AN EXERCISE IN DEEP-LEVEL LEARNING AS APPLIED TO SCREENWRITING

Or: The Last Of Us - Season One Predictions

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR

On our way back home from Washington, my brother Ronan and I drove south on the 405 back toward UCLA where I was dropping him off. Ronan started to gush about one of his favorite professors, explaining that in his class, they were reading a physics textbook on mathematical proofs. The textbook first laid out who the mathematicians were and what problem they were trying to solve before finally showing the proof that they came up with.

This professor, however, did things slightly differently. He urged his students rather than just reading through the problems and their solutions immediately afterward, to instead read through the problem and then put the book down and walk away.

By doing this, my brother explained, it would put you in the mind of the mathematician faced with this problem. Reading the problem and then immediately the solution, leaves no room for critical thought or any creative problem-solving. “Once you hear the solution to the problem,” said Ronan, “you can’t unhear it and try to come up with it on your own.”

This professor’s sage advice forced students to come up with a solution on their own rather than just memorizing a book full of proofs with the hopes that they might be able to recall aspects of them later in their life/career. This forced the students to face the problems themselves. 

If a student managed to come up with a solution that was correct, this would be a lot more satisfying and rewarding than if they had just read about the solution passively. But even more importantly, if the student was wrong, or got an answer that was slightly different they could learn from it effectively. 

By coming up with a theory first before reading the solution, the students could:

A. Learn from the mathematician. See what the student did right/wrong and possibly discover an alternative perspective or approach to the problem.

B. Discover an even more efficient solution. It’s possible that the accepted solution to the problem has just been widely treated as the best solution when in reality, a better or more efficient solution exists that just nobody has been looking into. By encouraging the student to look down other paths before crossing the beaten one, they might be able to catch something new.

Now, none of this is very revolutionary. This has been used by many as a method of learning specific information on a very deep level. But after hearing about this experience from my brother, I wanted to see if I could apply this deep-level learning method to something outside the classroom: screenwriting.

THE LAST OF US on HBO

I had previously never played either of The Last Of Us games, primarily because I was an Xbox kid growing up, but also because I was living under a rock. BUT, I was such a huge fan of the writing in HBO’s Chernobyl, and ever since I heard that showrunner Craig Mazin was jumping onto an adaptation of The Last of Us, I decided to dive in and I just finished both games in time for the show to air. Ever since I finished, I’ve been intrigued and somewhat nervous as to how Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann would do the adaptation.

In the spirit of learning and inspired by my brother’s experience with his professor, I decided that I would put together an outline for how I would divide up the 10 TV episodes of a first season if I was tasked with adapting these games into a series. 

My hope is to be able to put myself in Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s shoes and then as I watch the show, I’ll be able to get instant feedback to see how I did. To see where their decisions differed from mine, what I could have done better, and ultimately help me grow as a writer. In some ways, I see this as an opportunity to write something and have my “mathematicians” (Craig & Neil) do a rewrite of my work rather than just passively consume this piece of content like I’m mindlessly reading proofs.

THE GAMEPLAN

So, I’ve just been asked to adapt one of the largest and most celebrated video games in history. How do you not fuck it up?

First I want to figure out how many seasons this thing will go. I am a fan of shorter and sweeter rather than long, drawn-out, six+ season behemoths, and this story seems to lend itself to a few seasons. The first TLOU game clocks in at a roughly 10hrs playtime while the second game is around 20hrs. If season one is 10 episodes (I’m cheating a little here, because I know this is how many episodes they shot) that is ~pretty~ good in terms of length for the first game. The only issue is that the first TLOU has plenty of navigating and lengthy exploration sequences which would not make for great television. So, I think we are a hair light on story to fill a full 10 hrs. 

So it’s possible we could dip into TLOU Part II during the first season but my gut says that we shouldn’t do that because the ending for the first game is so rock solid. I think instead we/the showrunners could try to flesh out a few of the characters (such as maybe Bill, Sam & Henry, or even Riley) to stretch the story of the first game into the full 10 episodes. It’s possible that for TLOU PART II since that game is twice as long, we could stretch that story into two additional seasons for three seasons total, but I could also see it being compressed into just a single, second season. But that’s a later problem.

