The Last Of Us reCap(because mushrooms): Wrap Up

The third and final time jump of The Last Of Us premiere takes the viewer to Boson in 2023. Despite the mushroom apocalypse Tom Brady is back playing quarterback for the New England Patriots, and a young girl is being taken in for a routine checkup to see if she needs to be killed and burned. One look at the red result on the scanner lets us know this disheveled child will not be one of the Last of Us. The lovely officer lady lies to her a bit before she's given the shot of death.

The Last Of Us in 2023 is a space run by an evil empire called FEDRA. A new, deeply salt, peppered, and less brisket-toned Joel is burning bodies, including the young child we just met. That sentence made me hungry. We figure out the source of currency and Joel's lucrative side hustle of dealing painkillers to a corrupt FEDRA officer. Why does Joel want the bag back? I guess sandwich bags are tough to come by these days.

The following couple of scenes shows us more about our female leads. Tess, played by Anna Torv, is first seen working with Joel, but we learn more about her character when she is a hostage. It is a pretty weak negotiation from the kidnapper, as he's clearly scared shitless of Joel. Tess is tough as nails and knows how to work the world she's been forced to live in.

Enter Bella Ramsey's Ellie with a literal explosion. Ramsey was a fan favorite for her turn as lady Lyanna Mormont in GOT. The way she put those old curmudgeons in her place was one of the best parts of the end of Thrones. She's a bit older and is rocking an American accent as Ellie. I'm excited to see what she does with the character, and she is already proving she can handle the humor and darkness the character carries. I noticed how faithful the creators were to the IP outfits here. Joel is starting to look like the video game Joel, and Ellie comes in with the right fit.

I love that the show cast several voice actors from the game to play characters on the show, including Merle Dandridge as Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies. If you are a Star Wars fan, think of the Fireflies as the rebellion and FEDRA as the Empire. If you aren't a Star Wars fan, reassess your life. Merle states that Ellie is all that matters, and the shroom-cutting crew has formed. We also see a fully bloomed Ticker all spored into a wall like Davey Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean. At this point, it seems like the bloomies ultimate mission is to feed off their human hosts until nothing is left.

We learn more about the Fireflies, the importance of Ellie, and that Joel and Marlene have a history. Marlene's line to Kim that she doesn't have an ear on her fucking head is hilarious. Little more story development, an 80's banger Never Let Me Down Again by Depece Mode, and a shot of how fucked up the world outside of the quarantine Zone is.

This episode felt like an entire movie in its own right. I had to break it down into three articles to get through it all. Watching this first episode made me want to replay the video game, so I will start it up again and stay on pace with the show as much as possible. Overall the first episode met many expectations and has me very excited to set out on this familiar journey again.