I came late to The Last of Us. I was vaguely aware of its existence but when I heard the television show was coming I decided to play the game first. I loved the game, and then I loved the show. It’s one of the best seasons of television in any genre, in my opinion.
I generally don’t like horror stuff, but for some reason I really do like zombies. Perhaps I’m imagining how well I would do in an apocalypse, kicking zombie butt all day long (in reality I’d probably be dead in the first few days).
I was a huge fan of The Walking Dead, at least for the first six seasons or so. The first two seasons especially were great. I think it was Glenn’s death which was the turning point for me. After that the show seemed to descend into the same old soap opera every year, too much relationship drama and too little zombie drama going on. I tried the spinoff series but they were mostly the same, with less interesting characters.
So a new series seemed interesting, and like I said, the game was great and the show was too. I would suggest you watch The Last of Us rather than The Walking Dead, if you were going to watch just one.
Weirdly though, I haven’t yet played the sequel. I’m not sure if I’m psyching myself up for it, or if I’m afraid it’s going to go the way of TWD. Perhaps I should stop at just one?
Who am I kidding? I’m going to watch season two so I’m going to play season two first.
What’s it all about?
The world has been overtaken by a fungal infection which turns people into zombies. There are very few people left living in militarized zones, guarded by troops who have basically formed their own militias and bully the people they are supposed to protect.
The story follows Joel, a hardened survivor, and Ellie, a teenage girl who is immune to the infection. Joel’s job is to get Ellie from the Boston area to a lab in Utah, which is trying to develop a vaccine to protect everyone. The adventure across the apocalyptic United States has them run into all kinds of survivors, dealing with them along the way.
The themes of the story
Survival and Sacrifice
This is probably the most obvious theme I’ve ever written. Everyone’s trying to survive. The journey Joel and Ellie take is all about survival. What’s forgotten though is how many people sacrifice for them to make it through, both knowingly and unknowingly.
Hope
Humanity’s capacity for hope is tested again and again. We see it show up in the big story, but also in numerous little ways. There are glimmers of hope here and there, none more so than the episode featuring Bill and Frank, which is a contender for best television episode I’ve ever seen.
Morality
The other theme which flows through the story is the idea of morality. Like so many good stories I’ve talked about before, it is at its best when there are shades of gray. What’s right and wrong when you’re dealing with survival? What about the survival of one versus the survival of many? It shows up again and again in this story.
A Character of Great Interest
I could easily talk about Joel here, but he’s a repeat of so many strong silent characters in fantasy. That’s not a bad thing, in fact it might be the primary feature of fantasy: someone dealing with the tough decisions in a tough way.
No, I’m going to think about Ellie. A young woman who is in many ways alone in the world, even when surrounded by people. She slowly grows in knowledge and trust, obviously and especially with Joel. He becomes a father figure to her, and we finish the season with the two of them bonded together.
This is the same path my character Vedi travels, with the exception of the father figure. She begins her journey alone, meets someone, and grows in trust as the tale develops.
I do want to point out that I wrote Vedi before seeing The Last of Us. In all of these pieces I’m comparing characters, not stealing them. It is interesting to me how many standard characters there are, and how many I have followed. I don’t mean to say my writing is generic, but perhaps how influential the things I’ve read have been on me. And their own influences probably are the same way.
What to Read Next
The Walking Dead: Double recommendation here because there’s both the tv series, which was great in the early days, and the video game series, which I’ve never played. I wonder if it might have the same impact as The Last of Us?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy: Here’s a book for you. Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, The Road explores themes of survival, fatherhood, and the enduring bond between parent and child. Talk about an echo of The Last of Us.
Other zombie stories: What do I remember seeing? World War Z? Book was better than the movie, but the movie was okay. Or Dawn of the Dead, which was the best of that movie series and one I still think of decades later. There’s so much in the genre of interest.
In Conclusion
If you’re a gamer, play The Last of Us. If you watch tv, watch the series. It really is that good. In many ways you’re not just watching a zombie show, you’re watching the way people deal with changes in their lives. That, I think, is the enduring appeal of the genre: both what you would do in those situations, and the very important lessons to learn about dealing with adversity.