It’s sadly become the norm for TV series to have lower episode counts than 20 years ago, on top of the fact that a significant amount of series wait 2 years or more in between seasons. HBO has begun to make a trend of shortening their episode counts even further for season 2, à la “House of the Dragon”, which seems to be having a detrimental effect on franchise fan retention. The finale did have some great, intense moments and managed to balance those bursts with some very poignant, emotional scenes, but we still felt like we deserved more TV before the credits rolled.
“The Last of Us” season 2 finale comes on the heels of Showrunner Craig Mazin announcing that he couldn’t possibly finish the story in season 3, which means the massively popular series will in fact be getting a fourth season (after multiple higher-ups have claimed the series will wrap in three). The timing of this news does feel a but manipulative, almost like a carrot being dangled in front of the fans…because the powers that be knew that the viewers would be disappointed with a less than 50 minute episode to wrap up a season that was 2 episodes shorter than the previous one. Warning, beyond this pint there will be spoilers for “The Last of Us” series and franchise in general.
The finale did have some great, intense moments and managed to balance those bursts
with some very poignant, emotional scenes, but we still felt like we deserved more TV…
Faithful Day One followers will give you a somewhat lengthy list of differences from the game to the series, but most of the major beats remain almost exactly the same. One of the biggest differences was the death of Abby’s team medic, Mel. In the game, Mel actively attacked Ellie, while in the series, Mel’s death is much more tragic…adding the touch of Mel trying to talk her murderer through delivering her baby was a masterful stroke, although Mel had very little character development. Ellie’s descent into darkness basically carried the plot, as basically every other character had something else they wanted to do besides handling a vendetta.
Adding Isaac into the mix early seems like wasted screentime although his FEDRA massacre scene (which was NOT in the game) was a very compelling way to intro someone new. The story did not really progress much and episode 6 had some powerful Pedro Pascal moments but we are unclear why those flashbacks couldn’t have been peppered throughout the season. All in all, season 2 felt like half a season and it’s disappointing we will have an extended wait for a possibly even shorter season 3. The idea of switching main characters works better in a video game but we are there for unconventional storytelling and hope that the series can have a more eventful season 3….and now 4.
The episode’s ending may have been jarring to viewers who don’t understand the perspective switch that is occurring, which is not ideal for bringing in new fans, but HBO doesn’t seem to mind for now. With production of the net season not even likely until 2026, it’s going to be awhile until we get any answers or new story in the land of “The Last of Us”. We are curious if the Creators are toying with the idea of killing Ellie off and think that the cliffhanger might be them giving themselves an option if Bella Ramsey gets sick of the online hate and doesn’t want to play the character anymore…which we think is highly unlikely. The most likely answer is that the third season will first focus on Abby’s side of the story, before returning us to that ominous cut to black, where death surely awaits for either Abby or Ellie.
What do you think? Was “The Last of Us” season 2 ‘peak TV’? If you disagree with us, let us know why in the comments below!
