I can’t believe it. The Last of Us is over – at least until Season 2.
From the moment the television show was announced way back in 2020, I was waiting with the utmost patience to watch it. I followed every update I could, all the casting announcements, and looked forward to seeing things from the original game that I was such a huge fan of come to the small screen. When the first trailer released, I knew for a fact that this series was finally going to break the video-game adaptation curse.
And then, The Last of Us became incredibly popular on HBO, with viewers and critics, breaking records left and right and becoming a huge television hit – not like I expected any less from one of my favorite stories of all time. But now, Season 2 for the show is confirmed, and as someone who played The Last of Us: Part II, I have some certain things that I need to see in the second season – or, at the very least, later on in the show, if it doesn’t all happen in Season 2. Let’s get into it.
Also, obviously, this is going to include MAJOR spoilers for The Last of Us: Part II, so if you want potential storylines for Season 2 to remain a mystery, stay far away.
The Full Revenge On Joel
Alright, let’s start off with the obvious. I want Joel to die.
Obviously when I first played the game, I was heartbroken, but truth be told, as someone who played the original The Last of Us game as a fourteen-year-old girl after watching PewDiePie play it on YouTube, I bonded a hell of a lot more with Ellie, so I was totally fine playing as her for the second game.
If you love Pedro Pascal in The Last of Us, check out his other great roles.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that Joel’s death is really what drives the second game. The story doesn’t really start until we see him get whacked in the head with that golf club by the former Fireflies that were hunting him down – specifically, Abby, because Joel killed her dad to save Ellie in the last game.
Look guys, I love Pedro Pascal just as much as the next person, and him as Joel was truly life-changing. The amount of freaking thirst videos that I have seen of this man on TikTok have gotten tremendously out of hand, because no one can’t seem to stop calling him daddy now. But, Joel’s gotta die. It’s what makes Ellie, well, Ellie in the second game.
The only reason I really feel the need to put this is that I think that because Joel has become such a huge character, and so many people love him, the show might want to go a different direction with the betrayal. If we’re being honest, though, that’s the one thing from the original game I really hope they keep the same.
The Inclusion Of Lev
I’ve already talked about how The Last of Us series, as whole, was a big game-changer in the world of video games, as they were one of the first gaming franchises to have a lesbian woman as one of its main playable characters in Part II. For those who don’t know, the second game actually takes a lot more strides to include much more representation – including the addition of Lev.
Lev, in the games, is a young boy who was running away with his sister in order to escape a highly religious cult that both Ellie and Abby end up fighting against at various points throughout the game. Lev becomes an integral part of Abby’s story (which you play at the half-way point of the game), and because of that, we start to learn more about his story – and how he was actually born a woman, but changed his name and shaved his hair, and how the cult basically wanted him dead after that.
Lev’s story got a fair amount of backlash when it first came out, but honestly, I truly think it’s one of the most important parts of the second game, because not only does it fuel Abby’s story and shows her in a different light than what we saw before, but it’s important representation, so I truly hope he’s still in there. The actor who even played him has expressed interest in playing the role in the show.
That Crazy-Ass-Infected-Monster Thing
God, I don’t even want to talk about this thing that much, but if they can bring the Bloater to the small screen, I think they can do the same with this disgusting, infected piece of crap - or, what plenty of fans call, "The Rat King."
During the gameplay where you fight as Abby, you have to face this abomination of integrated infection that you somehow have to kill. The first time I saw it, I paused the game and walked away for a moment to scream into my pillow because look at it. It’s terrifying.
A big thing that was changed during the first season of the show was the lack of video game violence, including a lack of infected, so I’m hoping that the second season will include more of that – as well as this crazy, disgusting creature.
Ellie Going Absolutely Vicious
I love a feral, rage-fuelled woman, and Ellie becomes that and more during The Last of Us: Part II.
Ellie literally loses her shit when Joel is killed (as anyone would for their loved ones) and goes on this revenge-quest all the way to Seattle, Washington in order to track down the people that killed him, and throughout it, I’d say she gets even more violent than Joel, which is saying something. To be honest, I know Joel would do the same thing if the roles were reversed.
I have no doubts that Bella Ramsey can bring that anger to the screen with her acting ability with how well she did during the first season, but at the same time, I just hope the violence is upped just a bit – so we can see just how scary Ellie can be.
A Game-Specific Abby With Big Beefy Arms
Another thing that The Last of Us: Part II got some pushback about was Abby herself, but not even for the fact that she’s the person who killed Joel. Of course, some people were upset about that, but I saw many fans complaining about her character design and to that, I say, shut up. Shut. The hell. Up.
I’m sorry, but if I was in an apocalyptic world, I’d want someone like Abby on my side; her and all her muscles, even her giant arms that I would literally worship because, like, you need someone strong. The fact that people were upset that she had muscles baffles me – because of course it’s weird when women have muscles but when men have muscles, like Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead or literally any male protagonist from any dystopian show, it’s alright. *rolls eyes.*
I don’t want the show to tone down Abby and who she is. I want a game-accurate Abby with the big beefy arms and all of that, because that’s who she is – a terrifying woman who could snap your neck in two. I’ve seen so many people nominate someone to play her – including Katy M. O'Brian, recently from The Mandalorian – but whoever it is, she just needs to look like Abby. Please.
Ellie And Dina’s Relationship – Expanded On
One of the best changes that The Last of Us made in the show was making its LGBTQ+ romances a lot more front and center than in the games, such as the change with Bill and Frank, or even the episode surrounding Ellie and Riley, both of which were done beautifully. With that in mind, I truly believe that Ellie and Dina are going to happen.
Their relationship throughout the game was honestly one of the best parts of The Last of Us: Part II, because there was just so much love and trust there, and the way it ended utterly tore me apart – which is why, if it’s not in the show, I will riot, because I need my lesbian love story, please. They’re so good together, and I would die to see Ramsey and whoever they got to play Dina play this out accurately.
The Last of Us Season 2 is obviously going to be a long way away at this point, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream about what I want to happen. I just need to be patient – even if that’s the last thing I want to do.
