By Christopher Cruz
When it premiered in 2023, HBO’s The Last of Us was hailed by many as the best video game adaptation ever. An enormous a part of that acclaim was attributed to how intently collection’ creators Craig Mazin and Neill Druckmann (who co-created the sport) caught to the script when translating the 2013 title to tv.
For anybody who’d performed the sport, it appeared apparent; The Last of Us was designed to intently resemble the language of cinematic storytelling. The primary season lifted the entire structure of the game — with 1:1 recreation of many scenes and contours of dialogue to the purpose the place followers might virtually communicate alongside the characters precognitively.
However followers additionally knew that by the present’s second season, a near-perfect adaptation could be way more tough. 2020’s The Last of Us Part II was a special beast than its predecessor, with a extra sprawling story advised from totally different views — and its personal tectonic narrative shifts from the primary entry that stirred controversy amongst audiences.
Whereas its creators have been open about how the story of The Final of Us (the present) might want to evolve to suit the medium of TV, it hasn’t stopped these in-the-know from counting off and decrying a number of the greatest alterations to the sport’s plot. And whereas it stays to be seen simply how far the trajectory of the narrative will depart from the supply materials because the collection progresses, stretching the sport out over a number of seasons, it’s clear from Season Two that even minor updates might have an unlimited influence on how tv audiences will expertise the story of Joel, Ellie, and Abby.
With out getting caught up on trivialities, a number of the differing selections are obvious whereas others are extra refined. Listed here are all the most important adjustments we’ve caught in The Final of Us Season Two from the video games.
[Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Season Two, episodes one to four.]
The season premiere opens with a glance again on the ultimate moments of the present’s Season One finale, whereby Ellie confronts Joel concerning the occasions that happened in Salt Lake Metropolis. Joel lies about Ellie’s process which may’ve saved humanity from the cordyceps an infection and omits the entire bit about slaughtering virtually each Firefly within the hospital. It’s ambiguous as as to if Ellie believes him — however the shadow of doubt looms.
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Within the sport, the introduction is framed as a dialog between Joel (Pedro Pascal within the present, Troy Baker in sport) and his brother Tommy (Diego Luna within the present, Jeffrey Pierce in sport). With somber flashbacks to the violent evening, the scene performs out extra grimly than within the present, reminding gamers that even when they agreed with Joel’s actions, he has harmless blood on his fingers. When questioned by Tommy about what he actually did, Joel replies, “I saved her.” This line does find yourself within the collection however is relayed later by Tommy when chatting with another person. It’s a small element, however chopping the interplay provides Joel rather a lot much less display time early within the present, which focuses extra on the folks affected by his choices than his inside battle about them.
With the pivot away from Joel within the episode’s opener comes a a lot earlier introduction to Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her surviving Firefly cohorts within the quick aftermath of the massacre in Salt Lake Metropolis. In a makeshift graveyard exterior the hospital, surrounded by the giraffes that Ellie met in one of many first season’s most emotional scenes, the group talk about their subsequent strikes after burying their lifeless. Their mission is obvious: kill Joel, after discovering one other outfit to regroup and rebuild with.
Within the sport, Abby arrives within the story additional down the road as a seemingly innocuous determine throughout a raid by the contaminated horde. Her motivations and allegiances stay a thriller till a lot later, making her function a extra bogeyman-like risk. Right here, she bears extra humanity up entrance, and is meant to be empathized with as a sufferer of Joel moderately than shrouded within the otherness of being the antagonist.
One of many greatest adjustments established in season one was in how the fungal cordyceps unfold and wreak havoc all through the world. Fairly than infecting folks by way of airborne spores (necessitating fuel masks throughout encounters), the fungus grows underground, stretching out a nervous system-like internet of roots that assist it discover human colonies for prey.
In Jackson, the city the place Joel and Ellie have discovered refuge with Tommy, an initiative to increase the group reveals a critical situation with water pipelines which can be crammed with the fungal tendrils (though the risk they pose is performed down as a curiosity for individuals who could not recall their influence within the earlier season). All of that is new to the story, and units up a ticking clock towards a significant incursion in Jackson that’s by no means in any actual hazard through the occasions of the sport.
Early within the premiere, Ellie’s good friend and potential love curiosity Dina (Isabella Merced within the present, Shannon Woodard within the sport) stops by to pay Joel a go to, discussing the city’s varied renovations and the off-kilter conduct of Ellie. It’s shortly established that Joel has taken a liking to Dina and sees in her a more healthy father-daughter relationship than he at present has with Ellie, who’s turn into extra distant.
Their relationship is much less outlined within the sport, with Dina seen extra by way of Ellie’s perspective. The deeper ties established right here play into moreover added character interactions and sequences that veer away from the sport in later episodes, nevertheless it additionally reinforces the pressure between Joel and Ellie, whilst we see them work together much less within the collection than they did within the sport.
