Highlights

  • The Last of Us TV adaptation has confirmed a second season with possibly a third and fourth.
  • Joel's death in the first episode is crucial for narrative success and setting the tone.
  • The show may adapt The Last of Us Part 2's events in a different order, affecting pacing and expectations.

It's official: the TV adaptation of The Last of Us is getting a second season. There is even a possibility of it getting a third and fourth season, which some Last of Us fans may have mixed feelings about. It's fair to question how well the show will be able to stretch a single game across more seasons of television, but with how complex The Last of Us Part 2 is, it can certainly be done.

MAJOR spoilers ahead for The Last of Us games and show.

Fans of the games will remember all too well the rabid discourse that swirled about The Last of Us 2 when it was released back in 2020. The sequel takes place four years after the bombshell events of the first game's finale, with Ellie still reeling from the trauma and confusion of Joel's betrayal. Amid this estrangement, Joel is tracked down by Abby, the daughter of one of the Firefly doctors Joel murdered at the end of the first game. How the TV show chooses to handle this pivotal moment will be instrumental in its narrative success.

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The Last of Us Season 2 Needs To Be Concise and Tactful with Its Early Twist

Joel's Death Will Be the Hardest Part of The Last of Us 2 To Get Right

The first season of The Last of Us followed the game's plot very closely, so it's fair to assume that a similar degree of faithfulness will be observed with The Last of Us Season 2. This would likely mean killing off Pedro Pascal's Joel, at the risk of reprising Part 2's often-toxic discourse. Bella Ramsey will have to take over as the main character, so this early moment of character development is going to need to happen soon, possibly by the end of the first episode.

There's virtually no chance that the TV show's Joel will survive, as his death is the catalyst for The Last of Us Part 2 's entire narrative .

The Last of Us Part 2 includes a number of flashback sequences, which the show may shift around and present chronologically instead. This could work, but it also has the chance to kneecap the show's pacing while misdirecting audience expectations, and not necessarily in a good way. Assuming that the show decides to present the events of The Last of Us Part 2 in roughly the same order, it may be best to kick the second season off with Joel's death straight away.

The Benefits of Killing Off Joel in The Last of Us Season 2's First Episode

Joel's murder is one of the most shocking video game moments of all time, and this element of surprise will no doubt be present in the TV version. Having the first episode of The Last of Us Season 2 build up to Joel's murder would not only start the show in a spectacular, unforgettable fashion but also appropriately set the tone for this new chapter of the story. Moreover, viewers should hate the TV show's version of Abby right away, only coming to empathize with her after Joel's death, as this is a major part of Part 2's theme of revenge and forgiveness.

If viewers get to know Abby over the course of several episodes, before she kills Joel, it could radically recontextualize that fatal scene and ultimately make the overall narrative less impactful. The Last of Us Part 2's TV adaptation is going to have a lot of time to tell its story, but it should still get the ball rolling early on and not drag its feet with Joel's death.