The HBO show of the moment is The Last of Us, the network's adaptation of Naughty Dog's series of video games. The show follows Joel and Ellie, two survivors of the zombie apocalypse.
Well, it used to follow Ellie and Joel. In last week's episode, Joel was brutally murdered by a new character named Abby. Meanwhile, back in the fortified settlement of Jackson, Joel's brother Tommy helped defend the snow-bound town from a massive zombie attack. That battle scene reminded more than a few people of the Massacre at Hardhome from another huge HBO show, Game of Thrones; in that battle, Jon Snow defended the fortified snowbound town of Hardhome from a massive zombie attack. The similarities were so obvious that even the official Max channel pointed it out:
Killing Joel is another Game of Thrones-esque move. That show was famous for killing off lead characters, from Ned Stark in the first season to Robb and Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding to Jon Snow in the season 5 finale, although that one didn't stick. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, who play Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us, broke out playing Oberyn Martell and Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones, and both of their characters died! All these connections have places like ComicBook.com wondering if The Last of Us is HBO's "successor" to Game of Thrones.
The Last of Us is not HBO's successor to Game of Thrones
I do like that The Last of Us takes to heart some of the most important lessons that Game of Thrones has to teach TV shows. Game of Thrones became more popular every time it killed off a major character, something many other shows lack the nerve to do, much as they would like the attendant boost in buzz. The Last of Us went there, and the hubbub of conversation to follow should speak for itself.
That said, it wouldn't be enough to just kill off a major character; death scenes have to play out in meaningful ways that aren't done just for shock value, something both The Last of Us and Game of Thrones did. As fans of the video games know, Joel's death is a major turning point for the story; we're already seeing Ellie set out on a new path in the latest episode. Joel is not just killed to shock us; his death means everything.
However, that's kind of where the similarities between Game of Thrones and The Last of Us end. Apart from the obvious difference in milieu — high fantasy vs zombie apocalypse — Game of Thrones was a much more sprawling story than The Last of Us, with episodes usually checking in on multiple characters spread out over a very large map; some of these characters would never even meet, despite all of their stories being important to the overall narrative. The Last of Us is much more intimate. In the most recent episode, "The Path," Ellie and her friend Dina made their way to Seattle, and that's mostly where we'll stay for the remainder of the story, unless HBO throws a major curveball our way. It's true that the second episode, "Through the Valley," divided its time between Joel's death outside Jackson and Tommy's attempt to defend the city, but that's unusual for this series. I don't expect we'll get too many more major Hardhome-esque battle scenes either.
Even if The Last of Us isn't very much like Game of Thrones when you dig into the details, it does continue a long HBO tradition of polished event television, a tradition that is including more and more sci-fi and fantasy of late. As for the true successor to Game of Thrones, consider House of the Dragon, which is set in the same world; the third season of House of the Dragon will come out in 2026. HBO also has a new Game of Thrones prequel show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, premiering later this year.
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