The arrival of The Last of Us' TV series adaptation is expected in the near future, with many fans intrigued at how the show will appear since it’s based on a video game series. And as all zombie media goes, The Last of Us is also likely going to make use of tropes that have been used in prior zombie TV shows or films. 

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These can also be found in shows fans should watch before The Last of Us, but it’s something the series needs to avoid. That’s because it’s entering a landscape that has already had so many releases, meaning Joel and Ellie’s storyline has to be fresh in a way that the franchise’s own video games and other zombie media aren’t.

Uneven Strength Of Zombies

Joel in The Last of Us holding back zombies

It’s always been hard to believe how some zombies can be more advanced than others, yet this trope has persisted in a majority of zombie media. While The Last of Us games have given an adequate explanation due to the mutation evolving, it has also featured zombies of the same species varying in strength.

The TV series should establish each kind of zombie and what their abilities are without taking liberties in this aspect. It’s become too played-out to see zombies being dispatched easily for the most part, only for some zombies to display strength others don’t just for the sake of a particular scene.

Sacrificial Characters

Henry and Sam in The Last of Us

This trope is one where characters are introduced with their only purpose to be sacrificed as a way to build up tension. Fans of the series are both excited and nervous to see what’s in store, but that hype will die out if characters are brought just to die. 

It happened with the likes of Henry and Sam, who were made out to be parallels of Joel and Ellie, but their deaths ultimately make fans associate them only with their demise. Sacrificial characters can offer more than just to be killed off, and if the TV series brings characters like this then fans won’t be happy to see such simple exits for them.

Redemption Through Death

Ellie cries at Joel's grave in The Last of Us Part 2

This is almost a staple of the zombie horror genre, as characters are generally shown betraying their groups or friends at one point and only achieving redemption through death. This happened to Joel in The Last of Us 2 as well, which was also an overuse of this trope.

With so many shows bringing this forward already, The Last of Us TV series needs to plan out redemption for morally grey characters that redeem them in the eyes of the viewer through their actions and not simply their deaths. Killing characters off is too easy a way to garner sympathy, so a more creative technique has to be taken or simply place these characters as villains instead.

Threat Of Zombies Restricted To Early Storylines

last of us

A majority of the scary moments in The Last of Us Part 2 had to do with human enemies rather than zombies. That’s because the game used the trope of zombies only being initial villains as humans then become bigger threats.

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However, this has become so played-out that shows like The Walking Dead have faced criticisms for ignoring the zombie aspect of things. The Last of Us is going to be a series about the characters’ journey on the road, and zombies have to be a priority rather than an annoyance in order to avoid viewers from thinking the protagonists are safe when they’re fighting these monsters.

Plot Armor

Ellie saving Joel from a zombie in The Last of Us

Just about any show that’s similar to The Last of Us will feature this trope since it’s so played-out that it can be found in every genre and not just the zombies one. It’s way too common now, so much so that viewers expect characters to survive impossible scenarios.

The TV series will make for a remarkable change if the odds stacked against the characters are insurmountable, forcing them to go with a different strategy. Many had complained about how unrealistic it was for Joel and Ellie to kill hordes of enemies in one go in the games, so the series can switch it up by showing their vulnerability.

Decoy Protagonist

The Last of Us Part II Abby stands in the rain

There are a number of characters that are most likely to appear in the TV series but none will have the impact that Abby had. Her appearance turned Joel into the decoy protagonist for The Last of Us Part 2, which is a trope that fools the audience into thinking a character is the lead but someone else takes on the role.

Zombie series indulge in this trope by introducing a character that seems to be a game-changer, only for them to be killed off rather meekly. Joel’s role under this trope wasn’t met with the best reception in The Last of Us Part 2, and the series should avoid similar criticism.

Famous Last Words

joel looks at Ellie seriously

This is another common indulgence of the zombie genre, with characters going out in a blaze of glory by uttering last words that have a certain ring to them. The TV series can change this aspect by making things unpredictable rather than too cinematic.

After all, the likelihood of a person uttering a cool one-liner should be very slim when they’re looking at a terrible death right in the face. Handing out last words just to play it cool has been overdone and won’t fit a gritty show like The Last of Us.

Certain Zombies Having Instant Kill

Zombie is about to devour Joel

This is a trope that’s mostly found in video games, which shows zombies being overpowered to the point where only interacting with them leads to death. The Last of Us has to come across as realistic enough for viewers to imagine themselves in the protagonists’ place, so this trope is a hard pass.

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After all, it’s not possible to think that a zombie can be so strong that a character is entirely unable to defend themselves. In the context of a TV series, featuring one-hit-kill zombies will be playing it too close to the gaming roots, something that doesn’t translate well for a viewing experience.

Cruel And Unusual Death

Abby yelling in the rain in The Last of Us Part 2

An indicator of this trope becoming played-out was in The Walking Dead when Negan bashed the heads of main characters with a bat. Viewers just aren’t impressed with over-the-top deaths anymore since they’ve become about the visual experience rather than story execution.

The Last of Us 2 had done the same with Joel’s death through a golf club being smashed against him, with fans not being too keen about it. Since death through zombies itself is an unusual way to go out, bringing in different ways to violently kill people off doesn’t seem like a route worth taking for the TV series.

Heroes' Mistakes Kickstarting The Plot

joel last of us

A criticism of Joel’s character was his habitual trait of lying to fit his own needs. This led to him being killed off due to his own lies in the second game and kickstarting the plot. The zombie genre does this in general, with even comedies like Zombieland featuring stories that begin due to the leads’ own fault.

The problem with this trope is that it sucks away the sympathy factor from the protagonists since they’re the ones who got themselves in the mess to begin with. It also means the plot is all about fixing their own messes rather than building up to surprise reveals or creating villains with their own devious quality.

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