Look for the Light

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.

Brace yourselves, dear viewers, for this episode will undoubtedly spark heated debates among fans. Some will love it, while others will loathe it-much like the game itself.

The Last of Us ends with a masterful coup de grâce, cementing this adaptation's place in the pantheon of prestige television.

It is sombre and dark yet replete with emotions that run deep. Joel, at long last, becomes a man of action. Whether his actions are morally defensible, however, is a subject of endless debate.

Staying true to the game, this episode does not falter in its execution, boasting a master-stroke opening that sets the stage for a gripping narrative to unfold. The strategic use of a flashback adds layers of complexity to already richly-wrought characters, serving as a catalyst for some of the most poignant dialogue between Joel and Ellie to date-dialogue sure to leave the audience teary-eyed.

The action is far from glorified, leaving viewers in a state of visceral shock and awe. The last couple of episodes have served to do some fantastic work for Joel, and this episode is the proverbial cherry on top, truly a beautiful and profound culmination of his character arc. Indeed, the show is a thing of beauty, but beauty that is shrouded in darkness.

Were a flaw to be ascribed, it would be that of brevity. At a mere 40 minutes, the finale feels curtailed. The absence of the Cordyceps is understandable, given the laser-focused narrative, though it marks a deviation from the source material.

By turns harrowing and humane, towering and intimate, this finale buries its hooks deeply in the viewer, capping off a brilliant maiden season. Love it or loathe it, impassioned discourse will assuredly abound in the wake of this uncompromising conclusion to the first chapter of The Last of Us.

Rating: 8.5/10 (Great)

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.

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.

They really needed just a couple more episodes to flesh things out a bit more for this series before the finale.

I feel as if some further time spent with Joel and Ellie's relationship could have been very beneficial. The opportunity was right there after episode 8 but instead the finale is set after a timeskip! With two of the nine episodes this series essentially being filler, I don't really feel as if Joel and Ellie have really spent that much time together. In retrospect there is also a severe lack of infected in this series; episode 2 is the obligatory Clicker episode, and they never really come back afterwards save for one more scene, and the Bloater shows up for one measly scene.

I think 12 episodes would have been perfect, heck, 10 even just to make that finale really hit hard. I was shocked at how short the finale episode was, and it felt kind of rushed as a whole. Still a good series, overall, but why so short? We get about 6 episodes to develop our main character's relationship, and a lot of the dialogue is just from the game, but less of it. Personally, I don't think that's enough.