The creator of The Last of Us, Neil Druckmanhas spoken about some perceived differences between the joel of the games and the one that appears in the hit television series HBOincluding the idea that Pedro Pascal’s performance appears to be “softer” than his in-game counterpart, being more “mushy”.
These comments come just as the sixth episode of The Last of Us Season 1 premiered on February 19 to rave reviews, continuing the immense momentum established by the previous episodes.
Existing fans of the franchise have repeatedly praised the fact that The Last of Us series manages to stay true to the original story while still taking some creative liberties that help it better adapt to the television medium.
One of those differences lies in its overall level of brutality, as HBO’s The Last of Us is much less violent than the games, and that change is also reflected in the way its protagonists, and Joel in particular, are portrayed.
Note: You will see spoilers for The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 6 from here on out. On the latest episode of HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Podcast, Druckmann suggested that while the Joel in the series may seem “softer” than the Joel in the games, that’s not necessarily the case.
Expanding on that stance, the creative director posited that the panic attacks experienced by Joel de Pascal during episode 6 are not out of character, but simply something that wasn’t really feasible for an interactive medium.
A player-controlled camera that is “quite far away” from the protagonist didn’t allow the audience to see “what’s going on in Joel’s face”, so the games relied on dialogue as the main method of embellishing his features and establishing development. of the character.
As a result, while the events of episode 6 were originally depicted as making the game’s Joel “more aloof” in his numerous conversations with Ellie, the live-action adaptation indulged in close-ups whenever the creative vision hit. he benefited from those “intimate” moments, Druckmann explained.
The creator of The Last of Us concluded that Joel’s panic attacks in the series were one of those attempts to portray the character in a more subtle way, making the most of the television medium and avoiding some of the cruder dialogue in the script. original.
