Despite its controversial start, The Last of Us Part 2 is still widely considered to be one of the best games in recent memory. While some fans may not like the direction of The Last of Us Part 2's story, it's hard to deny the excellent craftsmanship behind it, with great character relationships, dialogue, motivations, and set pieces. And hopefully the HBO Last of Us series can capture that same level of quality, just like it did for the first game in the series.
Delayed by the ongoing writers' strike, the second season of HBO's The Last of Us probably won't hit screens for quite some time yet, but when it does, it's expected to adapt the entirety of The Last of Us Part 2's lengthy story. But while The Last of Us Part 1 features a fairly straightforward story, and one easy to adapt in TV format, The Last of Us Part 2 might be a tad more tricky, with a lot more characters, plot beats, and backstories to unravel in a short amount of time. And with so much content to adapt, it's likely that HBO is looking to trim the fat, and Owen and Mel could be two characters that receive the axe.
How HBO Could Change The Last of Us Part 2's Owen and Mel
The Last of Us Part 2, much like its predecessor, is filled with some of the best-portrayed character relationships in all of gaming. Joel and Ellie's relationship is still central to the story, but there are even more layers of complexity to it, with themes of betrayal, loss, and forgiveness all going on to inform practically every other character dynamic in the game. Then there's Ellie and Abby, a relationship that seems like a simple tale of revenge on the surface, but is actually a web of interpersonal histories and emotions that mirror one another. And then there's Ellie and Dina, Dina and Jessie, Ellie and Tommy, all of which are interwoven expertly with each other, creating realistic, genuine characters.
But not all of The Last of Us Part 2's storytelling is perfect. While one half of the game revolves around clearly defined and engaging character relationships, the other half is arguably a bit less compelling. When players take control of Abby in The Last of Us Part 2, they're presented with an entirely new cast of characters, with most of them being Abby's old Firefly buddies. For the most part, these characters are only given brief moments of screen time, and players learn very little about them, their relationship with Abby, or their own personal motivations, naturally leaving them a little less compelling than Ellie's gang.
But even with more screen time, some of Abby's crew still is not overly compelling, and that's exactly the case with Mel and Owen. Abby's ex-boyfriend and now Mel's soon-to-be baby daddy, Owen introduces a love triangle into The Last of Us Part 2 that feels out of place. In a game that tackles huge topics like grief and revenge, a love triangle between fully-grown adults seems a little juvenile by contrast, and the back-and-forths between the three characters never really get the reaction that they should from players. With so much else going on in the story, Mel, Owen, and Abby's tangled relationships don't feel all that important.
This whole love triangle plot thread has potential to be left on the cutting room floor of HBO's The Last of Us. The only truly integral moment between the three characters occurs when Abby walks in and sees their dead bodies, acting as both the final straw for Abby and the moment audiences realize Ellie may have taken her vengeance mission too far. But HBO can easily find a way of working that around a different set of characters if they wanted to cut Mel and Owen completely. If Owen and Mel do appear in HBO's The Last of Us, then it seems likely that their appearance will be a bit more streamlined.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available now for PS4.