Warning: Spoilers ahead
The smash-hit adaptation of a popular video game series has scored a second season, just as its third episode debuted to widespread acclaim.
The Last of Us, based on the critically acclaimed PlayStation game of the same name, premiered to rave reviews this month from fans and critics alike.
The post-apocalyptic show has been praised for sticking to its source material, but it has also been lauded for making some narrative changes – usually fraught territory for any adaptation – in its third episode Long Long Time, which became available to stream in Australia on Monday.
Long Long Time took a detour from the high-stakes drama of the show’s main storyline to depict a decades-long love story between characters portrayed by Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman and Aussie actor Murray Bartlett.
Even though the storyline was only hinted at in the games, both critics and hardcore fans have been heaping praise on the episode, which seems on track to gain a whole fandom of its own.
The performances by Offerman and Bartlett in particular have been applauded, with fans taking to social media to sing the praises of the actors in the tear-jerking episode.
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Both Offerman and Bartlett have commended the episode’s theme of living for hope and love.
“One of the key phrases in the show is, ‘When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light’. And I think we all knew with this extraordinary script that this episode is getting to the heart of that,” Bartlett told news.com.au.
Bartlett was the first choice to play Frank, a character who stumbles onto survivalist Bill’s (Offerman) compound in the midst of a fungus-ridden post-apocalypse – just another feather in the cap for the Australian who has enjoyed roles in some of Hollywood’s biggest shows, including Sex and the City and The White Lotus.
Future of The Last of Us revealed
Further appearances of Frank and Bill are unlikely given the characters’ death at the end of Long Long Time, but the future of The Last of Us appears strong, with the show’s renewal for a second season announced on Saturday.
“I’m humbled, [honoured], and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” executive producer Neil Druckmann said, following the announcement.
Executive producer Craig Mazin said he was grateful to the “millions of people” who have joined the show on its journey.
“The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
The premiere episode of The Last of Us quickly became HBO’s second-most-watched series debut in a decade, and the cast, which features Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey and Parks and Recreation star Offerman, received particular praise.
While there has been no official confirmation that the main cast will be returning for the second season, Ramsey took to social media alongside fans to celebrate the show’s renewal.
Successfully adapting a series or movie from a video game has proved to be a tough challenge in the past, but helping The Last of Us series along is the heavy involvement of Druckmann, who is also credited as the writer and creator of the namesake PlayStation series.
Druckmann worked with Mazin to move away from the ‘game play’ aspect of the source material and focus on the emotional depths needed to captivate audiences.
“There’s different kinds of emotions you could draw from the player through an interactive space – where they swing the camera to, how they’re approaching the obstacle in front of them,” Druckmann told Variety.
“When you’re playing those sequences, that immersion really makes you connect with the player you’re controlling. Everything is only seen through their perspective. If we were to shoot those sequences as is, they would make for pretty boring action sequences.
“So one of the easiest decisions we made was like to say, ‘Let’s strip all those out. Let’s only have as much violence in this story as is required and no more.’
“That allows the violence to have even more impact when you see it on screen than in the game.”
Following a growing trend being seen with shows released on streaming platforms, The Last of Us episodes are being released for streaming in weekly instalments, and are currently available in Australia on Binge.
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