For those who’ve performed each The Final of Us video games and are watching together with the present, there’s a reasonably robust likelihood you’ve been ready to see how the HBO sequence approaches a really explicit second — and questioning if that second has been modified in any respect for TV. Properly, it didn’t take too lengthy to search out out.
The second episode of season 2 simply aired, and The Final of Us’ creators made certain to tear the bandage proper off. And never solely did they not tone issues down, they by some means made issues much more intense, whereas additionally utilizing the second as an opportunity to additional broaden this post-apocalyptic world.
Clearly, there shall be spoilers to comply with for The Final of Us, which cowl each the second recreation and the present up via episode 2 of the second season. To be sure to don’t see this pivotal spoiler, right here is one other photograph of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller within the present. Don’t scroll previous him should you don’t need to be spoiled on a significant growth.
Picture: HBO
OK, so, sure, that occurred. The inciting incident in The Final of Us’ second chapter, the one which sends Ellie on a ceaseless and questionable quest for revenge, is Joel’s loss of life by the hands (and golf membership, and shotgun) of Abby. Within the recreation, it was a brutal sequence that concerned watching helplessly because the protagonist of the primary recreation was tortured and murdered, seen via the eyes of his surrogate daughter Ellie, who’s the playable lead in The Final of Us Half II.
That brutality hasn’t been lessened for the HBO present. The truth is, it feels even harsher in reside motion, significantly when Joel is performed by such an enthralling man like Pascal. Functionally, the scene performs out largely the identical because it did in The Final of Half II, as do the moments main as much as it. There are some small adjustments, like how the characters are paired up when issues go down, however the final result is identical. Which is all to say that it’s wince-inducing, filled with blood, screams, and tears.
What the present does add, although, is a completely new storyline, one which manages to ratchet up the depth to an attention-grabbing new diploma. Whereas Joel is being kidnapped and tortured, and an enormous snowstorm is brewing, the present introduces one other wrinkle: a completely gigantic group of contaminated who descend upon Jackson, the comparatively protected city the place Joel and Ellie have been residing.
It provides a brand new layer of desperation to the second, as — previous to realizing he’s been ensnared in a lure — Joel is singularly targeted on racing to get again and assist his neighborhood. The truth is, one of many causes he’s OK partnering up with a stranger like Abby within the first place is the promise of weapons and reinforcements.
Picture: HBO
This new narrative thread is a part of the present’s try to broaden the story of The Final of Us past simply its foremost characters. Within the recreation, gamers noticed issues solely from Ellie’s perspective, so there wasn’t any actual focus in town. However within the present, there are a number of viewpoints and, thus, extra alternatives to flesh out the world. Jackson performs an enormous a part of that; within the episode you see the townsfolk utilizing each software at their disposal to fend off the assault, and the devastation to the city afterwards could be very clear. This addition makes the second really feel bigger than Joel and Ellie, whereas additionally including an additional layer of stress and violence to an already tense and violent scene.
As co-creator Neil Druckmann, a author and director on each the sport and the present, defined to me forward of season 2: “One of many issues we have been capable of do within the present that we couldn’t do a lot of within the recreation was get to know Jackson as a neighborhood, and perceive what’s at stake right here, what are the threats from the skin.”
Sure, the second will probably be an enormous shock for these coming in unaware, because it’s uncommon that such a pivotal character is killed off in a TV present like this. However very like the notorious Crimson Wedding ceremony in Sport of Thrones, for the many individuals who already knew what was coming, they’ll now loosen up and watch the present with out questioning the way it’s going to strategy the loss of life sequence, or if it was going to strategy it in any respect.
Properly, loosen up a bit of — that is nonetheless The Final of Us.