Summary
It’s official: the TV adaptation ofThe Last of Usis getting a second season. There is even a possibility of it getting a third and fourth season, which someLast of Usfans may have mixed feelings about. It’s fair to question how well the show will be able to stretch a single game across more seasons of television, but with how complexThe Last of Us Part 2is, it can certainly be done.
MAJOR spoilers ahead forThe Last of Usgames and show.
Fans of the games will remember all too well the rabid discourse that swirled aboutThe Last of Us 2when it was released back in 2020. The sequel takes place four years after the bombshell events of the first game’s finale, with Ellie still reeling from the trauma and confusion of Joel’s betrayal. Amid this estrangement, Joel is tracked down by Abby, the daughter of one of the Firefly doctors Joel murdered at the end of the first game. How the TV show chooses to handle this pivotal moment will be instrumental in its narrative success.
The Last of Us Season 2 Needs To Be Concise and Tactful with Its Early Twist
Joel’s Death Will Be the Hardest Part of The Last of Us 2 To Get Right
The first season ofThe Last of Usfollowed the game’s plot very closely, so it’s fair to assume that a similar degree offaithfulness will be observed withThe Last of UsSeason 2. This would likely mean killing off Pedro Pascal’s Joel, at the risk of reprisingPart 2’s often-toxic discourse. Bella Ramsey will have to take over as the main character, so this early moment of character development is going to need to happen soon, possibly by the end of the first episode.
There’s virtually no chance that the TV show’s Joel will survive, as his death is thecatalyst forThe Last of Us Part 2’s entire narrative.
The Last of Us Part 2includes a number of flashback sequences, which the show may shift around and present chronologically instead. This could work, but it also has the chance to kneecap the show’s pacing while misdirecting audience expectations, and not necessarily in a good way. Assuming that the show decides to presentthe events ofThe Last of Us Part 2in roughly the same order, it may be best to kick the second season off with Joel’s death straight away.
The Benefits of Killing Off Joel in The Last of Us Season 2’s First Episode
Joel’s murder is one of the most shocking video game moments of all time, and this element of surprise will no doubt be present in the TV version. Having the first episode ofThe Last of UsSeason 2 build up to Joel’s murder would not only start the show in a spectacular, unforgettable fashion but also appropriately set the tone for this new chapter of the story. Moreover, viewers should hatethe TV show’s version of Abbyright away, only coming to empathize with her after Joel’s death, as this is a major part ofPart 2’s theme of revenge and forgiveness.
If viewers get to know Abby over the course of several episodes, before she kills Joel, it could radically recontextualize that fatal scene and ultimately make the overall narrative less impactful.The Last of Us Part 2’s TV adaptationis going to have a lot of time to tell its story, but it should still get the ball rolling early on and not drag its feet with Joel’s death.
The Last of Us Part 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Play the winner of over 300 Game of the Year awards, remastered for the PlayStation®5 console. Relive or play for the first time Ellie and Abby’s story, now with graphical enhancements, new gameplay modes like the roguelike survival experience No Return, full DualSense® wireless controller integration, and more. Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closur
