The Last of Us HBO has launched to some massively successful critical and audience reception within its first couple of episodes, garnering new fans to the franchise, as well as providing new and refreshing narrative arcs for long-time fans of the original games. Viewers who have been following a show closely can appreciate that with this huge amount of enthusiasm in the series’ early days comes new waves of content which delve deeper into the lore of the world and also the characters who take it alive.
Troy Baker – Joel's original voice and motion capture actor in The Last of Us game titles, hosts the 'official companion podcast' for that adaptation, wearing down and reflecting around the era of each episode alongside series Showrunners Craig Maizin (Chernobyl Writer and Creator) and Neil Druckmann (Creative Director on The Last people Part I & II), with every member bringing a distinctive perspective around the development of the series.
In this recap of HBO's All of the Us Podcast Episode 1, we'll break down some of the key takeaways and behind the curtain tidbits mentioned, and will also provide some additional context how the series deviates from and comes even close to the base games as each podcast episode airs.
For further analysis and reading around the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, you should check out the next articles:
- A spoiler-free overview of the whole first season of The Last of Us HBO TV series
- The Last of Us HBO Tv show: Cast and Character Guide
- The Last of Us interview: Henry and Perry actors examine their work
Episode recaps and analysis:
- The Last people – Episode 1 Recap – ‘When You’re Lost in the Darkness’
- The Last of Us – Episode 2 Recap – ‘Infected’
- The Last people – Episode 3 Recap – ‘Long, Long Time’
- The Last of Us – Episode 4 Recap – ‘Please Hold to My Hand’
- The Last of Us – Episode 5 Recap – 'Endure and Survive'
Behind-the-scenes podcast recaps:
- HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast – Episode 1 Recap – ‘When You’re Lost within the Darkness’
- HBO’s All of the Us Podcast – Episode 2 Recap – ‘Infected’
- HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast – Episode 3 Recap – ‘Long, Long Time’
- HBO’s All of the Us Podcast – Episode 4 Recap – ‘Please Hold to My Hand’
The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max in the US, and Binge around australia.
HBO's The Last of Us Podcast – Episode 1 Recap
- The origins of HBO’s All of the Us
- The opening scene of the first episode
- Depicting the outbreak
- Things that didn’t translate from the game
- Changing the ending of the first episode
- ‘Never Allow me to Down Again’ by Depeche Mode
- Additional analysis and notable quotes
The origins of HBO’s All of the Us
Episode 1 of HBO's The Last of Us Podcast begins with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann recounting the storyline of methods these were first introduced, as interestingly enough, they met through a mutual friend Shannon Woodward – who plays the function of Dina in The Last people Part II.
Before Druckmann had formally met with Mazin, he hadn't yet seen Chernobyl (the critically acclaimed 2023 HBO miniseries compiled by Craig Mazin), coupled with already experienced an unsuccessful attempt for adapting The Last of Us right into a film, saying the material was simply 'too big' to fit into a movie script and that he was unable to find an easy method to approach it.
Mazin had already played The Last of Us, and after becoming closer with Shannon Woodward and discovering she was working on a sequel to the game, Woodward mentioned the two would 'probably be great friends'.
During this time around, Mazin seemed to be in conversations with Sony Interactive Entertainment, and was presented a list of titles and asked which ones he thought could be viable to evolve into a series. He noticed The Last of Us wasn't contained in the lineup, and was told Druckmann would be responsible for adapting that IP.
At around the same time Chernobyl was launched, the adaptation rights were reverted to Naughty Dog – the studio who published and developed The Last of Us video game franchise. By this point Druckmann had watched Chernobyl, was 'blown away' because of it, and also the two officially met.
They both entered a meeting at HBO, Mazin launched right into a pitch presented to the network executives, and Druckmann 'let' Mazin lead the interaction. Druckmann mentioned he was 'very impressed at his knowledge and was moved incidentally he told the story', paying attention to the 'emotional reaction' Mazin was having.
HBO Executive Casey Bloys told Mazin during the meeting, 'whatever the next project is has to make you float, this really is clearly it'. When the meeting concluded, all of them shook hands and were on their way to creating the series.
The opening scene from the first episode
The cold open of the first episode was also discussed, which shows an imagined talk show segment taking place in 1968, centred on two epidemiologists discussing the potential origin of the Cordyceps outbreak.
This opening scene was going to show a Planet Earth-inspired clip the team had created, which explained the function and symbol of the Cordyceps virus and explained everything an audience required to know in a very 'educational', 'intellectual' manner. It communicated itself clearly, but by all accounts didn't seem like a completely compelling watch.
Mazin had drafted the talk show segment very early on in production, explaining he desired to write something 'as if he'd found a transcript of an old Dick Cavett [episode] from 1969'. He pitched the idea to Druckmann twice, experiencing some pushback in the beginning because of concerns it felt 'a little weird'.
It wasn't until a couple weeks away from wrapping production that Mazin, still not thrilled with the Planet Earth-inspired clip, sent Druckmann a completely edited form of the talk show transcript, and this was what cemented the choice to replace the first version of the cold open.
As this scene had been an immediate deviation from the games and provided further context into the world, although it didn't provide a definitive answer on the origin of the virus, they felt it 'invited conversation' for viewers to discuss theories and analyse clues, with Druckmann stating:
'As an admirer, it catches you off guard and already signals for you, everything you think you understand this you don't know about this'. Druckmann also felt the opening created pervasive tension and elevated the 'mundane' moments that happened in early stages in the first episode with the Miller family (Joel, Sarah, and Tommy).
