The Last of Us show’s success reopens wounds for Halo fans
The Last of Us premiere shattered expectations, which served as a painful reminder of what could have been with Halo’s tv adaptation.
HBO struck gold with its television adaptation of the Last of Us. The show boasts a remarkable 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 9.5 on IMDb. Developed by the games creator and Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann and Chornobyl showrunner Craig Mazin, the television adaptation stays faithful to the original source material while also taking a few liberties.
Diverging from source material has previously stirred controversy for video game adaptations. The first season of the Halo TV series received harsh criticism for major plot changes and characterization differences. One major outrage stemmed from Master Chief losing his virginity.
Paramount+ renewed Halo for a second season despite mixed reviews, and Halo community members watched the Last of Us premiere on January 15, seething in envy.
ParamountHalo fans relive painful television experience
A Halo fan took to Reddit and shared a meme of what Halo fans experienced while watching the Last of Us TV adaptation succeed.
One fan responded, “honestly, this is what I can never figure out. Faithful representations are successful, while those that aren’t faithful aren’t successful, and yet they keep doing it repeatedly.”
A second commenter added that the Halo show “was mind-numbingly bad, shockingly bad even. It was so un-Halo-like that I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.”
By contrast, Last of Us fans experienced the same emotions watching the show as they did playing the game for the first time.
“I nearly cried during that scene while playing the game and again while watching the show, even though I knew exactly what was coming.”
It’s no small feat, successfully retelling a story through a different medium, and Halo fans wish the show creators took a page from what the Last of Us achieved in its first episode.
For more TLOU content, check out some of our below guides:
Joel & Tess explained | Sarah spoilers | Fungus threat is terrifying | The dog’s fate | Who is Marlene? | Why is Ellie so important? | Soundtrack choice | FEDRA & the Fireflies explained