One of many strongest features of the primary season of The Final of Us was the enlargement of characters like Invoice (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), who go from footnotes within the journey to totally fleshed out folks in one in all the best episodes of television ever. Season Two does a lot of this, too, but in addition provides new characters like Catherine O’Hara’s Gail, who was initially meant to seem within the sport however was in the end reduce.
Gail is the city therapist, and though she’s clearly broken and discovering solace in heavy consuming, her function is to assist assuage a lot of the trauma the survivors face each day. Particularly, she is working by way of Joel’s points with Ellie — and the secrets and techniques Joel himself is withholding, regardless that Gail hates Joel for killing her contaminated husband only a 12 months earlier. Gail’s session with Joel has shades of different conversations he has with Tommy in-game, and once more reinforces the unstable nature of Joel, who’s coming aside on the seams as his relationship with Ellie flounders within the face of his actions.
One of many greatest alterations to an essential scene from the sport comes on the finish of the premiere, the place Ellie comes throughout Joel sitting on his porch after making a large number on the city’s occasion by punching Seth for his homophobic feedback. Having already advised Joel off in entrance of everybody, Ellie pauses for a second to take a look at her would-be father earlier than silently passing by.
This is among the most surprising pivots from the sport, which at this level within the narrative had spent extra time letting gamers breath within the short-lived household dynamic of the pair. In-game, this sequence is definitely the penultimate scene towards the very finish, a flashback diving into the final dialog Joel and Ellie ever had that recontextualizes a lot of their relationship. Within the area the place the porch scene exists within the collection, there’s as a substitute a special flashback the place Joel fulfills his promise to show Ellie learn how to play guitar, performing an acoustic rendition of Pearl Jam’s “Future Days.” The omission of the tune is smart on condition that “Future Days” launched in 2013, the 12 months the apocalypse occurs, which is modified to 2003 within the collection, that means that the tune was by no means written on this actuality.
From the preliminary casting announcement of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, many followers had been fast to level out that the actress lacked the bodybuilder-like physique of the in-game character (voiced by Laura Bailey, modeled after Jocelyn Mettler). Though the present’s creators have argued that the cumbersome musculature isn’t essential to the character, it serves a special goal in-game, the place on the portion the story that makes up episode two, gamers tackle management of the character to see that she performs very very similar to Joel did within the first sport — a powerhouse in distinction to Ellie’s extra stealthy gameplay.
Whereas Abby’s lack of uncooked energy makes her extra susceptible to hazard within the present, there’s additionally cutbacks to her emotional vulnerability with characters like Owen (Spencer Lord within the present, Patrick Fugit in sport). Within the sport, an early dialog overlooking Jackson reveals that Abby and Owen had been as soon as romantically concerned, however that he’s now with one other occasion member named Mel. He tries to persuade Abby that the risk is just too nice, and that they need to flip again. Within the collection, the small print of their love triangle are pulled, and Owen as a substitute rallies the group to desert the mission behind Abby’s again.
Exterior of reshuffling particular person scenes, this can be a level at which deliberate selections to which characters are current for particular sequences could really influence the plot of The Final of Us shifting ahead. Within the sport, it’s established that brothers Joel and Tommy all the time take their lookout patrols collectively, however with an enormous snowstorm looming over Jackson, the present opts to maintain Tommy planted in-town, whereas Dina as a substitute accompanies Joel for his or her ill-fated assembly with Abby. In a parallel subplot, Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jesse (Younger Mazino within the present; Stephen Chang in sport) replaces Dina as Ellie’s patrol companion.
The consequences of this are twofold: It signifies that Ellie and Dina’s will-they-or-won’t-they dynamic is pushed additional down the road as a significant interplay between the potential paramours doesn’t happen right here; secondly, it locations Tommy in Jackson for a life-threatening motion sequence that teases his loss of life (however spares him), moderately than being within the room when Abby final executes his brother.
By far the most important addition to this point to the collection is a large-scale motion sequence in Jackson that pays off on the tease of the cordyceps community beforehand launched beneath the city. Invaded by a sprawling horde of contaminated, together with a large bloater that just about kills Tommy, Jackson is left virtually solely in ruins. The occasions of the raid happen concurrently with Joel and Dina’s arrival on the resort the place Abby’s group waits in hiding.
Within the sport, Joel and Tommy discover Abby surrounded by contaminated (as she is within the present), however the stakes are considerably decrease, and Joel’s intentions are extra altruistic — wanting to save lots of Abby and produce her in from the storm moderately than racing to seek out armed allies to assist quell the assault on his dwelling. For Joel, the endpoint is in the end the identical, however now his loss of life is coupled with numerous extra in Jackson.
