The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic video game that recently got revamped into a show on HBO, with the help of the original creators and showrunners they created something truly magical for the fans. Most show adaptations fail to see the importance of sticking to the original script, often caught up in the changes they should add and the idea of bringing new fans into the already created universe.  The Last of US on HBO took both sides of the world. Although there were few changes from video game to screen there were major plot points discarded or added. Riley and Ellie, for example, used to just be a bonus story to the game, but the show made it an integral part for the people to know. Bill and Frank, who in the game hated each other and drove one another mad, had developed a wonderful storyline about love and loss and finding now hope in a dead world.

The show even went as far as to create a podcast detailing the experiences of creating the show and how they determined what to keep and what to omit. The show enhanced the game in all different ways, but especially with the arrival of new fans to drive in all different opinions. The game itself is a piece of conversation, talking about love and what you would do for it. It talks about hope and faith. It’s a criticism of the government and a declaration of the importance of uniformity. It shows the perspective of a grieving father, and traumatized teenager, new mothers, new sciences and experimentalists. With this conversation branching out into all different age groups, people, anyone who watched there is a whole new level of humanity to be discovered within both film and game.

The show and game is essentially a story about love. The show was able to amplify what was already set within the games development. While being able to add the Bill and Frank scene, Ellie and her mother, Ellie and Riley it sucks the audience into a more forced perspective that, yes, this show is about love. Most original content that gets transformed into some other media key items get lost in that translation, but for HBO’s The Last of Us they delved into the core and essential details, sanded it down and picked up a few shavings left over to help push the story alone. While the game itself is gorgeous in its own right, HBO had a fantastic representation of an already complex and well developed game.