The Last of Us May Have Just Confirmed It’s Sticking Closer to the Games Than We Thought

The Last of Us TV show seems to be confirming that it will stick pretty close to the games, perhaps in ways that TV show fans won’t like. The Last of Us TV series has been making all kinds of changes from the game, some for the better, some for the worse. It’s a much bigger, more complicated story than the first season/game, so it requires more adaptation. While Season 1 is pretty faithful to the game, Season 2 is taking a bit more liberty with how things play out. One big change is that you don’t find out why Abby does what she does until about halfway through the story, but the show reveals it almost immediately.

The latest episode of The Last of Us Season 2 makes one of its biggest changes so far, but that’s partially because of a decision made in Season 1 that had lasting ramifications on the story being told here. Some fans may have expected the show to make some very specific changes based on events earlier in the show. As noted, the show opens with Abby, something that doesn’t happen in the game. It seemed like the show was setting up the idea that we may see more of Abby in this part of the story than we do in the game, but that may not be the case at all. Spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 and Season 2 follow below.

The Last of Us Season 2 May Keep the Game’s Controversial Structure

Near the start of The Last of Us Season 2’s fourth episode, we see a piece of text on screen that reads: Seattle Day 1. If you’ve never played the game, this probably means nothing to you. However, to game players, this is a pretty huge clue that this is going to stick close to the games. In The Last of Us Part 2 video game, the bulk of the story is told across three days in Seattle and each day is specifically notated when the characters wake up. However, at the end of day 3, things take a pretty dramatic turn.

We are going to keep things as spoiler free as possible, but the story basically resets back to Seattle Day 1 from the perspective of a different character. It’s probably not too hard to guess who that other character is, but we will let you fill in the blanks. You see and hear about Ellie’s rampage from the other character’s perspective, but also go on a completely different adventure. The Last of Us is a story about perspective, so this all ties together in a really unique way. However, with only a few episodes left in Season 2 and Seattle Day 2 having just begun at the end of the latest episode, it is probably becoming clear to fans that we aren’t going to see that yet.

Given the game is structured that way because… well, it’s a game and you can’t flip back and forth between characters like you can in a TV show, many figured this adaptation may tell their stories simultaneously. However, it seems like that won’t be the case and this show will follow the structure of the game very closely.

Thankfully, The Last of Us Season 3 has already been confirmed and is actively in the works, so hopefully, the next season will come sooner rather than later. Perhaps there will be another 2 year gap, but it seems like the creators behind the show are trying to adapt this story as efficiently as possible.