There are rarely any shows which get you hooked on the very first episode. HBO, however, is a master of this craft and constantly deliver strong opening episodes and seasons for their properties. We experienced that with Game of Thrones, Chernobyl, House of the Dragon, and now you can comfortably add The Last of Us to this list. With over 90 minutes of runtime, you’ll never once feel disconnected in this exceptional premiere. It doesn’t matter if you have played games or not, this show is for everyone. So, lets dive deep into our verdict for HBO’s The Last of Us Episode 1 and beware that some major spoilers for the episode follow below!
The Last of Us Episode 1 Review – Trouble Has Begun!
Rating – ★★★★★
If you are thinking it is just another zombie apocalypse show, think again! Although the basic concept might seem familiar, the world presented by this series is a massive one with lots of characters, agendas, motivations, politics, and subplots. In fact, for the majority of the episode, Zombies take the back seat as the viewers are made familiar with what its all about. First of all, the entire idea of Fungus evolving due to global warming is so convincing that you start questioning the reality and that for me is exceptional. Most Zombie related stuff seems dumb and unconvincing but I was sold by this idea in the first few minutes itself!
The opening credits theme failed to impress me but the overall scoring and music in the episode was excellent. Scoring was so well done that the some scenes, especially the entire car chase sequence and the final few moments of the episode will keep you on the edge of the seats. Talking about the car chase and fungus outbreak sequence it will definitely remind viewers of The Quite Place 2. In fact it shares a lot of similarities with it including the tragic death of Joel’s daughter Sarah. Sarah was in the focus for a good 30-35 minutes and that’s why her death becomes all the more heartbreaking. Even if you know the story from games, that scene will end up being a tear jerker due to the exceptional performance by Pedro Pascal as well as Nico Parker.
Talking about Pedro Pascal, you’ll instantly fall this seemingly cold-hearted yet broken man who is trying to make the best of it all 20 years after he lost his daughter. Even though he has been hardened, he still cares for people be it his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) or his lover Tess (Anna Torv). In the first episode, the plot is basically Joel trying to find his brother, which ultimately brings him face to face with Ellie and Marlene towards the final act of the episode. Also, thanks to those Sarah focused first 30 minutes, the ending stance by Joel was all the more impactful. He’s not the same Joel now and he’ll gladly throw himself at people to protect those he cares for.
Now, as for the words like “Fireflies” or “FEDRA” you heard in the episode, all you need to know in simple terms is that FEDRA is the government and Fireflies is a rebel group led by Marlene. What’s up with Ellie you may ask? Well, Ellie as revealed by the ending had been bitten 3 weeks ago, yet wasn’t infected so basically that means Ellie is somehow immune to the fungus, hence she is of importance. As the series progresses, you’ll understand that she is basically what Ciri is in the Witcher universe as everyone will want to use her for different reasons. Now whether Joel ends up being Geralt to her Ciri is yet to be seen. What’s up with the radio in the final scene, you ask? Well, it played the 80’s song “Never Let Me Down Again” which means there’s a lot of TROUBLE ahead. And with our protagonists now out in the dark, that sure as hell is true!
Final Verdict – The glorifying and overwhelmingly positive reviews of the series you heard in the past few weeks are well deserved as this series is exceptional! The characters seem highly interesting, the cinematography is sinisterly beautiful, the vibe of the show is insanely tense and hopeless, and the direction and writing are well done as well. If this continues, it might end up being one of the best shows ever made and we expected nothing less from the creators of Chernobyl.
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