The Last of Us’ HBO show is now airing weekly and has quickly become a fan-favorite video game adaptation. The show has ingeniously inserted whole sequences from the game with precise dialogue, demonstrating how faithful it is to the source material while still expanding on the universe. There is a lot that has apparently been altered between the game and the show, and it will be interesting to see if those changes are for better or for worse when those particular episodes air. In the meantime, fans are already steeling themselves for what a second season will look like.
The Last of Us will eventually have a second season as is currently planned, and when it airs it will be exciting to see how The Last of Us Part 2 translates to the small screen. If fans of the show are not aware of what happens in the game’s sequel, it will surely be a surprise to see what tragedies happen early on. But even more intriguing is how the showrunners will approach The Last of Us Part 2, which features different characters' perspectives of the same events. None of these should be spared, but it may be more difficult to adapt the changing perspectives as succinctly.
The Last of Us Part 2 Bounces Between Character Perspectives
The Last of Us Part 2 has dramatic character transitions between Ellie and Abby, with the decision to swap to Abby for the game’s back half being highly divisive. Abby is playable for a brief tutorial sequence at the beginning of the game, and it is not until much later that fans play as her again.
Players get to experience Ellie’s entire trek through Seattle in sequential days before the clock is wound back to the first day in Seattle but from Abby’s perspective. This allows players to see what Abby had been simultaneously enduring in order to punctuate the idea that players may learn more about her and attempt to empathize with her after she murders a character that fans adore.
Naughty Dog definitely should not attempt to deescalate another potential outrage from fans by changing this narrative, but the way that its paired narrative perspectives are told may be reconsidered if they would not be as effective in the show. The one firm argument that could be made is that fans may have a difficult time recollecting what had happened in the first several episodes once they are in the latter half of the show and trying to remember what Ellie had been up to at that point.
The Last of Us’ Second Season Could Intertwine Ellie and Abby’s Perspectives
If The Last of Us Part 2’s narrative is unpalatable for a weekly series, then the show could consider an approach that weaves Abby’s perspective in with Ellie’s more seamlessly. This could have episodes that are divided between Ellie and Abby’s perspectives at the same time that they occurred together in the game, showing a moment-to-moment breakdown of each perspective as it happens.
This would ensure that Abby is always seen as being one step ahead of Ellie in Seattle. For example, Ellie killing Mel and Owen would occur right before Abby arrives back at the aquarium to find their corpses and a map leading her back to the theater. There would undoubtedly be far less suspense after seeing Abby suddenly appear at the theater and murder Jesse, but the game’s emotional beats would hopefully still land if this was the decided upon formula.
The Last of Us Part 2 is out now for PlayStation 4.
