Finally, we come to the season finale of The Last of Us, season 1. Since starting our breakdowns, we have been excited about this very conversation. Would viewers of the show be challenged with the ending as much as the game challenged audiences over a decade ago? Would audiences be given enough to connect with to feel for Joel's position in the story? Ultimately, the story of The Last of Us boils down to this last episode. It asks audiences what they would do if this were their life and the life of someone they have come to care about. So much moral ambiguity makes this season finale one of the best and remains hotly debated. So in closing, does the show do the game justice, and what is your feeling on the actions Joel takes?

Read More

Today's podcast continues our breakdown of The Last of Us on HBO with episodes seven and eight. Episode seven dives into more of Ellie's past and gives the audience a view of what Ellie said when it wasn't the first time she had used a gun. Living in this world is harsh for even the youngest people. There isn't much hope to spare. Picking up with episode 8 drops us right back into the urgency of Joel's condition. Episode 8 feels pivotal in many ways. The first gives us a face to evil in the show that quickly captures the audience. Also, giving Ellie the challenge of her life; can she survive without Joel? But not without Ellie being traumatized dramatically by the experience. While the audience is led to believe Joel will make a heroic rescue, we don't get that exactly, but Joel saves Ellie's soul right when she's about to fall over the edge.

Read More

Today's podcast continues our breakdown of The Last of Us on HBO with episode six. Episode six continues the journey of Ellie and Joel, but they have moved much further west with a time jump of three months. We find them in the snowy mountains as they are nearing where Tommy's last location. Ellie and Joel are stopped on the road by a group of people with horses, but they are not immediately hostile. They are brought to the town of Jackson, a safe haven community that seems more self-sufficient and free than FEDRA or the Fireflies have shown was possible thus far. Tommy is found living among them, better off than Joel thought possible. Without the goal to save his brother, Joel begins to doubt he can see the mission through to get Ellie to the Fireflies and asks Tommy to complete the journey. Joel is confronted with self-doubt but doesn't give Ellie a choice of who should finish the journey until near the end of the episode, and we see a massive shift in trust between them as they set back out on their journey. The episode concludes with Joel being injured by scavengers leaving Ellie alone to fend for herself and attempt to save Joel's life.

Read More

Today's podcast continues our breakdown of The Last of Us on HBO with episode five. Episode five continues by giving us the backstory on Sam and Henry shortly after the FEDRA are overthrown in the city. From that, we catch up to the present, where the previous episode left off with Joel and Ellie. From there, we are given more information on Kathleen and the group. Much of our contention in this episode was how convincing the motivations of Kathleen were. The episode's climax is the confrontation from Kathleen's group as they catch up with Joel and the crew and attempt to flee the city. Everything erupts in chaos, with the infected being released from underground. We had some minor issues with how the lead-up to the climax was presented. All of our problems aside, the core of this episode was the emotional story between Sam and Henry. They were presented as a possible future of how Ellie and Joel may one day end up. This point is driven home in the closing scene as the group doesn't escape unscathed. The big question in this episode is would you want to continue living after losing the one you care about most?

Read More

Today's podcast continues our breakdown of The Last of Us on HBO with episode three. Episode three is, so far, the most significant departure from what those familiar with the game will see. While Joel and Ellie are still featured in the episode, we mostly follow the lives of two other survivors, Bill and Frank. Instead of facing the grim reality that the end of the world has in store for our characters, we face a different story. Can you still find love, keep your humanity and protect someone when it would be easier just to be alone?

Read More