HBO has dropped the first teaser for The Last of Us Season 2. Season 1 has already made waves worldwide, and has been hailed as the greatest video game adaptation of all time. Can Season 2 match the hype? Here are ten things you might have missed in The Last of Us Season 2 teaser, and what they might mean.
Beware spoilers for both games and Season 1.
1. Screaming Ellie
Among the quick flashes we see is this shot of Ellie screaming, as people rush into a room, but what’s going on?
There are a few different options to consider. This could be Joel’s infamous death scene, albeit one that’s been changed from the source material – although it wouldn’t be the first time The Last of Us has taken a few liberties. Others on Reddit have suggested that this could be a scene referenced in the game, where she gives herself a chemical burn to disguise her bite.
Our money is on this being a nightmare, specifically set in the hospital where the Fireflies were based. Ellie is in a bed of some kind, the people around her are dressed in what appear to be the sort of practical clothes the Fireflies prefer, and the vertical blinds in the background. It’s hard to tell given the blurriness, but it doesn’t appear that the person behind her is Joel – and given the fact that Ellie quickly gains a reputation for slaughtering Wolves (WLF soldiers) and Scars (Seraphites) alike, it’s unlikely that either would show that much concern for her.
2. Jackson
Following Ellie’s screaming we get this shot of a crowd running towards Jackson, identified by the distinctive wooden walls. That just raises the question: who are they, and why are they running?
They could be infected, but the issue there is that their gait doesn’t seem quite bestial enough, and it looks like the clothes are relatively well-maintained. Could it be a crowd of people? If so, what are they running from?
A wildcard theory here is that this could be an attack on Jackson led by the so-called Salt Lake crew: a tight-knit group of young Fireflies previously stationed in Salt Lake City – but where are the weapons? Could this just be a distraction tactic? In either case, this is at odds with the game. The group’s plan was (at best) to rough up a patrol to get Joel to come to them, and there was a grand total of eight of them. Maybe this is an allied settlement seeking refuge?
3. Tommy
Fans of the games will know that Tommy gets a lot more screen time and focus in Part 2 than in the first game. Not only is he one of the leaders of the Jackson settlement, but he heads to Seattle independently of Ellie to get revenge on the Salt Lake crew. However, he never fought in Jackson itself. This shot of him aiming a rifle seems to be set there given the wooden structure behind him, and the fire in the background makes this seem like a siege. Whatever the crowd is, it’s not friendly – or running from something worse.
Taken with the previous clip, it seems that the Salt Lake Crew may be taking a more offensive approach this time around, which is a bold move. The storyline of the next few seasons will follow the game, and executing it well means making Abby a sympathetic character. Despite her actions, we also know why she carried them out, and her plan is relatively bloodless (in comparison to Ellie and her friends simply wandering into Seattle like a group of antiquing bulls). Abby went out of her way to avoid collateral damage, even though that meant leaving witnesses. If the Salt Lake Crew are attacking Jackson directly, it’ll be harder to make Abby a sympathetic character when the time comes.
However, there’s something else that makes the Salt Lake Crew being responsible a little more unlikely…
4. Abby
Abby is a central character in The Last of Us Part 2, and easily the most controversial. From the moment she kills Joel we’re primed to hate her, and don’t learn until later on that she did it in retribution for Joel’s murder of her own father. In essence, she’s got the same motivations that Ellie did, albeit with a little more information to work with.
The casting of Kaitlyn Dever in the role was both genius and the ultimate troll move. Dever is a talented actress, and her physical resemblance to Ellie in the games led to a lot of fans wanting her to play the part in the series before Bella Ramsey was cast. Having her portray Abby – a character positioned as Ellie’s nemesis – is bound to raise a few eyebrows.
This shot shows Abby crawling to safety beneath a fence as a horde of Infected tries to get to her. Fans of the games will know that this is mere moments before she meets Joel and Tommy. If the same holds true here, then we can be almost certain that the attack on Jackson is at the hands of someone besides the Salt Lake Crew: there’s no way they’d let Joel or Tommy go free and risk turning an army against themselves, and if Jackson was under attack, neither of them would head out of the town and rescue a random person. So who are Jackson fighting?
One possibility is that the second season will expand on the Jackson segment, and see Abby and her group join the settlement, however briefly. After all, there’s a lot of game to get through, to the point that it’s being split into at least two seasons. There’s enough space to expand the events that take place in Jackson, and give Abby some more focus before she steps up to share the spotlight.
5. Who is Catherine O’Hara Playing?
The casting of legendary Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara in The Last of Us season 2 led to an outpouring of love from the fandom, as well as plenty of speculation about who she’s playing. While the most common theory was that she’d be playing The Prophet (may she guide us), this soon came into question. The Prophet is a character who only appears in the backstory or in graffiti throughout Seattle, and she was long dead by the time Ellie and her friends arrived in the city. However, it was revealed that O’Hara will appear in three episodes, and share scenes with both Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie). As such, her being the prophet is decidedly unlikely.
When she appears in the trailer, she notably appears to be wearing cozier clothing and is lacking the distinctive Glasgow smile that gives the Seraphites their nickname (Scars). The clothing hints that this scene takes place in Jackson, as those scenes are set in the late winter.
One possibility is that O’Hara is playing Esther, a character mentioned in The Last of Us: One Night Live, an event that saw the actors perform selected scenes from the first game (as well as a musical alternate ending that has to be seen to be believed). There was one new scene, however: a so-called epilogue of an epilogue which was later adapted into part of Part 2’s prologue. This scene had Joel mention Esther, an unseen character who Tommy set Joel up with.
