Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 1 and the original game.HBO's The Last of Us episode 1 confirms two major changes to the timeline of the game. The original game takes place across a 20-year period, including many different time jumps. The Last of Us episode 1 follows this example by exhibiting the same time jumps present in the source material, albeit with a few changes.
One thing that HBO's The Last of Us changes is the specific start and end times of each time jump. This, combined with one other brief change to the original game's timeline, marks the first major changes in The Last of Us episode 1. While the changes will likely not impact the story of HBO's The Last of Us show all that much, they are interesting and can be explained for a few different reasons.
Why The Last Of Us Show Starts In 2003 Instead Of 2013
In the original game, the story begins with Joel living with his daughter Sarah in Austin, Texas in 2013. The Last of Us episode 1, however, begins with Joel and Sarah living in 2003. In both iterations, the timeline jumps 20 years after Sarah's tragic death. This places the game's latter sections in 2033, while HBO's The Last of Us takes place in 2023 after the time jump. The main reason for this is likely technology. 2013 was a much more technologically advanced time than 2003, with the decade between the two years providing plenty of technological upgrades to society.
By setting The Last of Us episode 1 in 2003, the world is much less technology-based. Pedro Pascal's Joel is seen using an older cell phone, for example, instead of something more advanced. This has two benefits for HBO. One is simply that presenting less technology is cheaper. The other factors into the story. It is more likely that governments across the world in 2013 would be able to contain the Cordyceps outbreak more easily than in 2003, when advanced technology was not as advanced healthcare. This helps to explain the rapid spread of The Last of Us episode 1's central disease.
The Last Of Us Time Jump Begins In Fall Instead Of Summer
A difference between The Last of Us's show and game time jump is the seasons. Each section of the game in 2033 jumps forward a season, spanning from Summer 2033 to Spring 2034. HBO's The Last of Us show changes this timeline, with the 2023 section beginning in the Fall instead of Summer. The reason for this change is unclear, but the showrunners may have wanted Joel and Ellie's journey to be more condensed. With the trailers for The Last of Us showcasing the events of the winter section of the game, it is clear that The Last of Us' timeline changes will not affect the source material's great story.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.