The article contains spoilers for The Last of Us
The Last of Us was one of the most anticipated shows of the year and the first two episodes of the show have lived up to the reputation of Naughty Dog’s magnum opus. Alike the first episode, the second episode of The Last of Us managed to surpass fans’ expectations.
The creators of the show have been able to convey the atmosphere from the 2013 game of the year to HBO’s live-action show. But apart from all the aspects which make the live-action version work, the death of Tess in the latest episode has set the internet on fire.
The horrifying death of Tess has left fans in disgust
HBO isn’t new to gruesome and degrading deaths and overly sensual scenes, considering their shows Game of Thrones and Euphoria. But they somehow managed to top that bar with the recent death of Tess in the second episode of The Last of Us.
The second episode of the show witnessed the death of Tess who was already infected. But unlike the games, her death in the live-action version is more gruesome. In the adaptation, the character sacrifices herself to help Joel and Ellie on their mission. Whereas in the game, Tess sacrifices herself to the FEDRA soldiers, so that Joel and Ellie can make their escape, however in the show, she dies through an explosion of her own making. But it isn’t the explosion that has left fans in disgust, but the horrifying kissing scene before it.
In the scene, as Tess is standing still, an infected approaches her, and instead of tearing her apart, the infected goes for the most unholy smooches in television history. In a terrifying display, the Infected pushes its tendrils of fungus down her throat. Fans have now regarded it as one of the most disgusting deaths in the HBO lineup, even surpassing Game of Thrones in that manner.
The Last of Us witnessed a significant increase in viewership
The Last of Us doesn’t fall short of its source material and has surely broken the video game curse. The show has been garnering abundant praise and love from both fans and critics, which is evident through its rise in viewership for the second episode, which is also the highest second-week audience growth for an HBO show.
The first episode of The Last of Us opened with a whopping 4.7 million views, which is reasonable considering the already existing fandom and hype for the games. But the second episode Infected went on to reach the mark of 5.7 million on its first night, which is a 22% increase from its predecessor.
Although the Sunday night viewership only represents 20-40% of a show’s total gross per episode, with the first episode standing at 18 million views. But considering the quality of the first two episodes, it’s reasonable to think that the numbers will keep moving up in the following episodes.
Fans have praised the showrunners for staying true to the source material and providing the most authentic experience. Some even called it the most faithful video game adaptation of all time and can’t wait for the show’s upcoming episodes and witness the story unfold in live-action.
The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Twitter
