The Last of Us Surprise Twist: How It Diverged from the Video Game

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Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Last of Us’ May 18 episode.

Pedro Pascal is in full dad mode on The Last of Us.

Indeed, the May 18th installment of the HBO show was rich in flashbacks depicting Joel’s character tenderly nurturing Ellie (portrayed by Bella Ramsey) over many years, culminating in a heart-wrenching end for him.

The original video game from which the post-apocalyptic drama is derived showcased numerous touching instances of surrogate fatherhood, such as the emotional scene where Joel surprises the teen with a visit to an abandoned museum. However, the creators of the series modified one plot point that significantly impacted the development of their relationship.

Enter: Eugene (Joe Pantoliano).

Instead of passing away naturally, much like his video game version, he contracted an infection and was put to death by Joel, who promised Ellie that he would postpone the euthanasia until Eugene could bid farewell to his wife Catherine O’Hara.

Recognizing that this wasn’t the first fib he spun, I found myself compelled to address the matter of the Fireflies’ fate, as revealed in the climactic episode of season one.

Given the chance, I’d risk my life once more for you, Ellie, knowing full well that creating a cure could have cost me my own existence. Yet, with an unyielding devotion you can scarcely fathom, I’d make that sacrifice over and over again, simply because I adore you beyond measure.

Despite Ellie expressing a desire to potentially forgive Joel during our heart-wrenching discussion, her opportunity to do so was cruelly taken away from her the following day, as Abby – a former Firefly member, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever – ended his life.

Moving forward with the storyline, HBO has officially greenlit another season for “The Last of Us”. The show’s co-creator, Craig Mazin, has stated his goal is to maintain the elements from the original video game’s narrative.

He shared with IGN in early April, “Our aim is to create the finest show possible, and we strive to do this while holding the successful parts of the game in high regard.” He then asked, “If not for that, why are we even doing it at all?

For more behind-the-scenes secrets from The Last of Us, keep reading…

As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but echo the sentiments shared by John Paino, the visionary production designer, when he spoke to TopMob News about the 2013 PlayStation gem that served as the foundation for HBO’s The Last of Us. To me, and clearly to him, “the game is the vision.” The concept art for this masterpiece always had a cinematic quality to it, brimming with a sense of place, lighting, and an uncanny realism that made it feel almost like a movie set.

Although it had a movie-like appearance, it remained a game. Paul Healy, the set decorator known as Paino, along with hundreds of other craftspeople, were responsible for constructing real-life depictions of the game’s combat settings. These included a not-so-distant yet slightly retro 2003, and a time-frozen replica of that same year, two decades following the catastrophic implosion of life as we knew it.

Paino clarified, “The primary difficulty lay in dealing with a genuine, real-world scenario. We’re creating a historical drama set against a backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world, which adds an additional layer to the story that revolves around the characters themselves. Thus, we have several layers intertwined.

The production commenced in Calgary in July 2021, and he remarked that while the city was suitable for certain aspects, “no location was immune to the attention of the art department or renovation.” He also mentioned that “everything has been overlooked for two decades,” which meant that even if an area had the ideal appearance for filming, they would need to modify anything too obviously modern, like digital parking meters.

The first time Paino interacted with the producers, he displayed collages which, as he put it, “symbolized the game for me.” A specific collection of pictures caught their attention: Dilapidated restaurant chairs found in a Hong Kong alleyway that locals had repurposed with improvised repairs like traffic cones or wooden props instead of missing legs.

After two decades without any resources, the query arose in Paino’s mind: “How do individuals manage to live?” He mused. “How do they adapt? I would display that image to convey the notion of aridity and resourcefulness—that dual feeling of despair and optimism.

According to Paino, series co-creator Craig Mazin found those images quite impressive, which set them on a creative journey.

In the acknowledgments, Piano commended the visual effects crew, led by Alex Wang, for creating the incredibly lifelike city backdrops that underscored the destruction’s magnitude. However, what the cast interacted with closely was all real.

