Look for the Light

Look for the Light ends season 1 of The Last of Us on a high, faithfully adapting the final moments of the game whilst simultaneously enhancing them with a cleverly implemented opening flashback. Fittingly, the episode itself also focuses on love, how it can heal people's pain and trauma as well as the violence that spawns from that same love.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey switch roles in this time around with Pedro being more open and hopeful contrasted by Bella's more closed off nature. They once again cement the fact that they were perfect casting for these characters and each one gets a proper standout moment within the episode.

Ali Abbasi's direction is excellent, the scale and combination of practical effects and CG is still really impressive but the direction shines brightest in the action which is wisely staged to really emphasise the weight and horror of the brutality on display rather than making it a simple spectacle.

Gustavo Santaolalla's music has been perfect throughout (such an obvious yet smart move to put the last of us theme over the opening credits) and it's particularly good here during the action. It's so haunting and bleak, able to communicate so much on it's own, without the need for any dialogue.

It's a great show and I loved it but the ending was way too short, I paused 15min before the end and said « no way they are going to end is in 15 minutes ! »...well, they did...all in all it's great but it lacks a lot of infected and clickers ! I mean we've seen only 2 clickers in the whole season...

Of course it makes me wanna buy the remaster for ps5 and do the game again but I'm afraid I will consider this 9 episodes show even shorter than I feel it is now.

Season 2, if it's based only on the second game got to be at least 18 episodes, there is so much to show I cannot believe they'll make it so short again, would be very disappointing.

This finale was rushed, they skipped so many parts which made Ellie and Joel's relationship like- and believeable. All the struggles they went through were just skipped. We literally only had chatting - giraffe - chatting - hospital - epilogue

They went through the entire country and only had four encounters with infected, they walked through the woods and streets while making noises without any sense of danger.

Ellie's immunity is so important in the game since infected are everywhere and a threat to all humans. However, in the show it seems like humanities biggest struggles are starvation and cold.

Any fanboys here who give every episode a 10/10 should rewatch the first episodes that actually deserve such a high rating. I hope the second season will have more episodes and infected to build the world and create a constant sense of danger.

An incredible ending to a fantastic series, but why is it so short? In the very basics of Filmmaking, we're taught to have a rising action, climax, and falling action. But as a result of the tiny 43 minute runtime, this very basic framework feels rushed over. The climax of the episode isn't fully developed. And what should have been the payoff for the full series felt insignificant to what the previous episode did better. The choice to gloss over the action sequence was a poor choice as it would've shown the passion, significance, and tension. The dialogues are never given full time to marinate and we never see the emotions that the actors seemingly gave during production. Overall, the writing and acting are still incredible and what you expect. But it seems like a lot of the episode's problems stem from the editing and their decision to make this episode, the FINALE, to be the shortest episode of the series.

I think the quality is there but I really think they rushed the last bits too much. Should have been either two episodes or at least a 70min episode. In order to understand, not necessarily agree with, Joels decision you need more background for his demons, longings and grief. And maybe his doubts as well. It is a pity that they decided not to put more 'meat' into this. Besides that it is of course a very well executed episode. It sums it up so well and it really brings down everything to what LoU is all about; it is not another dystophic thriller, or another walking dead. It is one of the most obvious relationship dramas ever produced, just in the narrative of another, mostly sad, world.