The Last of Us Creator Explains Why HBO's Joel Seems Softer Compared to the Games
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann reflected on some perceived differences between Joel from the games and the one depicted in HBO's hit TV series, including the notion that Pedro Pascal's portrayal appears to be softer than his game counterpart. His comments arrive just as the sixth episode of The Last of Us Season 1 debuted to rave reviews on February 19, maintaining the immense momentum established by the preceding episodes.
Existing fans of the franchise have repeatedly heaped praise on the fact that The Last of Us show manages to stay faithful to the original story while still taking some creative liberties which help it better fit the TV medium. One such difference lies in its overall level of brutality, as HBO's The Last of Us is much less violent than the games, with that change also being reflected on how its protagonists—and Joel, in particular—are depicted.
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Speaking on the latest episode of HBO's The Last of Us Podcast, Druckmann suggested that although the show's Joel might appear to be softer than the one from the games, that's not necessarily so. Elaborating on that position, the creative director posited that the panic attacks experienced by Pascal's Joel during episode 6 aren't out of character, but simply something that wasn't really feasible for an interactive medium. A player-controlled camera that's «quite far back» from the protagonist did not allow the audience to see «what's going on with [Joel's] face,» leaving the games to rely on dialogue as the main method of embellishing his traits and establishing character development.
As a result, while the events of
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