Editor's note: The below contains major spoilers for Episode 1 of HBO's The Last of Us.The Last of Us games are known for their brutal violence, shocking deaths, and seemingly hopeless situations, but amidst all the despair and horror there is a surprising amount of warmth and humor as well. HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us uses biting retorts and dark comedy to make its characters relatable and compelling, an excellent tactic for a show that has the difficult task of compressing the original game's travel sequences, replete with casual conversation, into a narrative that fits the time constraints and expectations of television.
Rather than attempt to recreate the video game trope of characters having meandering conversations while players meander across a map, Craig Mazin's incarnation of The Last of Us utilizes punchy, quick-witted dialogue in well-measured doses to create characters who are easy to love in addition to being gritty and realistic.
Joel and Sarah's Relationship Is Made Even More Resonant Through Humor
The show's pre-pandemic sequence introduces Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker), and uses comedic moments between the two to express the strength of their love, thereby providing the show with heart at its core. The first scene with the two Millers showcases a fun inversion of the typical father-daughter dynamic: Sarah is taking care of her father while he behaves a bit like a sullen teen. Sarah is annoyed with Joel for forgetting to buy pancake mix because she wanted to make his birthday pancakes. Joel reminds her, "You know I don't really pancakes," to which she replies, "I know you don't like them. It was for my benefit." Sarah follows this up by pouring orange juice for Joel and urging him to drink it with the prompt, "Vitamin C." He begrudgingly does but refuses to finish the glass. When Joel asks her whether she finished her homework, she serves him a look that seems to suggest that he's forgotten who's in charge here.
Their banter continues in the breakfast scene that follows. Sarah notes that since Joel is turning 36 he will "have to start wearing diapers soon." When Joel's brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), arrives, he wishes Joel well by saying, "You're still alive, you old fucker." Mockingly, Sarah says, "Aw, he loves you." In a few brief moments, Mazin and co-writer Neil Druckmann (the writer of the original game) establish a warm, breezily sarcastic family dynamic, one that allows the viewer to connect with the characters quickly. The sitcom-ish nature of the dialogue suggests an easy-going routine, a camaraderie forged by years of similar conversations. None of these barbs are mean-spirited or cause strife. They're the result of a love so resolute that it cannot be broken or challenged by playful pokes. It would take a devastating calamity to eradicate this vibe, and of course, that's just what Mazin and company have in mind.
Moments of Levity Happen Throughout the Series
Post-cordyceps outbreak, 20 years later in dystopian Boston, there are still moments of levity sneaking in through witty dialogue. When Joel prods Abe for information about his missing brother, there are a couple of quick jokes that reveal each man's perspective in a compelling way. Joel wants to know whether it's possible for Abe to have missed a message from Tommy. Abe tells him, "When I'm sleeping, Gabriela listens, or my son — the smart one, not the other one, God bless him." Despite Joel's tenseness (or perhaps because of it), Abe does not miss an opportunity to take a potshot at his own son. Though Joel is too hardened by trauma and worried about Tommy to engage in lighthearted banter, he still manages to fire off a sarcastic barb at one point. Abe says that he is sure that Tommy is okay, then tells Joel that it would be dangerous to go after Tommy because "there are raiders. There are slavers." Joel interrupts him to sarcastically throw Abe's words back in his face: "But you're sure Tommy's okay?"
In spite of the horrifying circumstances, bitter sarcasm and humorous asides like these prevent the show from ever feeling unbearably dark or hopeless. The bleakness of the setting is answered in counterpoint by the resilience of the human spirit. The survivors know how terrible things are, but they refuse to lie down and die, instead sublimating despair into hard luck humor. The show's gallows comedy is a reminder of what it means to keep on living, to try to put on a brave face and find a silver lining in a sea of decay. The show's sense of humor seems to suggest that there is no bad situation that can't get a little bit worse. This thinking is exemplified in the scene where Ellie (Bella Ramsey) struggles to free herself from being chained to a radiator. While she struggles with the chain, water from a leaky ceiling splashes her face. She curses at it, "Agh! You fucker!" This is a show about the ridiculous, unsung frustrations and ironies that accompany survival in an apocalyptic scenario.
While many dystopian dramas rely on melodramatic stakes or daring deeds to make their characters compelling, The Last of Us adds a sly sense of humor to the mix. Even Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the passionate yet self-serious freedom fighter from the game, has been retooled to be less zealous and more relatable in the show. While Joel and Tess (Anna Torv) are debating whether to cut a deal with her, the injured Marlene interrupts to remind them of what's important: "Y'all talk it through, but please remember that I'm bleeding out." Her semi-urgent delivery is darkly funny and a perfect example of how Mazin and Druckmann use humor to make their characters compelling.
If the first episode of HBO's The Last of Us is an indication of what's to come, the show's ability to skillfully balance palpable drama, jaw-dropping horror, and grin-inducing gallows humor might help it stand out from the crowd, specifically because TLOU's characters are witty enough to be instantly likable.
The Last of Us premieres new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.