For avid gamers, Joel’s loss of life has been a well-guarded secret within the lead-up to the collection’ second season. Gamers knew it was coming, nevertheless it doesn’t make the sucker punch any much less painful. However there’s some softening of the perimeters — whether or not to make Abby feels barely much less savage or just keep away from comparisons to another shocking death in the same present (The Strolling Useless) — Abby’s execution of Joel isn’t fairly as gratuitously violent.
Within the present, Abby does use a golf membership to beat Joel to the brink of loss of life, and the squelching of her fists towards his face is pores and skin crawling. However after Owen begs her to place an finish to it, Abby chooses to stab Joel within the neck with the sharpened fringe of the damaged driver. Whereas nonetheless unsettling, the scene performs extra as Abby offering a small mercy to Joel with silent blow, whereas within the sport she continues to collapse his cranium with the membership as a restrained Ellie holds eye contact. It would sound like a nitpick to those that’d desire a much less bloodthirsty strategy, nevertheless it does change the framing of the scene thematically.
Episode three opens with the aftermath of Joel’s loss of life, seeing Tommy are inclined to his physique and Ellie affected by PTSD as she recovers from each the extreme bodily and psychological trauma she endured on the evening of. The present jumps forward three months to indicate each the city of Jackson and Ellie herself at an uneasy stabilization level. In her classes with Gail, Ellie is pretending to be high quality regardless of the therapist’s inclinations in any other case.
All of that is newly offered context added for the present that informs how the folks of Jackson selected to answer each Joel’s loss of life and the horde assault (which additionally isn’t within the unique story). Within the sport, a call to pursue Abby is made simply days after Joel’s burial, offering quick motion and penalties to gamers who need to get revenge themselves. It additionally adjustments who from Jackson desires to take stated motion given the totally different circumstances the characters discover themselves in from the present.
Halfway by way of episode three, the plot shifts briefly away from Jackson to a gaggle of facially scarred vacationers (who we’ll later know because the Seraphites). Much less geared up with expertise and weaponry than the opposite factions just like the Washington Liberation Entrance and FEDRA, the Scars (as they’re nicknamed) resemble a extra hunter-gatherer tradition, and wax poetic concerning the benevolent prophet of their cult. They’re subsequently ambushed and slaughtered by unknown attackers, with even the ladies and kids ruthlessly killed.
This differs extensively from the sport, the place the Scars debut later in Ellie’s trek by way of Seattle as a terrifying power depicted extra facelessly and savage. Right here, Ellie and Dina uncover their corpses and assume the violence was the work of Abby’s group (the WLF), reinforcing their notion of the group as killers to be stopped. Within the sport, the Scars play an important function in Abby’s private story, however at this juncture of the collection, they’re simply one other sea of victims.
Stemming from the most important adjustments made with episode two’s destruction of Jackson, episode three sees a city corridor assembly held for the group to debate whether or not they need to ship a looking occasion out to get revenge on Abby. Whereas Tommy himself desires blood, he’s extra involved about defending each the city and Ellie, the latter he is aware of will completely attempt to go it alone to get payback. Regardless of an impassioned plea from Seth and a comparatively well-reasoned one by Ellie, the council votes towards sacrificing sources for a suicide mission. In response, Ellie and Dina determine to sneak out themselves, minimizing the influence on the group with a smaller mission.
It is a stark distinction to the sport, the place Tommy himself decides to tackle the burden of vengeance, sneaking out to homicide Joel’s killers (as he believes Joel would’ve for him). Not like the present, it’s Tommy’s spouse Maria (Rutina Wesley within the present, Ashley Scott in sport) who sends Ellie and Dina out, to not kill anybody, however to convey her husband dwelling safely. The present’s divergence right here is gigantic, first by grounding Tommy in Jackson moderately than because the chief of the violent tour and secondly eradicating any guise about Ellie’s intentions. Fairly than utilizing the salvation of Tommy as an excuse to inadvertently kill those that wronged her, Ellie’s bloodlust is on full show to Dina.
A smaller repercussion of the altering dynamics and character pairings gives the city bartender, Seth, with a second of redemption for his previous conduct. In episode one, Seth spews homophobic rhetoric and slurs at Ellie and Dina throughout their dance, main the Joel’s intervention and subsequent shunning from his adoptive daughter. Within the present, Seth gives the identical weak apology he’s coaxed into from the sport, however he additionally stands as much as help Ellie through the council assembly (though he makes it extra about projecting energy than making amends).
His closing act of penance is being the one to equip Ellie and Dina with weapons and provides for his or her enterprise and serving to them sneak out within the evening — the function performed by Maria within the sport, sending the duo off to rescue her husband.
