Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us to follow.
With officially three Sundays away from the ending, fans of the new HBO hit The Last of Us are finally getting into the extensive lore from the videogame, even if it is out of order.
In the most recent episode, the post-apocalyptic show took a significant leap to The Last of Us Part II, as per the director’s wishes. The snowy Jackson settlement was recreated right on the sixth episode of the HBO hit, as opposed to the official first game installment, which did not feature Wyoming altogether. Instead, Jackson offers the starting grounds for players in Part II, which is a settlement also introduced in the spring. Despite this creative decision from the showrunners’ end, the Jackson settlement’s inclusion was planned from the start, according to episode six director Jasmila Žbanić per Variety.
“What we talked a lot about was that I survived the war in Sarajevo in the ’90s. I think for Craig and Neil, it was interesting that I was kind of living in a place which was like Jackson in a way because we were surrounded by the Serbian army. We were constantly bombarded. We had to be on alert, we had to survive, we had to learn how to live without anything, without civilization. There was no electricity, no food, nothing. But we managed to survive because of solidarity, and the way the city was restructured. You have to start from zero. That experience for me was something that I felt very close about Jackson.”
Surprisingly enough, Žbanić had never played the videogame prior to directing the episode. Instead, the Bosnian filmmaker watched playthroughs on YouTube, trying to get a grasp of the reality she had been so previously familiar with while praising the communal sense that Jackson brought to Joel and Ellie, who had been on the run for so long.
“It’s a community that functions, and I find it really beautiful and hopeful because I really believe even in the worst catastrophes like war, I survived. People are able to keep the society. They are not always the enemy to each other,” she said, “so I was really happy to direct this episode that really said something that I deeply believe in.”
The most recent episode marked Žbanić’s TV debut, perfectly embodying her personal experience with the settlement. Wyoming, on the other hand, is the very first scene that the players face when starting The Last of Us Part II, unmistakable for Ellie’s introduction as a 19 year old. Despite not featuring some key parts from the game, Jackson still provided the audience with a tender meeting between Tommy and Joel.
The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO Max.