From expanding Jackson's community to controversial character changes, we're breaking down the most significant adaptational differences in HBO's latest season. Which changes enhanced the story, and which ones missed the mark? Join us as we analyze the creative decisions that are dividing fans.
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00:00Why don't you say whatever speech you got rehearsed, and get this over with.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the best and worst changes made from game to show throughout The Last of Us Season 2 so far.
00:11How are you doing, Yali?
00:13Hmm. Give me a moment. It's really complicated, because, you know, feelings.
00:19Okay.
00:21Best. Expanding Jackson.
00:23These three will be done by next day or so, and another day to hook up sewage.
00:27Now, y'all wanted the library and the school restored by sprint, but they both need new roofs.
00:32With the manpower that we have, I don't see any of this getting done until summer.
00:36One of the coolest things the show has done is expand the role of Jackson, and make it feel more like a civilized settlement.
00:42The opening episode is particularly good at this.
00:45We see the politics of Jackson at work, with Joel at his cute little desk working as the city's contractor and taking orders from Maria.
00:52Joel.
00:52The more you turn it, the faster we go.
00:54We're running out of space to put these people.
00:55Yeah, I noticed. Maybe your council stopped letting so many of them in.
01:00It's our council.
01:02Various characters also get expanded roles, including Jesse and Dina, who, in the show, has a trusting relationship with Joel.
01:09And, of course, there's the city council, who we see voting on matters like Ellie leaving town to pursue Abby.
01:14The game doesn't really delve into these democratic sociopolitical details, so it's fun to see the town's day-to-day operations in the show.
01:21Which is why I keep saying we need to invest more in turkeys and less in chickens.
01:26And that brings me back to my earlier point about corn.
01:29Corn, some of you have heard me say, is not the easiest crop to grow, but it is among the fastest.
01:36Worst. No Tommy. Yet.
01:37Give me a day to talk to Maria.
01:42Okay?
01:44There's gotta be some folks you can spare.
01:46One of the biggest divergences the show has made from the game is through its characterization of Tommy.
01:52In the game, Tommy is much like Ellie, fueled by an insatiable need for revenge.
01:57Even setting out by himself to track down those responsible.
02:00His personal journey serves as physical and emotional breadcrumbs, with Ellie and Dina coming across signs of his violent destruction.
02:07Maria, I'm headed to Seattle.
02:10I wish I could let it go, but I can't.
02:14I have to bring these people to justice.
02:17Ellie's gonna try to come after me, but stop her.
02:19In the show, Tommy seems defeated rather than angry.
02:23A broken man who is not encouraging Ellie's desire for revenge, let alone participating in it.
02:28It's a very odd divergence from the source material, and some fans have not been happy.
02:33However, it's very possible that he will have a change of heart, and show up later in the season.
02:39If it had been you, Joel would be halfway to Seattle before the sun came up.
02:41He'd be halfway to Seattle to save my life.
02:44But when we lost people, no.
02:46It would just break him like it was his fault.
02:48I saw that time and time again, and don't talk to me like I didn't know him.
02:52He was my brother.
02:54Best.
02:54Tommy's Leadership Role.
02:56Go find Amy in the radio room.
02:58Tell her to crank the signal.
02:59Call all the patrols back.
03:00As much as people don't like Tommy's absence from Seattle, they do appreciate his expanded role in Jackson.
03:06Tommy is clearly in a position of authority in the show,
03:09serving on the town council and taking lead during the attack on Jackson.
03:13Casual TV viewers and game fans alike enjoyed this more commanding characterization.
03:18And come on, how awesome was it when he took down a bloater by himself with a flamethrower?
03:22Oh my god.
03:24Oh my god.
03:26Oh my god.
03:27Oh my god.
03:29Oh my god.
03:30This is quite different from the game, where Tommy has a more passive role.
03:39He's very skilled on patrol and has a key role in defending Jackson from the surrounding infected,
03:44but he's hardly the town leader that he is in the show.
03:47Any questions?
03:48All right then.
03:49Get with your group leaders, spread the word to your neighbors,
03:52get everyone in the loop.
03:53Go hug daddy.
03:54Tell him he did good.
03:56Worst.
03:56Ellie and Dina in Seattle.
03:58I'm pregnant.
03:59What?
04:09The show's tone is a far cry from the game's, and not in a good way.
04:13This is most evident in Ellie and Dina's journey through Seattle,
04:16which in the game is marked by grit, grief, and lots of unresolved PTSD.
04:21Ellie reacts with horror to Dina's pregnancy,
04:24seeing her as a liability and a hindrance in her quest for revenge.
04:27How long have you known?
04:30It was late a few weeks ago.
04:32A few weeks?
04:33We could have...
04:34We could have still turned back.
04:37I didn't know.
04:38I wasn't sure, okay?
04:40I didn't want to be a burden.
04:42Well, you're a burden now, aren't you?
04:43In contrast, the show portrays their relationship like a budding CW romance,
04:47filled with lovey-dovey dialogue and cute glances.
04:51Ellie's reaction to the pregnancy is also greatly softened,
04:54taking a more positive spin that many fans feel undermines her trauma and obsession.
04:58Sometimes we forget that they're in Seattle to, you know, murder someone.
05:03I'm gonna be a dad.
05:05Yeah.
05:07Best.
05:08Dina revealing Joel.
05:09You want to rob us? Fine. Take what you want.
05:12We look like raiders to you?
05:19No.
