Warning: this article contains spoilers for episode eight of The Last Of Us.
The TV adaptation of hit video game The Last Of Us has done a great job of paying homage to its source material, through the story itself and Easter eggs.
This also includes the fact that several of the voice actors from the games appear in the show, from Merle Dandridge reprising her role of Marlene to original Tommy actor Jeffrey Pierce taking on the part of Kathleen’s right-hand man Perry.
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And whilst we haven’t seen her in the show itself yet, we know that original Ellie actor Ashley Johnson will play the character’s mother here, as glimpsed at in the trailers.
This week’s episode saw original Joel actor Troy Baker join these ranks, playing the terrifying James, one of the antagonists of this instalment.
Who Is James?
HBO
In one of the scariest episodes of the series yet, Ellie desperately attempted to heal Joel after he was stabbed, with things going even more awry when she is kidnapped by the mysterious David (played by Scott Shepherd).
It turns out that David is the leader of a cannibal group who are on a quest to find Joel, seeking revenge as he killed one of their men.
Baker’s character James is David’s right-hand man, but as we see throughout the episode, he sometimes lacks faith in his superior.
HBO
However, despite this James is fully on-board with murdering Ellie, which doesn’t go well as she shoves a machete into his throat, killing him as she makes her escape.
James is a character in the video game but he is more fleshed out here, allowing Baker to appear in the show in a proper role, not just a cameo.
And making this even better is the fact that Baker has gone from playing the hero to one of the creepiest villains, which also allows him to show off his acting talent.
HBO
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his role of James, Baker revealed that he enjoyed playing a “baddie”, then adding that he sees parallels between his character here and Joel:
“I like playing baddies, I think that they’re pretty complex. The first challenge becomes, how is this person not a villain? To me, James is not. James is a pragmatist.
“Just look at Joel in the very beginning. Joel was not a bad guy. Joel would never be a ruthless survivor. He was a contractor. He may have gotten in a tussle every now and then, but he was a good guy.
HBO
“What happens when you take a good person and put them through the most desperate of circumstances is you get a ruthless survivor, you get a black market smuggler that’s capable of horrific things. James is the same way.”
Comparing James to Joel is interesting and Baker is right, we do see Joel do awful things throughout the show too despite being the hero, but that moral complexity is what makes him such a fascinating character.
He adds that degree of nuance to James who in another actor’s hands might have just been a villain with no grey area, which once again speaks to Baker’s acting talents.
