Why You need to buy The Last of Us Season 1 on DVD or Blu-ray

Why You need to buy The Last of Us Season 1

Video game adaptations have become a staple in Hollywood over the past few years with popular adaptations including Tomb Raider (2018), The Sonic The Hedgehog movies (2020 and 2022), Mortal Kombat (2021), Uncharted (2022), The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) and The Last of Us Season 1 also in 2023.  The video game creator of The Last of Us Jakob Mincoff teamed up with HBO and writer/producer Craig Mazin, who previously helmed 2019s brilliant miniseries Chernobyl, to bring the popular video game to the small screen. The popularity of The Last of us is hard to measure. Upon its release on PlayStation 3 back in 2013, fans went ballistic for this grounded and dramatic zombie thriller that saw our two protagonists Ellie Williams and Joel Miller venture through a post-apocalyptic world where clickers have taken over. It was always going to be a monumental task bringing this nuanced and devastating story to the big screen, but thankfully Jacob Mincoff surrounded himself with the best.

Season 1 stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, who are just sublime together on screen. The show focuses heavily on their relationship, as we see it grow through desperation as the show goes on. The show takes a few noticeably different directions from the video game, but to the benefit of the content, expanding in areas where there was room to expand, and showcasing just how an adaptation of a video game should be done. To celebrate the show's release on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD (4K UHD), I will be breaking down why you need to own season 1. So, let’s go!

“I got you baby girl” – Joel and Ellie –

The Last of us is built around the core relationship between Joel and Ellie. Plenty of other characters come and go throughout the series, but these two are the main focal point of the plot. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are both masterful in their roles here, making you believe every scene, every line delivery and every heart pounding action set-piece. Their chemistry with one another is palpable, with the two having great interplay with one another. Pedro Pascal perfectly captures the damaged and emotionally cut-off Joel. On the evening of the outbreak, Joel’s daughter is shot and killed, we pick up his story then 20 years later where he meets Ellie and must journey with her across a clicker-infested America and protect her at all costs. Along the way the two really begin to bond and understand each other’s pasts, as they are both damaged but in very different ways.

“80s means trouble. Code broken” – The story –

One of the strongest parts of The Last of Us was always the story. We have seen zombie apocalypse stories told before many times in fact. The genre has been a staple in horror since George A. Romero’s ‘Night of The Living Dead’ all the way back in 1968. The Walking Dead paved the way for the zombie genre on the small screen, with an impressive 11 season run coming to an end in 2022. Whilst there are a number of spin-offs in various stages of development and airing on the big screen, there was a zombie-sized hole on our tv screens, looking for a new series to come along and fill it and thankfully we got that with 2023’s ‘The Last of Us’. The story of The Last of Us is vastly different to a lot of other series out there. Whilst it definitely draws on aspects of the genre we have seen previously, the story is very character focused, telling the story of these characters, to the backdrop of the zombie-apocalypse, in the form of a road trip story. The constant movement of the characters through the wasteland of America is the perfect backdrop to this type of story and works as the perfect location for these character archetypes. Seeing Ellie and Joel encounter different characters along the way, either from their past or new characters along their journey, it constantly moves, adding to the depth of their journey.

“I swear…” – The lead in for Part II –

The Last of Us' rich source material is just as widely celebrated as the tv adaptation. The narrative thrust of the story elevated the video game genre to heights that had not been explored as in depth as they were here. Game developer, Naughty Dog, have a knack for exploring deeply personal stories, they did this with their Uncharted series and then again with The Last of Us and its sequel The Last of Us: Part II. The series re-awakened people's love for the source material all over the globe, making gamers re-explore the series and people who weren’t previously acquainted with the material, to explore it for the first time. The series remains faithful to its source material, expanding in areas that needed expanding and capitalising on its strong lore and characters, incorporating side missions from the game and DLC expansions into its core story. Part II didn’t receive the critical acclaim that the first game did, however, it has been now 5 years since its release. The developers and creators have had a chance to sit down and delve into what didn’t work and what did. The last line of the show is promising, looking to pick the show up exactly where we left off. With the immense popularity of Season 1, it didn’t take HBO long to announce that it was already in the midst of pre-production of season 2. I cannot wait to see where the show goes, how much of the second game is used and how much is new, unseen content. Either way, I will be tuning in week-to-week when it releases in 2024.

‘The Last of Us’ is a great example of just how good video game adaptations can be. This series has transcended the genre, creating a powerful drama, with memorable characters, portrayed by two actors at the top of their game, and a showrunner who can’t do anything wrong at the moment. If you haven’t played the game or seen the show, then I recommend you check out Season 1 and then go and check out the games. You won’t regret it. The Last of Us Season 1 is available to pre-order on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K UHD from the good folks at Sanity, you can shop all things The Last of us below.

Buy The Last Of Us on DVD or Blu-ray at Sanity here

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here