HBO’sThe Last of Ushas proven to be an accurate adaptation of the hit PlayStation game. Yet thanks to Neil Druckmann’s involvement, showrunner Craig Mazin has added a few touches here and there that only fans who playedThe Last of Us 2will appreciate, and he has a good reason.
In the sixthThe Last of Usepisode, Joel and Ellie continue across the country to a different Jackson County, where keen-eyed viewers could already spot an important character from the sequel being teased. That’s because, despite some changes being made to fit the story and the series’ world better, Druckmann and Mazin wanted to take advantage of howThe Last of Usloreexpanded since the game became a hit.
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Fortunately,HBO’sThe Last of UsPodcastprovides the perfect platform to explain all these little details. In the latest edition, Mazin said that the first time he visited Naughty Dog’s headquarters, Druckmann “asked if I wanted to see a sequence from the second game that touches on Ellie’s fascination with being an astronaut and space travel, and it was this beautiful moment.” The showrunner sees that kind of information as something that can be used to show how far Joel and Ellie’s bond has grown. Mazin called it “a chance to show how Joel knew Ellie,” so he’s expecting her to tell him her favorite astronaut is Sally Ride.
Mazin also referenced Joel’s love for music, a moment taken straight from the game in “Kin.” In episode 6, Joel tells Ellie he always wanted to become a singer before ending up as a contractor, a piece of lore that was picked up from voice actor Troy Baker’s career in music. Although Joel and Tommy’s wholesome brotherly moments were changed in the series, episode 6 hasplenty ofThe Last of Useaster eggs.
Previews for the seventh episode, “Left Behind,” have already shown what will bea flashback taken from theLeft BehindDLC, where Ellie’s attempts to save an injured Joel see her remember her mall adventures with Riley to provide further backstory for her character. In that sense, the show should manage to pull off the type of smoother integration to this part of the story that the games have always kept separate.
Those are not the onlyaspects that make HBO’sThe Last of Usdifferent, as Joel’s toughness is starting to be chipped away by his declining health, which was missing in the games.
