Content material Warning: The next article comprises spoilers for the Naughty Canine sport and HBO adaptation, The Final of Us.After three video games and two failed film adaptions during the last decade, followers of The Final of Us can lastly tune into HBO Max’s extremely anticipated sequence adaption of their favourite online game. The 85-minute sequence premiere befell on January 15, 2023 and whereas it stayed true to the online game, it additionally left followers and viewers alike with loads of questions.
From sequence questions like why the opening scene within the sequence was a lot totally different from the sport to sillier questions like questioning what occurs to the canine, followers have been left with a number of questions that will solely be answered within the coming episodes.
Can You Watch The Collection With out Having Performed The Recreation?
A query floating across the web since The Final of Us premiered is whether or not individuals can watch the online game adaptation in the event that they’ve by no means performed the sport. Whereas there have been two full-length video games and a pivotal enlargement during the last decade, to some, The Final of Us is a model new story.
As a result of the sequence so carefully follows the cinematic sequences of the sport, it may possibly simply be watched with out ever having labored a controller. The sequence rapidly however successfully introduces every character and dives proper into the motion from the second the apocalypse begins to how the principle characters Joel and Ellie cross paths.
Why Did The Collection Begin Drastically Completely different From The Recreation?
Followers of the sport could keep in mind that the very first scene is of Sarah waking up on the sofa, then continuing to present Joel the repaired look ahead to his birthday and later waking up within the empty home, all issues that occur within the present’s first episode.
However the sequence premiere began off on a way more eerie notice when the opening scene confirmed medical doctors on a 60s speak present explaining how an apocalypse would begin, delving into the science behind a fungal outbreak. Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann defined on HBO’s The Final of Us Podcast that the scene was meant to spook followers of the video games whereas additionally info-dumping to viewers who’ve by no means performed.
Will Nico Parker’s Sarah Be Again?
The sequence rapidly made viewers fall in love with Joel’s daughter Sarah firstly of the sport by making her the proper mixture of candy and wise-cracking. She has an ideal father-daughter relationship, is an effective individual to her aged neighbors, and begins out because the present’s protagonist.
Following the storyline of the sport, Sarah will get shot and killed whereas Joel tries to get them to security after the outbreak begins, ending Nico Parker‘s run within the sequence about midway by means of the primary episode. Though the remainder of the sequence is about to comply with Joel’s journey with Ellie, it begs the query is Parker will ever return as Sarah in potential flashbacks, and even as an phantasm.
Have been Marlene And Ellie’s Mom Buddies?
It is a recognized reality from the video games that Ellie’s connection to Marlene, the commander of the Fireflies, goes again to Ellie’s mom being outdated associates together with her. It is why Ellie is aware of she will belief Marlene when she suggests Ellie goes off with Joel and Tess.
The sequence modifications this up when it seems Ellie first meets Marlene whereas locked in a room, and Marlene reveals she’s all the time recognized who Ellie is, to which Ellie hilariously responds, “Are you my f**king mother or one thing?” Within the video games, it is Ellie who reveals Marlene and her mom have been associates, making followers marvel why the present determined to alter Ellie’s backstory.
Does The Canine Die?
It is a typical horror trope to kill off a loveable pet, like when Michael Myers killed Lindsay’s canine in Halloween and Chucky killed the household cat in Chucky. The Final of Us isn’t any totally different in terms of making viewers fall in love with a pet, introducing Joel and Sarah’s neighbors’ canine Mercy.
Mercy is just seen a couple of instances all through the episode, as soon as when a neighbor begins turning right into a zombie and once more when the canine finds Sarah after the outbreak begins. However for all these questioning if the canine dies within the present, the reply is unknown, because of by no means seeing Mercy once more after Joel, Sarah and Tommy depart city.
Who Is Riley?
Throughout an vital dialog between Ellie and Marlene, Ellie is reluctant to be accepting of Marlene, who the teenager accuses of being a terrorist. Marlene responds to Ellie’s snapback with, “Was Riley a terrorist?”
The identify places a wierd look in Ellie’s eye for a second, permitting viewers to query simply who Riley is. Time will inform how the sequence will introduce the beloved character, however followers of the video games know Riley was Ellie’s finest good friend, and eventual girlfriend, who appeared in Ellie’s backstory that befell in The Final of Us: Left Behind.
The place Is Ellie Being Despatched?
For many who have by no means performed the video games, the sequence premiere ended on a stunning notice when Joel and Tess discover out the lady they have been enlisted to smuggle is contaminated. Ellie reveals them her chunk mark, then informs them it is three weeks outdated, explaining that most individuals do not final a day after they’re bitten.
Followers of the video games know precisely what to anticipate within the episodes to return – the place Ellie is being despatched to and why – however anybody who has no inkling of the sport will understandably marvel the place Marlene is sending Ellie and why Ellie is so pivotal in all this.
The place’s Tommy?
Regardless of not appearing as a significant character, Joel’s brother Tommy is there for some pivotal moments in each the sport and the present. Tommy is the one who drives Joel and Sarah out of city when the outbreak occurs, and is the one who in the end saves Joel’s life simply as Sarah loses hers.
When the sequence flashes ahead 20 years, it is revealed that Tommy has been unreachable for 3 weeks, after having by no means not contacted Joel for greater than a day. It is unknown the place or why Tommy went, however it may possibly solely be assumed that Gabriel Luna‘s run on the present is not over simply but.
Will There Be Any Queer Characters In The Collection?
A reputable query viewers are asking after the premiere is that if there can be any queer characters within the sequence, and luckily, the reply has already been revealed. It was beforehand confirmed within the sport’s sequel The Final of Us II that Ellie is a lesbian, and has had a couple of notable girlfriends.
The sequence has promised to maintain its LGBTQ+ illustration in Ellie, and the primary episode has already talked about her earlier love curiosity Riley, who, in accordance with trailers, will pop up in what can solely be assumed are flashbacks to happier instances between her and Ellie.
What Music Performs At The Finish Of Episode 1?
It is an intriguing second when Ellie occurs upon radio codes hidden in a Billboard e-book, a notice that explains {that a} 60s tune means there’s nothing in, a 70s tune means there’s new inventory, and an 80s tune is just given a cryptic pink X.
Ellie cleverly tips Joel into admitting what an 80s tune means, confirming to Ellie that listening to an 80s tune on the radio means hassle. The episode’s remaining scene focuses on the radio whereas the 1987 tune “By no means Let Me Down Once more” by Depeche Mode performs, assuring the viewers that solely hassle is forward for Joel, Ellie and Tess.