How long is the first season of “The Last Of Us”? After previewing the complete season, we can answer that unequivocally with “nine episodes”. But then why were ten episodes promised for a long time?
In the run-up to the launch of “The Last Of Us” there was a bit of confusion about the length of the opening season – some of which continues to this day. After two episodes have been shown so far during the current weekly broadcast, quite a few viewers are still wondering how many episodes are still to come.
One reason for the uncertainty: “Chernobyl” creator and “The Last Of Us” showrunner Craig Mazin himself announced in 2021 that the first season of the video game adaptation would comprise ten episodes, but recently there have been repeated reports that there will only be nine episodes. What is true now?
We had the opportunity to watch all episodes of the first season in advance and can therefore say with absolute certainty: “The Last Of Us” will indeed be nine episodes long in Season 1. But what happened to the originally announced tenth episode? Was there not enough in the original or will an episode possibly be postponed to Season 2? The answer is much simpler and quite understandable…
The Last of Us HBO Episode 3 Information:
– Will be 80 Minutes
– Directed by Peter Hoar
– Titled “Long Long Time”
– Will showcase the origin story of Bill and Frank
– First Appearance of Ellie’s Red Shirt
– Will have flashbacks into Joel’s past (Tess will likely appear) pic.twitter.com/149Gl92mSg– DomTheBomb (@DomTheBombYT) January 28, 2023
SEQUENCE 1 CONSISTS OF 2 SEQUENCES
As Craig Mazin and his co-showrunner and “Last Of Us” creator Neil Druckmann revealed in the official companion podcast to the series, the events that can now be seen in the overlong first episode were originally supposed to be split into two episodes.
It was actually planned that the whole prologue around the outbreak of the fungal pandemic and the terrible loss suffered by Joel (Pedro Pascal) would make up the first episode, which would then have ended with the 20-year time jump into the post-apocalyptic main storyline. Only in episode 2 would we have seen more of this and thus only then would we have experienced the first encounter between Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
However, the responsible broadcaster, HBO, had something to complain about. It was feared that if the show was interrupted at this point, many viewers would not have enough incentive to tune in again for the next episode. After all, episode 1 would simply be the end of the prequel in the past, without giving a real preview of what the rest of the series would actually be about.
In the end, Mazin and Druckmann saw that too. The final version of episode 1 now directly shows us more of the horrible-beautiful post-apocalypse, presents us with Ellie for the first time and finally concludes the preparation of the main plot to really whet our appetite for what’s to come.
SENSIBLE HBO DECISION
In the end, then, we can give the all-clear: The episode reduction in the first “The Last Of Us” season is not because something was deleted or a piece was suddenly left out in the back to possibly have a more open ending, but is simply due to the combination of two episodes into one (season 1 thus still depicts the complete plot of the first “Last Of Us” game).
Even though the introductory episode is now a whopping 80 minutes long, the whole thing is a fine example of how helpful the interference of a studio or broadcaster can sometimes be, as long as there is not too much creative interference. But if a broadcaster knows what to present to the audience, how and when, then it is probably HBO, which is primarily known for premium entertainment such as “Game Of Thrones” or “The Wire.
The upcoming third episode of “The Last Of Us”, which will be released in Germany on 30 January 2023 on the Sky streaming service WOW, is a whopping 75 minutes long without such a backstory. The remaining episodes, however, will then only last between 45 and 60 minutes.
