Spoilers ahead for HBO’s The Last of Us seasons one and two.I understand if it sounds like I’m an avowed hater of HBO’sThe Last of Usadaptation by now. After all, I’ve done a lot of complaining about the critically acclaimed show’s second season. I’ve whined about Dina and Elliebeing portrayed as rebellious teenagers, the way Abby’s storyhas been told so far, andits portrayal of queer pride. But I’ve also said nice things, I promise! Like when Iraved about how Dina and Joel actually have a relationship now… except that it’s kind ofchanging Dina’s characterin a way that undermines her own arc and the wider story, but I digress.
I’m looking for silver linings, I swear. I actually liked the first season a lot. Idefended its right to adaptinstead of copying wholesale from the games. But there does come a point when adaptation damages the story being told, and while HBO’s version of The Last of Us adheres to the games in many ways, there are important deviations that make me wonder how the TV show is going to hit similar emotional beats.
Jesse’s Mean Now
Case in point, Jesse. InThe Last of Us Part 2, Jesse is an important supporting character in Ellie’s quest for revenge. While I wouldn’t necessarily go as far as to call him a fan favourite, if you search his name on Reddit, you’ll find plenty of posts bemoaning his abrupt death and saying that he’s one of the only truly ‘good’ characters in the game.
I don’t necessarily think agreeing to hunt down your friend’s surrogate killer makes you agoodperson, but he’s definitely a good friend. That’s really what his character comes down to – he’s a good guy who doesn’t get pissed off at Ellie for dating his girlfriend, despite him and Ellie also being friends.
He doesn’t get mad at Dina either, even though she’s occasionally cold to him. He’s a loyal friend who follows the pair out of concern, pursuing them even through snowstorms, because his friends’ problems are his problems. He still acts as a voice of reason, reminding them angrily that “what we do matters” when he catches the pair high and in their underwear when they’re supposed to be patrolling, but I see him more as a representation of Jackson’s values of community and care. He’s as close to a golden retriever character as you can find in a zombie apocalypse.
But the show’s version of Jesse is very different. He’s more of an authority figure to Ellie and Dina. His insistence on following the rules and caring for the community first causes tension between him and the two women, who make it a point to resist him and deride his attempts to keep the order. He’s less of a friend and more of an obstacle. Even Dina, who was in a long on-and-off relationship with him, doesn’t seem to treat him with much tenderness.
And in the latest episode, when Jesse rescues Dina and Ellie from what seems to be certain death at the hands of hyper-intelligent Clickers, he’s aggressive and openly hostile to Ellie. When she asks him questions as they move through a Scar-filled park, he snarls at her, “Do I look like I want to f*cking talk to you right now?” Admittedly, it was a pretty bad time to be interrogating him, but still.
The Last Of Us Doesn’t Need To Be Dumbed Down
This wouldn’t be a problem in itself if it wasn’t for the function that the adapted Jesse serves in HBO’s story. Ellie sits in a weird position in the show. In a lot of ways, she’s more overtly bloodthirsty, but the show also defangs her in emotional moments. She’s not as irritable, not as withholding, not as angsty. She’s largely good-natured and humorous in her day to day with Dina. When she finds out Dina is pregnant, instead of reacting in horror as in the game, she says, “I’m gonna be a dad?”
It feels like in order to enable this more positive, light-hearted portrayal of Ellie, other characters have to take on the antagonism. In order for her to be a likable hero, the people that keep her grounded, that keep her from making bad decisions, are changed around her. Dina enables her instead of questioning her. Jesse and Tommy are oppressive forces of authority, understanding of her anger but imposing their rules on her.
But all this matters to the story that the show is trying to tell. Where Ellie’s companions were once sources of strength and reason, foils that characterised her quest for revenge as being too far gone, they’re now mostly there to make her more sympathetic to a TV audience. It makes the story easier to consume, but it wipes out the complexity of the game’s themes. Jesse is just a symptom, a casualty of what happens when an adaptation tries to dumb its story down so it’s more appealing and easier to watch. And when he becomes an actual casualty, will viewers even have a reason to care?
