The Last of Us (HBO) Finale - A Highlight Reel of Your Favourite Story | Push Square

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Well folks, we’re finally here. After nine episodes, we've reached the conclusion of HBO’s retelling of The Last of Us. And now that we've wrapped this story up yet again we're feeling a little… conflicted.

After last week's run-in with a very hungry group of survivors, Joel and Ellie make their way to the hospital to complete their journey to the Fireflies. However, emotions are flying high as the duo consider what's next for them.

As we've gone on, reviewing this series has become increasingly difficult. We opened so strongly that we were sure that this was the beginning of one of the best video game adaptations of all time. It was bold, it captured the spirit of the source material, and it expanded in ways that kept things fresh for those that played the game. Yet as we moved from one iconic scene to the next, it all felt like diminishing returns. Those bold changes suddenly made way for middling ones that neither added anything to the world nor had the same emotional impact. This became especially prevalent as we got into the meatier and more disturbing moments from the series, which for the most part felt hollowed out.

This line of thought continued all the way through episode nine's anaemic 43 minutes. We were painfully aware of all that we had to get through, yet still the show managed to divert from the main story to introduce new aspects. We're certain some fans of the game will be glad to see areas within The Last of Us lore filled out, but we just felt it was taking away from the main story — especially with the limited runtime.

However, on the surface, episode nine is stacked full of heartwarming moments between its central duo. There's a palpable nervousness there as neither are sure what their relationship