In January 2023, The Last of Us aired on HBO and abruptly changed the world of video game adaptations. It accurately portrayed the game’s post-apocalyptic setting to the point where it sometimes felt like watching a playthrough, but it also expanded the franchise in a way that felt credible and appropriate for television as a medium. We saw the first seeds of the fungal endemic, a masterpiece portrait of two minor characters, and a brand new villain, among other clever additions.
Now, the second game in the series is getting the same treatment, but not in the same way. A first glimpse at The Last of Us Season 2 reveals what the series will add, and what will have to wait until Season 3. Check out the trailer below, released today to celebrate the day the outbreak reached critical mass in the game’s story.
Set to Joel playing Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” on the guitar (an odd choice considering the song was released after the apocalypse happened, although maybe Eddie Vedder and his bandmates survived), the trailer follows Joel and Ellie years after we left them in Season 1. It begins with a brand new character, a therapist played by Catherine O’Hara, pressing Joel to admit to himself what he did.
We, of course, already know what he did. At the end of Season 1, he murdered the Fireflies who were planning to dissect Ellie and investigate her immunity in the hope of developing a cure. Ellie survived and went on to build her own life, but the decision to take the lives of people who might have been able to save humanity is weighing heavily on Joel.
It’s also an action that comes back to haunt him as Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the daughter of one of the murdered surgeons, vows revenge. This trailer gives us our first look at Dever, who originally auditioned to play Ellie, and her take on this controversial character.
Readers who played The Last of Us Part II know the massive impact Abby will have on the story. But while she’ll change Joel and Ellie’s lives in dramatic fashion, the trailer clearly dances around her role. Without spoiling too much, the trailer is teasing a big moment that looks obvious to anyone who played the game, but is likely going over the heads of those who discovered the franchise on HBO. If you’re curious, don’t worry; if Season 2 sticks as close to the game as Season 1 did, the big twist will likely come sooner rather than later.
Co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have made it clear the plot of The Last of Us Part II will be split over multiple seasons, so regardless of when Abby reaches the peak of her infamy, you’ll soon get used to seeing her around. She’s the main antagonist now — and arguably the co-protagonist — of the story’s next chapter. Hopefully, Season 2 will give her the introduction she deserves so she can make her feelings towards Joel clear.
