Apocalypse Now
Joel, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and Sarah’s journey via Austin, Texas performs out extremely equally to the best way it performs within the sport—most significantly, it roots the viewer in Sarah’s perspective. The participant controls Sarah for the primary sequence of the sport, ending together with her loss of life within the first (however definitely not final) brutal twist. The present bears this out with nice constancy, from digital camera angles shot from the again of Tommy’s truck, to seeing a neighbor’s dwelling fully on fireplace, via the automobile crash in Austin correct. (The exploding airplane is a flashy innovation for the present.) All of it culminates on the identical level: Sarah’s loss of life within the arms of her father, a scene that’s nearly precisely one-to-one between the sport and the present, from dialogue right down to choreography.
“Do I Look Like Your Mom?”
It’s one of the vital quotable strains from the premiere, coming from the lips of Fireflies Boston chief, Marlene. Notably, Marlene is performed on the present by Merle Dandridge, who additionally voiced the character within the authentic Final of Us sport. What’s extra, Marlene’s line right here—and much more particularly, that she’s the rationale Ellie grew up below tight FEDRA supervision—speaks to an offhanded comment from Ellie inside the first couple hours of the sport, by which she says her mom and Marlene have been outdated pals. How that backstory performs out on the present, if it performs out in any respect, is anybody’s guess.
THE LAST OF US: Merle Dandridge and Natasha Mumba.Courtesy of HBO.
Who’s Riley?
“Was Riley a terrorist?” It’s one other pointed piece of dialogue from the dialog between Ellie and Marlene. At this level, viewers rightly do not know who Marlene’s speaking about. However followers of the video games know higher—a minimum of, those who performed The Final of Us: Left Behind bonus story know higher. Left Behind is a downloadable content material story that includes Ellie’s expertise earlier than the occasions of the primary sport, and it prominently includes a character named Riley. This isn’t only a easy nod towards Ellie’s backstory, both. Actress Storm Reid has been solid as Riley for a future episode, so Left Behind followers can depend on seeing the DLC play out in some unspecified time in the future within the first season of The Final of Us.
The First Ending
The primary episode of The Final of Us ends on a serious cliffhanger: Ellie checks constructive for Cordyceps, however insists she’s not contaminated. She exhibits a chunk mark that’s weeks outdated, an aberration from all the things identified about Cordyceps an infection. The present’s model of the twist performs out very equally to the way it goes down within the sport. The sport doesn’t have a backstory for the soldier Joel, Ellie, and Tess encounter on this scene, and certainly, there are two troopers who swoop in to scan the touring trio. However all the things else—the pouring rain, the bobbing and weaving via a large number of obstacles at evening—comes proper from the online game, and is one more one of many present’s examples of how HBO’s The Final of Us goes to really feel a complete lot just like the Naughty Canine authentic.