All mentions of Esther were removed from The Last of Us Part 2, but it’s worth noting that Joel mentions that she has a great sense of humor – and O’Hara has proven her comedic skills time and time again.
Notably, an expansion of this relationship would give a reason for O’Hara to share the screen with both Ellie and Joel, as well as a hint that we’ll see Jackson as the main setting for two or three episodes.
It’s also worth noting that she appears to ask Joel if he hurt Ellie, with him seemingly answering the question. While it’s possible this is a case of manipulative editing, if it isn’t then this is clearly someone Joel is close with if he’s willing to admit his actions.
6. The Party
Fans of the game will know this scene straight away. This party the night before Joel’s death is also the one that leads to Ellie attempting to forgive Joel following an estrangement, the reasons for which are revealed throughout the game. The scene, set during a light-hearted party in Jackson, is also where we see Ellie and Dinah’s first kiss, prior to them becoming full-fledged love interests.
The important thing to keep in mind here is that we don’t initially see this scene in the game until the game’s third act, just before Ellie heads to California. Given that the second game is being adapted into at least two seasons, there’s no way we’ll get that far within a single one. Putting the scene closer to the beginning would give some background on Ellie and Joel’s relationship troubles, as well as the people of Jackson.
It’s still possible that this scene will be a flashback, but if so it’ll be much closer to the start of the game’s events – perhaps shortly after Joel’s death?
7. Isaac
Jeffrey Wright follows in the footsteps of Merle Dandridge and Laura Bailey in reprising his role in the series (although in Bailey’s case, she reprised her role as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital as opposed to her more famous role).
Wright is playing Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF aka Wolves). Although he only appears in a few scenes of the game, his ruthlessness and desire to wipe out the Seraphites make him stand out as a clear-cut bad guy: while the Seraphites are for the most part villainous, genocide clearly isn’t the answer.
Isaac’s appearance may hint that he has an expanded role in the series. With The Last of Us Season 2 poised to be bigger than the first, despite a smaller episode count, we have to wonder exactly what we’ll see – and what elements of Abby’s story will be shown in the game.
8. The Seraphites
Another hint at how much of the game The Last of Us Season 2 will cover, we get our first glimpse of the Seraphites. This cult inhabits an island that was once the Seattle suburb of Queen Anne and is known for their brutality in combat, disdain for technology, and conflict with the WLF.
Although Ellie comes into conflict with the Seraphites a few times over her campaign, the earliest is when she’s on her way to the hospital to track down Nora. Whether the season ends here or goes all the way to the end of Ellie’s campaign, we can be fairly confident that it’s this first encounter we’re seeing here, as the rest of Ellie’s encounters with the group take place in ruins.
One alternative is that this scene is a recreation of one a little further in the game, during Abby’s campaign. Abby encounters the Seraphites far more frequently, with the group representing her primary human opponents for much of the game. However, we can be fairly confident that the season won’t get this far for two reasons: Lev and Yara. The two characters are crucial characters in Abby’s campaign, and so far haven’t been announced to appear. If they did appear, this scene could be their first meeting with Abby, which might make the Seraphite in the background Emily.
9. Machine Gun Ellie
If you thought Bella Ramsey would struggle to portray Ellie as the hardened badass she is in The Last of Us Part 2, maybe this shot will convince you. A machine gun isn’t a weapon you think of as subtle – it’s a weapon you take up if you’re coming to chew bubblegum and kick ass, but your opponents stole your gum.
What’s interesting here is the setting. It doesn’t appear to be the house where Ellie fights the Salt Lake Crew, and if she has a machine gun at this point then the story will go very differently. It looks like this is a public building, which makes the WLF hospital the most likely option, or perhaps the school or TV station Ellie and Dina explore on their first day in Seattle. Either way, it looks like we’re seeing Ellie as more of a badass than we’ve ever seen before.
It’s worth us pointing out one more suggestion, albeit an unlikely one: this shot could be a flashback episode. There are numerous points in Part 2 after Joel’s death where Ellie reminisces about past adventures they had in Jackson, some of which involved fighting Infected.
It could also potentially be a flashback to half of the first game’s Left Behind DLC. We’ve already seen part of the DLC adapted in Season 1’s episode of the same name, but the DLC is split into two parts, one of which involves Ellie fighting cannibals in a derelict shopping mall as she looks for medicine. Given Ellie’s dedication to avenging him, showing us her dedication to saving him would be fitting.
10. The Subway
There are tons of amazing set pieces in The Last of Us Part 2, and the subway is just one of them. The sequence is where Dina first learns that Ellie is immune to the cordyceps fungus, and where we get our first glimpse of the Shamblers – a dangerous new variety of Infected.
There’s been a lot of discussion about spores. Specifically, their removal from the first season might necessitate some changes to The Last of Us Season 2. With the Subway sequence being so pivotal to Ellie and Dina’s relationship because of the spores, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see this addressed. Perhaps, given the wet climate of Seattle, the TV version of the cordyceps has evolved a new way to propagate? Either way, clickers in an abandoned subway station will always be an amazing setpiece and one we’re looking forward to seeing.
Want more on The Last of Us? Check out our list of the top 10 queer characters in gaming, and our review of The Last Of Us Part II Remastered.
Published: Aug 5, 2024 09:27 am