05:20Many players of the game didn't buy Joel's death,
05:22believing that he would never reveal his true name to a group of strangers.
05:26They argue that Joel openly revealing his real name was wildly out of character for someone so smart and cautious,
05:32and they can't buy that a very stupid mistake ultimately got him killed.
05:36Tommy.
05:37This is my brother.
05:40Joel.
05:47I'll act like you heard of us or something.
05:49It's possible that the show writers took this criticism to heart,
05:52as they nicely changed it for the show.
05:55Instead of Joel himself,
05:56it's Dina who accidentally reveals the truth to Abby by screaming out his name in a moment of panic.
06:01It's a great change, and Caitlin Deaver sells the reveal exceptionally well.
06:05Joel!
06:06Don't!
06:07I'm here! I'm coming! I'm coming!
06:13Worst.
06:13Gail.
06:14Dina.
06:15Don't get us wrong, Catherine O'Hara slays, and we welcome her presence in The Last of Us.
06:28In anything, really.
06:29We just wish that her talents weren't wasted on Gail.
06:32Gail is an original character, and there are no therapists in the game.
06:36And while O'Hara does what she can with the material, many feel that Gail is simply there for exposition.
06:41Did you do something to her?
06:43Did you hurt her?
06:54Then what?
06:56What did you do?
06:58The show takes a very tell-don't-show approach,
07:01with characters often clunkily expressing how they're feeling.
07:04This is a problem with therapist characters in general,
07:07but other shows and movies get around that with more subtle writing.
07:10The show's critics believe that it does not have that subtlety.
07:13Indeed, that it is often quite sloppy in revealing character motivations and psychology.
07:19But your final moment with someone doesn't define your whole time with them.
07:25It shouldn't, but it often does.
07:28Best.
07:28The Battle of Jackson.
07:30Now, young ones, old ones, right quick into basements and cellars.
07:34You lock the doors, you reinforce, shelter in place till we tell you it's safe to come out.
07:37Now, for the rest of us, where do we go?
07:39Up.
07:40Up, that's right.
07:41HBO loves, shall we say, showing off.
07:44Enter the Battle of Jackson, a wonderful sequence that is entirely new to the show.
07:49Of course, epic set pieces like this are always welcome in genre shows,
07:53especially on the heels of season one, which some criticized for its lack of zombie scenes.
07:58This certainly made up for that.
08:10It also works nicely through a storytelling perspective.
08:13By playing concurrently with Joel's situation, the battle keeps the pace of the episode flying.
08:18Similarly, it downplays the severity of Joel's death and keeps Ellie segregated from the town.
08:23For many, Joel was just another casualty on that fateful day.
08:27And pursuing justice is simply not worth it, especially when they need to focus on rebuilding.
08:33Ellie, I think that's simple.
08:35The town is still recovering.
08:37So are you.
08:38Worst, Ellie is out of character.
08:40Ooh, you reckon a yeast infection?
08:43Not today, but give me time.
08:46The biggest problem the show is having right now is its characterization of Ellie.
08:50Many fans of the game hate what the show is doing to her, and it's starting to hinder their enjoyment.
08:56Ellie is supposed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, riddled with PTSD, trauma, and an insatiable desire for revenge.
09:03Man, I wish I could have let him off the hook for whatever it was he was talking about.
09:09I guess I'll have to let myself off the hook for that.
09:13Video game Ellie is a broken powder keg of a woman, but there is nothing of the sort in the show.
09:19Ellie is still the same wisecracking kid that she was in season one, with virtually none of game Ellie's maturity or grief.
09:26She and Dina are taking the Seattle quest so casually, they may as well be on a girl's road trip.
09:41Together.
09:42Together.
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10:01Mixed. Restructuring the Narrative.
10:03It's only fitting that we end on a bit of an ambiguous note.
10:13The story's entire structure has been rearranged, and the reception has been decidedly mixed.
10:18The game does not reveal Abby's motivation until after she kills Joel,
10:22and then her side of the story is played out through flashbacks.
10:25For players, some random woman just killed their favorite character.
10:28You stupid old man.
10:35You don't get to rush this.
10:38Meanwhile, the show immediately lays out Abby's motivation and plays her side concurrently with the main storyline.
10:44Some don't like the change, admiring the game's bolder narrative choice and unique flashback structure.
10:49Others do like it, arguing that it streamlines the narrative,
10:53cleans up a messy pace, and makes Joel's death less out of nowhere.
10:56Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
10:59Slowly.
11:00What?
11:05When we kill him.
11:10We kill him slowly.
11:12What do you make of these changes?
11:14Let us know in the comments below.
11:16We're finding him.
11:17Yes, we are.
11:19Yes, we are!
11:20Yes, we are!
11:26Yes, we are!
11:27Yes, we are!
11:27Yes, we are!
11:28Yes, we are!
11:29Yes, we are!
11:29Yes, we are!
11:30Yes, we are!
11:31Yes, we are!
11:32Yes, we are!
11:33Yes, we are!
11:34Yes, we are!
11:35Yes, we are!
11:36Yes, we are!
11:37Yes, we are!
11:38Yes, we are!
11:39Yes, we are!
11:40Yes, we are!
11:41Yes, we are!
11:42Yes, we are!
11:43Yes, we are!
11:44Yes, we are!
11:45Yes, we are!
11:46Yes, we are!
11:47Yes, we are!
11:48Yes, we are!
11:49Yes, we are!
11:50Yes, we are!
11:51Yes, we are!
11:52Yes, we are!
11:53Yes, we are!