The Last of Us is a new HBO Max show based on the 2013 video game created by the company Naughty Dog. The first episode was released on Jan. 15 and a new episode has been released every Sunday on HBO Max since. The season finale episode “Look for the Light” was released on March 12. The season includes nine episodes total. 

The Last of Us tells the story of Ellie and Joel as they are on their journey across the post-apocalyptic United States. The story takes place in 2023, 20 years after the outbreak of mutant Cordyceps fungus throughout the world, which causes people to turn into zombie-like creatures. When Joel, a survivor of the times, discovers that Ellie, a 14 year-old girl, may be humanity’s last hope at a cure, they begin an expedition across the country encountering many life-threatening dangers along the way. 

While there were multiple recent adaptations of the video game, the HBO Max show was based off of the original game. 

“I think their adaptation takes their own liberties but also stays true to the source material, the original video game,” said Reagan Scott, sophomore. 

The show also does a good job of keeping the plot line moving while fully developing the storyline.

“I think that it had very good pacing,” said Sasha Wolff, sophomore. “There were very hectic scenes followed by heartwarming interactions which is different from the continuous action of many shows like it.”

Students also liked the very humanistic take that the show emphasized. 

“I liked how the creators didn’t turn the show into a stereotypical apocalypse show and make all of the villains zombies,” Scott said. “It’s more realistic that most of them are actual people.” 

While The Last of Us is based on an entirely made up storyline, many of the motifs developed, like deciding between right and wrong and growing relationships, are relatable. 

“I think they did a good job at making a show about a post-apocalyptic time while still having scenes that people can actually relate to,” Wolff said. 

The Last of Us follows an almost nonlinear narrative. The creators take you through Ellie and Joel’s journey but include long flashbacks to previous events that took place before the show’s actual timeline. 

“The back and forth between timelines was something that I really liked because it answered questions that you have about the characters and their development,” said Hannah Preister, senior. 

While the show was well done, the ending seemed to be very anticlimactic for the build up throughout the season. 

“I was kind of hoping for a little more, but I’m also glad that it did not fall into that classic ‘miscommunication’ trope,” Scott said. 

Other viewers of the show agree with this opinion. 

“The ending was just a sort of standstill,” Preister said.“There wasn’t a resolution like I wanted.” 

To watch The Last of Us on HBO Max, click here.