The Last of Us: 3 best scenes from the season premiere

The Last of Us has a difficult task ahead of it: trying to win people over as a remake of a videogame. Most programs that fill up HBO’s Sunday night slot already have good faith built up, based on the fact that the shows are there in the first place.

That same good faith cannot be had for videogame remakes, though. The game-remake graveyard is filled with causalities such as Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Super Mario Bros. (1993), Resident Evil (2022), and countless others.

Detective Pikachu (2019) was an exception to the rule, but I feel like it’s hard to separate the Pokémon games from the television shows and movies at this point — in a way that most franchises can’t really count on. All that stipulated, I liked The Last of Us season 1 episode 1.

The show’s world building and plot in the premiere helped leave intrigue for down the road. Here are three of the best scenes from the season 1 opener:

1. The Last of Us – The truck scene

Sarah wanders over to the neighboring Adler’s house where she sees the grandma feasting on Mr. and Mrs. Adler. Sarah escapes the house at the perfect time; as Joel and Tommy are returning from presumably bailing Tommy out of jail.

Tommy is armed with a gun and Joel a monkey wrench. Joel and Tommy think about what to do as the monstrous grandma approaches.

Joel ultimately decides to hit her with the wrench. Sarah, Joel and Tommy then get back in the truck and hit a few zombies as they drive away from the neighborhood.

2. The Last of Us – Caught in the crossfire

The show eventually fasts forwards 20 years. The United States is in the throes of an apocalypse with walled-off cities, public hangings and a rebellious militia group.

During this time, we see an argument take place. Eventually, the two parties in the debate agree that there should be no hard feelings, only to have an explosion interrupt the conversation.

The explosion caves in the building they were hiding in. Then, we see Tess, who appears to have some kind of partnership with Joel, escape the debris-filled scene only to come in contact with a shootout between the Fireflies and FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency).

The FEDRA is an authority in these dystopian times. She gets handcuffed and taken in by FEDRA shortly after.

3. The Last of Us – “Move”

Joel and Tess are tasked with taking Ellie, a child the Fireflies prioritize highly, to the State House. The three are caught trying to get there by a FEDRA guard and a pill customer of Joel’s from earlier in the show.

The guard interrogates them and tells them they will be hanged for their “unauthorized exit.” Joel and Tess try to bribe him before Ellie, realizing she would likely test positive on the soldier’s device, stabs him with her switchblade.

After that, Joel steps in front of the soldier who is about to shoot Ellie. “Move,” the guard says repeatedly.

We see Joel have a flashback to when he was previously confronted by a soldier who later shot and killed his daughter. He tackles the present guard to protect Ellie and beats him senselessly after that.

Tess encounters the soldier’s device on the ground that says Ellie is indeed infected. Ellie then makes a case for why the Fireflies would care so much about her: she had been bitten weeks ago but is still not zombified.

What were your thoughts about The Last of Us season 1 episode 1? Which scenes stood out to you the most?

Share your answers in the comments below!

The Last of Us season 1 episode 2 airs on HBO January 22, 2023.