TL;DR – It is time to find out what is happening in Seattle … and it is messy, to say the least.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Last of Us Review –

In cinema, while the word ‘physicality’ gets thrown around a lot, what it means is a tangible sense that you believe what you see. Does an actor have the presence to make their performance believable? Does a place feel real, or is it coming off as a paper veneer? Well, today, we get some good examples of how The Last of Us uses physicality to make its world work.    

So, to set the scene, eleven years ago, FEDRA ruled Seattle with a hard fist, so much so that they have dehumanised the local population. Few believed this was an issue, but Isaac Dixon (Jeffrey Wright). In the world of now, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) have just made it into the city to find no signs of life but a lot of dead FEDRA corpses around. But there is hope. In the distance, there is a large dish brandished with the WLF, and they realise they are in the right place for their revenge. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Today, I want to start my review by championing all the artists that work on this show: the set designers, the prop masters, the costumers, and the visual effects. Every single member of those teams works to make this show as immersive as it is. We had several big set-piece moments this week in the TV Studio and the Subway, and never did I feel like they were acting on a green screen. The spaces felt real and tangible, like the layers of decay that had been there for decades. Those flares don’t work unless they have a tangible space to play off, nor did those bodies have the same impact if you added them in post. Even though there are a ton of visual effects here, they have taken the time to make them look seamless. It is because of this that you can have those quiet moments, like the Take On Me, because you can frame it in such a way that the post-apocalypse looks beautiful, something I think I have only seen pulled off successfully in Station Eleven.   

This is also an episode of journeys, which can sometimes take the direction of a circle. Isaac is a fascinating character because we have gotten to see how he was metaphorically born through blood and betrayal. Standing up against the dehumanisation of others. But by the end of the episode, we get to see the cold, calculating torture of a captured prisoner, revealing that he had become the same person that he had fought against all those years ago. We got a hint of this storyline back in Endure and Survive, but that was a one-and-done character. Here, I think we will be spending a long time exploring his fall. We also get to see the journey of Ellie and Dina’s relationship culminating with Ellie revealing she is immune. I am so glad that they have spent some time working on the adaption of Dina’s character because Isabela Merced brings her to life in a way the game just never did for me.

In the end, do we recommend The Last of Us: Day One? Yes, we do. I want to promote it for the production levels alone. But every layer of the story brings you in more, and even when you know what is coming, you can’t help but feel the tension and concern in every moment. Have you seen The Last of Us yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Last of Us
Directed by – Kate Herron
Written by – Craig Mazin
Created by – Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann
Based On – The Last of Us Part II by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross and Naughty Dog
Production/Distribution Companies – Naughty Dog, PlayStation Productions, Sony Pictures Television, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO & Max
Starring – Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced & Yong Mazino with Jeffrey Wright, Alanna Ubach, Josh Peck & Ben Ahlers and Carlos Rodriguez, Jag Bal, Jake Allyn, Ryan Masson & Samuel Hoeksema