The Last of Usis everything fans of the games expected it to be. The series, at certain moments, took exact sequences out of the game and also introduced nuance and situations even the most avid fans are unaware of. Episode 1, ‘When You’re Lost in the Darkness,’ sets the stage with Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) backstory, and introduces Ellie (Bella Ramsey) along with a slew of known characters. The episode also introducedMerle Dandridgeas Marlene. In a new interview withEntertainment Weekly, co-writer and co-creatorNeil Druckmannspoke about giving Marlene and Ellie linked backstories.
In the series, Ellie is introduced as a prisoner of sorts of the Fireflies, a resistance group that wants to do away with FEDRA and introduce a democratic system. It is evident that they know Ellie is immune to Cordyceps infection, and it’s no news to her as well. Though the sequence is the first time we meet both Marlene and Ellie in the series, the scene also confirms that Marlene is somehow linked to Ellie’s past. Speaking of giving them linked histories, Druckmann, who also directed the games, points to an artifact, players can find towards the end ofThe Last of Usgame. It is an audio recording that sheds more light on Marlene’s relationship with Ellie. “It doesn’t get into the same kind of details as we do in the show, but there is a recording that you could find at the end of the game all the way in the hospital that she spells out some of her relationship with Ellie’s origin,” he said.
Druckmann further reveals, “because we don’t have to adhere to one perspective — in this part of the game, you’re playing as Joel in the quarantine zone, so everything you’re seeing is through his eyes.” Which raised the question for the narration of the series “how can we introduce Ellie earlier? That was an opportunity to start showing more of that relationship with Marlene, which then has a greater payoff later because we’ve established the relationship more explicitly here." The backstory gives both the regular audiences and fans of the games an idea of how deep the lore of the series goes.
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Dandrige is interestingly the only actor from the games to have transitioned into the series in the same role.Troy Baker, who voiced Joel, andAshley Johnson, who voiced Ellie, will be seen as different characters in the series. The coming episodes are set to introduce even more beloved characters from the game which will certainly delight fans of the franchise.
The Last of UsEpisode 2 will drop on January 22. You can check out the new trailer below:
