🚨 There are MASSIVE spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Episode 1, but not the video games! 🚨
Ten years after The Last of Us video game was first released, the TV series adaptation has finally premiered, and it's perfect. The show scored the second biggest premiere for HBO in more than a decade, right behind House of the Dragon.
With only one episode so far, fans of the video game are already praising the adaptation for being faithful and capturing the spirit of the games, which is never an easy task.
Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic series that follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler who is tasked with escorting Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the United States.
In the first episode, titled "When You're Lost in the Darkness," we are introduced to Joel and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) in 2003 just before a mass fungal infection sparks a global pandemic, turning its victims into bloodthirsty cannibal creatures, aka the show's version of zombies.
This scene that features Sarah standing in her neighbor's house looking at DVDs, when you suddenly see the old woman just out of focus over her shoulder as the infection takes over, is truly the definition of a perfect horror moment.
Now, personally, I have never played The Last of Us games and have been avoiding spoilers, so when I tell you I knew NOTHING going into Episode 1, I mean it.
This is all to say, I was totally blindsided when Joel, Sarah, and Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) try to escape their town in Texas after the infection begins to claim its victims and it ultimately ends with Sarah's heartbreaking death after she's shot by a soldier.
It's a devastating moment for Joel, which deeply affects his character, especially after the show jumps 20 years into the future and we learn that Joel is living in a quarantine zone in Boston.
In fact, the show does a great job at showing how Sarah's death is still with Joel when he can hear her screams as he sleeps and when he encounters a FEDRA agent pointing a gun at Ellie and he immediately thinks of Sarah and takes out all of his anger.
What's even more incredible is Nico Parker was able to make viewers, like myself, fall in love with Sarah in just a few scenes, thus making her death so devastating for everyone. And even fans of the video games, who KNEW it was coming, were emotional watching it unfold on screen.
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What's impressive is this is only Nico's fourth project. She previously starred in The Third Day, Reminiscence, and Disney's Dumbo live-action adaptation.
And in case you had no idea like me, Nico is the daughter of Westworld actor Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker, who notably wrote and directed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Ticket to Paradise.
Speaking to TVLine about portraying Sarah's death, which is a huge moment in the games, Nico said she was "incredibly stressed" due to how influential the death is on the rest of the series. "It's an iconic moment. I have cried at that moment, myself, prior to even in any way being involved in the show," she said. "So I think I was very aware of how important it was to kind of execute it appropriately."
And it looks like she succeeded in every way, with fans flocking to Twitter during and after the episode to share their love for Nico's portrayal of Sarah. Here are some of the best reactions:
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Sarah and Joel❤️ #TheLastOfUs
me watching sarah’s death in 4k #TheLastOfUsHBO #TheLastOfUs
#TheLastOfUs spoilers - - camera on joel. “tommy help me”. tommy looks at joel & sarah and looks visibly defeated. joel turns back to sarah (so does the camera) and she’s gone. the audience & joel both find out sarah’s gone at the same time this is sick
one of the biggest reasons why sarahs death scene in the game was so heartwrenching was her incredible voice acting and the pain that you could just hear through her voice and nico parker captured that so horrifically well it was like rewatching it for the first time
#TheLastOfUs Everybody knowing what’s coming when Joel picked up Sarah in his arms after they crashed:
me watching sarah die in joel’s arms, even though i already knew she was gonna die in his arms because she’s been dead for like 10 years now #TheLastOfUs
the last of us is perfectly casted so far but nico parker’s performance as sarah was phenomenal. THAT scene broke me. #TheLastOfUs
Did anyone else lose it when they saw Sarah wearing the exact same shirt?? These are the exact small details I fully expected and the show just delivered and I'm getting emotional all over again. #TheLastOfUs
and a huge shoutout to nico parker for breaking our hearts in just one episode #TheLastOfUs #TheLastOfUsHBO
me knowing what was gonna happen to sarah but still tearing up #TheLastOfUs #TheLastOfUsHBO
Me watching Sarah die for the 4th time but it still hitting like a brick to the face. #TheLastOfUs
nico parker....you KILLED it! 🙌🏼
Me yelling at Sarah (my tv screen) to leave the neighbor’s house already knowing she was gonna make it out of that situation😭 #TheLastOfUsHBO #TheLastOfUs
not me trying to sit here and pretend there is going to be a happy ending with joel and sarah when i know exactly what tf is coming… #TheLastOfUs
SARAH NO PLEASE STAY WITH ME DONT LEAVE ME #TheLastOfUs
The flashback to Sarah when Joel stood in front of Ellie THAT WAS SICK WHAT THE FUCK #TheLastOfUs
#TheLastOfUs - - - This moment was SO GOOD literally chills. They really showed the trauma and grief Joel still has
#TheLastOfUs Joel killing the infected old lady and Sarah’s horrified reaction vs. Joel killing that military dude and Ellie lighting up like the Fourth of July
"joel doesn't have to constantly say like 'hey, remember sarah? my daughter, that died 20 years ago...' instead, all he's gotta do is touch his watch" — neil druckmann, the official the last of us podcast
Sarah and Joel 😭 #TheLastofus #TheLastofusHBO