The Last of Us Episode 6: Does the City of Jackson Really Exist?
“I’m just looking for my brother“: Joel (Pedro Pascal) utters some version of this line in almost every episode of The Last of Us. In The Last of Us Episode 6, this feeling is the very thing that saves him. The armed group that surrounds him not only lowers their weapons but takes him back to his home: Jackson. The city, which is already presented in video games, really exists; however, the HBO series anticipated a change of location and made some changes to the territory. Jackson’s new guise might baffle players of the original video game where Jackson’s location, built next to a hydroelectric dam, is a concrete structure clad in overgrown plants and industrial military equipment. In contrast, the TV series version of Jackson resembles the version of the settlement seen in the second game: a bustling town reminiscent of the Old West.
The Last of Us Episode 6: Does the City Of Jackson Really Exist?
“Up until this point we’ve had a lot of concrete, and there was a desire to be in the Midwest, with all the natural beauty and fresh air that can be found in the middle of America”, explained the production designer. John Paino. Because the real Jackson Hole, Wyo, “became a resort town“, the series Jackson was built in Canmore, a small town in Alberta, Canada. “The buildings have a rustic feel and a great view of the Rockies at the end of the main road,” Paino explains.
“After the complete collapse of civilization and all the horror of the quarantine zones and destroyed big cities, for Joel and Ellie to see a functioning society is very shocking”, says director Jasmila Žbanić, who, as a survivor of the war in Bosnia, wanted to set the right emotional tone for this episode. “They are faced with things Ellie has never experienced, and everything is a miracle to her”.
Joel and Ellie are told that Jackson was founded seven years ago and is now home to 300 people, including children. Thanks to the sharing of common tasks, the city not only has electricity, sewage, and running water, but also a school, a religiouscentere, a medical clinic, a cinema (which shows the 1977 film “The girl from ‘goodbye’) and a prison (although it is not used much). There is also a large Christmas tree, lit and decorated in the town square.
“The barbecue where Joel and Ellie have their first meal is decorated with banners that may have been made by children in the community”, Paino explained. “And the things that get fixed in the city, they’re not just put together like in the QZ, but they’re built to last because the people there don’t break down and take care of each other”.
“We’re playing a little bit with the myth of Americans who get by on their own feet, but we wanted it to be clear and even refreshing that Jackson is a long-term settlement”, Paino continued. “There is hope; they are proud of what they have done”.
With weeks of planning and all the necessary local approvals, the series has turned Canmore into its American sanctuary without disrupting daily life too much. Paino’s team-built stables and greenhouses atop empty parking lots added new facades to existing buildings and built sidewalks and rails. Although the 30-foot-high log wall was not built to encircle the entire city only up to 60 feet on either side of the opening section it was erected on a main street in Canmore and had to be opened to allow real traffic. Jackson is the setting for some key discoveries: Joel is reunited with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and meets Tommy’s wife Maria (Rutina Wesley), Ellie learns of Joel’s late daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) and, amid new fears and doubts, Joel reaffirms his commitment to deliver Ellie to the Lights.