Here’s roughly what I would do. There are some holes in here, and some episodes feel lighter than others, but I think that the high-level plot points from the game to me would make sense in this order.

Spoilers for TLOU Part I ahead.

THE OUTLINE

EPISODE 1:

TEASER: In Austin, Texas, we meet Sarah and Joel desperately trying to flee the chaos of the infected as the world begins to fall apart. Together with Joel’s brother Tommy, they drive through town. As they escape, Sarah is shot by a soldier and dies in Joel's arms.

Cut to: Twenty years later, we see a new world created by this infection and how the survivors' have managed to stay alive. We see life with Joel and his partner Tess working as smugglers in Boston. We see some glimpses of society, and develop Joel’s character further through his relationship with Tess as they go on a mission to hunt down Robert, a black-market dealer, to recover a stolen weapons cache. 

They worm their way through the city taking out guards and we see that Joel + Tess make a good team and are excellent at what they do. We watch Joel be resourceful, ruthless, yet fair and have a moral compass. We get the sense that he is haunted by his past but still has the capacity for compassion. 

Tess and Joel finally reach Robert who reveals that he traded the cache with the Fireflies. Tess kills Robert in anger, further depicting society as a grim dystopia.

The leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, arrives and promises to double their cache in return for smuggling a package out of the city. Joel and Tess reluctantly agree.

They follow Marlene to where she takes them to a teenage girl, Ellie, who is the “package”. Joel and Tess argue that this is not what they signed up for. Tess pushes Joel and he reluctantly agrees to take the girl to Fireflies hiding in the Massachusetts State House outside the quarantine zone. 

Joel, Tess, and Ellie sneak out in the night - beginning their journey together.

EPISODE 2:

Joel, Tess, and Ellie sneak out but Marlene is injured and has to stay behind. Joel, Tess, and Ellie agree to continue. They encounter patrols, infected, and other dangers along their route. 

After traveling together for some time, they encounter a government patrol, where they discover Ellie is infected. Symptoms normally occur within two days, but Ellie claims she was infected three weeks earlier, suggesting that she has an immunity.

Joel wants to end the mission right there but Tess persuades him to continue. Frustrated, he agrees but warns that he will kill Ellie at the first sight of an infection.

Joel, Tess, and Ellie continue on their mission, now with a new sense of importance with this mission. If Ellie really is immune, then she might be able to help provide a cure. The stakes of this journey have now increased dramatically.

The trio make their way to their destination through hordes of the infected, but find that the Fireflies there have been killed. Tess reveals she has been bitten by an infected and, believing in Ellie's importance, sacrifices herself against pursuing soldiers so Joel and Ellie can escape. 

Joel lays down the rules and tells Ellie how it’s going to be. He makes a plan to find Tommy, a former Firefly, in the hope that he can locate the remaining Fireflies. He says that he knows a guy, Bill, who he thinks can help them get a car.

EPISODE 3:

We journey with Joel and Ellie further, Ellie demonstrates that she does not need a mask for the spores. The two continue and they evade more groups and infected, we also see that Ellie cannot swim. They make their way into Bill’s compound and they are nearly killed by Bill.

Bill takes them in and agrees to help them get a car if Joel and Ellie help with some b-story storyline. They agree.

This plot might go on for most of the episode revealing more about the world, where the infected came from and possibly dive into Bill’s backstory more. They storyline builds to a climax where the episode ends in a cliffhanger.

EPISODE 4:

Joel and Ellie continue work with Bill with this b-story. They likely fight off infected and/or others soldiers. It’s a big team-building moment with Joel and Ellie. They begin to trust each other a lot more.

They fight through hoards of infected and even kill a bloater.

They manage to help Bill with what he needs and get a working car. Joel and Ellie say goodbye to Bill and they head out. Leaving Bill and the hell behind them.

EPISODE 5:

Driving into Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Joel and Ellie are ambushed by bandits, and their car is wrecked. Joel risks his life to save Ellie. Ellie does the same for Joel. They are further developing a bond.

Ellie and Joel begin to connect more, emotionally. Hearing more about each other’s pasts.

Joel and Ellie meet two brothers, Henry and Sam. They connect and agree to travel together out of the city. They all work together to get past the bandits' safely.

Ellie and Joel nearly drown, and the four all take a rest for the evening, we see flashbacks from the “Left Behind” DLC. Revealing how Ellie got bitten and that she lost a loved one: Riley. 

