We are nearing the end of the first season of The Last Of Us, and although on the whole the show has proven to be a hit with fans, there is one thing that some viewers have found annoying.
This is the overall lack of infected that the season has shown, with viewers saying they are ‘disappointed’ that we are only one episode from the end of this season and we have only sporadically seen scenes with the infected.
However, since The Last Of Us first hit our screens, fans have been praising the show for everything from its writing to the world-class performances from its cast.
At the start of the year, audiences were first introduced to the HBO Max series, which is the first live-action adaptation since the video game wowed audiences way back in 2013.
Just like the games, the series is set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by an unstoppable, brain-eating, fungal outbreak that transforms humans into cannibals.
Per Deadline, the show’s first 2 episodes were viewed by over twenty million people, making it HBO’s fourth current show to average over fifteen million viewers, and now we’re on the sixth episode and it’s only growing.
It’s no wonder that they’ve already renewed it for a second season!
The writers have been commended for honouring the original source material, which rapidly gathered a devoted fan base when it first came out. The engaging storylines, impressive visuals, and music propelled it to its massive success.
For those who haven’t watched the show, Joel, portrayed by Pedro Pascal, is a ruthless smuggler who is responsible for transporting the young teen Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) to a medical facility situated on the opposite side of the country after it turns out she’s immune to the infection, leading him to believe she could hold the cure to the deadly parasite.
The Last of Us premiered on January 15, and has been met with rave reviews from both critics and fans, resulting in an unbelievable score of 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes when it first hit screens.
However, some fans aren’t all that happy now they have a pretty much full season to look back on, claiming that there aren’t enough infected featured in the show.
One user said: “I think it made the situation seem way less desperate. Not having to fight through bills town etc. low on ammo and having to make it through. I felt they dropped the ball in what would’ve been Pittsburgh also. The whole world just seemed less threatening.”
While another commented: “I know the show is about the people, but those people’s lives and their whole world was heavily impact by the ongoing presence of the infected, a presence that is quite minimised in the show.
“I was hoping they’d do more variations even, like they did the child clicker for example, they could’ve done more with Bloaters, or the fungus growing on floors, but it seems not to be a priority at all to depict that.”
However, not everyone agrees with the conclusion that the show should have included more of the scary stuff.
One user argued: “It’s a ridiculous discussion… It’s about the story rather than ‘how many infected can we squish?’. If every movie/TV show based it purely on the game the enemy body count would be of a small country.”
Another agreed: “Given that the infected were mostly gameplay obstacles, I think they did the right thing. They highlighted them in really cool ways, but mostly you got to see the relationships between the living – which, at the end of the day, is what I think The Last of Us is really about. The infected are a backdrop in this, and that feels right.”
What do you think?
