“OK”. Maybe that short exclamation point never sounded so meaningful. It contained both the bitterness of a fulfilled prophecy (“Only those whom we trust can betray us”) and the horror of realizing that a death sentence has been signed for humanity, and a steely determination to live together, ignoring all of the above. more. As much as it takes to live. Especially since you can’t change anything.
The first season of The Last of Us came to an end after two months on the air. And Joel’s long journey with him (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) through dead America, full of bloodthirsty mutants and even more bloodthirsty people who have lost their human appearance. A journey that results in the most terrifying choice a person can make: save the world or save a loved one. But the question is, who would want to save such a world if it demands to pay such an unbelievable price for it? I don’t want to answer this question, but deep down the answer is probably known to everyone.
Released ten years ago, the terrifying game “One of Us” told the story of how humanity self-destructs as its fate is at the hands of a completely traumatized father tortured by a fatal accident. The Last of Us series tells how humanity destroyed itself twice. Yes, Joel, who would rather save his adopted daughter than anyone else in the world, is still putting an end to this branch of evolution (those who played the second part of the game know it will pay off in full). But we learn from the foreword that the end of the world did not suddenly happen to us in 2003 – just before that, for decades, no one really heeded the warnings.
This is perhaps the most convincing detail in the entire show. Moreover, hilariously, he glues together both versions of the Russian translation of the title “The End of Us”: the ridiculously official “One of Us” and the correct “End of Us” (which, by the way, is given with Russian subtitles on HBO Max itself). The end is only one of us.
The screensaver, in which the deadly mycelium blooms with ornate flowers, was liked by series creators Craig Mazin for his incredibly beautiful depiction of the devastating fungus. Approximately the same person appears in “some of us”: it is a tumor in the body of the planet, but it is impossible not to fall in love with this tumor. In post-apocalyptic terms, the idea that humans are generally more monstrous than any beast is pretty worn out, but the show doesn’t get too caught up in that and prefers to describe humanity in all its diversity.
The third series, almost entirely devoted to the story of Bill and Frank (the glorious roles of Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett), reminds you that even at the end of the world, you can find happiness and live a quiet life on your own terms. , without losing dignity to the end. Fascist dictators, punitive revolutionaries, and cannibalistic preachers in The Last of Us universe are not far from the (relatively) peaceful settlements that have succeeded in bringing a communist utopia to life. There is no pure – or in any case groundless – evil, they say, “One of us”, everything has its reasons – they do not justify, at least it helps to understand.
All of this was somehow present in the original “The Last of Us”, but due to the immersive nature of the video game setting, the emphasis here has shifted to emotions. The series without gameplay is based on meaning and cannot be missed. In connection with this, it is difficult to say whether not only a cultural phenomenon (everything can be understood only from television ratings), but also an industrial phenomenon (Mazin, comparing the game with Lawrence of Arabia) will emerge from the series. In terms of storytelling, he believes video games will never be the same after the adaptation series. In any case, this is a real gift for fans – all the local roughness is compensated by the brilliant duet of Pascal and Ramsay, at least not inferior to the game prototypes of Joel and Ellie, and in some respects. Maybe they are superior. Besides, as you know, there aren’t many TV shows where Pascal plays a tough mercenary in the care of a boy who melts his heart. this is the way.
What’s next? Besides. The Last of Us has already been renewed for a second season, and Mazin, who also worked closely on the series, and Neil Druckman, the creator of the original game, threatened to delay the adaptation of The Last of Us until 2019. at least a few seasons. Considering that there is no need to wait for the triquel in the coming years (Naughty Dog has already decided on the next project – this is not it), the prospect is pretty bright. The important thing is not to get the Walking Dead virus along the way. A demonstration that becomes a living corpse and then turns into a by-product mycelium is perhaps sufficient.