Featured Image Credit: HBO/Naughty Dog
Topics: HBO, Film and TV, Gaming
Katherine Sidnell
It may be one of the most faithful game adaptations of all-time, but fans of HBO’s The Last Of Us are praising the show for one key difference - featuring less violence.
The third episode has made an even greater departure from the game, as it focuses on the charatcers Bill and Frank's relationship.
However, fans have been taking to social media in their droves stating that Nick Offerman's and Murray Barlett's performances as the couple are award worthy.
Unlike other video games series, which give audiences a shot-for-shot remake, HBO’s The Last Of Us has made the story character-driven with fans loving the franchise's new additions and the reduced violence throughout.
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One fan even wrote on Twitter: “Episode three was amazing in that it introduced the audience to two new characters, Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), and made us care about them in the span of about an hour."
It isn’t just gamers who are praising the show though.
Those in the LGBTQ+ community have praised the love story between Bill and Frank, which is wholesome despite the tragic events around them.
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“Just watched the first three episodes of ‘The Last of Us’ on HBO, and totally out of the blue, the 3rd episode was one of the most romantic gay love stories I’ve ever seen. I can’t stop crying,” wrote one new fans, who went on to thank those involved in the show.
Another added: “Episode three was the most moving TV I have ever seen in my long life."
Other fans have also praised Pedro Pascal for his more vulnerable interpretation of protagonist Joel, despite the dystopian world the character finds himself in.
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This differs greatly from the games, which often shows Joel as a much more violent character overall.
However, showrunners Mazin and Druckmann reduce the amount of violence - hoping to tell a more human story which occurs during the zombie apocalypse.
Druckmann told SFX about this and revealed the decision was made to make the horror more impactful during the show, although he did admit that it did need some violence to get into the ‘flow’ of the story.
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He told SFX: “One of the things that I loved hearing from [co-creator Craig Mazin] and HBO very early on was, ‘Let’s take out all the violence except for the very essential.”
Continuing, he added: “That allowed the violence to have even more impact than in the game, because when you hold on showing the threat and you’re seeing people’s reaction to a threat, that makes it scarier.”