This year, we were finally blessed with a live-action show on the global hit PlayStation game, The Last of Us created by Naughty Dog. The game was so good that it was initially released on the PlayStation 3, remastered for the PlayStation 4, and further enhanced for the PlayStation 5 under the name The Last of Us Part I. Honestly, when the game has been performing so well even today, how could it not make sense to create a show out of the game.
Coming back to The Last of Us, even though they tried making the show as close to the game as possible, there were still some things they changed so that they could make things a little different than the games. Here are some things that we noticed they had changed from the game to create the show (WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD):
We Get to See More of Sarah at the Start
For those who have played the game, you would be aware of Sarah’s character. Joel is a single parent who lives with his daughter Sarah. In the game when the outbreak happens, we see a bit of Sarah and she is killed right at the start of the game, which comes as a shock every time you play the game because of how saddening the whole sequence is.
However, in the show, it is even more heartbreaking since we get to see a day in Sarah’s life and how loving she is as a person. This makes us bond a little with the character and while she dies in a very similar way to the game, it is a little more heartbreaking since we get to see Sarah more closely in the show than in the game.
Tess Dies a Bit Differently than She Does in the Game
In the game, as Tess and Joel smuggle Ellie they come across FEDRA agents that end up killing Tess as she sacrifices herself for Joel and Ellie. It was without a doubt a superheroic moment for Tess. However, things are a bit different in the show as the three of them are attacked by a horde of infected that they cannot fend against. One of the infected tries “kissing” Tess so that she’d be infected too, which is something new in the show and wasn’t in the game. Tess, however, blows up the building to kill the entire horde, which includes herself as well.
The Story of Bill
In the game, Joel and Ellie make their way to Bill who is an associate of Joel’s so that they could take a car from him and some supplies for a continuation of their journey. It is subtly implied that Bill is gay and that he had a “partner” called Frank who eventually killed himself. However, in the show things are a lot different as Bill and Frank are very explicitly shown to be lovers, and how they live in a secluded town. By the time Joel and Ellie reach Bill’s town, Bill is already dead but in the game, he helps Joel fight against the infected, gives them supplies, and helps them with a car too.
The Addition of Kathleen and the Altered Traits of Henry and Sam
The town of Pittsburgh is replaced with Kansas City in the show and while the hunters remain constant, there is a new addition of their leader who is a woman called Kathleen. In the show, Henry and Sam make their way to Joel and Ellie while they are sleeping while in the game Joel and Ellie run into them. In the show, Sam is deaf while in the game he is not. However, the fate of Sam remains the same in the show and the game as he is infected and killed by his brother Henry, who also kills himself too.
Joel’s Almost-Lethal Injury and Ellie’s Interaction with David
As Joel and Ellie are making their way out of Eastern Colorado University, Joel is severely injured. In the game, he is impaled by a metal rod as he takes a fall but in the show, he is wounded by a raider. In both the show and the game, Ellie takes care of Joel and while she is out looking for food, she interacts with David, a religious cult leader who tells Ellie about his men who were killed by Joel at the University. David also happens to be a cannibal and he tries killing Ellie but in both the show and the game, Ellie aggressively kills David.
In the game, Ellie is pulled away from Joel who still sees Ellie as a little girl and tries to keep her away from violence but in the show; Ellie kills David and walks out of the burning building where she runs into Joel who is there to save her. This creates a sense of independence for Ellie (maybe development for season 2, who knows?).
Wrapping Up
These some things that they changed in the show but regardless, the show is still a good watch. Now we cannot wait for season 2 where we might get to see the Ellie-Abby story arc and who knows what they change for that season too!
