‘The Last of Us’ Continues to Adapt Its NPCs Into Main Characters
The show’s fourth episode breathes life into the game’s nameless goons with the introduction of Melanie Lynskey’s Kathleen
The Last of Us had a tough act to follow after last week’s episode, “Long, Long Time,” reached a new series high in viewership and was showered with immense praise for its moving love story and bold narrative choices. The early success of The Last of Us has felt almost overwhelming at times, if not fairly predictable when you consider its placement in HBO’s prestigious Sunday-night time slot; the franchise’s passionate, built-in fan base; and, of course, the ridiculously high production value. But while all of those things are essential reasons for the show’s rapid popularity, the most significant component of its success thus far is simply its ability to adapt.
Even with naturally cinematic source material to draw from, adapting The Last of Us was never a given to succeed—especially if you consider its failed film adaptation or if you believe in the supposed “video game curse.” But cocreators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and the rest of the creative team have succeeded by not only staying largely faithful to the source material, but by knowing when and where to deviate from it and then being able to effectively build upon preexisting lore. The show’s fourth episode, “Please Hold to My Hand,” which portrays the hunters, a hostile group of survivors lifted directly from the game, is the most emblematic (so far) of how a thoughtful adaptation can find a happy medium between those three pillars.
But before unpacking the most recent episode, let’s take a quick look back at the three episodes that led up to it. The first two, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” and “Infected,” adhere closely to the plot of the original game. Both episodes highlight the unlikely pairing of Joel and Ellie, introduce the audience to the Infected, and establish the unforgiving nature of the Last of Us world through moments like Sarah’s shocking death. It works well because it helps new viewers become acquainted with The Last of Us while simultaneously easing the anxiety of longtime fans who might’ve been hesitant about the story’s move to television. Now, there are slight differences here and there—the unsettling flashback sequences, how Tess dies, the hive mind network that connects the Infected—but none of that would necessarily be earth shattering for someone who’s played the game.
Episode 3, however, swings all the way in the other direction and makes significant changes to the Last of Us canon. “Long, Long Time,” which beautifully recounts the story of how survivors Bill and Frank fell in love and (for the most part) happily spent their lives together, is a drastic departure from the events of the game. While the scenes between Joel and Ellie are relatively similar, everything that takes place between Bill and Frank had never been depicted on screen prior to last week’s installment. It’s an important detour from the game in terms of celebrating a gay love story at the center of the episode, but it’s also important because it sends a message to the audience that the creators are not afraid of shaking things up in a new medium. It’s always risky for an adaptation to stray that far from what it’s based on, but “Long, Long Time” is proof that it can not only be done respectfully, but also in a way that creates something new and just as powerful.
That brings us back to Episode 4. This one is somewhere in the middle in terms of how it adapts the story for the small screen. It takes the aforementioned lore regarding the hunters (a group of former quarantine zone residents turned brutal mercenaries) and greatly expands on it by adding context through characters and their relationships, making this part of the world feel more authentic and realized. In the game, outside of a few lines of dialogue and a handful of collectibles that suggest the group rose up from under the boot of FEDRA, there is little known about this antagonistic faction. We do know, through the playthrough, that the hunters lure people into their territory, kill them, and steal their supplies as a way to survive. They’re well disciplined and organized, and they utilize armored vehicles equipped with high-powered weapons. This section is one of the more high-octane moments within the game, but that’s mainly because of the gameplay rather than the story elements.
In the show, we’re introduced to the hunters about halfway through Episode 4 after members of the group ambush Joel and Ellie on their detour through Kansas City. During the encounter, Joel gets pinned down by one of the hunters, and Ellie is forced to shoot the young attacker to save Joel’s life. As the hunter is bleeding out from the gunshot wound, he starts begging for his life. “My mom isn’t far if you can get me to her. We can be friends. I didn’t know,” he pleads to Joel and Ellie. The fear in his voice and in his eyes is palpable, and it’s at this moment the audience begins to understand how complicated these dynamics are. The hunters aren’t just a bunch of evil thugs; they’re once-regular people who have since been corrupted by a postapocalyptic world riddled with death.
Throughout Episode 4, Mazin and Druckmann expand upon the groundwork laid by the game, which, in turn, starts to deepen the story’s overall impact. The most notable example of this is through the brand-new addition of Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), the hunters’ ruthless leader and a character who isn’t in the game but still feels right at home in the Last of Us universe.
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We meet Kathleen as she’s holding a defenseless old man at gunpoint in an abandoned FEDRA detention cell. As she questions him, we learn more about her backstory and what it is that drives her. Kathleen resents the man and others for giving information to FEDRA that she believes resulted in her brother’s murder; she’s adamant about finding someone named Henry; she incites terror to get what she wants. It’s later revealed that the old man she’s been torturing is actually the town doctor, and at one point, he was close to her. “You were wronged. I’m sorry, but this has to stop,” he says. “For God’s sake, I delivered you.” The tense interrogation is interrupted when news of Joel’s arrival and a couple of wounded hunters are brought to Kathleen’s attention. After realizing that neither of her men can be saved, Kathleen understands the doctor is of no more use to her, wastes no time, and shoots him without a second thought. Their altercation underscores that this was once a tight-knit community that has since been torn apart because of the circumstances, which makes the killing and violence that much more tragic.
Kathleen serves as the show’s skeleton key for understanding the hunters; it’s through her various interactions around their camp that we start to get a sense of who these people are.
An example of this is through her relationship with Perry, played by Jeffrey Pierce, who actually voiced Tommy in the games. Perry is Kathleen’s loyal right-hand man. It’s never explicitly stated, but it’s understood that the two have been working together, or at least have known each other, for quite some time. He has the utmost respect for Kathleen, and the two share an unspoken bond of trust that is on full display—which seems likely to play a factor in the narrative even more down the line. Perry does what Kathleen says when she says it, reports back to her first with sensitive information, and follows her orders even if he disagrees, which speaks volumes for their dynamic.
Because of the significant emphasis on character, the hunters have evolved from a collection of nameless NPCs (non-playable characters), who you have to clear out to keep progressing through the game, to complex, fully-formed characters whom we can latch onto in the show. In the game, the hunters are there to do two things: show that people who survived the outbreak have become just as dangerous, if not more so, as the Infected and pull back on the main narrative so that the gameplay and combat can really shine. The TV series need not concern itself with the latter, which allows it to lean even further into the themes of the former. A fruitful adaptation is all about balance, and the creative team took something that was already there and enriched it.
After their first run-in with the hunters in Episode 4, Ellie asks Joel who the rogue attackers were: “They’re not FEDRA, and they’re not Fireflies. Who are they?”
“People,” Joel replies.