He stated, “As they exit the QZ, everything surrounding them appears built and sculpted. They walk through this environment, and then we zoom out to reveal that it was computer-generated. However, our main approach was to raise our set design by about 20 feet above ground level and dress everything around them. These individuals are not simply walking through green screen backdrops.

In the series “The Last of Us,” which is predominantly based in a world devastated by a cordyceps plague, aiming to stop its spread and transforming the infected into clickers—creatures with onion-like heads—the color scheme used is surprisingly vibrant rather than gloomy.

Inside Boston’s quarantine area, there’s a sea of red brick, dotted with splashes of blue and yellow. Beyond the quarantine zone, nature has been taking back control, covering buildings with ivy and various lush greenery. All of this greenery within the quarantine zone is artfully crafted by hand.

“I never wanted it to feel like a Dutch painting, where everything was brown,” Paino quipped.

For Ellie, who had never ventured beyond the Quarantine Zone until she embarked on her journey with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv), the world seemed a bit more vibrant to her because of her new perspective. Strange, organically eerie creatures known as clickers added splashes of color, and even seemingly harmless fungi had become part of the landscape, causing certain walls to appear leathery and plant-like.

Intricately designed miniature white card models were similarly found to be quite beneficial by the production designer. (Indeed, an entire miniature world was carefully crafted for this project.)

Paino stated, “We had an exceptional model maker in our team,” he remarked. “Among all, my personal favorite was the massive model constructed for the cul-de-sac [during episode five titled ‘Endure and Survive’], where the clickers burst out of the ground. The entire sequence, with all its intricate stunt coordination, was truly remarkable.

Movement specialist Terry Notary organized a training session aimed at preparing the background actors to convincingly depict a horde of infected individuals.

Instead of Canmore standing in for Jackson, Wyoming, the character Joel encounters his brother Tommy, portrayed by Gabriel Luna, in a secluded, comfortably furnished community within walls, reminiscent of modern conveniences like electricity and movie nights, which is a substitute for Jackson, Wyoming.

According to Paino, we constructed parts of the walls and significantly refurbished many of the building’s frontages. However, what gave him particular satisfaction during this project was the creation of a spacious enclosure, which we erected right in the center of a parking area, that we now call a paddock.

He exclaimed, “It was such an enjoyable experience to take care of that pasture! We had a couple of cows, some sheep, and even horses. The team in charge of setting up the environment did an outstanding job.

In episode seven titled “Left Behind,” Paino particularly enjoyed the mall setting where Ellie and her friend Riley (Storm Reid) initially have an amazing evening. However, the chilling truth that no place is truly secure eventually surfaces.

According to the designer, the Northland Village Mall in Calgary was “meant to be,” as he put it. Previously slated for demolition, we were fortunate to have found it. All the original facades were rebuilt, along with the signage, the unwanted debris, and even a merry-go-round.

The team responsible for set dressing located underwear similar to what could be found in a Victoria’s Secret display window back in 2003, costumes suitable for a Halloween store, as well as the more limited assortment of American Girl dolls that were available at their specialty boutique during those times.

In the narrative, Paino pointed out that every brand name, whether it was a shop in the mall, an old Arby’s in Kansas City with permanent movie titles on its marquee (“Matchstick Men” and “Underworld”), or a restaurant sign indicating acceptance of Mastercard, were unique to the storyline. The video game itself did not incorporate any trademarked items.

The carnival rental company transported and put together the carousel with a western motif that Ellie and Riley enjoy riding on, which was originally from the Spruce Meadows amusement park in Calgary, at Northland Village.

They added reflective panels to the center of the ride to add to the surreality of the experience.

Speaking about Raja’s Arcade, which hails from the game, Paino commented, “Growing up in the ’70s, I spent numerous hours at a shopping mall arcade, making it an effortless depiction.

He went on, expressing how delightful it was to hang up the vibrant neon decorations. Notably, they managed to secure a vintage ’70s carpet, boasting the iconic Zippy satellite design. To add to the nostalgia, they incorporated classic games such as Tetris, Frogger, and Mortal Kombat.

He mentioned that some of those can be rented, but we constructed many of them, and they proved effective. However, when attempting to film games from two decades ago using a cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor, the image appeared blurry. To ensure clear visualization of the action, they switched out the CRT monitors with flat LED screens instead.

