HBO's The Last of Us fans are impressed with changes made to Joel's character

Pedro Pascal's performance as Joel Miller in The Last of Us is one of the highlights in an already exceptional adaptation of the original game.

Translating the experience to a television series was a tall order, however, changes both significant and slight have added emotional gravitas to The Last of Us. Showrunner Craig Mazin explained that "embracing frailty" allows the threat of the world to loom large over these wholesome connections between the characters. And one of these opportunities has emerged in the depth of the personality and history that Pascal has afforded what was a grizzled, unfeeling and isolated man in Joel, particularly in episode six.

The Last of Us Part I releases for PC players on 28 March - check out the huge improvements on the original game below:

"We are really getting something special with his character in this show that adds to what we had in the game," said one viewer. "His ability to show the shattered soul of a grieving father while still demonstrating the capacity to love someone else again is inspiring."

Yet, there is a trepidation to reaction to this version of Joel from those who prefer the much more stony and distanced character in the original game. "The toxic masculinity dudes are not gonna like this but in reality it's a good change, it's very realistic and reasonable he'd break down at some point because he is not a robot, it's also realistic he's suffering from PTSD after everything he went through, it doesn't matter if Sarah died long ago, no parent is gonna recover from seeing their kid being shot and dying in their arms," continued Reddit user harleyyquinade.

Well, all in all, we're very pleased with the show so far and agree with the diversions that the showrunners have done to the original storyline. Though, we do know where Joel and Ellie's journey ends up, and that's going to be a real heartbreaker.

• The Last Of Us Rival Drops Fresh Glimpse at Gameplay, Coming 2026
• The Last of Us Part 2 Multiplayer Gameplay Surfaces Online, PlayStation Fumbled
• HBO's The Last of Us Recasts Key Character, We're Gutted
• The Last of Us Part 3 June Reveal Looks Likely As Clues Continue To Come