I played The Last Of Us games - the TV show got one thing totally wrong

There can be few franchises as controversial as The Last Of Us for its fanbase. Whether we’re talking about the best-selling PlayStation games, or the HBO TV show starring Bella Ramsey, I can’t remember anything creating as much noise as The Last Of Us since Game Of Thrones’ ill-fated finale.

The Last Of Us season 2 finale aired this week, again mired in controversy online as debate ran red hot about the TV show, just as it did for the PS4/PS5 game on release. As someone who has obsessively played The Last Of Us and The Last Of Us Part II about three times each on PS3, PS4 and now PS5, I have to admit - there is one thing the show gets wrong in series 2 of the HBO show which is currently showing on Sky Atlantic and NowTV in the UK.

A huge chunk of the controversy around The Last Of Us’ second game is (spoiler alert) the decision to kill Joel. Joel and Ellie are pitched as the two main protagonists of the series, with Joel taking the lead in Part 1. Having him die just a couple of hours into Part 2 in the game was an extremely brave decision, setting up the cautionary tale about the cost of seeking revenge that Ellie then embarks on.

Much of the popularity of the series comes not from its zombie setting, nor from its action sequences, or even the extremely high quality writing, but from the dynamic between Joel and Ellie. In the first game and series, the tension between them drives the engagement - Joel is forced to take an unwilling escort on a dangerous quest, while a precocious teenage Ellie is forced to listen to his guidance to survive, against her independent instincts. It’s this relationship which drives the entire first outing of the game and TV show, and the characterisation from the game is perfectly captured in series 1 of the TV show.

My favourite episode of season 2 - as it was for many - is the flashback episode where Joel takes Ellie to a museum for her birthday, which goes to show that even when all other aspects of the tension are removed, like the zombies and the push to find a cure, Joel and Ellie's relationship is the most enjoyable driving force of the series.

I’m not going to declare that killing Joel was the wrong choice, though I do wish sometimes that Part 2 was Part 3 and we got one more Joel/Ellie focused game first. Given that many of the TV viewers were just as shocked and upset by Joel’s death as the game’s viewers, the TV series actually did a good job again with this element.

No, what the show gets wrong is Ellie’s character in series 2. Full credit to Bella Ramsey, I think she does a great job as an actor, so it’s not that at all.

But in the game, Ellie’s flip from stubborn teenager to vicious killer hellbent on revenge at any cost is what, bravely, turns Part 2 into an exhaustingly dark, draining experience - deliberately so.

In the game, Ellie chooses to kill Owen and his pregnant girlfriend, so blinded by rage and driven by revenge that she loses all connection with her own humanity.

In the final episode of series 2, she kills them both - by accident. Yes, she fires to defend herself, but the result is not what she intended. Ellie’s character, throughout the second series, is softer, more likeable, and less damaged. Why? I can only assume that the show runners simply don’t trust TV audiences to keep coming back if they made the narrative as relentlessly unforgiving as the game.

Of course, it’s an adaptation. Things change. For the most part, the show is one of the best examples of moving narrative from one medium to another without losing anything - but I do hope for series 3, the TV version leans fully into the darkness of this story to do the game justice.