Mazin also drew inspiration from some of the themes presented in Chernobyl, reflecting on the idea that as humans when faced with impending disaster, 'we know things, and we all agree that they're gonna happen, and then we pretend they're not'.
Depicting the outbreak
Scenes first depicting the infected were discussed, with notable conversations surrounding Joel and Sarah's nearby neighbour – an elderly woman Sarah had visited earlier on within the episode who later was a victim of the results from the virus and ended up being murdered by Joel.
Both Mazin and Druckmann were attracted to the idea of the crowd getting to meet these characters before seeing them infected, because the concept of seeing a senior woman who could barely move due to her illness and was later fully 'animated' as a result of the problem, would be a far scarier concept. This resulted in some discussion around how the virus begins from the brain, with Druckmann adding:
'There's a contradiction from the infected being beautiful, but also scary at the same time. Here is this weird contradiction that [the virus] is fixing her, but it's taking her mind with it.'
Mazin also alluded to some interesting clues scattered throughout the series after mentioning the girl couldn't eat biscuits, saying:
'Careful viewers of the episode is going to be rewarded repeatedly because little bits of breadcrumbs have been planted that are going to pay off later in interesting ways'.
Things that didn’t translate in the game
One of the most popular things this adaptation does gracefully is deviate from and expand on its source material, and conversations surrounding 'what stays' within the series were crucial early on within the writing stages which happened throughout the end of development for The Last of Us Part II.
There were elements inside the first game that didn't necessarily translate to an on-screen adaptation, for example moments which were very gameplay or combat heavy, and also the series gave the team freedom to grow on character dynamics with techniques they couldn't do as explicitly in a gaming.
These conversations led to how they could effectively show both how affected Joel was following the twenty year time jump, and the existence of one of the series main antagonists FEDRA, with the team now 'unburdened' by gameplay.
Tonal details in the game that saw people line up, get scanned, and shot on sight if tested positive towards the infection, could have been easily missed as players could simply walk by them. In Episode 1, Joel is shown throwing a young child – who had been murdered by FEDRA due to a positive result, onto a fire in a significant routine manner. This indicated both how numb he was as a result of the trauma of losing his daughter, and how the planet now operated under military enforcement.
Changing the ending of the first episode
HBO executives Casey Bloys and Francesca Orsi were vital in pointing out how a crowd could potentially respond to some of the initial ideas Druckmann and Mazin had presented. Episode 1 was originally going to end with Joel throwing the child onto the fire, using the introduction of Ellie and Joel planned to take place in the second episode.
This prompted the executives to describe that audiences 'may simply not wish to come back' if the ending was too bleak and they didn't introduce these two pivotal characters to each other in the get go, which as Druckmann explained in this episode of the podcast, may be the 'inciting incident' from the story of The Last people.
As fans of the games themselves, Bloys and Orsi said 'it will hurt many of us within our hearts if they don't wish to come back', and their feedback ended up making complete sense to both Mazin and Druckmann.
Druckmann added that at the begining of versions of the script, they had to think about things differently simply because they all knew in which the story was heading, but audiences wouldn't necessarily understand yet why some moments were essential or why they ought to worry about certain characters. Mazin pointed towards the credibility of both executives, saying:
'The best network executives exist to honestly represent the audience- They are not supposed to write things for us, they're designed to inform us how they feel and we're designed to have trust in their proxy ability'
Never Allow me to Down Again by Depeche Mode
Lastly, the song used after Episode 1 was 'Never Allow me to Down Again' by Depeche Mode.
Mazin spoke towards the meaning of music in The Last of Us, as 80s music particularly has been featured across multiple titles, which lyrically forebode 'dark undertones'. Mazin mentioned the reason for this song choice was that he wanted 'an 80s song that felt, at least initially [uptempo], but lyrically had a darkness to it'.
The lyric, 'I'm about to have a ride with my favorite friend' speaks to themes surrounding addiction, and Mazin highlights that Ellie and Joel are both 'dangerous' individuals going to embark on a journey together that do not yet know if they can trust each other, adding:
'The whole idea is, you're not going to let me down. Now, they will let one another down, and then they are not, and then they are, and then they are not. And that- I thought would be a really interesting way in'.
Mazin also provided another clue referencing this song, saying:
'We are likely to hear that song again. I won't tell you when or how, but it come in a very different way as well as in a really different context'.
Additional analysis and notable quotes
- Craig Mazin says after mentioning Joel and Sarah’s neighbour couldn't eat biscuits that, 'careful viewers of this episode is going to be rewarded repeatedly because little bits of breadcrumbs have been planted that are going to pay off later in interesting ways'. This may indicate the few easter eggs in Episode 1 that hinted towards the Millers almost getting infected, which explained the virus originated from Jakarta, Indonesia.
- Craig Mazin mentions that the FEDRA scanner used in the first episode to test the young lad in the beginning is going to be reintroduced afterwards in the series.
- Neil Druckmann – 'There's a contradiction from the infected being beautiful, but also scary in the same time'.
- Neil Druckmann – 'The outbreak being from Sarah's point of view, that felt like an important thing to keep'.
- Craig Mazin – 'We wanted to reveal that FEDRA wasn't an easy villain, but additionally definitely not the great guys'.
- Troy Baker – 'There's some stuff that makes me angry that [Pedro Pascal] does since it is so good'.
- Craig Mazin – 'We are likely to hear [Depeche Mode – 'Never Let Me Down Again'] again, I won't let you know when or how, but it come in a really different way as well as in a really different context'.
