Warning: Contains Spoilers!

From the Walking Dead to the more recent Station Eleven, post-apocalyptic television series have been extremely popular among viewers of all ages. With the new dominance of streaming services, television series are taking control of and producing shows in hopes that they will succeed. AMC built their streaming empire with the success of the former show, and HBO Max followed the tried-and-true formula with the television adaptation of The Last of Us (TLOU).

The storyline follows humanity being overtaken by a fungal brain infection called Cordyceps in 2003. The main character is a Texan named Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), unwittingly tasked with saving the world 20 years later. The nine episodes of the first season develop as he is delivering immune teenager Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) to a resistance group to find a vaccine for the infection and attempting to find his brother simultaneously. Another source of conflict is the clash between the main resistance group and the fascist military dictatorship called the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA). It was developed as an adaptation of the titular 2013 video game by Naughty Dog.

Lynx Allen (11) says “I absolutely love the story line, the creativity, and unique ideas of making it apocalyptic. Choosing not to make it a zombie show but more like an illness I think is really interesting, since we’ve seen how illness can spread so quickly.”

Many are impressed by the realistic set design. TLOU has been widely acclaimed for its loyalty to the original video game, whether it be the abandoned cities or quarantine zones (QZs).

Traditional themes of love and survival are present in the show, but unlike many other shows, rugged individualism is a unifying factor as most of the main characters eventually succumb to illness or murder, including Joel’s daughter Sarah. 

Allen offers a point of view on this season-wide dynamic, saying that “I think having Riley (Ellie’s best friend and first love) and Tess (Joel’s partner) die was very sad but necessary, as Tess’s death brings Ellie and Joel closer together by the third episode and Riley’s death gets to explain Ellie’s trust issues and nervousness to become a part of Joel’s family. Having Bill and Frank (survivalist couple and Joel and Tess’s friends) die gives it a bittersweet feeling in episode three. They wouldn’t have met if the world didn’t end, so it shows that there is truly something good in anything bad.” Part of the appeal of TLOU is the development of its morally gray characters.

The cast has also inspired a large fanbase. Chilean American actor Pedro Pascal who has seen stardom with Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian, has a magnetic off-stage presence, whether it be on his popular Instagram account or in his various interviews. British actress Bella Ramsey’s breakout role was playing young “Lady of Bear Island” Lyanna Mormont, also on Game of Thrones. Not only is Ramsey’s American accent impeccable, but she also has a worldwide following and has dedicated fans in the LGBT community. Allen says that “Pedro Pascal drew in a lot of viewers for sure, his iconic roles, and great quotes and personality truly made a lot of people want to watch it. And then with Bella Ramsey, they got a lot of viewers too, especially with the LGBTQ community. [Ramsey] is an iconic non-binary queer person of our community who plays accepting roles, which makes us feel very happy and excited to watch the way that this character gets brought into the story!”

However, some see the ending of the season finale as rushed and disappointing. Once the pair found the resistance group, Joel discovered that the Fireflies planned to perform brain surgery on Ellie effectively killing her, so he went on a murderous spree to defend Ellie. Despite the bond formed between Joel and Ellie, the fact that Joel killed a whole faction of a resistance group (including numerous other individuals) to save Ellie’s life was not without controversy. The co-creator Craig Mazin explained in an interview with GQ Magazine, “the one thing that gives [Joel] the god mode powerup to not get shot and to shoot everybody else is saving Ellie. Because that’s where we want to see overpowered Joel and we understand that he’s fueled by this love that is beautiful and dark at the same time.” 

Understandably, condensing the playable video game into one season of 50-minute episodes means that not every detail could be explored. Luckily for its fans, this well-received show will be seeing a second season where the themes and story can be more fully developed. As the Fireflies say, when you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light—that is this show.