The first season of The Last of Us showed us that a flawless video game adaptation is possible. The HBO series brought Joel and Ellie to life with the help of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and though it clung close to the aesthetics and story of the game, it still felt like an all-new story.
Fans of the game definitely breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing The Last of Us, but once the credits rolled, many wondered how the series would tackle the saga’s next chapter. The Last of Us Part II is a whopper of a game: not only does it take place after a five-year time jump, but it’s almost double the length of its predecessor. Its world is more expansive, its cast of characters is larger, and its central narrative is more emotionally fraught. According to The Last of Us co-showrunners Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin, Part II can’t be covered in just one season of television. HBO’s TLOU may have to take a few more liberties with its story, but judging from our first look at Season 2, things are on the right track.
The Last of Us Season 2 isn’t set to debut until 2025, so the wait isn’t over yet. But HBO and Max have unveiled its upcoming slate in a Coming Soon trailer, and the first footage from the new season looks promising. We get our first glimpse of characters like Dina (Isabela Merced) and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), while Jeffrey Wright reprises his role as Isaac, who he voiced in the game. The Last of Us also appears to be introducing an original character played by Catherine O’Hara.
Max’s teaser focuses on a conversation between O’Hara’s character and Pascal’s Joel. The pair seem to be discussing the events of the Season 1 finale, which forced Joel to make an impossible choice. “Did you hurt her?” O’Hara asks, referring to Ramsey’s Ellie. Those who tuned in to Season 1 know that Joel elected to save Ellie from a procedure that would have taken her life... but could have saved the world. It’s a choice that’s clearly weighing on him in Season 2: he sheds a tear as he tells O’Hara’s character, “I saved her.”
There’s a chance this exchange is just one brief conversation in TLOU’s upcoming season, but it will be interesting to see if the series uses it as a narrative framing device. Again, Part I and Part II are separated by a big time jump, so this could be the scene that catches audiences up on the past five years for Joel and Ellie.
Whether this is an interrogation or a therapy session, this conversation could be a clever addition to Season 2. The sheer scope of Part II doesn’t really accommodate a straightforward adaptation, so TLOU will have to get a bit more creative with its story this time around. It’ll be exciting to see just how O’Hara fits into Season 2, and how Joel and Ellie’s relationship has evolved over the years.
