The Last of Us: Love in the End of the World
[ Warning: The following post will contain spoilers for HBO's The Last of Us TV series up through season 1, episode 3.] The Last of Us has me--someone who has never played The Last of Us --hooked. I wasn't so sure about the series at first. Episode 1 was interesting, but the back half made me feel like protagonist Joel Miller was being treated too much like a video game character. We didn't know much about his feelings or his outlook or anything much about him aside from his deadpan voice and worry for Tommy. That was until the end of the premiere, when Joel charged the FEDRA patrol officer and beat him to death. And then in Episode 2, when I began to understand his character more. He's closed off from the audience because he's closed off to everyone around him, not wanting to lose more people by growing too attached. Which is exactly what happens with his smuggling partner, Tess, at the end of Episode 2. Despite no direct indications that the pair are romantically