After more than two years, The Last of Us is back for its sophomore season. This season is set to adapt half of Naughty Dog’s 2020 game The Last of Us Part II. This is a much steeper task than the first round, considering the game’s complex revenge plot, changing player character perspectives, and the sheer size of Part II. As the TLOU universe unfolds further on screen, more departures from the source material are expected than preservations. So, we are going to break down the biggest moments and elements from the games that The Last of Us season two adapts from the games.
The Last of Us Season 2’s Biggest Elements and Adapted Moments From the Games – Episode 1, “Future Days”
The Introduction of Abby
In “Future Days,” The Last of Us season two honors the cinematic nature of the second game. But it crafts its own legacy, with certain scenes and sequences occurring at different points. The first scene opens with Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) mourning her father in front of a set of graves alongside her former Firefly peers. This scene takes place in the open field near St. Mary’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. This is a familiar setting to those who remember the season 1 finale.
But one may recall that this scene never takes place in the game. There, we met Abby with her WLF comrades after their arrival in Jackson. The show does not waste any precious time before throwing viewers in the deep end to meet the antagonist. (Or, she’s the second protagonist, depending on how you approach the material). However, in the series, her motives are immediately clear: she will avenge her father.
Ellie & Dina’s Love Story
The lifeline of the second game, amid the tragedy, is the burgeoning romance between Ellie and Dina. Thankfully, the series shows this in spades. The seeds of this arc stem from as early as season 1 episode 6 “Kin,” in which Ellie notices a girl matching Dina’s physical characteristics in the Jackson canteen. The girl is staring at her, and subsequently screams, “What?” to scare her off.
In this episode, many of Ellie and Dina’s scenes from early in the second game get such stunning visual accuracy. They include the patrol on horseback in the snowstorm and cleaning out the abandoned supermarket of infected. Most importantly, there’s the Jackson dance. In the show, this scene gets a rewrite to be the 2029 New Years Eve Party.
Watching the dance scene side-by-side with its video game counterpart underscores the show’s commitment to preserving what is a truly special moment. It is forever in the minds of longtime fans. We see this down to the fairy lights strung throughout the hall, the exact music playing, and the iconic line that Isabella Merced’s Dina richly delivers: “Oh Ellie, I think they should be terrified of you,” followed by their first kiss.
Just as in the game, Seth, the owner of the Tipsy Bison, lances a slur at Ellie and Dina. However, Joel’s response changes in the show: instead of an aggressive shove, Joel bodies Seth, punching him in the face—a cinematic victory.
Stay tuned for more key moments and elements from the game that we see in The Last of Us season two.
Content shared from nerdist.com.