There are a number of directions that HBO's upcoming The Last of Us TV series can go. Stuff like the death of Joel’s daughter, his relationship with Ellie, and several other things are obviously going to be adapted, but there are features and storylines from the games that need to be brought forward as well.
Then again, some of the negative reception of The Last of Us Part II wasn’t unwarranted, meaning certain things need to be dropped in order to avoid alienating fans. There are also things that just don’t translate well from the zombie apocalypse in the gaming world to live-action.
10 Adapt: Joel's Villainous Turn
It wouldn’t be The Last of Us if the characters’ morality wasn’t skewed and this was the moment when it was confirmed that Joel was by no means a good guy. After killing all the men that were guarding Ellie for the surgery that would have ended her life but created a cure, Joel came across Marlene.
He then proceeded to kill Marlene in cold blood despite her pleas for mercy. This needs to be adapted in order for the TV series to have that big moment of impact in which the hero turns out to have been the villain. It’ll be fascinating to see how Pedro Pascal can portray this aspect of Joel.
9 Drop: Characters' Overpowered Abilities
Among Joel's traits and mannerisms is the most glaring flaw of him being overpowered. He’s not the only one as just about every protagonist is this way in the games. This needs to be done away with for the show since it’s just not believable.
It would also be better for the series to be more grounded, meaning fewer enemies for the protagonists to fight in order to avoid things from becoming too outlandish. The games had Joel take down several men at the same time, many of whom were a good two decades younger than him, and this prove laughable in a live-action adaptation.
8 Adapt: The Nomadic Status Of The Protagonists
It would be a letdown if the TV series decides to focus on a survivor community over Joel and Ellie's journey. The first game saw the duo as nomads, surviving their way to find the Fireflies, and there’s no doubt that fans are excited to see this play out.
It also won’t come across as a genuine father-daughter dynamic between the two if they're always around other people, so Ellie and Joel being on the road is absolutely paramount for the show to adapt.
7 Drop: The Theme Of Hate
This is what The Last of Us Part II was based on, with Ellie going on a rampage of revenge in order to get back at Abby for killing Joel. However, it made sense in the games due to the long gap between releases but won’t likely translate well for a TV show.
Since the characters will be seen frequently, it won’t be consistent if the theme of hate suddenly comes into the picture. This is especially true considering the original storyline has the theme of love, meaning the tonal shift will be too blatant and won’t align with where the series started.
6 Adapt: The Subplots Within The Notes Found In Gameplay
While fans have been excited about the prospect of their favorite storylines being adapted, an underrated aspect of the first game was Joel’s discovery of many notes found within the environment. These would be leftover messages detailing the misadventures of former survivors.
Joel would comment on how tragic or horrifying the experiences of these people had been, which went a long way in establishing the reality of the zombie apocalypse. In the same vein, the TV series will benefit from showing these subplots play out as a way of keeping viewers invested even in the little things.
5 Drop: The Manner Of Joel's Demise
Joel's death remains a sour storyline for fans even though it was the basis for The Last of Us Part II. If the TV series does adapt the second game’s events, there’s no chance that Joel will survive since there isn’t any way around it.
What it can drop is the manner of Joel’s demise seeing as the less-than-stellar way with which he went out is the biggest complaint from fans. Joel was unceremoniously beaten to death and following Pedro Pascal’s version all the way until this point just to see him go out this way won’t fly well with TV viewers either.
4 Adapt: The Brutality Of The Apocalypse
The benefit of the TV series being on HBO is that it can be as genuine as possible. Certain shows like The Walking Dead have been accused of toning the gore down even though it doesn’t make sense and The Last of Us has to avoid that.
It should be easy if the series plays it straight to the source material and wholly depicts the brutality of the world. This should include the violent ways the characters survive, which is necessary to establish how anyone can die in this new normal.
3 Drop: The Evolution Of Zombies
It’s difficult not to fall prey to the tired tropes of the genre in a zombie story and one of them for The Last of Us is presenting new monsters that have evolved. This is only passable for a video game since it ties into gameplay but won’t feel authentic on a visual basis.
The zombies should be presented straightaway as a particular breed and remain so during the course of the series. Even in the games, the zombie evolution came across as tacked-on for the sake of the challenge, so something similar won’t be very exciting for the TV series.
2 Adapt: Multiple Points Of View
The second game brought the unique storytelling style of two protagonists, both of whom had their separate backstories and supporting characters. This will be a good aspect to adapt for the TV series as it will allow the rest of the characters to have more personality.
It would also go a long way in making viewers care about others onscreen rather than just the main characters. Another way the series can be creative with this is by showing the points of view of multiple characters instead of simply Joel or Ellie. This way, viewers will be able to see both sides of the story.
1 Drop: The Sad Ending
The ending of The Last of Us Part II saw Ellie left all alone after Dina departed and she was left mourning the loss of Joel. This would be a very grim way to end the TV series and will even take away fans’ closure since it’s too ambiguous.
Furthermore, after seeing all the twists and turns in an already bleak story, an ending that doesn’t give the main characters any real payoff just doesn’t seem like something viewers will enjoy. For this reason, the games’ conclusion needs to be discarded in favor of one that will leave room for some positivity.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3tNXobi
0 Comments