The final episode of The Last of Us was the scene of a cult video game sequence where Joel and Ellie share a moment with a giraffe. Is this last one real? Warning, spoilers.
Warning, spoilers. It is advisable to have seen episode 9 of The Last of Us before continuing to read this article.
A real success at the start of 2023, The Last of Us series ends its inaugural season with the broadcast of the ninth and final episode, which sets an audience record on HBO in the United States.
The adaptation of the famous video game by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin puts an end to the journey of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through the United States ravaged by a pandemic caused by a fungus, the cordyceps.
After many disappointments and many hardships, the duo finally arrives in Salt Lake City to track down the group of Fireflies, who believe Ellie may be the key to a cure for the fungal infection due to her immunity.
But before arriving at the hospital, Joel and Ellie discover dumbfounded that a herd of giraffes roam freely in the city where the cordyceps rules and where nature has taken back its rights. This enchanted and unexpected parenthesis allows Joel and Ellie to share a privileged moment in their relationship but also to have fun with a giraffe.
HBO
This sequence is an adaptation of a very popular scene among video game enthusiasts, so it is not surprising that this essential moment is present in the series. And the fans loved this passage, especially since it seems very natural. And for good reason !
A real giraffe in The Last of Us!
No, you’re not dreaming, the giraffe present in the final episode of The Last of Us is not fake. It is a very real animal, which is called Nabo. And this Maasai giraffe lives at the Calgary Zoo in Canada, where the other giraffes that we can see in the episode live.
Many fans criticized the giraffe on social media thinking it was a special effects version. And they are many to be mistaken!
As production designer John Paino explains to varietytime was running out: “I’m sure Alex Wang, the visual effects supervisor, could have done a CGI giraffe if we had the time”.
In the series, the scene in question is a mixture of reality with the balcony decor and the giraffes and blue backgrounds and visual effects for the horizon, in particular. According to John Paino, everything has been put in place to make the giraffes comfortable:
“We had to see if we could acclimate the giraffe to strangers feeding it, with a very small film crew on site. There was the indoor enclosure with a balcony and an outdoor one where the keepers looked after it.”
For a month and a half, John Paino’s team set up screen panels around the enclosure and keepers and trainers worked to get the giraffes to eat out of a stranger’s hand.
“It’s the Hollywood magic of Alex”continues John Paino, “It was probably the most complicated assembly of VFX scene, set and real location I’ve ever worked on”. And the result is stunning and praised by most fans!
The Last of Us series is available in full on Prime Video.