In 2023, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckman and Chernobyl director Craig Mazin caused a sensation by adapting the video game (a genre known for its inadaptability; Minecraft is here to remind us) into a series produced by HBO. A real gamble that turned into a real satisfaction, as the production managed to deliver a palpable level of tension and emotion, a very solid narrative, while sometimes breaking away from the main plot of the game to create surprises. With season 2 fast approaching (April 14), will this new batch of episodes manage to match the previous one (or even surpass it)? And what are the key points of its success?
#5 What will be the continuation of the relationship between Ellie and Joel?
Central piece of the game, and emotional nerve of the series: the relationship between Joel (Pedro Pascal - Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey - Game of Thrones also). Season 1 depicted the epic journey across the United States of these two characters, who at first glance seem like complete opposites, but who end up forming a true "father-daughter" relationship, despite Joel's main mission being to take the teenager to the Fireflies group, convinced that she is the source of a vaccine against the Cordyceps epidemic. But when Joel discovers that the faction intends to sacrifice the young girl for the sake of a - potential - global cure - he decides, without further ado, to wreak havoc in the hospital and save her. When she wakes up, he throws the relationship into disarray by blatantly lying to her: if she's still alive, it's because the operation didn't work.
A lie that will gradually take root and then begin to dissipate when Season 2 begins, five years after the tragic events at the hospital. But Ellie will no longer be the naive teenager and will have matured, enough to cast doubt on this somewhat haphazard justification. Will the series align with the video game The Last of Us 2 in this break? How will the series handle this dramatic tension? Will it accentuate it (or not), compared to the game? Finally, will Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin resort to some flashbacks to flesh out and adapt this drama to the serial format?
#4 How will Ellie evolve?
A question that comes as an obvious one after the previous one. Hurt and angry, Ellie adds hatred, regret, grief, and revenge to this list of feelings after the murder of her adoptive father by Abby and her group. And for good reason, she didn't have time to explain and resolve her trauma, to discover the truth about the events at the hospital, and wasn't able to say goodbye. After the game's prologue, Ellie will be consumed by revenge, by this search for the truth, and will try at all costs to find Abby. A profound dehumanization superbly staged in the adventure, leading to a denouement that has marked the history of video games. It remains to be seen how the series will build and develop its main character after Joel's death (which seems inevitable to advance the pawns, although it is not shown in the trailer, to avoid spoilers for those who have not played the games). There's a lot to be done for the production, in order to make this turning point as impactful on screen as it is through the prism of the video game. This will involve a very intimate staging, a heavy atmosphere and a well-balanced road trip, between action and more intimate sequences.
#3 How will Abby's character be built?
When Kaitlyn Dever was announced to play Abby, reactions from fans of the video game were very mixed. Critics argued that the actress lacked the muscular build of her character. Neil Druckmann quickly came back to set things straight and rescue his actress by announcing that the goal wasn't to copy and paste, trait for trait, the Abby from the game, but to focus more on performance and capturing the essence of the character. "It (the physical appearance) doesn't play as big a role in this version of the story because there isn't as much violent action at every moment," he clarified last year.
A media release that begs the question. The question of how different the Abby in the series will be from her video game version. In the game, Abby is a muscular brute whose movements are heavier than Ellie's, and has mastered the art of combat (while remaining sensitive and endearing, particularly through her flashbacks with Owen, in addition to being devastated by the loss of her father). On the other hand, Naughty Dog has managed to break the codes of video games by having us control a character considered by players to be the game's main antagonist, but who actually turns out to be much deeper and more empathetic, to the point of creating identification among gamers, and even giving rise to a form of resentment towards Ellie. Will viewers of season 2 of "TLOU" be able to identify with this Abby and understand her motivations? That's one of the interests. By playing the vulnerability and emotional depth card, HBO is undoubtedly on the right track.
#2 Will we learn more about the infected?
The confirmation that Cordyceps transmission is also oral and airborne (something absent in season 1), and therefore no longer through contact, means that HBO intends to make its disease even more threatening and oppressive for the survivors. Also, we know that the infected know how to communicate with each other through a complex network, which makes them more intelligent. The creators of the series, for example, announced that they have collaborated with scientists and specialists to make the representation of Cordyceps more realistic, by integrating the impact of climate change, which could favor the mutation of fungi. Finally, we also have the promise of a new type of infected (everything suggests it's the Stink), unless the production has a little surprise in store for us: a new creature. In short, things are promising on this side.
#1 What role will the new characters and other factions play?
The central relationship between Joel and Ellie, the latter's quest for revenge, and her hunt for Abby in a devastated post-apocalyptic world for which there seems to be no cure. And the rest of all this? Tommy, Dina, Jesse, Isaac, Owen, Manny, Yara, Lev... There are other equally important secondary characters who accompany the two sworn enemies in their adventure. We know that Tommy, Dina, or Jesse will side with Ellie. But what about the rest? The character played by Jeffrey Wright seems to be Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front in the game, and while Yara and Lev haven't appeared, the Seraphites will be there. It remains to be seen what role these two antagonistic groups will play in the series' narrative. Remember that they could become more prominent in a third season, since the second act isn't expected to adapt the entirety of The Last of Us Part 2, given its seven short episodes.
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