“That was a lot of fun,” he reflected. “I loved that set.”

In my book, there aren’t many places I adore more than the small town where, much like Nick Offerman’s character, I found solitude until 2007, when Murray Bartlett’s character graced its streets, turning my tranquil life upside down. While Frank wasn’t a central figure in the game we all love, his heartwarming romance, skillfully woven into the series, offered a unique brand of emotional turmoil as the narrative veered away from Joel and Ellie’s journey.

They had very little time to prepare and arrange everything, from setting up the greenery to crafting the Civil War monument, as Paino explained. He believes they were still working quite late on the night before filming began.

In Paino’s explanation, he described Bill’s home as having a feel that was more reminiscent of his mother’s, being a place owned by someone wealthy and maintaining an almost museum-like quality, when introducing the character of the gruff survivalist for the first time.

Frank arrived and pondered, “‘Alright, what’s the plan here?'” Paino contemplated. “I’ll head to Target and pick up some paints.

Even though the quaint village appears empty rather swiftly, it still has a Home Depot. Paino suggested, “Head over to Michaels, decorate with paint, hang photos, introduce some vitality and flowers,” he said. “That was a great touch for creating atmosphere.

After 16 years, Frank’s artwork adorned every wall in the home they shared, leaving us in tears by the end.

In episode 5, some of Sam’s sketches were actually created by Keivonn Montreal Woodard, who portrays the tragic character, though it was primarily the art team that produced these pieces, following the game as their blueprint.

In spite of sharing the same heartbreaking conclusion, a fresh element emerged in their narrative: the heartwarming scene where big brother Henry (Lamar Johnson) painted a small symbol on Sam’s face like a superhero, aimed at lifting his spirits.

As an ardent admirer, I must concur with Mazin’s characterization of episode 8 (“When We Are in Need”) as “our cold episode”. However, let me tell you, dear fellow fan, that episode 8 was just one among several chilling ordeals for the crew filming at Waterton Lakes National Park. As Paino put it, “there’s nothing there” during winter, and the snow reached an astounding nine feet! It was like a frozen wonderland, indeed.

During their exploration in Waterton, the location where Ellie has her encounter with Scott Shepherd’s cannibal cult, Paino recounted, “We climbed a hill and all of us were sent tumbling back.” He spent 16 months on location. “No special effects were needed to make us fall and fly. But it’s an astonishing landscape,” he added.

In the final episode titled “Look for the Light,” just as the sheep and horses you see in the old playfield are genuine, so too were the giraffes seemingly grazing there. However, unlike those animals, the film crew had to travel to where these giraffes were located instead of bringing them to a set.

According to Paino, “The set piece was skillfully performed,” he remarked. In downtown Calgary, Joel and Ellie navigate through a construction site that we’ve modified. They climb a staircase constructed on a stage. The giraffes’ enclosure at the zoo has a balcony where keepers often feed them. Over about a month and a half or slightly more, we gradually incorporated real-world elements and green screens into the scene to make it look like they were ascending the top of a weathered building and gazing upon Colorado.

Paino commented with a wry smile, “It seems like only about four minutes of the episode passed, but it was truly enchanting.

Despite its grandeur, the show was also filmed in a more close-up and personal style, as Paino pointed out. It focuses on the characters and their stories, rather than showcasing vast landscapes or global events.

In the end, he clarified that their intention wasn’t to create sensational depictions of disaster. Instead, they aimed to make it relatable, like when Ellie searches through an empty home and discovers a needle and thread, emphasizing that “this was someone’s home, this was someone’s bar.

On occasion, those intricate elements in The Last of Us were predetermined, and other times they weren’t, according to Paino. They consistently aimed to incorporate a poignant, bittersweet twist into the narrative.

20 long years ago, I stumbled upon a time-worn “Be Back in 5 Minutes” sign, subtly tucked away by someone unknowingly. Miraculously, they’ve managed to keep it there all these years!

“If I ever have a screensaver,” Paino said, “I think it’ll be that.”

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2025-05-19 05:18