HBO’s The Last of Us made a name for itself throughout the first season for being extremely faithful to the source material of the original The Last of Us video game. However, there have been minor alterations and changes throughout to help enhance and adapt the story to a television format. Viewers can expect to see more of these in the show’s second season, which will begin to cover events from The Last of Us Part II’s video game. We’ve compiled a list of possible tweaks we think should occur for this second season, so here are 10 changes The Last of Us Season 2 should make from the game.
***Warning – this article contains major spoilers for The Last of Us Part II & potential spoilers The Last of Us Season 2***
Expand Abby’s Backstory From the Beginning
The second Last of Us game introduces Abby, who operates as a second protagonist in contrast to Ellie, with the two going up against one another as the antagonist of each other’s opposing perspectives. With Abby being such an important character, it could be a clever choice to show viewers some background information before the first time she crosses paths with Joel and Ellie.
Including more flashback sequences and background information on Abby involving her father’s death would make her need for revenge much more vivid and give viewers a better understanding of what’s driving her hatred toward Joel. HBO’s The Last of Us has the perfect opportunity to set up this scene with Abby discovering her father’s body among the wreckage of Joel’s actions at the hospital as the first scene to kick off Season 2.
Either way, giving this extra clarity to Abby’s point of view will be very important. It will also help viewers understand her actions further down the track and perhaps help the audience find her more likable as a protagonist despite what she has done, especially if they can understand her from the beginning.
Give Jesse More Significance
Jesse is one of very few characters in The Last of Us that was a truly good person. In a cruel and suffocating world, where runners, clickers, and bloaters roam the lands destroying lives in seconds, Jesse shined through as a bright light, offering kindness, empathy, and understanding towards his friends and peers of Jackson. He truly had a heart of gold and was always supportive of others, holding no distaste for Ellie and Dina’s relationship, despite Dina being his ex.
This type of character is a rare occurrence in the world of the infected, which is why Jesse deserves to shine even brighter in HBO’s adaptation. While his fate and story are pretty much set in stone, there’s a lot that could be done to allow the audience to connect to Jesse’s character on a deeper level, such as the inclusion of more flashbacks involving Jesse or some expanded scenes involving him.
Jesse was one of the people both Ellie and Dina were closest to, so it could be really special to get to see some natural moments of friendship between the trio in the same way Bill and Frank’s story was rewritten in a deeper, more beautiful way. By allowing viewers to see Jesse through Ellie and Dina’s eyes, he will be recognized as a much more special character, and give him the limelight he deserves before he meets his unfortunate and heartbreaking fate later in the story.
Explore Abby & Lev’s Relationship on a Deeper Level
While Abby and Lev stumbled into one another’s lives through unexpected and unfortunate circumstances, they shared a dynamic resembling Joel and Ellie by the end of the story. During the time skip in which they are captured, Abby and Lev grow to care for one another beyond a simple alliance. In learning to trust each other, they change many of their negative qualities in the time they are missing, with both growing as individuals.
It would be great to see Abby come to an understanding of Joel’s actions through her relationship with Lev and gain some perspective on why he did what he did to save Ellie now that she’s in the same shoes as Joel. This could be a highly emotional bonding moment between Abby and the teen and let the viewers witness Abby make the first definitive step towards putting her past to rest.
It was touching to see that Abby had grown to care for Lev with such intensity, taking on that same guardian/caregiver role that Joel once was for Ellie. Because this was such a significant parallel in The Last of Us II, the portrayal of this relationship deserves to be expanded upon with more clarity in HBO’s adaptation. This will help make Abby a much more likable and understandable character and show that she is much more capable of empathy and kindness than one may have initially assumed.