EPISODE 6:

The group of four continues to push out of the Pittsburgh, until they are pinned down by a sniper and more infected. During the sequence, Sam is bitten but hides it from the group. 

They settle down once again for the night, but in the morning Ellie finds Sam infected. Sam attacks Ellie, and Henry is about to kill everyone. But instead, Henry shoots Sam dead before taking his own life. Joel and Ellie leave together, shaken.

Jump ahead in time to autumn: Joel and Ellie finally find Tommy in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has assembled a fortified settlement near a hydroelectric dam with his wife Maria. 

They see the facility and what it has to offer, showing a little haven of life. Joel tries to convince Tommy to take Ellie the rest of the way to the Fireflies. But Ellie finds out and runs away. Joel and Tommy chase her while the compound is attacked by bandits. 

After the whole encounter, Joel has a change of heart and decided to take Ellie to the fireflies himself. Tommy directs them to a Fireflies enclave at the University of Eastern Colorado.

EPISODE 7:

Joel and Ellie journey to the University. When they arrive, they find it abandoned and desolate. The two learn from a leftover recording that there is a new group of fireflies that have moved to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Just as they find this recording, the two are attacked by bandits, and Joel is severely wounded while escaping and is barely able to walk. He an Ellie manage somehow to escape but Joel is in very bad shape.

EPISODE 8:

Cut forward to winter, Ellie and Joel shelter in the mountains. Joel is on the brink of death and relies on Ellie to care for him. While hunting for food, Ellie encounters David and James, scavengers. Ellie makes James go get medicine from their camp in exchange for a killed deer. 

While James is gone, David reveals that the university bandits who attached Ellie and Joel are part of his group. Ellie becomes hostile towards David, but this is cut short when infected arrive. Ellie and David must work together despite their differences to fight them off. 

When James returns, he brings his whole group. Ellie is outnumbered but manages to escape.

EPISODE 9:

Ellie wakes up next to Joel the next morning to discover that David, James, and their men have tracked her down. 

Ellie manages to lead David's group away from Joel but she is captured. David appears to be pleasant to he while she’s imprisoned, but Ellie doesn’t believe him. She bites off his finger.

Joel wakes to find Ellie gone, and he kills a number of men, torturing a few to find the location of Ellie in the resort. 

EPISODE 10:

Ellie is awoken by Jamie & David and is about to be killed when she yells that she is infected. She managed to kill James and escape. David chases her into a restaurant where they do-si-dos around booths and tables. The building catches fire and Ellie manages to kill David with his blade.

Right as she does, Joel arrives to rescue Ellie. She is a mess and Joel holds her- comforting her. They both flee the resort.

Cut to Spring: Joel and Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City. They evade infected as they enter the city and Ellie is rendered unconscious after almost drowning. But as Joel tries to resuscitate her, they are captured by a Firefly patrol. Joel is knocked unconscious.

Joel wakes in the hospital. Marlene tells Joel that Ellie is being prepared for surgery: in hopes of producing a vaccine for the infection, the Fireflies must remove the infected portion of Ellie's brain, which will kill her. 

Unwilling to let Ellie die, Joel battles his way to the operating room, kills the lead surgeon, and carries the unconscious Ellie to the parking garage. He is confronted by Marlene, whom he shoots and kills to prevent the Fireflies from pursuing them. 

On the drive out of the city, when Ellie wakes up, Joel claims that the Fireflies had found many other immune people but were unable to create a cure and have stopped trying. On the outskirts of Tommy's settlement, Ellie expresses her survivor guilt. At her insistence, Joel swears his story about the Fireflies is true.

*SHRUGS*

These are my initial thoughts on how I would go about adapting The Last Of Us game into season one of a show. I’m very excited to see all the places where I’m wrong and I’m hoping that Craig and Neil take some risks to keep us on our toes. I’m hopeful that this adaptation breaks the video game curse and is well-received, but even more than that, I’m looking forward to learning from these great writers. Maybe I’ll be able to glean something useful through this exercise for my own writings going forward.

Once the whole season is finished airing, I’ll do an update where I analyze where my outline differed and if there were any interesting takeaways. Who knows, if this is rewarding I might do it again for Season two or for another project.