Top 10 Differences Between The Last of Us Game and Show
#10: Joel’s Journey Is More Personal
On the show, Joel wants to go on a cross country journey after he loses contact with his sibling. He needs a car battery so he can reach his lost brother. After a survivor named Robert fails to deliver the battery, Joel and his ally Tess make a deal to transport Ellie in exchange for a new one. Things aren’t quite as wholesome in the source material. In the game, Joel and Tess agree to take Ellie if the Fireflies give them the guns that Robert promised them. Tommy only comes in when he becomes the best chance they have of finding out where Ellie needs to go. By contrast, the show makes it clear that Tommy is much more important to Joel.
#9: The Timeline & Cause of the Cordyceps Outbreak
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One of the biggest differences between the tv series and game comes almost immediately after the show begins. We learn that the cordyceps outbreak occurred in 2003. In the source material, the apocalypse started in the same year the game was released: 2013. The change was suggested by co-creator Craig Mazin so the series could take place the same year as the show premiered. He believed this change would make the events more personal to viewers. A different format also awarded the showrunners more room to expand on how the outbreak occurred. An epidemiologist explains how cordyceps function in the premiere. The second episode also moved the outbreak’s main point of origin from somewhere vaguely in South America to Jakarta, Indonesia.
#8: The Empty Mall
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There were a number of minor changes made between the digital “Left Behind” story expansion and its namesake episode on the series. While Ellie was remembering her past in the game, she also had to combat enemies in the present. The reason why she isn’t fighting leads to the biggest change to this section of the story. In the game, Ellie searches an empty mall for any medical supplies while Joel is injured. Her quest through the building makes her think about the last moments she spent with Riley in another mall. On the show, the flashback is kicked off after an injured Joel tells her to abandon him. After remembering that she couldn’t stop Riley’s death, Ellie becomes more determined to save Joel’s life.
#7: Where Joel Finds Tommy
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In Episode 6, Joel finally made it to Tommy. And honestly, things couldn’t be going better. Tommy revealed that he lives in a successful commune and is married to a woman named Maria. To top it all off, he also had a baby on the way. This brotherly reunion plays out differently in the game. While Tommy is still married to Maria, she isn’t pregnant. Joel also met up with his sibling within the nice commune on the show. But in the game, he finds his brother near a hydroelectric dam working to restore electricity. In fact, players had to wait until Part 2 to see the inside of the community that Tommy was working so hard for.
#6: When Joel & Ellie Are Captured By the Fireflies
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After Joel & Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City, the Fireflies catch the duo off guard in both the show and the videogame. However, the moment they pick up the protagonists is altered between mediums. The game features a section where Ellie and Joel attempt to cross a body of water and accidentally end up submerged. Although the duo makes it to the surface, the immune survivor nearly drowns. As Joel tries to revive Ellie, fireflies arrive and knock him out. The series avoids water completely. Instead, the fireflies drop smoke grenades before rendering Joel unconscious and capturing Ellie. In both mediums, the soldiers wouldn’t have to get violent if they just asked a couple of questions before pouncing on the protagonists.
#5: Tess’ Death
Tess is a strong-willed ally that we’re sad to lose in every medium. In both the game and show, she’s bitten while the group tries to get through a museum encounter. Tess eventually sacrifices herself so Joel and Ellie can make it to safety. But her sacrifice is far more disturbing in live-action. In the game, she stands up to FEDRA officers to buy Joel and Ellie time and goes out in a blaze of gunfire. However, a large group of infected people, including one obsessed with PDA, storm the building on the show. Tess then decides to set off an explosion to take the enemies out. While the explosion is definitely more of a spectacle, the death still feels raw and personal.
#4: David Becomes More Horrifying
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Gamers knew all about David’s horrific tendencies and inclinations before viewing the series. But the show made several additions that made our skin crawl even more. In the game, it’s suggested that his people are a-okay with chowing down on humans. But in the show, it’s implied that many of David’s followers are unaware what kind of meat they’re really ingesting. We also get the backstory that he’s a former math teacher who turned into a preacher after the world ended. Based on the disturbing things David said to Ellie and what tries to do to her, he took jobs that allowed him to get closer to potential victims. Who knew that this villain could get sicker than he already was?
#3: Infected Abilities
Infected are all horrifying enemies that aren’t to be taken lightly. However, their exact abilities differ between the source material and adaptation. In the game, dead Infected often spread infectious spores in dark places. This means everyone except Ellie must wear a gas mask in these locations to avoid turning into one. While there are no spores on the show, the live-action Infected gained a new hive mind-like feature. Survivors who disturb cordyceps in one place risk sending a signal to a horde in a completely different part of town. Additionally, the Bloater can rip off fungal pieces and hurl them like poisonous grenades in the game. But the show version only showcased its intimidating strength.
#2: Bill & Frank’s Relationship
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When Bill and Frank were adapted into live-action, their story got a lot more attention. After the outbreak, the duo began a romance that viewers saw unfold over the course of two decades. Their relationship concludes after Frank’s body was wracked by illness. When he decides his life is at an end, his partner makes sure they both leave the world together. While we know both versions of Bill are paranoid survivalists, most of the episode’s events weren’t depicted in the game. We never get to see the brighter parts of their relationship. In fact, players discover that Frank hated and stayed away from Bill. Sadly, the two didn’t resolve their issues before Frank took his own life to avoid turning into an infected.
#1: Henry & Sam’s Arc
Although the outcome was more or less the same, the showrunners made big changes to Sam and Henry’s chapter. For one, Sam isn’t deaf in the game (Xref 1). The series also staged the events in Kansas City instead of Pittsburgh. Additionally, Kathleen doesn’t exist in the game. Her presence was the most game-changing part of the story. (Xref 2). In the game, Henry and Sam plan to join up with Fireflies. They ask Joel and Ellie for a team up so the quartet can deal with hunters that ambush travelers for their supplies. But in the adaptation, we discover the actions Henry took to save his sick sibling inadvertently caused the death of Kathleen’s brother. Her quest for revenge made the entire arc more tense, complex and gripping.
