HBO just released the runtime of the first episode of The Last Of Us—and you’ll want to make sure you have snacks. It’s a bumper episode that trumps even some of the lengthier TV shows on our screens at the moment.
For context, here are the runtimes of recent HBO show premieres:
- House of the Dragon – 66 minutes
- The Nevers – 65 minutes
- Game of Thrones – 61 minutes
- True Detective -57 minutes
- Euphoria – 53 minutes
- The White Lotus – 51 minutes
Now that you’ve got an idea of the standard runtime for a pilot, we can reveal that the first episode of The Last Of Us is…85 minutes long, according to YouTuber DomTheBomb. That’s one hour and 25 minutes in total.
What will The Last Of Us Episode 1 cover?
The first season will air on January 15 on HBO, with nine episodes expected to make up the show. It’s been confirmed that these nine episodes will cover the entirety of the first game, as suggested in the trailer. As it’s based on a game with 15 hours’ worth of gameplay, I’m concerned that’s not enough time to do justice to the story, but am ready to be proven wrong.
So with that in mind, what will The Last Of Us cover in the very first episode? Warning: there may be spoilers for the game and possibly the show ahead as I speculate from here on out.
It seems likely that Episode 1 will cover much of the same ground as the early gameplay, looking at how the outbreak started and the death of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) daughter. This is fundamental for story building and for introducing you to two central characters, Joel and his brother Tommy.
From there, a similar time jump is likely expected, bringing you to the ‘present’, where Joel can meet Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The climax of the first episode could naturally fall as Joel and Ellie set out on their mission to find the Fireflies and deliver Ellie to their lab, in hopes of finding the cure. A dramatic end could also see the death of Tess (Anna Torv), a close friend of Joel’s and the reason he fully commits to the mission of delivering Ellie.
(featured image: HBO)