The present’s framing of Dina is general very totally different, giving her a lot deeper tactical data and road smarts than the extra impulsive Ellie. In some ways, she’s the one main the cost because the mind behind the operation. She additionally leads their blossoming relationship, luring Ellie into opening about their kiss within the premiere, though stopping wanting performing on their chemistry. She additionally reveals that inside the three-month hole added to the collection, she’s gotten again along with Jesse (as soon as once more).
At this level within the unique plot, Ellie and Dina have already slept collectively and are depicted as basically being a pair. Ellie stays strongheaded as all the time, however within the sport there’s a extra tragic love story at play as she is pulling alongside a much less keen and succesful participant underneath the false pretense of saving one in all their very own. Right here, Ellie is extra reserved, whereas Dina has extra company and management.
Episode 4 picks up with a flashback to 2018 (15 years into the apocalypse), the place a platoon of FEDRA troopers is using in an APC. Their chief is proven to be Isaac (Jeffrey Wright in each the sport and present), a world-weary veteran who in the end activates the group, killing all however one solder earlier than aligning with the WLF (who get nicknamed as Wolves within the episode).
Within the current, Isaac is the chief of the Wolves and is waging a private battle on the Scars to eradicate the rival faction. In a later scene, he will be seen interrogating and executing a Scar at WLF’s dwelling base. That is all consistent with the sport however comes into play a lot before earlier than — the place Isaac’s function is usually confined to Abby’s subplot that we’ll doubtless see in future seasons of the present.
Whereas the primary sport was neatly damaged into 4 elements based mostly on the seasons of the 12 months, The Final of Us Half II has a way more advanced construction. Episodes one to 3 of the present largely make up the prologue earlier than issues would’ve kicked into gear within the sport. By episode 4, Ellie and Dina are in Seattle for the primary of three days that spherical out this part of the story. However taking part in the sport, every day is an arduous journey in their very own proper; conversely the present speeds by way of day one in a single episode.
Ellie and Dina make their means by way of Seattle, pausing for only one pitstop at a document retailer, earlier than focusing on a defunct TV station occupied by the Wolves. By eradicating Tommy from the equation, the duo isn’t discovering corpses left behind by Joel’s brother to chart their subsequent path — skipping over sequences the place Abby’s mates start dying off. As of now, they’ve been pulled fully from the plot and will doubtlessly all be alive and effectively.
After fleeing the TV station and killing two Wolves in a remixed flip of occasions, Ellie and Dina discover themselves in a subway tunnel besieged by each WLF and contaminated. It’s a harrowing sequence lifted immediately from the sport, however the scene’s ending adjustments to match the inner logic of the present’s actuality. Close to their escape, Ellie throws herself in entrance of Dina, taking a chunk from an contaminated individual to save lots of her good friend. On this world, that’s a loss of life sentence for anybody however Ellie.
The scene performs out barely otherwise within the sport, whereby airborne spores power everybody to put on gasmasks — together with Ellie, to cover her immunity. On this model, they’re additionally attacked however her masks is smashed, revealing the reality to Dina as Ellie manages to outlive the deadly inhalant. Within the present, the chunk results in an all-night standoff the place Dina should maintain a gun to Ellie’s head till she sees that there’s no transformation.
Not like the sport, the place Ellie and Dina hook up early on, the present takes a while teasing out their potential pairing. Following Ellie’s chunk, an awestruck Dina lastly makes a transfer after the emotional whiplash of realizing that she hadn’t misplaced her newfound love. It’s right here that Dina additionally reveals that she’s pregnant with Jesse’s child, with Ellie proudly proclaiming that she’ll be the dad of their triple parenting state of affairs.
Clearly, this intercourse scene happens a lot sooner within the sport, nevertheless it’s additionally the influence of the being pregnant reveal that’s modified. Within the supply materials, Dina’s being pregnant is used as an excuse to go away her behind within the theatre, pitting gamers as Ellie alone, who can put aside any pretenses of the journey being something greater than a revenge mission with out her companion’s security to fret about.
Equally to the sport, the episode ends with an enormous explosion rattling downtown Seattle. Utilizing a stolen walkie lifted from the TV station, Ellie and Dina can suss out that it’s the Wolves who’re making a transfer on another entity, and the pair shortly plan to make their transfer in the midst of the chaos to seek out their marks.
Though it’s unclear precisely who the Wolves are raining fireplace upon in each variations of the story, it’s presumed to be the Scars within the adaptation; whereas within the sport, Ellie and Dina imagine that Tommy is accountable for the carnage. If it seems to be Wolves attacking Seraphites, it is going to shift up the timeline of the sport the place the Wolves have escalated their makes an attempt to eradicate the group that performs closely into later parts of the story. For now, the id of who’s concerned stays a thriller.
This story might be up to date weekly as new episodes of The Final of Us air.
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