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What makes The Last of Us‘ story so unique is that it’s less about fixing the world and more about learning to accept the new reality. Joel wants to find peace by any means necessary, and sometimes, that means making difficult choices. Well, the best sci-fi show of 2025 is taking a page out of HBO’s book, exploring many of the same themes as the video game adaptation. But it’s not copying the homework to the letter, choosing to flip one significant aspect of The Last of Us‘ story.
The Last of Us Has Some Real Competition
While The Last of Us‘ first season is a triumph, its sophomore outing struggles in more ways than one. The biggest issue with the season is that it deviates too much from the source material. Season 1 does the same thing, but there’s less content to pull from, as the first game only runs for about ten hours. The Last of Us Part II is twice as long, yet the powers that be think they have time to mess around and still hit the mark. They end up missing, and it’s in part because everyone seems to forget where they came from.
Apple TV’s latest sci-fi release, Pluribus, gives off that early The Last of Us Season 1 feel right out the gate. After scientists detect a signal in space, they realize it’s a viral sequence. The only logical thing to do, then, is to recreate it in a lab and figure out its nature. Naturally, the whole thing gets out of hand, and before too long, nearly all of humanity is under the control of the virus. Carol Sturka, a popular author, watches the whole thing unfold, only to realize she’s immune to the virus’ effects. But she doesn’t get to safety before having her Joel moment.
