Culture desk: The Best of Us

“Our collective yearning to live in a society where we rely on and trust one another,” argues Rob Henderson at The Free Press, explains why “The Last of Us” on HBO “is such a hit.” Today it’s “considered bizarre simply to ring your neighbor’s door to ask for salt or flour,” but the show depicts “a nearly two-decade romance in the midst of an apocalypse” founded on “choosing to trust” a stranger. Yes, “Americans have been slowly descending into dysfunction and alienation” amid “the decline of organized religion, the breakdown of the family, and, of course, the recent lockdowns.” But “dependence is how we come to know who we can truly count on. It is only in times of dire need that we learn this.”