joel from Wyoming, Joel and his partner Tess (Anna Torv) set out to find a car battery to ride there. They are double-crossed by the dealer. Later we are introduced to Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the leader of the fireflies. She asks Joel and Tess to smuggle a girl named Ellie in exchange for a ride.
The three get caught and are tested by the soldiers where Ellie tests positive. It is discovered that she is immune to the infection. They escape by killing the soldiers.
Episode 2: “Infected”
Episode 2 opens with a recap of 2003. In Indonesia, a professor in Mycology, Ibu Ratna is brought in by the authorities to investigate a person infected with the cordyceps fungus. The patient got it from a bite on her leg. Upon examining the woman, Ibu notices tendrils in her mouth. She suggests that there is no cure and that we should capture the patient zero who is still out there or bomb the city with everyone in it to avoid a global pandemic.
The scene is cut to Ellie who wakes up and finds Joel and Tess looking at her suspiciously. She tells them there is a firefly station on the west where they are working on a cure and she needs to get there. Joel and Tess find a way out and try to take a shortcut through a museum. They get attacked by a clicker and after fighting it off, the characters try to make it to the state house where fireflies are stationed.
When they make it there, Joel investigates the state house and finds fresh blood indicating the clickers were there. They discover that all the fireflies died after being infected. They are attacked by a clicker and Joel shoots it in the head. Tess stays back while pointing out that she is infected and saying Joel needs to protect Ellie and set everything right. She asks Joel to take Ellie to Bill and Frank’s place. Joel and Ellie make the run, while Tess douses the floor with oil and lights it up when she is surrounded by the clickers.
Episode 2 of THE LAST OF US tallied 5.7 million viewers Sunday night, up 22% from the series debut.
This marks the largest week 2 audience growth for an HBO Original drama series in the history of the network.
Episode 1 is now up to 18 million viewers. pic.twitter.com/qTnPetz1bH
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) January 23, 2023
Episode 3 prediction
Episode 3 “Long Long Time” of The Last of Us is all set to be aired on Jan 29, 2023, 9 pm (ET) / 6 pm (PT). The first episode was a combination of the two chapters from the game – Hometown (chapter 1) and The Quarantine Zone (Chapter 2). The second episode is the adaptation of the third chapter of the game – The outskirts. The show has 9 episodes (since they combined 1&2 chapter for the pilot) and the game has 12. Taking this into consideration, it is safe to say that episode 3 will most probably be the adaptation of the fourth chapter – Bills town, and it may take a few scenes from the fifth chapter – Pittsburg as well.
More The Last of Us predictions:
Spoilers ig if you haven't played the game.Episode 2 is gonna be their journey through Boston and end with Tess' death, maybe them meeting Bill.
Episode 3 will be Bill's town.
Episode 4 will be the Hunters and Pittsburgh.
— bobbybuilder69 (@bobbybuilder691) January 19, 2023
The Last of Us show will definitely add extra information to the series to aid the story and make it stand apart a little from the game. Whatever the scenario, we know for sure after 2 well-received episodes that the TV adaptation will not disappoint us throughout its runtime. As the creators are putting in good efforts for the adaptation.
