After nearly nine weeks of tense, traumatic and tearful drama, The Last of Us’ inaugural series is nearing its climax.
Joel and Ellie’s arduous journey across America has captivated viewers and critics alike as they dodge ruthless militias and fearsome monsters while searching for a cure for a brain fungal infection that has been devastating the populace.
HBO, which adapted the series from the original video game, was quick to announce after the first few episodes that there would be a second series.
In this article, we look at what that might look like. Spoilers are avoided, similar to how Joel and Ellie dodge those grotesque mushroom spores.
The biggest clues come from the video game sequel.
The Last of Us: Part 2 was released on PlayStation 4 in summer 2020 and picks up the story five years after the events of the first part. It expands the world and introduces new characters, factions, and locations.
The game was a huge hit for Sony, although its creators had to defend the use of force. Three years later, it’s considered one of the best games of all time, successfully living up to the legacy of the original.
Given that the first series of the TV show has largely stayed true to the game, it’s safe to assume the show will continue down that path.
Neil Druckman, its director, has also suggested that will be the case, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games.”
However, given the larger scope of the sequel, one series may not be enough to do it justice – so it could focus on just one elementary section of the story (come back here to read what to expect in a series in the future three” articles…)
The opening series of the adaptation was traumatic. Not since Game of Thrones have more pivotal characters greeted and said farewell to viewers with such regularity.
This trend will continue in the second season. From the first episode to the last, difficult and heartbreaking decisions are made. Characters will lose loved ones as they explore more of this changed America.
Viewers will shed a tear or two, and the constant threat of impending and sudden death will haunt the show, as it did in the first series.
Thematically, the opening series touched on authoritarianism. How does it feel to be ruled by a dictatorship? If we have little or no say in how society is run, what do we do next?
The next series will put religious fundamentalism in the spotlight. As is often the case in post-apocalyptic zombie dramas (I appreciate they’re called “infected” in this series, but you know what I mean), humans are often the scariest enemies.
That will certainly be the case when the Seraphites (aka Scars), a group of violent cultists who communicate through menacing whistling noises, appear on screen.
How much the show chooses to explore the inflexibility of its fundamentalist beliefs, and what that means for the other characters, we’ll have to wait to find out.
Listening to the show’s creators, Neil Druckman and Craig Mazlin, discuss their work, it’s clear that love is the central theme of the first series. Each episode is filled with people trying their best to save a loved one.
There will be a postponement for the second season. Instead, it asks how people deal with grief. Should we be angry? Die? try to forget? Or take revenge?
Characters will answer this question differently, and viewers will be challenged to choose which approach they instinctively support.
So far we’ve encountered three types of infected in Last of Us. The common or garden ‘runners’ which gather when a spore is disturbed; The fungus faced “clickers”, blind but with deadly quick reactions; And the “Bloater,” a big boy who sprung up in episode five.
In series two, expect that list to expand.
In the game, players will encounter a character called “The Rat King” – a massive and even more grotesque version of what has been shown on screen so far. This infected is a combination of many people banded together in a hospital.
The game features a memorable setting where the characters are ambushed by a Rat King in a dark basement. It is a difficult and unsettling encounter that is difficult to televise.
Neil Druckman told the BBC when The Last of Us: Part 2 was first released that video games needed to represent society better. Diversity in terms of gender, sexuality and ethnicity was important to him and the team developing the game.
The second series introduces us to the transgender character Lev – who was one of the first transgender characters to appear in a major high profile game release. Its story arc is emotional, so expect the show to explore societal attitudes toward transgender rights.
We have already met one of the main characters of the next series. Dina, a Jackson resident, makes a glimpse in episode six, staring at Ellie and Joel as they arrive in town. She will be the heartbeat of the second series: intelligent, loving and loyal.
This casting decision will be key to the success of the series.
The rumor mill is in full swing as to who will be playing the role of Abby. Portrayed in the game by Shannon Woodward, she is a strong woman who has suffered significant heartbreak. Your divisive actions are central to the plot of the second series and will be remembered long after you’ve put down your controller.
There’s a three-fourths moment in The Last of Us: Part 2 that plays with character perspective in a way that’s going to be hard to match on television. This section is a significant element of the overall emotional impact of the game. Can the on-screen equivalent match that?
We don’t know when the second season will be finished, Pedro Pascal has hinted that filming could start as early as 2023. If all goes according to plan, we’ll likely get back into the story in 2025.
Watch this room.
For more game content, see Press X to continue. the BBC Sounds gaming podcast.
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