The Last of Us Season 2 is going to premiere in April. Since it’s been two years, let’s recap where the story has been going. What do you look forward to in this continuing show?
Gamer fans are excited to see how the producers adapt this second part of the story. Many have been comparing the two and discussing what changes or consistency they liked. Meanwhile, show-only fans are pumped to get some resolution on how last season’s cliffhanger affects the main characters.
The Last of Us is considered one of the best live-action video game to film adaptations. It was the first to receive major awards for the creative talent. After its debut, it became the most-watched HBO show in Europe, North America, and South America.
The Last Of Us season 1
We are introduced to Joel (Pedro Pascal), a single father raising a teen daughter when the zombie apocalypse first started. Just when they barely escape, the nearby military gunman reveals that they were set on shooting anyone even if they weren’t zombies, and Joel’s daughter is murdered.
The show time skips to 20 years later, in 2023, when he lives in a sheltered dysfunctional community as a smuggler. He wants to escape the chaotic place and is made to take teenage Ellie with him in the car that he fixes.
Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is being held hostage by a “revolutionary” group called the Fireflies, who are in rebellion against the military. They want to escort Ellie out of town and to a special hospital because it is believed that she was the cure to the fungus infecting people. She was bitten by a zombie before but didn’t become one herself, so she is immune.
The story takes us across America as the two bond and face severe dangers. Zombies and organized survivor groups oppose them everywhere, but they always narrowly escape. Joel gets severely injured by some raiders, and as Ellie applies surgery to him, we see a flashback to her story.
She had a best friend, Riley, whom she loved dearly. As she and her are having a romantic moment in an abandoned mall, a zombie attacks and bites both of them. Ellie had to kill Riley and survive on her own. This is why she develops an attatchment to Joel, not wanting to lose another person close to her.
Finale recap
In the final episode, they reach the Firefly Lab, where the Fireflies forcibly take Ellie from Joel. When asked about her, a lady decides to tell Joel the truth. The cure will most likely work, but Ellie will die in the process of extracting it from her.
Due to their strong bond, Joel sees Ellie as his daughter. Therefore, he is very distraught at this news. He is an unstoppable man, going cold and killing most of the hospital staff. Joel has dropped all morals, for his only desire is for her to live longer.
He kidnaps an unconscious Ellie from there and drives off. When she wakes up, he tells her it didn’t work out and that a pack of raiders took out the Fireflies. The show ends tense as Ellie suspects he’s lying but accepts his story for now.
The video game
I’m sure you’ve heard about how many thriller shows and movies are based on books. Yet, this one is based on a video game! The Last of Us was released in 2013 and has gotten lots of praise ever since.
The single-player game is rich in good storytelling. The 3D graphics are great, especially back in the early mid-2000s. The emotional development of characters and high-stakes situations kept players at the edge of their seats and focused.
Most game fans focus on the difference in storytelling between the two mediums. The show, of course, follows a more narrative style, choosing to focus more on fleshing out the human characters’ relationships and have fewer action scenes.
One of the interesting changes in the show is how people get infected. In the video game, you could get infected by breathing the fungal spores floating in the air. However, the show doesn’t follow this. In addition to getting bit being a major cause, the zombies can also infect through a “kiss.” You can see tendrils extending from a monster’s tongue, preparing to infect Tess, Joel’s partner, through the mouth. She lights a bomb and sacrifices herself along with the zombie horde.
This is to make the process more intimate and disgusting. It also happens that the infected can communicate with each other via a fungal network connection, working somewhat as their own organized social group.
The unique ways that zombies work in both the games and films are fascinating! I like how they included the scientific lore of how mushrooms work into the established biology of the zombies.
The Last of Us actors
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey do a great job on their roles. It is confirmed that they will continue to play the main characters in the next season. Pascal is famous for starring as Din Djarin in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Ramsey has acted in shows such as The Worst Witch, Game of Thrones, and Hilda. She has a lot of experience acting as a main character in her career so far!
A few new actors are announced for season 2, who will be in major plot scenes. Pascal reports in an interview to say that Ramsey is to thank for making the new members feel welcome and transition easily into the project.
One big character that will arrive is Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever. Abby is to be a soldier with a “black-and-white view of the world” who is seeking revenge for her family. With her will be four supporting characters, two soldiers, and two doctors. The question now is, will they be allies or enemies of Joel and Ellie?
Season 2 preview
The Last of Us Season 2 is to continue the second game, though it won’t cover the entire story. There are rumors that more seasons are to be made to lengthen the show. On YouTube, the cast sits down for an hour to talk about season 2. They tease about some exciting scenes and how it felt performing for them.
The previous season had some serious emotional scenes and high-stakes action! We will get more of that in the next season, possibly to a higher degree than before. Meanwhile, fans can see teasers for themselves on the trailer that HBO just released a few days ago.
Things are taking place in winter now. It looks like Ellie and Joel will settle down in another closed village like the one they came from in the beginning. They are a lot cleaner now, and life may be returning to normal for both of them. Who is that child Joel is reading to? Does Ellie find a new girlfriend?
Like in a horror movie, these happy moments give off an uneasy vibe because you know something will go wrong at any moment. And sure enough, we see some new enemies rise up with another zombie horde. Even their walled village can’t stay standing forever. Will humanity die out?
Ellie will somehow discover the truth about Joel’s lie, which will strain their relationship. Do you think she will understand his protective feelings? Can she forgive him? Or will everything they had as a family fall apart? The next season is looking very dangerous! Prepare your popcorn and join us for The Last of Us season 2, which airs on April 13.
